ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the tri-series final in Perth

Sidharth Monga and George Dobell at the WACA Ground01-Feb-2015The plan
At the end of the 10th over, which Stuart Broad bowled, he signaled towards the dressing room, asking for a helmet. He wanted a short leg when he bowled next. When he began the 12th over, though, he had Steven Smith on strike. The helmet remained behind Jos Buttler. After conceding a single first ball, Broad called for the short leg. Now Broad had in his sights the out-of-form George Bailey. On 0 off 12. On a pitch with uneven bounce. There was going to be one soon aimed at the ribcage, but when? First on a length, angling in. Defended to midwicket. Second slightly short, played to cover. Third fuller and wider, left alone. With the fourth he went short, but provided Bailey the width to get off the mark. The fifth one he dug in like he really meant to, Bailey surprisingly didn’t seem to be expecting it, and stabbed at it, his head falling back, fending in front of his chest. Easy catch for short leg.The call
Umpires are usually pretty harsh on bowlers when they stray down leg in limited-overs cricket. With these regulations it can become near impossible to bowl when batsmen like Smith keep moving across and timing everything to leg after taking it from outside off. Just because umpiring for leg-side wides is done by rote, everyone assumed Chris Woakes would be called wide when Smith moved inside the line of a shortish ball and missed it. Smith looked up for a wide too, but Umpire Marais Erasmus was having nothing of it. His hands remained down, and went up only to call over and suggest to Smith that he had moved too far across. A chat between the batsmen – Smith and David Warner – followed during the changeover.The presumption
Presumption, they say, is the mother of much misfortune. Certainly it seemed that way when Smith was stumped. Smith, having presumed a delivery from Moeen Ali would turn, skipped past the straight one and then, presuming that Buttler would complete the stumping, did not immediately attempt to regain his ground. But Buttler, perhaps presuming that Smith would make contact with the delivery, did not take cleanly and was grateful for Smith’s slow response as he scrabbled to pick up the loose ball and break the wicket just before Smith regained his ground.The run-out
Mitchell Marsh was beginning to look imperious. Having rebuilt the innings with Glenn Maxwell, it was important for Australia that he went on to capitalise on his hard work in the final few overs once his partner had been dismissed. Instead, just as he began to move into top gear, he was run out after Brad Haddin called him for an unwise second run against the arm of James Anderson at third man. While Haddin, running to the apparent danger end, made his ground without much trouble, Marsh was left well short of his ground after Buttler collected and threw down the stumps at the bowler’s end with a direct hit. It left Australia with two new batsman at the crease and checked their acceleration. Until James Faulkner happened.The demon
The groundstaff had worked hard on the pitch since the end of Friday’s match involving India. It was better, too. The bounce seemed far more consistent. But one of the few balls that misbehaved had serious consequences. David Warner was dismissed by a delivery from Anderson that appeared to stop on him a little, bounce more than expected and resulted in a spooned catch to point. To lose such a key player in such an unfortunate manner was disappointing in such a high-profile game.

Plays of the Day from the Group A match between New Zealand and Bangladesh in Hamilton

Andrew McGlashan and Devashish Fuloria13-Mar-2015The fieldBrendon McCullum has been employing Test match fields throughout the tournament and today was no different. Two slips were a norm but at times, the number went up to four. However, it was not just about placing everyone for the edge. When Mahmudullah, the first right-hander in the line-up, walked in the third over, two short midwickets were in place. Mahmudullah knew what the ploy was, still he ended up pushing the inswinging Trent Boult delivery in the air towards those two men. Fortunately for him, he couldn’t have placed it better, the ball just out of reach of a diving Martin Guptill.The diveCould Brendon McCullum be Superman? He certainly did a good impression as he chased down a ball heading to the boundary, then flung himself with incredible hang-time to try and flick it back. As he thudded into the ground there were gasps; he pounded into the grass and was a little ginger as he got up. Every run is vital in a one-dayer, but some one-dayers are more vital than others. Next week’s in Wellington is more important than this match. Would it have been worth serious damage? And, in the end, it was still a boundary.The missGiven the high standards New Zealand set on the field, it was surprising to see them drop a few catches. Corey Anderson missed one at second slip, Guptill would have perhaps plucked on another day the one he missed at midwicket or the other one later in the innings had his anticipation been correct, but the one that stood out was McCulllum. As Shakib Al Hasan struck Corey Anderson flat and hard, the ball, as viewed from the press-box, right behind McCullum, seemed to be stuck on the bat for a moment before taking off. It was possibly the angle of the bat when it made contact. McCullum was confused too and reacted too late even though the ball wasn’t too far from his left shoulder. Injury averted, chance missed.The shotThere have been plenty of sixes at the World Cup, but not many off Daniel Vettori. When Mahmadullah, on 77, slog-swept over deep square-leg, it was just the third six Vettori had conceded in the tournament. Not that Vettori’s figures suffered too badly – although 42 was the most he had gone for in six matches – but Mahmadullah’s shot was another example of calculation and composure that has typified Bangladesh’s batting in the last two matches.The firstThe Bangladesh camp hinted strongly they would open the bowling with spin and they did not disappoint. Shakib, the stand-in captain, took the first over then Taijul Islam, brought into the side for fellow spinner Arafat Sunny, took the second. It made it the first time in ODI history that two left-arm spinners had opened the bowling.The failureKane Williamson has been under the weather in the days before this match and he’ll have felt pretty sick when he cut his second ball to point, giving Shakib his second wicket in four balls and leaving New Zealand 33 for 2. It ended a remarkable run of scoring in ODIs for him – this was the first innings since December 26, 2013 where he had not made double figures, during which time he has made 1360 runs at 64.76. But if he has saved a few for the quarter-final, the whole of New Zealand will be delighted.

AB de Villiers felt a lack of “electric vibe” before South Africa’s match against Pakistan – and his post-match disgust revealed that things only got worse

Firdose Moonda07-Mar-20152:18

AB de Villiers had nothing positive to say about South Africa’s defeat

Meet South Africa. The only team to have posted 400 runs twice in succession in an ODI. The team with two batsmen, Hashim Amla and AB de Villiers, who consider each other the best in the world and who the rest of the world consider the best, too. The team with the top-ranked pace bowler in the global game. The team de Villiers has “nothing good to say about at the moment.”After being defeated in what de Villiers identified as the second of the big matches in the pool stage – the first was against India – the South African captain has concluded that his men may “not be as good as we think we are,” and were “not prepared to fight it out,” against a spirited Pakistan.”I hate losing. I’ve got nothing good to say about the team at the moment,” de Villiers said. “Hopefully we have got four games left in the tournament and opportunity to lift the trophy. We need to approach the quarter-finals with a fresh mindset. I’ve got nothing good to say about performance today.”The truth was something was not right from the moment South Africa arrived at Eden Park and de Villiers knew it. “I didn’t feel an electric vibe,” he said.It did not seem as though many people, particularly South African supporters, felt that vibe. On the quiet suburbs around Eden Park, which is just three kilometres from the city where almost a third of the population of New Zealand lives, the currents flow calmly.Activity was limited to a square outside Gate A where one group was rollerblading, another was on stilts and a third mimicked the person directing foot traffic. Forty minutes before the match was due to begin the stands of Eden Park were similarly sparse as spectators waited to see if the weather would hold before committing their Saturday to sport.When they came in, the green of Pakistan outnumbered the green and gold of South Africa. They did not intimidate in the same way the Indian-dominated crowd at MCG did but their presence added to what already been a morning of mishaps for South Africa.Vernon Philander had been declared fit and available on Friday, after missing the previous two matches with a hamstring strain, but he had to withdraw from the playing XI before play when he experienced discomfort again. De Villiers admitted he felt he was “thrown a curve ball before the game”. The extent of that curve was only known later when the effect Philander’s absence had on the batting line-up was exposed.South Africa needed him more with the bat than the ball which encapsulates the actual issue of their team: the make-up of their team, not the mindset. They are without a regular genuine all-rounder and are constantly compromising on an element of their game. Their gambles have often paid off before and they almost paid off again when they limited Pakistan to a chaseable total, albeit it with a makeshift fifth bowler.Wahab Riaz signals victory in a match where only Pakistan felt the vibe•Getty ImagesThis time duties were shared between JP Duminy and de Villiers himself, who offers little more than novelty value as a bowler. His medium pace is innocuous and, even though de Villiers snagged the wicket of Younis Khan between him and Duminy, they cost the team 77 runs.De Villiers made exactly that score with bat in hand but lacked support, which illustrates South Africa’s more pressing concern. They are prone to collapses when the middle order is exposed to pressure.The only way to avoid that is with consistently solid starts at the top and a line-up that bats deep. Against Pakistan, they had neither. Philander, or even Wayne Parnell offer more with the bat than Abbott and South Africa may need to look at including one of them instead of a specialist seamer.They will be more worried about what to do with Quinton de Kock, whose lean run has now stretched one game too many. Although his talent is not in question, de Kock has now gone five innings with only one score in double figures.At another stage of his career, that would be regarded as a rough patch that could be smoothed over with sufficient game time, especially as he returning from a serious injury. But this is a World Cup and luxuries like that are hard to afford, unless, as is the case with de Kock, the player is needed in another capacity.De Kock is also the first-choice gloveman, who frees de Villiers up to lead, prowl the outfield and bowl. Leaving him out would require de Villiers to take the gloves but allow South Africa to play another batsman – in-form Rilee Rossouw would be the obvious choice. But then too much would be asked of the captain.Already, South Africa depend on him with the bat, although they have taken great care to play that down lest it be perceived as over-reliance. When Russell Domingo was asked about de Villiers recently, he said, ‘He is a wonderful player but we have many wonderful players,” while another member of the support staff repeatedly reminded that South Africa are not a “one-player team.”De Villiers himself brushed off suggestions he is overburdened, even after the Pakistan performance. “I know I can’t win this World Cup on my own: I need my team-mates,” he said. “They’ve got the ability and capability and the talent to do that. It’s about the senior guys stepping up and helping some of the youngsters to lift their game. We can all play cricket.”Now, they have to show they can play cricket even when they are not feeling as charged up as usual. “It’s my responsibility to try and get them going which I couldn’t do today. I could feel nothing was happening at 100%.”It’s like a car that in second or third gear and that won’t win you games. Not under pressure in big tournaments like this.”
Unless South Africa change that, de Villiers won’t be the only one with nothing good to say.

This match exposed the deep chasm between a consistent champion team like Chennai Super Kings and the desperate and frazzled Kings XI Punjab unit. Here are five moments from the game that underline the differences.

NAGRAJ GOLLAPUDI IN MOHALI16-May-2015The first whipAfter his 12-ball 31 proved to be the difference for Kings XI Punjab against Royal Challengers Bangalore, Wriddhiman Saha was the danger man. He had been shuffled between the top and middle order in the tournament but was sent out to open against Chennai Super Kings. MS Dhoni asked left-arm spinner Pawan Negi to open the bowling and it was a smart move to tempt Saha and Manan Vohra to take on the slow bowler. Saha remain rooted in his crease for the better part of the first over and even lofted an easy four over the cover fielder. In Negi’s next over, the batsman tried to create room to once again hit over the offside but was badly beaten by turn and offered a simple catch to cover.  It was an effortless kill.A desperate, ultimately futile, promotionGeorge Bailey rushed in to replace Saha. Most fans did not even notice him and in fact thought it was their favourite Glenn Maxwell at the crease. Even the big screen had Maxwell as the new batsman, but it was indeed Bailey. It was another experiment by Kings XI Punjab in their final match. But why? Before this game, Bailey had batted at No. 3 only twice in the IPL, managing 19 runs. Despite a terrible season he has been the second-best batsman for Kings XI this year behind David Miller but those runs have come in the lower order where his calm proved crucial at times. Today, Bailey started confidently, hitting a couple of fours, but facing the first ball from Ashish Nehra – a slanted delivery moving away – Bailey edged the ball into Dhoni’s gloves.Maxwell’s empty bag of tricksThe crowd erupted as soon as they saw Maxwell walk in, but the batsman started with an uncharacteristic waiting game. He did unleash a Ponting-esque pull on the front foot nonchalantly for his first four, but only six runs came off 14 balls. He had even managed to just nudge and dab against his once famous whipping boy, R Ashwin but facing the first delivery from left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja, Maxwell went for a reverse sweep. The ball had pitched on leg stump and was too close for him to attempt the stroke. Not surprisingly, next ball Maxwell once again attempted the same stroke. Once again Jadeja had pitched it on leg stump and on length and, once again, the ball hit the pads. Then Maxwell suffered a brain fade and failed to react to a ball that pitched on middle stump and straightened to knock back the off stump. Maxwell stood there for a moment, amazed and appalled. On his way back, he kicked the stump in disgust. Kings XI’s best batsman last season, who had set the IPL alight with his audacity and creativity, was a minimal presence this season.One-dimensional strategyDefending a low score is never easy, but ask Dhoni and co. who have on numerous occasions managed to turn a low-scoring affair in their favour through a combination of expert leadership, good fielding and an experienced bowling attack. An attacking field customised to each batsman’s weakness is also something successful teams usually deploy immediately.  Sadly Kings XI were lacking on all these fronts today. The best chance to dominate came once the Super Kings opening pair of Michael Hussey and Brendon McCullum returned in quick succession, but the Kings XI bowlers bowled predictable lines and failed to attack Faf du Plessis and Suresh Raina. It did not help when Maxwell was surprised by a return chance from Raina and failed to latch on to the catch. Raina was on 20 and Super Kings were 54 for 2 in the seventh over. Both Raina and du Plessis took advantage of the vast gaps in the field and picked easy singles and twos and, whenever the bowler faltered, hit easy boundaries to exhaust and negate the opposition.The helpless walkOn Saturday afternoon Sanjay Bangar, the Kings XI coach, walked four times on to the field –  during the strategic time-outs – to have a word with his players. There was never an urgency in his walk to and from the dugout. What Bangar told his team is irrelevant but as Rahul Dravid wisely said, if players need a pep talk on match-day then they are playing for the wrong team. This season has been a learning lesson even for Bangar, who took over the role only last year. Bangar, a phlegmatic man, will work hard but he needs to improvise and adapt quickly. Without altering too much, he still needs to get the best out of his players. It will never be easy but he needs to put an end to the defeated walks from the dugout to the pitch.

In a little over a year since his international debut, Moeen Ali has become a pivotal figure in English cricket especially for his bowling but he also wants to flourish with the bat

George Dobell in Barbados27-Apr-2015As the most successful England side in a generation fell apart in Australia 18-months or so ago, it seemed one man above all would prove almost impossible to replace.It wasn’t Andy Flower, the architect of England’s golden era. It wasn’t Jonathan Trott, whose batting had reassured for several years. It wasn’t even Kevin Pietersen, who as recently as 2012 produced some of the greatest innings in England’s Test history.It was Graeme Swann.Swann was the spinner who made the four-man attack work. Swann was the spinner who offered control in the first innings and a threat in the second. He was the catcher who made second slip his own. The lower-order batsman who defied his dislike for bouncers to produce many important innings. He was England’s best spinner since Derek Underwood.While Swann conceded his runs at rate of under three an over, his potential replacements, Simon Kerrigan and Scott Borthwick respectively, conceded theirs at rates of 6.62 and 6.30 respectively during chastening debuts. It appeared England had a serious problem.But then they stumbled across Moeen Ali. And, in his first year of international cricket, Moeen has done a remarkably good job of replacing Swann. His bowling average is actually better at present, albeit over a small sample size, and he has already made the Test century that eluded Swann.Perhaps the expression “stumbled across” Moeen is unfair. England spotted something in Moeen’s spin – and it was for his spin bowling that he was first selected for Test cricket – and were convinced to persevere with him despite an unconvincing first couple of Tests with the ball partly because of his batting. His century in his second Test at Headingley was an unusually fine innings.There are echoes of the Swann story here. It was Peter Moores who called Swann into the England Test side and Moores who made the decision to give Moeen time to grow into the role. The amount of spin he imparts causes the ball to dip sharply, just like Swann, while his action creates drift that threatens both edges; again, just like Swann. It has proved an inspired selection.Nobody is more surprised at Moeen’s emergence as a spinner than Moeen. While he was never the part-timer that some claimed – he had taken 101 first-class wickets at 33 apiece since the start of 2012 before the Southampton Test in 2014 that changed his life – the speed of his improvement has been remarkable.While many spinners find they need to bowl quicker to sustain a career at international level, actually doing it while maintaining control is another thing entirely. Just ask Adil Rashid. As Moeen put it after the Grenada Test: “My bowling has been a revelation to me.”They key to his improvement was spending time in and around the England squad. Bowling in the nets, Ian Bell suggested that, if he were to prosper at the top level, he would have to find a little more pace and bowl a more attacking off-stump line. Then, just before the Lord’s Test, a chance conversation with umpire Kumar Dharmasena provided the technical insight to achieve the improvement.”He advised me to grab my pocket with my non-bowling arm after delivery to get more body into my action without losing flight,” Moeen said. “I tried it for one ball and knew it would work immediately. It made a huge difference.”The results were as immediate as they were dramatic. After conceding his runs at a rate of 3.90 an over and taking his wickets at a cost of 54.71 for his first three Tests, since that session at Lord’s Moeen has conceded 3.02 runs per over and taken his wickets at a cost of 15.66.It is no surprise that Moeen looked rusty for much of the Grenada Test. He had bowled only 11 overs in red-ball cricket since September when he joined up with the Test squad following injury at the World Cup. Feeling the pressure of replacing James Tredwell, who had done an excellent job in the first innings in Antigua, Moeen produced a nervous performance with the ball in the first innings and ran himself out in somewhat dozy fashion.”I was bowling well in the nets and felt like I was ready,” Moeen said as he reflected on the first Test. “But the pressure of Test match cricket and bowling at good Test players was completely different.”With James Tredwell having bowled so well in the first Test match, I wouldn’t say there was pressure but I felt I needed to bowl well and probably forced it a little bit. I spoke to Peter Moores and Paul Farbrace and they just told me to relax and enjoy it and that’s exactly what I did.”Amid the excitement of James Anderson’s terrific spell with the second new ball on the final day, it went largely unnoticed, but Moeen also rediscovered his rhythm towards the end. While two of the three wickets he took in that spell were tailenders – although that is not always an area where England have shone – the other was a classic Moeen delivery: Denesh Ramdin defeated by sharp dip and playing across one. It is not just coincidence that England have now won the last four Tests in which Moeen has played.But Moeen remains frustrated by his batting at Test level. He has, he believes, shown only glimpses of his ability to date and knows that an average of 28.60 is a poor return for one so talented.”I still feel there’s a lot more of my batting to come,” he said. “I just haven’t justified it. Adapting to Test cricket is not as easy as people make it out to be. Although the way Gary Ballance is batting is making it look very easy.”But hopefully I can find my feet as a batter a bit more. I know I can do it. I’ve done it for Worcestershire many times before, so I just need to get the confidence back and really enjoy batting as well. I feel like it’s round the corner.”He brushed aside the suggestion – the far-fetched suggestion – that he could be promoted to the top of the order for the Barbados Test. Replacing a man who helped post England’s first century opening stand for two years is one thing; replacing him with a man averaging 28 in the middle-order – and a man who might be expected to bat 10 minutes after bowling 40 overs – quite another. Moeen has quite enough on his plate for now.”If they ask me to open then I’ll open,” he said. “But if they want me to bat 11 then I’ll bat 11. I don’t really mind. As long as I’m playing for England then I’m happy.”As well he might be. The last year has been a fairytale for a young man who grew up wanting nothing more than to play cricket. Now, with bat and ball, he finds himself playing a pivotal role in all three formats for his national side.”I feel very comfortable and settled in terms of me as a person around the guys,” he said. “At first you’re fresh to the squad and you don’t know exactly what’s going on and you’re a bit shy.”I’ve played a lot of games. More than I expected. And I feel I’ve developed as a player and as a spinner. It has been a great year.”

Inconsistency is perhaps what separates the otherwise indistinguishable Kusal Perera from Sanath Jayasuriya, but the batsman’s recent form seems to have put him back on track

Sa'adi Thawfeeq01-Jun-2015It is nearly four years since Sanath Jayasuriya last played for Sri Lanka. His final game – against England at the Oval – ended a glittering career that was capped with a World Cup win in 1996.The last two years has seen a cricketer almost in the Jayasuriya mould hammering the bowlers to all parts of the outfield and playing shots reminiscent of the man himself.Kusal Perera has all the makings of another Jayasuriya but it has been his inconsistency at the international level that has prevented him from cementing a place in the senior team.The recently concluded series between Sri Lanka ‘A’ and Pakistan ‘A’ brought the best out of Perera in both formats – the four-day game and the 50-over one, where he scored over 300 runs and averaged well over 150 in each series. He emerged as one of the the stand-out batsmen from either side.A left-hander like Jayasuriya, Perera proved to be unstoppable as he piled up scores of 114*, 110 and 87 in the three unofficial ODIs and scores of 119*, 23, 90 and 102* in the three unofficial Tests which reflected in impressive averages of 155.50 and 167 respectively.The national selectors who followed the series were impressed with Perera’s performances and have earmarked him for the upcoming series against Pakistan starting later this month.”We are keeping a very close watch on him. We are impressed the way he batted and we have him in mind for the upcoming series against Pakistan,” said head selector Kapila Wijegunawardene.”We made use of the series to experiment on certain plans we had in mind and Perera was one of them. We are currently in the process of assessing them,” he said.Romesh Kaluwitharana, the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team coach said, “Kusal was hungry to show what he is capable of, he was really keen on playing and performing despite an injury to his hand.”Perera aggravated an injury on the side of his small finger and wrist while keeping wickets during the ODI series against Pakistan ‘A’, but he did not let that hinder his progress. “He displayed a strong head to play and perform,” said Kaluwitharana.Perera opened the batting in the ODI series but batted lower down at No. six in the unofficial Tests. However, it made no difference to his approach as he thrashed the Pakistani bowlers to all parts of the park.”If he is going to keep wickets for Sri Lanka in Tests the wisest thing to do is to bat down the order. The national selectors also think that if he is to play as wicket-keeper in Tests he has to bat lower down. That is the best position for him,” Kaluwitharana said.”Kusal showed he had the patience to adjust from ODIs to Tests, he knew how to shift gears. It’s not only his batting performances but the way he batted was brilliant. I think the selectors are very convinced about his performance,” he said.”I am very happy the way he has performed. I hope he will break into the Test team soon. It’s upto the selectors to decide.”Did Perera effect any technical changes to his batting that turned him into a run machine?”I was looking at him in a different way because he is very different to some of the players,” said Kaluwitharana – a hard-hitting opening batsman and wicket-keeper who was a member of Sri Lanka’s 1996 World Cup winning squad.”There were a couple of minor adjustments that was done which was good for him. It’s all about hitting the ball with a lot of timing that is the key to the batting. If you look at him, his hand speed with the bat is brilliant and with his talent he can do more wonders.”For me he is something special. He has the ability to take the bowlers apart. Cricket is a game which gives a batsman the edge to dominate the game; when you do that the bowlers will always take a back seat. They’ll try to stop the runs from flowing and go on the defensive which gives them very little chance to take wickets.”When you bat positively and aggressively with a solid defence then the chances of getting your wicket becomes very slim. That’s the key to Kusal’s performances.”

Plays of the Day from the second T20 between Pakistan and Zimbabwe in Lahore

Mohammad Isam24-May-2015The oldies’ collision
Pakistan’s two old-timers Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Sami were trying to cut off a whip by Vusi Sibanda but as they got closer to the ball, they banged into each other. Precisely, Malik headbutted into Sami’s knee and the two collapsed.Sami had enough presence of mind to throw the ball back to the bowler Shahid Afridi but Sibanda and Sean Williams had taken three runs. The physio made his way out and after a few shakes of the head and some cold water, Malik was up. Ahmed Shehzad checked if Malik was fine before the two, Malik and Sami, hugged it out. No harm done, it seemed.The slippery slower one
Bilawal Bhatti was struggling for a proper length when he started to dish out slower deliveries in the sixth over. The first one went down the leg side and the second one was comical.The ball, released from the back of the hand, reached the ducking batsman high on the full. However, it wasn’t as bad as Abdur Rehman bowling the three successive high full tosses that got him barred from the attack in the Asia Cup against Bangladesh last year.The stare’s short stay
Imad Wasim, making his international debut, was introduced into the attack in the fifth over. He readied himself quickly and bowled the first ball, a full delivery, which was driven back by Hamilton Masakadza.Wasim stared at Masakadza, before turning back to bowl the next delivery, which was blasted over his head for a boundary. There wasn’t much of a stare as he quickly walked back to his mark.The comeback in the stands
Former Pakistan captain Imran Khan announced on Twitter that he would be present at the Gaddafi Stadium to watch the second T20. He said this would be the first time since the 1996 World Cup final that he would be at the ground.He perhaps forgot that he had vented his anger at Pakistan’s losses to India in the ODI series in 2004, while near the press box. This time, he wanted to watch a thriller as it was his “day off”, and he had his wish fulfilled.The catch
Sikandar Raza saw Shahid Afridi sky one and ran in, and so did Vusi Sibanda who had taken three catches in the game.As the ball came down near the advertising mats behind the bowler, close mates Raza and Sibanda nearly collided, but Raza clung on to the catch. He screamed in delight, turned and gave Sibanda a big smile.The floored appeal
Chris Mpofu has a few dance jigs for wicket celebrations but couldn’t find a reason to bring them out until the 17th over, when his celebration was by accident and not choice.When he hit Umar Akmal’s pads in the 17th over, Mpofu turned around and appealed. So earnest was his shout that he fell on his back. The umpire took his time and gave it out. Mpofu celebrated on the floor.

There are more frequent tours, better technology, and easier pitches today than before. So why do teams struggle to win away from home more than they did in the past?

Tim Wigmore26-Aug-2015Those playing Test cricket away from home have never had it so good. Journeys to play series once lasted several weeks – and the boat trip from England to Australia a full month – but now a day of air travel suffices. Players stay in plush hotels, accompanied by a backroom team designed to prevent them worrying about anything beyond the cricket – and they no longer have to wait for months to see their families. The broadcasting of games all around the world, the use of modern analytical tools and training facilities designed to replicate foreign conditions before players have even got on the plane have all taken the mystique out of playing overseas. Neutral umpires and the Decision Review System have long ago destroyed any remaining semblance of home bias in officiating.Yet home advantage is becoming more potent. In every decade since the 1940s, sides have performed better at home. An away side in the 1940s had 77% as much chance of victory as the home side, but just 50% in the 2010s (excluding Tests involving Bangladesh or Zimbabwe).

Number of teams (Zim and Bang excl)SpanMatchesAway winsHome winsTiesDrawsWin/loss ratio61946-494510130220.76971950-5916448650510.73871960-6918640571880.70161970-7919845690840.65271980-89266568711220.64381990-993077112901070.5509 (incl the one-off Super Test)2000-093629216801020.54782010-1517244870430.506

“Fail to prepare and you prepare to fail” is the clichéd refrain from coaches to their players. Perhaps those who schedule tours should be admonished instead. England’s two most notable away victories in recent years, the Ashes success of 2010-11 and the win in India in 2012-13, both came after they had played three warm-up games before the first Test – the sort of thing the 21st century international fixture list seldom allows for.”That’s one of the big challenges of modern tours,” says Graham Thorpe, England’s batting coach, who credits an extensive lead-up with being critical to England’s victory in Pakistan in 2000-01. “In an ideal world you’d love three warm-up games.”When Australia toured England in 1997, they fitted in ten first-class matches outside of the Test series, compared with four in 2015. Last summer India managed to get through the entire tour of England without playing a first-class match outside of the Tests. In a desperate attempt to ensure all squad members have some game time before the Test series, warm-up games often descend into farcical non-first-class matches that provide meaningful practice for no one: 18 Indians played against Leicestershire and Derbyshire last summer.

When Australia played Yorkshire it was famously regarded as the “sixth Test”. Now even nominally first-class warm-up matches have become glorified exhibitions

“If you have warm-ups as a glorified net session then you don’t have that intensity – the intensity is the most important thing in practice and warm-up games,” Thorpe reflects. “I always used to like hard, intense warm-up matches to try and replicate what you’d get in a Test match the week later.”It is not only tourists who show disdain for warm-up games: domestic sides, in England and beyond, increasingly regard them as an inconvenience. When Australia used to play Yorkshire it was famously regarded as the “sixth Test”. Now even nominally first-class warm-up matches have become glorified exhibitions. Apparently under order from the clubs, Kent and Essex inserted Australia on benign wickets this summer: maximising chances of the game lasting four days was prioritised over maximising chances of winning. Playing on flat wickets against weakened pace-bowling attacks gave Australia scant preparation against the swinging ball.Such a derisory programme of warm-up matches prevents touring players from adjusting to the different requirements overseas. “In England a fast bowler will bowl 20-24 overs in a day’s play,” says Jerome Jayaratne, the head of coaching for Sri Lanka. “In our domestic cricket our bowlers are not used to that workload. So in England the chances of them breaking down is greater and it’s very difficult to get the best out of them – especially when you only have a gap of three days between Tests.”The unremitting schedule once a series has begun renders it impossible for struggling players to locate form: last year in England, India played five Test matches across 42 days, with no tour matches after the first Test. “You really want those games, particularly if you’re a batter,” says former India coach John Wright.Graham Thorpe: “I always used to like hard, intense warm-up matches to try and replicate what you’d get in a Test match the week later”•Getty ImagesVirat Kohli, who ended the series averaging just 13.40, would doubtless have agreed. His fate reflected a deeper trend. As one Test metamorphoses into the next, weaknesses become exacerbated. A small gap between sides can morph into a chasm, as England proved in their 5-0 defeat in 2013-14 and Australia reiterated during their calamitous performances in the third and fourth Tests this summer.Conditions in both series played a critical part. “In England the wickets are getting slower, so the batsmen are not being exposed to fast, bouncy wickets,” Graeme Swann said recently.” When they go to Australia it is a culture shock. They can’t deal with these guys with raw pace on fast, bouncy wickets The Aussies come here and nick everything. We go there and get bumped out. That is it in a nutshell.”It is certainly a seductive explanation. Yet favourable home conditions are nothing new: the Old Trafford groundsman in 1956, when Jim Laker took 19 for 90 in the Test, admitted that England captain Peter May had pressured him into not watering the pitch before the game.Neither Thorpe nor Wright believes pitches around the world have become any harder for away teams over the last 20 years. To Wright “pitches now are probably more consistent”. Complaints about “chief executive’s wickets”, as pitches brought about due to the apparent wish of many grounds to produce surfaces to prolong Tests are labelled, have become a common refrain. So the real change has not been in how much conditions benefit the home side, but “the players’ ability to adapt to each environment,” as Thorpe says.

It was telling that after Australia’s Ashes defeat, Mitchell Marsh declared his intention to have a stint in county cricket: “Everyone that comes over here says that it’s awesome for your cricket”

Trent Bridge, scene of Australia’s 60 all out, has become symbolic of the failure of touring teams to adjust to the moving ball. Over the past 30 years, the wickets here have remained “very similar to how they’ve always been,” according to head groundsman Steve Birk. What has changed are the performances of touring sides. England have won nine of their last 12 Tests at Trent Bridge, after having won just two of the previous 15.Birk believes the change stems not from the pitches but the attitude of touring batsmen: “People now are not prepared to leave the ball – everyone wants to score at four or five an over.”Thorpe also suggests that adhesiveness has become a scarcer quality among Test players today. “A lot of people say, ‘Do we have the ability still to play long Test innings?’ Maybe that type of player is becoming rarer.” While the influence of T20 cricket is detectable in the approach of both home and away teams in Tests, it is more corrosive on the performances of away sides, who lack experience of the demands in overseas conditions.It was telling that after Australia’s Ashes defeat Mitchell Marsh declared his intention to have a stint in county cricket: “Everyone that comes over here says that it’s awesome for your cricket.”Dale Steyn has an impressive away record because of South Africa’s lighter international schedule compared to the other top teams, and because he is sometimes rested him for limited-overs matches•AFP”From Justin Langer to Matt Hayden and Rahul Dravid, players benefited because they had to adapt their games to different conditions and solve different problems,” Wright reflects. “A lot of them improved their batsmanship and ability to adapt to conditions through county experience. You’re continually playing in different conditions. And as an overseas player you’re expected to perform – that’s what they pay you for so, you’ve got to work it out.”The same was true for bowlers. “When you’re playing in different countries the lengths you need to bowl are different – a good length in England is a different length to Australia or India because of the different pace and bounce,” says Wright. The onerous schedule of domestic T20 and international cricket means that few can use county cricket as a finishing school.Just as young players from the subcontinent can benefit from experience of English conditions, so Englishmen stand to gain from playing in Asia. Having toured Sri Lanka in early 2014, England Lions will shadow the senior side in the UAE next month. “If we can get lads to tour countries before they play for England that’s a starting point,” says Thorpe who advocates “extreme practice” as the best preparation for foreign conditions. Facing spin in the nets, batsmen are compelled to use smaller bats and are sometimes even barred from playing a forward defensive on the crease to imbue them with the urgency of moving decisively forward or back.But such steps can only count for so much, set against the unrelenting schedule of international cricket today. Players do not merely suffer from a paucity of warm-up matches but also often from being weary before tours even begin.

“A lot of people say, ‘Do we have the ability still to play long Test innings?’ Maybe that type of player is becoming rarer”Graham Thorpe

Perhaps it is no coincidence that South Africa, by far the most successful away side this decade – they have won eight of their 16 Tests against the top seven teams and lost only one, while every other country has lost more Tests than they have won – are also one of the countries to play the least. This means campaigns can be planned further back in advance. A lack of Tests (and his regular omission from the ODI team) also ensures that Dale Steyn, whose pace can render conditions irrelevant, need not sacrifice speed for longevity: his 75 wickets at 23.58 apiece have underpinned South Africa’s away success.For too many of the game’s elite players today, international cricket has become relentless. Inevitably it is away from home, with scant time to prepare for series and no time to recalibrate techniques or minds once the skirmishing has begun, that the effects manifest themselves.”It’s become even more challenging in this era because of the different formats they have to play,” Wright says. During a bad tour overseas, “there are times when you look at it from a coaching perspective and think, ‘We’ve got to get the side up for this game.’ But if you’re in that situation you’re in a lot of trouble.” It is not only in Tests that home advantage is becoming more significant: home teams have won a higher percentage of ODIs in 2015 than in any previous year.The boon teams enjoy from playing at home is intrinsic to cricket. Yet increasingly the advantage accrues less from the hosts’ familiarity with conditions than in their visitors being underprepared and overfatigued.

He started out as a natural talent who lost his way. Now, able to marry venom and control, Steven Finn finally feels back to his best

George Dobell at Edgbaston30-Jul-2015Just over a year ago, Steven Finn sat in the dressing room at Edgbaston and wept. The pace and rhythm were gone. The England place, too. There were no guarantees that any of them would be back.At the time, Finn had been reduced to bowling first change for Middlesex. It wasn’t that he minded; it was that he didn’t understand what had gone wrong. He didn’t understand why the game that had once come so easily had suddenly become so hard. He didn’t understand why all his hard work was getting him nowhere.But as he sits in the same pavilion, he may reflect that the experience has been the making of him. He may reflect that, where once he was a talented kid, he is now an experienced professional. He may reflect that the whole experience, painful though it was, was a necessary process that helped him develop from something raw into something quite special. He’s not a brute hurling a ball now; he’s a fast bowler.And yes, he is fast. Finn has bowled faster than anyone – including Mitchell Johnson – in this Test. His speed, in both innings, has gone above 90mph, with a first-innings high above 93mph. With his height, that presents an uncomfortable challenge for a batsman. Even a batsman as good as Steven Smith, rated No. 1 in the world, who Finn has dismissed twice in this match.Just as importantly, he has gained swing. While the Finn that first represented England swung the occasional ball, the version that has come back into the side appears to have control and regular away shape. The wicket of Mitchell Marsh – bowled by a full delivery – even seemed to tail in just a fraction. It has made him a far more complete package as a bowler.And, most importantly, he has hit the seam and maintained a good length. His spell of 8-1-25-4 either side of tea, in which he dismissed Smith and Michael Clarke, squared up by one that left him slightly off the seam, may well have settled this game. His obvious happiness afterwards – “it feels pretty darn good,” he said in what might have been considered a pretty good Hugh Grant impression – was understandable. There have been some dark days on the journey.In the beginning, fast bowling came easily to Finn. While his school friends were doing their GCSEs, he was making his first-class debut. For a 16-year-old to play professional sport is impressive enough; for a fast bowler to do so is remarkable.Six years later, he was celebrating becoming the youngest man to claim 50 Test wickets for England. He hadn’t had to think about the game; it all came naturally.

Like fixing an engine, Finn was forced to understand how each part of his action worked and how to gain the best from it

But then came the obstacles. His propensity to leak four runs an over made him something of a liability in a four-man attack who prided themselves on attrition and control. Then, after his habit of knocking the stumps in his delivery stride became more than an irritation in 2012, the attempts to alter his action and approach started.The results were, initially at least, wretched. The run-up was shortened, then lengthened again. The pace dropped – Finn continues to deny this, but the statistics brook no argument – the control disappeared and a man who once looked natural and confident then appeared deliberate and diffident.He played his last Test at Trent Bridge in 2013 – he bowled especially poorly in the Lord’s nets ahead of the second Test of that series and was dropped – and, by the time England reached Australia later that year, looked a shell of the bowler he had once been.The image of him alone in the nets at the SCG, bowling delivery after delivery in agonisingly arrhythmic fashion, growing slower the more effort he applied, was one of the sadder sights of the tour. By the time Ashley Giles sent him home suggesting he was “not selectable” – a phrase that had been used throughout the tour by the coaching staff away from the microphones – it was a kindness. He needed a break.What he gained, in reality, was time and space and support. Back at Middlesex, in a more benevolent environment without some of the “banter” that was not always helpful in the England dressing room, Finn worked for hour after hour with the club’s bowling coach, Richard Johnson.There was, for a long time, little sign of improvement. But perhaps at Finchley Cricket Club, where Finn started bowling off two paces, then built it up off three, then four and more, perhaps at Lord’s in May, when Jonathan Trott said Finn was back to his best, or perhaps at Merchant Taylor’s School earlier this month, when Finn and Johnson both came to the same conclusion, Finn started to bowl with the venom of old and the control of new. And, just as importantly, he started to believe in himself again.The process of rebuilding that action will prove priceless. Like fixing an engine, he was forced to understand how each part of his action worked and how to gain the best from it. He was forced – prepared might be a better word; plenty wouldn’t have bothered – to confront technical lapses that his natural talent had, for a while, allowed him to ignore. He was prepared to do the hard work to come again.”Trying to improve hindered me for a while,” he said recently. “But overall it’s been a beneficial experience. I came home and reassessed where I was. I feel good now. I feel I can do myself justice.”That may prove just as well for England. There seems a very strong chance that James Anderson will miss at least the Trent Bridge Test, providing a peek into England’s future. Anderson will surely prove irreplaceable but, at least if Finn is fit and firing, the future does not look quite so worrying.It is not a unique story. The likes of Anderson, Matt Prior and Ian Bell were also selected young only to then struggle and benefit from a spell back in the county game. Gary Ballance will surely prove the same.Bearing in mind the occurrences of players struggling in the England environment, it does provoke reflection on the ECB’s belief in the academy at Loughborough. While millions are spent on a centre that appears to produce little – there are several examples of players who feel their career was detrimentally affected by its coaches – the ECB is drawing up plans to cut the County Championship schedule by 25%. To do so risks weakening the foundations of everything good in the English game.Finn, himself, credits the endless support of Johnson and, to be fair, the ECB’s Kevin Shine. “I’m indebted to those guys,” he said. “They put in hours and hours of early mornings with me bowling through to a mitt, or to a stump and watching and giving feedback. I’m very grateful to the way those guys have given their time so selflessly to me after the last 18 months.”Steven Finn found an irresistible rhythm to rip through Australia’s top order•Getty ImagesBut he also credited a refreshed atmosphere in the England dressing room. More comfortable in the less intense environment, Finn is not thinking so much at the runs he must avoid conceding as the wickets he wants to take. It is a subtle difference, perhaps, but it has helped him relax and produce the cricket that he had shown for Middlesex this summer.”I’m enjoying playing cricket at the moment,” he said. “I used to put myself under a huge amount of pressure. But now we just want to play with smiles on our faces.”We’re playing with a can-do attitude. Before, we were playing some very attritional cricket because it suited the players that we had. Now we’re trying to be a team of people who can showcase our talent. It seems to be working.”It was not as if he had things all his own way. His first over was hit for 14, mainly by David Warner, and he was quickly whipped out of the attack and brought back at the other end.It proved a masterstroke by Alastair Cook. Two ball later Smith, perhaps trying to pile the pressure on to a bowler who has sometimes been suspected of cracking when he is targeted, top edged an attempted pull. Shortly after tea, Finn was on a hat-trick and Australia were the ones under pressure. He had been tested and he had come through.”There have been dark times along the way,” he said. “But it makes those good times all the more satisfying.”Indeed, it will. And, in the long-term, his hard work and increased understanding of his art will serve him and England well.

Kraigg Brathwaite gutted Sri Lanka, and moved his team briskly towards parity, surprising his captain as well as the opposition

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo24-Oct-2015Kraigg Brathwaite, owner of three first-class wickets, wasn’t so sure his captain Jason Holder believed he could take wickets when he came on to bowl the 53rd over. Through the course of the third innings, Brathwaite would be caught in a flush of self-confidence. He gutted Sri Lanka’s middle and lower orders, moved his team briskly towards parity, and forcefully proved to Holder that he had been absolutely correct not to believe in him, because come on, the guy only had three first class wickets.Perhaps if his wickets had come cheaply; but they had not. Each had cost 67, and had been achieved across 80 matches. To put the number three into unnecessary perspective, consider that even Kaushal Silva – a wicketkeeper – has only two fewer first-class scalps, at an average of 33. Which means that this morning, Brathwaite’s first-class bowling average was twice as bad as that of a man so small his approach to the crease would have to have included being shot out of cannon in order for him to get the ball above the batsman’s eyeline.After the day’s play, Brathwaite revealed he had been asking for the ball for a while. “Jason knows I like to bowl,” he said. “I was always in his ears telling him I could get the breakthrough. It came a point where he said he’d give it to me.”It’s easy to sympathise with Holder’s plight here. All around the world, at all levels of cricket, deluded top-order batsmen are forever pleading for the ball, and the chance to break a partnership. When the captain succumbs to the buzzing of this mosquito, the top-order batsman proceeds to be smeared around the ground. It is then customary to blame the field that had been set. It’s a no-win scenario for the captain usually. As Brathwaite’s haul grew heavier through the afternoon, Holder himself looked like he couldn’t quite believe how lucky he had struck it. But then again, this is the Sri Lanka batting order. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so surprised.The hosts can now add “part-time offspinner with three first-class wickets” to the long list of bowlers who have run through them in the past year. Carelessness, rather than incompetence, was the basis of this slide. Milinda Siriwardana had sparkled during his 42 from 60 balls, but edged his first ball from Brathwaite to slip. Kusal Perera got a bottom edge to a delivery that stayed lower than he expected. Importantly, Brathwaite wasn’t trying too much. He just maintained a tight line, and surrendered each delivery to the whims of a dusty surface.Rangana Herath came up the order to strike a lively 18. He had apparently had a special batting practice session at Khettarama in the days leading up to this Test. In this late stage of his career, he has added two shots to the three he had previously possessed. Incredibly, one of these is the reverse sweep, which, say, Virat Kohli is not known to play. Herath keeps stacking improbabilities in a career that is unlikely to begin with. I mean, who would guess that Brathwaite bowling to a fired-up Herath could ever come to be the juiciest contest of a Test-match day? Herath reverse-paddled him to the third man boundary twice in two overs before Brathwaite struck back.”He played two reverse sweeps so I moved around the field a bit with a short third man,” Brathwaite said. “My main thing was to keep it tight and to stick outside off stump as much as possible. He tried the sweep and top-edged it.”Brathwaite’s chief ally was Jermaine Blackwood, who threw himself around to take four catches off him, and five in total. West Indies’ catching had been woeful in Galle, but by the end of the day, Blackwood was moving so well, he could have pouched slip catches in his back pocket. The diving effort to dismiss last man Nuwan Pradeep was particularly memorable, and saved West Indies one, maybe two awkward Pradeep runs.West Indies need 224 runs draw the series. The way they have been batting, this seems unlikely, but not impossible. It hasn’t been difficult to spook Sri Lanka in recent times. A rapid Darren Bravo fifty, or a Marlon Samuels charge could still expose the hosts. They owe it to the delusion of a top-order batsman for keeping them in the match. Brathwaite, of course, maintains it is self-belief. Who is to tell where the line is?