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New highs for England, new lows for Australia

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Alastair Cook and James Anderson were the star performers in an outstanding Ashes campaign, while Australia had few memorable moments

S Rajesh08-Jan-2011In the end, the margin of victory was emphatic – a 3-1 series verdict, with all three wins by an innings, is more than what any England fan would have hoped for when the series began. After the Perth defeat, England were so much better than the hosts that the last two Tests were no-contests. The overall series numbers tell the story of a surprisingly one-sided contest. England averaged 51.14 runs per wicket, which their is highest ever in an Ashes contest. The only other instance when they averaged more than 50 was way back in 1926, in England, when they scored 50.63 runs per wicket. Their previous highest in Australia was 43.18 in 1928. Australia’s average of 29.23 is their lowest in an Ashes home series since 1978, when a second-string Australian team averaged 19.17 during a 5-1 series drubbing. The last time a full-strength Australian team did worse was in 1954. England scored nine hundreds, which is their highest in an Ashes series. Alastair Cook led the way with three, Jonathan Trott made two, while Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell, Matt Prior and Andrew Strauss contributed one each. Australia, meanwhile, struggled to convert their starts – they managed 16 fifties, but only three centuries, two by Michael Hussey and one by Brad Haddin. The last time they had such poor returns at home in an Ashes encounter was in 1990-91, in a low-scoring series which had only six hundreds in all from both teams. Australia won that one 3-0. England’s run-rate of 3.50 is also their highest in a series in Australia. However, in their home wins in 2005 and 2009, they scored at a better rate. Australia’s strike rate of more than 87 balls per wicket was their worst in a home Ashes series since 1970-71.

The key overall numbers for both teams in the series

TeamRuns scoredWkts lostAverage100s/ 50sScoring rateBowling strike rateEngland28645651.149/ 113.5056.73Australia26319029.233/ 163.0987.57Throughout the series, Australia struggled with their top-order batting. Apart from Shane Watson and Michael Hussey, none of their specialist batsmen had series to remember. The contrast with England’s batsmen is clear from the table below: while five of England’s top seven averaged more than 50, Hussey was the only one to manage it for the hosts. Cook was clearly the standout player: his tally of 766 runs is fifth-highest in an Ashes series, and the second-best for England, while his series average of 127.67 is second only Don Bradman’s 139.14 (among those who scored 500 runs in an Ashes series).The only batting position where Australia completely outdid England was at the No.5 slot, where Paul Collingwood had five miserable Test matches. For Australia, on the other hand, there were no hundreds from the top four – compared to seven for England – while numbers three and four averaged less than 22. The repeated failures of Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke were perhaps the biggest setbacks for Australia. Together, their No.3 and 4 batsmen had an aggregate of 364, which is Australia’s lowest in a five-Test Ashes series since 1902. (Click here for Australia’s batting and bowling averages, and here for England’s.)

Position-wise batting stats for England and Australia

PositionEng – runsAverage100s/ 50sAus – runsAverage100s/ 50sOpeners107382.534/ 562933.100/ 5No.344589.002/ 117119.000/ 1No.436060.001/ 119321.440/ 1No.57712.830/ 057063.332/ 3No.621442.800/ 317219.110/ 0No.725551.001/ 139656.571/ 4It’s more of the same story in the partnership stats too: England’s average partnership for the top three wickets were all more than 70, which means they were seldom under early pressure. Australia’s on the other hand, were all under 40 – with the third-wicket average less than 18 – which meant they were almost always under early pressure and forced to fight rearguard battles. Hussey and Haddin fought back on a few occasions, but when they couldn’t, England were all over the hosts. England had five century partnerships for the first three wickets, compared to only one for Australia.

Average partnerships for each wicket

WicketEng – average100/ 50 standsAus – average100/ 50 standsFirst78.422/ 236.900/ 4Second95.502/ 030.671/ 1Third71.161/ 317.670/ 1Fourth30.331/ 045.552/ 1Fifth40.331/ 130.880/ 2Sixth87.802/ 160.331/ 2Seventh33.201/ 010.550/ 1Eighth36.801/ 024.110/ 2Perhaps the biggest difference between the two sides, though, was the quality of their pace attacks. Four of England’s fast bowlers averaged less than 35, with their main man, James Anderson, conceding only 26.04 runs per wicket. In fact, Anderson’s haul of 24 wickets is the highest by an England bowler in Australia since John Snow took 31 in six Tests in 1970.Australia’s pace attack, on the other hand, was toothless in comparison. Mitchell Johnson was their leading wicket-taker, but he conceded almost 37 runs per wicket. Leave out the Perth Test, in which he was admittedly outstanding, and his bowling average shoots up to 78.67. Similarly, Peter Siddle had 14 wickets for the series, but 12 of them came in two innings via two six-wicket hauls. Ben Hilfenhaus, the other fast bowler who played at least four Tests in the series, was Australia’s most economical bowler, but also their most ineffective, requiring 135 deliveries per wicket.The kind of scores the two teams put up is a good indication of the kind of bowling attack they were up against. Australia’s batsmen were always under pressure, thanks to the ability of the England fast bowlers to find seam and swing even with an old Kookaburra ball. Australia’s bowlers, though, hardly got the old ball to do anything, which made it much easier for England’s batsmen to go on to big scores once they made starts. The only column where Australia lead is in five-fors, but that only means England shared the wickets around and all the bowlers contributed their bits.Also, England had Graeme Swann to block an end up and take a few wickets – he had 15 at an average of less than 40. Australia’s spinners, on the other hand, were an embarrassment.

How the bowlers fared in the Ashes

OversWicketsAverageStrike rate5WI/ 10WMEngland – pace626.57027.6453.72/ 0Australia – pace631.15140.9674.24/ 0Aus pace, excl. Perth531.43158.03102.92/ 0England – spin224.11638.3184.01/ 0Australia – spin186.15135.80223.40/ 0The head-to-head battlesBefore the 2010 Ashes, Anderson had averaged 56.17 against Australia, with 17 wickets from eight Tests; in Australia he averaged 82.60 from three Tests. One of his biggest worries in the past had been Ponting, who’d completely owned him in previous contests, averaging 204 in the duel, and getting out only once in 280 balls. This time, though, the tables turned completely, with Anderson dismissing Ponting three times in 67 balls. Ponting’s average – a miserable 9.67.

Ponting versus Anderson

RunsBallsDismissalsAverageRun rateBefore the 2010 Ashes2042801204.004.37In the 2010 Ashes296739.672.59The two Australian batsmen who handled Anderson well were Hussey and Watson, who averaged more than 40 against him. Clarke, though, had no answers to Anderson and Chris Tremlett, falling to them five times at an average of less than ten.

More head-to-head contests

BatsmanBowler(s)RunsBallsDismissalsAverageMichael HusseyJames Anderson1122151112.00Shane WatsonJames Anderson148298274.00Michael ClarkeAnderson & Tremlett4413058.80Johnson had a largely forgettable series, but the one batsman he continued to dominate was Ian Bell – he dismissed Bell twice at an average of less than 20. In previous encounters, Bell had fallen to Johnson four times at an average of 9.25. Bell had no problems against Siddle, though, not falling to him even once in 126 balls, and scoring at nearly five runs per over.

Australian bowlers v England batsmen

BatsmanBowlerRunsBallsDismissalsAverageAlastair CookMitchell Johnson1391731139.00Ian BellMitchell Johnson39106219.50Ian BellPeter Siddle1041260-Kevin PietersenPeter Siddle51100225.50The final word in this series, though, must belong to Alastair Cook. The table below shows his head-to-head stats against each Australian bowler. His performance, more than any other, captures the English dominance in this Australian summer.

Alastair Cook v Australian bowlers

BowlerRunsBallsDismissalsAverageRun rateMitchell Johnson1391731139.004.82Ben Hilfenhaus1212860-2.53Xavier Doherty1092000-3.27Peter Siddle94242247.002.33Shane Watson86172186.003.00Ryan Harris68124234.003.29

Bangladesh claim unwanted 'chokers' tag

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

They cannot use a lack of preparation as an excuse because they are perhaps the most prepared at each tournament

Marc Ellison21-Jan-2010Bangladesh have yet again limped out of the ICC Under-19 World Cup after a successful and dominant lead-up to the tournament in which expectations were high and great hopes were expressed. Their failure was reminiscent of the last two World Cups, which they approached in good form and on the back of strong warm-up campaigns only to fall at crucial hurdles.The current tournament should lead to some introspection over their inability to handle the ‘big games’ and perform under pressure. Even though nations tend to talk down their importance, U-internationals are seen as the pathway to international cricket and it must be acknowledged that their penchant for saving their worst performances for the crunch matches doesn’t set a good precedent for those moving into what is a very young men’s team.Placed in Group A, the ‘group of death,’ Bangladesh sailed past Papua New Guinea in their first match by by five wickets, then lost to West Indies by one run and Pakistan by four wickets after holding the edge for long periods. The latter game, especially, is one they will rue losing, having had their noses in front for the majority of the game before losing with one ball to spare. Against West Indies, Bangladesh – chasing 250 – needed just two runs from four balls with two wickets in hand before collapsing.Their 2010 pre-tournament campaign produced some outstanding results which included a 4-1 hammering of Sri Lanka at home, comprehensive victories against England 2-1 (away) and 5-2 (home) – against a side almost identical to the one that beat India on Thursday in the final Group A match – then disposing of Zimbabwe 5-0 (home). They had a slight hiccup in Sri Lanka where they failed to make the final of the Tri Series tournament, losing to both teams once and registering their only win against the hosts. Once they arrived in New Zealand they comfortably beat the hosts by 36 runs (D/L method) and encountered a star-studded Australian outfit which they beat by 20 runs to complete their warm up matches.They had similar warm-up campaigns in 2006 and 2008. In the lead up to the 2008 tournament in Malaysia, Bangladesh beat the world champions Pakistan 3-2 (away), Sri Lanka 3-2 (home), losing a tri- series final to a rampant Indian side in South Africa and beating West Indies 2-1 at home. During the tournament, they went through Group D unbeaten, impressing with wins against Bermuda, Ireland and, most importantly, a 13-run victory against England in the final match of the group stages before succumbing to a very good South African team in the quarter-final by 201 runs.In 2006, Bangladesh narrowly missed out on the final of the Afro-Asia Cup by losing to eventual finalists India and Pakistan but beating Zimbabwe, Pakistan and South Africa. Shortly after that series they demolished Sri Lanka and England in a tri-series at home. They conquered all before them in Group A with wins against New Zealand, eventual champions Pakistan, and Uganda. They actually won five out of six matches in the tournament, beating West Indies and the hosts to finish fifth, but lost the most important match, a quarter-final against a weak England outfit.This shows up a pattern that in turn raises many questions – at that level, and at that age, how equipped are these youngsters to deal with such pressure? Who is on hand to help out? What are the safety nets? I know in my own experience playing in the U-19 World Cup in 2006 that it can be a very lonely tour for a captain in control of an under-performing group of young men and having to face up to the media immediately after losing crunch games. The coaching staff around you see what is going wrong, and can even see these mistakes made before they happen, yet their own heads are on the chopping block and so they themselves struggle to deal with the frustration.The ability to handle pressure can simply be put down to experience by finding your way through the tight situations and coming out on top eventually. Without a doubt, the most important thing to learn from these events is how to handle the pressure better the next time. I know personally, I would’ve liked more preparation for our campaign back in 2006 to get a feel for the pitches we were playing on, to learn more about playing quality finger spin, and also, to get a better understanding of my players and their ability at that level. Unfortunately, Bangladesh cannot use that excuse as they are perhaps the most prepared U-19 team at each tournament.One thing is for sure, if they can find a way to win those ‘big games’ and get through the difficult pressure moments, then their raw unharnessed ability as a cricketing nation could be freed to produce greater success not only at the U-19 level, but also at the highest level.

'Sri Lanka making the World Cup interesting'

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

The reactions to Sri Lanka’s stunning 20-run win over top-ranked England

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-2019

The close contest came at a time when many thought the top four, consisting of Australia, New Zealand, India and England, were unlikely to be challenged.

WATCH on Hotstar (India only) – Fall of wickets

Don’t we all prefer these type of matches?

England still World Cup favourites despite the hiccup?

A leggie with nerve and verve

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Mason Crane has already prompted much excited chatter, but the young Hampshire legspinner is putting in the hard yards to take the next step up

Will Macpherson17-Feb-2017Mason Crane is only just 20, yet it is 18 months since he was first touted for a Test call. Ten wickets in his first two Championship games for Hampshire left usually sage pundits weak-kneed and predicting an autumn with England. Crane found it funny, knowing that this was the lot of the legspinner, that rare cricketing fetish item.”It was peculiar,” he laughs. “Legspin is weird like that. A young bloke comes on to the scene and you just instantly get people shouting their name about. It’s nice to hear, but you know stuff like that is a fair way down the line.”Well, it is happening again. “At this rate we will be seeing Mason Crane on the next Ashes tour,” chirped Gordon CC, Crane’s Sydney grade club, on Twitter at the start of February. This followed his third consecutive seven-wicket haul – putting him top of the Sydney first-grade wicket-taking charts in what is proving a very productive first winter down under.The county cricket stripling’s stint in the grades is, of course, a well-worn path. Crane is making the most of it, but he arguably needed it more than most, too. He still lives with his parents in Worthing (although he is quick to say he’s trying to move out) and this is the first time he has spent more than a tour’s length away. “I’ve been doing stuff for myself for the first time,” he says. “You go on tour and it’s great, but that’s with 15 other guys you know and a load of coaches. This has been five times that length, and I didn’t know anyone. It’s been great socially and it’s proved a really good match.”It was Will Smith, his Hampshire team-mate, who set the move up, having played for Gordon himself. Peter Such, the ECB’s lead spin coach (in regular contact via email), put him in touch with Stuart MacGill, with whom Crane has worked plenty. While there have been minor technical tweaks, their work has largely been tactical. MacGill knows Crane – a wicket-taker who gives it a rip, with a very fine googly and solid topspinner – can bowl legspin; what he needs is to understand to bowl legspin. “There can’t be many better blokes to talk about that with,” Crane says.

“Legspin is weird like that. A young bloke comes on to the scene and you just instantly get people shouting their name about”

Crane has enjoyed the bounce in the pitches and the time afforded to work on his game, bowling and batting. He sounds utterly thrilled that, having started the season batting at No. 9 or 10, Gordon now trust him to bat at No. 7. “That’s a big thing for me and I’m pleased my hard work has paid off,” he says. Having been an allrounder growing up, he feels he has not pulled his weight with the bat at professional level.Two summers ago Ollie Rayner memorably wrote for ESPNcricinfo that if he had tips for a young spinner, the first would be “learn to bat”, and while Crane would like to end up as a No. 8, he will not allow that to happen at the expense of his bowling. “Bowling is my main thing, I have to remember that,” he says. “I don’t want to become a bits-and-pieces player. What’s important is that with the bat I can serve the team the way it needs – the kind of guy who can score quickly from the lower order to set up a declaration or dig in to save a draw.” As a result he has worked on his batting with Trevor Chappell, Gordon’s head coach, and the first-grade batsmen at the club. Two fifties in eight two-day games, and an average over 30 suggests it is working.There have been eight hauls of seven wickets or better in first-grade cricket in Sydney this season, and three are Crane’s. No bowler has more than his 37 wickets in two-day games. What he has relished most, though, is the opportunity to plough through overs. “I’ve bowled nearly 500 match overs out here, and there’s really no substitute for that,” he says. “I’ll leave here very cricket-fit, and in great rhythm.”In the second of his seven-fors, he bowled 43 overs straight: “The skipper tried to take me off a few times, but I just kept wanting another. I had all the wickets after 25 overs, but their last pair blocked out as it got slower and flatter, and it was a great challenge in stinking heat.”Crane’s name has been doing the rounds in Hampshire and Sydney cricket circles•Getty ImagesLast July, after Smith bowled Crane for 51 overs as Surrey racked up 637, England veteran Gareth Batty said the young spinner had been “thrown under the car”. But this, it seems, is just how Crane likes it. “I now know I can get through 30 overs, still getting loads on the ball, with ease. I always want the ball in my hand.”Crane was brought over to Southampton by his coach at Lancing College (which he captained for almost three seasons), former Hampshire spinner Raj Maru, after his native Sussex turned him down at Under-14 level, and he was soon a name on the lips of members. His ascent was inevitable, but as that innings against Surrey showed (he ended up with 3 for 210), first-class cricket hasn’t come entirely easily to Crane since he took the first five Warwickshire wickets in his second game. “It’s a seriously tough competition,” Crane says. “Four-day cricket is brutal, especially if you have one long stint in the field. A couple of days’ rest, a bit of travel, and you’re doing it all again.”With 31 wickets at 45 in 12 games in 2016 (only three Hampshire players played more and only Ryan McLaren, with 32, took more wickets), Crane does not immediately look to have been a beneficiary of the adjusted toss regulations that saw the rejuvenation of Rayner and emergence of Jack Leach in a minor spin revival. “I definitely played more games because of the changes,” he says. “But I’m not sure it was actually easier to bowl spin. Apart from at Taunton, where it spun and bounced beautifully, pitches were generally slow and pretty flat.”An interesting season looms for Crane. In the wake of their survival-by-default after the demotion of Durham (the team that had originally relegated them in the final round) and subsequent exploitation of the Kolpak market, it will be easy to cast Hampshire as the Championship’s villains this summer. Despite some brash comments from chairman, Rod Bransgrove, in the wake of the Durham brouhaha, Hampshire are under no illusions as to how fortunate they are. “For a guy my age, it’s enormous, and we are very lucky,” Crane says. “It means I carry on bowling against the best in the country.”

“Bowling is my main thing, I have to remember that. I don’t want to become a bits-and-pieces player”

For all their notable imports, Crane is one of a number of talented homegrown youngsters at Hampshire. They include Tom Alsop (21), a favourite of England Lions, who scored a superb hundred at The Oval in September; Joe Weatherley (20), who has been pulling up trees in Adelaide this off season; and Brad Taylor (19) – looking to follow Liam Dawson and James Vince into the national set-up. The arrivals of Rilee Rossouw and Kyle Abbott will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect but neither is a spin-bowling alternative to Crane, and he will hope pitches continue to be helpful, so that he and Dawson – who bats in the top five and serviceably holds up an end with the ball – can play together.”It’s a difficult one,” he says. “You can look at it two ways. There might be guys around the country who don’t get a game. But on the other hand, guys like Kyle and Rilee will improve the standard massively, so when you do play, facing and playing with guys like that is huge. We will learn loads from them. Mainly it’s just a massive shame they can’t play for South Africa. I don’t fully understand the politics there, but they are here and it’ll be great to play with them.”That can wait, though. From Australia, Crane heads to the UAE, where he has been selected to play in the North v South and Champion County pre-season curtain raisers. There will be opportunities to firm up his county spot but also, perhaps, join Sam Curran, Joe Clarke and Tom Helm as candidates for England’s Ashes bolter, just as Gordon’s Twitter account predicted. Either way, he’s a leggie with nerve and verve – and definitely a name to remember.

Record-breaking Saxena targets knockouts

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Jalaj Saxena, who produced the joint second-best figures in the Ranji Trophy, hoped to carry Madhya Pradesh into the knockouts

Shashank Kishore09-Nov-2015Jalaj Saxena’s phone hasn’t stopped ringing. As he settled into his seat and turned his phone on, soon after Madhya Pradesh’s nine-wicket win over Railways in Gwalior, he realised his inbox had far more messages that he normally receives after a day’s play. First he mistook them for Diwali greetings, but realised that wasn’t the case after reading the first message. “A local journalist texted saying I had broken some sort of record,” Saxena told ESPNcricinfo. “I wasn’t sure what exactly, but as I scanned through, I slowly found out. It is a proud feeling to win a game, but all the more special because I could play a part in the win.”This wasn’t any ordinary performance. His incredible figures of 16 for 154 were the joint second-best figures in Ranji Trophy history. Only Anil Kumble, someone he has worked quite closely with during his time with Mumbai Indians, has better figures – 16 for 99 for Karnataka against Kerala at Thalaserry in 1994-95. He equaled the figures held by Pradeep Sunderam, who achieved the feat for Rajasthan against Vidarbha in 1985-86.To put things into perspective, it was Madhya Pradesh’s second successive victory to put themselves back in the running for a knockout berth, something that has eluded them since 2011-12. “It’s an incredible feeling to top the group at the moment, but there are still three games to go, so the message within the group is not to get too ahead of ourselves. We have the team to qualify though,” Saxena said. “What we have been harping on is to cash in on the key moments. We have done that in the last two games.”Saxena, who has picked up 26 wickets this season, said that success in recent times stemmed from better use of the crease and sticking to his strengths. “My stock delivery is the offspin,” Saxena said. “Sometimes, with so much of emphasis on the need to have different deliveries, you tend to get carried away. But the key is to stick to your strengths, that is what Daniel Vettori (coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore, who Saxena represents in the IPL) told me. I’ve also understood the importance of using the crease. But that’s not to say I don’t want to bring in subtle variations.”What do his chats with Vettori revolve around? “He’s a legend, you learn by watching him bowl,” Jalaj said. “I’m trying to get more control over my flight, because on good wickets, you will need to beat quality batters in the air. That is what I tried to do in this game against Railways, and it paid off.”Even before the talk wheels towards the pitches, Saxena is quick to credit the 22-yard strips. “Last two-three seasons, we have had to play on green wickets, where the ball just skidded on. You had to be lucky if you got one long spell,” he said. “This year, the pitches have been better from spinners’ point of view maybe because we started the season in October. The wickets I have bowled on so far have been on the drier side. There have been a couple of good batting wickets too.”It’s easy to get swayed by his record tally of wickets, but Saxena has been a handy batsman too. He is currently the second-highest run-getter for Madhya Pradesh after Aditya Shrivastava, with 391 runs in eight innings at an average of 55.85. “Maybe because of the IPL I am a better striker of the ball, but I have always tried to be aggressive,” Saxena said. “I have worked hard on it, because you need to contribute in all facets.”As part of his learning, Saxena goes back to analyse his bowling spells with Narendra Hirwani, the former India legspinner. “He has been a great influence, especially when the domestic season is on. He is a knowledge bank on spin bowling in general,” Saxena said. “Talking to him about my cricket makes me feel good about my bowling.”What about the aspiration to play for India then? “That is definitely there. When Naman Ojha got picked in the Indian squad for the third Test in Sri Lanka, it wasn’t just a message that domestic performances don’t go unnoticed, but also reinforced belief into everyone that we too can play for India. For now, I would be happy if we first qualify for the quarterfinals and then take it from there.”

'This group can win a lot in the coming years'

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Kane Williamson talks about his journey so far, his approach to spin, and his thoughts on captaincy

Interview by Subash Jayaraman03-Jul-2014You had been tabbed the great batting hope for New Zealand for quite some time, right from when you were 16 or 17. Who were your early mentors?
Firstly, I wasn’t aware of that. I always enjoyed my cricket. And I always aspired to be better. While growing up, I had a lot to learn. I guess my father got me into cricket. Then, as I started getting older, through intermediate and college, it had a lot to do with Ben Williams, who runs a coaching academy, and also Dave Johnson, and more recently [getting coached] in the professional set-ups.You made your Test debut in 2010, scoring a century against India in Ahmedabad. You seem to be more adept at playing spin than a lot of New Zealand batsmen. How did that come about?
No, I don’t play it easily at all. I would say that I’ve got my own methods of how I like to play spin and that may be different from other players in my team, perhaps. They have their methods. I like to use my feet and I believe footwork is a part of my game. So I guess that is something I tried to improve from time to time. From a young age, I have had that drawn into me – using your feet to spin when you can.You began your Test career at No. 6, but within a space of 14 Tests, you were the permanent No. 3. Were you of the opinion that your game was best suited for the key No. 3 slot?
No, not really. Growing up, I have always batted at No. 3 in age-group stuff. For me, you start enjoying perhaps, or start wanting to bat in that position. But I am enjoying No. 3 and am very much looking to improve my game in that area. I am enjoying batting at the moment, along with the challenges that come with it.What is that challenge that comes with batting at No. 3? What sort of change in approach does it take to go from No. 6 to No. 3?
I didn’t spend a lot of time at No. 6. I batted in the top order most of the times. The natural difference is that you are probably expected to play the new ball. You can also be sitting with your pads on for hours after play gets underway. So I guess being flexible in that position is important because you are not quite sure when you are going to come out.From the technical aspect, is there any substantial change?
Ideally you want your technique to remain similar wherever you are batting. I want to be relaxed and calm at the crease. Your options of how you play at a top-order position can be quite different with the ball possibly being new and fresh as opposed to the middle or lower order where the ball tends to be a little bit older. Ideally, if the top order is doing their job, then the bowlers get a little bit tired. The biggest change is how you approach it mentally and not much technically.

“My personal average is not that important when I am trying to contribute to the team as much as I can. That is not the concern”

Your presence at the crease is that of a seasoned veteran. You have played more than 30 Tests already, but your batting average is still in the 30s. Is there a particular reason why you are not in the 40s yet?*
Yes, I haven’t scored enough runs. That is the obvious answer. It is something that I want to keep improving on and try to become a better player, and do it day in and day out. People may want me to average in the 40s or whatever, but for now, I just want to keep improving as a batsman. [After the recent Test series against West Indies, Williamson’s average was 40.28]Are there any goals as to where you want your average to be when you hit 50 Tests in your career, and beyond?
No, not at all. It will be nice to hit 50 Tests. That will be great but I don’t really have goals like that. I would want to keep improving with my game and make an impact. [If] averages are getting high because of that, that will be great. But if not, still contributing while playing in the Tests – that is more important.You have a very classical, orthodox batting technique. Someone like Rahul Dravid struggled initially in the limited-overs format. However, you are averaging close to 40 in ODIs. Was there any particular tweaks that you had to make going from Tests into the limited-overs format?
Like I said, my personal average is not that important when I am trying to contribute to the team as much as I can. That is not the concern. But coming to the limited-overs game, adapting is important. You have to know where you are getting your singles and also know your boundary options. I don’t try to change the game very much. I just try to look at the situation and act accordingly. That is how I like to play it.You hadn’t played international T20s for nearly two years, but you were brought into the squad for the World T20. Was that recall a surprise?
Yes, certainly. As you’re growing up, and as a very young cricketer, you always aspire to represent your country and a call-up like that always comes as a surprise, no matter how well you are doing. I got a call, and was very surprised to be in the big stage.Since we are talking about the World T20, I have to ask you about the close loss at the hands of South Africa. Where did you think the game turned?
We were frustrated, obviously, that we couldn’t bring the game home from the position we were in. But, as you know, T20 cricket can be a bit like that, and small margins can change the game around. Obviously, their big players really stood up. And if you perhaps look at the innings of [JP] Duminy – he played, under pressure, an outstanding innings, a match-winning one. And also the way Dale Steyn bowled, the death overs in particular, and all through the innings, was world-class. And we didn’t stand up in those moments.What was the mood afterwards in the dressing room?
It’s not a nice dressing room when you lose, especially from a position where you believe that you should have won. And the dressing room wasn’t as cheerful as it would have been had we won it.Speaking of South Africa, you played one of the best rearguard innings in the recent years in Wellington in 2012, your second Test century. Steyn and [Morne] Morkel were on fire that day. You were hit a few times and broke your box once. Can you briefly take us through that innings?
If you try to be calm and be in the moment and not worry about things too far ahead and focus on the task at hand, you can handle those sort of challenges. During that game, we were up against such a stiff challenge that you knew you had to take your chances and stick together as a team. It was nice to come up with those runs and draw that match and show that our team can do it day in and day out.Williamson on his match-saving hundred in Wellington in 2012: “To me, it was surviving each delivery as best as you can”•Getty ImagesWhat does that sort of an innings do to a young player like you who is making his way into the international arena?
Going into that Test, we had lost the earlier game and we knew that the South African attack was a bit tough. I had played in the past mainly in the subcontinent. To come up against South Africa was a huge learning curve and a lot of guys in the side felt the same. There was a huge amount that I learnt during that period. Facing quality pace bowlers like that also improves your game. It is something that I will never, ever forget. I want to keep building on that as well.What does it do, in terms of your self-belief, when put in an impossible position? A win was basically out of question – so South Africa were going to go all out.
When you are up against things like that, you try to simplify things as much as you possibly can. There were a lot of runs up on the board and we were up against it. To me, it was surviving each delivery as best as you can, knowing that if you did that then it gave you a big chance; through your methods and your basics, it would give you a big chance for some success. I guess that is how I tried to play and it was nice to come off along with the boys who really contributed in that innings.You have been a fabulous catcher standing at gully, pulling off some absolute blinders. Is there any particular catch that is a favourite?
It is probably the one in the recent [home] Test against West Indies, the catch of [Shivnarine] Chanderpaul. It was when, I suppose, we didn’t get the runs that we liked in the first innings and then we rolled them and the way we took our catches was a great feeling. It was nice getting catches there at the gully position and I suppose I do enjoy that. I do see it as a good challenge.What are some of the key aspects for a fielder standing in that position?

Certainly better catchers than me are out there. What I try to do is stay low and as still as I can, watch the striking area and react. I suppose some catches are easier than others. There are ones that you might remember, but often you are just reacting. Those are the little things that I do while at gully.You have captained New Zealand a few times. Do you have goals and personal ambitions to lead New Zealand in all formats some time in the future?
I don’t really have a goal to do that, but it certainly would be a great honour if the opportunity were to come. A few times that I’ve led, I felt that you want the players in your side to come up to you, accepting you as a leader, and also you cannot come up with your own agendas. That is what I believe. It will be a huge honour to lead New Zealand, but in the meantime, I will just try and contribute to the team’s performances. Ultimately, that is what it is all about.I want to talk a bit about the New Zealand team itself. You have a great set of fast bowlers, and also a very good set of batsmen. Currently, the team is ranked seventh in the ICC rankings. Where do you see it going?
This is a positive and a good young group – a group that can win a lot in the coming years and ultimately move higher and higher in the rankings. That would be, without a doubt, the goal for us. We have got the talent there, we know that. Our fast bowlers have been great. Most of us are very young. And we have some very talented batsmen. We have to get good experience at this stage and move everyone’s game forward. Then we can do well in the future.Finally, the World Cup is coming home next year. The last time it was there, New Zealand were in the semi-finals. Is there any pressure on you guys to equal or better that performance?
Yes, naturally, playing in your home conditions, it probably brings a bit more expectations. The nature of the tournament is pretty cut-throat and you want to be at your peak as soon as you hit the tournament. We know our conditions, and we have played really good cricket recently in World Cups. If we can do that, we will be positive and confident going into the tournament.*This interview was conducted during the World T20 in Bangladesh in April

What ails Tendulkar?

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

You are likely to find special reports in newspapers and sports shows on TV on the way a certain Sachin Tendulkar has been getting dismissed

Aamod Desai25-Feb-2013Along with the statistics for India’s win in Bangalore, you are likely to find special reports in newspapers and sports shows on TV on the way a certain Sachin Tendulkar has been getting dismissed, and quantification on his lack of three-figure scores for a year and a half now. Some will go a step ahead and suggest the man needs to hang up his boots. Valid facts and obvious consequent emotions, but where is the cricketing logic among all this, to rationalise the observations?Ex-players like Sunil Gavaskar and Sanjay Manjrekar have suggested that age appears to be catching up with Tendulkar and that fast bowlers are trying to get him bowled or leg-before by bowling full, and his once above-the-rest hand-eye co-ordination is now at the level of most others. There is a certain basis to why these ex-players are suggesting reasons for Tendulkar’s form and manner of dismissals, but unintentionally that has got almost every Tom, Dick and Harry discussing his technique, skill and ability, including those whose knowledge of Test cricket does not go beyond the numbers on the scorecards.The expectations from Tendulkar are so high that every dry innings becomes a disappointment, a 50 or a 70 doesn’t get elicit much of a reaction, a ton missed is equated to nervous nineties and a longish period of no hundreds (like the one currently) is correlated to age, impending retirement and lack of ability; and mostly this hasn’t changed for the last couple of decades.Before I start listing reasons for his lack of form and manner of dismissals, a disclaimer: these are just observations and I have no intention of making this go beyond that. Let us try and delineate the discussion around him getting bowled/leg before too often first. The year 2010 was probably the most productive year for Sachin in recent times; he was dismissed on 20 occasions in Tests during that period, which included 8 (40%) bowled (3) or leg-before (5) dismissals. The year 2011 had Sachin dismissed as bowled (2) or leg-before (5) on 7 occasions out of 16 (43.75%). His career stats read 110 bowled (51) or leg-before (59) dismissals out of 282 times he has had to walk back (39%). These numbers are indicative that the sudden series of ‘bowled’ dismissals shouldn’t be more than an aberration.Harsha Bhogle and Aakash Chopra have suggested that Tendulkar’s recent dismissals have got to do with him looking to hit straight balls through midwicket. It’s a fair point, which would indicate that his balance is falling over to the off side. Normally Sachin’s on drives have a certain direction based on the balls’ delivery points. His flick from off stump towards midwicket off a left-arm seamer is rarely fallible, while on-drives off right-arm quicks go along the virtual V-line or behind square if he times it late; but his dismissals in this series have been exactly the opposite. His balance in executing certain shots is looking as good as ever, the feet appear to move in sync with the weight transfer and hence the trying-to-hit-through-midwicket inference isn’t complete.Last year you saw him getting trapped lbw a bit too often; a possible reason to see him getting bowled so often this year, could be due to an alteration in his stance to keep the pad from getting in the way of straight deliveries. When you look at his recent knocks you will realise that he is struggling with form in terms of scoring the runs rather than touch, for certain patches in his innings are trademark stuff, if not better. The system appears to work smoothly and then suddenly it encounters a glitch.It’s said that batting hours in the nets is completely different from spending time in the middle and probably that is what is happening with Tendulkar. When you are in form the confidence that goes along with it takes care of certain unintentional movements, but when you aren’t, a single glitch can keep recurring.Tendulkar is too good to not notice the shortcomings in his movements, and there are plenty of wise men to suggest the desired corrections. For a young boy who loved the challenge of defending against a one rupee coin to improve his skills, it would be unreal to suggest that Tendulkar isn’t concerned about the way he is getting dismissed; his reaction in Bangalore is pretty much self-explanatory. In a way the vocal criticism about Tendulkar is good – it will provide him with a fresh challenge and a few extra hours in the nets to iron out a rare flaw; just like any other challenge that he has loved to face all through his career.

Vijay turns the leave in to a scoring shot

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the day of the first day of the Durban Test between South Africa and India

Sidharth Monga at Kingsmead26-Dec-2010The lead
When Virender Sehwag walked out to bat on Boxing Day, after yet another lost toss, and with a new, inexperienced opening partner, he saw M Vijay run past him and towards the pitch. Sehwag walked to the pitch, had a little chat, and decided to take strike to the first ball. When Gautam Gambhir is with him, or even when Vijay is opening on friendlier tracks, Sehwag always prefers for the other man to take first strike. His responsibility today was rewarded with a stinging first ball that hit his hand.The leave
It’s always said that to do well in South Africa, you need to leave the ball alone well. Vijay took that to the next level today. Twice he meant to leave the ball alone, twice he found that it hit the middle of his bat even as he was pulling it out of the way. One of them went along the ground towards the slips cordon, and the other one, became an immaculate steer through it. All along the ground. Four runs.The six
After straight-driving Dale Steyn for a four, VVS Laxman did something he has done only five times in his career: hit a six. What a shot it was. Steyn bowled short, Laxman seemed to have enough time to set up for the pull, and he sent it careening – flat – over the square-leg boundary. His other sixes have come off Brighton Watambwa of Zimbabwe in 2001, Shaun Pollock in 2001-02, Paul Wiseman in 2003-04, and Danish Kaneria in 2004-05.The catch and the consequent look
You have played three Tests, have never taken a catch, your team-mates think – jokingly – that you “can tend to fall asleep” in the field. And what do you do? You pull off a stunner at straight midwicket to remove the best-looking batsman on the day. Lonwabo Tsotsobe, take a bow. When Laxman pulled Steyn again after that six, it looked like it was going for four until Tsotsobe went full-stretch and low to his right – his unnatural side – and plucked it inches off the ground. Laxman’s disbelieving look – reminiscent of his look when Mark Waugh pulled off a stunner in Chennai in 2000-01, at the same position – said it all. If that look didn’t didn’t say it all, Steyn, who took four wickets today, added more: “I actually took only three wickets, that wicket was his [Tsotsobe’s].”The delay
When it had finished drizzling in the morning, with time still left before the start of play, Mike Haysman of went out to do the pitch report. Midway through his report, it started drizzling again, and you could see the groundstaff itching to rush in and put the covers back in their rightful place. However, they had to wait for the pitch report to finish. Thankfully, it was not hard rain.

New Zealand begin to believe

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Two late wickets were reward for New Zealand’s application – particularly that of Chris Martin whose wiry frame belied an extra yard of zip that none of England’s bowlers could replicate (least of all Steve Harmison). But perhaps more significantly, the b

Andrew Miller in Hamilton06-Mar-2008
Alastair Cook fell for 38 – a stark reminder of the frailties of England’s batting lineup © Getty Images
For 85 overs of the second day at Hamilton, the first Test between England and New Zealand was dying a slow death. The application shown by Ross Taylor and Daniel Vettori during their 148-run stand was admirable but foreboding. England’s bowlers found no swing, seam or spin to help them on their way, and when their own batsmen replied in kind with an 84-run opening stand, the worst sort of stalemate was already being envisaged.But then, Alastair Cook went and played a pull shot that had “mug” tattooed all over it, and suddenly there was life in the match once again. Two late wickets were reward for New Zealand’s application – particularly that of Chris Martin whose wiry frame belied an extra yard of zip that none of England’s bowlers could replicate (least of all Steve Harmison). But perhaps more significantly, the breakthroughs were a reminder of the frailties of England’s batting line-up.Daniel Vettori made a point of bigging up England’s top six on the eve of the series, remarking how they all averaged in excess of 40. What he omitted to mention is that they all too frequently reach that score then give their wickets away. In Sri Lanka before Christmas, England were overwhelmed by three totemic innings – 152 from Kumar Sangakkara at Kandy, and then 197 and 213 not out from Mahela Jayawardene at Colombo and Galle respectively. In reply they mustered a solitary hundred in six attempts, and that came from Cook at the last gasp, when the series was already irretrievable.Taylor’s hugely mature 120 wasn’t quite in the class of those three knocks, but it was a performance of great resolve and substance, the like of which England aren’t too keen to replicate these days. As a squad they have mislaid the art of the meaningful innings – and they can’t even manage it in one-day cricket, where their last centurion was Owais Shah at The Oval against India last summer, 11 matches ago.Andrew Strauss used to score centuries for fun, with 10 in his first 30 Tests, but he was dropped after failing to reach three figures in 25 subsequent innings. Now he’s back in the mix, thanks entirely to the shortcomings of others, and he’s out in the middle already – at least a session sooner than he had envisaged. There’s no time like the present for ending his run-drought either. Ian Bell is incapacitated, Tim Ambrose is on debut, and Ryan Sidebottom – for all his merits – is hardly fit to lace Vettori’s boots at No. 8.New Zealand are flushed with unexpected confidence after the success of their batsmen this morning, and they sense that England are beatable.”We think we can win the game,” said Taylor. “If they were none-down or one-down it would be a pretty even game, but to have them two-down when it is starting to slow up and take a bit of turn, I’m sure the first session tomorrow will be big. If we can put some pressure on England early on then you never know.”Pressure was what England’s bowlers singularly failed to apply after resuming on 282 for 6. “We’re disappointed that we didn’t bowl as well as we did yesterday,” said Ryan Sidebottom, who with 4 for 90 was England’s stand-out bowler and, for once, had the figures to prove it. “We were fired up to get the four wickets and we were stupidly searching for wickets this morning, rather than doing what we did yesterday. We were trying to bowl too quick instead of plugging away, and they scored 100 more than we expected.”Apart from watching him on TV, I haven’t had a lot to do with him [Steve Harmison] but he can bowl at 130kph as much as he wants, because it makes it easier for me. He’d be a hell of a bowler to face if he was bowling at 145-150kph, especially on a bouncy deckRoss Taylor gives a damning assessment of Steve Harmison”Bowling too quick.” That may have been true of the two specialist swing bowlers in the line-up, but oh for such an accolade to be uttered in Harmison’s direction. Taylor could hardly believe his luck when reputation finally met with reality, and he faced up for the first time to the bowler who was once the most fearsome in the world. “Apart from watching him on TV, I haven’t had a lot to do with him,” said Taylor, “but he can bowl at 130kph as much as he wants, because it makes it easier for me. He’d be a hell of a bowler to face if he was bowling at 145-150kph, especially on a bouncy deck.”It was a pretty damning yet utterly honest assessment from a man in only his third Test match. Taylor came to the crease with a reputation for big hitting and a career-best score of 17, and yet he bedded in to bat for more than five hours. “I got off to a bit of shaky start in my first four digs in Test cricket, so it was good to silence a few people who doubted me and whether I was good enough to play at this level,” he said. “It was definitely the most circumspect I’ve ever batted.”England are capable of emulating such feats. Strauss was back to his compact self during the warm-up in Dunedin, while Kevin Pietersen is bristling for a big one after failing to reach even fifty in Sri Lanka. But to judge by the verve and aggression showed by Martin and Mills with the new ball, and the steep bounce and not-insignificant turn extracted by the spinners, Vettori and Jeetan Patel, New Zealand’s bowlers are more up for the challenge than their English counterparts proved to be.England were, after all, bundled out for 131 in their warm-up at Dunedin. “That showed us that England can be beaten,” said Taylor. “It was only a three-day game and it did do a lot on the first morning of that game, but it gave the players in that match a bit more belief they could foot it with England. It showed we are still in the game.”

'My first rookie mistake!' – Thomas Frank sees funny side of hilarious gaffe at first Tottenham press conference after praising Arsenal achievement

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Thomas Frank has claimed Tottenham will '100 percent' lose matches under him, but admitted he should not have acknowledged Arsenal's 'Invincibles'.

  • Frank in as new Spurs boss
  • Prepared to lose games
  • Points to Arsenal's 'Invincibles'
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    WHAT HAPPENED?

    Frank took his first press conference in charge of Spurs on Friday, where he was asked a range of questions on the job at hand in north London. The Dane was brought in as a replacement to Ange Postecoglou, who won the Europa League last season but oversaw a 17th-place Premier League finish.

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  • THE BIGGER PICTURE

    After over six fantastic seasons in charge of Brentford, Frank was sounded out by Spurs as the ideal successor to Postecoglou. When he took the Bees' head coach job back in 2018, he was relatively unknown on English soil, though has since forged a reputation as one of the savviest tacticians in the game, and is well aware of the pressure he now faces as a known quantity.

  • WHAT FRANK SAID

    When asked if he is under more pressure at Tottenham because of his notoriety, Frank replied: "It's natural, it's a good pressure, the interesting thing is not when you are in it. It's something I've done for many years. I'm very aware it's a big club, there will be more scrutiny."

    Frank then relayed a message he gave to the club when he took the Spurs job, but in the act of doing so accidentally praised north London rivals Arsenal for going unbeaten during the 2003-04 season: "As I said to the staff on the first day here, I promise you one thing, one thing is 100% for sure – we will lose football matches. I haven't seen a team not losing any football matches. There is Arsenal, that we can't mention… so I made my first rookie mistake there! Then there's Preston [in 1889], and those are the only two teams."

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    DID YOU KNOW?

    Though Frank is prepared for his team not to be perfect and has accepted they will lose games, he will be hoping not to taste defeat in 22 Premier League matches just as Postecoglou did last season. Frank was, however, full of praise for the Australian and the legacy he's left.

    "Ange will forever be a legend here at Tottenham. One of only three who have won a European trophy here and the first in 41 years," he said. Frank added he has not spoken to Postecoglou since replacing him at Spurs.

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