England bounced back from the Trent Bridge defeat with mature performances in the last two Tests and with the Ashes on the horizon, Joe Root is keen to harness that attitude consistently

George Dobell at Old Trafford08-Aug-20171:54

Root hails England options in SA series win

As the champagne flowed in Manchester, the pain of defeat at Trent Bridge might have seemed long ago and far away.But it was that pain that inspired arguably the best back-to-back performances England have put together in Test cricket since they defeated Australia in Birmingham and then Nottingham to go 3-1 up in the 2015 Ashes. It was the knowledge that England had not done themselves justice at Trent Bridge that motivated them to play some of the most consistent, tough and mature cricket they have put together since the Andrew Strauss-Andy Flower era took them to No. 1 in the world rankings in 2011.It’s worth reflecting on that Trent Bridge performance for a moment. While it was the result, in the main, of an outstanding performance from South Africa, England were also culpable for some soft, naïve cricket.And nobody was more culpable than Joe Root or Moeen Ali. Both fell to loose – even reckless – strokes in England’s first innings. And while some of their team-mates fell in more defensive fashion, they did nothing to suggest they had developed an understanding of how to pace a Test innings. With two spinners and four seamers, England looked poorly balanced and heavily over-reliant upon two or three players for the bulk of their runs.Some of those issues remain. However, in the two Tests since Trent Bridge, Ben Stokes and Root have provided the mature performances required of the senior players they have become in this side, while Alastair Cook provided key contributions at the top of the order.Not only did England play better at The Oval and Old Trafford, but they also played smarter, tougher, more mature cricket that showed they had learned the lessons from that Nottingham defeat, and that they possessed the hunger and commitment to complement their flair. We already knew Stokes and Root could play devastating, attacking innings. But, over the last couple of games, they have also shown they can play patient, calculated knocks that take into account the quality of the opposition and the demands of the surface. Stokes contributed 224 runs in the final two Tests and Root 180.That is an encouraging development. While previous England teams have reacted to defeat in a variety of ways – resignation (India), denial (Pakistan) and scape-goating (West Indies and Australia) – this unit concluded that if they wanted to avoid such sensations in the future, they had to improve. So they accepted the criticism and demanded more from themselves. There is still a lot of work to do before this team can emulate the success of the Strauss-Flower era, but such honesty and desire to improve bode well.”That’s the most impressive thing,” Root said after victory in Manchester. “The way we’ve responded to a difficult week in Nottingham has been very pleasing.”That week wasn’t much fun. It would have been very easy to sit back and sulk, but we knuckled down and worked hard and came back with a really strong response. Hopefully, that is something we can harness and learn from.”Much of England’s success this series can be attributed to the sense of responsibility exhibited by the senior players collectively•AFPRoot is the first to admit he is fortunate to inherit a team with a couple of unusually strong components. The primary constituent is that he leads a side containing two experienced and skilful seamers. The fact that James Anderson came through four Tests in succession – and finished the series with a lower bowling average, 14.10, than Moeen – is hugely encouraging for England, while Stuart Broad bowled some way better than his figures suggest. In conditions offering assistance, either off the seam or in the air, they remain highly valuable performers. “They’re fabulous,” Root said afterwards. “They’ve done it for years and hopefully they can do it for many more.”Most of all, though, he enjoys the presence of at least two outstanding allrounders in Moeen and Stokes. It is similar to two of England’s better captains of recent times – Mike Brearley and Michael Vaughan – who owe their reputations, in part, to their good fortune in having fine allrounders – Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff respectively – in their sides. In Root’s case, when you add Chris Woakes to the mix – and England surely will within a few weeks – the captain is blessed with a team containing depth with both bat and ball.”It’s a great position to be in,” Root smiled. “We have a few wonderful allrounders in the side.”I said at the start of this series, it was a great opportunity for guys who had played 30-plus Tests to stand up and become senior players. Moeen has taken that on and put in some brilliant performances.”But holes remain. Most pertinently, Keaton Jennings has been unable to take his opportunity at the top of the order, while Dawid Malan has looked uncertain at No. 5 in his few opportunities to date. It is too early to come to any firm conclusions over Tom Westley (or Malan, really), but he has looked the most assured of the new batsmen in the side. With an Ashes series now just round the corner, England want far more certainty in such positions.Perhaps that’s the most encouraging aspect of this victory for England. They have defeated the No. 2-ranked Test side home and away within a couple of years and they have done it without establishing an opening partner for Alastair Cook or settling upon two other places in the top five. It suggests that, if they can fill those holes, there is considerably more to come from them as a side. It will not have gone unnoticed by the selectors that, around the county game on Monday, Haseeb Hameed, Alex Hales and Woakes were scoring runs.”It’s been hard work for the guys at the top of the order,” Root said. “We have batted first on wickets that have done quite a lot. Scores of 20 or 30 have been worth double that. It has been a tough school for guys at the top of the order.”We have three more Tests before we go to Australia and that will be an opportunity for whoever gets the chance to play. Whether that is Jennings or someone else, we will have to wait and see.”This is the start of something. It’s going to take time to develop if we want to be more consistent and make sure we keep challenging the best teams in the world; we are going to have to continue to look to improve individually and as a side. We have to harness that mentality that we’ve had in the back end of the series and repeat it over and over again.”We can’t just be happy with where we are.”That may turn out to be the theme of Root’s captaincy. Even in the wake of a significant success, even when others might be bathing in plaudits, Root is urging his team on to more. Relaxed yet demanding; calm yet urgent; delighted though unfulfilled: this has been an assured start to Root’s period as captain. If they can resolve those top-order batting issues, there’s no reason he should not lead them to more success in the future.

After being pummeled for 1462 runs in three innings, the hosts, led by two rookie left-arm spinners, were sublimely adequate for most of the first day in Pallekele

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Pallekele12-Aug-20171:43

Maharoof: Tremendous fightback from Sri Lanka

As with life, or lovers in , the emotions cricket elicits from us are relative.Take the India side. They are not, in normal circumstances, the least demonstrative bunch of men. When a wicket falls, Virat Kohli often races around the field fists clenched and vocal chords atremor, like he is being pursued by a machete murderer. Some of Hardik Pandya’s celebrations are of such epic blockbuster quality, it seems a shame there is not helicopter crashing in the background, or CGI laser lights shooting from his orifices.In this series, however, so dominant have India been, that they have largely found no reason to exult. Kohli has been more zen than zealot, barely working up an aggressive gesture since the second day in Galle. When Pandya took a catch at square leg at the SSC, he was so subdued he passed the ball to the umpire like he was discarding rotten fruit. At times, India have almost seemed embarrassed at how easily their success has come. Oh what? Another hundred? Good for the stats I guess. Do I want it on Blu-Ray? No, I think I’ll just read the ball-by-ball commentary if I need to. Kumara to Dhawan, short, wide, FOUR.The hosts, meanwhile, have just been plain embarrassed. Their fans have been so traumatised, it seems a serious oversight that the broadcast of certain sessions from Galle and Colombo were not preceded by the disclaimer: “Trigger warning for Sri Lankan cricket supporters”. Sri Lanka gave away fifties with rare freedom, and India merrily plundered 1462 runs in three innings. All those runs had come at a combined rate of over four.But day one of the third Test was unlike day one of the first Test (End of day score: India 399 for 3), or day one of the second Test (End of day score: India 344 for 3). Sri Lanka were lavishly pummeled at points of it of course. Lahiru Kumara’s pitch map in his first two spells looked like ants escaping a flooding colony.But still, following the early pummeling were one-and-a-half sessions of glorious competence. After hemorrhaging runs at a rate of 4.69 through the first 45 overs, they were sublimely adequate for most of the remaining 51.The bowling of Malinda Pushpakumara was perhaps the most exquisitely satisfactory pleasure. For perhaps the first time in the series, a Sri Lanka bowler other than Rangana Herath bowled full spells with – try to keep your eyes from leaping out of their sockets – an element of discipline and control. His lines were astoundingly decent throughout the day, and even when he was attacked, at points, he continued to flight the ball, like he was a solid international quality spinner. With him at the bowling crease there was a gnawing hope: maybe in this Test, the close fielders would get more of a workout than the boundary boys.In support of Pushpakumara was Lakshan Sandakan, a Sri Lanka spinner who – you may die of cardiac arrest when you read this – actually spun the ball. His end-of-day figures are 2 for 84, but still, there was a resplendently passable dip and rip to his deliveries, and at times some completely unobjectionable bounce. Remember that 2008 series, when Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis completely puzzled India batsmen, like they were sending down sudokus instead of balls? Well, Sandakan wasn’t anywhere near as good as that, but he did deceive most of India’s top order with his googly. Out of all Sri Lanka’s bowlers, he was played-and-missed at the most as well.At the end of the day, Dhawan even showered these two bowlers with mild praise, bestowing such faint compliments as: “The chinaman bowler is very nice. He was turning the odd ball a lot,” or “The left-arm bowler is also good. He took wickets today.” Sri Lanka’s players have had these kinds of patronising plaudits from India players right through the tour, but the difference is that this time, the mild praise was earned. Sri Lanka took six whole wickets in the day, and only two catches were put down. That Dhawan hadn’t bothered learning the bowlers’ names was mere detail – it was more than enough that he had registered them as human beings who could potentially get him out.With Wriddhiman Saha and Hardik Pandya at the crease India may still make more than 400 – a total higher than any Sri Lanka has managed in this series so far. And who knows what Sri Lanka have in store for us tomorrow. Even now, you shudder to think. But at least on day one, there was cricket that, if you are a Sri Lanka fan, did not make you want to throw yourself in the nearest well.It was more or less magnificent.

James Anderson took his first five-wicket haul in Australia after 30 innings and also became the oldest to do so in Australia since Glenn McGrath in 2006

Gaurav Sundararaman05-Dec-2017First five-wicket haul in AustraliaAfter 15 matches and 30 innings, James Anderson has finally got his first five-wicket haul in Australia. Previously he had four four-wicket hauls, with three of them coming in the victorious 2010-11 series. This was only Anderson’s fifth five-wicket haul away from home. Interestingly, he now has one such haul in South Africa, West Indies, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Australia. He has 20 five-wicket hauls in England. Among the bowlers in the 500-wicket club, Anderson has the worst average overseas and the fewest five-wicket hauls. He has, however, had a great 2017, having taken 47 wickets at 15.82 and with a strike rate of 42.0. His average is the best for any bowler this year.

Old is goldAnderson also became the oldest pace bowler to take a Test five-wicket haul in Australia since Glenn McGrath at the Gabba in 2006-07, and the oldest pace bowler from England to take a five-wicket haul anywhere since George Geary in 1929. Anderson now has three five-wicket hauls after turning 35 and joins an elite list of seven cricketers to achieve this feat. Australia’s low score and England’s tough target Australia’s third innings did not go the way they expected. They have had one lower score at home against England since 1996.
Australia’s second innings had all 11 batsmen scoring 20 or fewer, the sixth time this has happened in a Test innings at home for them. Four of the previous instances ended in defeat, while the only win came in the first ever Test.
However, England need a record fourth-innings score to win this Test. The previous highest was 332 against Australia at Melbourne in 1928. Incidentally, three out their four highest Test chases have been against Australia.

From Afridi pinning Sehwag for a first-ball duck to the presence of The Great Khali, the inaugural edition of the T10 League had it all. Paul Radley dissects the four-day tournament

Paul Radley18-Dec-2017Given the combination of nuclear batting and rampant commerce, watching the first T10 League felt a little like tuning in to the shopping channel to watch a home-run derby. Dot balls were sponsored. Sixes and fours were so passe, they were grouped together by another advertiser under the prosaic heading of . There were stilt-walkers, acrobats, and dancers in zorbs. Pakistan’s former president Pervez Musharraf came along to watch. Shahid Afridi took a hat-trick with the first three balls he bowled. A 16-year-old from Afghanistan got the England limited-overs captain out. And a street-cricketer from the UAE broke Afridi’s middle-stump into two pieces. What was not to like about the first 10-over cricket tournament in professional cricket?1. “Full house, thank you Sharjah fans”‘Build it, and they will come,’ might as well be a UAE mantra. It was how the Sharjah Cricket Stadium came into being in the first place. But one of the myriad unknowables ahead of this tournament was, of course, would anyone actually turn up to watch?There were plenty of reasons to be sceptical. Surely 10-overs is too short, and too daft? Double-headers are often a tough sell, so how could they realistically expect people to sit through four matches in a row, with the late games finishing at 1 am? And why would anyone feel an affinity to any of the six artificial constructs they were supposed to be coming to support?Unfounded fears, it turns out. Around 12,600 spectators went through the turnstiles on the first day, a Thursday evening, so not far off the 15,200 capacity. On Friday it was a sell-out, and the same was the case on Sunday’s finals night, which is basically unheard of on a work night in the UAE. As proof of concepts go, it was quite the endorsement.2. The Great KhaliAmong the many sponsors of the T10 League was , and the broadcasts sometimes felt as much like flicking through the pages of a glossy magazine as they did watching a cricket competition. The franchises flew in a range of celebrities to support their teams. Among them was perhaps the biggest star ever to attend a cricket match. Dalip Singh Rana is not exactly a household name. Even by his stage name, The Great Khali, he is a bit niche. And yet they don’t come much bigger than the 7ft 1in, 157 kg former WWE wrestler and one-time Hollywood actor. The people who had tickets in the “Celebrity Stand” had to pay Dh500 (approx $135) for the privilege, which was the top price for admission. Those who sat behind him might have been disappointed to get restricted-view seats.3. First round hat-tricksWhen the Pakistan Super League launched in Dubai in 2016, it was given immediate impetus when Mohammed Amir took a hat-trick on the opening weekend for Karachi Kings. For Amir and the PSL, read Afridi in T10.This tournament might as well have been invented for Afridi, right down to the fact the he wears number 10 on the back of his shirt. Somehow, given the complete lack of merchandise stores, the streets surrounding Sharjah Stadium ahead of the first game were awash with thousands of people wearing yellow replica Pakhtoon shirts with his name and number. He did not disappoint and neither were his hat-trick victims any old players. Rilee Rossouw, who ended the tournament with the best strike-rate of any of the leading run-scorers, went first. Then Dwayne Bravo. And then Virender Sehwag, just for good measure.4. Mujeeb trumps MorganSehwag hadn’t played since the Masters Champions League in the UAE nearly two years earlier. He looked rusty at best. After his golden duck against Afridi, he did not bat at in the next game, and then the nominal captain of Maratha Arabians sat the rest of the tournament out with a bad back.It was not a wholly wasted trip for him, though. The Kings XI Punjab mentor left saying he had spotted a few potential bargains for the next IPL auction. He said some little known players from UAE and Afghanistan had caught his eye. Maybe the one who furthered his case for recognition the most was Mujeeb Zadran, the 16-year-old mystery spinner from Afghanistan. Mujeeb, who was a late recruit for Bengal Tigers the week before the tournament, outfoxed Eoin Morgan with what appeared to be a variation of a carrom ball.5. Last-over finishesT20 cricket was ushered in 14 years ago with the idea of maximising the prospects of having a nail-biting, last-over finish. Logic suggests that the shorter the format, the more likely that is to happen. And yet they were surprisingly infrequent. The T10 League took till the fourth match for a tense, final-over finish, when Rossouw took Maratha Arabians to a win with a last-ball six.Even when a brief rain-shower reduced the Kerala Kings run chase on Saturday against Team Sri Lanka Cricket to eight overs on DLS, they still won with nearly two to spare. Kieron Pollard smacked 40 not out in 12 balls to chase a revised target of 92. The same went in the final. Punjabi Legends might have hoped their 120 for 3 might at least challenge Kerala Kings. Not so. The savagery of Paul Stirling and Morgan, who put on 113 between them in 41 balls, meant they chased it with two overs to spare.6. So what is a good total in T10?Halving the average T20 score at Sharjah Cricket Stadium works out at about 72. That proved an abysmal gauge for the first T10 competition. No team made a score lower than the 84 for 7 that TSLC posted against Pakhtoons. The top score was 132 for 1, by Punjabi Legends, while most agreed around 120 was challenging.”It is a huge benefit winning the toss and bowling,” said Morgan, the winning captain with Kerala Kings. “You can come unstuck batting first and trying to get too many.”Rossouw said of his method: “I tried to go from ball two – so no real pacing. It is see ball, hit ball. You can’t let [wickets falling] upset you, you just have to carry on with your momentum. If it is [in] your arc, you have got to go for it, you can’t sit back for an over. You have to keep on going.”7. Overworked RamizSuch is the frenzy of a day, night, whatever, at T10, it is hard to know whether you are coming or going most of the time.Ramiz Raja, perhaps more than anybody else, will have been glad to have had his director on point, and nudging him exactly where he needed to go.With such a brief turnaround between matches, Ramiz had to go from interviewing the captains at the toss for the next game, straight to conducting the post-match ceremony of the previous one. It goes without saying, rarely was there a hair out of place, but he was occasionally terse. After the match when Afridi took a hat-trick, the recipients of the various post-match awards were proving difficult to herd. “Just stand there and concentrate,” Ramiz ordered Afridi.8. The Indian questionA team bearing the name Kerala won the tournament, but their relation to India was tenuous. They were led by an Irishman who captains England, while their star players were drawn from West Indies, Ireland and Pakistan. Even the franchise owner, Hussein Adam Ali, a perfume tycoon, is from Yemen.The only Indian player anywhere in the league was Sehwag, the Maratha Arabians captain, who in fact tried his best to not be spotted for most of it. It is unquestionable that the tournament would have a far bigger pull with more Indians playing. But Sehwag said anyone who did want to make the trip would have to take the sort of measures that led him to playing in the MCL in 2016. “Players can retire and then play this T10 League,” he said on the prospects of getting his compatriots involved.9. The UAE questionIndia-born Shaji Ul Mulk and Pakistan-born Salman Iqbal, the co-founders of the T10 League, are both long-term residents of the UAE. It was their stipulation that there be at least two UAE players per playing squad – in all but the Sri Lankan franchise – with at least one guaranteed starter in the playing XI. Next year, the quota will be expanded to four per squad – with an extra two teams set to join, too – with two in every starting line up.A noble intention, granted, but the captains might need some encouragement to get with the programme. Of the five UAE players who had game time, Ghulam Shabber and Saqlain Haider did not get to bat. Rohan Mustafa, the UAE captain, made it to the crease in time to face just one ball, as he was batted at No. 7 – admittedly in a highly-destructive Kerala batting line up. When he did, he hit the winning runs in the semi-final.Two bowlers did at least get a decent chance, Zahoor Khan for Maratha Arabians and Mohammad Naveed for Bengal Tigers. Naveed enjoyed the most luminous moment of all, when he snapped Afridi’s middle stump in two with a perfect yorker.10. What next?Does the T10 format have a future? The attendances suggest it has a chance, while the testimonies of players of experience and wisdom support that. Morgan reiterated his belief after the final that it is the format fit for the Olympics, while Stirling hopes the league is here to stay.”It is quite exciting, especially for the new audience, people who are new to the game of cricket,” said Misbah-ul-Haq, the captain of the losing finalists Punjabi Legends. “It is definitely going to attract them because it is more exciting, and there are thrills throughout 90 minute. To attract new people to this game, this is the way to go.”Sehwag agreed. “It is always good to come back to Sharjah and play some games, this format is perfect for the crowd,” he said. “I think T10 is the way forward, I can say that. If ICC thinks that, and they want to take cricket to the Olympics, I think this is the format for that.”

With a record number of England players taking part in this year’s IPL, we pick five who could make a big impact

Alan Gardner05-Apr-20185:36

New England players are more interested in T20s – Swann

Ben Stokes Rajasthan Royals
Last year’s Most Valuable Player, Stokes was back in the auction pot due to his team, Rising Pune Supergiant, not being involved. The returning Royals – one of the suspended franchises that Supergiant had replaced for two seasons – duly coughed up GBP1.37m (USD1.95m) for his services this time around, despite the uncertainty around his availability because of court proceedings in the UK. With his trial for affray pushed back to August, Stokes should now be available for most of the group stage (he will be due back in England on May 17 if named in the Test squad to face Pakistan), and will be aiming to live up to his hefty price tag with another campaign marked by aggressive hitting, canny bowling and spectacular fielding.Jos Buttler Rajasthan Royals
Royals are likely to field two of England’s most blockbuster talents in their starting XI, after signing Buttler for GBP480,000 (USD680,000). When the ECB began to relent in its opposition to the IPL – which encroaches on the English season – a couple of years ago, Buttler was among the first to blaze a trail, with Mumbai Indians. His two seasons in Mumbai blue were a qualified success (average: 25.09; strike rate: 145.98), although perhaps his most memorable contribution to their 2017 title win was dropping his towel while filming an Instagram video celebrating the moment of victory (Buttler’s involvement was curtailed by England obligations). Has spent the winter widening his experience of T20 leagues around the world, with stints in Australia’s Big Bash and the Bangladesh Premier League.Alex Hales Sunrisers Hyderabad
Hales is one of the beneficiaries of the ball-tampering scandal that erupted last week, brought in by Sunrisers as a replacement for David Warner after the Australian was barred from this year’s IPL. Despite initially missing out on selection at the auction in January, Hales decided to sign a white-ball only contract with his county, Nottinghamshire, in order to focus on the shorter formats; he was then selected from the reserve list to fill the hole in Sunrisers’ line-up, although he has big shoes to fill – Warner captained the franchise to the title in 2016 and was the tournament’s leading run-scorer last year. Hales went to the IPL in 2015, as an injury replacement for Mumbai, but did not play a game.Chris Woakes in his delivery stride•BCCIChris Woakes Royal Challengers Bangalore
Although his GBP500,000 (USD700,000) signing by Kolkata Knight Riders in 2017 was slightly less eye-catching, in comparison to stratospheric deals for the likes of Stokes and Tymal Mills, Woakes enjoyed a quietly productive debut season in the competition. The allrounder finished joint-sixth on the wicket-takers’ list, with 17 in 13 matches alongside an economy rate of 8.77, despite often bowling at the death. He has since credited playing with the expectation placed on overseas players at the IPL as a factor in his development as England’s attack leader in white-ball cricket, and despite not being retained by KKR for 2018, his price was pushed up through the million-dollar barrier by Royal Challengers Bangalore, who are seeking their first title after several near-misses.Mark Wood Chennai Super Kings
A raw quick with a reputation for larking about, Wood could be the joker in the pack when it comes to England’s representatives at the IPL. Picked up on the cheap (by IPL standards) for GBP164,000 (USD234,000) in this year’s auction, Wood will be joining another of the returning franchises and one of the competition’s iconic names: CSK have twice been champions, four times runners-up and never failed to qualify from the group stage. The injury-prone Wood has only played 18 T20 games in his entire career, but provided a glimpse of what he is capable of when taking 4 for 25 – which included yorking Jonny Bairstow and giving Joe Root a fearful working-over – during the 2016 NatWest Blast semi-final.Other England players involved: Jason Roy (Delhi Daredevils); Moeen Ali (Royal Challengers Bangalore); Sam Billings (Chennai Super Kings); Chris Jordan (Sunrisers Hyderabad); Tom Curran (Kolkata Knight Riders); Liam Plunkett (Delhi Daredevils)

Reactions to Chennai Super Kings becoming champions of IPL 2018

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2018

Cannot express my feelings! It's been a wonderful season for us & a fitting finish by @ShaneRWatson33. A well constructed innings from him today & inspiring captaincy from @msdhoni right from game one takes us to our 3rd title.A big thank you to all our supporters#WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/lZfWqUWi9j

— Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) May 27, 2018

Very proud of the way @SunRisers played in this IPL, I thank each and every member of the @SunRisers family for their efforts and support. Absolutely brilliant knock from Shane Watson and many congratulations to @ChennaiIPL on a well-deserved victory #IPLfinal2018

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) 27 May 2018

Congratulations Chennai Superkings on becoming deserving champions of the biggest T20 tournament in the world. Brilliant throughout the tournament and the wonderful people from Chennai and whole of TN deserve this @ChennaiIPL . #IPL2018Final

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) 27 May 2018

It’s been a wonderful journey, very proud of the way @SunRisers played all year. Tonight we lost to a remarkable innings from @ShaneRWatson33 , credit when it’s due! #OrangeArmy

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) May 27, 2018

Congratulations to @ChennaiIPL for winning the @IPL. Dominant performance by them and also well done to @SunRisers for a wonderful season.

— Mahela Jayawardena (@MahelaJay) 27 May 2018

Well done, @ChennaiIPL. A great display of quality cricket. Certainly the most consistent side of the tournament. A special knock from @ShaneRWatson33 in a crucial game which saw them through. #CSKvSRH #IPL2018Final pic.twitter.com/HhuaQJPbEF

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) May 27, 2018

Seriously good knock by @ShaneRWatson33 well done mate simply amazing to watch. Not the result @SunRisers wanted but you have to pat yourselves on the back and say well done for the way you played throughout the tournament

— David Warner (@davidwarner31) May 27, 2018

Congrats to @ChennaiIPL for this years @IPL success. This has to be one of the most amazing comeback results in our sport. Quite remarkable! Special mention to @ShaneRWatson33 who has been on some journey to be standing where he has today. Enjoy!

— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) 27 May 2018

Congratulations to @msdhoni and @ChennaiIPL for winning the 2018 @IPL the two best teams got the finals but the best team won.

— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) 27 May 2018

Well done @ChennaiIPL, #vivoipl2018 champions once again. The fire and the yellow-army burn as bright as ever in MS Dhoni and his men. Well played again @DJBravo47 #CHAMPION

— ian bishop (@irbishi) 27 May 2018

Can’t see any other captain pulling off a title win like this with the limitations CSK had. It had to be Dhoni to do it.#VIVOIPL2018 #CSK

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) 27 May 2018

So happy for @ShaneRWatson33 on his special performance in the @IPL final! What a season he’s had! Weldone to @ChennaiIPL and @SPFleming7 on a brilliant comeback year

— Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) May 27, 2018

Wrong side of 30s is the right side of experience…#CSK has pulled off one of the most sensational season victories. From start to finish. Different heroes. Well done #WhistlePodu #IPL

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) 27 May 2018

Big players perform in big moments. @ShaneRWatson33 that was memorable! #IPL2018Finals #CSKvSRH

— Grant Elliott (@grantelliottnz) May 27, 2018

The first day of the Women’s T20 tri-series witnessed a slew of records being set.

Shiva Jayaraman20-Jun-2018New Zealand set a record, England break it in a few hoursFirst, New Zealand set a new record for the highest T20I total in women’s cricket by making 216 for 1 against South Africa, then England Women smashed that record by 34 runs, and against the same opposition. The three teams are involved in a tri-series being played in England. The previous record for the highest total in Women’s T20 internationals was held by Australia, who made 209 for 4 against England at Brabourne Stadium earlier this year. Five of the top six T20I totals in women’s international cricket have come this year. Click here for a list of the highest T20I totals. Before this manic day, Women’s T20Is had seen only two 200-plus totals in 423 games. England’s highest T20I total, across the boardThis is the highest total for England in the T20 international format (men’s or women’s). England men’s 230 for 8 against South Africa in the 2016 World T20 was the previous highest. This was the first time England Women had made 200 runs in this format. Their previous best was 199 for 3, which they made against India in Mumbai earlier this year. Click here for a list of the highest totals by England Women in T20Is. New Zealand’s 218 for 1 was also the first time their women’s team had breached the 200-run mark in T20Is. A record standIn the first match of the tri-series, the New Zealand openers added 182 runs, setting a new record for the highest partnership in T20 international matches (men’s or women’s). They broke the record set by their men’s team: Kane Williamson and Martin Guptill had put together an unbeaten stand of 171 runs against Pakistan in 2016. Click here for a list of the highest stands in men’s T20 internationals. The previous record for the highest stand in women’s T20 internationals was held by the South Africa pair of Trish Chetty and Shandre Fritz, who had added 170 runs against Netherlands back in 2010. Bates gets one record, narrowly misses anotherDuring her unbeaten 124, Bates passed England’s Charlotte Edwards as the leading run-scorer in women’s T20 internationals. Edwards had made 2605 runs in 93 T20 innings. Bates narrowly missed the highest individual score in this format though, falling short of Meg Lanning’s 126 by just two runs. Click here for the highest scores in Women’s T20 internationals. Incidentally, Bates’ 124 is also the highest individual score by a New Zealand batsman (men or women) in this format. Brendon McCullum’s 123 against Bangladesh in 2012 World T20 was the previous highest.Beaumont hits 22 boundaries, and the second-fastest hundredTammy Beaumont, the other centurion of the day, got her name in the record books too by biffing 22 boundaries in her 52-ball 116. These are the joint-most boundaries hit by a batsman in a women’s T20I. Australia’s Lanning too had hit 22 boundaries on her way to the highest T20I score in women’s cricket, against Ireland in the 2014 World T20. Beaumont reached her century in 47 balls, making it the second-fastest of the nine centuries scored in Women’s T20 internationals. Deandra Dottin’s 38-ball hundred against South Africa in the 2010 World T20 is the fastest.

England record the biggest winEngland restricted South Africa to 129 for 6 in reply to their mammoth total of 250 for 3, making their win the biggest in Women’s T20 internationals. Incidentally, the previous record for this was held by South Africa themselves: they had beaten Netherlands in 2010 by 115 runs. Click here for a list of the biggest margins of victory in Women’s T20Is. And the record that stood for the shortest period was …
If you thought New Zealand’s record for the highest total being broken in a matter of hours was the briefest a record stood on this day, then you are in for a surprise. South Africa’s Stacy Lackay bowled the 18th over of the innings and finished up with figures of 2 for 59 – the most expensive figures for any bowler in Women’s T20 internationals. This dubious record was promptly exceeded by Masabata Klaas by the end of the very next over, when she finished with equally expensive figures, but claimed the bottom spot due to her lack of wickets. The pair’s economy-rates of 14.75 are also the worst for any bowlers to have bowled three or more overs in a Women’s T20 international.

Given a fair contest between bat and ball, and the oxygen of publicity, Test cricket can hold its own with Love Island, the Kardashians, or any entertainment in the modern world

George Dobell at Edgbaston03-Aug-20181:51

We’ll go to bed and dream of getting Kohli out – Anderson

In the fury of the moment – with the advantage shifting by the over and every act appearing to have far-reaching ramifications – it can seem that the result of games like this is everything.And it is true, the 90 minutes or so of cricket we are likely to see from Edgbaston on Saturday will have consequences for many of those involved. Lose this Test, in these conditions, and the pressure on England – not just their underperforming batsmen and fielders, but their coaches and administrators – increases markedly.If India lose, meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s valiant attempts to paper over the cracks in his side’s batting line-up will be thwarted. Reputations, egos, careers, perhaps even lives could be altered by the events of Saturday morning. At such moments, it can feel as if defeat is unbearable.But it’s not so. Not for those of us who are spectators, anyway.In the grand scheme of things, it matters most that it matters at all. It matters most that, here we are, 1,000 Tests deep, and this grand old game remains as beguiling, as entertaining, as magnificent as ever.Of course Test cricket has its problems. The ticket sales for this series – for almost every series – tell us that loud and clear. We’re fools if we don’t heed those warnings.But this game has provided a reminder that the Test game – the product, if you like – can still thrive in the modern world. Given decent weather, a decent pitch and two decent sides, Test cricket can remain as compelling as it ever has been. It can hold its own in the age of T20, Love Island and the Kardashians. England could play another 1,000 Tests, given half a chance.Edgbaston has a reputation as something of a party ground. Fancy dress, stag nights, beer snakes and congas: all are regular sights here. And there’s nothing wrong with any of that: it reflects our changing society and the way cricket has had to market itself not just as an entertainment product, but as a backdrop to a different form of entertainment.Over the last few days, though, we’ve seen little of that sort of thing. Instead, we’ve heard that lovely hush that settles over a ground when the action is so riveting that nobody needs a distraction. When James Anderson was running in to Kohli, for example. Or throughout India’s second innings. When every ball seemed to threaten a wicket and every run erode that modest target.Sam Curran steps out during his counter-attacking half-century•Getty ImagesSo you could hear the batsmen tapping their bats on the pitch or the bowlers thumping their front feet down. And, when ball beat bat, you could hear the intake of breath from everyone in the stadium. Even the man in the Kim Jong-Un mask – at one stage he exchanged inflatable missiles with the man in the Donald Trump mask – even the nuns, the Tarzans, the Elvises (what IS the collective for lots of Elvises? A jailhouse? A Tender? A heartbreak hotel?) sat in rapt attention. The cricket demanded it. Nobody needed gimmicks.There are lessons to learn here. Among them is this: the game – at least the first-class game – remains more entertaining when the ball slightly dominates the bat. We don’t want circumstances where batting is a lottery – irregular bounce, in particular, is best avoided – but there is little that’s more damaging to the game than dull surfaces (and dull balls) where teams can amass vast scores and bowlers are reduced to patience and attrition. Even if those games eventually produce a winner, it does not justify it. A rock fall might be dramatic, but the thousand years of attrition that led to it would not make compelling television.Nothing – not match-fixing, not drugs cheats, not ball tampering and certainly not broadcast piracy – threaten the future of the game more than dull pitches. The Ashes Test in Melbourne, for example, or the Trent Bridge Test between these sides in 2014, were far more damaging to the long-term health of the game than players mimicking mic-drops. The ICC really need to focus on the things that matter.Nor is this match the aberration some would have you believe. While there have been relatively few tight Tests involving England over the last few years, there have been compelling series against Pakistan and South Africa, a stirring victory from West Indies in Leeds and a breathless finish in Chittagong.In a different age, several members of this England side might be household names. Joe Root, for example, is surely a better batsman than Mike Gatting or Allan Lamb: but who is better known? Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, too, probably offer as much excitement as any players England have ever had. Not so long ago, a generation of kids would be in the park tomorrow ‘being’ Sam Curran.

Had this Test been available free-to-air, there is no reason millions would not have immersed themselves. Heck, it’s not so long ago the nation was glued to a few days of curling or a TV show about baking.

But there’s the rub. Not enough people are seeing our great game. And while we continue to hide it behind paywalls, while we continue to meddle with the start times (the third day here should have been a Saturday, allowing more people to follow the action), we risk reducing its relevance and diminishing its audience.It doesn’t need new competitions and another thousand sets of plastic bats and stumps to thrive. It doesn’t need five-ball overs, 12 players a side or any other gimmick.It needs the oxygen of publicity. It needs that more than anything.Cricket remains, whether played over 50 overs, 20 overs or five days, a wonderful sport. If we could just get a few more people to see it, there is no reason each format should not thrive. And had this Test been available free-to-air, there is no reason millions would not have immersed themselves in every twist and drop and edge in the same way millions immersed themselves in every kick of England’s World Cup campaign. Heck, it’s not so long ago the nation was glued to a few days of curling or a TV show about baking.The ECB’s new broadcast deal may be lucrative, but they must reflect that not every cost can be measured in pounds. And if all the money they make from the new broadcast deal has to be reinvested in finding a new audience, isn’t that money just fool’s gold? Even billionaires suffocate without oxygen, after all.Edgbaston reminded us we’ve something special here. It needs nurturing and protecting but it can still thrive.

Two of England’s most attacking batsmen showed a different side to their game which should be a template to take forward for a faltering top order

George Dobell at Trent Bridge21-Aug-2018For a while on Tuesday afternoon in Nottingham, it was possible to believe that all was golden in the world of England cricket.Yes, it was a consolation goal. But, as Jos Buttler gave the strongest evidence yet that he can flourish as a Test player and Ben Stokes demonstrated the technique and temperament that this side have so lacked in recent times, it was just about possible to believe England could combine the application and flair that could render them both entertaining and successful.It wasn’t to last, of course. And the damage was too deep to be repaired. England still have serious problems in developing fast bowlers, spinners and batsmen with an attention span longer than a forgetful goldfish. They are, in many ways, in a fearful mess.But, just for a while, as two of England’s more exciting talents combined to produce the largest fourth-innings, fifth-wicket partnership in their Test history, it was possible to see some way out of the mess. It was possible to imagine a day when the talent was harnessed and optimised.There was a lovely moment at the end of Buttler’s innings at Trent Bridge when Virat Kohli, the India captain, ran up to congratulate him.For one thing, it was a reminder of the improved relations between these sides. They reached a new low in the Test at this ground four years ago after an alleged altercation between James Anderson and Ravi Jadeja; an affair that dragged out for so long it should have become known as Jadeja-vu. Perhaps Kohli’s gesture was also a reminder of the value of the IPL – many of these players have far greater empathy for one another having mixed during that tournament – and the fact that players do not have to abuse each other to play tough cricket.Most pertinently, however, it was, perhaps, a sign that Kohli, for all his competitive qualities, recognises something special in Buttler. And that he recognised how tough the struggle had become and how significant this innings could turn out to be. On a level – the level of the simple cricket lover rather than the deeply competitive opposition captain – you imagine Kohli was even quite pleased for him.There was a similar reaction from Stokes. Not only did he celebrate Buttler’s century with as much emotion as he might his own but, when his partner was in the 90s, he twice gave him stern talks (and even a couple of friendly punches to the chest; nothing to worry about this time) in urging him to make his hard work count.Because Buttler needed this innings. Kohli knew it, Stokes knew it and Buttler knew it, too. He was 23 Tests into a career that hadn’t brought a century and, in this series, he was averaging 8.33. He really does enjoy the confidence and belief of the England management but you wonder if his own confidence was starting to ebb.But in registering his maiden Test century – and his first century in first-class cricket for 50 months – Buttler may well have made an important psychological breakthrough. He may have proved to himself, as much as anyone else, that he can prosper at this level. And, in leaving 24 percent of the deliveries he received (the highest percentage in England’s last 30 Test centuries, according to CricViz), he showed that he was learning one of the great truisms of first-class batting: the shots you don’t play are every bit as important as those you do.1:30

Harmison: Buttler and Stokes showed perfect approach for Test cricket

It was not flawless. He was dropped on 1 and might, had Kohli posted a gully or third slip, have perished on another couple of occasions. It would be disingenuous to pretend he has suddenly answered all the technical questions he faced; there will, no doubt, be tricky days in the future. But Kohli, too, has benefited from reprieves on the way to centuries this series. It doesn’t invalidate all the success. It doesn’t invalidate the concentration, the range of strokes or the discipline that was apparent in this innings.The old-timers used to say it was competence that breeds success. But perhaps it can work the other way, too. Buttler has never really proved himself in first-class cricket the way players of an earlier generation were obliged to, but he has demonstrated great talent on the international stage and, so long as his mind isn’t plagued by doubt, perhaps he can translate it to the Test game. This innings went along way to doing so.Stokes, too, can look back on his half-century with some satisfaction. He may have the reputation as something of a blaster – of this side only Stuart Broad has a higher batting strike-rate in Test cricket – but here he demonstrated the other side of the game. The responsible side. The patient side.None of his colleagues left so well, defended so compactly or demonstrated so much restraint. And that, in particular, is not a word you see associated with Stokes that often. Technically and temperamentally, this was an excellent innings.You suspect Stokes felt he owed his side this performance. While he may well genuinely feel he did little wrong during the two minutes or so that was the focus of the court case – the jury accepted his explanation that he felt compelled to use force to protect himself and others – you suspect he knows, on a level, that he probably shouldn’t have been hanging around outside shut nightclubs in the early hours of the morning.And even if he doesn’t accept that, you suspect he regrets the attention he has heaped on his team-mates. He knows that much of the attention they attracted in Australia – the Jonny Bairstow ‘head-butt’ nonsense; the Ben Duckett debacle; the curfews and talk of a drinking culture – stemmed back to that night in Bristol. Life became more complicated for all of them.Stokes is not an especially eloquent fellow and you suspect that his desire – his desperation, even – to contribute to this team had resulted in a slightly underwhelming return to the side. But, presented with an almost hopeless position, he showed the rest of England’s batsmen how these bowlers and these conditions could be combatted. Not by counter-attacking, but by compact defence, unerring concentration and a determination to sell his wicket as dearly as possible. It was arguably as good a technical innings as this match has seen.None of this is intended to distract attention from what has been on the whole, a dismal performance. Buttler’s century was, after all, the first by a member of England’s top six in any of the eight Tests they’ve played this year. There’s still no evidence of anyone improving in this environment and, while it may make sense for one of the selectors to watch the game on the basis that it helps them assess the mental state of players, it seems excessive that all three (Trevor Bayliss, Ed Smith and James Taylor) should be at Trent Bridge rather than assessing the mental – and physical – state of players in county cricket.So, make no mistake, England have been thrashed. One good partnership doesn’t make it all right. But it tends to be best if the autopsy waits until the patient has died.

While the 21-year-old showed his class during his 78-ball 106 in the first ODI, a little more tempering will not hurt

Varun Shetty in Guwahati22-Oct-20181:39

You never know what the par score is against a team like India – Holder

This reaction from ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentator during the second innings of the Rajkot Test both put a finger on the pulse and unwittingly turned into a premonition. Coach Stuart Law was visibly displeased by Shimron Hetmyer swinging across the line against Kuldeep Yadav, and he would be again in the second innings in Hyderabad where Hetmyer got out the same way, against the same bowler – this time when West Indies were looking at setting India a challenging target.Every time Hetmyer was dismissed during the Test series, he looked out of sync. It began with a mix-up that culminated in that Ravindra Jadeja bait-and-troll run-out in Rajkot, and in the middle of his two injudicious slogs, he was lbw shouldering arms to a Kuldeep googly.It could just have been one of those situations where a bowler has you for the entirety of the series, because the moment Kuldeep was left out of the team for the first ODI, Hetmyer produced the kind of devastating innings that has already become a trademark in a very young career. In 13 ODI innings, Hetmyer has now made three centuries and each of them has been scored with a strike rate hovering around 135.”It was good to see him get back to form,” captain Jason Holder said after the match. “He had a lean patch in the Test series and pretty innocuous dismissals as well, so it’s good to see him get a score on the board. He has been doing pretty well in the limited-overs format for us, so it’s good to see him put up his hand and score a hundred today. A bit unfortunate, the stage he got out, I thought he could have gone a bit deeper, probably take us a little further into the innings. But credit to the young player coming and scoring his third ODI century.”The Guyana batsman was identified as one of the most talented young players in the Caribbean in 2013-14 when he played in his first Under-19 World Cup. In 2014, he was named their Junior Cricketer of the Year before captaining West Indies to the Under-19 World Cup title in 2016. And there was enough in Sunday’s innings to understand why he was rated like that.Shimron Hetmyer celebrates his hundred•Associated PressOn a bouncy pitch, where even the settled Kieran Powell before him was struck in the body many times while trying to play with a horizontal bat, Hetmyer brought out a ruthless collection of pull shots against India’s fast bowlers. There was a noticeable plan to bowl short to him from the quicks who, until then, had preferred to hit a length and get the ball to rise at the batsmen. Having settled in after their initial examinations, Hetmyer capitalised. And while the lack of balls turning away from him contributed greatly to his 65 runs on the leg side, his two best moments came against the fast bowlers.The first one was a six against Khaleel Ahmed’s rising offcutter in the 28th over. The variation was meant to follow him into the leg side and Hetmyer could have been entangled if it weren’t for his fast hands. What ended up happening was that the ball was slapped over wide long-on with a horizontal bat.The next one was his most picturesque six of the afternoon, and this was the one that took him past a hundred – a front-foot drive extended to lift the ball over extra cover against Mohammed Shami. It was a majestic hit and fully deserved the standing ovation that followed.But even on a day of such magnificence, the end of Hetmyer’s innings had elements of inexperience to it. Once again, he was out top-edging a spinner with just over 11 overs and only four wickets in hand. So while the 21-year-old might be a completely different player in ODIs, at least from the small sample we’ve seen, some more tempering is needed anyway.”Hetty was quite aggressive,” Holder said. “Fortunately for us, it worked out and it was really good to see him get as deep as he could. But against a team like India, you’re never quite sure what the par score is.”In hindsight, 320 was probably par score and we needed to kick on a little bit further. Having said that, I was pleased to get at least 300 and bat out all the overs. Inexperience did show when we batted as well as when we bowled. So probably just a matter for us to learn quickly and hopefully correct one or two mistakes that we made today.”