The India captain has led from the front with the bat in this series, but in the field his impact has been more questionable

Nagraj Gollapudi at The Oval08-Sep-20181:34

Agarkar questions Kohli’s tactics

How good is Virat Kohli as a tactical captain? Does he wait for things to happen? Or does he make things happen?You will not be trolled in case you said Kohli is poor tactically, at least based on how India let Jos Buttler and Stuart Broad off the hook on the second morning at The Oval. In the company of Broad, and before him Adil Rashid, Buttler helped England pile up 105 runs in one session when the hosts had managed 198 in the entire first day. How did India allow England to escape?Unfortunately for India, this morning was not an aberration. In the first Test at Edgbaston, England were on the brink at 87 for 7 in their second innings. England’s lead was slim. But Sam Curran put together a belligerent rearguard in the company of the tail to set India a 194-run target, which Kohli’s men eventually fell short of by 31 runs.Kohli’s biggest mistake on that occasion was removing his leading spinner, R Ashwin, from the attack as soon as Curran came in. Curran had driven Ashwin early on for a boundary to long-on. It was only the second over after lunch. Before the break Ashwin had bowled a tireless 13-over spell, taking three top-order wickets with the new ball. Ishant Sharma put England under the cosh picking up three wickets in an over either side of lunch.It was a surprise then to see Kohli give England a break when they were tottering on 91 for 7. By the time Ashwin came back for his next spell, Curran was on 26 and Rashid looked settled on 13. Kohli would blame himself after the defeat, but for failing to get India past the finish line on the final morning – not for letting game slip with his tactics.Curran would continue to hurt India by helping England escape from horrible starts. In the first innings of the fourth Test at the Ageas Bowl, England were 86 for 6 on the second day. The ball was almost 35 overs old. Yet England would end up playing a further 41 overs pushing their total to 246 with Curran making 76.With Ashwin struggling with an abductor injury and remaining innocuous despite a massive rough, Buttler and Curran would end up doing more damage in the second innings after England were 122 for 5, with a lead of 95 at that point. England’s eventual lead was 245.India allowed Curran and Buttler to wrench back control because Kohli didn’t have Plan B. You cannot put the blame entirely on the fast bowlers, who have been nothing but striving. They have bowled tireless spells, been mostly accurate and diligent. But when they looked exhausted and bereft of ideas Kohli has equally looked lost.At Edgbaston, when Curran was looking solid and hitting over the field, Hardik Pandya asked Kohli to leave the fielders in the deep even for the last ball of the over, allowing Curran to take easy singles and retain strike. Even today Kohli allowed Buttler to walk to the other end each time an over was on the verge of finishing. Instead of setting attacking fields and equipping his bowlers with confidence Kohli has at times gone through the motions.Even as there is a strong notion that Kohli is an authoritative figure in the dressing room, on the field he has mostly let his bowlers decide their plans. He has allowed the bowling group and the bowling coach Bharat Arun to chalk out their plans and the bowling order. It is not such a bad tactic because you are telling the bowlers that their captain trusts them. But a good captain is always reading the situation and is sometimes ahead of it. And when things don’t work the way they are desired, the captain has to take charge.This morning India wanted quick wickets. So they ought to have had a plan, you would have thought. Every Test of this series he has played, Jasprit Bumrah has shared the new ball with Ishant who has tormented England’s top-order left handers. However, the one move that could have also proved effective, but which India have been reluctant to try, is having Mohammed Shami bowl with the new ball or give him the first spell in the morning.The cloudy and nippy conditions this morning were ripe to facilitate swing. Shami bowls fuller with a straighter seam, always tempting the batsman to play. With England choked for runs on the first day, Kohli ideally should have asked Shami to share the second new ball with Ishant. But he did not.And when Shami did come on, he straightaway forced Buttler and Broad to play, bringing the edges into play. In contrast Bumrah, who would eventually trap Adil Rashid lbw, was bowling more short of length, giving the batsmen time.Virat Kohli in the field•Getty ImagesKohli’s biggest test arrived as Buttler and Broad reduced the dot balls and doubled the run rate. All three fast men were tired, having bowled long spells on the first day and once again this morning. They had bowled tirelessly not just in this Test but across the past month. They are the reason India have managed to keep their chin up despite having lost the series. But Kohli had appeared reluctant to attack when Broad came in, which helped the pair settle.Shami refused to get frustrated despite going wicketless. Luckless, he kept attacking the batsmen and beating the edges. But the nicks did not come.Ajinkya Rahane walked up to Kohli to discuss solutions. Kohli gestured him to chat with Shami. Rahane, India’s vice-captain, using his hands, indicated to Shami to take the ball away from Buttler. KL Rahul, standing at first slip then pointed to Shami, who was at fine leg, asking him not to give width to Broad. Kohli was standing next to Rahul, quiet.He never asked the fast bowlers to attack Broad’s known weakness against the short ball, which could have been tested even on a slow pitch like The Oval. Against England’s top order Kohli had three slips and a gully, but against the lower order, there were only two slips, allowing the likes of Broad to have enough breathing space. Consequently, Buttler today, and in Southampton, and Curran at Edgbaston, could play their own game. With Kohli reluctant to set attacking fields and pushing men back square, Broad and Curran utilised the wide spaces to pick up frequent singles.The helplessness of Kohli was understood by the dressing room. About half hour before lunch, Dinesh Karthik ran in from the bench to pass on a short, quick message. Promptly Kohli pointed to Ishant, standing in the deep. Ishant was replacing Ravindra Jadeja, whose two overs had gone for 13 runs. With India opting to play just four bowlers including Jadeja, the fast men were left with no choice but to wrap things up despite their relentless workload.In the end the bowlers lost their patience. Post lunch Bumrah attacked Buttler with short-pitched bowling. Buttler hooked him for a six, lofted a length ball into the midwicket stands, took a quiet single off the penultimate ball and walked to safety. Tired and rattled, Bumrah threw his jumper to the ground in disgust.Just as he does with the bat, Kohli, as a fielding captain, needs to usher India to safety. A five-Test series unravels many things. This series has challenged Kohli properly as a fielding captain. His selections have been debatable, even questionable at times, as with the case of picking two spinners at Lord’s. He has been found wanting as England’s lower order has attacked his bowlers. As he grows as a leader, Kohli will need find a way out. He will need to make things happen when his bowlers need a helping hand.

Roshen Silva made a solid return to the team but too much of the batting was brittle and Suranga Lakmal struggled as stand-in captain

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Nov-20188Dimuth Karunaratne (256 runs at 42.66)
That Karunaratne was Sri Lanka’s most consistent batsman of the series is no real surprise. As a Test specialist during Sri Lanka’s domestic offseason, Karunaratne had not played a lot of cricket since his blockbuster series against South Africa, and yet, through grim determination, he practically wrung runs out of his bat, even in innings where he did not seem to be in particularly good touch. Was unfortunate to be dismissed twice by outstanding pieces of fielding in Pallekele, when he had seemed set for big scores.Roshen Silva (190 runs at 47.50)
In spinning conditions, Roshen is one of Sri Lanka’s best. He was calm in each of his four appearances at the crease, and roughly performed the role that Dinesh Chandimal does. His knock in the first innings at Pallekele saw Sri Lanka register their only first-innings lead of the series, and his 102-run stand with Kusal Mendis at the SSC gave his team a glimmer of hope that a daunting total could be chased down. Ideally he will not be displaced from the XI by Chandimal’s return. His major weakness has been against fast bowling so far, and he has earned the opportunity to prove himself on the away tours coming up.Dilruwan Perera (22 wickets at 23.95)
The most successful bowler in the series, Dilruwan proved himself effective against England’s many top-order left-handers, and in several innings was the man keeping Sri Lanka in the game. There were questions over whether he can be an effective lead spinner in the post-Rangana Herath era, but the early signs are good. Had a poor series with the bat, given his returns as a batsman over the past two years.7Lakshan Sandakan (seven wickets at 24.42)
Kept pegging England back in the first innings at the SSC, when they threatened to post a truly monumental total, and in general seemed the likeliest of Sri Lanka’s bowlers to be a dynamic force even on pitches that do not offer much turn. With that aggression comes waywardness though – Sandakan went at 4.5 runs an over, with England targeting him in the second innings. Got Ben Stokes out twice in the second innings at SSC, only to have had those wickets nullified, on account of Sandakan having overstepped and delivered no balls. That was maybe the most bizarre spell of play through the series.Angelo Mathews (223 runs at 37.16)
Obviously still indignant about his treatment in October at the hands of coach Chandika Hathurusingha and the (previous) selectors, and it was that hurt that seemed to be motivating him in this series. He made three half-centuries and gestured pointedly to the dressing room that he was letting his bat do the talking. His two dismissals at the SSC, though, where he twice fell to Stokes’ short-ball traps, were awful for a player of his experience.Angelo Mathews made back-to-back fifties•Associated Press5Dhananjaya de Silva (168 runs at 28.00)
Asked again to bat in the top three after Chandimal picked up a groin injury in the first Test, de Silva hit two confident half-centuries, but was too inconsistent to have really impressed in this series. When he bats well, no one in this Sri Lanka team looks better, but there is a notable fragility during his first 25 balls at the crease as well. Contributed half-decent offspin at various points, though he didn’t take a wicket. The forthcoming overseas tours will be a major test.Kusal Mendis (179 at 29.83)
Made an excellent 86 before being run out in the final innings at the SSC, but it is his inconsistency that frustrates. When he is batting well, his defence seems nigh impregnable, and his attacking shot-making precise. Then there are also the days in which he could edge to slip, or spank a ball straight to midwicket, or hole out to long-on, all three at the same time. He is only 23, but is now 32 Tests into his career. No one doubts his talent. Can he become more dependable?4Akila Dananjaya (10 wickets at 37.80)
Was both expensive and largely toothless in Galle, but produced a better performance in the second Test, where he took a six-wicket haul in the second innings. His future at the top level though, is currently in the balance, as he awaits the results of the biomechanics test he underwent in Brisbane. It is his offbreak that umpires suspect he throws.3Dinesh Chandimal (34 runs at 17.00)
Strained a groin on the first day of the series, and unwisely came back on to the field to lead his team, perhaps further aggravating the injury, thereby extending recovery time. Was seriously hampered by the injury in his two innings in Galle. Sri Lanka missed the solidity he provides in the middle order.Suranga Lakmal (four wickets at 50.25)
As a bowler, his only decent performance came in Galle, where he took 3 for 73 in the first innings, though he did bowl some tight spells elsewhere, allowing spinners to attack from the other end. As stand-in captain, he was saddled with an incredibly difficult job, rounding up a scattered and lackadaisical mob. There were times when his leadership went missing, and he took to fielding way out in the outfield, when he should have been in the ring, directing traffic. That said, he was more often let down by his team, than the other way around.Rangana Herath leaves the field after his final spell as a Test bowler•Getty ImagesRangana Herath (three wickets at 45.66)
Did not get an especially spin-friendly surface at Galle, and on a docile track, was thwarted by England’s profusion of top order left-handers. A big loss was not the farewell he deserved, but having finished as the most successful left-arm bowler in history, there is not much he will complain about.Niroshan Dickwella (128 runs at 21.33, seven catches and one stumping)
Dickwella kept getting starts and kept getting out. All up, in 11 Test innings now, he has failed to cross 50. After 48 innings overall, he has a high score of 83. Even if you were to forgive his mediocrity with the bat, it is hard to look past his modest performances behind the stumps. He missed a vital stumping of Sam Curran in the first innings at Pallekele – Curran going on to make a definitive contribution in that match. Dickwella’s decision-making when it came to DRS was also flawed. His reputation as the best wicketkeeper in the country is saving him, but maybe there are other options Sri Lanka could consider.Kaushal Silva (41 runs at 10.25)
No one tries harder on the field than Kaushal. No one in the Sri Lanka top order looked more muddled at the crease. This was Kaushal’s third recall into the Test side by rough count, and where in previous stints he had been guilty of batting too slowly, Kaushal was repeatedly dismissed attacking during this series. Aged 32 now, maybe this was the last we have seen from him at the top level. Though if another round of young openers fail, you never know – Sri Lanka could keep going back to him. Was good at short leg, as usual.2Danushka Gunathilaka (24 runs at 12.00)
The last time Sri Lanka played a Test, Gunathilaka had seriously broken curfew, and annoyed not only team management, but also senior players within the side. It is largely for that reason that he – perhaps the most talented opener in the country – was not initially picked in this squad. Kaushal’s poor form and Chandimal’s injury (it is unlikely Gunathilaka would have played at the SSC if Chandimal was captain) paved a fresh route back into the team, but it was an unconvincing return.

In the midst of a summer in which his ability and place in the Australian side has been questioned, Starc has fallen back to a simple approach

Daniel Brettig in Canberra03-Feb-2019″I just shuffle up and go whang” is the immortal description that Jeff Thomson once ascribed to his terrifyingly fast bowling.In the midst of a summer in which his ability and place in the Australian side has been questioned with increasing levels of insistence, Mitchell Starc ultimately fell back upon a similarly simple approach.So many voices, pieces of advice and technical thoughts had clouded Starc’s mind over the course of a season in which he lost his usual knack for wickets. In the wake of the India Test series, he withdrew from much of the coaching he had been receiving to concentrate simply on feeling good at the crease and bowling as fast as he can.A speed gun ticking often above 150kph in Brisbane and Canberra did not initially reap better results, but over the course of the first innings at Manuka Oval, Starc was gradually able to assert the kind of threat that has made him a near enough to automatic pick when fit for Australia over much of the past five years. In the aftermath of a day where Australia pushed to within 10 wickets of a 2-0 series win over Sri Lanka, he said that the New South Wales bowling coach Andre Adams had offered some of the simplest and best advice.”I’ve been working on it a fair bit the last bit,” Starc said. “Before the Sri Lanka series, I had a really nice session with Andre Adams who is at NSW. And talking to a few people quite close to me who I have worked with over recent years. And putting the rest of the coaching and the other 450 coaches I’ve had over the past three weeks to the side. And going back to know what I know best. I am my own best coach and I know what’s best for me.”The one for me this week was just to run in and bowl fast. Wickets are a wonderful thing. They help everything as well. I found a bit of swing there today as well. The last few weeks haven’t gone to plan. If you stick to it long enough it pays off. It’s fantastic to have the backing of everyone in the change room. That’s the main thing. It doesn’t matter what is said outside as long as the boys in the room have got your back.”Plenty of high-profile critics have questioned Starc, not least the former spin bowler and Fox Sports/News Corp commentator Shane Warne. The noise of a summer in which Cricket Australia took on no fewer than two Australian television broadcasters and three radio stations has been such that Starc ultimately decided to retreat from social media and quoted opinions, in search of the sort of clarity of mind and body that has characterised his most dominant displays.”Stop listening to everyone. That’s probably something I’ve really done the past four weeks. Not worry about it,” he said. “It probably wore me down a bit going into new years’, then I got off all the social media and haven’t read a paper in four or five weeks. That’s been the best thing for me, made me feel quite refreshed. As long as I know I have the backing of my team-mates and I’m working hard, it will turn eventually.”I’ve got a second innings to bowl and that’s as far forward as I’m thinking. And then a few days off after that. That’s too far down the path for me to worry about at the minute. We’ve got 10 wickets to take that’s the most important thing. There are plenty of people in the backroom and staff for planning and selection. I’ve got a job to do over the next few days and can worry about it later.”Adams’ influence is intriguing, given the role of David Saker as Australia’s bowling coach. Starc certainly appeared to have appreciated a fresher voice in his ear. “I’ve done a bit of work throughout the year with Andre at and it was great to talk to him about getting that feeling back,” Starc said. “Rather than having to do anything technically, it’s about playing enough cricket to know what works and doesn’t work and going back to things that set me straight.”It was more that feeling of the ball coming out of the hand nicely and getting that timing and rhythm back. The rhythm has felt quite good throughout the summer. Perhaps little things haven’t been quite there that resulted in not-so-good stuff. It’s been great to chat to him and even Mitch Johnson and other guys I’ve worked with quite closely over the years to get that mindset back.”Not so much the technical thing but finding something to contribute to the team and play a role. I came here this week wanting to bowl really fast to help create chances for the team. There’s still a lot of things to work on and get better at but just to get some of that feeling back and contribute to the wicket column and create chances on a flat wicket is great. It’s not about taking 10 wickets and losing; if you can play a role that’s the best part.”Starc’s role for Australia isn’t particularly sophisticated, and neither was Thomson’s. To just “shuffle up and go whang” or “just run in and bowl fast” is easiest to do with a clear head and a united team. After his first five-wicket haul since Durban on the fateful South Africa tour last year, Starc appears to have found both.

Meanwhile, the curse of Durban strikes South Africa again. They’ve now lost seven out of nine Tests there

Bharath Seervi16-Feb-20190:57

First Lara, then Perera – all the records Sri lanka broke to beat South Africa

78* – The final-wicket partnership between Kusal Perera and Vishwa Fernando – the highest-ever in a successful chase. The previous was 57 between Inzamam-ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed against Australia in Karachi in 1994. The Perera-Fernando stand is also the biggest such partnership in any first-class match, going past the 77 between Thomas Leather and Ron Oxenham for Australians against Madras in 1935-36.Highest tenth-wicket partnerships in successful chases•ESPNcricinfo Ltd13 – Instances of a side winning a Test by one wicket. It was the second such win for Sri Lanka after their display in Colombo 2006, also against South Africa. The last one-wicket victory in all Tests was by India over Australia in Mohali in 2010.153* – Kusal Perera’s score – the highest by a Sri Lanka batsman in a successful chase. It is also the highest against South Africa in a successful chase beating Neil Harvey’s unbeaten 151, also in Durban, in 1949-50. Overall, Perera’s innings features in the top-10 individual scores in successful chases.304 – Successfully chasing that target made it Sri Lanka’s fourth-highest chase in Test cricket. Each of the top three had come at home, so this is their best in an away win. It was also the fifth-largest target chased by any team against South Africa.1-7 – South Africa’s win-loss record in Durban in last ten years, easily their worst at any home venue. In nine Tests played there, they have lost seven and drawn one. The only victory was against India in 2013. Their win-loss ratio is the worst among the top-eight sides at a home venue playing last five-plus matches in this period.6 (27) – Fernando’s score in the partnership with Perera for the last wicket. Four of those runs had come in overthrows. Perera scored 67 off 68 in the partnership, with five sixes and three fours.

2- Number of successful run-chases by Asian teams in South Africa, in 20 attempts. Before this effort by Sri Lanka, the only successful chase was by Pakistan in Port Elizabeth in 2007. Last year India lost chasing targets of 207 and 286 on their tour of South Africa.

Grounded by a spate of injuries, the 19-year-old pacer has found a mentor-cum-confidante in Wriddhiman Saha, and undying encouragement from the Knight Riders management

Shashank Kishore09-Apr-2019″That saying ‘when you’re happy, you enjoy the song; when you’re low, you understand the lyrics’ is so true, (brother),” Kamlesh Nagarkoti says as he reflects on life over the past 12 months. We are sitting in his hotel room in Bengaluru, a couple of weeks before the IPL began. Nagarkoti has been in the city for rehab, recovering from a back injury.His thunderbolts at the Under-19 World Cup last year elicited genuine excitement from former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop. “I salivate when I see bowlers like him, so impressive,” Bishop had said at the time, before adding, “but I do hope coaches have a watch over him, that action concerns me.”Those words cannot ring truer than they do now.Nagarkoti last played a competitive game 13 months ago. Injuries to his ankle, heel and lower back have now derailed him for a second straight IPL season with Kolkata Knight Riders, who bid INR 3.2 crore for him last year. A recovery, Nagarkoti says, is still “four or five months away”.

When I return, I will be the same Nagarkoti with a new OS

Since April, Bengaluru and the National Cricket Academy have become his second home. “Recently Yuzi (Yuzvendra Chahal) asked: ‘Brother, (Are you settled here; have you bought a house here?)’ Sometimes, I laugh, sometimes I feel bad, but I know they’re trying to cheer me up.”He’s refreshingly candid, willing to speak about his insecurities. It’s a different side to the Nagarkoti most of his friends and team-mates have seen. He was the mischief monger, who led the cake smash on Rahul Dravid’s face to celebrate the coach’s 45th birthday during that World Cup. The memories and friendships from the U-19 campaign seem distant as he recounts his journey. He has watched good mates Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill graduate to donning the India colours, and while he couldn’t be happier for them, he can’t help but keep asking ‘why me?’Often, he found himself brooding after returning from his daily rehab sessions. “At 19, I must be running in and bowling fast. But here I am, not playing, not studying, out injured, away from home, all by myself, and trying to get fit even as my friends are playing in the IPL and for India A,” he reflects. “It’s been tough, no doubt.”Kamlesh Nagarkoti was one the stars of India’s 2018 U-19 World Cup win•Getty ImagesAs coach, Dravid knew of Nagarkoti as the mischievous kid. Team-mates say he would have been the first to opt for a bungee jump if not for the contracts they had signed. The lively teenager is now in his own bubble, needing an arm on his shoulder. Dravid had heard from the NCA coaches that the boy had been agitated. He took time out to counsel him.”Sir [Dravid] was there for a meeting during an India A series, when he asked for me through someone,” Nagarkoti recounts. “He told me, ‘don’t think life is over if you miss one or two IPL seasons, you have to play for India. You have to be strong for that.’ He cited the example of Pat Cummins, how he missed six years of cricket after his Test debut because of a back injury, and how he has made a comeback to top-flight cricket.”Nagarkoti was encouraged by Dravid’s gesture, but wouldn’t know yet that another setback was awaiting him. As his heel injury was on the mend, PET scans detected a stress fracture on his back in August last year. He flew with NCA physio Yogesh Parmar to London to consult two surgeons, and it was decided that surgery would be the last option considering he was anyway going to spend at least a year on the sidelines.

I realised how he has played for the country for four-five years and is still so positive at 35. I have no reason to feel depressed when I’m just starting outNAGARKOTI ON EXCHANGING NOTES WITH WRIDDHIMAN SAHA

Since his return, Nagarkoti’s daily routine is somewhat like this: At the NCA from 9am to 5pm, alternating between rehabilitation and training, the intensity of which is tailored to his recovery plan. Swimming, squash, basketball and wall climbing have also become part of his strengthening process to ensure monotony doesn’t creep in. For every three weeks of intense rehab, he spends a week at home or away from the NCA, “trying to distract myself from cricket”.Fortunately, he has had a big brother for support. A man fighting his own battles. It’s an unlikely friendship, but one Nagarkoti is thankful for. “I used to meet Wriddhi (Wriddhiman Saha) at the NCA daily during the lunch break. Over time, we both got used to the familiarity,” he says. “One day, we just spoke about dealing with injuries, our lives – a lot of it outside of cricket. I realised how has played for the country for four-five years and is still so positive at 35. I have no reason to feel depressed when I’m just starting out.”For three months, Saha and Nagarkoti frequented restaurants together – the occasional onlookers notwithstanding – played UNO cards in their room and watched movies. “After some time, I wasn’t alone in my room anymore, because Wriddhi wouldn’t allow me to be by myself in the evenings. Pooja Vastrakar, the India women’s fast bowler, was also in rehab at the time, and we all bonded together. It’s a great gesture from a senior player like him to be so welcoming towards his juniors when he himself was undergoing intense rehabilitation.”Nagarkoti has also been in constant touch with physios and coaches at Knight Riders. The franchise’s academy project is aimed at keeping open channels of communication with their uncapped Indian players even during the off-season.”The support staff is fantastic,” Nagarkoti says. “Venky sir (CEO Venky Mysore) knows what a player needs, so their support has been amazing. They have handled not just me but all young players with tremendous respect. You never feel you are only a youngster starting out. They trusted me and sat me down to explain I will be retained even when I was sent back after injury last year.”To him, his family and their sacrifice are often on the mind when his thoughts start getting negative. His father, a Subedar (a mid-level junior commissioned officer) in the Indian army, used his small retirement corpus to buy a one-bedroom flat in Jaipur to further Nagarkoti’s cricket career. These gestures have kept the teenager grounded. “My parents have just one advice: ‘try to make peace with your problem and work towards your end goal.’ I’ve waited for nine months now, I’m sure another four months will fly by in no time.”Nagarkoti jokes that he doesn’t remember his action anymore, but is focused on returning as a bowler and not one who has compromised on his speed because of his injuries. “When I return,” Nagarkoti says, “I will be the same Nagarkoti with a new OS.”

Capitals also need to make a choice between the two Colins – Ingram and Munro – ahead of the Qualifier 2

Varun Shetty in Visakhapatnam09-May-2019The Vijay questionM Vijay played the first game this season as an opener and top-scored with 38 when Super Kings folded for 109 chasing 156 against Mumbai Indians. In his second game, also against Mumbai in the first qualifier, Vijay batted at No. 4, having come in as a replacement for Kedar Jadhav. Once again, he did a decent job given the conditions, but is there merit in playing him in the middle order again when he essentially played the same role that Ambati Rayudu could also have played?Only four of Vijay’s 158 IPL innings have been as a non-opener, and he’s made 45 runs in total, performances that are far removed from his record as an opener. Super Kings have often not needed to bat deep this season when MS Dhoni comes in, so if they’ve lost faith in Dhruv Shorey as a middle-order batsman, there may be a case to bring in someone like Karn Sharma, who offers both a better strike rate late in the innings and an extra spin-bowling option on a sticky wicket.Will we see Santner?Carrying on from the Vijay question, there is another more alluring possibility: Mitchell Santner. Santner has emerged as a potent finisher in limited-overs cricket over the last 18 months and even finished the job for Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals this season. He offers the same skill set as Karn, but is arguably the much better option.One limitation with the Santner route, of course, is that he’s an overseas player. More significantly, Super Kings would have to think about dropping Shane Watson, something they have consistently avoided this season even as the batsman has gone through a prolonged run of bad form. Watson has unflattering numbers against the Capitals spinners: an average of 14.4 against Amit Mishra, who has dismissed him five times in 11 innings, and an average of 6.7 against Axar Patel, who has dismissed him five times in six innings.Will they finally be convinced to leave him out, so that Vijay could stay on in the opening role? The last time a similar question was asked, the answer was a negative.Mitchell Santner pulls•BCCIBoult or Morris?Trent Boult was the choice to replace Kagiso Rabada when he left with an injury, but he has had an up and down run so far. He’s taken three wickets in four games, and while it is unfair to expect the same strike rates as Rabada (25 wickets in 12 games), the gap has been further extended by his returns in the slog overs, including a few games ago against Dhoni.Historically, Boult is in the top ten among bowlers with the poorest economy rates in the last four overs of an IPL game. His strengths are swinging the new ball and using his angle to set batsmen up, but even in the Powerplays, Boult has surprisingly meagre returns when he plays in the IPL, with an average of 53.7 and only nine wickets from 32 innings. Those career trends have shown up in this IPL season as well.Will Capitals then be tempted to bring back Chris Morris?Morris has flown under the radar this season, but he is their second-highest wicket-taker with 13 in nine matches. He’s also among the best death bowlers in the league this year, taking ten of his wickets in that phase at an economy of 8.7. He brings both, an identical strike rate to Rabada’s, and a better record at the back end. Not to mention, Capitals would much prefer him batting in the last overs than Mishra or Boult. Is there a very obvious swap to be made here, or will Boult be backed?The ColinsColin Ingram is the most experienced middle-order batsman available to the Capitals right now, but they chose to leave him out from the Eliminator to bring in Colin Munro. Ingram is a good player of spin, so for Capitals to chance that against Sunrisers Hyderabad was brave. There was precedent, though. Munro’s best innings of the season, 40, came against Sunrisers earlier in the season, when he had come in for Ingram.So will it be a case of reverting to Ingram? Munro has fallen to spin in all three innings this season, and Super Kings have the quality in that department, backed by a smart captain, to cause him problems. On the other hand, Ingram hasn’t gone past 20 in his last six innings. Will they be more cautious and count on Ingram’s more conservative game to show up and solidify their innings? Or will they take a chance on Munro coming in late enough that the seamers are in action?

Scrutiny on administrators after four months of the most intense cricket in the world schedule

Daniel Brettig at The Oval14-Sep-2019An exasperated David Gower was caught exclaiming “haven’t got a f***ing clue” on air this day, a moment that was not merely amusing but aptly summed up the mood of Australia’s Ashes tourists three days into the fifth Test match in seven weeks, at the end of the same English summer that also featured a memorable World Cup.For all the tension and drama across the preceding four matches, climaxing with Australia’s retention of the urn inside the final hour at Old Trafford, no day’s play had been quite as tetchy, ill-tempered or frustrated as this one. Stump microphones picked up plenty of snark between the two sides, while Ben Stokes and David Warner exchanged words as they walked off for lunch, and the umpires told Matthew Wade to pipe down.Senses of hot temper flowed at other times also, as when a Marnus Labuschagne lbw appeal was denied on the basis that a shot had been played, and a terse exchange followed between the fielders and the umpire Kumar Dharmasena about a “precedent” being set for the fourth innings chase that is soon to follow.Australia’s cricket was of a mediocre standard at best, with the notable exceptions of Nathan Lyon’s superb delivery to bowl Stokes, spinning sharply from around the wicket; Peter Siddle’s two-over burst to end Joe Denly’s hopes of a first Test century after a series in which he had faced plenty of tribulations, and Steven Smith’s flying snare in the final half an hour to dispose of Chris Woakes off Mitchell Marsh. But for the most part, the tourists struggled to rouse themselves, not least after their own decision-making had dug a major hole in a Test that England should now win.The visitors’ use of DRS was again faulty, twice declining to review not-out decisions where ball-tracking showed three reds – England’s bowlers have 21 lbws for the series to Australia’s 10 – although there is a sense that, on numerous occasions, not least at the critical moment in Leeds, the umpires might have looked upon the touring side’s appeals more kindly. Certainly the contrast between Wade’s lbw dismissal on day two, to a sharply swerving ball from Sam Curran, and Denly’s survival on day three when Marsh landed the ball between stump and stump, will be the cause of some discussion in the Australian dressing room.Overall the day was cause for consideration about the scheduling of an Ashes and a World Cup so closely together, something that had not occurred in England since the very first edition of the global tournament in 1975, when it was a far shorter and sweeter affair. Famously, England and Australia had conspired to play back-to-back Ashes series in 2013 and 2013-14 in order to allow the ECB to untangle a cycle where the World Cup was often played after an Ashes tour, only for the roles to be reversed this time.That bit of scheduling is widely credited with not only helping Australia recover from a 3-0 defeat in England to win 5-0 at home, but also to the disintegration of a previously robust and successful England side led by Andy Flower, Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook: the sequence is documented in some detail in the Barney Douglas documentary The Edge.In that context, the Australian side’s achievement in retaining the Ashes, after most of the team’s best players had been involved in the rigours of the World Cup campaign for a sum total of more than four months away from home, is raised to a somewhat higher level than might be indicated by a final series scoreline of 2-2. This has been a twin assignment as draining as any ever undertaken by an Australian touring side, with the chance of a deteriorating performance over time always strong.

It would be easy, in those conditions and when the game is in the position it was, for a lot of teams to throw in the towelTim Paine on Australia’s spirit in the field

“Both teams are in the same boat. It’s international cricket these days, there’s so much and it’s a challenge, there’s no doubt about that. But it’s an ongoing challenge for all sides, particularly England and Australia coming straight out of a World Cup straight into this. It was always going to be challenging, but that’s part of the game,” Paine said. “Being able to get yourself up mentally and physically is one of the challenges of Test cricket over five days, and five Test matches in seven or eight weeks, it’s bloody hard work. If it wasn’t, there’d be plenty of people doing it.”I’ve been really proud of our bowlers and our fielding late today, they just continue to come in and it’s a sign of a pretty good side, I reckon,” he added. “It would be easy, in those conditions and when the game is in the position it was, for a lot of teams to throw in the towel, but to see Steve Smith taking a hanger, Marnus running off the rope and taking a great catch, to see our bowlers still steaming in, I think it’s a great sign.”The fact that Australia had remained so strong, so focused and so disciplined right up until the moment at which they retained the urn in Manchester has been a credit to the captain Paine, the coach Justin Langer and their support staff, augmented by the mentoring of Ricky Ponting for the World Cup and Steve Waugh for the Ashes. But at the same time, the sequence of questionable decisions and mistakes at The Oval has provided a reminder that scheduling of this kind really should be made sparingly if at all – after all, the initial sparks that flamed up into the Newlands scandal began with fatigue as much as anything else.It was a tough day for Tim Paine in the field•Getty ImagesBowling first upon winning the toss has come in for plenty of scrutiny, but it would have worked had Australia either bowled slightly better, held onto all their catches, or both. More egregious was a distracted batting display on day two under a blazing September sun, leaving far too much yet again to Steven Smith, who was battling for once this series with cold and/or flu. Australia should still have been batting in their first innings on day three, something confirmed by much of England’s second-innings display.This is not to say that the Australians failed to keep pushing until the day’s closing over; the spirit was shown to be willing to the very end even if the flesh was relatively weak. In the final half an hour, Paine spelled Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins after two and three overs respectively with the second new ball, and was rewarded when their replacements Marsh and Siddle struck in successive overs. Smith’s catch to remove Woakes was as good as any his right hand had ever grasped, while Labuschagne’s snare at deep square leg to dismiss Jos Buttler was almost as good on a difficult seeing ground.”The last hour today, our energy was still really good in the field,” Paine said. “I think our bowlers have run in every single day we’ve asked them to. They’ve done a fantastic job. The only thing that’s been a little bit upsetting this Test match is catching and our referrals, but that’s not anything new – with our referrals we’ve had some issues all this series.”Nevertheless, it is to be hoped that the game’s administrators see more sense than to concertina a World Cup and an Ashes so close together in the future. Should they repeat this sort of thing, Gower’s F-bomb might well be worthy of a re-run.

Pretty much all of his 215 runs seemed risk-free, even those that came from adventurous shots

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Visakhapatnam03-Oct-2019Sometimes, you need a flat pitch to show off your full range of shots. Mayank Agarwal may have been batting on 85, but at the same score in South African conditions, he probably wouldn’t have played this shot off Vernon Philander: a front-foot late-cut to a short-of-good-length ball that was curving gently away from him, wide of off stump.

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It was all hands and wrists, and the gully fielder, placed for that sort of shot, fell resignedly to his right as the ball sped past.On Indian surfaces offering more turn and bounce, Agarwal may not have looked to reverse sweep Senuran Muthusamy from the rough outside his leg stump, but he did it with ease on this Visakhapatnam pitch.By his own admission, Agarwal doesn’t play the reverse sweep all too often, but he played it three times on Thursday, square and fine, nailing each of them.”When I played the reverse sweep, the thing that [Rohit Sharma and I] were talking about was that I don’t really reverse sweep and we were well set,” Agarwal said during his end-of-day press conference. “We were quite happy with the way we were batting and [it was] good that we were able to manipulate the field. They had started to bowl on the pads and it was nice to get a couple of boundaries so they can shift around players, and we were talking about more ways how we can get runs. Risk-free runs.”Pretty much all of Agarwal’s 215 runs – save the few during a tricky first half-hour on Wednesday against the new ball – seemed risk-free, even those that came off the shots described above, or off his numerous inside-out drives and lofted hits. There was a sense of certainty about when he chose to play what shots and how he executed them. He did this for close to eight-and-a-half hours and ended his innings with a control percentage of 90.Mayank Agarwal joined an exclusive list of Indians to convert maiden hundred to 200-plus•ESPNcricinfo LtdWhile this reflected the conditions he batted in, it was still some achievement for a batsman in only his fifth Test match to show such authority over such a long period of time, in sapping humidity, while trying to bat proactively and put the bowlers under pressure. It was Agarwal’s first Test hundred, but at no point did he seem like he was learning how to make one. He just seemed to know, already.STATS – Agarwal and Rohit scale new heightsAgarwal took years to gain that knowledge. Before the start of the 2017-18 domestic season, he only had two hundreds from 29 first-class matches, and an average of 38.19. That sort of record is pretty handy in certain countries, but not in India, where batsmen who get called up to the national team routinely average in the high 50s or even low 60s.Something clicked into place in November 2017, when Agarwal made these scores for Karnataka, in back-to-back innings: 304*, 176, 23, 90, 133*, 173, 134. Since that season, Agarwal averages 62.50 in first-class cricket. There have been two more double-hundreds, one against South Africa A last year in Bengaluru, and now against a South Africa side featuring some of the same bowlers.That transformation must have required work on all aspects of his game, but the one Agarwal picked out after his innings in Visakhapatnam was learning to handle the physical demands of batting for long periods.”For me, a lot of long-distance running has helped me, and also, when I was training before that season with my coach RX [Muralidhar] sir, we made sure that we bat five-five, six-six hours. We had gruelling sessions and would make sure that I would bat two hours to two-and-a-half hours, then take a little break, and then bat [again]. So it is just preparing in that manner, preparing to play those long hours, which has helped me, combined with a lot of long-distance running.”All that running, all that batting, was part of the hidden substructure beneath Agarwal’s 215. It may have looked absurdly easy at times, but at no point was it actually so.

Also, what was the highest score in the fourth innings of a Test by a batsman in a winning cause?

Steven Lynch03-Sep-2019I heard that Jasprit Bumrah’s hat-trick was only the third for India, and only the third in the West Indies. Is that right? asked Rahul Bhasin from India
Jasprit Bumrah’s hat-trick in Kingston last Saturday was indeed the third for India in Tests, following Harbhajan Singh’s against Australia in Kolkata in 2000-01, and Irfan Pathan’s in the first over of the match against Pakistan in Karachi in 2005-06.Of the 44 Test hat-tricks so far, there have been two others in the West Indies, both of them coming in Barbados: Jermaine Lawson took one for West Indies against Australia in Bridgetown in 2002-03, and Matthew Hoggard followed suit for England in Bridgetown in 2003-04.Has anyone taken more innings to record their maiden Test fifty than Ishant Sharma? asked Mit Chowdhury from India
Ishant Sharma’s 57 in the first innings in Kingston was his maiden Test half-century, in his 126th innings. Only two others have needed a century of innings to reach 50: Glenn McGrath got there in his 115th knock for Australia (61 against New Zealand in Brisbane in 2004-05), but the record remains with England’s Jimmy Anderson, who did not reach fifty until his 131st innings, finishing with 81 against India at Trent Bridge in 2014. His next-highest score, in 208 attempts, is 34.What’s the record for the most scores of 90-plus in a Test innings, and a match? Have there ever been two 99s in the same innings? asked Kerry McAllister from Australia
There have been 56 Test innings that contained two scores of between 90 and 99. Only one of those involved two 99s; for Pakistan against England in Karachi in 1972-73, Majid Khan and Mushtaq Mohammad both fell one short of hundred (Dennis Amiss also made 99 for England, making a record three in the match). At the other end of the scale there has also been one innings in which two people were out for 90 – VVS Laxman and Irfan Pathan for India against Pakistan in Faisalabad in 2005-06.The record for a Test is four nineties, which has happened twice: by New Zealand (Dipak Patel and John Wright, both 99) and England (Robin Smith 96, Allan Lamb 93) in Christchurch in 1991-92, and by England (Graeme Hick 96, Jack Russell 91, Mike Atherton 95) and West Indies (Richie Richardson 93) at The Oval in 1995 (Sherwin Campbell also made 89 for West Indies).Gordon Greenidge has the only fourth-innings double century in a successful chase – his 214 not out against England at Lord’s in 1984•Adrian Murrell/Getty ImagesWhat was the highest score in the fourth innings of a Test by a batsman in a winning cause? asked T. Krishna Reddy from India
I’m guessing this one was inspired by Ben Stokes’ remarkable display in that classic Test at Headingley last week. His 135 not out actually lies 17th on this particular list, although it’s the third-best for England after Mark Butcher’s 173 not out against Australia at Headingley in 2001, and Jack Brown’s 140, also against Australia, in Melbourne in 1894-95.Top of the list, and the only fourth-innings double-century in a winning cause, is Gordon Greenidge’s unbeaten 214 against England at Lord’s in 1984. In second and joint third (with Butcher) come two innings from the same match – Arthur Morris made 182 and Don Bradman 173 not out in Australia’s last-day victory over England at Headingley in 1948. There have now been 75 fourth-innings centuries in successful chases in Tests.To win at Headingley, England scored more than five times their first-innings total. Was this some sort of record? asked Tim Palmer from England
England’s second innings of 362 for 9 at Headingley was 5.4 times as big as their paltry first effort of 67. But it turns out this is some way short of the Test record: at Edgbaston in 1924, South Africa made 390 in their second innings – 13 times as many as the 30 they had scraped together in the first.I think the first-class record was also set at Edgbaston, in 1922. Hampshire were bowled out by Warwickshire for 15 in their first innings, but in the follow-on made 521 – nearly 35 times as many – before going on to win.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips are both primed and ready for the incumbent openers to fail

Deivarayan Muthu30-Oct-2019Here we go again: New Zealand v England. But this time, the two teams are preparing for the T20 World Cup in Australia next year, with a five-match series in New Zealand.One of the major worries for New Zealand in the 50-over World Cup was the form – or the lack of it – of their openers. Between them, the openers scrounged 402 runs in 20 innings at an average of 22.33 – the lowest among all sides in the tournament.Colin Munro has three T20I hundreds and Martin Guptill is among the top scorers in T20Is, but there’s still some trouble at the top for New Zealand. Both batsmen are vulnerable against the moving ball in conditions that offer substantial assistance – something that came to the fore in England.Since the 2016 T20 World Cup, Munro and Guptill have added 602 runs together in 15 innings in the shortest format. Out of the four fifty-plus stands they’ve forged, three have come on easy-paced bash-through-the-line tracks at home in New Zealand; the other coming on a more challenging pitch in Rajkot. However, in that Rajkot game, Munro was handed at least four chances and he latched onto them to crack a 54-ball century.Munro and Guptill might be in the last-chance saloon this home season, and there’s no Kane Williamson to bail New Zealand out if the openers fail again. The captain has been sidelined from the five-match T20Is series against England with hip injury, and Ross Taylor is still feeling his way back into T20I cricket, having been dropped from the shortest format in 2017.New Zealand have at least 20 T20Is to identify their opening combination for the T20 World Cup. Munro, coming off a hot-and-cold CPL stint, and Guptill, coming back from injury, will have to contend with the exciting wicketkeeper-opening batsmen Tim Seifert and Glenn Phillips breathing down their necks.Seifert can not only surge down the track to quicks but also pull off trick shots like his hero Brendon McCullum. He could have given New Zealand an extra opening option in the 50-over World Cup had he been fit. Upon his return, he managed only 38 in three T20I innings in Sri Lanka, but he’s eager to not miss out on another World Cup.Glenn Phillips raises his bat after getting to a half-century•CPL T20Phillips was recently part of New Zealand’s winter camp and intra-squad games after enjoying back-to-back bumper CPL seasons for Jamaica Tallawahs. Then, there’s the South Africa-born Wellington top-order batsman Devon Conway, who made a triple-century in the four-day Plunket Shield on Wednesday. Conway was also at it in last season’s Super Smash, piling up 363 runs in nine innings at an average of 45.37 and strike rate of nearly 145.He’ll be eligible to play for New Zealand in September next year, just before the T20 World Cup, but coach Stead is already so impressed by him that he called him into New Zealand’s winter camp.Stead acknowledged New Zealand’s top-order concerns during that pre-season camp. “There’s 26 [T20] games between now and the World Cup to get clear on how we want to play, and who are the people that fit into those roles,” Stead told “That [top order] is a little problem that we have, that four [including Williamson] doesn’t fit into three and that’s what we have to work out.”However, with Williamson now out of the picture against England, New Zealand’s top three could well be: Guptill, Munro and Seifert. Who’ll make an early statement against a new-look England team?Munro seems to have already made a statement of sorts, with an unbeaten 107 in a successful chase of 189 in the second warm-up fixture in Lincoln. Of particular interest in this series might be the match-up between Munro and legspinner Matt Parkinson. The opener took on Parkinson on Tuesday, hitting 23 off 13 balls against him, and Parkinson’s career numbers suggest he is significantly better against right-handers than lefties.ALSO READ: England fall to warm-up defeat as Munro blazes unbeaten tonIn CPL 2019, Munro found a method to counter his weakness against wristspin: he often shuffled outside the line of the stumps and switched his fortunes. While both the plan and its execution proved successful against Jamaica Tallawahs’ Zahir Khan, it didn’t quite come off against Barbados Tridents in the second qualifier. Munro jumped across the stumps and ventured a switch-hit, but Hayden Walsh Jr. got some extra bounce and drew a top edge to short third man.There’re no secrets in cricket these days, and England would have taken note of this approach from Munro. The pressure is on him – and Guptill – to get their act together as New Zealand seek to find their building blocks for the T20 World Cup across the Tasman Sea next year.