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After almost two months on the sidelines, having been overlooked during Australia’s Test tour of India, speedster Lance Morris sparked a sedate opening day of the Sheffield Shield final between Western Australia and Victoria with trademark fiery quick bowling.Introduced in the eighth over, a fired-up Morris started with a nasty bouncer aimed at the body of dogged opener Ashley Chandrasinghe who wisely swayed out of the way.Even though the renowned pace-friendly WACA surface, which has been a minefield for most of this season, was somewhat subdued, Morris made his presence felt with sharp bowling that appeared too hot to handle for 21-year-old Chandrasinghe.He then engaged in a riveting battle with former Test opener Marcus Harris, who relishes the big stage having hit three tons in four previous finals. Morris dismissed Harris in his second over caught at second slip only to have overstepped before snaring him lbw two balls later.Used in short bursts, bowling from the Lillee-Marsh end with the aid of the famed ‘Freo doctor’ seabreeze, Morris finished with 2 for 52 from 18 overs.He also claimed wicketkeeper-batter Sam Harper later in the day to cap a successful return in his first match since the BBL in late January.Morris’ last red-ball game was against Queensland at the Gabba in early December before his elevation into Australia’s Test squad against West Indies for the second Test in Adelaide.”Certainly felt like it’s been two months, that’s for sure. A little bit of rust. Nice to blow the cobwebs out,” Morris said after the day’s play with Victoria reaching stumps at 8 for 194 in their first innings.Morris was locked in an absorbing battle with a gutsy Chandrasinghe, who repeatedly stonewalled in a 266-ball innings to bat through the day and finish 46 not out.He bowled one thunderous delivery that went over Chandrasinghe’s head though was left frustrated when he had the left-handed batter caught behind just before tea but it was ruled a no ball.Morris finished with six front no balls due in some part to technical changes to his run-up.”I’ve been working on technical stuff with run-ups… thrown me off. [I need to] find a way around it, will look to do that tomorrow,” Morris said. “It could have been a better day, but overall we shot ourselves in the foot…probably on my part.”Even though he has yet to crack a Test debut, Morris has soaked in a wealth of knowledge being around Australia’s stock of star-studded quicks.”Leading into the summer, never thought I would be near that [Test] level,” he said. “To be able to get knowledge off them and just watch them go about their business…is a huge learning experience.”Morris has been bandied around as a possible Mumbai Indians replacement for injured WA teammate Jhye Richardson. While hosing down those reports, Morris did say that he was eyeing a County deal in the U.K. ahead of Australia’s Ashes tour.That’s all down the track as Morris ,right now, remains focused on helping WA secure a historic treble of domestic titles for the second straight season.”[The wicket’s a] touch slow. If we can bowl them out for around 200, I think we’ll be pretty happy,” he said.

The beauty of James Vince’s batting masks a consistent failure to convert starts into finishes, a flaw that would not be tolerated in a less attractive player

Jarrod Kimber at Sydney04-Jan-2018’He looks so good’, ‘look how much time he has’, “he’s pretty’, ‘he looks the part’, “he has the game for this level’, ‘that shot is gorgeous’, ‘just sublime”. They don’t just say this about James Vince; they coo orgasmically. Nothing makes cricket fans happier than a pretty batsman with time. Vince has all the time in the world and is more beautiful than a summer field.What Vince doesn’t have is Test Match runs. Not many of them anyway, he’s produced more middle-aged groans than runs. It took Vince 12 Test innings to pass fifty. In 19 innings, he’s only passed that mark twice. He’s never reached 100.He’s averaging 22 in his career and 28 in this Ashes, despite scoring his two fifties. Dan Weston, owner of Sports Analytics Advantage, had him down for a predicted average of 24. Weston also said on Twitter: “Is there a better example of biased ‘eye tests’ from selectors -> horror selection decision in any sport around the world than James Vince?”The reason for Weston’s tweet is that there is almost nothing in Vince’s numbers that suggest he deserves another go in Tests, especially on a tour, especially on a hard tour, especially on a hard tour batting at No.3.Last season, playing for Hampshire, he averaged 35 with the bat. The only two seasons in his career in which he averaged over 40 (2013 & 2014) were in Division Two. He’s also never made more than two hundreds in a Championship season in Division One. Vince averages 31 in the top flight, where he makes a hundred once every 16 innings, and 50 in the second tier.If he crabbed across the crease like Simon Katich or had a homespun technique like James Taylor, he wouldn’t have been picked for his country on these numbers. He’d be a grizzled pro hiking out a few runs before moving into another career. But factor in Vince’s grace, and you somehow end up with a Test player.Vince is in his ninth year as a professional; he’s 26, this is his second spell in the Test team, he’s played ODIs and T20Is for his country, and also been an overseas pro in the BBL and PSL. He’s not some ingenue who’s drifted into Tests too soon. He’s a professional athlete who is still picked on aesthetics not statistics.This morning he was discussed on almost every commentary service available. At first, it was his poor record this series, then it was how good he had looked. As Mike Selvey said on Twitter: “Truly, I’ve heard enough about Vince’s pretty cover drive. It’s a Test match not effing Canterbury week.”James Vince walks off after edging Pat Cummins behind•Getty Images***A few years back David Gower gave an interview to ESPNcricinfo. Few batsmen have ever looked better when they were in than he, and yet that meant he was cursed every time he got out. “When people came to me and said, “You are not trying”, I said, “Honestly, I am”.” He also went on to point out, “The first man who is disappointed when you get out for none is you. The man just after that, who is equally disappointed, is the bloke who has paid to come and watch.”There’s no doubt that batsmen who look pretty and get out receive a higher level of criticism than a battling batsman. We believe that a batsman who looks like he is struggling must be, and one who isn’t rushed, isn’t. But VVS Laxman didn’t average more than Steve Waugh.When judging batsmen, we often go to how pretty they are. Victor Trumper wouldn’t be remembered if he batted like Andrew Jones – his skill for changing the game and batting on sticky wickets was important, but the thing that really stood for people with his grace. We are human; we like pretty things.The job of a batsman is not to be pretty; it’s to score runs. While having the ability to have more time (which has been scientifically tested) and the skill to play pretty shots is important, it’s not all about batting. They are just the two most obvious traits. Concentration, hand-eye co-ordination, reflexes, footwork, patience, bravery, fitness, technique, composure, training habits, desire, discipline and game awareness. No one batsmen is great at all of them, they all rely on different skills to get their job done. Some play ugly like they aren’t in, and end up with high averages. Others walk in like they own the pitch, ground and everyone in it, and never make a run.It would be irresponsible to judge a player purely on numbers; those numbers need context, history and research to ensure you get to the right answer. But you win Tests with runs, so to pick a player almost entirely on appearances, while choosing to ignore years of evidence that he doesn’t make many runs, is an incredible gamble. And England have made it twice with Vince.None of this is Vince’s fault; he’s trying hard, figuring it out, trying to survive. When he nicks off to second slip over and over again, it is Vince who first feels frustrated. The game isn’t as easy for him as he makes it look. If it were, he’d make more runs.***He’s upright, stylish, loves to drive, seems to enjoy faster bowling more than dibbly dobbers, and doesn’t at all look out of place in Test Cricket. That’s how Michael Vaughan was described at the start of his career. And when he was picked to play for England he was averaging 33.91 in first-class cricket.When people talk about James Vince, they often compare him to Vaughan.In US sports this is known as anchoring, it’s a behavioural heuristic that allows our brains to make a quick comparison. In cricket, you see it all the time, the tall skinny white bowlers who are compared to Glenn McGrath even when their skill set is entirely different. Our brain makes all those shortcuts, and that makes it easier for us to explain them. The problem comes from how often we are wrong, because as with most short cuts, they tend to end up in a hedge. There are no new McGraths.James Vince is not the new Michael Vaughan.Vaughan was picked with a dire record because England were trying to find batsmen to help them while they were in arguably their worst ever period. In the end, for all his success in Tests, Vaughan only averaged five more in that format than in all first-class cricket. Like many players, Vaughan’s best period with the bat came between the ages of 27 and 33, a period of time in which his overall first-class average was 44.7. When he was older and younger it was 33.To think that because Vince is also upright, graceful and has a bad first-class average, he will also come good in Tests is optimistic. Batsmen don’t usually make more runs in Tests than in first-class cricket; some young batsmen do, as they are picked on potential, some older players do, as they are picked when they are in career-best form. But on average, your first-class career gives a pretty good indication of what you will do in Tests.Vince’s career consists of him not making a lot of runs and struggling when he steps up in class. Seeing as he has not yet hit the golden part of his batting age just yet, it is possible that he will come good. Instead of elegant failures, we’ll see a pro run-scorer come to the fore. It’s also possible that, if he keeps getting chances, he’ll make a breathless hundred. But based on what he has done in his career so far, the chances of him being a consistent run-scorer in Tests is kinda low. For now there will be more pretty starts and brainfarts.James Vince plays one of his trademark drives•Getty Images***Wherever you stand on the Mitchell Starc “ball of the century” debate, it’s an unplayable ball, and Vince’s role was never going to be more than slain victim. But that is not the kind of ball that Vince has struggled with at Test level. The kind of ball that gets Vince out is the kind of ball that most players smash for four.”Vince was right to attack the ball which dismissed him. Against seamer deliveries within 10cm of the one which got Vince, batsmen in our database average 72.40, scoring at 5.43rpo.” This is what CricViz tweeted about the ball that dismissed Vince today. It was short and wide, a Test player would expect to smash it away for four. Many other times, Vince has been dismissed from full and wide balls; again, the kind Test players feast on.Perhaps Vince chases the four balls more viciously than other players, since his debut no one has scored more than 350 runs in Tests with a higher percentage of boundaries. In all, a third of his runs are from boundaries. Vince isn’t even a quick scorer, so he’s either not scoring, or trying to hit a boundary. That gives Test bowlers a long time to look at you. And makes it a riskier shot when you do go for broke.There is also a thought that Vince gets himself out. Perhaps today he did, perhaps he did in the first Test at the Gabba, when he looked set for his first Test ton only to run himself out for 83. But mostly, it seems teams have good plans for him.Vince is only in his third series, but to judge by the data available so far, it is clear that bowling attacks during his debut home summer in 2016 hung the ball out wide and waited for him to nick off. Here in Australia, the bowlers have kept the ball just outside off stump, back of a length, and waited for him to nick off. The real problem for Vince is the conscience; teams work him out, then they get him out. Teams have worked out he doesn’t have patience or concentration, and over time they can work on those flaws, knowing that he’ll eventually make a mistake.All of this makes him pretty, but dull, if you’re an English fan. An unfortunate pretty hate machine.***At The Oval this year, Vince made his way out to the middle when Hampshire lost their first two wickets for 71. It was a flat wicket, and Surrey had both Currans and Mark Footitt bowling. From the start, Vince looked as if he was batting on rails. As if each boundary was part of a movie script, with a storyboard, special effects, choreographer, and make-up team to make it look perfect.Vince had time, he looked pretty, and runs gushed from his bat all day. The Oval crowd made all the sorts of noises you hear when Vince is making runs. As he does in this mood, he had the illusion of permanence, like watching a Jaguar at 100 miles an hour and forgetting about all the times you’ve seen it broken down. He cruised towards a century in a shade over two hours.Just after his hundred, Tom Curran bowled one outside off stump and Vince nicked off*. It was only Vince’s seventh hundred in Division One cricket, it should have been a moment of success, but instead it looked like a continuation of his habitual flaw; he doesn’t fail to start, he fails to go on. Three other players would score more runs in the match, and you could argue he was more naturally talented than all of them.But that would be a useless argument, based on perception and subjective theories. The aim of the game is not to be the most naturally talented, to be the most effortless, or have the most time; the aim of the game is to make the most runs. Vince hasn’t done that in first-class cricket. He isn’t doing it in Tests.***Today James Vince hit, even for him, one of the most beautiful cover drives you’ll see in cricket. The shot made everyone who saw it make weird uncomfortable sounds; it stayed with you for overs, like a kiss from a lover, you automatically sigh when it enters your memory, which it does a lot. It was one of those shots you want tattooed on your arm, to play just once, one that you can’t even master in that surreal over-the-top dream. Oh, it was quite a shot.Today James Vince made 25.*2300 GMT – This paragraph was updated to correct Vince’s mode of dismissal

With his effervescent character and homespun technique, Dinesh Chandimal embodies something of the island spirit – as well as the fight his team had lost

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Chester-le-Street30-May-2016″Sri Lankan players have a lot of fight,” said coach Graham Ford of the team he had been desperate to return to. “Sri Lanka generally fight hard,” an England player said through the course of the series. “We fight till the last ball,” Angelo Mathews occasionally used to announce when his team were struggling. Recently it has become all he says.And in a way, Sri Lanka’s batsmen had been in the fight of their lives in the first three innings this series. They had practically declared war on their own averages. Professional reputations were left bloody and twitching in two different north-of-England cities.But in five batting sessions at Chester-le-Street, when a more traditional Sri Lankan fight took shape, it was no surprise that Dinesh Chandimal was the man most effective at getting his team back on brand. He was lively. He took on risks. He wrung runs out of the lower order. Thanks to Chandimal, Mathews even got to say the words “Sri Lankan fight” at the post-match press conference, and for the first time in the past month, his words were not speculative.Chandimal is a quintessentially Sri Lankan cricketer. In his background are details that island novelists transpose on their protagonists – the hard beginnings, the tsunami, the fortuitous scholarship to a big Buddhist school, his subsequent success as Ananda College’s captain. In his technique are glimpses of the coastal curve he hails from – the beach cricketer’s booming bottom hand, the loose drives and fluttering homespun cuts that somehow pass through cover.

Mathews pleased with fight

“We talked about everything possible to get back on track. We talked about our character and the fight. We’ve been talking a lot about it, but unfortunately we didn’t show it on the field. I thought we started showing it in the second innings while we were batting. We had a brilliant first day. We caught all our catches. But unfortunately started off day two by letting Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes off the hook. Then we had a really bad day and we had to fight really hard. I thought all the batters worked really hard in the nets every single day before the start.”

Coaches attempted to iron out his crinkles in 2013 and 2014 and, like any good Sri Lankan boy, he paid heed. He changed his grip and discovered he could no longer face the short ball. He had exclusive lessons with the batting coach, and found himself having trouble facing team-mates. When he turned down a $100,000 offer from the IPL to focus on his training, Chandimal was becoming something of a company man.It was only when he changed tack that runs began to flow again, yet in his cricket, the lessons lapped up in youth survive. He is easily the most effervescent on the field when he keeps wickets. He scoops up the helmets and sprints from end to end while others are flagging after a long day or a large defeat.At Chester-le-Street, as his team stared at another humiliation, Chandimal produced the kind of innings Sri Lankan players are told Sri Lankan players produce. When Alastair Cook set traps for him on the leg side, Chandimal didn’t avoid those areas of the ground. Instead, he kept shuffling across his stumps and backing himself to beat the fielders. Another England captain had put men on the leg-side fence for Duleep Mendis in Sri Lanka’s first match in the country. Mendis kept hooking bowlers into the stands until he had a triple-figure score. These stories, dressed up and embellished, have passed into lore for fans, but have become the manual for players such as Chandimal.At the other end, another Sri Lankan battler kept England out, and Chandimal company for 116 runs. After Chandimal struck the 162 not out that saw Sri Lanka turn around a 193-run first-innings deficit against India last year, it was Rangana Herath’s spin that closed out that manic Galle victory. Here he provided an example for his batting colleagues.”Absolutely, the other batsmen can take lessons from Rangana,” Mathews said. “He’s become a proper No. 8 for us over the past one-and-a-half years. He’s been scoring and hanging in there. If I recall, a couple of years ago at Headingley, once again he batted with me and got 49. He’s been giving his best with the bat and ball for us over the last couple of years. Every day he’s been trying to get better.”The partnership only delayed the defeat. It merely dressed up what was in fact another Test thumping for a struggling team. But in the reclaiming of a cricketing identity – real or imagined – Chandimal repeatedly leads the way. For a few moments on the fourth day, in the north of England were snatched peeks of a tropical island.

A fierce competitor yet unfailingly polite, Daniel Vettori draws the curtains on his 18-year international career

Brydon Coverdale31-Mar-2015It was typical Daniel Vettori, modest to the last. “Is this it, is this the official announcement?” a reporter asked at Auckland airport on Tuesday after New Zealand arrived home following their defeat in the World Cup final. “Ah, yeah, I suppose it is,” Vettori replied. With that casual acknowledgement, international cricket lost one of its finest ambassadors.But it could hardly have been any other way. Cricket has no shortage of headline-grabbers, men who enjoy being the centre of attention. Then there are those who let their deeds speak for them, the game’s unassuming champions. In the past couple of decades, perhaps only Shivnarine Chanderpaul has matched Vettori for understated brilliance.He has given 18 years to the New Zealand team, but in his own mind it has never been about Daniel Vettori. After he took the catch of the World Cup this month, a leaping one-handed take above his head on the boundary to get rid of Marlon Samuels in Wellington, he looked almost embarrassed. No fuss, no histrionics. Just modest Dan.Softly-spoken and unfailingly polite, Vettori is the very essence of what New Zealand cricket has become. In 2009 and 2010 he captained New Zealand when they won the ICC Spirit of Cricket Award. In 2012 he won it on his own, for declining to appeal for a run-out in the Bulawayo Test against Zimbabwe, when he was bowling and had accidentally impeded the other runner.”It was the right thing to do at the time and we as a team try and play with the right spirit of cricket,” Vettori said after receiving the award. “It’s hard to define the spirit of cricket, but go out on the field with the general mindset to play the game in the right way and always in the right frame of mind.”But zero slip-ups in 18 years would be remarkable, and not even Vettori could maintain that strike-rate. When he was fined most of his match fee for engaging in verbals with South Africa during a heated World Cup quarter-final in Dhaka in 2011, it was like hearing your parents swear for the first time. Really, you know those words? It was notable because it was so out of character.If Michael Hussey was Mr Cricket, Vettori was Mr Spirit of Cricket. Under Brendon McCullum, New Zealand have coninued down that path. But to focus solely on Vettori’s manner is to do him a disservice. That he joined Kapil Dev and Ian Botham as the only men to score 4000 runs and take 300 wickets in Test cricket tells of his immense talent. If Richard Hadlee is New Zealand’s greatest bowler, Vettori is their finest spinner.Enough said: Daniel Vettori has been a darling among the New Zealand masses•Mark Kolbe/Getty ImagesIn 1997, when Vettori at 18 became the youngest Test cricketer in New Zealand’s history, he had just enrolled in a health sciences course at university and wanted to become a pharmacist. You could easily picture the bespectacled Vettori behind the counter helping patients. Instead he dispensed more than 43,000 red and white pills to batsmen over the next 18 years.His subtle variations in bounce and spin, his mastery of drift and drop, these were the weapons that brought Vettori 362 Test wickets and 305 in one-day internationals. He often troubled the Australians at a time when they were the world’s best side, and his career-best 12 wickets in the Auckland Test of 1999-2000 gave New Zealand a realistic chance of a historic victory.But when New Zealand finally beat Australia in Hobart in 2011, their first Test win over their trans-Tasman rivals for more than 18 years, Vettori watched from the sidelines. He had missed the match due to a hamstring injury. Only 34 of his 112 Tests for New Zealand resulted in victories, but he finished Test cricket on a high, with an innings win over Pakistan in Sharjah last November.That Vettori was even able to play that match was testament to his determined nature. Some people assumed he had already retired from Test cricket, having not played since 2012. Persistent back problems had troubled him for years, and in October he told ESPNcricinfo that his fitness concerns were “a bit of everything – you get to a certain age and things start to give up.”But the lure of a fifth World Cup campaign was so strong that he pushed through, and was the tournament’s leading spinner. New Zealand sides of the past two decades have not always looked threatening, but opponents knew that whenever Vettori was present there was at least one bowler who must be respected, and a lower-order batsman who would be hard to budge.Six Test centuries were evidence of Vettori’s competitive nature. His range of strokes was limited, but he would not give up his wicket without a fight. This was a man who wanted to be in the game at all times. His mother Robyn once recalled how distraught an 11-year-old Vettori was when a bus driver forgot to take him to Auckland for an Under-14 representative soccer tournament.”There was this absolute competitiveness there,” Robyn told ESPNcricinfo in 2010. “Contained, but competitive and a quiet confidence in himself.”Vettori was raised by parents Renzo and Robyn in Hamilton. Renzo’s parents had moved to New Zealand from Italy, but loved seeing their grandson hit the big time. “It was nuts,” Renzo said in 2010. “They suddenly became cricket experts. It was the last thing they knew, or thought they knew.”Robyn and Renzo were far more nervous than their son when they watched him make his Test debut against England in Wellington. His calm nature was present even then, and belied his age. Upon his call-up, one of the New Zealand newspapers printed a back-page with headline that screamed: “But he’s only 18!” New Zealand fans might today be screaming: “But he’s only 36!”That means Vettori has spent half his life playing cricket at the highest level. It takes its toll; it was no surprise to see him limping through the World Cup final with a calf injury. The time has come. Few international cricketers inspire universal praise and admiration. Vettori was one of them. And in this most understated of retirements, we again saw why.

Alex Tudor, the former England fast bowler, talks about his foray into coaching, 99 not out, and why he jumped at the chance to visit India

Kanishkaa Balachandran24-Dec-2013The opening day of the Saurashtra-Baroda match in Khandheri, on the outskirts of Rajkot, had an unlikely visitor. At the foot of the pavilion steps, several kids wearing identical uniforms clustered around the distinctive 6ft 4in figure of Alex Tudor, the former England fast bowler. A few other trigger-happy spectators, who had braved the cold Sunday morning, took out their camera phones, scrambling to get the best shot. Tudor is in the country for ten days on a coaching assignment with G Force, a cricket academy based in Dubai, and the 29 teenagers under his tutelage are in Saurashtra to play against local teams and experience Indian conditions.Tudor, who played ten Tests for England between 1998 and 2002, went off the radar in the late 2000s, when he was released by Surrey. He has since then taken up coaching full time and admits he finds the experience of being around youngsters stimulating.”I just seem to have a good relationship with kids, wherever I go,” Tudor says with a laugh. “Maybe it’s because I’m tall. I suppose I behave like them at times, I’m quite young at heart. I just enjoy seeing them with smiles on their faces, playing the game I love. If they go away learning something new from something I’ve taught, that gives me more fulfilment than a five-wicket haul or any runs I’ve got.”Tudor’s international career was only restricted to games in England and Australia. On pitches with bounce, he was a handful. When the opportunity came to tick off a box and visit India, albeit as a coach, Tudor wasn’t going to pass it up. A mutual friend introduced Tudor to Gopal Jasapara, who runs the academy and Tudor was on board.”As soon as he spoke of the opportunity to work in India I was sold,” Tudor says. “I had never been to India before. I told my wife about it and she was very accommodating.”I’ve always wanted to sample India, to see the kids looking happy, though not having the facilities that some of our kids have back at home and still enjoying the game, not moaning about the state of the outfields etc. I’m just really happy to be here and hopefully it won’t be my last visit.”‘Thorpey, what the hell have you done?’

Though a fast bowler, Alex Tudor is probably best remembered for an incredible Test innings – a freakish unbeaten 99 to help England win a Test against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 1999, on a pitch that had earlier seen 21 wickets falling in a single day. Tudor’s run riot as a nightwatchman took him within inches of a century, but Graham Thorpe was jeered for not giving him enough of the strike. What do the two men feel about that moment 14 years on?
“When Thorpey talks about it now he still says it’s one of his regrets. But he was in a single-minded mentality from the pressure of not qualifying for the World Cup. He wanted to come out and score some runs. There wasn’t a lot of runs left for me to score a century. But if I look back 15 years, it’s just one run! I was over the moon initially because I had just won a game for England. I remember Phil Tuffnell looking at Thorpe and saying, “Thorpey, what the hell have you done?”
As you would imagine, it all was a bit crazy for me and everyone wanted a piece of me. It was only a few weeks later when I realised that my dad and his friends were just not happy at all. Even now. I tell them, ‘look, it was 15 years ago. Leave it!’ I say to Thorpey that he shouldn’t drive at Wandsworth, because there will be people looking for him!

In the short time he has been here, Tudor has already noted a few aspects his students can learn from, particularly on the fitness side. “Our guys played a game yesterday and I was very impressed with the locals, with their fielding and attitude. I told my guys to take a cue from these kids. Twenty years ago, the fitness levels would have been different. The guys now are fit and I think the intervention of the IPL has helped because you can’t hide in the field any more.”Saurashtra has traditionally been a graveyard for fast bowlers, with pitches in Rajkot producing stale draws. Bowlers have had to go the extra mile, beyond their levels of patience, to fetch wickets. Tudor says that on flat tracks, a defensive line and length tactic will not work. The key, he says, is to induce mistakes by getting the batsmen to drive.”You need to bowl fuller, mix your pace up because it skids on. Keep close catchers and set straighter fields. You shouldn’t be cut and pulled on these wickets. Sometimes set silly fields, like my captain Adam Hollioake used to do at Surrey. He wasn’t a tactical genius but he would never let the game dwindle and be boring,” he says.”I find bowlers nowadays want to do too much. The art of bowling six balls on the same place is also a skill. But I think bowlers should look to bowl top of off stump repeatedly and bowl maidens. I don’t see too much of that.”While passing by the Baroda dressing room, Tudor had a quick chat with Irfan Pathan, who is playing only his second Ranji game of the season after returning from a rib injury. Irfan’s return is being monitored, and he is playing purely as a batsman for the time being. When asked about the injury-management tips he would pass on youngsters, Tudor says that fitness training should be non-negotiable. Tudor’s career was ravaged by injuries at various points and he said there were lessons learnt from his own experiences.”Prevention is paramount. Some people don’t like doing fitness training but if you want a long career, it has to be done. It’s not about looking like Hercules. You have to be supple, have good tummy muscles so that will help the back. You don’t have to go a gym for everything. Just do some running. Dennis Lillee would say that if you had 15 minutes in a day, just do sit-ups.”As for those who aspire to be allrounders, particularly of the seam-bowling kind, Tudor says players have to give every part of their skill the same amount of respect. Tudor was not a genuine allrounder but was still a handy lower-order batsman, scoring an unbeaten 99 in a Test and two first-class centuries.”For me, an allrounder is someone who is good enough to play as a batsman if he can’t bowl and vice-versa,” he says. “He isn’t someone who can just score 30. That doesn’t pay the bills.”

Thami Tsolekile’s first taste of Test cricket, eight years ago, set his career back and for a time he left the game behind. But a second chance came his way and he has grabbed it

Firdose Moonda11-Jul-2012There is a desk in the Western Province Cricket Association offices that once belonged to Thami Tsolekile. Not a kit bag or a piece of cricket equipment – a desk. And a chair, and a computer, and a few notebooks and some pens. Four seasons ago, Tsolekile was a clerk. He was dropped by his home franchise, unwanted by any of the others and his cricket career seemed to be over.It was an anti-climax for a man who had promised so much. As a double international – having also played hockey for South Africa – Tsolekile was a true athlete. He had exceptional hand-eye co-ordination, was fit, fast and skilled and cricket considered itself lucky that he had opted to use the bulk of his talent on it.He was identified as a potential challenger for Mark Boucher – at that stage the word successor was not being used – and was picked for South Africa in 2004. At 23 years old, Tsolekile knew relatively little of the world but enough to realise he was largely not wanted. A public outcry and even internal administrative strife followed his call-up, tainting his short stint.Boucher had played 75 consecutive Tests and was sent to the sidelines as punishment for his rapidly growing sense of self rather than as a response to his loss of form with the bat. He was never expected to be out of the side for very long. Tsolekile knew his inclusion was merely an experiment to see if anyone else had could play in the wicketkeeper’s role.After three Tests, the selection panel was convinced no-one could. Tsolekile made his debut in India and was dropped after one Test at home against England, although AB de Villiers briefly had the gloves before Boucher returned. His self-confessed “lack of experience,” showed, especially with the bat, where he managed just 47 runs five innings. He was not as bad with gloves on but South Africa had lost the Test at Port Elizabeth, the first of the series, and wanted a quick fix. Boucher had been considered reprimanded so two Tests later was recalled and Tsolekile faded, as far away as he could, into an office job.Being managed carelessly formed a large part of Tsolekile’s retreat into anonymity. He was young and enthusiastic and having a small chance snatched away from him hurt. Although he continued play for Cobras, his spirit had been noticeably squashed. It took a call from up country to revive it.In 2009 the Highveld Lions franchise, then a struggling team, needed a wicketkeeper after Matthew Harris retired. With a history of importing players from the Cape, they asked Tsolekile if he could be lured onto the cricket field again. A new chance with a new team in a new city beckoned and even someone as disillusioned as Tsolekile could see that it would be foolish to turn them down.The change immediately paid dividends. Tsolekile took more catches than any gloveman across the franchise system in his comeback season. Given the tame nature of the Lions bowling attack then, it is not impossible to suggest that Tsolekile’s success meant he took every chance that came his way in that period. His batting had also improved – he scored his second first-class century that summer – and starred in a record partnership with Stephen Cook to the end the season with an average of 58.10.Maturity was the standout improvement in Tsolekile’s game. Once so hot headed – he was suspended by Western Province hockey for ill-discipline – Tsolekile had grown into a respectful adult. Administrators at Lions hailed and rewarded him for his leadership skills. He was picked as captain of the South Africa A side, elevated to vice-captain of the franchise and installed as leader when Alviro Petersen was on national duty. Under him, Lions qualified for the Champions League T20 in 2010, ending months of sub-standard showings.

Being managed carelessly formed a large part of Tsolekile’s retreat into anonymity. He was young and enthusiastic and having a small chance snatched away from him hurt

Tsolekile’s glovework has remained his strongest asset but with a top heavy domestic batting line-up that aspect of his game has not developed much further. Still, the selectors were satisfied enough with his progression to hand him a national contract earlier this year, something that identified him again as a successor to Boucher, who announced his intention to retire after the England series.A roadmap was laid out – in which would Boucher mentor Tsolekile – but it seemed to change course swiftly. Instead, Tsolekile was included in various A sides, such as the one that played Australia A in Potchefstroom. On a pitch that was green and where the North West Cricket Union apologised to Michael Clarke for the lack of batting practice his side had had there, Tsolekile scored a half-century. He also played in the recent two match series against Sri Lanka A, where he equalled the South African record for the most catches in a first-class innings with eight.Vincent Barnes, coach of the A side, said Tsolekile was “exceptional,” in those matches and was “definitely ready for international cricket.” Tsolekile was also due to travel to Ireland with the A side that will shadow the senior side from August. His plans have been fast-forwarded because of the enforced retirement of Boucher and he now finds himself on the cusp of playing in the year’s most anticipated Test contest.However, before he even got here, it seemed Tsolekile may find himself an outsider again. Both Gary Kirsten and Allan Donald said AB de Villiers will be the team’s wicketkeeper in the first Test. The national selectors would not confirm that they agreed with those thoughts. Instead, they announced Tsolekile as Boucher’s replacement the next day and named De Villiers as an “option”. While the selection panel picks the squad, the starting XI is chosen by Kirsten, Graeme Smith and the touring selector which leaves uncertainty over whether Tsolekile will play at all.With South Africa likely to want to include an extra batsman, he may not feature initially and judging by the reaction his call up has received in South Africa some would prefer him not feature at all. Tsolekile is not a popular choice. There have been calls for Dane Vilas, who was unimpressive in the recent Twenty20 tri-series in Zimbabwe, and Quinton de Kock, who will captain the Under-19 side and has yet to play a full season of franchise cricket, to replace Boucher and Tsolekile’s support has been slim and grudgingly given.After years of playing cricket, it is something he is used to. When he was first called up, Tsokelile was labelled a quota player. It is a term he and others of his skin colour – such as Vernon Philander – will have to put up with for years to come. In 2004, it stuck a stigma to him that he could not overcome. Eight years later, Tsolekile no longer flinches when he hears that word. He is more secure than that.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in December he said: “I am a much better player than I was when I first played international cricket.” It is something that has also been acknowledged by selection convenor Andrew Hudson. Tsolekile feels he knows his game well enough to make an impact and even though his age, he will soon be 32, may mean he cannot think of spending the amount of time Boucher did in the international game he believes he has something to offer. Now all he needs is a chance to do that.

Sidharth Monga rates the performances of New Zealand’s players in the Tests against India

Sidharth Monga08-Apr-2009Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder could form the core of New Zealand’s middle-order for years to come•Associated Press8.5
Jesse Ryder
Revelation of the series for New Zealand. The compact technique, the cool head, the wide array of strokes heralded a new Test star on the horizon. Former New Zealand players who saw him bat reckoned he should go on to score at least 15 centuries. He scored two in the first two Tests, coming in at 40 for 3 and 23 for 3. The second was a double. Was perfect at gully and, at times, third slip.8
Chris Martin
Was the spirit that kept New Zealand high. Ran in over after over against the most experienced batting line-up. Made a successful comeback from injury and overcame the selectors’ reported reluctance to field him. Repaid captain Daniel Vettori’s faith by ending as the second-highest wicket-taker in the series.6.5
Ross Taylor
Flashy, rode his luck, but had 322 runs at 64.4 and two centuries to show by the end of the series. If he tightens up his aggression at the start of his innings, he and Ryder can form the core of a solid middle-order for years to come. Was the most impressive slip fielder on view too.6
Brendon McCullum
Very impressive behind the stumps, and did his bit with the bat too. Made sure New Zealand didn’t lose the first Test by an innings. Kept India on the field for long enough with an aggressive century in Napier. His catch of Rahul Dravid in Wellington, moving down the leg even as he shaped to paddle, was spectacular.Iain O’Brien
Didn’t have the results to show for it – nine wickets at 50.22 – but has the makings of an ideal first-change bowler for New Zealand. Hits the seam hard, and could have done with more seam movement from the pitch. His batting improved a lot as he scored 61 runs and helped avert an innings defeat in Hamilton along with McCullum. Had totalled 61 in his previous 14 Tests.5
Daniel Vettori
Big disappointment as a spinner, to the extent that he was more useful as a batsman. Scored a century in Hamilton, from 60 for 6, without taking undue risks. Will irk him that he couldn’t do more in Napier when New Zealand were the only team who could win with two days to go. Led the side fairly well, though.Jeetan Patel
Was the surprise package from New Zealand. Unlucky to have missed out in Wellington, where the pitch was expected to assist the fast bowlers more. Bowled really well in Napier, drifting the ball, getting it to turn too, and dismissing well-set batsmen – Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir twice.4.5
James Franklin
Came into the side as a specialist No. 6 batsman, riding on a successful domestic season with the bat. Didn’t contribute much in the first Test, scored 52 in a total of 619 in the second, failed again in the first innings in Wellington, and scored 49 in the second after the series was lost. Was a much better bowler with swing in the air in Wellington, and generally deserved better series figures than 1 for 290.4
Daniel Flynn
Showed his grit in the second innings in Hamilton, and also in trying desperately to get fit in time for the second Test. But scored only 12 runs in three other innings, and got out edging outside off too frequently for a No. 3 batsman.3
Martin Guptill
Showed flashes of brilliant strokeplay, but also showed his inexperience in the longer format of the game. Had already shown his preference for the front-foot play rather unsubtly, and Zaheer Khan kept troubling him with the short ball. But Guptill is not a stickler, and is one of the better top-order batsmen around in New Zealand.2
Tim McIntosh and Jamie How
On evidence from this series, didn’t look good enough for a Test top order. McIntosh got into trouble too often, didn’t use his height as he didn’t bend his knee, and barring one ordinary decision, contributed to his own demise with limp shots outside off.How got just one match and 11 balls, and didn’t do much to help his average of 22.Collectively, the top three, though still inexperienced, gave New Zealand their biggest headache with starts of 40 for 3, 75 for 3, 23 for 3, 80 for 3, and 84 for 3.Kyle Mills and Tim Southee
Neither of them showed signs of having recovered from the beating they got in the one-day series. Mills’ problems with no-balls continued, Southee continued to struggle for swing. Between them they gave away 271 runs for three wickets in one match apiece as Martin struggled for support from the other end.

Wrexham have been warned they may be "caught out" in the Championship, with co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac facing a "massive shock".

• Wrexham promoted to Championship
• Warned they face a "massive shock"
• Told they could get caught out

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Former Manchester United star Gary Pallister believes that the Welsh outfit are in for their toughest test yet as they prepare for life in the Championship. Despite securing three promotions in as many years, the ex-Middlesbrough man feels reaching the Premier League in 2026 may be a long shot.

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• WHAT PALLISTER SAID

  He told Betvictor: "Wrexham are in for a massive shock in the Championship. I've always thought that between League One, League Two and National League, there's not a great deal in terms of quality as you go up the ladder there. I think when you go from League One to the Championship, it's a step up. Obviously the Championship to the Premier League is an even bigger step. But first to the championship, I think it can catch a lot of people out. I've not seen what they've done in terms of transfers and bringing people in with the experience of Championship football, but they've certainly got momentum behind them. Everybody's talking about Wrexham. I went to a game there last year. The atmosphere was terrific. I think a lot of people are loving Wrexham because of the guys who are in charge, the documentary that we've seen and the way they seem to be embracing it all. They're getting the fans on the journey, they're creating a great feeling about the place and I think it's exciting. I've got Mickey Thomas telling me how good they are and what a place Wrexham is at the moment and they're only going to go onwards and upwards. I'm loving the story. I'm loving the owners. Wrexham back in the day were a big club and it'd be great to see them getting back somewhere near to that."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wrexham created history when they secured a record third-straight promotion earlier this year but this next hurdle could be their toughest one yet. The Red Dragons will no longer have one of the biggest budgets in the division; they need to get their signings spot on, and manager Phil Parkinson's tactics will be severely tested this campaign. But they are riding the crest of a wave, and momentum can certainly help a team kick on.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Parkinson's Wrexham side begin their Championship campaign away to recently relegated Premier League side Southampton at St Mary's on August 9. That may be a good barometer to see where they are at for the upcoming season.

In other news, Faisalabad end their season with just one point, Salman Butt’s hopes of an international recall diminish, and Fawad Alam’s patchy form continues

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-20171:22

Highlights – Umar Akmal’s blistering century for United Bank

Group stage concludesIn April this year, Misbah-ul-Haq featured in grade 2 cricket for his native Faisalabad side and helped them regain first-class status. A nine-wicket victory against Multan promoted Faisalabad to grade one, allowing them to return to the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Pakistan’s premier
first-class tournament. They had been out of it since being relegated at the end of the 2014-15 season.Their time in the top tier, however, has been disastrous, with the side losing six out of seven games, the final game being abandoned due to fog that has gripped much of the country.And so Faisalabad, now led by the offspinner Saeed Ajmal, finished rooted to the bottom of Pool A, managing just one point. SNGPL remained unbeaten, winning six matches, while SSGC, Lahore Blues and WAPDA qualified for the super eight round.From Pool B, UBL, HBL, KRL and Lahore Whites went through to the next stage with FATA ending up bottom, losing five games and winning one. Pakistan Television, a department side that qualified for this year’s tournament, also lost five out of six games, finishing just ahead of FATA. The next round will kick off next month and the final will be played on December 16.Feast or famine for Umar AkmalUmar Akmal’s troubles of late have garnered significant media attention, the 27-year old losing his central contract and being ordered to return to domestic cricket and prove himself all over again. His Quaid-e-Azam Trophy season with United Bank (UBL) didn’t begin happily either, with scores of 47, 6, 11 and 12 in his first four innings.So when he was dismissed by Habib Bank bowler and fellow former international Umar Gul for a first-ball duck, it appeared he was
continuing his downward spiral of the last few months. However, he stormed back in the second innings to play one of the innings of the season so far, smashing 116 off 144 balls in a reminder of the quality he can offer to any line-up he adorns. It helped his side amass 309 in the second innings and defeat Habib Bank by 142 runs. It may prove nothing, however; people have waxed lyrical about his talent for ages anyway. But if he can add consistency and discipline to the mix, he could plot a route back to the international team for the fresh start he clearly believes he deserves.Salman Butt strugglesSalman Butt had pinned his hopes of returning to the international side on this year’s first-class performances, but that call-up now seems a distant prospect. After a couple of stellar seasons, runs have dried up for the former Pakistan captain. He has only managed 264 at 20.30 this season – a performance that fell far short of the standards he would have set himself.During the season, he came under the spotlight after he raised a question about sportsmanship following a close finish in which his side lost by four runs due to No. 11 batsman Mohammad Irfan being mankaded. It invited, given his past background, considerable derision. His national selection almost became a reality earlier this year before Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies, but plans had to be shelved in the wake of the PSL spot-fixing saga.Fawad watchAfter a half-century last week, Fawad Alam stuttered again with the bat in what has been an inconsistent season for the SSGC captain. The slow pace of the game – only 15 wickets fell over the four days – meant he only got to bat once. He couldn’t capitalise on the opportunity, and was out for 6. However, having qualified as the second-placed side from Pool A, Fawad should get the opportunity to showcase his class in the knockouts, and thereby continue to plug away at the ever-receding prospect of an international recall.

The beauty about AB de Villiers is he forces a change in mindset, be it the opposition bowler, captain, his own teammate or even a spectator. He makes one realise that boundaries can be pushed just by making the effort

Nagraj Gollapudi in Pune22-Apr-20161:04

‘Kohli and AB are quality players’ – Rahane

There is an urgency that AB de Villiers brings to the crease. Restless energy, but always full of positivity – in this mood he can murder an opposition and uplift his teammates in case they are stuck in a rut.The South African was in one such mood today when he joined his captain Virat Kohli, with whom he had already shared one half-century and two century partnerships this IPL. It is easy to see intent on de Villiers’ face most times. He wants to score and score fast. He reads the field quickly and picks his areas, but most importantly de Villiers picks his moments.Ishant Sharma was bowling the final over of the powerplay. Having delivered a no ball off the second delivery, Ishant had recovered well by bowling an off stump yorker against Kohli that was guided into the off side for a single. On the next ball, de Villiers jumped out of his crease – even as Ishant bowled a short one into the body – to smash a pull over midwicket.He could have even stayed back and played the same shot, but de Villiers’s intent was to hurt the bowler mentally too. It also helped Kohli to make the bold move of charging Ishant on the final ball of the over with a slap to the third man boundary.Some observers feel de Villiers plays too many premeditated strokes, but the element of surprise is always wrapped up nicely. When Ankit Sharma tossed one on the off stump he might have thought de Villiers would push him to the cover for a single. Instead the South African quickly moved outside the line of the ball to unleash a powerful sweep for his first six.Even before he walked to the crease de Villiers had an advantage with his knowledge and success at the ground. In three previous matches in Pune, de Villiers has two half centuries: 50 not out against Pune Warriors in 2013 and 66 against Rajasthan Royals last year. So de Villiers was aware when he swept Ankit, he was trying to clear the shortest boundary in the ground.Stunning the bowler is something de Villiers gets excited about quietly. When M Ashwin came to bowl immediately after the halfway stage, the South African took on Ashwin’s first ball, picked his legbreak from the off stump and swept it over backward square deep into the stands. The expression on the legspinner’s face showed what a batsman like de Villiers can do leave a bowler blindsided.De Villiers was not yet done with the legspinner. As he was taking guard to face Ashwin in the 14th over, Dhoni moved Kevin Pietersen to square point. Ankit Sharma was at backward point, five yards to Pietersen’s right. Dhoni asked Pietersen to go back a few yards. All of Dhoni’s fine tuning left no impression on the South African. De Villiers reverse swept Ashwin exactly between the two fielders. To remind Dhoni that he had a lot more gaps to plug, de Villiers then swept Ashwin for an easy four between fine leg and deep square leg.The beauty about de Villiers is he forces a change in mindset, be it the opposition bowler, captain, his own teammate or even a spectator. He makes one realise that boundaries can be pushed just by making the effort. Today, Kohli played the supporting act superbly, but de Villiers understood that if Royal Challengers needed a strong finish, Kohli had to not just bat till the end but also score runs.De Villiers had noticed that Kohli was playing to his strengths, playing in the V, but he was not going the distance. De Villiers was frequently in his captain’s ears, uttering the encouraging word and at one point, possibly, asking him to move down the off side and paddle sweep the ball past the fine leg that had been pulled inside.The understanding between both men is very clear and the numbers support that fact. Both men also agree that they cannot stop running. They would rather be breathless than keep quiet. It means the opposition is left out of breath too in the process.”Till you are allowing him a second run and sending AB to the non-striker’s end, you are doing a good job,” Ajinkya Rahane, Rising Pune Supergiants leading scorer on Friday, said with a smile. “The way cricket has moved forward and the way AB de Villiers bats the margin of error for the bowlers is very less. Our bowlers did not bowl that badly, but you need to give him the credit. You need to have a daring to reverse sweep and sweep the fast bowlers.”Among the various stand out characteristics about de Villiers is his sporting spirit. As soon as his South African teammate Faf du Plessis dived forward to interrupt his lofted drive at long-on in the 17th over, which saved a certain boundary, de Villiers tapped his bat to appreciate the fielder’s effort.When Harshal Patel had been hit for a six and four boundaries, de Villiers charged towards Harshal, took the ball, swept the dew off it, put an arm around the helpless bowler and asked him to keep his chin up. All the time keeping that smile on his face. His energy is both restless and boundless.