On a day filled with drama, 16 wickets fell for 161 as Pakistan’s spinners conjured up an incredible triumph. Stats highlights from the Test

S Rajesh28-Jan-2012

• This is only the fifth time that England have lost chasing a fourth-innings target of less than 150. It’s only their second such defeat in the last 110 years – their last loss was in 1978 against New Zealand in Wellington, when they were bundled out for 64 chasing 137. The margin of defeat was exactly the same in both Tests – 72 runs.
• Pakistan have defended a target of less than 150 for only the second time in Test cricket. Their only previous such instance was in Hamilton in 1993, when New Zealand, needing 127 for victory, were bowled out for 93. On that occasion Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis took five wickets each; here, all ten wickets fell to spin. In all, only 18 times has a team failed to chase a target of less than 150. Australia have been at the receiving end seven times in these low chases.
• England’s total of 72 is their lowest against Pakistan; their previous lowest was 130. It also equals the lowest in Tests between these two teams: Pakistan had been dismissed for exactly the same score at Edgbaston in 2010.
• Exactly 125 years ago, England had been bundled out for 45 against Australia in Sydney, which remains their lowest score in Test cricket. However, they’d ended up winning that Test by 13 runs. This score is their 12th-lowest in Tests.
• Pakistan’s spinners returned figures of 19 for 287, which is their third-best match figures. Only twice have their spinners taken all 20 wickets – against England in 1987, when Abdul Qadir, Tauseef Ahmed and Iqbal Qasim were the protagonists, and against West Indies in 1980, when Qadir, Qasim and Mohammad Nazir were the stars. In all, 31 wickets fell to spin in the Test – only five times have spinners taken more wickets in a Test.
• Abdur Rehman had match figures of 8 for 92, which are his best in a Test. His second-innings haul of 6 for 25 are also his best figures in an innings, and his maiden five-for in Tests.
• Twenty-nine out of 40 dismissals in this match were bowled or lbw, which is a record in Test cricket. The previous record was also in a Test involving Pakistan, against West Indies in Providence last year, when 26 wickets fell in this manner.
• Seven batsmen scored less than 2 in England’s second innings, the second-most in Test history.

On a track that is the closest that India will get to home conditions in Australia, Peter Siddle’s five-wicket haul made an emphatic point

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval26-Jan-2012As rejoinders go, Peter Siddle’s to Gautam Gambhir could not have been any more emphatic. Siddle’s summer had been going swimmingly until Gambhir attempted to get under the Australian’s skin in the prelude to the Adelaide Test. He contended that Siddle had not improved at all since his debut in 2008, simply enjoying the benefits of favourable home conditions, and challenged the bowler to come back to India and show his worth in subcontinental climes.Adelaide Oval is not quite Mumbai or Mohali, but its pitch is the closest thing India will get to a home surface in Australia. Slower and lower in pace and bounce, and offering significantly less sideways movement than any other surface this summer, it presents a singular challenge for a fast bowler.Aware of Gambhir’s words and the nature of the surface, Siddle responded in the best manner imaginable by carving a five-wicket hole in India’s first innings. Among those was Gambhir, who was surprised by the bounce Siddle could generate from the surface and fended a catch to gully. Siddle wasted little time reminding Gambhir of his jibe afterwards.”I guess Gambhir thought I’d had the luck of the green wickets, but I guess there wasn’t much bounce in this wicket today and it seemed to get him out, so it was a nice little reward on a wicket that’s pretty hard to bowl on,” Siddle said. “It’s probably one of my better ones I think, all summer my goal has been patience and consistency and I think I’ve been doing that and going pretty well. But today it was a bit of a relief to get that haul and a reward for a summer that had been pretty good. It is a good little reward for that.”The rewards were due, given how successfully Siddle has worked to rejuvenate himself as a more incisive bowler over the past six months. His guidance from Craig McDermott has been cited at length, but Siddle said it had even been helpful in recent times to hear the reassuring words from the coach that a decent haul of wickets would invariably result from his efforts.Peter Siddle has had a great series, taking 22 wickets•Getty Images”The hard work I’ve put in in the last six or seven months, this summer it’s just all come together,” Siddle said. “That’s just the work I’ve put in personally on the fitness and strength side side of things and then the work with Billy [McDermott] to get where I am. It’s paying off, I’m not getting too overawed with what I had done earlier in the summer, and just keep working hard.”Billy kept saying to me the haul was around the corner, around the corner. He’s been saying that for a few matches now but to finally get it here is very pleasing and I’m obviously grateful for all the people that have helped me to get here.”Those people have included the other members of Australia’s pace attack, who in Adelaide were Ben Hilfenhaus and Ryan Harris. Both delivered strong morning spells without reward, as Siddle again took advantage of their slipstream for the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar in his second over. Harris later broke a pesky stand between Virat Kohli and Wriddhiman Saha, while Hilfenhaus helped skewer the tail.”Ben and Ryan this morning bowled superbly, they bowled great partnerships, back-to-back maidens, and they just built the pressure up,” Siddle said. “I’ve been pretty lucky this summer I’ve been on the back-end of a lot of that. I have been lucky to come on in the first over and get the wicket because the change has caught the batsman and I’ve got the wicket.”The pressure we built up again today and the way we bowled together as a unit just shows the patience we’re using and someone’s lucky enough to get the rewards and at the end of the day it was me.”With a first innings lead of 332, Australia had plenty of time to consider the enforcement of the follow-on, but the captain Michael Clarke preferred to give his bowlers a rest and the wicket more time to deteriorate. Not surprisingly, Siddle had no qualms about the decision.”The Adelaide wicket’s one you don’t want to be batting on last, so we didn’t think too much about that,” Siddle said. “It was just a matter of batting for a bit of time, getting a bit of time into the game but also trying to get some runs and bat them out of the game. There’s still plenty of time left now.”

ESPNcricinfo previews the 2012 season for teams in Division Two of the County Championship

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2012DerbyshireCaptain Wayne Madsen
Coach Karl Krikken
In David Wainwright (Yorks), Peter Burgoyne, Matt Lineker
Out Greg Smith (Essex), Luke Sutton (retired), Steffan Jones (retired)
Overseas players Martin Guptill (Apr-June), Usman Khawaja (June-Sep), Rana Naved-ul-Hasan (T20)
Last year 5th in CC Div 2; 7th in FLt20 North Group; 3rd in CB40 Group A
Prospects
You have to hand it to Derbyshire, their stability repeatedly ridicules those who think that a pared-down county game would be better off without them. Their finances are stable, The County Ground is much improved – weddings are doing a roaring trade – and they produce England players at age-group level. But it is hard to see a squad now led by the South Africa-born opening batsman Wayne Madsen achieving much more than an occasional day to remember, especially if they overly commit to young players to bring in extra age-based incentives from the ECB. Former director of cricket David Houghton has returned to the county as a specialist batting coach.
One to watch
David Wainwright’s departure from Yorkshire disappointed many White Rose supporters. He was respected as a plucky cricketer, a lower-order batsman organised enough to make championship hundreds, a left-arm spinner – Yorkshire’s history makes that instantly respected – and a decent thinker on the game. But Wainwright’s slow left-arm faltered and chances for betterment were rare. Derbyshire is a good move for him; it would be no surprise to find him county captain one day.
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David HoppsEssexCaptain James Foster
Coach Paul Grayson
In Greg Smith (Derby), Charl Willoughby (Somerset), Ben Foakes
Out Chris Wright (Warwickshire), Max Osborne (released)
Overseas Alviro Peterson (until June), Peter Siddle (T20)
Last year 7th in CC Div 2; 6th in FLt20 South Group; 3rd in CB40 Group C
Prospects
Following an underwhelming 2011 on all fronts, and revelations during the trial of Mervyn Westfield that damaged the county’s image off the field, Essex need to retrench. The bowling, led by the Championship’s leading wicket-taker last year, David Masters, and supplemented by South African veteran Charl Willoughby, looks strong but a couple of the promising young batsmen in the squad need to fructify – nobody reached 1,000 runs in 2011 (wicketkeeper-captain Foster topped the list with 931) and Essex’s haul of 29 batting points was the second worst in the country. With T20 central to their finances, winning the competition for the first time must be an ambition.
One to watch
Fast bowler Tymal Mills is raw, having only taken up the game in his mid-teens, but showed enough talent after making his senior debut last summer to be drafted on to England’s Performance Programme and tour with the Lions. The 19-year-old is only likely to get quicker as he builds up his body strength and Essex fans may glimpse a potent future new-ball partnership in the making should he share the attack with fellow tyro Reece Topley.
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Alan GardnerGloucestershireCaptain Alex Gidman
Coach John Bracewell
In Dan Housego (Middlesex), Paul Muchall
Out Jon Lewis (Surrey), Chris Taylor (released), Vikram Banerjee (released)
Overseas players Kane Williamson (April-June) Muttiah Muralitharan (T20)
Last year 4th in CC Div 2; 8th in FLt20 South Group; 6th in CB40 Group C
Prospects
Gloucestershire may have punched above their weight in the Championship over the past three seasons, with their one-day form – which is miserable – perhaps a truer reflection of their squad. Doomsayers will also point to the loss of stalwart seamer Jon Lewis to Surrey and the release of batsman Chris Taylor as evidence that the wooden spoon is back on the radar. But they have a young batting line up – led by the very capable Chris Dent – who now have a couple of seasons under their belts. If they can find runs, there is still plenty of bowling to win enough matches and mount another promotion challenge.
One to watch
The county’s batting has struggled for some years and the departure of Taylor makes their line-up look even more fragile. Housego is a promising player who actually began his career at the academy in Bristol. At 23 he could be ready to come of age as a consistent run-getter after a prolific 2nd XI season last year for Middlesex where he was the topscorer. His new employers will certainly need runs from him for the club to find success.
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Alex WinterLeicestershire will attempt to defend their FLt20 crown•Getty ImagesHampshireCaptain Jimmy Adams
Coach Giles White
Overseas players Simon Katich, Shahid Afridi (T20)
In
Out Dominic Cork (retired), Nic Pothas (released), Johan Myburgh (released), Friedel de Wet (released), Michael Lumb (Nottinghamshire), Simon Jones (Glamorgan), Jamie Miller (released), Benny Howell (retired)
Last year: 9th in CC Div 1 (relegated); FLt20 semi-finalists; 4th in CB40 Group B
One to watch
Michael Carberry missed half of last season due to a series illness which, for a time, threatened his career but returned to play eight Championship matches and averaged 56.64, including an unbeaten triple hundred. Carberry had a brief taste of Test cricket in Bangladesh and was in the Lions squad when illness struck. Opener is one area where England do not have a clearly defined reserve and though not part of the current set-up Carberry can put his name back in contention.
Prospects
They paid the price for a horrid start to last year’s Championship campaign, which left them too much ground to make up. And they may not be able to bounce straight back. The bowling looks a little thin, a fit Kabir Ali is vital and Danny Briggs needs to bring his 2011 average of 36 down into the high 20s. The batting has plenty to offer, though, and should be able to post decent totals particularly now the Tiflex ball has been ditched. They should be a force in T20 with Shahid Afridi in the line up and it’s a format where Briggs excels.
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Andrew McGlashanKentCaptain Rob Key
Coach Jimmy Adams
In Charlie Shreck (Nottinghamshire), Michael Powell (Glamorgan), Ben Harmison (Durham), Scott Newman (Middlesex, loan), Mark Davies (Durham), Ivan Thomas, Fabian Cowdrey, Benedict Kemp
Out Joe Denly (Middlesex), Martin van Jaarsveld (retired), James Goodman (released), Robbie Joseph (Leicestershire)
Overseas Brendan Nash
Last year 8th in CC Div 2; FLt20 quarter-finalists; 4th in CB40 Group A
Prospects
There have been significant changes to the squad which finished second-bottom in 2011, with leading runscorer Joe Denly departing for Middlesex and Martin van Jaarsveld’s retirement. Rob Key remains, though, and Kent have replenished the squad with several financially shrewd signings; Charlie Shreck and Mark Davies could well have fun after dropping down a division, provided they stay fit. Daniel Bell-Drummond, who topped the batting averages in England Under-19s’ winter tour of Bangladesh, is Denly’s likely successor at the top of the order and, in a dogfight division, they could cause a surprise. Any team that can call on Azhar Mahmood is likely to be competitive in one-day cricket.
One to watch
Adams, the first West Indian to coach in county cricket, replaces Paul Farbrace with a remit to get Canterbury tails wagging once again. The former West Indies batsman knows he must make changes to turn around the fortunes of one England’s grand old counties and his fresh perspective may be just what Kent need. After working with West Indies Under-19s and a spell as Jamaica’s Technical Director, this is Adams first major coaching role – he won’t be short of challenges.
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Alan GardnerLeicestershireCoach Phil Whitticase
Captain Matthew Hoggard
In Robbie Joseph (Kent), Rob Taylor
Out Paul Nixon (retired), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Harry Gurney (Nottinghamshire), Tom New (released)
Overseas Ramnaresh Sarwan, Abdul Razzaq (T20)
Last year 9th in CC Div 2; FLt20 winners; 6th in CB40 Group B
Prospects
It was all or nothing for Leicestershire last year and this season could be more of the same. Improving on 18th in the country in the Championship might seem a modest target but without James Taylor’s runs, much will be required of Ramnaresh Sarwan, who averaged just 31.57 during his previous spell in county cricket with Gloucestershire. The club’s financial position has improved significantly, though chief executive Mike Siddall has warned they can’t expect the windfall that came from winning the FLt20 again. No county has won England’s domestic T20 competition two years running but Abdul Razzaq’s return will boost Leicestershire’s chances of a defence.
One to watch
Nathan Buck suffered a difficult season in 2011 – after bursting on to the circuit with 49 Championship wickets the year before – but he was quietly effective for the Lions over the winter, taking 10 wickets at less than 20 apiece in 50-over cricket on slow, subcontinental pitches. With Matthew Hoggard to tutor him in the subtleties of right-arm swing, the 20-year-old could soon swell England’s plentiful pace bowling options even further.
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Alan GardnerNorthamptonshireCaptain Andrew Hall
Coach David Capel
Overseas players Chaminda Vaas, Cameron White (T20)
In Kyle Coetzer (Durham), Con de Lange
Out David Lucas (Worcestershire), Mal Loye (released), Tom Brett (released), Gavin Baker (released)
Last year 3rd in CC Div 2; 9th in FPt20 North Group; 3rd in CB40 Group B
Prospects
Bearing in mind how dramatically Northants snatched failure from the jaws of success last season, it would be a brave or foolish fellow who made too bold a prediction regarding their fortunes this year. Going into the T20 campaign, they stood top of the Division Two table and were unbeaten in the CB40. Indeed, in mid-June, they had won their first five CB40 games and five of their eight Championship matches. For some reason – maybe weariness, maybe a lack of unity, maybe injury – they won only one of their next seven Championship matches and one of their final seven CB40 games. They eventually missed out on promotion by a couple of points. Anything can happen this year, but achieving promotion will not be any easier. They may have blown their best chance.
One to watch
Jack Brooks had his pick of counties towards the end of last season. On the way to claiming 43 first-class wickets at 21.90, the 27-year-old seamer attracted the attention of several Test-hosting clubs, including Yorkshire and Warwickshire, but chose to remain with the club that gave him his opportunity having plucked him from minor counties cricket. He made a fine impression over the winter as part of the England Performance Programme and could, given some luck and another fine season, start to challenge for an international place.
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George DobellYorkshire hope to have Ajmal Shahzad fit and firing for their promotion campaign•PA PhotosYorkshireCaptain Andrew Gale
Coach Jason Gillespie
In Alex Lees, James Wainman, Callum Geldart, Alex Lilley, Dan Hodgson
Out David Wainwright (Derbyshire), Ben Sanderson (released), Lee Hodgson (released)
Overseas players Phil Jacques (applying for UK status)
Last year 8th in CC Div 1 (relegated); 6th in FLt20 North Group; 6th in CB40 Group A
Prospects
Jason Gillespie has already brought a new sense of optimism and purpose to a young Yorkshire squad still stung by an unexpected relegation from Division One of the Championship. A coaching clear-out was long overdue and with Martyn Moxon, the director of cricket, shifting his emphasis to a broader role, Gillespie will be left to plot the immediate promotion that is expected. Yorkshire have already won a pre-season tournament in Barbados, collecting an unusual trophy, depicting a fish out of water, that might have been designed to encapsulate their troubles last summer. Improvement in one-day cricket is overdue.
One to watch
Ajmal Shahzad had a dispiriting 2011. He was troubled for much of the season with a damaged ankle that required surgery in October and lost much of his bowling threat as a result. He is one of county cricket’s biggest triers so to be regarded one of those condemned for “unacceptable” performances by his chairman, Colin Graves, as Yorkshire were relegated, cut deep. A fit and firing Shahzad would go a long way to strengthening Yorkshire’s seam-bowling resources.
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David Hopps

Former England and current South Africa bowling coach Allan Donald runs the rule over the bowling line-ups of both sides

Interview by George Dobell13-Jul-2012I’ve been on lots of tours and seen lots of cricket. But this series is special: I honestly feel that those of us fortunate enough to be able to watch it can consider ourselves privileged. We are seeing two excellent teams with the two best attacks in world cricket go head to head in a series that could confirm which is the best. It really doesn’t get any better.How do I see it going? It’s too tight to call. It could come down to one session, one dropped catch, one moment of inspiration. I know this is a big claim, but it could be as good a series as the 2005 Ashes.South Africa have a daunting bowling attack, a formidable batting line-up and the desire and experience. But so do England. And, in all my cricket experience, I’ve never seen a country with a better crop of young quick bowlers than England have at present. Every tour to England is a joy, but this one could be the stuff of legend. I can’t wait.

South Africa

Dale Steyn We all know what Steyn brings to the game: he bowls at good pace, swings the ball and has superb control. He is also a wonderful competitor and a fantastic leader of the attack. His fitness is so good that he is just as quick at the end of the day as at the start, and he is able to bowl long, fast spells. One of the factors that might be unappreciated is his experience of county cricket; it’s something that he talks about at length. His experience of bowling on different pitches will count for a lot. His Test record – 272 wickets in 54 Tests – is simply amazing and I truly consider it a privilege to watch him operate at close quarters. What makes him special is his ability to pounce when small threats are imminent, and his five-wicket haul stats – he has taken 17 – prove why he is the world’s No.1 strike bowler.Vernon Philander He will share the new ball with Steyn. He is not the quickest, but he swings the ball both ways and asks question after question of the batsman. Facing him is an intense business: every delivery threatens and he wears teams down with his relentlessness. His Test record is ridiculous – he’s really riding the crest of a wave at the moment – and with his experience and in English conditions, there is no reason why he should not be able to sustain it. He wasn’t a bowler I knew a lot about when he was first picked – it was 2007 and I was out of the country – but I can now understand what Gary Kirsten saw in him: Philander is a tough nut and a clever bowler and he just keeps getting better.Morne Morkel He has taken another step forward in the last six months. Maybe there were times, in the past, when he was not aggressive enough, but now he has found a way to harness his inner hostility and has become a truly formidable bowler. He is very tall, very strong and bowls in really ugly areas for a batsman. He is a silent assassin, and sometimes doesn’t get enough credit for his hard work in partnership with Dale Steyn. The bounce he gets from just back of a length is horrible. He is a rhythm bowler, and the longer he bowls the better he bowls and, if the Oval pitch is as hard as it used to be, he could be a real handful there. He also complements Steyn in a very effective way: one of them pushes the batsman back, one of them drags him forward. Both of them gain movement. They make a hostile, skilful partnership on any pitch.

“In all my cricket experience, I’ve never seen a country with a better crop of young quick bowlers than England have at present”

Marchant de Lange What a man to have waiting in the wings. He reminds me of Patrick Patterson: he is a big man, very strong, has a similar action, and he relies on brute force to propel a heavy ball. He really excites me, but he is a player we have to look after. He bowled a lot of overs in the nets during the IPL and he is at an age when he is still developing. He showed on his Test debut – when he took 7 for 81 against Sri Lanka – that he can make an impact at this level, and in a couple of years he could be a really special bowler. I think there is a good chance he will play in the first two-day game on the tour, and even if he doesn’t play a Test on this trip, the experience will be beneficial. He will be back.Jacques Kallis He is relishing this series. Despite his phenomenal record, he is still under-appreciated as a cricketer and as a bowler in particular. Yes, we all know he is a great batsman, but he has nearly 300 Test wickets too. That’s incredible. He is a very placid man but, if angry and when required, he can still get the ball into the high 80s easily. He has kept himself wonderfully fit and even if there are times when his body aches a bit, he will never – never – shirk his responsibility for the team. His versatility makes him so useful: he can swing the ball; he can keep it tight with his excellent control and he can bowl with pace and attack the batsmen. He is the ideal third or fourth seamer. How long will he continue? Well, he wants to win the World Cup badly. Very badly.Imran Tahir He is going to have a huge role to play in this series. He has only played a few Tests, but his first-class career record – with over 500 wickets at an unbelievably good strike rate – underlines the fact that he is a man who can take wickets on any surface. Such is his desire to attack that there are times when he can be a bit costly, but there is nothing better than taking wickets, and he has now learned when to attack and when to remain patient. At some stage in the series, he will find a pitch that helps him, and then watch out England. He has such variation and so many tricks that I think he is going to have a massive series. He is a quality man as well as a quality bowler, so he is an asset off the pitch too, and I think what you’ll see on this tour is a man who not only has all the tricks but now knows when to use them. He went to Pakistan recently to work with his hero, Abdul Qadir, and that can only have helped. I can’t wait to see him celebrating the wickets: his joy is infectious.Lonwabo Tsotsobe Lonwabo is waiting in the wings if any of the top three fast bowlers are injured. He has worked very hard on his fitness and his bowling and, while he is not the quickest, he is very accurate and relentless in his areas and can swing the ball with good control. It’s fantastic to know that he and Marchant de Lange are in the wings as back-up if we do have injuries.

England

James Anderson His stats talk for themselves these days. He used to be in and out of the side but now he knows his body and his game. Ever since he became the leader of the England attack, pretty much in 2008, he has been brilliant. He swings the ball both ways, he has incredible control and, while he is not quick, he is quick enough. He asks a lot of questions with the new ball, so South Africa will have to watch him closely. He is going to be one of the keys of the series.Stuart Broad He has come into his own over the last couple of years and has formed a strong partnership with Anderson; a partnership very similar to Morkel and Steyn. He is tall and has genuine pace and hits areas very heavily. He is similar to Morkel as these two are of similar height and pace. I look forward to the tussle between these two.”I like Bresnan as a bowler and a man: he just gets on with it”•AFPTim Bresnan Bresnan was tipped for big things from a young age but, for a while, it didn’t look as if he was going to fulfil all that talent. He has now. He is a hell of a cricketer. I recall him coming through at U19 level. He was talented, but maybe a bit chubby. Now he is solid; a really strong man who is in great shape. I like him as a bowler and a man: he just gets on with it. He is happy to bowl the hard overs and can fulfil several different roles when required. He rushes batsmen a bit more than they are expecting, he can swing the ball and move it off the seam. The England management deserve some credit for the way they have backed him and invested in him. He is paying them back now that he has become the finished product.Steven Finn I remember the first time I saw him. It was at Uxbridge in 2008 and I was really impressed. He is very tall, very quick – seriously quick – but, even more importantly, his attitude is ideal. He really gets stuck in these days, and it says a great deal for England’s strength that he might need someone else to suffer an injury to win a place in the team.Graham Onions
It’s crazy how many good bowlers England have. Both sides do, actually. Onions attacks the stumps, gives the batsmen little and constantly asks questions of them. From England’s point of view it’s good to see him back after the injury problems he has had, and he will be banging at the door to win another opportunity.Graeme Swann I remember him from the tour to South Africa in 2000. He hardly played and it seemed for a few years as if he would be lost to international cricket. But he has seized his second chance and developed into a fantastic cricketer. The key with Swann is his control: he hardly bowls a bad ball. His record to left-handers is superb, and having taking 13 five-wicket hauls in 44 Tests, he is a player for whom the South Africa team has the upmost respect. He is a genuinely funny man too, but he is no joker on the pitch. He keeps it tight for England and, given any help, can attack very effectively. He really is the man that makes the attack work.Allan Donald is speaking alongside Mike Atherton and Jeremy Snape at the inaugural Wisden 150 Club Lunch at the Kennington Oval on 16 July. For more information, and to apply for a place at the lunch, click here

Hashim Amla is yet to translate his success in Tests and ODIs to T20s. But in current form, that may not be far away

Andrew Fernando19-Sep-2012Given Hashim Amla’s colossal recent form, finding a weakness in his game seems a frivolous exercise. Beyond the mountain of runs, a Test average breaching 65 over the last three years and an ODI average touching 60, he has a gift for playing innings notable as much for their impact as their heft. Amla’s reputation as classy, but slow delayed his introduction to limited-overs cricket, but when he arrived in ODIs, his success was almost immediate.The only format in which he can’t claim to be among the best in the world is Twenty20. He has played 10 innings, all as an opener, to score 198 runs at an average of 22 and is yet to record a half-century.It is not that his cricket is unsuited to the shortest format – he has developed a mindset and ability to score off almost any ball, and few errant deliveries escape the swing of his blade – but for the moment, there is something preventing his success in Twenty20s.Perhaps he has not yet warmed to the format; a problem not helped by the infrequency of matches. He was less than prolific in his first 34 Tests too, averaging in the low 40s before three centuries in two Tests against India in 2010 burst the dam and heralded the torrent. There has been a concerted effort to tune his game to the ODI format as well, and that has brought spectacular results. Maybe that mental switch has not yet been flipped in Twenty20, and those technical adjustments remain unmade.Others of his ilk have adapted and thrived in Twenty20. Kumar Sangakkara is more straight lines and precision than Amla’s artistry, but Sri Lanka’s middle order would seem a shell without him in it. As he showed during his innings against Zimbabwe on Tuesday evening, Sangakkara has developed new modes of scoring, and assumed a more aggressive disposition, even if he can sometimes seem uncomfortable wearing it. Ian Bell has been another who has introduced innovation to remain relevant in the 20-over game. Despite Amla’s success in limited-overs cricket, he has not strayed far from convention.”I’m relatively inexperienced in the Twenty20 format,” Amla said on the eve of South Africa’s first match of the World Twenty20. “Fortunately I managed to get some runs in England, which helped with the confidence. I am playing in a very good team, and that really helps as well. Batting with guys like Jacques Kallis who have been involved for some time, I’m taking every game as a learning experience.”Amla comes into the tournament in supreme form, and an international reputation that is the best it’s ever been. South Africa pack plenty of power in their batting, and with stiff competition for spots in the top four, Amla will need to translate that momentum into telling performances, just to keep his place. If he can provide a calming influence to a side not renowned for keeping their heads in major tournaments, then all the better.”Every cricketer goes through times in their career where they excel, and I’ve been very fortunate to fit into that category over the last couple of months,” he says. “I don’t look too much at the spotlight that comes when you are scoring runs, I just try to keep things simple and hopefully get the team off to a good start.”Amla’s impressive run in ODIs has already revealed his hunger to improve and impress at every opportunity. That his Twenty20 numbers have not caught up to the rest of his game will irk him. He will look to make drastic improvements to that record, and South Africa’s big-tournament fortunes in general, in the weeks to come.

There are signs of a fragile recovery in West Indies cricket and a place in the World Twenty20 final – the prospect of silverware – would give long-suffering fans something to cling to

David Hopps in Colombo04-Oct-2012When you can boast the two fastest men on the planet, it has to do a lot for your sense of sporting well-being. West Indies meet Australia with the exploits of Usain Bolt and Yohan Blake at the London Olympics still fresh in the mind. They won gold and silver over 100m and 200m for Jamaica, but throughout the Caribbean the millions looking on with pride felt able to take ownership of a magnificent spectacle.For decades, West Indies cricket has been the unifying force for the Caribbean. At times it has seen an unwelcome task as the individual islands increasingly seek out an independent identity. But Bolt and Blake proved that the Caribbean can still think as one and, if West Indies follow up Olympic glory with victory in World Twenty20, they can ensure the sense of belonging deepens.There was a time during the Olympics, for a few hours or more, when Blake – perhaps with the exclusion of Chris Gayle – was arguably the Caribbean’s most famous cricketer. He suggested ambitiously that he was a better cricketer than a sprinter, ceremoniously rang the bell at the start of a day in the Lord’s Test and claimed that he was seriously eyeing an opportunity in the Big Bash League. Bolt followed suit, although unlike Blake he could not claim to have a bowling machine at home cranked up to 90mph. Whatever, it was great theatre; a marketeer’s dream.In Colombo we have reached the second semi-final of World Twenty20 and the bona fide cricketers of West Indies now hope to capitalise on such uplifting memories. Their coach, Ottis Gibson, would have missed a trick if he had not extolled the achievements of Bolt and Blake at the start of the tournament and West Indies are contesting World Twenty20 under the slogan: “One team, one people, one goal.”It has to be said that 24 hours before the match unity in West Indies cricket was not 100% apparent. In Port-of-Spain, the entire Trinidad and Tobago squad had threatened not to travel to the Champions League in South Africa because of issues of the share of the payments received by the board for the involvement of Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine in IPL. The Trinidad contingent in Colombo with the West Indies were said to be closely involved.At such times, an old inspirational speech by Gibson might be recalled with a raised eyebrow or two, but Darren Sammy, West Indies’ captain, referred to it with pride intact.”That was definitely remembered in our preparation,” he said. “What happened in the Olympics has given the Caribbean people a lot of inspiration. I remember being in Jamaica watching the men and women’s 100 and 200 metre finals. Even though it was Jamaica winning, it felt like the entire Carribean.”Cricket is a game that unites the Carribean people so I know everyone at home is rooting for us. With all that’s happened at the Olympics, it’s another step for us to put a smile on the face of our fans’ faces. We dedicate this tournament for all the die-hard fans supporting us through thick and thin. Now it’s a golden opportunity to go out and win this for them.”If Jamaica, a country of 2.7 million people, can take a clean sweep of the men’s Olympic sprinting gold, then it can also produce, in Gayle, a cricketer worthy of a winner’s medal in the World Twenty20. The charisma of both is undeniable. They keep in contact quite regularly. Gayle once batted against Bolt in a charity match and is happy to suggest that Bolt made him hurry with a “competitive bouncer.”Sammy even uses imagery from athletics to describe West Indies’ progress to the semi-finals. “Since the coach came on board, we’ve instilled a positive, can-do attitude in the team,” he said. “In any organisation, any team, any group – the more you work together, the more you achieve. We have a lot of belief, and that’s been the biggest factor for us. We saw it as a 100-metre hurdle. We’ve got two more hurdles to jump to reach the finish line. Tomorrow is about jumping that hurdle.”It has to be said that West Indies have struck a few hurdles along the way. They were well beaten by Sri Lanka in the Super Eights at Pallakele, hammered by nine wickets after making only 129 for 5 against an unorthodox Sri Lankan attack, bamboozled by Ajantha Mendis’ spin assortment, Nuwan Kulasekara’s mix of inswingers and huge slower balls and Jeevan Mendis’ skiddy legrollers.They also lost to Australia in the qualifying group, but it was a game wrecked by rain and Australia’s 17-run winning margin on Duckworth Lewis was largely an irrelevance in which batsmen flayed bowlers out of sight all night. Pitches have deteriorated at Premadasa in the intervening days.”We believe we can go onto win matches. We’ve not had the best tournament, but we’re still in the semi finals,” Sammy said. “We’ve always had good games against Australia. We’ve always scored heavily against them. We back our guys and their pace attack seems to favour us. Our game against Australia was shaping up to be a very exciting one. Hopefully we have another exciting game and we come out on top.”They have a lot of experience at the top of the order, but as we saw against Pakistan, you can get into that middle order. We back ourselves and we think we have the bowlers in there to get wickets against them.”It’s a different stage of the tournament. It’s the semi finals and there’s a lot at stake. We just have to bring our A game.”

Michael Hussey’s latest century was another example of the hardworking, fluent and busy innings that have typified his style of play over his career

Daniel Brettig in Hobart15-Dec-2012Almost without exception, every man to enter the Australian team has described the sight of Ricky Ponting at training as close to their greatest education about what was required of an international cricketer. His intensity was unwavering, his spark ever-present, his attention to detail minute.Seldom would a session conclude without one brilliant moment of Ponting fielding, like a staggering slip catch or a precision throw to knock back one stump. Similarly, never would Ponting finish in the nets without a sense of progress around his batting, even if in latter days that was not reflected in the middle.On days one and two in Hobart, in the first match since Ponting exited the training and playing grounds for life beyond the dressing room, Michael Hussey gave a similarly comprehensive education in the ways of mature batsmanship. At 37, having watched Ponting’s decline into retirement, Hussey appears remarkably undimmed by advancing years, and remains the foremost Australian batting technician of his time.Every piece of Hussey’s game, which has so confounded Sri Lanka across six Tests dating back to 2007, was fitted into the considered and accomplished whole after careful consideration and often painful experience. Starting life as an opening batsman, he gilded his technique and mental approach with additional knowledge when dropping down the order during county matches in England. When Hussey belatedly debuted for Australia in late 2005, he was 30 years old, and had learned even to temper his customary intensity, the better to profit on the journey.”When I got to 30 and I was in the Western Australia team I had almost given up hope of playing for Australia,” Hussey said. “I was always someone who put a lot of pressure on myself and tried very hard. Almost when I took the pressure off myself and said ‘I’m not going to worry about playing for Australia, just relax’, that’s when I started performing more consistently and got my opportunity.”Once I got into the team, that was the challenge for me, to keep that mindset, try to stay relaxed, just keep enjoying my game, keep playing my way, and hopefully the same consistency would come. It’s a challenge because it’s something you want so badly and you want to do so well, it’s hard to stay relaxed, but I think that’s where I’ve been able to play my best cricket, when I’m calm.”

‘I just want to enjoy it while it lasts’

Michael Hussey knows he cannot elude the march of time forever. Having scored a century and taken a catch at gully, Hussey earned the plaudits of Sri Lanka’s coach Graham Ford, who reckoned the 37-year-old could keep going for at least another two years. But Hussey himself was careful not to laugh in the face of his advancing years, noting Ricky Ponting’s final series.

“I thought watching Ricky he’d been batting really well, his Sheffield Shield scores were fantastic, and watching him bat in the nets, and this game sometimes it just can really sort you out,” Hussey said. “I’m under no illusions that I’m sure that’s going to happen to me as well. It just takes a couple of good balls, a couple of bad shots, or a couple of things not to go your way, and you can feel under pressure as well. At the moment it seems to have been going my way, but understanding how the game goes it can turn very quickly, and I just want to try to enjoy it while it lasts.”

Possessing a startling record against Sri Lanka, Hussey said he had learned to enjoy series that began well but also rebound in those that began badly. “You get confidence from good scores if you can start a series well it does help you to relax,” he said. “I’ve been through the different sorts of challenges along the way where you haven’t started well and you can feel the pressure building. To be able to keep coming back to what you know has worked for you in the past and just believing in that, and eventually it comes back around your way.”

That delayed entry to international company filled Hussey with desire and resourcefulness to expand on his undoubted natural talent, and knowledge of his strengths and weaknesses that allowed him to grow remarkably quickly into something approaching the complete player. This is perhaps best illustrated by his still critical role for Australia in all three formats of the game – as valuable in the helter skelter of Twenty20 as he is in the extended cut and thrust of a Test.The latter was very much on display at Bellerive Oval, as Sri Lanka’s bowlers did their best to corral Australia on a pitch that was presentable on the first day but has grown subtly more difficult with each hour, and will continue to deteriorate. In recent times Hussey has shown his ability to guide Australia out of one top order crisis after another in the company of the captain Michael Clarke, and this time his commission was eased slightly by a tally of 4 for 198 when he walked to the middle.”It was sort of a pitch where you never really felt in on,” Hussey said. “There was definitely quite a bit of variable bounce, and if you get enough balls in the right area there’s a little bit of seam movement as well. It didn’t really swing as much as what I was expecting, but there’s certainly enough variable bounce there, and a couple that took off from nowhere, and that made it hard to feel really in. It’s difficult to score freely.”One of Hussey’s greatest attributes as a batsman is to score unobtrusively at times, but always regularly enough to keep himself from becoming inert. This was very evident here, as his innings contained no fewer than 49 singles. On a second morning of careful batting following Clarke’s early departure to a lively Shaminda Eranga, Hussey sustained himself at one point with 14 runs in succession collected the hard way. This had the dual benefits of keeping Hussey’s tally ticking but also rotating the strike, posing different challenges for Sri Lanka’s attack, which remained diligent throughout the period up to lunch. Apart from everything else, Hussey is an outstanding runner between the wickets.After rain lengthened the interval significantly, Australia’s priorities were changed. The time sucked out of the match, and the prospect of more delays over the next three days, lifted the emphasis on runs collected quickly, and the attack to be taken to the bowlers. Hussey and Matthew Wade lifted their rating, and after notching only two boundaries in going to his 50, he cuffed six balls to the fence and heaved another over it on his way to 115 not out.The only moment in the entire innings when Hussey lost noticeable poise was on 96, when he pulled at Shaminda Eranga’s short ball and offered a chance to Angelo Mathews on the boundary. It was the sort of chance that might have been taken this summer if offered by Ponting, but like Clarke, Hussey’s luck appears to be in. Some good fortune for Hussey was altogether fitting anyway, given the quality of the innings, and the quality of the player. Right now there is no better man in the world for an aspiring young batsman to watch.

The first of our four-part series of statistical analysis on the 2012 County Championship

David Hopps and Neville Scott05-Nov-2012Nottinghamshire have ample excuses for the collapse of their Championship challenge according to a statistical study of the 2012 season.Records drawn up by Neville Scott, a freelance cricket journalist who specialises in analysis of the county game, show that Nottinghamshire were more badly hit than any other county by the combined effects of the absences of first-choice players and one of the wettest summers ever endured.For much of the season, Nottinghamshire were the closest challengers to Warwickshire, eventual winners of County Championship, until a late slide saw them finish fifth as another high-profile dip into the transfer market, this time for the England batsman James Taylor, failed to bring immediate rewards.But statistics show that Nottinghamshire lost an average of nearly four players per match to injury or international calls, more than any other county in both divisions, and also potentially lost more points because of rain than any of their Division One rivals.Scott’s study aims to show not just a simple record of hours of play lost to rain but the maximum realistic number of extra points which they might have gained but for rain – a somewhat notional figure but one which seeks to provide a more accurate assessment of a county’s ill luck.Not only did Nottinghamshire miss the chance to gain a maximum of 120 extra points because of the dismal weather, nine of their 16 Championship matches were affected.Three Division Two counties – Yorkshire, Essex and Gloucestershire – were more badly affected by the weather than Nottinghamshire. For Essex, who can normally rely on drier weather than most, it was an unusual situation.Yorkshire’s Australian coach, Jason Gillespie, bemoaned the weather on an almost daily basis and he had reason, despite their success in sneaking promotion in the last game of the season, as rain had robbed them from contesting 151 additional points – the worst luck in the country.Those who regarded Derbyshire’s promotion with surprise will notice that they shared with Sussex the best fortune with the weather.

CountyAbsentRain1 Warwickshire2.7594 (7)2 Somerset2.87109 (8)3 Middlesex2.0084 (7)4 Sussex0.9457 (5)5 Nottinghamshire3.59120 (9)6 Durham0.8373 (5)7 Surrey2.40105 (7)8 Lancashire1.47103 (7)9 Worcestershire0.7595 (7)10 Derbyshire0.7557 (4)11 Yorkshire2.00151 (12)12 Kent0.50111 (8)13 Hampshire0.7592 (7)14 Essex1.84142 (10)15 Glamorgan1.2775 (6)16 Leicestershirshire2.3197 (8)17 Northamptonshire1.5990 (7)18 Gloucestershire1.53121 (8)Absent: Average number of first-choice players absent per match through injury or by England orders; excludes IPL absentees or overseas players who could have been replaced
Rain: Max. realistic number of extra points which might have been gained but for rain. Number of affected games in brackets.More than half the Championship matches played were interrupted by rain to an extent where stoppages affected points gained – comfortably the highest number since Scott began his study 13 years ago.

Division OneDivision TwoTotal199925.49%200040.28%45.83%43.06%200143.06%36.11%39.58%200233.33%20.83%27.08%200340.28%29.17%34.72%200444.44%43.06%43.75%200526.39%38.89%32.64%200625.00%23.61%24.31%200738.89%34.72%36.81%200847.22%47.22%47.22%200938.89%37.50%38.19%201030.56%27.78%29.17%201118.06%25.00%21.23%201250.00%52.78%51.59%Tomorrow: In the second of our four-part series, we reveal the only county that fielded a majority of players in 2012 who learned their cricket outside the UK; and why Yorkshire can no longer regard themselves as more homegrown than most.

Ricky Ponting exhausted and exasperated many a bowler during his career. Four of them look back at their battles with him

Interviews by Nagraj Gollapudi03-Dec-2012Darren Gough: “He wanted to bully you”
v Ponting: Tests 9, dismissals 8, avg 32.12
You surprise me there when you say I got Ponting eight times, because I always found him really hard to bowl at. The most difficult batsman I bowled to was Adam Gilchrist, and that was purely because he would come in as No. 7, when the ball was old, and he would score so quickly. But there were two top-order batsmen I always found difficult: Michael Slater and Ponting. They wanted to bully me and I wanted to bully them. So as far as the contest goes, those two were the best. I had good duels with Mark Waugh, too, but I knew I could get him if I bowled back of a length. With Ponting and Slater, I never knew where I stood.The one thing that was always on my mind against Ponting was to try and not bowl short at him, because he was so quick on that pull shot. I knew he was the player we had to get out, because he was a batsman who could accelerate the run rate quickly. Gilchrist did that down the order but Ponting did that early on.My plan to him was quite high-risk: start with an early dose of pitching a foot outside off stump, which tempted him. In most of my dismissals, if you notice, he was caught at second slip as he was going after balls which any other guy would not have chased. But once he got in, he would murder me all day. Most people looked to bowl straight at Ponting, but I didn’t. I knew he wanted to get on with it, hit me for a four, bully the bowlers. So I just tended to bowl full and wide at him, and that is how I did him so many times – nicking it.He played some wonderful innings [against England], including his maiden Test century, which came at Headingley in 1997. It was a pretty flat pitch, but he just destroyed anybody in his sights.For a batsman to be great in my eyes, he needs to be able to score off both the front and back foot. That is vital. I knew if I bowled back of a length and shortish to some batsmen, they were never going to affect my bowling figures. But Ponting could score quickly against me. No bowler likes to go for runs, especially being hit for boundaries. Ponting was a run-getter and he got them quick. He always wanted to get on with it. He was in the top three batsmen of all time, for me.In 2005 I had the opportunity to be on the same team as Ponting during a charity match for the tsunami victims between the ICC World XI and the Asia XI. It was the first time I watched him go about his business and how he prepared. And, oh my word, what an innings he played. It was amazing to see how he prepared, compared to the other players you played with.Even at a young age he was a powerful character and that is why he became the leader he became, earning a lot of respect. Ponting was part of a great Australian batting order, but it was his attitude, his determination, that made him tower above everyone else. For someone who is quite a small guy, he carried so much power. He was an unbelievable competitor.He never smiled at you, really. You never knew whether he liked you or hated you. That just sums him up.Shoaib Akhtar: “He had no fear”
v Ponting: Tests 9, dismissals 3, average 4.66
On his day, even a demon would be scared to bowl against Ponting. This is a guy who never stepped back. I never enjoyed bowling to him because if I could not get him out in the first few overs, then he would make sure I would have to stay on the field for another 50 overs.He had no fear. The final Test of Pakistan’s tour of Australia in 1999-2000 was held in Perth, and I remember bowling at my fastest. It was a good WACA pitch and I was bowling at about 97mph consistently. Justin Langer, Ponting’s partner at the other end, was literally laughing, since Ponting could not connect. Ponting made use of my pace to let the balls go by easily. I think I bowled some of my fastest bouncers, which were flying over the wicketkeeper’s head, and Ponting just stood there. It was my most unfortunate day, I felt at the time. He took apart a bowling attack that consisted of myself, Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq and inflicted huge damage with a big century [197].He was one of the toughest batsman I bowled against. There were three or four batsmen I felt I should be scared against: Ponting, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Brian Lara and Adam Gilchrist. Ponting’s ability to finish games was amazing. But his ability to face fast bowlers like myself and score runs was equally praiseworthy. He was a batsman who could play as well as win games, no matter what the match situation was. A fearless and ruthless batsman. Always a match-winner.Chris Martin: “I would sit down and follow him bat”
v Ponting: Tests 12, dismissals 4, avg 51.50
As cricketers we don’t actually sit down and watch other players play other than when playing against them. So the ultimate compliment I will give Ponting is that even when I was not playing, he was the one batsman in the last decade I would follow on TV.He had a full array of shots, and that always put the bowler under pressure. In an Australian team full of legends he was the one man you wanted to get out, and a lot of thought went into figuring out ways to do so – not just as a bowler; as a spectator, I would watch how other people bowled at him.As a top-order batsman he was the most difficult one to bowl to. With the new ball in hand, when you have the most energy to tackle your opponent, you fancy your chances, but Ponting was always capable of picking up lengths incredibly quickly, and he tried to put me on the back foot just as quickly. Guys like Ricky and Sachin Tendulkar, and to an extent Jacques Kallis, always get the best out of the bowler when they are scoring runs. And it was fun to stand up to the task.In the Christchurch Test in 2005, the ball was reversing and I kept bowling him outswingers. I was successful in keeping him quiet for a couple of overs but I was getting heckled by Merv Hughes, the former Aussie quick, who was leading a tour group. Hughes kept saying I did not deserve to be on the same pitch as Ricky and that basically I was wasting everybody’s time. But I eventually turned the ball around and managed to bring it back sharply towards his off stump. It didn’t bowl him, but the next ball, similar in line and length, went straight through and forced an edge on its way into the gloves of the wicketkeeper.When you get someone like him out with a little bit of savvy and nous, you feel good about yourself. But that was an exception to the rule – Ponting was a batsman who definitely had the better of most of our battles.Harbhajan Singh: “The kind of cricketer, who could win matches on his own”
v Ponting: Tests 14, dismissals 10, avg 22.30, ducks 3
Ponting the batsman did not change much, at least in the first decade of his career. He was a quality batsman, but somehow I always held an edge over him.Our first duel occurred in our first series together – the 1998 Sharjah Cup ODI series. It was my debut series and I got Ponting stumped after he hit me for a six. Both of us were charged up. I made some gesture and he responded aggressively. The match referee imposed fines on both of us and I sat out a match. It was the first of our many run-ins.In the 2000-01 Test series I got him in all the three Tests, and also in the first warm-up match, in Nagpur. He went for a drive and was caught at short midwicket.In the latter part of his career, he tried to do something different compared to how he batted on his first few tours of India. In those early days he would tend to play across and get out a lot caught at short leg or other close-in positions. Later he looked to step out more and play towards the mid-on and midwicket areas rather than towards cover and mid-off, which were the areas where I wanted him to play. He was not only playing more on the front foot but had also started waiting a lot on the back foot, like in the 2008-09 Bangalore Test, where he got a fine century.Ponting will be in the top five Test batsmen I have played against. He was the kind of cricketer who could win matches on his own. He was an aggressive captain and had the ability to lift the team from difficult situations. He was the kind of batsman who played all round the wicket and scored runs quickly on any track. He developed the aura of being among the greatest because he performed consistently over the years.

With both the bat and in the field, age seems to have forgotten Tillakaratne Dilshan, or he it.

Andrew Fernando07-Nov-2012At some stage in a cricketer’s career, age, not opposition, becomes the greatest obstacle to success. As the grey hairs bloom one by one, time begins to erode the faculties that served batsmen in their youth; the reflexes, the power in their shoulders, the fleet of foot.Bowlers often have their decline laid out unmistakably – even empirically. The lighter hauls correlate with less generous assessments on the speed gun, or a reduction in revolutions and turn. But batsmen, who are more tightly tethered to the vagaries of form, are less sure which is a temporary slump and which is a permanent one.Many trade in panache for consistency, and stave away father time that way. Men who once commanded vast arsenals of punishing strokes smelt their techniques down until only a few well-chosen weapons of torment remain.Last month, Tillakaratne Dilshan turned 36. It is strange to think of him as the oldest member of the Sri Lankan team because age seems to have forgotten him, or he it. In the Powerplays, he fields at backward point, where the sharpest earn their keep. In the middle overs, he ranges the deep, square of the wicket, where only the quick survive. At the death, he is found guarding the straight boundaries, where he recently made a stunning take, leaning over the ropes, clinching Sri Lanka victory where they would have had defeat if the ball had hit the ground. Where are the cushy positions at short fine leg or mid on for Dilshan? He is doing the work of young men.His batting continues to be defined by its chutzpah. He had watched the new ball move off the seam appreciably from the non-striker’s end, yet when he saw Kyle Mills pitch the ball in the corridor on the first delivery he faced, Dilshan sent it screaming through the covers, despite the away movement. It is the same cover drive he played when he first appeared for Sri Lanka, a whirr of arms, wrists and blade. The attitude, if anything, has grown bolder.He continued to flash at the balls he fancied, and almost always, they resulted in fours. The dilscoop had gone out of his game for a while, triggering talk of ailing reflexes, but it has been restored the same as ever. He didn’t play the one that flies over the keeper against New Zealand, but he scooped Jacob Oram square of short fine leg once. He had tried that shot twice already, but two failures were not enough to deter him, even for a stroke as high in risk as that.But his batting is not without its own method. Even the freest spirits need some semblance of structure within which to knead their talent. Once the field goes out, the dasher in Dilshan gives way to the opportunist. The gaps are mined, often and exhaustively. Every chance to eke a second is grasped. He scored more runs in twos than any other batsman in the match, and that is not a statistic he is a stranger to.Moreover, hittable balls almost invariably end up at the fence. The stream of runs into the outfield give the impression that Dilshan has wound down his aggression, but he snaps at the poor balls so readily and viciously, it is as if the wild Dilshan was always just lurking beneath that composed veneer, awaiting the first chance to let rip. Having not hit a boundary in nine overs, Dilshan spotted a rank full toss from Nathan McCullum in the 19th over and was down the pitch in an instant to blast it over extra cover. A few overs later, Trent Boult overpitched, and Dilshan bludgeoned it back at him so savagely, the bowler gave no thought to completing a return catch as he ducked in self preservation. As an opener, Dilshan has 13 hundreds to his 14 fifties. Conversion rates like that don’t materialise without a formula.He also has every shot in the playbook, so manoeuvring the field, as he did today alongside Angelo Mathews, should prove easier for him with the new rule allowing only four men on the fence. “It’s much easier with the new rule, because the bowlers must bowl better than they used to,” Dilshan said after the match. “Even if they make a small mistake, it’s easy to score runs because there are only four men out. We planned to conserve our wickets at the start so that we could score quickly later. If a batsman gets into a good position, it’s easy to exploit the new rule.”In the 30th over, Sri Lanka only had 13 to get to win the match, but Dilshan needed ten more for a hundred. In two balls, he smote a four over cover and a six over square leg to get to triple figures. Later, he was asked whether pulling that delivery onto the bank was an unnecessary risk in pursuit of a personal milestone.”Why shouldn’t I play the pull?” was his response. “It’s my favourite shot and I have made a lot of runs with it. I don’t think it’s a risk for me.”In almost every way, Dilshan’s lustre remains undimmed by experience. He is as free, confident and warlike as he has always been. In a dressing room and a batting order where even the youngsters tend to be thoughtful and measured, the fire in Dilshan’s bones is refreshing.