Stats highlights from the incredible run-fest for England Lions against Sri Lanka A in Canterbury

S Rajesh25-Jul-20160 – Instances, before today’s game, of teams scoring 400-plus losing fewer than two wickets in a List A match. There have been two instances of teams scoring 400-plus losing two wickets, both in ODIs – South Africa made 439 for 2 versus West Indies in January 2015, and New Zealand made 402 for 2 versus Ireland in Aberdeen in 2008.10 – Totals higher than 425 in List A games. The highest is 496 for 4, by Surrey versus Gloucestershire at The Oval in 2007. Four of those totals have been made in England, and three of them at The Oval.220* – Ben Duckett’s score, which is eighth in the list of highest scores in List A matches. This, though, is the second best by an English batsman in List A matches, next only to Ali Brown’s 268 for Surrey v Glamorgan in 2002, which is also the highest List A score of all time.367* – The partnership between Duckett and Daniel Bell-Drummond, which equals the second highest in List A history. It fell five runs short of the record of 372, by Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels in the 2015 World Cup against Zimbabwe. There was also another unbeaten stand of 367 in South Africa’s Momentum One-Day Cup in 2014, when Dolphins’ openers Morne van Wyk and Cameron Delport batted through 50 overs against Knights.101 – Runs conceded by Thisara Perera, the 14th instance of 100 or more runs conceded in a List A game in England. The highest among them is 108, by Darren Thomas for Glamorgan against Surrey in 2002, when he had figures of 3 for 108 from nine overs, in the game when Ali Brown made 268. Jade Dernbach conceded 107 for Surrey against Essex at The Oval in 2008.5 – 150-plus scores by England Lions in this series, the most by any team in a List A series/ tournament. Duckett has two, while Dawid Malan, Sam Billings and Bell-Drummond have one each. Only once have more 150+ scores been made in a single series/ tournament – seven, in the 2015 World Cup.

Shan Masood was called upon as a bowler. Shan Masood survived to the close as a batsman. That offered scant consolation for a weary, error-prone Pakistan

Jarrod Kimber at Old Trafford23-Jul-2016Shan Masood ran into the stumps.He was supposed to be bowling some light medium-pace floaters to rest his bowlers’ weary bodies. But, first ball, he got it so wrong he kicked the stumps down at the bowler’s end.Pakistan did much the same.Younis Khan dropped another catch, making it four missed chances from him so far in the series. His work at slip this series is very much like most of the old guys who field at first slip for their local side, except with super-slow cameras for the replays.Sarfraz Ahmed dropped his second chance behind the stumps, a tough catch off Yasir Shah. He almost caught the fumble, but it wasn’t going to be that day. Yasir already knew that, he knew that when he started it with more short balls, when Ben Stokes hit the ball straight up and it landed safely, when people started searching Statsguru for the most-runs-conceded-in-a-Test-match list.

Flower slams top-order display

Pakistan have “no excuse” for their brittle batting on the second evening of the second Test at Old Trafford, according to their batting coach, Grant Flower.
Pakistan slipped to 57 for 4 at stumps, with Flower labelling the session “extremely damaging.” It means they resume on day three still 532 runs behind England and requiring another 333 just to avoid the follow-on.
While Flower admitted that weariness was a huge factor in Pakistan’s performance with the bat – they were forced to spend 152.2 overs in the field as England amassed a huge total – he suggested there was nothing wrong with the surface and felt his side should have performed better.
“It wasn’t good enough,” Flower said. “That was extremely damaging.
“There was weariness and a huge score like that plays mind tricks. But that’s what happens in Test cricket so it’s no excuse.
“Hafeez and Masood played well but a few others played some poor shots.
“It’s a good wicket and it hasn’t changed much. If anything it got harder and quicker with more bounce, but it came on to the bat well.”

This was not the worst cricket Pakistan can play, but on their scale of one to utter shambles, it was reasonably low. Sure, they were a bit rough in the field, but they are a bit rough in the field. Many of their fielders don’t run at the ball, but around it, in a weird curve. Acclaimed actor Iqbal Theba calls it a , after the popular curved sweet. And this move is popular, as so many Pakistani fielders use it. At one stage Rahat Ali ran towards the ball with it on his left side, he then performed the Jalebi move, ended up with the ball on his right, then passed it to his left hand so he could finally throw it. It seemed to take longer than Joe Root’s innings.And Joe Root’s innings took a long time. A very long time. It was tiring watching it, let alone being out in the field, picking up the ball from the boundary. But it also proved that this was a very good batting wicket. Grant Flower suggested it was a better batting wicket than the previous day.Pakistan’s batsmen went about disproving that. As Flower noted, “a huge score like that plays mind tricks”.The first trick was Mohammad Hafeez looking set, looking fine, looking as good as he has on this tour of England. Then it was Hafeez edging an almost-straight ball to slip, on a great batting pitch. An opening batsman edging to slip is hardly a big deal, and with Hafeez’s batting, it would be weirder if he didn’t edge to slip. But it ended the illusion of Pakistani top-order stability.Then Azhar Ali managed to push a normal delivery that didn’t stop in the wicket, didn’t do any misbehaving of any kind, straight back to Chris Woakes. It was the kind of wicket, on this kind of pitch, in this kind of match, that batsmen think about when they are struggling to fall asleep for decades to come.Younis then came out, and he was batting as he did at Lord’s, as if he was being operated by a drunk puppeteer. His right leg often came out mid-shot as if he was trying to trip a rhinoceros, his footwork was as if he was playing in his mind, and when he was finally out he had hopped to the wrong side of the pitch, for no cricketing reason, as if he was trying to avoid a puddle. When Younis is dismissed he often goes into a quiet room and rewatches the footage. If he does that for this innings, he may wonder who that old man is batting on a jumpy castle.If nightwatchmen are a stupid idea (and nightwatchmen are a stupid idea) then sending out the same bloke who, in the dark of the Lord’s dusk, decided it was time to play a back-foot cover drive without the skill even to execute a far easier cricket shot on a far better day, was even stupider than the many poor shots Rahat played. Flower said they were weary, he said big scores played tricks. And yet, had they been the weariest men on earth, had they been batting second in the Abu Dhabi heat after a month of fielding against a robot army of Don Bradmans, it would not have been an acceptable reason for Misbah’s decision to send in a terrible batsmen, who plays terrible shots, to do a terrible job.In the end, it was Shan Masood left at the crease. The only time Masood looks like scoring on the off side is when a bowler bowls a short, wide ball so bad that he just has to hit it. Otherwise he is set up to defend, play and miss, and turn everything else to backward square leg.It is that batsman who survived this self-inflected, weary, tricky carnage. The batsman people see as flawed, limited, and picked because of his family connections. He is the one who batted best and lasted longest. It was that kind of day for Pakistan. The day when Masood bowls, and Masood outlasts four other batsmen.Shan Masood ran into the stumps when he bowled, but was still the only batsman who didn’t run into his stumps.

Mosharraf Hossain has the right numbers in a career scarred by a couple of tough periods that were down to poor judgement and bad luck. Now, eight years after his last international, comes his chance at redemption

Mohammad Isam29-Sep-2016For domestic heavyweight Mosharraf Hossain to return to the Bangladesh ODI squad, it needed a by-chance intervention from Venkatapathy Raju.The former India spinner was in Dhaka to conduct a ten-day spin bowling camp in mid-August. After watching left-arm spinner Mosharraf, Raju spoke about him to Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who brought him into the preliminary squad midway into its pre-season training camp. In less than a month, he is in line to play international cricket after eight years.”[Venkatapathy] Raju said I have variation and extra bounce,” Mosharraf told ESPNcricinfo after joining the preliminary squad. “It gave me confidence. In our country, there is more emphasis on the negative parts of a cricketer. You can even find fault in [Muttiah] Muralitharan if you are looking for it. They look for problems here. But there is about 90% positive in a cricketer. Raju focused on the things that work in my bowling. He said that I have a good overall record. He said I was unlucky and that I should be playing [at the top level]. “For someone who has taken more than 300 first-class wickets, been a proven match-winner in the Dhaka Premier League, and the Man of the Match in a Bangladesh Premier League final, this was just reward, but perhaps a bit of luck was at play too: here was someone who couldn’t break into the national team for a long time despite being a regular top performer in domestic cricket, but he gets unexpectedly and immediately called up on the word of a foreign coach visiting on a brief stint. Then again, Mosharraf’s career had already been marked by misfortune, with two major incidents almost derailing it.The first was a few months after his international debut in 2008, when he joined the now-defunct rebel Indian Cricket League as part of the Dhaka Warriors team. Mosharraf, 26 at the time, was among the defecting players banned for ten years by the BCB; the following year, after they had quit the league, they were given indemnity.Mosharraf said had he foreseen the backlash from the BCB, media and fans, he wouldn’t have gone to the ICL. “I was quite young when I went to play in the ICL. The contract with them was that we would play two tournaments per year, and we were free to play everything else for the rest of the time. I thought it was a good offer, but when we arrived in India, the scenario had changed [back in Bangladesh].”The reaction was such that we felt that we were in trouble. We didn’t think at first that we would be cornered but I would call it bad luck. If I had known this would have been the situation, I wouldn’t have gone.”

“If a player has fitness and performance, then those should be given priority. A much older player like Misbah-ul-Haq is doing so well while another who comes from the Under-19s into the national team can fail.”

Then there was the second major incident: when he was caught up in the BPL corruption investigation in 2013. He was provisionally banned for eight months, before the investigating tribunal announced that he was not guilty of any wrongdoing and the ban was lifted.”This was also bad luck,” Mosharraf said. “I don’t think about it anymore. I was just playing a game and then few months later I heard it became a major issue.”It was likely clouded decision-making on his part that led to the defection to the ICL, and a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time in the BPL 2013, but now Mosharraf gets another chance on the back of his consistency with bat and ball.After completing the camp under Raju, he had gone on a holiday to India with his wife when the call came. Within a day of his arrival, he was asked to return to Dhaka quickly and join the preliminary squad camp.”They don’t usually call up a player in the middle of a camp, so I was happier. I was in India when selector Sumon [Habibul Bashar] got in touch with me through my [journalist] friend Zahid Chowdhury. He said I have to join the Bangladesh camp.”There were no air tickets, all of which seemed to be booked till August 30. I took a taxi from Kolkata to the border in Benapole. The situation was quite difficult but when they recognised me, they helped me get through immigration quickly. Then I took another taxi till Jessore, from where I caught a flight to Dhaka the next morning and joined training that day.”Mosharraf’s domestic numbers back up the call. In the recently concluded Dhaka Premier League one-day tournament, he took 12 wickets and scored 350 runs in 14 matches for Legends of Rupganj. This form, and not his age, Mosharraf said should be taken into account.”I have done well on some important occasions, in the BPL final and also in the ICL where I bowled to international cricketers. I took big wickets like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Damien Martyn. I have been consistent in domestic cricket, in the National Cricket League, Bangladesh Cricket League, Dhaka Premier League and the BPL. I haven’t really fallen into poor form in the domestic scene.”Performance should always be taken into account. If a player has fitness and performance, then those should be given priority. A much older player like Misbah-ul-Haq is doing so well while another who comes from the Under-19s into the national team can fail at the highest level.”Now that he has got his chance, the in-form Mosharraf will be hoping to put the controversies behind him and make headlines for the right reasons.

Over three instalments of their rivalry in this series, R Ashwin has used control, cunning and temptation to get the better of New Zealand’s best batsman

Sidharth Monga10-Oct-20161:43

Agarkar: Ashwin’s line and length is impeccable

There is no point. The fielder, that is. The mind must keep telling you that there is no fielder at point. It is an over of temptation. An offspinner is bowling with a slip, a cover and a mid-off. It is not a new ploy on a pitch with some turn, but it is still a temptation. On the leg side, there are two men waiting for catches, two men to stop singles and two men to save boundaries. And this particular offspinner, R Ashwin, is teasing you; he is bowling short of a driving length, but not quite short enough to cut.At the start of this particular over, the 43rd of the New Zealand innings, Kane Williamson is on 8 off 19. He goes back to the first ball. Then he sees it is not short enough to cut and plays defensively with a straight bat, with the turn. Eight off 20 now. The next one is not full either. Williamson goes back again, that gap at point screaming, but again he makes a late decision that this is not short enough to cut. And he defends with a straight bat again. Eight off 21 now. The third ball of the over is defended off the front foot, the fourth stays low and nearly defeats the pull.On 8 off 23, Williamson has to be thinking runs too, especially after the momentum provided by the opening stand of 118 and with a quick outfield on offer. You can’t let India spinners bowl wherever they want to, because then you will be on nothing when on eventually gets you. Williamson, though, clearly remembers his dismissal in Kanpur where he had gone after a similar temptation and was done in by a more spiteful pitch. That ball had turned back with a puff of dust to hit Williamson’s stumps. You want the runs, you need the runs, but you must watch out against falling into that trap.The fifth ball of this over is again not full, but not too short; it lands in the same spot as the one that got Williamson in Kanpur. Williamson’s first instinct is to press forward here, but he finally gives in to the temptation. Perhaps he thinks this pitch is not turning as much as Kanpur, which makes him think he can pull off that daring shot. Graeme Swann once compared cutting an offspinner to patting a burning dog.Ashwin’s fields and his accuracy, coupled with the odd trick from the pitch, have made sure here that Williamson has to pat a burning dog if he wants to release the pressure. After Williamson has let two of them go by, the third one burns his fingers. It turns back more than he expects it to again, hits the high part of the bat, and goes on to the stumps. The look on Williamson’s face is of a man who knew he had bitten the forbidden apple.In between some classy strokes, Kane Williamson has fallen into R Ashwin’s trap on three occasions in three innings•BCCIThis construct for the wicket is a continuation of the hide and seek between Ashwin and New Zealand’s best batsman. It’s a shame Williamson missed the middle Test, for that would have added to the body of work that constitutes this story. Ashwin has got Williamson all three times he has batted in this series, all three times off the back foot, but Williamson, too, has played some cracking shots. Without looking frenetic, Williamson has managed to score 54 runs from 58 Ashwin deliveries. But leaving Williamson without too many scoring options other than in the off side off the back foot has been one of Ashwin’s big moves.With other batsmen, at times, Ashwin has bowled with 7-2 fields, leaving even the cover open, but with Williamson he has not been too adventurous. He has shown him enough respect, and has given him only the cut shot. Williamson has played 15 of the 58 balls from Ashwin into the off side. Nine of those 15 have been off the back foot, but only five of those nine have brought him runs. Only one of them has been a proper cut to a loose ball. Others have not been cutting length so they have been either punches through cover or dabs behind square.Ashwin remembers Williamson from his previous tour to India as someone who has a tendency to lunge. Ashwin remembers that dismissal from Bangalore in 2012-13 when Williamson lunged forward and nicked to slip. “I come into a series with a plan, especially taking off from where Kane Williamson got out in Bangalore when they came here last time,” Ashwin said. “He lunged forward and got out at slips. So he just lunges outside the off stump, so that’s one of the things I thought I would repeat in this series.”This bowling – not the usual length that Ashwin bowls – to Williamson perhaps points to keeping the ball out of reach when Williamson lunges forward. If he still manages to drive there is a fielder at cover. Most of Williamson’s runs against Ashwin have come from either the sweep or the punch off the back foot. That temptation to go to point, though, is always there when the bowler pitches it short of a length. As Williamson has found out on three occasions now, it hasn’t been short enough.

Australia have struggled to find a No. 6 batsman in Tests and it appears the search will continue for a while

Brydon Coverdale in Melbourne29-Dec-2016It may not be the sexiest position in a batting order, but it is the sixiest. And over the years Australia have had some jaw-droppingly sixy Test batsmen – Steve Waugh, Allan Border, Ricky Ponting and Doug Walters to name a few. But Australia currently find themselves frustrated, unable to break a six-drought that grows with every Test. Australia, you see, have a headache, and they’ve had it for more than two years.Whether Nic Maddinson is the man to break this drought remains an unanswered question. He struggled badly on debut in Adelaide, and again in his next Test in Brisbane. On day four at the MCG he seemed in the mood, but was then bowled by Yasir Shah for 22. Maddinson’s innings was neither one thing nor the other, neither failure nor success. His 55 deliveries at the crease did little to confirm or annul his Test future.And so Australia’s headache continues.Number six is a deceptively important position, and one that requires versatility. A good Test No.6 is a buttress in case of a top-order collapse, and needs to bat well with the tail. But if the top order has built a big score, he should also be capable of quick runs to capitalise on that platform. He is often the newest batsman in the side, sometimes a veteran shuffling down later in his career, at other times an allrounder.For Australia right now, an allrounder has the greatest six appeal – they just can’t find one. During this Test, bowling coach David Saker said Australia were “desperate” to find a fifth bowler who could ease the workload on the fast men. Desperation does not necessarily equal success. Mitchell Marsh has been tried, Hilton Cartwright could be next, Moises Henriques could even be considered down the track.Since Marsh made his Test debut against Pakistan in the UAE in October, 2014, No.6 has been a problem for Australia. The following figures – batting average, number of centuries and number half-centuries for each position in Australia’s top six since Marsh made his debut – are revealing:

Marsh was No.6 for the vast majority of those innings, and his lack of batting output eventually led to his axing after the first Test of this summer. Callum Ferguson was then tried and discarded, a one-Test stand that satisfied neither party, and Maddinson replaced him. Both Ferguson and Maddinson meant a return to Australia’s old formula of six batsmen and four bowlers, which worked when those bowlers included Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath.There are those who point to Steve Waugh as an example of why Australia should have persisted with Marsh as an allrounder. In 19 Tests, Marsh has made 626 runs at 23.18 and taken 29 wickets at 37.27. Waugh’s output after the first 19 Tests of his career was only slightly better: 689 runs at 27.56 and 29 wickets at 33.75.Mitchell Marsh’s lack of batting output led to his axing earlier this summer•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesBut this comparison ignores a couple of critical factors. Waugh’s breakthrough as a Test batsman did not come simply from staying in the team and gaining Test experience. He made serious Test runs – including his maiden century – only after going away and dominating at first-class level. Specifically, Waugh piled up mountains of county runs for Somerset in 1987 and 1988, and scored eight first-class hundreds in those seasons, averaging 78.76. Marsh has done nothing like that.And when Waugh was first selected for Tests, he was averaging 43.21 as a first-class batsmen – Marsh was averaging 28.51. This is not meant to belittle Marsh – who is a fine player with all-round potential – but rather to show that expecting him to blossom as a Test No.6 was always a tall order. In fact, the uncapped Cartwright’s first-class record – two hundreds and an average of 44.50 – is much closer to Waugh’s pre-Test numbers.There is a chance Cartwright could be considered for a Test debut at the SCG next week, given the workload for Australia’s fast bowlers over the past two Tests, which would squeeze Maddinson out. But of course, the whole selection philosophy could change for the upcoming tour of India, where two spinners will likely play – perhaps even a spinning allrounder – and Shaun Marsh will also come under consideration.And it should be noted that No.6 is far from Australia’s only issue in the lower middle order. During the same period – October 2014 to now – Australia’s Test No.7s have produced no centuries, five fifties, and averaged 21.66. Matthew Wade, brought in at the same time as Maddinson with the aim of shoring up the batting order, is yet to reach double figures in a Test innings this summer.After Maddinson fell for 22 and Wade made 9 in the first innings in Melbourne, the captain Steven Smith said that Maddinson “looked pretty good” and Wade was “in a good headspace”. But it’s patently obvious that Australia remain at sixes and sevens with their sixes and sevens. It’s the headache that just won’t go away.

Also in our Twitter round-up, Mark Wood reveals his life-goal checklist and Virat Kohli flaunts his introspection

Alex Bowden09-Dec-2016Back in October, when we made fun of Tino Best for settling down to read his own autobiography, little did we suspect that he was a trailblazer.

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You can draw your own conclusions about the nature of Nasser’s facial expression.Kevin Pietersen’s latest addiction would appear to be crying emojis.

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Is it honestly necessary to deploy four of them? Surely one would have done the job?

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At least he’s not been reduced to Warniemojis.

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Small mercies.Mark Wood’s feeling significantly perkier than KP. And with good reason.

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And here’s another potential pick-me-up.

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Last time around, Sourav Ganguly provided us with a selfie at an airline check-in desk, encouraging the notion that the former India captain hadn’t quite got to grips with the art of social media.Selfies should be glamorous, Sourav. You’re meant to show off your opulent lifestyle, eliciting jealousy in all who see your tweets.So what does he give us this week?

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A committee meeting.You might want to check out Chris Gayle’s feed for some tips, Sourav. His profile pic is of him in a gold suit.Twitter’s for extroverts. It’s no place for introspection.

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Although if you do want to partake in such an activity, ensure it’s captured in an arty black and white photograph so that each of your 13.2 million Twitter followers can fully appreciate just how deep and thoughtful you are.This isn’t strictly speaking a selfie, but it does capture a moment of (somewhat surprising) pampering.

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Ian Ward’s rictus grin also warrants comment. One can only presume he thought he was going to be in a photograph.Of course the main thing that Twitter’s for, other than selfies, is telling your followers that you’re having breakfast.

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Still, we have to say we’re huge fans of Mark Richardson addressing his audience with something approaching contempt. Very refreshing. More of this kind of thing.Styris, meanwhile, had other weighty matters on his mind.

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He kept track throughout.

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This could be a new record.Somewhere in the world there is always a cricketer asking whether they should be complaining about air travel.

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Or committing to their complaint wholeheartedly.

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George Dobell in Chennai20-Dec-20163:20

Trott: Perhaps England became lackadaisical

Perhaps it was fitting that it ended this way.Perhaps it was fitting that a year that has been characterised by England’s “positive” style of play ended with a defeat brought about by reckless batting.As if Jonny Bairstow’s dismissal, caught at deep midwicket – yes, deep midwicket – was not bad enough as England battled for a draw, Moeen Ali then wasted his previous efforts with an absurd attempt to loft Ravindra Jadeja over the top. The ball only made it as far as mid-on.Suddenly, the door that was almost closed on India was opened once more. England lost their last six wickets for just 15 runs.Defeat means they have lost four Tests in succession, five out of seven on this tour and six out of their last eight. It also means they have equalled their record for most defeats – eight – in a calendar year. It can’t keep being an aberration.Losing to India is no disgrace, of course. Just as losing to Bangladesh in Dhaka was no disgrace. Playing in Asia may well be the toughest test for England players and there was probably no combination of players available to England that would have won this series against a fine side.

England have to be prepared to grind and graft as well as thrash and bash.

But the manner of some of these defeats is a concern. Just as losing 10 wickets for 64 runs in a session in Dhaka, or 10 for 83 in the second innings in Vizag or six for 15 in Mumbai should not be accepted with a phlegmatic shrug, nor should this collapse.It came, after all, on a surface on which England laboured for more than 190 overs for seven wickets. And it came with the hard work almost done.But England seem to have lost the ability to bat time. They seem to have forgotten that defence is every bit as important as attack in Test cricket. They seem to have concluded that the way to deal with every challenge thrown their way in Test cricket is to smash it into the stands.It wasn’t just Moeen and Bairstow here. Joe Root was leg before attempting to sweep and Adil Rashid was caught at point attempting to flick into the leg side. Straight bat strokes might not have been as positive, but they would have been safer.You would have thought India had taught them by example. You would have thought they had proved that it is not 70s or 80s that win Tests, but 100s and 200s and even 300s. England have to be hungrier. They have to be greedier. They have to be prepared to grind and graft as well as thrash and bash.Why would Moeen be trying to hit over the top in these circumstances? Why, with no hope of setting India a target, would such an aggressive approach be appropriate or helpful? The answer is that it wasn’t appropriate and it may well have been a manifestation of a lack of belief in his own defensive technique. It was a point picked up by Virat Kohli in mid-series. England try to run because they know they can’t walk.It would be a mistake in such a situation to look for quick fixes. England have a structural problem when it comes to dealing with Asian conditions and it is probably beyond the whit of any individual in a captaincy or coaching position to change that. Alastair Cook may be the current target for those wanting change, but his sacking will alter almost nothing. It certainly won’t conjure two brilliant spinners out of the ether and it might overburden Root, who already plays all three formats and is still learning his trade as a batsman.But it won’t do to ring our hands and say ‘nothing can be done.’ For half the Test world play in these conditions (the Caribbean, increasingly, offers low, slow surfaces). These pitches were far from extreme and England had the advantage of winning the toss in four Tests. Unless England are to settle for a future where they mug sides at home on green pitches – as they did for much of the Sri Lanka series – and struggle away, they have to find a way to combat such surfaces.Trevor Bayliss has escaped some of the criticism hurled at Alastair Cook [file picture]•Getty ImagesPart of the problem here may well be the messages coming from the coach. Trevor Bayliss has made no secret of his view that he prefers “attacking-style batters” and that, at times this series, he feels England have suffered for being too defensive with the bat. “When we have been a little bit more defensive, we look like wickets waiting to happen,” he said in mid-series. “As soon as we’re a little bit more positive, rotating the strike and hitting a boundary when the opportunity comes, it puts pressure on the opposition. Yes, it might get you out once or twice. But with the batting order we’ve got, there’s going to be a number of guys that do score runs.”This is puzzling. You would have thought that a coach would want to point out that each batsman has to take responsibility to get the job done. As Moeen proved here, life for the new man can be far more difficult. Bayliss’ somewhat gung-ho approach seems to risk leaving the job to the next man. It doesn’t seem especially responsible.Indeed, increasingly Bayliss’ whole approach to Test cricket looks naive. It may well be fine for limited-overs cricket, where uncompromised aggression seems to have become the order of the day. But more subtlety is required in the longer-format and Bayliss hasn’t demonstrated much of that.The problem with his laissez-faire approach – he is well known for saying little and interfering less – is that sometimes a coach needs to interfere. As Australia have shown in recent times, creating a cosy dressing room environment is fine up to a point, but when the ball starts to swing or spin, a coach also need to be able to help with technique. Otherwise they are just a bystander.

Both Haseeb Hameed and, to a lesser extent, Keaton Jennings have impressed as old-school openers, not the aggressive type that Bayliss professes to prefer

It would be premature to say we are in this category with Bayliss. He really wasn’t dealt a handful of aces on this tour and it isn’t so long since England were a win or two away from becoming the top-ranked Test side.But, if he doesn’t know the players from county cricket, he can’t really select. And if he really is wedded to this aggressive approach with the bat, he isn’t going to help many of the batsmen. Meanwhile, since he took over and dispensed with fielding coaches to take on the responsibility himself, England have dropped a series of vital chances. And with an attack that creates so few, that is costing them dearly. His recent comment that the team “haven’t got a lot of natural athletes” sounds dangerously like a workman blaming his tools.It is an irony that one of the positive of this tour for England has been the emergence of two new options for batsmen at the top of the order. Both Haseeb Hameed and, to a lesser extent, Keaton Jennings have impressed as old-school openers, not the aggressive type that Bayliss professes to prefer. It would be no surprise if both of them featured in the top three when England next play Test cricket in July.Bayliss can’t really take credit for either of them. He had never seen Jennings bat until they reached Mumbai and he preferred Ben Duckett to Hameed at the start of the tour. Indeed, if you question which of the Test players have progressed due to his input, answers are not immediately obvious. Maybe, just maybe, it is time to consider appointing a different coach for the Test and limited-overs teams? England’s schedule is ridiculous. It might make life better for all concerned.There seems little chance that will happen in the short term. Andrew Strauss has too much staked on Bayliss and, to be fair, England’s limited-overs resurgence might vindicate his appointment. It’s the main reason he was hired and he is making a success it.But England’s Test squad leave India with many more questions than answers. They need to work out how to bowl on flat surfaces – in particular, how to gain lateral movement – and how to bat against the spinning ball. They need to develop spinners and start thinking about replacements for an ageing seam attack. And they need to decide if their coach and captain are the men to lead their progress. None of the answers are obvious.

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur speaks about the selection decisions facing the team ahead of the Hamilton Test, and looks ahead to the tour of Australia

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Hamilton23-Nov-2016Misbah-ul-Haq is unavailable for this match. What do you lose when a player like that goes?
You lose a massive amount. You don’t only lose a player that averages in the high forties and gets runs at No. 5 for you. When you lose your leader, it becomes really tough. But you have to put a positive spin on it. It’s a real opportunity for one of the other young players to step up. In terms of leadership we will have it covered within the team, but Misbah’s been an unbelievable captain for Pakistan for such a long time that to replace him is very, very difficult.What are your thoughts about a possible replacement?
We’ve got two options. Mohammad Rizwan can slot into the middle order – he’s travelled around with us for a long time. He’s trained with us. He went through the England series. We sent him back to play some domestic cricket and he responded by getting 167 and a 95. That’s one option. Or we can have a look at Sharjeel Khan. If we use Sharjeel at the top of the order, that makes quite a few changes.Are you hesitant to do that, with the openers bedded in recently, and Azhar Ali making runs?

That becomes an issue because Azhar might have to go back down to three, and Babar Azam – our young gun, who I think is going to play for Pakistan for a long time and do really well – slides down to six, and Asad Shafiq might have to go back up. It’s a lot of disruptions to our batting order. We’ve just got to have a look at the pitch and decide what we think is the best combination.What we do know is Sharjeel brings an ability to take the game away from the opposition in one session. He does that. He reminds me of a young David Warner when he came into the Australia side. If we can get Sharjeel’s defensive game to where it needs to be, it could be very exciting for us, because he can be very destructive at the top of the order. That’s something exciting – there’s a bit of romance there, if you like. Then you have Rizwan, who has wholehearted grit and determination. He’s a very, very good player.”Sharjeel reminds me of a young David Warner”•Getty ImagesIf Sharjeel’s defence has a little way to go, will conditions determine your decision?
I think so. His defence is good – and I’ve told him this – but for him to become a Test batsman, we just need to keep working on the defensive side of his game. He’s got a very good attacking side.You’ve got that settled middle order, but is your top three something that still needs work?
To a point. I think Sami’s done really well. He’s showed a real maturity. Azhar’s done exceptionally well whenever he’s had a go at the top of the order – he’s a quality player. The dilemma for us in the last Test was whether Asad Shafiq stayed at three or we moved Babar in at three. One of them was going to bat three and one was going to bat six. We went to Asad at six because that was the sort of stable batting order for a long period of time. I think Babar has the capability to bat No. 3. That’s where he bats for his local team and in one-day cricket. There is no problem with Babar. Technically he’s all good.You left out Wahab Riaz on a green pitch in the last match, which suggests you are picking attacks based on the pitch…
The dilemma we had in the last Test – and this could go a long way to stopping all the questions I’m getting from Pakistan – was that we preferred Rahat Ali in the Test because of the pitch conditions. We wanted seam bowlers and swingers of the ball, rather than a guy who can bowl really quick. We thought that’s what the wicket determined, and were proved right in that regard.The other option we had was whether we played all four seamers and left Yasir out. The thing with that for me – and I’ve seen it over such a long period of time – is that a quality spin bowler like Yasir can attack and defend for you. Had the game gone into day five, I think spin would have played a big role. So often you select for the first innings, because you see the pitch is green. I’m of the opinion that if three quick bowlers won’t do it, then neither will four. I’d rather have someone who can change the tempo and pace – give us a variation as you go later in the game – to take the second-innings wickets as well.You know, we’re very lucky with our bowling unit that we can pick a horses-for-courses team. If the ball’s going to reverse, and the wicket has pace and bounce, Wahab is our No. 1 choice. We’ll pick our attack and put our options together as to what will get us 20 wickets.Wahab did well in Pakistan’s last Test in Hamilton. Does that make him more likely to play here?
It’s more likely that the ball’s going to reverse-swing here. The pitch was green today, which we don’t really mind, because we do have an attack that can really exploit that. Wahab is an option for us.”We’ve just got to use Wahab when the conditions are right”•AFPIs the horses-for-courses philosophy something you will stick with through your southern-hemisphere tours?
Yes, because Wahab, in Australia – particularly at the Gabba – becomes weapon No. 1, given his pace and ability to get reverse swing. He is a phenomenal bowler, because he provides us both options. We’ve just got to use him when the conditions are right. Then he becomes our trump card.Mohammad Amir’s made a good return to cricket, but we haven’t yet seen him get those big hauls yet. What does he have to improve to do that?
He’s been very good since he’s come back. He’s had a lot of dropped catches – particularly in England. But he’s bowling well and he’s getting better. Every time I see him bowl, I see pace coming back and I see confidence coming back. He’s starting to swing the ball again. He’s got his confidence to bowl his bouncer. I’m hoping he hits his stride soon and gets rewards for all the work he’s put in.Have you seen him change mentally in the time you’ve been involved?
Yes, that confidence is there because he’s now being judged just as a cricketer again. He’s a wonderful bowler and a wonderful feller – he’s really a good bloke. His work ethic is second to none.Despite the horses-for-courses outlook, is he someone that will be considered on any kind of pitch?
Yeah he is, because he swings the ball at good pace. But again, our bowlers know that there’s no comfort zone for anybody. They know that at any given time, we’ve got another four bowlers that can do the job. So it’s great. There’s a nice little bit of internal competition going on, though they are a tight unit.If you do well over the next four Tests, you do have a chance to push for that No. 1 ranking. How much does that motivate the side?
It’s a massive thing for Pakistan. To get to No. 1 after our England series was amazing – they haven’t played at home for so long. The players have spoken about their desire to get that No. 1 tag back and the motivation is as big as it’s ever been. But we’re under no illusions. It’s going to be tough. New Zealand played unbelievably well in the last match and were really disciplined. They are a tough team and we’ll have to play very well to beat them.Then we go to Australia, who are regrouping, but in their home conditions, are going to be very strong. There’s quality there. We’re playing Test matches away from home in very tough conditions, but there is a desire to get there.The teams pushing for that top spot are all flawed in some way. Where do you think Pakistan has most room for improvement?
We just want to keep getting better and better outside subcontinent conditions. We’re going to be challenged down here with the short ball and the pace of the wicket. I know, because I’ve coached against subcontinent teams when I was with South Africa and Australia. When a subcontinent team arrives, you’re going to bounce them. You’re going to come hard at them for all the times that you got nailed by spin in the subcontinent. That’s what’s going to happen to us. We’ve got to be up for that challenge. We’ve got to work on our play against the short ball – we’ve got to work out how to score and defend off it. But our players can do that because they are quality players. I’m trying not to make a massive issue of it, because they’re all good enough.

Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood triggered a slide with the second new ball that resulted in India slipping from 238 for 4 to 274 all out in the second innings

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-2017

238-5

84.3 Starc to Rahane, OUT, not given out on this lbw shout and Australia have reviewed it. Full and straight, and I think umpire Llong has not given this out suspecting an inside edge. Replays show no inside edge. So down to the projection now. Pitches leg, swings to straighten a touch, and is going to hit the leg stump. Another decision reversed, and Australia have their breakthrough. Don’t forget what an innings this has been from Rahane under pressure. He has brought India back into this contest

238-6

84.4 Starc to Nair, OUT, bowled him. Starc is on a hat-trick. The big man is bringing Australia back. Nair out for a golden duck at his home ground. Starc is on fire. Loose shot first up. Starc is full, swinging it, bowling fast, and Nair looks to play a big drive. The ball swings and the inside edge cannons into the middle stump. Oh what a Test

242-7

85.2 Hazlewood to Pujara, OUT, Australia on fire. The first time Pujara has been dismissed in the 90s. Short of a length, hits a naughty spot on the pitch, and kicks up to hit the shoulder of Pujara’s bat. He has been staying inside the line of these, but not this time. It lobs off the shoulder of the bat for a simple catch to gully

246-8

85.5 Hazlewood to Ashwin, OUT, I told you he was loose. Hazlewood has a five-for. Ashwin plays another loose drive on the up on a treacherous pitch, and this one is a grubber from outside off. Nips back in to hit the base of the off stump

258-9

87.3 Hazlewood to Yadav, OUT, what has Yadav done here? There is Saha with you, just bat with him. Loose shot. Swings hard at a length ball. No way you can be driving this. Hits the bat high, and goes to mid-off for an easy catch

274-10

97.1 O’Keefe to Sharma, OUT, Ishant will be disappointed after having shown so much of application. Loose drive to a length ball, and it chips to short cover for a catch

The plays of the day from the series-deciding T20I between India and England in Bangalore

Andrew Miller01-Feb-2017Silence of the daySimon and Garfunkel were definitely onto something, but if you truly want to appreciate the sound of silence, pay a visit to the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore on the day that Virat Kohli runs himself out in the second over of a series-deciding T20. Kohli, the local hero and scorer of three IPL centuries at the ground for Royal Challengers Bangalore, cut a skittish presence throughout his four-ball stay. Twice he hustled through for quick singles after defending the ball at his feet, but at the third time of asking, he demanded that his partner, KL Rahul, take on the lightning reflexes of Chris Jordan. Understandably, Rahul declined the invitation, and Kohli was left gesturing limply to his partner as Jordan pinged off the bails in his follow-through. The collective intake of breath caused eardrums to pop in neighbouring continents, And in the naked light I saw / Ten thousand people, maybe more / People talking without speaking.Umpiring error of the dayShortly before the toss, umpire C Shamsuddin withdrew from his on-field umpires after complaining of an illness. Shamsuddin had attracted England’s ire after giving two contentious decisions in the second T20I, in particular the key dismissal of Joe Root in the last over of England’s run-chase. Anil Chaudhary did inadvertently redress the balance when, in the eighth over, Rahul was bowled for 22 by Ben Stokes. Replays soon showed that Stokes had overstepped, but Rahul by that stage was confined to the pavilion, contemplating one of his more luckless days at the office.Milestone of the dayIt is coming up for a decade since MS Dhoni upgraded his status from “star” to “legend”, when he captained India to the maiden World T20 title, and in the process, laid the groundwork for the short-form revolution that followed. Few stats, therefore, could be more curious than the one he laid to rest today – finally, after 76 matches and more than 1200 runs, Dhoni recorded his maiden T20 fifty. A lot of that could be attributed to his lack of opportunity for a longer stay – this was only the 14th occasion in which he had come in higher than No. 5. But he made it count in fine style, reaching his landmark from 32 balls with four fours and two sixes, before falling in the final over for 56 from 36.Dismissal of the dayA lot is made of the extreme pace that Tymal Mills can bring to T20 cricket. But, as Yuvraj Singh discovered to his cost, Mills’ slower ball is really the one to watch. It took a stunning delivery to end a stunning cameo, with Yuvraj clattering three sixes and a four in his ten-ball stay, all of them off Jordan. However, he had no response to his very next delivery from Mills, who throttled a full 50kph off his top speed, leaving Yuvraj fencing futilely for a ball that performed a disappearing act in mid-flight, not dissimilar to Chris Cairns’ infamous doodlebug to Chris Read in 1999. The ball clipped the splice, and lobbed through to Jos Buttler, as Yuvraj trooped off shaking his head, with 27 runs to his name.Shot of the dayJason Roy survived a frenzied appeal for lbw off the first ball of England’s innings (it wouldn’t have hit a second set, not that Ashish Nehra seemed to care) and had been limited to a scrambled leg bye in the opening over when he decided, rather abruptly, to change his approach against the spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal. Without even bothering with a sighter, he went into full KP-tribute mode by flipping his stance and launching a massive swept six into the stands at square leg. It was an eye-popping combination of power and timing, and a stunning misrepresentation of what Chahal would soon do to England’s innings …