Despite statistics that seem to suggest otherwise, Delhi Daredevils have continued to bat Angelo Mathews above Chris Morris

Srinath Sripath19-Apr-2017At 105 for 3, chasing 192, Sanju Samson holed out to leave Delhi Daredevils needing 87 runs off 41 balls. It seemed an excellent time to send in Chris Morris, the allrounder with a strike-rate of 238.7 this IPL season. But the management preferred Angelo Mathews, who then laboured to 31 runs off 23 balls, before getting out off the penultimate ball.Morris, in prime hitting form, did not face a single ball, and the Daredevils slumped to their third loss in five games. Was this a wise strategy? Cold, hard numbers suggest otherwise.

Mathews MorrisInnings 41 19Batting average 22.96 35.85Batting average between overs 16-20 17.30 44.62Strike Rate between overs 16-20 143.81 172.46Balls per boundary between overs 16-20 6.69 4.6Daredevils have not let Morris bat higher than No. 6 in IPL 2017. As a result, he has only faced 31 deliveries, but has hit 12 of them for fours of sixes. Mathews, on Wednesday, took 20 balls to hit his first six and collected only three boundaries in total. Shreyas Iyer, at the other end, ended up facing just 12 deliveries in the last five overs.Getting the small things right amount to a great deal in T20 cricket, and Daredevils, with respect to this issue, are struggling.

Faisal Hasnain, Zimbabwe Cricket’s incoming managing director, wants to make the game a good-news story for the country

Firdose Moonda12-May-2017Let’s be honest: if Zimbabwe fail to turn up at the next global cricket event, they will not be missed. They didn’t make it to the main draw of either of the last two World T20s and it barely made the news. Instead, they are known for financial crisis, on and off the field, and largely considered a lost cause. Except to one man.Faisal Hasnain, the former ICC chief financial officer, will begin work as Zimbabwe Cricket’s new managing director on Monday, after being offered the job following Wilfred Mukondiwa’s resignation. Hasnain’s aim is to turn the country’s cricketing fortunes around – a tough task, but one he understands the magnitude of better than most.In his role at the ICC, Hasnain combed ZC’s financials and has a clear understanding of their situation. He also sat with several of their executives and told ESPNcricinfo he can see a “sincere willingness to push towards change”. So, where does one start?At the very top, according to Hasnain. “I would like to open a line of communication with government to help Zimbabwe Cricket go to the next level,” he said.

“It’s important that we have the right amount of cricket and a balance between formats”

That’s a brave suggestion considering that cricket probably lies quite low on State House’s list of priorities, especially with elections due next year and a continuing cash shortage crippling the economy. But that may also be why Zimbabwe will look to attract attention to other areas.”Cricket is one of the areas where Zimbabwe can get international publicity on the world stage,” Hasnain said. “We don’t see that with many other things in the country and if the government can back that, things could become easier for cricket to thrive.”Exactly what that means is not for Hasnain to spell out just yet, but it’s the germ of an idea that could be crucial to his success in what is set to be a three-year term at the helm. Ultimately, though, Hasnain knows ZC cannot rely on handouts of any description to ensure their continued survival.The organisation is dependent on two main sources for income – the ICC and India – and Hasnain wants that to change, even as revenue from the ICC increases. Under the new revenue-sharing model. Zimbabwe is earmarked to receive US$94 million in the 2016-2023 cycle, $19 million more than they were initially allocated, but Hasnain has cautioned against resting on that. “It will be critical for us to generate revenue outside of the ICC and India tours. We need to do a commercial audit of our assets and look at how to monetise them,” he said.Hasnain will leave the job of improving Zimbabwe’s away record to coach Heath Streak (centre), who “knows much more about cricket than I ever will”•AFPAmong those will be television rights deals, such as the current one with Ten Sports, but Hasnain also hopes to look at digital and social media as opportunities for the future. “Maybe at first it will only give us a trickle but eventually it will amount to something. And the only way that will happen is if results improve.”Zimbabwe have not won a series since October 2015, when they triumphed over Ireland, and have not won one against a fellow Full Member in four years. In that time they have also lost three ODI series to Afghanistan. The cumulative effect of that downturn in the rankings is the distinct possibility Zimbabwe will not appear at the next 50-over World Cup, and though they may not be missed, they will miss out on substantial financial gains and much-needed exposure.Given the lack of cricket on Zimbabwe’s calendar, global events are their only chance to play among some of the big boys, and they will provide them with the platform to obtain increased sponsorship. “Qualification for the 2019 World Cup is the most important thing on the table,” Hasnain confirmed.Zimbabwe have put in a bid to host the qualifiers for the event, which were originally scheduled for Bangladesh but will be moved in the likely event of Bangladesh’s automatic entrance to the tournament. Though Zimbabwe’s interest in staging the qualifiers came a little late, it was with support from Cricket South Africa, who Hasnain hopes to engage more in future and who have even offered some of their own venues in case of need. An ICC group is also set to travel to Zimbabwe to assess its readiness for what would be its first multi-team event since the 2003 World Cup, and will then make a decision between Africa and a venue in Europe such as Scotland or Ireland.

“Cricket is one of the areas where Zimbabwe can get international publicity on the world stage. We don’t see that with many other things in the country”

If the decision to host the qualifiers goes Zimbabwe’s way, it should substantially increase their chances of making it through to the tournament proper. History shows Zimbabwe are far more likely to succeed at home than anywhere else – they have only won 33 out of 162 ODIs on the road, the last one in Guyana against West Indies in 2010.Improving the away record is something Hasnain will leave to the cricketing brains in the organisation – he playfully recognised that coach Heath Streak “knows much more about cricket than I ever will” – but he is interested in improving Zimbabwe’s overall profile in the game. “It’s important that we have the right amount of cricket and a balance between formats,” he said.Test cricket is high on Hasnain’s agenda and even though he admitted he cannot see Zimbabwe “regularly playing three-match series” at this stage, he is hopeful they will simply play more. If new Full Members are anointed, Hasnain believes that will increase Zimbabwe’s chances of more Tests and more tours. And if that happens, Zimbabwe will need to mine its talent pool, which has appeared worryingly shallow in recent times.The domestic game has shrunk from a franchise competition to a provincial set-up and the most recent season was marred by several delays over unpaid player wages. Hasnain has promised to “scrutinise the compensation structure” to make sure players are being paid what they are worth.Zimbabwe’s last series win against a Full Member came against Bangladesh in 2013•AFPAll those things, coming from someone with a solid foundation in finance and banking like Hasnain, who has worked at Chase Manhattan and Citibank, make for convincing reading. Other things aside, they would form the foundation of a functioning cricketing structure.But in Zimbabwe the other things, like the politics, the economics and the hidden agendas, cannot be put aside. They are too overwhelming and they have suffocated everything, including sport, for the entire 2000s. So what makes Hasnain think he can make this work?”Someone from the outside comes with no baggage and can look at things objectively and to a large extent at face value,” he said. “My main job is to provide an environment for our athletes to perform on the domestic and international stage at an elite and optimum level.”Anyone who cares about cricket can only wish him the best of luck.

Statistical highlights of Rangana Herath’s 400-wicket Test career

Bharath Seervi02-Oct-201784 – Tests taken by Herath to reach 400 wickets. Only Muttiah Muralitharan (72), Richard Hadlee (80) and Dale Steyn (80) did it in fewer Tests than Herath. He’s the first left-arm spinner, 14th bowler overall and second for Sri Lanka to take 400 wickets.0 – Bowlers older than Herath – 39 years and 197 days – to complete 400 wickets. Hadlee was the previous oldest at 38 years, 214 days, in 1990, getting there against India in Christchurch.15 – Tests taken by Herath to move from 300 wickets to 400 wickets. He got his 300th scalp last year against England in his 69th Test and 400th in his 84th. He had taken 29 matches for his first 100 wickets, 18 for his second 100 and 22 for his third 100.9 – Ten-wicket hauls by Herath, the joint third most in Tests. Only Muralitharan (22) and Warne (10) have more hauls. Hadlee also has nine. Since 2012, the next most ten-fors is seven by R Ashwin. No one else has more than three.101 – Wickets for Herath against Pakistan. He’s the first bowler to take 100 wickets against Pakistan, going past Kapil Dev’s 99 scalps. He has taken those in 20 Tests with eight five-fors and two ten-fors.11 – Five-fors for Herath in the fourth innings, four more than any other bowler. He has taken 100 wickets in the fourth innings at an average of 18.38. He has taken five-fors in five of the last eight innings he has bowled in the fourth innings.8 – Instances of Herath picking five-wicket hauls in each innings of a Test. Only Muralitharan has done it on more occasions (11). Herath has taken all after 2012. In this period, the next highest is Ashwin with five twin five-fors.

Meet Riyan Parag, the 15-year-old Assam batsman who has just scored the second-fastest fifty in recorded youth Tests, and his steeped-in-sports parents

Shashank Kishore03-Aug-2017Three weeks before his tenth standard board exams in March, Riyan Parag received a phone call that would give him tremendous joy but a hint of anxiety too. All of 15, he had been picked in Assam’s senior state side for the Inter-state T20 competition. But that would also mean he’d barely have 48 hours to prepare for his first exam.Faced with the quandary, Riyan approached his parents – both sportspersons – for advice on academics vis-à-vis cricket. “You may not get this opportunity again. Touch your heart and tell me what you want to do,” Parag Das, his father, asked. “Cricket,” answered the boy. That would be it. Riyan packed his bags and joined the senior state squad, trained, debuted in the T20s, and followed that up by playing two 50-over matches in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.His parents’ go-ahead wasn’t surprising. Das, a former first-class cricketer who played for Assam and Railways, was brought up on sport in a family of academicians. Mithu Baruah, Riyan’s mother, is a former national swimmer and one-time record holder in 50m freestyle who represented India at the Asian Championships and SAF Games during the course of a decade-long swimming career, which she gave up in 1998, three years before Riyan was born.The fortnight in which his results were announced vindicated their decision to put cricket over academics. It would give Riyan double joy. He secured a cumulative grade point average of 8.6 (distinction) in his CBSE exams. Then came the sweet news of his selection in India’s Under-19 squad for the two youth Tests in England. A first foreign trip beckoned.It’s a decision the sports-loving couple now look back on with pride as Riyan finished the two youth Tests in England as India’s second-highest run-getter, behind Prithvi Shaw. His twin fifties in the first-game – including a 33-ball half-century, the second-fastest behind Virat Kohli in recorded youth Tests, helped India set up a declaration and paved way for a 334-run victory in Chesterfield.In the second Test, he made a half-century in India’s quest for quick runs, strung a 131-run stand with Shubman Gill for the fourth wicket and set up a 2-0 series win. Prior to the tour, he finished a bumper season, in which he was the second-highest run-getter in the 2016-17 Cooch Behar Trophy, with 642 runs in 14 innings and a best of 202 not out.As Riyan started the final day of his tour batting on 25, his parents are glued to the internet, counting every run he scored. His father, who doubles up as his coach, is delighted at his self-confidence. His mother calls him a fiercely independent and a mature individual whose ability to prioritise his life at a young age gives him an edge.”He’s very level-headed in the way he goes about his routines,” she tells ESPNcricinfo. “If he had to be at training early in the morning, he would go irrespective of how tired he is or how late he sleeps. He always wanted to play cricket. Being around his father and watching him go through his routines during his playing days rubbed off on Riyan. This wasn’t forced onto him, but once he chose it, we backed him completely.”Das, who works for the North-east Frontier Railways, moved from Maligaon, on the outskirts of Guwahati, to the vicinity of the Nehru Stadium to give his son’s career shape. At the stadium, in 2010, Riyan’s batting would impress Sandeep Patil, who was tasked with identifying talented boys for the Under-16 camp through an all-India talent hunt programme. Two weeks after Patil left Guwahati, the family would receive a call from Assam Cricket Association, informing them of Riyan’s selection for the camp.Joy would, however, quickly dissipate as the BCCI decided to put off the residential camp that year. He would, however, be called in for trials for the Under-16 team, and would be watched closely by his father. He made his Under-16 debut as a 12-year old in 2013. In the following year, he started his Under-19 career for Assam with a half-century on debut against Baroda.”As a 14-year old, he was so impressive that he stood out among our young batsmen,” says Sanath Kumar, who had two stints as Assam’s head coach and led them to the Ranji Trophy semi-finals in 2015-16. “I suggested his name for the senior team that season because the way he approached our senior fast bowlers, Krishna Das and Arup Das, impressed me. His picking of lengths and temperament was unbelievable at that age. But the selectors felt he was too young.”While Riyan has climbed his way up the state’s ladder since, his parents don’t want their son to be burdened by expectation. “When he’s here, we let him have a normal life. PlayStation, books and music,” his mother says. “That way, he really is himself. If he misses classes, he finds ways to make up. Studying also gives him a release.”The next realistic target, they believe, is the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand early next year. While Riyan isn’t part of the one-day squad on the ongoing tour of England, his parents believe it’s only a matter of time. An Under-19 Asia Cup, which is in the pipeline for October-November, could be his next window. There’s every chance a Ranji Trophy debut could happen too. For now, however, there’s one reason less to worry. “More cricket, little more than studies,” as per his wish.

Their 1-0 series win over Sri Lanka helped India match Australia’s record of nine consecutive series wins from 2005-08, while Dhananjaya de Silva surpassed Viv Richards to score the highest fourth-innings score by a visiting batsman in India

Bharath Seervi06-Dec-20170:57

Quickinfo – India’s Test dominance

Record streak of series wins
India’s 1-0 series win against Sri Lanka is their ninth successive Test series win. They have now matched Australia’s streak of nine consecutive series wins from 2005-06 to 2008. India’s winning streak began with the 2015 tour of Sri Lanka. India’s win-loss ratio in this period is 10.500, while no other team has a ratio of more than two in this period.ESPNcricinfo LtdIn this sequence of nine series, India have won six at home and three away. Australia also had six home and three away series wins in their record. India have played 30 Tests in these nine series, winning 21 and losing two, with seven draws. Australia had played 26 matches, and won 22. Virat Kohli has been India’s most successful batsman with 2707 runs and R Ashwin the most successful bowler with 180 wickets. For Australia, it was Ricky Ponting (2790 runs) and Brett Lee (130 wickets) respectively.

Dhananjaya’s record-breaking fightback
Dhananjaya de Silva staved off India’s efforts to win the Delhi Test with a score of 119 before retiring hurt. His innings is the highest fourth-innings score by a visiting batsman in India. The previous record was held by Viv Richards, who struck an unbeaten 109, also at Feroz Shah Kotla, in 1987-88. Incidentally, this is only the fourth century for a visiting batsman when chasing in India. The previous instance was Younis Khan at Eden Gardens in 2007-08.Getty ImagesDhananjaya is the first Sri Lanka batsman in the last 10 years to score a fourth-innings hundred in an away Test. The last was Kumar Sangakkara who hit 192 at Hobart in November 2007.

Five teams have a lot riding on the last round of the ICC WCL Championship matches in the UAE this week, from spots in the World Cup Qualifier to a berth in the new ODI League

Peter Della Penna in Dubai05-Dec-2017It has become almost cliche to describe Associate cricket tournaments as “matches with context” due to their “merit-based opportunities” that result from events such as the World Cricket League promotion and relegation pathway. So the final round of the WCL Championship may well be regarded as contextual cricket on steroids, given the immense ramifications at stake.Heading into the seventh and final round of a competition that takes place over two-and-a-half years, the winner will be guaranteed a slot in the new 13-team ODI league for 2023 World Cup qualification. Four teams still have a mathematical shot at finishing on top, while a fifth is fighting to secure a spot in the World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe or else be relegated to WCL Division Two in February, where they would have to battle with five other teams for the final two spots available at the World Cup Qualifier.Whereas matches in the previous six rounds were staggered over the course of several months, the final round has simultaneous games on December 6 and 8, which means the two days are sure to be filled with plenty of twists and turns up until the final ball. Here is a look at the four match-ups in the final round and what is at stake for each side.Netherlands v Namibia – ICC Academy 1Netherlands currently sit in first place on the points table, with 18 points, two clear of second-placed Papua New Guinea. Two wins will clinch the title for Netherlands. A loss in either match could open the door for Papua New Guinea, while two losses could see them leapfrogged by Scotland or Hong Kong as well. Regardless of the week’s results, however, they have already clinched a spot in the World Cup Qualifier.Netherlands have received a big boost in the form of Ryan ten Doeschate, who came out of international quasi-retirement at the age of 37 to join the squad. If he can demonstrate the form from his last appearances for the side, at the 2011 World Cup where he scored two centuries to cement his place as an all-time great of the team, then it will be hard for Namibia to compete.With three wins in 12 matches so far, Namibia are tied for last place and have already been guaranteed relegation to Division Two. They will host that tournament in February for a chance at a top-two finish to reach the Qualifier, but here they have the opportunity to play spoiler. Already over the summer, they seriously dented Scotland’s chances of a first-place finish with a convincing 50-run win in Edinburgh and it’s not out of the realm of possibility that they could do it again in Dubai.Panda ManPapua New Guinea v Hong Kong – ICC Academy 2PNG won six straight matches at one point, from rounds two through four, and had briefly held the tournament lead. Split matches in rounds five and six against UAE and Scotland allowed Netherlands to get back in front with a two-point lead. Their form has gotten worse with two ODI losses to Scotland in Dubai last week, followed by an innings loss to Hong Kong in the I-Cup match preceding these ODIs.Despite that, PNG are still in a decent position because they hold a crucial tiebreaker, with Netherlands having claimed two points via a pair of washouts against Scotland. If PNG win both matches and Netherlands lose at least one to Namibia, PNG will be champions by virtue of having one more win than Netherlands. PNG are technically through to at least the World Cup Qualifier because even if they lose twice to Hong Kong, only one of Kenya or Scotland can mathematically finish above them.Their captain Assad Vala is fifth-highest run-scorer overall in the competition with 388 runs, but averaged just 24.75 across the last four ODIs against Scotland and needs to step up to give PNG their best shot at four points.Hong Kong are in fourth place and have the longest odds in terms of teams with a mathematical chance of a first place and a spot in the ODI league. However, they have the best net run rate of the top four teams. To finish first, they will need to win both matches and hope Netherlands lose both games against Namibia and Scotland lose at least one of their two against Kenya with a higher net run rate than Netherlands.On the flip side, they are also in danger of falling back to Division Two based on the tiebreaker. Hong Kong are two points clear of Kenya at the moment but that is due to two washouts that resulted in split points. If Hong Kong drop both matches, Kenya could catch up with one win over Scotland. Kenya could then take a spot in the World Cup Qualifier by virtue of more wins. A more realistic goal for Hong Kong than reaching the ODI League would be to win both games to secure their place in the Qualifier.Anshuman Rath has been the leading scorer in the competition with 498 runs from just eight games at an average of 62.25 while captain Babar Hayat produced an unbeaten double-century in Hong Kong’s innings victory over PNG in the Intercontinental Cup last week. Hong Kong’s spin duo of Nadeem Ahmed and Ehsan Khan took 17 of the 20 wickets in the I-Cup win at Sharjah and though conditions won’t be as dry at the ICC Academy, Hong Kong should still be considered favorites on recent form.Peter Della PennaScotland v Kenya – Dubai International StadiumLike the I-Cup, no team has perhaps been more adversely affected by weather in this competition than Scotland. They were in a very strong position against Netherlands at Amstelveen in the summer of 2015 when three-and-a-half days of rain resulted in a pair of splits. Another match in Hong Kong was also washed out. But in a year in which they scored wins over Zimbabwe in an ODI and Sri Lanka in an unofficial Champions Trophy warm-up, they shot themselves in the foot twice with losses to Namibia and PNG. So rather than being one point in front of Netherlands, they are three behind.In order for Scotland to finish first, they need two wins over Kenya, need Netherlands to lose both games to Namibia and at least one Hong Kong victory against PNG. At the very least, one win will guarantee them a spot in the Qualifier. However, two losses could see them calamitously drop back to Division Two: Kenya would have jumped past them and Hong Kong could overtake them with a win. Captain Kyle Coetzer was a batting juggernaut over the summer with centuries against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Namibia. More runs from him are practically a given in these games.Kenya are currently in fifth place, two points behind Hong Kong for fourth place and six points behind Netherlands for first. They have no shot at the title but are desperate to not go back to Division Two for a second crack at claiming a spot in the Qualifier. As captain Rakep Patel told ESPNcricinfo on the eve of the final round, they are treating these games as “do or die.”Two wins would take them past Scotland and clinch a spot at the Qualifier. However, they can still make the Qualifier with just one win if Hong Kong lose twice to PNG. Spinner Shem Ngoche could be a major factor with the ball as the spinner is currently the fifth-highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 18 wickets, but more than likely it will take a few big innings from Alex Obanda or Collins Obuya for Kenya to get past Scotland.1:13

Come February it will be like Royal Rumble’ – Khadka

UAE v Nepal – Sheikh Zayed Stadium Both teams have been eliminated from contention for the guaranteed spots at the World Cup Qualifier that go to the top four finishers. UAE are tied for last with six points while Nepal are in sixth place with nine points, five behind Hong Kong at the fourth place cut-off. For both sides, it’s an opportunity for key match practice while building up for their second crack at making the qualifier via Division Two in February where they’ll be joined by Namibia, Canada, Oman and whoever is the lowest placed team out of Hong Kong, Kenya or Scotland when the round ends.UAE showed promise by stretching Afghanistan into a fourth day in their I-Cup match. Chirag Suri has grown immensely since his time with the Gujarat Lions squad in the IPL and forms a solid opening tandem with captain Rohan Mustafa.Nepal split a pair of 50-over games with Kenya and USA in Abu Dhabi in the lead-up to the final round. In a story that has seemingly never changed in a decade, their batting was badly exposed in a loss to USA with captain Paras Khadka and vice-captain Gyanendra Malla resting. Dipendra Singh Airee showed some promise with his innings against Kenya though and if he can play a good support role with Sharad Vesawkar, Nepal may be able to collect a win or two to build confidence heading into Division Two in Namibia.

In other news from the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, Mohammad Asif bowled WAPDA to a two-day win against a hapless Islamabad side

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2017Misbah’s miserable comebackIt cannot be stressed enough that the competition between the departments and the regions is something of a mismatch. To exacerbate that divide, along came Misbah-ul-Haq, slotting into Sui Northern Gas Pipelines’ (SNGPL) middle order for his maiden first-class game since his international retirement. It was a development their opponents Faisalabad – who had lost both their games this season – could have done without.While thoroughly outplayed in all departments, Faisalabad did manage to keep the former Pakistan captain quiet, allowing him just 21 runs in the first innings. However, the real highlight came in the second, when Faisalabad captain and Misbah’s long-time international teammate Saeed Ajmal dismissed him first ball, catching him off his own bowling. It might not have been enough to prevent another hammering for Faisalabad, but at this rate, they would do well to be content with small mercies.Asif stirs old memoriesRemember Mohammad Asif? A fast bowler who emerged in the mid-2000s, enjoying a remarkable – if tainted by scandal – career before hitting rock bottom in 2010, being banned for spot-fixing. Now 34, he’s still plodding along in domestic cricket. He returned to competitive cricket last year after serving his five-year ban and created waves with performances that rolled back the years. He was on fire again for Water And Power Development Authority (WAPDA), picking up two five-fors in his first match of the season, crushing Islamabad within two days. He picked up 5 for 28 in the first innings followed by 6 for 53 next day, securing WAPDA’s third straight win of the season.Complaints about the LCCA groundQuestions have been raised over the Lahore City Cricket Association ground’s fitness to host first-class cricket. There are over seven training sessions run here by various clubs, with over 400 players practicing in the surrounding areas even as first-class matches are being played. The ground, considered one of the city’s premier grounds, has been maintained by PCB’s own groundstaff, but club cricketers playing in the vicinity have been the cause of distraction. Some of the nets areas are just 10 feet away from the boundary of the playing area, with batsmen often seen complaining about cricketers running in front of the sight screen, disturbing the game. The PCB’s concerned department has been informed, and requested not to allow club cricket being played during matches to maintain the professionalism of first-class cricket.Fawad watchWell, Fawad Alam certainly has great timing – and in more ways than one. In a week when Pakistan floundered against Sri Lanka, Fawad reminded everyone of the apparent absurdity of his non-selection, scoring a 105 to help Sui Southern Gas Corporation (SSGC) to their third consecutive win, an eight-wicket romp against Lahore Blues.The problem for him is Pakistan probably won’t play another Test for at least seven months. But as he picks up from where he’s left off for the past three years, who would bet against him continuing this run till then? More pertinently, who would bet against him still being overlooked anyway?

Andrew Strauss, MD of England cricket, wants England’s players to make their own choices on and off the field. Now is the time to show they are up to the task

David Hopps30-Oct-20171:45

Getting drunk is the best form of team bonding – KP

As England’s Ashes party touches down in Australia, every celebrity snapper will be polishing their lenses – and not only the professionals now that social media has empowered everybody with a mobile phone and a Twitter account.Joe Root was in jet-lag heaven as he comfortably fended off a few desultory questions about Ben Stokes at an arrival media conference at Perth airport, but such feeling of well-being is unlikely to last. The ambush must be planned for further down the line.As a consequence of the police investigation into Stokes’ dead-of-night behaviour outside a Bristol nightclub, however that plays out, England’s cricketers can expect to be under scrutiny from the outset.How they react is set to become the biggest test not just of Root as a fresh-faced young captain but, more pressingly, of Andrew Strauss’s role as managing director of England cricket.Every night out will be scrutinised as potential proof of an excessive drink culture – something that Root has already been forced to deny exists. Every hint of boorish behaviour will be gleefully displayed.Nightclubs will be staked out, bar staff pressed for information and, if the habits of the 1980s are revisited, and if a cash-strapped newspaper industry can still raise the money, maybe even an escort girl or two will be encouraged to see what traps she can lay.’The bar’s this way, mate’ – Cricket Australia welcomes Joe Root•Getty ImagesIt is Strauss who must determine how England approach their task off the field which, from the moment that Stokes became front-page news, turned into just as big a challenge as the five Ashes Tests that lie in wait.Kevin Pietersen, English cricket’s great libertarian, who prizes nothing more than his own individualism, fell out with Strauss in his playing days and he has not been short of advice for his former captain about how England should approach their down time.Pietersen wants England to party when they can – in defiance of those who want their social freedom to be strictly curtailed. The gist of his comment was that if England don’t get hammered off the field they’ll sure as anything get hammered on it.”When we had the great tour Down Under in 2010-11, we had the most incredible couple of nights out at the start of that tour, which brought the team so close together,” Pietersen told ESPNcricinfo in an exclusive interview. “I know that it sounds so stupid, but if you go and get hammered as a team on a night out – as senior and junior players – so long as you don’t do something ridiculously stupid, the bonds you can create there are better than any ridiculous sessions you can do in the forest in Germany.”You can go out as long as you’re sensible, it doesn’t matter. You have to enjoy your career, you’re away from home so much. You cannot just be ‘hotel, team coach, dressing room, practice, play, journalism, hotel, food’ … you just can’t do it, it’s just not in you.”Andrew Strauss has some hard thinking to do•Getty ImagesOn this, Pietersen has a point. To feel at home on the field, it is advisable to start by feeling at home off it. Remaining cooped up in the team hotel for months on end can have a devastating effect on a player’s state of mind, and subsequently his form. That is even before the more philosophical consideration that, even in such highly-rewarded times, touring is also a life-affirming opportunity to broaden your experience.Drink responsibly, and in company, and at sensible times, and England’s Ashes tour party should have the confidence to smile at any iPhone they come into contact with – and receive the ECB’s blessing as they do so. That Australians will give England a tough time can be taken for granted but, socially, the vast majority will respond warmly to a show of spirit and bonhomie.The connection between alcohol and social bonding is embedded in British culture as any walk through a town centre on a weekend night will testify.A study in the British Medical Journal three years ago calculated that James Bond, the archetypal British hero, drunk four times more than the Government-approved limit. And 007 did not have time to play sport, in which case it would probably have been even higher.Before sweeping assumptions are made about modern-day Britain, the latest survey by the Office for National Statistics does suggest that young adults are much likelier to be teetotallers than their older counterparts, up to 27 per cent, although it should be said that abstinence is primarily affected by cultural and religious factors. The rise in craft beers, which come at a premium price, have also encouraged a shift from quantity to quality. The picture is a more complex one than it first appears.

A study in the British Medical Journal three years ago calculated that James Bond, the archetypal British hero, drunk four times more than the Government-approved limit

The disciplinarians within English cricket want the corporate image to be protected at all costs – this is a game, after all, which is entrusting its financial future to a new, family-friendly T20 tournament. That could be sensed in England’s tour photo with Remembrance Day poppies worn a full fortnight before the actual event.They want England’s players to be put on a tight leash in Australia. Time even for emergency measures: a ban on leaving the hotel on match days, security officers always on hand on non-match days for the few occasions they do, and strict curfews imposed.The brewers, Greene King, have already shelved an advert involving, among others, Stokes. And the ECB would prefer the picture of Stokes swilling back beer from a giant-sized trophy after England’s last Ashes victory in 2015 to disappear for a while. This is not the time to mention England’s five official drinks sponsors or that, for many spectators, copious amounts of alcohol plays a central part in a day at the cricket.Talk of a drink culture among England’s players can be overstated. By and large, this is a responsible era (sometimes boringly so), not the chaotic atmosphere of the 1980s. England’s players did not survive their flight around the world with endless visits to the drinks tray. Instead, they were equipped with a printout advising when to sleep and when not to, to take on plenty of water and to hit the gym as soon as possible, all intended to minimise jet lag.Strauss does not accept that England have an out-of-control drink culture and, by inclination, he wants to give players as much personal freedom as possible. Since taking up the England team’s top job, he has advocated more personal choice over training regimes and adopted a generally liberal attitude to how players run their lives, believing that they must develop a sense of personal responsibility.In Strauss’s absence, as the tone of the tour is set, Alastair Cook, as a former captain, and Paul Collingwood, a former stalwart added to the coaching staff, can play an important support role for Root in ensuring the balance is right.Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler celebrate England’s Ashes success at The Oval•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesBut even Strauss’s tolerance has been sorely tested. He has made England’s players aware that further misdemeanors will not be tolerated. Not that it seemed to have an immediate impact.Only a few days after Stokes was interviewed by police about a fight outside Mbargo nightclub, and Strauss had laid down the law, Jos Buttler – as much of a global T20 superstar as England have ever produced – held his stag weekend in Amsterdam.Strauss encouraged Root and Stuart Broad to give the trip a miss. Sure enough, a freelance photographer captured Buttler’s stag group – a mix of old mates and England cricketers including Eoin Morgan and Steven Finn – tossing around a dildo in the red-light district and staggering off a canal boat after a day’s hard drinking.The stag weekend passed without official opprobrium, although there were a few sighs of despair. Harmless fun, lads being lads, no damage done. This is the UK: for better or worse, it is what we do.The naivety, though, was breathtaking. If Strauss is to succeed in his wish to give England’s players freedom in Australia, then it is time that they rewarded his trust.

The left-arm spinner now has the best bowling figures for any visiting bowler in Sri Lanka

Shiva Jayaraman21-Jul-20181:05

Keshav Maharaj spins his way into the history books

1 Number of performances by South Africans that have eclipsed Keshav Maharaj’s 9 for 129 in Sri Lanka’s first innings at SSC. Hugh Tayfield’s 9 for 113 against England taken way back in 1956-57 are the best figures by a South African. These are the only nine-fors by South Africa in Tests. 0 Outside of South Africa, no other South Africa bowler has better figures that Maharaj’s nine-for. Lance Klusener’s 8 for 64 at Kolkata in 1996 was their previous best overseas.ESPNcricinfo Ltd 1 Hauls by left-arm spinners that shade Maharaj’s 9 for 129. Rangana Herath managed to retain that record on account of having conceded two fewer runs when he ran through the Pakistan side at the same venue in 2014. These two are the only nine-fors taken by left-arm orthodox bowlers in Tests. 2 Hauls that shade Maharaj’s effort in Tests in Sri Lanka. Muttiah Muralitharan’s 9 for 51 against Zimbabwe in Kandy in 2002 and Herath’s nine-for against Pakistan are the only ones above Maharaj’s. Maharaj now has the best bowling figures for any visiting bowler in Tests in Sri Lanka. 1 Better returns for spinners from outside Asia against teams from the subcontinent, outside of Maharaj’s effort. West Indies’ Jack Noreiga had taken 9 for 95 against India in Port-of-Spain in 1971.

Better known as a rugby referee and the man who spotted Ed Joyce as a 10-year-old, Alan Lewis was also one of the best cricketers of his generation

Jarrod Kimber09-May-2018In 1996, Melbourne’s Coburg cricket club welcomed a new arrival, a skinny kid in his late teens. And while he looked solid with the bat, he didn’t look amazing. The young man was Ed Joyce. He struggled that year, and yet the word was he was set to become the best cricketer from Ireland.Once you heard that, you had to ask yourself: had there ever been a good cricketer from Ireland? No one at the club could name one.Irish cricket to the wider world did not exist. No one knew about Jimmy Boucher’s offspin, Alec Riordan’s left-arm seam or the spin twins Dermott Monteith and Mike Halliday.And in 1997, as Joyce’s career was beginning, one of the greatest players in Irish history was about to retire because Ireland didn’t make it to the 1999 World Cup. No one knew of Irish cricket, so how could they know of Alan Lewis?****Cricket is an heirloom, passed through generations like a family relic. Alan Lewis’ father, Ian, played cricket because he grew up just two decent hits from the YMCA ground in Dublin. Ian represented Ireland 20 times and legend has it he once savaged Alf Valentine. From the age of five, Alan was at the ground; he was a cricketer before he was even old enough. He and his father played two games together for YMCA.Cricket in Ireland is an even more family-orientated sport than in other countries. Lewis is one of three generations of Irish cricketers and both his daughters have played for Ireland. It would be a weird story in other cricket countries. But there are two O’Brien brothers in the current team and you can’t turn your head in Ireland without bumping into a cricketing Joyce. And Lewis seems to have played with or against the fathers of all the current players.Cricket was not promoted in Ireland; the Gaelic Athletic Association had a rule banning members from playing sports like cricket, and more so cricket because it was seen as such an English game. So it was these magic families that kept the flame alive. Cricket in Ireland is fed by the talented north-west of Northern Ireland and the royal cricket bloodlines of Dublin.In 1984, at 20, declared Lewis “Al of the Thousand Runs”. No local batsman had ever made 1000 runs in a season. It was that year, as an allrounder, that Lewis made his debut for Ireland. He would play for Ireland over the next 13 years, eventually becoming captain. At that point, Ireland cricket was games against Scotland, matches in England’s Benson & Hedges Cup, a few smaller opponents and, after 1993, the odd ICC tournament.Most of Irish cricket was seen as club cricket. In Dublin, cricket was mostly amateur and, in the words of Lewis, “jazz-hat cricket”: posh boys playing for fun, more of a private members’ club and soiree than a fully fledged sport. People enjoyed being members, they liked the blazers, and the exclusiveness of their sport. In Ireland, these types are called “West Brits”.Ed Joyce•SportsfileLewis wanted more than that. He loved the competitiveness of cricket, he always wondered why his father didn’t make the most of his talent. He knew from a young age he could play as he’d dominated schoolboy cricket. So in 1984, as a 20-year-old who had already played for Ireland, he went to Somerset’s 2nd XI. He made a fifty against a Hampshire team with Robin Smith in it. But, he hated 2nd XI cricket. He’d hoped it would be the professional environment that would inspire him and instead, he saw a bunch of people moping they weren’t in the first team, all playing for themselves. He soon left.His real calling was not county, but a chance to play for Mosman in Sydney’s Grade cricket. In Sydney, Lewis saw what he had always wanted in cricket.”I was an impatient bowler,” he says. “In Ireland, everything was about containing.” Lewis remembers an over for Mosman that went for 11, in which two short balls were hit for six and four. He trudged off downhearted before his skipper came over and told him he was brilliant and should keep going like that. “If that were in Ireland, it would have been, ‘bad luck, but I’m going to have to take you off now’.”Lewis was an Irishman who longed to be an Australian cricketer: “I felt Australian.” He even talks up the training, and the competitiveness and intensity were far beyond what he was used to back home. Largely he was a novelty. “Mate, we didn’t even know the Irish played cricket,” he’d be told many times. But his performances won over the Sydney cricketers. On his first grade debut, he took 8 for 69, including a hat-trick, which led to him and his Ian Botham-inspired mullet ending up on the back page of the . He loved the frankness of Australian cricket and would have loved to come back year after year and try to make it as an Australian player.How far could he have gone? He pauses, and his eyes come alive. “I saw real opportunity there. I know that sounds really far-fetched. At the end, I felt like I belonged. I think I would have only improved with that kind of dedication. “You can see in his eyes he dreamed of being an Australian Test player. “I would have been all over it, without a doubt. Oh, without a doubt. I would have loved it.”Whether Lewis was good enough, we’ll never know, but as a schoolboy, he went up against the best cricketers in the UK. “I look at players who I played against at school level, and they went on to make 1000 runs year after year in county cricket, and some became Test players,” he says.

“My burning ambition was for Ireland to beat a professional team, and that year, with Hansie Cronje in our side, we did that”Alan Lewis on Ireland’s 1997 win over Middlesex

And Lewis isn’t just talking about himself. He believes, as many in Ireland do, that their junior cricketers are as good as anywhere. Hansie Cronje (who lived with Lewis when he played for Ireland as an overseas player) told him when he looked at young Irish cricketers, “There is nothing here that I wouldn’t see in Free State, but the big difference is where they can move to.” Even now, a well-funded posh school in England has better facilities than Irish cricket.Lewis loved cricket in Sydney, playing against Greg Matthews and Mark Waugh, and with players like Gavin Robertson. He was close to the Flower family and the Streaks of Zimbabwe. But where all those guys lived cricket and had access to all the facilities and coaches they needed, Lewis was stuck as an Irish amateur. “The first proper batting coaching I ever got in Ireland was at 29.”Lewis never went back to Australia, and other than a trial at Glamorgan, which he knocked back, there were no offers to play county cricket.The most significant problem was that his body was already playing up. In the space of two years he had to give up playing scrum-half in rugby because of a cruciate knee injury, and after that, his bowling slowed down with what he believes to be a stress fracture of his back. He played through it, making it far worse. As a young man, with no professional infrastructure, he just kept playing – but he went from a bowling allrounder to a batsman who bowled occasionally.His batting matured well, leading to four hundreds for Ireland. He believes his best innings came against a Zimbabwe Union XI just over a year before they received Test status. It was a near full-strength side, and Ireland made 225. Of those, Lewis made 96, against a team with three future Test bowlers. Because of his innings, Ireland dominated the game though Zimbabwe held on for the draw with seven wickets down.Lewis saw himself as an “accumulator, technician” rather than a flamboyant batsman. In Ireland they rarely played anything more than one-day cricket, and his style was best suited to the longer forms of the games. In his 13-year career, he played only eight first-class matches, all against Scotland – who were among the better Associate teams in that era. In those eight games, Lewis averaged 53.In 1997 he retired. “It was probably a silly thing to do, it wasn’t a wise decision. I did it in the bar after a few beers.”I was only 32, but once we didn’t qualify for the 1999 World Cup, I didn’t want to wait around six years for the next World Cup, so I thought that was it. My burning ambition was to beat a professional team, and that year, with Hansie Cronje in our side, we did that.” (Ireland overcame Middlesex in the B&H Cup, Lewis making 34 before being bowled by Phil Tufnell.)Lewis informed Mike Hendrick, Ireland’s first professional coach, of his decision to retire. Hendrick did wonders for Irish cricket, but he was a pragmatic man, and once Lewis announced he was retiring, he was out of the side. Lewis laughs about it, though many in Irish cricket were angry that one of their best players, a veteran of 13 years, wasn’t given a final game at Lord’s.Unlike when Netherlands’ Peter Borren retired, there were no glowing articles about Lewis’ career. He disappeared from a cricket world that hadn’t noticed his existence.Former Ireland captain and now chief selector Alan Lewis•Slog Sweep***”I was throwing tennis balls to a 10-year-old at an Easter camp, and after throwing a few, I went to someone and said ‘Who is that kid over here?’ because he was just different to everyone else. He hit six tennis balls, and you just knew.”Eight years later, Lewis told Hendrick, “Just pick him, pick all these young guys.” It was the same guy, Ed Joyce. In a 50-over match against Scotland in West Bromwich, Lewis batted three, Joyce at four. Joyce almost won his first game for Ireland with a 60, before being run out near the end of the chase.Joyce had the kind of career the ghosts of Irish cricket past wish they had. He could play with Cronje as a teenager, played under Hendrick, Adrian Birrell and Phil Simmons for Ireland, became a professional with Middlesex and then an England player. Before Joyce, that wasn’t a pathway. Lewis never got those opportunities; he would finally find fame in rugby, not cricket, as a World Cup referee.Just after I arrived in Malahide my B&B host asked what kind of work I was doing around the cricket.”Tomorrow I’m interviewing Alan Lewis.””The rugby referee?””Yes.””What’s he got to do with cricket?””He’s one of the best cricketers you’ve ever had.””Really, well I never knew that”.Lewis, O’Riordan, and Halliday, and so many others were the men who kept Irish cricket going. None of them are famous in their own country or within the game they loved. When Joyce was a cricket-obsessed boy, he’d travel to watch the Irish cup finals and to his young mind, “Lewis was a big deal, he seemed to make a hundred every year.” On Friday, young Irish kids will be able to turn on their TV and watch Joyce play a Test match.It doesn’t matter to Alan Lewis that he is unknown because Ireland cricket is known. And the boy he threw balls to will become a Test player. Eleven men will make their debut for Ireland; hundreds more will have tears in their eyes for the dream they never even dared to have. Ireland is a Test nation, Ireland is known.