ESPNcricinfo staff14-Jun-2016Having been sent in by West Indies, Australia lost Aaron Finch in the first over for a duck•AFPSteven Smith walked in at No.3 and was tested with a flurry of short balls•AFPUsman Khawaja found his groove at the other end, and brought up his second successive fifty•AFPSmith also brought up his second consecutive fifty and had a 170-run second-wicket stand with Khawaja•AFPCarlos Brathwaite broke the partnership in the 35th over by taking a return catch to remove Smith for 74•AFPKhawaja was run out soon after, for 98, as the hosts began tie Australia down•AFPGeorge Bailey chipped in with 55, but Australia could score just 94 off the last 16 overs to post 265 for 7•AFPAndre Fletcher struck a run-a-ball 27 in a 74-run opening stand before falling to James Faulkner in the 10th over•AFPJohnson Charles made an attacking 48 before he was pinned lbw by Adam Zampa•AFPDarren Bravo and Marlon Samuels then steadied the chase by adding 82 for the third wicket•AFPSamuels raised his half-century off 58 balls, even as Bravo gloved Zampa behind for 39•AFPSamuels thumped three successive sixes off Zampa in the 41st over before he was run out off the next ball for 92 off 87 balls•AFPAustralia made some late inroads but West Indies cruised to a four-wicket win with 26 balls remaining•AFP

He has been searching for rhythm and admits to being too hard on himself but Steven Finn has been buoyed by the words of an impressive backer

Andrew Miller15-Jun-2016At the end of the third day at Lord’s, having endured an at-times laborious search for form and rhythm, Steven Finn fronted up for the Sky cameras following his best performance of the series to date. Two quick wickets, in addition to his earlier dismissal of Dimuth Karunaratne, had helped to derail Sri Lanka’s promising first-innings position and set England up for a healthy lead of 128.What had started out as a piece of technical analysis on the outfield turned, towards the end, into an unabashed pep talk, as Michael Holding, one of the game’s great fast bowlers, encouraged Finn to let go of some of his inhibitions and just trust that fact that, with 120 Test wickets at a very healthy average of 28.33, he had done it before at the highest level, and would continue doing it in the future.”You have done it in the past Finny,” Holding said. “You’ve taken wickets on numerous occasions, so you should rely on that past success and just go out and relax. No one can question your ability, no one can question that you deserve to be out there, so go out there, relax a bit and get the job done.””I wasn’t expecting that actually,” said Finn during an event in London ahead of the Royal London ODI series. “I left that interview with a massive grin on my face because one of the best bowlers there has ever been thinks I’m a good bowler.”I’ve actually not had that much opportunity through my career to talk to Michael Holding. That’s probably my own fault for not going and seeking him out.”I know he’s enjoyed my style of bowling from what I’ve listened to on the TV. And so to actually have someone who is a great of the game, done what he’s done and watched as much cricket as he has, saying nice things about you, and just pumping your tyres up a little bit, it’s a great feeling.”Holding’s nickname, famously, was “Whispering Death”, on account of his soundlessly smooth approach to the crease and ferocious pace from one of the most classical actions ever to grace the game.Finn, by contrast, has rarely made the act of fast bowling look so effortless: “Galumphing Mayhem” might be a fairer reflection of his well-documented struggles to align his limbs to his talent.Even when his rhythm has been absent, his threat has remained – he has never gone wicketless in any of his 32 Tests – but on those occasions when everything has clicked, such as the second innings at Edgbaston in last summer’s Ashes, he has ranked among the most hostile and incisive bowlers in the game.Would he go back to seek Holding’s advice in the future? “Yeah. It would be interesting to hear as well,” Finn said. “My approach to the crease, obviously I’ve had issues with that over the years that have caused me numerous frustrations I suppose.

“I’ve got a burning desire to get better. I don’t want to just be as I am now. I want to learn new things as a bowler”Steven Finn

“He arguably had the most beautiful run-up there has ever been, to be called Whispering Death, that shows quite a bit about your approach to the crease. So it would be interesting to see what he saw and what he felt about that, most definitely.”For the time being, however, Finn will settle for that fresh air in his tyres, following a frustrating winter in which his return to the Test side for the tour of South Africa was cut short by a side strain that – much to his chagrin – caused his subsequent omission from the England squad that reached the final of the World T20 in India in April.By his own admission, he was feeling his way back to form in the early weeks of England’s Test series against Sri Lanka, but now, with a five-match ODI campaign looming against the same opponents, Finn feels ready to reclaim his role as the spearhead of the one-day side – especially with the incentive of England hosting two world events, the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup, in the not-too-distant future.”I’d say I’ve got a good record in one-day cricket for England – 60 or 70 ODIs,” he said. “But again that doesn’t count for anything when you go into a series. Obviously I want to be a part of those squads for 2017 and 2019. It would be a massive thing to be able to play in a Champions Trophy and World Cup on home soil. I’m probably the most experienced bowler in the squad going into this series, so there is responsibility on me, but I think I’ve handled that well before and I’m looking to do so again.”In between his injuries and technical set-backs, Finn has been England’s go-to strike bowler in one-day cricket for several seasons now – and with neither James Anderson nor Stuart Broad selected for the forthcoming series, the chance to emerge from the formidable shadow they cast in Test cricket is one that he appears to relish.”I really enjoy it,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed the responsibility in the past of bowling the first over of an ODI, of trying to take an early wicket and making inroads early on. I love that pressure and responsibility of going out there and having to set the tone. In the Test matches you try to dovetail behind Broady and Jimmy, because a lot of the time they’re leading the line, [but] hopefully it will bring the best out of me.”The fresh and positive attitude around England’s one-day set-up will doubtless help to bring out the best in a bowler who admitted, during an off-colour display in the second Test at Chester-le-Street, that he could at times be too hard on himself. Though he missed England’s uplifting performances in their march to the World T20 final in India, he’s well aware of the vibe around the squad and ready to immerse himself back into it.Steven Finn preparing food at a Sri Lankan-inspired cooking event•ESPNcricinfo Ltd”The manner in which the guys have played – with a carefree, free-spirited attitude – has served us well,” he said. “If we start looking upon ourselves to force these things and make them happen, that would be a bad place to go to. If we just go out there and try to show off and show people what we can do, that will stand us in good stead.”That’s what the guys did during the World Cup. It’s the mantra Trevor [Bayliss] and Eoin [Morgan] are trying to instil into this side, with all these youthful, exuberant players. It’s served us very well at the moment. If we don’t get too ahead of ourselves, we don’t put too much pressure on ourselves, I think we could be a force to be reckoned with.”There’s a few examples in our team,” he added of the new-found showmanship that England have brought to their cricket in recent months. “Ben Stokes, the way he’s developed over the last 18 months as an allrounder and international cricketer. He goes out there and tries to show off what he can do.”And if you fail and make mistakes that’s fine, you learn from it and you try not to make those mistakes again. That’s the mantra that we have as this one-day team, that there are no wrong decisions.”If you take a positive option and it doesn’t come off, so be it. You learn from it and try to put that into play in a better way next time.”There’s no blame culture, there’s no finger pointing or anything like that. If someone comes in after trying to lash a spinner for six the first ball of their innings, that’s fine, they took the responsibility to try to do that.”Everyone in the dressing room’s okay with that, and as a side that’s an important place to be, and exciting as well. Because we have people who are capable of doing freakish things, and if they’re allowed to go out there and try and do those things then it serves us well.”As to his long-term ambitions in all forms of the game, however, Finn admits that he needs both to work on his game and not let it eat him up in the process. It can be a tough balance to maintain, but confidence gleaned in the coming ODI series should stand him in good stead for the arrival of Pakistan and his return to Lord’s for the first Test on July 14.”I probably can be [too hard on myself],” he said. “I need to accept that I’ve got a very good Test record and have confidence and belief that what I do with the ball and how I get people out are enough in Test match cricket.”But also I’ve got a burning desire to get better. I don’t want to just be as I am now. I want to learn new things as a bowler. People like Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad have shown, all the way through their career, they’ve developed and got better and found new toys and skills, because it’s fun as a bowler when you’re doing these things. I can be hard on myself, but I’m learning to be a bit more realistic now.”Steven Finn was speaking at a Sri Lankan-inspired cooking event hosted by Royal London, proud sponsors of one-day cricket

The events surrounding the second T20 in Lauderhill left a sour taste in the mouth from a fan perspective, and things must improve significantly from an operational standpoint to encourage return customers

Peter Della Penna31-Aug-2016A sell-out crowd, clear sunshine, a belting pitch, a record run-fest for India’s maiden T20 international on US soil. Everything seemed to come off as it should on Saturday at the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, in particular for the fans.The visit was an opportunity for India’s players to thank their fans among the Indian diaspora in the USA, in person, for their dedication over the years. Stories of Indians studying at universities around the USA seeking permission to set up viewing parties in empty lecture halls at 3 am to watch the World Cup in 2011 are the continuation of a tradition stretching back decades. Part of the origin story of Cricinfo was feeding those same students with text commentary over internet relay chat in the 1990s at all hours of the day.The wealthier members of the Indian diaspora don’t have to deal with such trifles. At the 2015 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, fans in the USA were some of the biggest ticket buyers traveling to the event, with expats flying from New York, Chicago, San Francisco and elsewhere to make it down to Adelaide for the showdown against Pakistan. Others shelled out USD 100 to watch the tournament pay-per-view package offered by the then-rights holder ESPN. Instead of going to such great lengths to go find the cricket, the cricket had now finally come to them.”I’m paying not only for Kohli and Dhoni, but a good competitive game of cricket,” said Agam Shah, 33, a day before the series began. Originally from Ahmedabad, Shah has lived in Fort Lauderdale for more than 10 years. “I would much rather it be a close game rather than India winning by 200 runs. I’m paying for a good competitive series. I wouldn’t pay this much to see India v Sri Lanka. West Indies is the World Cup winner.”Shah’s words wound up being almost prophetic with the one-run margin on Saturday. But more than the final ball, the fan atmosphere was the defining feature of the day. The DJ sparked numerous bhangra dance-offs when and were blasted to the satisfaction of the Indian contingent while the West Indian fans grooved to Dwayne Bravo’s . One couldn’t help but smile at the bonhomie, a far cry from the combativeness that can be witnessed between fans at any NFL game.”The Indians there were just unbelievable, cheering on, just watching them along, the excitement from them actually made the game more tense,” said Lisa Ramsanahi, 27, a Guyanese-American born and raised in Queens, New York, who flew down with her husband and watched from the bleachers on the north stand – “the only two West Indian fans in our section”. The pair also came down for the CPL games in Lauderhill in July, but Saturday’s game was at a different level. “It was great, best game, best T20 I ever witnessed,” said Ranveer Ramnauth, Lisa’s husband.As if fate was smiling on the BCCI, Saturday’s game went on uninterrupted but mere moments after the teams shook hands and walked off the field, a heavy shower came down, hurrying fans toward the exits. It was one more indication that everything that could go right did go right.”To have a nail-biting finish on the last ball, God has been kind,” BCCI president Anurag Thakur told ESPNcricinfo after the game. “A thunderstorm was expected, nothing happened, we survived. I think that luck is on our side. When you put your 100%, the god also favors you.”That luck vanished on Sunday, mainly because officials decided to tempt fate by delaying the start under bright sunshine even though thunderstorms were forecast for the early afternoon. Initially fans remained patient when a 10.30 start was communicated, but when another 10 minutes were added on to the delay, boos rang out around the ground.It was especially frustrating because of the reason for the holdup – a breakdown in satellite transmission with the host broadcaster in India – as there is a precedent for proceeding with play regardless of TV coverage available, both in cricket and baseball. A 2012 tri-series ODI in Hobart between India and Sri Lanka moved forward after power went out at the ground. It resulted in TV viewers missing the first 3.4 overs of India’s chase.More recently, Game 1 of the 2015 World Series between the New York Mets and Kansas City Royals experienced a TV broadcast failure with the host feed controlled by going down in the bottom of the fourth inning. According to Richard Sandomir’s chronicle of events in , the game was briefly delayed only because Fox’s feed was being used for baseball’s replay challenge system. After a short discussion with umpires, both managers agreed to play on without the replay system available. TV coverage of the game continued outside the USA on an international TV feed while radio coverage went on uninterrupted. It was 38 minutes before the feed was restored.The US market seemed the least of India’s concerns on the day, though. The matches were not shown on any TV channel in the USA, with the rights sold and packaged as an online pay-per-view option via , a “cord-cutter” internet portal similar to or . Saturday’s final-ball drama was missed by the mainstream American sports fan while Sunday’s technical delays beaming the match back to India had no ripple effect on disrupting any USA cable or network TV channel’s programming line-up since it wasn’t being offered.The decision to delay the start brought fans back to reality, that this series wasn’t about the BCCI saying thank you by playing in front of them. Instead, they were an ancillary consideration to the primary vehicle of the TV audience back in India. Other issues that maybe could be forgiven now boiled to the surface.Concession sales were cash-only, but if one was only carrying credit cards, there were no ATMs on site to take out money, leaving the earliest-arriving fans from the gate-opening time of 8 am hot and thirsty for up to six hours in 90-degree Farenheit (32 degrees Celsius) Florida heat. Ticket values – starting at USD 75 for standing room only and USD 100 for uncovered bleachers going up to USD 250 for VIP – also priced out many casual fans from being able to attend.”Ever since I’ve been here, I’m a Red Sox fan and I go to as many Red Sox games as I can,” said Anish deSouza, a 27-year-old from Mumbai now living in Massachusetts, who flew in for the series. “In similar seats, I sit in the bleachers there as well, you can get bleacher seats for USD 18. If they’re playing the Yankees, you might pay USD 50 for bleacher seats. If the aim is trying to promote cricket in the USA, you need to think about the other sports you’re competing with.”Fans who entered the north side of the stadium were given a color-coded stamp on the hand to signify each portion of the bleachers while another color stamp signified the standing-room-only area in front of the bleachers against the boundary fence. When the thunderstorm arrived, fans hurried for cover in a picnic area hut behind the bleachers that is used as a storm shelter in the event of lightning. However, most fans got soaked and the stamps were washed off. When fans then tried to return to the bleachers after the rain stopped, deSouza claims the security personnel initially refused to let people back in, on account of being unable to identify any stamps on their hands.Most fans who had VIP tickets actually stood outside to watch the games rather than sit indoors because the view was obstructed, but when the rains arrived, everyone returned indoors. At about 1.15, with the sun shining again and a full 45 minutes before play was officially called off, the bar inside was already shut with fans denied any service, including simple requests for water, at a time when food and drink hospitality – included for free in the price of a VIP ticket – should have been at its busiest. According to Sam Desai, a hotel owner from Lake Charles, Louisiana, staff then turned hostile toward one spectator.”He said, ‘Hey, but the game is still on. Why won’t you guys give me water? I don’t want beer or food.’ Then they called security and chucked him, around 10 or 15 cops,” said Desai, whose version of events was backed up by at least a dozen other witnesses who had tickets in the VIP tent. “He just argued that, ‘Hey I paid for VIP. The game is still on. I just want water.'”The crowd waited for more than an hour with no communication from officials about what was going on. When MS Dhoni and Carlos Brathwaite shook hands at about 2 pm, fans slowly started to trudge off but minutes later another rain storm began. Many in the covered grandstand attempted to remain in their seats to wait out the passing storm rather than walk to the parking lot in the rain. However, security officials yelled at fans to leave immediately, once again showing no common-sense regard for their welfare. It brought back memories of the overly officious attitude from officials during the 2010 series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.As special as the fan experience was on Saturday, Sunday’s events left a sour taste in the mouth. The primary motivation for coming to Florida for so many was to be a part of history and witness India’s first official bilateral T20I series on USA soil, but without that carrot dangling in front of them, things must improve significantly from an operational standpoint to encourage return customers.”As long as the service is good and everything is organized, we are happy,” Desai said. Asked if he’d pay the same price for tickets to come back next year, Desai made his feelings perfectly clear. “Hell no!”

Stats from the seventh round of the Ranji Trophy, with landmarks for Pankaj Singh and S Badrinath, and an insight into the domination of bowlers in Lahli

Bharath Seervi25-Nov-2016146.2 Total overs played in the match between Baroda and Bengal in Lahli – the third shortest Ranji Trophy match since 2005-06 where all 40 wickets fell. The Delhi-Orissa match at Feroz Shah Kotla in 2008-09 finished in 128.5 overs while the Tamil Nadu-Punjab match in Dindigul last season lasted only 145.3 overs. The match in Lahli ended within two days, the first two-day finish of the 2016-17 season. Last season, nine matches ended within two days.11 Instances of a team being dismissed for under 100 runs in first-class matches in Lahli in the last five years – the most at any Indian venue. Baroda and Bengal were dismissed for 97 and 76 respectively in their first innings in Lahli in this round. No other Indian venue has had more than three such instances. Around the world, only the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium matches Lahli, with a similar number of totals under 100.20.94 Average runs per wicket in first-class matches in Lahli in the last five years – the lowest among 101 venues that have hosted 15 or more matches. The next among low-scoring venues is the United Bank Limited Sports Complex in Karachi. There have been 46 five-wicket hauls in 27 matches in Lahli in the last five years, more than any other Indian venue. No other venue in India has seen 30 such hauls, with 28 in Indore and Chennai. Only 22 centuries have been scored in Lahli, of which three have been in excess of 150.26 Wickets taken by Anupam Sanklecha in his last two games for Maharashtra. He took 14 for 94 against Vidarbha to register the best figures for Maharashtra, and followed it up with 12 for 144 against Assam in this round. In the first four matches of this season, Sanklecha had taken only nine wickets at an average of 31.55. His recent form has propelled him to second on the wicket charts with 35 dismissals, behind Pankaj Singh’s 36. His 8 for 73 is the best innings haul of the season so far.2 Consecutive innings wins for Maharashtra, against Vidarbha and Assam. They were winless after the first four outings, with three draws and one loss. With the two wins, they gained 14 points to move to third in the Group B points table . Sanklecha was Man of the Match in both wins.6/71 Jasprit Bumrah’s figures against Mumbai – his first-class best. This was his fourth five-for in 22 matches and first six-for. In the first two matches of this Ranji season, he had picked only four wickets for 134 runs. His five-for helped Gujarat take a marginal first-innings lead of 15 runs.10056 Runs for S Badrinath in his first-class career. He reached the milestone of 10000 runs with his 32nd century against Chhattisgarh in this round. He became the 47th Indian player to score more than 10000 first-class runs.402 Wickets in first-class matches for Pankaj Singh, the first Rajasthan bowler to complete 400 wickets in the format. He dismissed Delhi’s Sumit Narwal to reach the landmark. The next highest wicket-taker for Rajasthan is Kailash Gattani with 396 first-class wickets. Incidentally, Pankaj got to 400 wickets in his 100th first-class match.

Plays of the day from the second T20 between South Africa and Sri Lanka

Firdose Moonda22-Jan-2017Comedy of errorsSouth Africa’s new faces are largely unknown to the wider cricketing world and it looked as though two of them hardly knew each other either, even though they should have. Heino Kuhn and Theunis de Bruyn were team-mates at the Titans before this season but seemed to be strangers at international level. De Bruyn hit Angelo Mathews to backward point and wanted the single but hesitated when he saw Niroshan Dickwella closing in. Dickwella wasn’t as quick as de Bruyn expected so he decided to go for the run again. At the other end, Kuhn was forced to stop-start as he awaited instruction while keeping one eye on Dickwella. But the joke was on Sri Lanka as Dickwella sent his throw comically wayward and allowed Kuhn to saunter through.Danger in the stands When domestic T20 cricket first started in South Africa, the sponsors used to hand out builders’ helmets to the first hundred or so fans through the gates. The sponsor kids still wear them and one may have been handy for the spectators. With South Africa stuttering through the Powerplay, Kuhn took it on himself to move things along, helped by legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna’s generosity. He tossed up the second ball, prompting Kuhn to launch it over long-on and into the stands where he struck a fan in the face and brought up his first international score in double figures. The same thing happened in Centurion on Friday night, suggesting the protective gear may need to make a comeback.Dream debut Lakshan Sandakan would have been forced to bowl his first ball in international T20 again, had Mangaliso Mosehle not reached for it. The left-armer’s googly was well wide of off stump but Mosehle was tempted to go for the cut and got a thin edge through to Dinesh Chandimal to make Sandakan the 15th bowler and only Sri Lankan to claim a scalp with the opening delivery of his T20 career.Not Miller-time South Africa needed to take every chance that came their way in defence of a small total and would not have expected their most experienced hand to put one down. Dinesh Chandimal flicked an on-fire Lungi Ngidi in front of square where David Miller was stationed at a shortish midwicket position. Miller had to dive to his left and got both hands to the ball but could not hold on to it as he tumbled and Chandimal was let off.Tag team Kuhn and Imran Tahir pulled off a relay catch in Centurion and the pair were at again at the Wanderers. Mathews flicked a full Andile Phehlukwayo delivery behind square, with enough power that it appeared to be going all the way for four, but Kuhn made good ground and put in a slide to stop it. He scooped the ball off the turf for Tahir to pick up and the legspinner, not previously known for his fielding, pulled off a quick turn and release to keep the batsmen down to just one.

The Galle Test has brought further lessons – as well as a few successes – for Mehedi Hasan as he continues his development at international level

Mohammad Isam in Galle10-Mar-2017When Mustafizur Rahman was receiving news of his ESPNcricinfo T20 bowling performance award last month, Mehedi Hasan was the only other person present in the BCB academy lobby. Mustafizur, informed that his team-mate had also won an award, joked with Mehedi though nobody at the time informed him of what was to come.A week later when he saw the debutant of the year trophy, his eyes glazed in happiness. What he said next provided a window into his hungry mindset.”You know what, I want to win more of these [awards] in the future. I want to keep performing.”It is hard to fault such an ambition. After all, this is why Mehedi is playing for Bangladesh at the highest level. But to reach such heights, he would have to build his performance in every game. While it may be tough to expect him to deliver a 19-wicket haul in every Test series, he can still be expected to become the captain’s go-to bowler by adding more ammunition to his bowling.Many of the England batsmen in his debut series were found out for lack of footwork, which was eagerly exploited by Mehedi, a bowler who doesn’t shy away from tossing up the ball up and letting the pitch do the rest of the work. Despite vastly different conditions in New Zealand, he was an automatic pick in the XI and although he took two wickets for 197 runs against India, he didn’t lose a lot of confidence and neither did the management lose patience in him.His problem in Hyderabad – a lack of maiden overs – has continued in Galle, too. Here he bowled only two out of 42 overs, but he finished with six wickets in the game – his best figures since the 12-wicket haul against England in Mirpur in October.While two of his four wickets in the first innings were skiers, he did lure Kusal Mendis, on 194, and Niroshan Dickwella into false shots. He also got Dimuth Karunaratne to play away from his body and his fourth wicket came when trapping Dilruwan Perera lbw.In the second innings, he had the misfortune of having three catches dropped off his bowling, by Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah, all usually safe fielders. He again had Karunaratne reaching for a delivery but Shakib couldn’t hold the drive at cover; Soumya didn’t get down quickly enough to catch the edge from Dinesh Chandimal while Mahmudullah’s was a tough chance at the deep midwicket boundary.Still, he managed to pick up two wickets, removing centurion Upul Tharanga with a loopy delivery and Dickwella to a stunning catch by wicketkeeper Liton Das. Despite the situation of the game, Mehedi celebrated properly on both occasions. It looked like he enjoyed getting wickets even though many would say they were soft ones compared to how he bowled on the first day.The natural next step for Mehedi would be to add a bit more control to his bowling because there have been times in Hyderabad and Galle where he has looked short of options to stop a right-handed batsman from scoring into the leg side continuously. He did improve on his line by bowling less on middle-stump in the second innings, and also had a tight grouping on a fuller length in the pitch-map to left-handers. His work with the pace on the ball will improve as he gets more control of his shoulder and arm.It has been a tough few months for Mehedi after he had ripped through England in his debut Test series. Life will get harder for him as he strives for excellence in international cricket. But those who have seen him from close quarters know that he is an eager learner, and will not let go of any opportunity to pick the brain of the best spinners in the business.He already spent some time with R Ashwin after the Hyderabad Test, and it is likely that Mehedi won’t think twice about seeking an audience with Rangana Herath during this Test series. It is also likely that someone as sensible as Mehedi will also know what to take from each bowling great, while applying them properly in match situations.

Mumbai’s captain has reached double digits just twice in eight innings this year while batting in the middle order, which could prompt a rethink about moving him back to open

Nikhil Kalro24-Apr-2017When a batsman isn’t picking the direction of spin, a cross-batted stroke, like a sweep or a reverse sweep, is the most logical option because it offers a wider second line of defence. ​Sweeping a legspinner means it is unlikely the ball will spin past the outside edge or will go through a bat-pad gap for a right-hander.A flipper, a topspinner and a slider are flat-trajectory variations, so when a legspinner flights a ball, he limits his options to two – a legbreak or a googly. The raw probability of not picking that variation, therefore, is 50%. Top-order batsmen, struggling to pick a legspinner, are rarely willing to back themselves with that amount of chance, even in T20s.So when Rohit Sharma chose a premeditated sweep off Amit Mishra in the ninth over against Delhi Daredevils last week, it wasn’t the worst option. He may or may not have picked the googly from the hand, but he found deep square leg with a sweep he didn’t keep along the ground. Perhaps Rohit’s sweep was borne largely out of distrust in his ability to differentiate the googly from a legbreak, for his form against legspinners this IPL has been woeful.Against Imran Tahir in Mumbai’s first game against Rising Pune Supergiant, Rohit was done in by a slider, his feet rooted to the crease. He didn’t pick the variation and was beaten in pace. Rohit played Tahir with more conviction and intent in Mumbai’s loss to Rising Pune at the Wankhede Stadium on Monday night though, taking him for 23 runs off 15 balls, but still failed to pick the regulation legbreak from the googly.Earlier in the season, Rohit was out lbw to a googly from Rashid Khan against Sunrisers Hyderabad, another delivery he failed to pick. He even failed to keep out Samuel Badree’s hat-trick ball, another googly that sneaked between bat and pad. He struck an unbeaten 29-ball 40 against Gujarat Lions, who didn’t have any wristspinners. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, he was out lbw – albeit to a poor umpiring decision – against Sunil Narine, another bowler he wasn’t quite picking. The choice of stroke in all these dismissals was similar – offering a straight bat with a full face at the ball.Against right-arm spinners this IPL before Monday’s game against Rising Pune in Mumbai, Rohit had been dismissed five times and scored just five runs in 15 balls. “I was trying to play with the spin, which is what we’re taught, but these [legspinners] were bowling googlies, so I had to play against it,” Rohit had said about his approach to legspin after his unbeaten 40 against Lions. “I decided to not play in the ‘V’. I know it sounds stupid to not to play in the ‘V’ but that’s how it is now.”Although his problems against legspin weren’t accentuated before this season, Rohit’s numbers are well below his average. Excluding the first year of the IPL, his highest strike-rate against legspin was 133.33 in 2012.

Year Inns Runs Bf Dis SR Ave2008 8 68 45 1 151.11 68.002009 9 53 45 3 117.78 17.672010 6 44 40 0 110.002011 6 31 41 3 75.61 10.332012 5 44 33 0 133.332013 9 52 52 2 100.00 26.002014 8 29 31 1 93.55 29.002015 11 78 65 2 120.00 39.002016 7 45 41 1 109.76 45.002017 6 28 30 5 93.33 5.60What are his options then? The simple solution is opening the batting. Rohit does it for India in T20Is and has also opened for Mumbai in previous seasons. But that could displace the relatively successful pair of Jos Buttler and Parthiv Patel. Rohit had said batting himself at No. 4 improves the balance of the side and also opens up the possibility of him finishing games.If he replaces Parthiv, that would mean either Buttler taking the gloves – which he does for England – or not making full use of Parthiv’s potential in utilising the Powerplay. After the Powerplay in the IPL, Parthiv averages just 20.36 with a strike rate of 119.16. In T20 terms, that equates to an inefficient use of resources.However, pushing Buttler down the order wouldn’t affect Mumbai’s top order much, nor would it disrupt their balance. He has played 52 of his 53 T20I innings in the middle order, with a strike rate of 139.20. Buttler has played the finishing role for England for his whole international career, save one innings. Rohit has batted in the top order for the majority of his. A simple swap makes all the sense in the T20 world, efficient utilisation of resources and all. Despite their success this season, are Mumbai willing to alter their winning style?

And who managed to get a World Cup winner’s medal without ever having played an international match?

Steven Lynch04-Apr-2017KL Rahul made six fifties – but no hundreds – in the series against Australia. Was this a record? asked Praful Mehra from India

Against Australia in the series which has just ended, KL Rahul became only the fifth batsman to make six scores between 50 and 99 in the same Test series without converting any into a century. The first to do it was the West Indian opener Conrad Hunte, in the five-match home series against Australia in 1964-65. He was followed by Allan Border in 1989, and Mike Atherton in 1993, both in six-Test Ashes series in England. The most recent addition to the list before Rahul – and the only other man to achieve it in a four-match series – was the Australian opener Chris Rogers, in the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy battle, in Australia in 2014-15. If you include centuries, there have been 26 further cases of a batsman reaching 50 on six occasions during a Test series, and nine cases of seven – the most meritorious probably by England’s Patsy Hendren, who made two hundreds (including a double) and five fifties* from eight innings in the series in the West Indies in 1929-30 (his other innings was an unbeaten 36), and Sunil Gavaskar, whose debut series for India in the West Indies in 1970-71 saw him pass 50 in seven of his eight innings, with four centuries, one of them also a double (his only failure being a knock of 1).Two bowlers took six-fors in a recent match between Afghanistan and Ireland. How many times has this happened in ODIs? asked Connor O’Brien from Ireland

Those hauls by Paul Stirling (who took 6 for 55) and 18-year-old Rashid Khan (6 for 43) in the second match of the recent series between Ireland and Afghanistan in Greater Noida marked the first time in 3851 one-day internationals that two bowlers had taken six wickets in the same match. There are only ten other cases of two five-fors, including one instance by two bowlers on the same side – Greg Chappell (5 for 20) and Gary Cosier (5 for 18) for Australia against England at Edgbaston in 1977.Hanif Mohammad: no problem a triple-century can’t solve•PA PhotosWas VVS Laxman’s amazing 281 at Eden Gardens the highest individual score in a follow-on? asked Varun Singh from India

VVS Laxman’s memorable 281 against Australia in Kolkata in 2000-01 was indeed a remarkable innings – but it wasn’t quite the Test record for a follow-on. That is still held by Hanif Mohammad, with his match-saving 337 for Pakistan against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58. There have been five other double-centuries in follow-ons: 275 by Gary Kirsten for South Africa against England in Durban in 1999-2000, 237 by Salim Malik for Pakistan against Australia in Rawalpindi in 1994-95, 232 not out by Andy Flower for Zimbabwe against India in Nagpur in 2000-01, 218 by Darren Bravo for West Indies against New Zealand in Dunedin in 2013-14, and 200 by Dilip Sardesai for India against New Zealand in Bombay (now Mumbai) in 1964-65.How often has a team been bowled out for the same score in both innings of a Test? asked Michael Broughton from England

There have been eight Tests in which one side returned identical all-out totals. The highest score involved is a pair of 306s, by Sri Lanka against South Africa in Cape Town in 1997-98, although India did make 407 and 407 for 9 declared against Pakistan in Kolkata in 2004-05. Of the other doubles, the highest two were by New Zealand, who made 279 twice against India in Hamilton in 2008-09, and twin 208s v West Indies in Wellington in 1955-56. Then come the following repeats: 201 twice by India against Australia in Sydney in 1980-81, 172 and 172 by New Zealand against South Africa in Wellington in 1952-53, twin 161s by New Zealand against Australia in Hobart in 1993-94, 148 and 148 by Bangladesh against Pakistan in Chittagong in 2001-02, and two 136s by India against Australia in Calcutta (now Kolkata) in 1956-57.Shaun Tait: “…and I only had to play 35 ODIs”•CWC 2015Who’s the only bowler to take six wickets for no runs in a Test? asked James Martin from England

You would do well to get this right in a quiz: the answer is the Jamaican fast bowler Jermaine Lawson, in a remarkable spell for West Indies against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2002-03. Once Lawson got going, Bangladesh crashed from 80 for 3 to 87 all out. All his wickets came in the space of 15 balls, during which he didn’t concede a run, leading to final figures of 6.5-4-3-6. Lawson played only 12 other Tests, finishing with 51 wickets, in a career clouded by doubts about his bowling action.Shaun Tait recently retired from all cricket, having played only 35 ODIs, but these included a World Cup final. Has anyone with a World Cup winner’s medal played in fewer matches? asked Danish Syed from the United States

The express fast bowler Shaun Tait was part of the Australian side which won the 2007 World Cup final against Sri Lanka in Bridgetown. Although he failed to strike in the final, he took 23 wickets in that tournament, behind only his team-mate Glenn McGrath (26). But Tait’s career tally of 35 one-day caps is quite a few more than several of the West Indian players in 1975, a time when one-day internationals were few and far between. Rohan Kanhai played only seven ODIs – the last of them the first final, as West Indies beat Australia at Lord’s – and Keith Boyce eight. Maurice Foster and Lance Gibbs, who were in that West Indian squad but didn’t play in the final, appeared in only two and three ODIs respectively. But the unbeatable winner in this respect is the Delhi left-arm seamer Sunil Valson, who was part of the 14-man squad for the 1983 World Cup, but didn’t get a game as India pulled off their upset victory in the final at Lord’s. And indeed Valson never got on to the field for India in an international match… but he did get a World Cup winner’s medal.Post your questions in the comments below08:10 GMT: *The answer to the first question was edited to correct an error in Hendren’s numbers for the 1929-30 tour of the West Indies

Plays of the day from the third ODI between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at the SSC

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Apr-2017The wicketkeeping wit
Mushfiqur Rahim played a memorable hand in Bangladesh’s World T20 loss to India in Bangalore, and it was in that match that the opposition wicketkeeper – MS Dhoni – effected an excellent stumping, by snapping the bails off in the split seconds Sabbir Rahman’s back foot hung in the air. Mushfiqur dusted off a version of that dismissal at the SSC, when, having collected a throw from deep point, he dislodged the bails as batsman Dinesh Chandimal sauntered into the crease. Chandimal initially grounded his bat, but it was just he lifted it again that the bails were disturbed and, as such, was ruled out by the third umpire.The near-fumble
Danushka Gunathilaka would have been feeling pretty good about himself when no fewer than five team-mates rushed to congratulate him on a terrific diving stop at short cover. So good, that he almost fluffed the next ball that came to him – this one an important catch. When Shakib Al Hasan picked him out again immediately after he made that save, Gunathilaka parried the ball on first attempt, but managed to grab it on the second.The botched celebration
When Nuwan Kulasekara took a return catch in the first over, his eagerness to celebrate almost got the better of him. Attempting to throw the ball in the air immediately after he had caught it, Kulasekara lost his grip on the ball and sent it rolling into the infield. The batsman, Tamim Iqbal, was convinced to stay on the field by batting partner Soumya Sarkar, and the third umpire was required to give a definitive decision. Upon review, it was found that Kulasekara was sufficiently in control of the ball to complete the catch.The hoarding removal
In an age where cricket is increasingly intruded upon by ads and commerce, the game fought back a little at the SSC, forcing the removal of five advertising hoardings from just beyond the boundary. It was a batsman that asked for them to be taken down. Soumya Sarkar complained that the hoardings glinted too brightly in the afternoon sun, so umpire Ruchira Palliyaguruge nipped over to the boundary to remove the first one. As Soumya continued to find them distracting, one by one, four further boards were removed.

After two months away from the game, Alastair Cook is back in action with Essex and facing up to the post-captaincy chapter of his England career

George Dobell03-Apr-20172:21

Cook ready for next phase

Whatever Alastair Cook was meant to be doing with a cricket net – erecting it, presumably – at Copdock Cricket Club, there was a while when it seemed to be getting the better of him.Thrashing around like a recently caught salmon, Cook’s contribution to the NatWest Cricket Force event turned out to be more about boosting morale than adding practical assistance. As he abandoned the net and attempted to paint the new score-box, the thought occurred that a post-cricket career in DIY seems unlikely.But perhaps such a moment serves as a useful metaphor for a man in search of a new role? On his first official outing since resigning the captaincy, Cook admitted that the transition from key man to last year’s man had not been entirely comfortable. It’s not that he regrets his decision – he still feels it was right for him and the team – but he knows he will never have a better job and there is, undoubtedly, a sense of loss.It would be easy to portray Cook as a man from a different era. While the rest of the world has decided impatience is a virtue, Cook is still waiting for the ball he can nudge off his hips. While it seems some are more interested in travelling in style than arriving safely, Cook is still proceeding cautiously. While the new generation amaze us with the shots they can play, Cook is still making a living from the balls he leaves.And yet, he’s only 32. And, in a side whose problems of late have been less about scoring too slowly as being dismissed too quickly, he has qualities that remain of value. While neither of his most significant immediate predecessors – Michael Vaughan and Andrew Strauss – returned to the side once they had given up the captaincy, Cook’s story is far from over. Keaton Jennings and Haseeb Hameed have offered promise in their brief opportunities, but the procession of opening partners Cook has had in recent years underlines his enduring value to the Test team. He may have lived the first line of his obituary, but he still has an important role for England.Alastair Cook helps out at Copdock Cricket Club for NatWest Cricket Force•Getty Images”It has good days and bad days,” Cook says of the decision to resign the captaincy. “It’s such a big thing to give away.”I don’t like the word ‘relief’. A lot of people have said it, but it hasn’t felt like that. I don’t know why.”I won’t miss going into all the extra press conferences. But being at the centre of it, being involved in a lot of decision-making, was the excitement of the job. Not doing that any more, will probably take a while to get used to.”Ultimately I know it was the right decision for myself and the team but that doesn’t make it any easier. It has been time to move on as a person and a player.”A period away from the game – he did not, he says, pick up a bat for two months following the India tour – has given him time, not just to recover his enthusiasm for it, but reflect on his period as captain and cricket’s apparently diminishing place in the public consciousness. And while he is amused by the much-quoted statistic that suggests he was less recognisable to young people in England and Wales than the wrestler John Cena, he also acknowledges its significance.”My best mate sent it to me and said ‘don’t worry, he’s a legend’,” Cook says. “It made me laugh in one sense.”But it’s probably a realisation of where cricket is in this county. There’s a lot of work to be done. It shows we can’t take this great game for granted. We – everyone – has to work hard so that it is looked after for the next generation.”Cook became aware of cricket’s problem during the 2013 Ashes. While there had been a time when an Ashes win was worthy of open-top bus rides and MBEs all round, the success of 2013 was met, if not with ambivalence, then certainly not the enthusiasm of a few years previously. As a result, it was decided his team would attempt to engage more with supporters and the realisation dawned that, for all the money gained from subscription TV, the value of free to air could not be overstated.”That 2013 series was quite an interesting one in terms of the fact we did win and it didn’t really capture people’s imagination,” Cook says. “Whether people had taken success against Australia for granted, or it was expected that we would beat that team, I don’t know.”For whatever reason, it didn’t [capture the public imagination]. That asked a few questions to everyone. Is it about winning? Is it about entertaining? Ultimately it’s about both. As professional sportsmen, you’re there to win games of cricket. You’re judged on how well you do: did you score runs and win? The balance is: are people coming to watch you play?”We did certain things to be more approachable. We had more interaction with the public. We saw that responsibility from 2013. We saw we needed to do that. Peter Moores started that in 2014 and it’s been taken on more and more. The players have been brilliant at doing that. It helps with the kind of cricketers we have. You’ve seen when we’ve won certain games, we signed autographs for an hour and a half. Players have realised that is very important to the game and to their job and the future of cricket.”Sky have been unbelievable supporters of England cricket and done a lot to financially secure the game. But it would be great if we can get it [the new-team T20 competition] on terrestrial TV. I’d love to see a Test on terrestrial TV again. It can only help.”England’s Ashes victory in 2013 failed to capture the public’s imagination•PA PhotosHe never, he says, felt obliged to change his style of game – or his style of captaincy – to embrace the modern fashion for more aggressive cricket. And while you sense there is still some frustration at the perception of his ODI side – they were, for a while, ranked No. 1 in the world and went close to securing that first global ODI trophy – time has helped him accept its flaws, too.”We should have won that game,” he says, referring to the Champions Trophy final of 2013. “If it was a 50-over game I think we would have won quite easily. We were playing some really good one-day cricket.”Would it have changed how my one-day captaincy was looked at? Absolutely. If you’ve won a major trophy, yes.”But should’ve, could’ve. Ultimately we didn’t win a major trophy. And the game changed very quickly with the changes to the laws, and we were very slow to adapt. I have to take a lot of responsibility as I was captain.”Cook will return to List A cricket this summer – his most recent List A game was in December 2014, just before he was sacked as ODI captain and dropped as a player – but he is realistic enough to know there will be no England recall. “The side is looking for different players than what I can deliver,” he says. There is unlikely to be a T20 return simply because England’s Test schedule would appear to prohibit it, but he is an advocate of the new-team competition: “it’s certainly something the ECB should try,” he says.But he is back in the nets with Gary Palmer, the freelance batting coach he uses, and he is still looking for ways to improve. With a more open technique, he is said to be hitting the ball better than for some time – he made a pre-season century against Middlesex – and has rediscovered his enthusiasm for a game that, by the end of the India tour, looked as if it had become a bit of a trial.”It’s the next phase of my career,” he says. “I’ve really enjoyed playing for Essex in pre-season and that’s the most important thing. I’m refreshed and raring to go. It’s time to move on.”Alastair Cook was speaking during NatWest CricketForce at Copdock CC. Now in its 17th year, NatWest CricketForce has grown into one of the largest sports volunteering initiatives in the UK, with over 2,200 local clubs registering this year. Find out more at natwest.com/cricket