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The legspinner showed signs of frustration early on, but recovered to bowl an accurate spell

Firdose Moonda in Dunedin08-Mar-2012It’s easy to see when Imran Tahir has something on his mind. He falls into old habits like misfielding. A fumble at fine leg to give away a second run, where he should have kept it down to a single, was an example of it. Tahir had bowled just four overs and conceded ten runs, hardly a cause for concern but he was concerned.After being brought on in the 13th over – the earliest he has been used so far – he bowled two tight overs, helping to keep up the pressure the seamers had created but not breaking through.For Tahir, for any attacking spinner, that is the measure of success. He had been replaced after the lunch interval and brought back once Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor had found a rhythm. With Jacques Kallis doing the containing job on one end, Tahir was there to take a wicket and for two overs he didn’t.All the signs were that he was getting desperate. His hands ended up on his head too often, in exaggerated fashion, as though a disaster much more serious than that which could take place on a cricket field had just happened. As he found some turn, he snarled in a way that caused his face to reshape itself into an expression that reflected an almost toxic mixture of annoyance, disappointment and frustration.At the end of his fourth over, McCullum flat-batted him over midwicket for four. Although he has previously insisted he enjoys being hit around a bit, because it gives him a greater chance of taking a wicket, it was clear that he did not enjoy that one. His irritation was evident as he kicked the ground below him. He was afraid he was not doing his job properly.Tahir, like any bowler, wants to do well for his country. Perhaps he has a little bit more want than others because South Africa is his adopted country, after he moved there six years ago for the love of a woman. Perhaps it is also because his eligibility was hyped up as the best thing to happen to South African cricket since the 438-game in light of his massive success back home. In five Tests so far, he has failed to live up to it not by any doing of his own, but because of largely unhelpful surfaces and limited opportunity.On Wednesday, at the University Oval, he had one of those. Eight wickets needed to be taken, time was on his side and he wanted to make maximum use of it. With all that weighing on his mind, it’s little wonder his mind was not entirely on saving one but on how best to make sure Smith kept him on and he delivered.From what we have seen and what we know of Tahir in the past, we thought he would have returned trying to bowl all 10 deliveries in his repertoire in the six balls he had in the next over. Each one would have drawn half an appeal, if not more, even it had been smacked straight back over his head for six. From what we know of the old style of South African cricket, he would have not have made an appearance until the over before tea. Both have changed.Tahir returned with a much better over, concentrating on getting the legbreak right and finding more pace through the air, something he has worked on extensively in South Africa as a way to take wickets. He used the googly as well but not as often as he has been prone to and he said very little while he toiled. Smith kept him on, even when McCullum carved up the space between mid-on and mid-off with a lofted shot for four.Eventually, it paid off with the wicket of McCullum, which gave him immeasurable confidence and relief – his usually emphatic celebration was a more subdued one this time – a glimpse into a more controlled version of Tahir. He paid greater attention to operating as part of a unit and building pressure with the rest of the pack, instead of focusing on a solo effort and in so doing turned in the best performance of his short career. “Every spell, he is learning more and more,” Morne Morkel said. “A lot is sometimes expected of Imran but I think he will deliver on this tour.”Morkel expects Tahir to come into play even more in the second innings with the pitch set to deteriorate and get lower and slower. He also said Tahir’s presence takes the heat off the rest of the seam bowlers, who no longer feel they are the only ones whose job it is to take wickets. “It’s important for the seam bowlers not to try too hard,” Morkel said. “We’ve got guys like Kallis who can pull the run rate back so Imran has got the freedom to go in an express himself and do the magic.”Edited by Siddarth Ravindran

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the third day of the second Test in Colombo

Andrew McGlashan in Colombo05-Apr-2012Clonk of the day
A wicketkeeper’s job is tough enough without wild throws from your team-mates. Prasanna Jayawardene had a difficult day behind the stumps with low bounce not making his task easy and at the end of an over from Randiv was given a blow on the head for good measure. Randiv picked up the ball in his follow through and, as bowlers like to do, hurled it back towards the batsman who momentarily blinded Jayawardene and the ball struck his head. An inch or two lower and it would have been the eye.Warning of the day
No, not Kevin Pietersen. In the fourth over of the day Alastair Cook was facing Dhammika Prasad and will have been grateful the delivery that scooted low was outside off stump rather than straight. The previous evening Angelo Mathews had said the bowlers needed to be more consistent to exploit the cracks and Prasad had clearly located the spot. It was a warning to England to score as many as they could during the day.Bad review of the day
Sri Lanka were justified in reviewing the not-out decision when they thought Alastair Cook had gloved to leg slip. It was mighty close but only Hot Spot would have confirmed it one way or the other. Using up their second review an over later was less understandable. Suraj Randiv appealed for lbw against Jonathan Trott but replays showed a huge inside edge. Trott had even suggested as much to the fielders. Not that the batsmen can always be trusted but on this occasion Sri Lanka should have listened.Periscope of the day
There was not much bounce in the surface for Sri Lanka’s pace bowlers and it came close to costing Trott. Facing Prasad he ducked to avoid a bouncer but left his bat in the air behind him. The ball did not climb as much as Trott expected and clipped the back of his blade, deflecting wide of Jayawardene to fine leg.Bowling change of the day
Tillakaratne Dilshan has shown he can be effective with the new ball in one-day cricket so it was not a surprise to see him handed it when just four overs old. He didn’t let his captain down, producing a perfect offspinner first delivery which took the edge of Alastair Cook’s bat low to first slip. It was the second time Cook had fallen for 94 this year, after the second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, and meant his wait for a 20th Test hundred continued.Shot of the day
Many in Pietersen’s innings stood out, but watching him bring out the switch hit against Dilshan showed that he still retains that free-spirited approach he regularly unfurled in his earlier days. And it is not reckless batting. Far from it. Dilshan had a 7-2 leg-side field so Pietersen decided his best scoring option was the vacant off side.

Our reporters look back on their favourite World Twenty20 matches

Andrew McGlashan17-Sep-2012England v South Africa, 18th match, World Twenty20 2010When a batsman takes apart Dale Steyn, however briefly, you know you’re watching something special•Getty ImagesThe warm-up: England-South Africa contests always come with an edge. The reasons why are well documented and the matches rarely disappoint. This was a game with huge significance: a win for either team would virtually assure a semi-final place. Neither side had started the tournament smoothly, with England edging through their group after a rained-off match against Ireland. South Africa, meanwhile, had lost to India and beaten Afghanistan, but the Associate nation had restricted them to 139 for 7. However, an efficient victory against New Zealand at the beginning of the second stage suggested their game was coming together. England, too, had won convincingly against Pakistan. Who would crack first?The match itself: It did not take long for the game to come to life. Johan Botha removed Michael Lumb in the first over but the second-wicket pair of Craig Kieswetter and Kevin Pietersen launched into South Africa’s bowling in a stand worth 94 in ten overs. Pietersen was at his imperious best, winning his head-to-head with Dale Steyn in thrilling style – taking 23 off the eight balls he faced from the fast bowler. Although wickets started to fall, England had a deep batting order and there were useful contributions from Eoin Morgan and Tim Bresnan as they reached a testing 168 for 7.The match swung hugely in England’s favour when South Africa struggled for early momentum with the bat. Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis had added 19 in four overs when Stuart Broad removed Kallis. England were operating finely-tuned tactics in the field and this was a day when they all worked perfectly. Ryan Sidebottom, who had been preferred at the last minute to James Anderson because of the value of a left-arm quick, and Tim Bresnan both conceded less than six-an-over while the spinners, Graeme Swann and Michael Yardy, combined to take five wickets. The pair took wickets in four consecutive overs as South Africa’s top order subsided.Highlight: Kevin Pietersen v Dale Steyn. International cricket at its best. When Twenty20 began there was a suspicion that it would not allow time for duels to develop like in the longer formats. This, however, though a brief contest, was as gripping as you could wish for. Pietersen was off the mark with a crunching straight drive but it was later, when Steyn was brought back for 11th over, that he played the shot of match by dispatching a slower ball onto the roof of the stand and out of ground. This was followed, two balls later, by Pietersen’s ‘flamingo’ flick through midwicket as he reached fifty from 30 balls. Stunning.The aftermatch: Hours after picking up the Man of the Match award, Pietersen was on a plane back to London for the birth of his first child. “It’s my first child, so it’s a hell of an exciting time for me,” he said. “I’ll be dashing across the Atlantic, and hopefully dashing back.”Meanwhile, the ‘C’ word was soon following South Africa around again, when they lost against Pakistan by 11 runs to go out of the tournament. England, though, had the force with them and did not look like losing as they secured their first global silverware. Pietersen, when he returned, flayed Sri Lanka in the semi-final and Australia in the final to be named Man of the Tournament.

****

Australia v Pakistan, semi-final, World Twenty20 2010Michael Hussey resurrected Australia from the dead•Getty ImagesThe warm-up: The two teams could not have moved into the semi-finals in more contrasting styles: Australia were unbeaten – including an opening win against Pakistan – spearheaded by their strong pace attack and muscular batting. It had been the first time Australia had enjoyed consistent success in Twenty20 and there was a feeling that they were finally taking the format seriously. Pakistan, meanwhile, lurched into the knockouts, much like they did in 2009, squeaking in despite losing two of their Super Eight matches. Really, though, anything other than that from them would have been a surprise.The match itself: Was this the ultimate Twenty20 match? Nearly 400 runs, a penultimate-ball result, a late dramatic swing in momentum. Gros Islet is not a big ground and it was filled with 22 sixes. Pakistan had led the charge, the Akmal’s – Kamran and Umar – cracking half-centuries as Australia’s much-vaunted attack was given its first real test. Then David Warner fell second ball of the chase and wickets slipped steadily against a huge asking rate. But Michael Hussey never knows when to give in and launched an amazing assault in the closing overs. When Steve Smith fell Australia needed 48 off 17 balls – Hussey got 37 himself, ending on a phenomenal 60 off 24 balls and carrying Australia across the line.Highlight: The hitting from Hussey was breathtaking. It was the sustained quality of the striking that stood out, under pressure with a place in a final at stake. Saeed Ajmal had been entrusted with final overs during the tournament but, at the crucial time, could not spear the ball under Hussey’s bat and offered hittable length. Still, if any of his shots had gone straight up in the air that would have been it for Australia but he backed himself each time. In a format where matches can quickly fade from the memory, this is one that left a lasting mark.The aftermatch: Amazing game, nightmare to write up. Especially when your laptop picked the night before to blow up and there was a flight to catch to Barbados an hour after the game was due to finish. Hasty writing followed on a colleague’s machine in the departure lounge. Hussey could barely grasp what he had achieved during the press conference while Waqar Younis, the Pakistan coach, just wore a blank expression. After winning a game like that there was a feeling Australia were unstoppable, but a couple of days later they had no answer to England – the other form team of the tournament – during the final in Barbados.

Focus may fall on the No. 1 ranking changing hands again but both sides are looking further down the road

George Dobell at The Oval31-Aug-2012Like Idi Amin declaring himself the winner of a general election, so England’s return to the top of the ODI rankings should be viewed with a certain cynicism.While any victory over a decent South Africa side is to be praised, particularly a victory that showed such an improvement on the dismal performance in Southampton, the ranking flatters and misleads. England have a long way to go as an ODI side.In truth, this ODI series – like so many – is about building for the future. ODI teams are not judged on rankings, particularly ones that appear quite so arbitrary. No, ODI teams are judged on trophies. Global trophies, at that: World Cups and, to a lesser extent, the Champions Trophy. Whatever happens in the next week or so, whichever team wins this series, few will remember by the time the 2015 World Cup comes along.But England can take encouragement from this performance. As both these teams build for the future, they are developing new players and testing their bench strength. For that reason, a strong argument could be made to suggest that England have the better prospects ahead of next year’s Champions Trophy, which is to be played in the UK.In this game, South Africa looked a batsman light. With Hashim Amla, Graeme Smith and AB de Villiers all, for once, departing to somewhat loose strokes, a thin-looking middle order was exposed. While the jury remains out on Dean Elgar – it is bound to take him some time to settle at international level – Faf du Plessis and Wayne Parnell, at No. 5 and No. 7 respectively, both look at least a place too high in the order.While many of South Africa’s problems would be resolved in a stroke by the return of Jacques Kallis – he strengthens the batting, the bowling and the fielding – he is now 36. Even though he harbours ambitions to play in the 2015 World Cup, South Africa do need to start to look to the future. Replacing him will prove desperately difficult.”We didn’t play good cricket at all,” de Villiers said afterwards. “Most of our senior players got in and didn’t make it count. Including me. I was seeing it really well, but played a poor shot at a very bad time. It is those things that cost you the game.”We were about 40 runs short. It was the experienced players at fault. We were hoping for 250 at least and hopefully aim for 270. That would have been a winning score. Complacency wasn’t an issue. I wouldn’t allow that as a captain. We just didn’t play well at all.”The performance of Wayne Parnell, who bowled with controlled pace, should provide some encouragement for South Africa. After a few bumps on the road, the 23-year-old looks to be developing into the top-class performer his talent first suggested.England, meanwhile, went into this game without three men who might be considered first-choice selections: Stuart Broad, Graeme Swann and Kevin Pietersen. While there is no certainty about the future of any of them, there is growing hope that all should be around in 2013 and 2015. Swann does not require an elbow operation, while Pietersen will meet with ECB officials in the very near future to thrash out their difficulties. A sincere, unqualified apology made face-to-face with colleagues in the squad and the management set-up would take him a long way along the path to rehabilitation. If he really wants to return, it is the option he must take.

“Jonathan Trott may well be the most reassuring batsmen England have had since the retirement of Graham Gooch”

The pleasing thing about this display from an England perspective was that their stand-ins performed so impressively. James Tredwell, bowling with flight and dip that Swann has struggled to find of late, hardly delivered a poor ball, while Jade Dernbach utilised his variations far more judiciously than has sometimes been the case. It hints at a growing maturity. The lovely slower ball, all the more effective for being used sparingly, with which he dismissed Elgar was the delivery of the match.”We bowled better, we batted better and we fielded better than we did in Southampton,” Alastair Cook said. “It’s encouraging when we can right wrongs. Swann was fit to play, but it’s really nice when you have guys as solid as Tredwell to come into the side.”England’s reply was built around two contrasting innings by Jonathan Trott and Eoin Morgan. Trott, all quiet accumulation, and Morgan, full of invention and aggression, complemented each other perfectly and underlined the impression that England are building a team that can adapt and challenge. If Pietersen and Morgan can be reunited in the middle-order, they will prove a potent problem for any bowling attack.Despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary, some will never accept Trott as a limited-overs batsman. But whatever his perceived issues on the flattest of wickets, there is probably no-one in world cricket who manages the overhauling of a modest target with as much certainty. He may well be the most reassuring batsmen England have had since the retirement of Graham Gooch. Morgan, in this form, looks irrepressible. Quite why he cannot convert such talent to first-class cricket – he averages under 20 in this year’s County Championship – is hard to fathom.”We have guys with various attributes who contribute to different ways of winning a game,” Morgan said. “Trotty anchored the innings very well and I played the way I do. It worked out very well. I’ve worked hard and I’ve been hitting the ball well all summer.”Perhaps, had Trott played-on off Dale Steyn when he had scored 6, the result may have been different. But there is not a huge amount to choose between these teams and, as both teams look into the longer-term future, perhaps it is England who can be the slightly more optimistic.

Michael Clarke has instilled into his own side that it is possible to win from any situation. The attacking mindset was personified by James Pattinson’s fiery spell, for example

Brydon Coverdale in Brisbane13-Nov-2012Over the past five days at the Gabba, Australia and South Africa played out the first draw between the sides in their past 14 Tests. The rain on the second day didn’t prevent Michael Clarke from trying to fashion a route to victory. And in a four-day game on one of the flattest, slowest Australian pitches in recent years, that his men went so close to achieving that goal was a remarkable effort.It also said much about the way the Australians approach the game under Clarke’s leadership. Though he was never captain of Australia’s Test team, Shane Warne always believed Australia could win, from virtually any position. Clarke admires Warne’s mindset and has instilled it into his own side. Since he took over as full-time captain, the only match Australia have drawn that was not rain-affected was the game that gave Australia a series victory in Colombo last year. They have lost only two Tests, and won nine.After the first day, which brought only two wickets, the Australians not only lifted, they showed an intent that the South African camp seemed to lack. Ed Cowan played his strokes and with Clarke rebuilt from a perilous 3 for 40, and when their monster partnership was broken, Michael Hussey ensured the tempo did not slip. From a position of South African dominance, the match turned firmly in Australia’s favour.While he was compiling his third double-century this year, Clarke’s mind was active. How can we win this? Do we declare behind and challenge Graeme Smith to set us a target? Should we push on, build a lead and put South Africa’s batsmen under pressure? The runs came so quickly that Clarke decided on the latter approach, giving his bowlers most of the final day to do their work. They claimed five wickets, but ultimately time beat them.”I thought it was going to be tough if we had to chase 250 or 280 on that wicket on the last day,” Clarke said. “I thought our best chance of winning, especially the way Michael Hussey was playing and scoring quite quickly last night, was to get a lead, come out this morning and be as positive as we could, and then give ourselves enough time in the game to take nine wickets. Unfortunately we didn’t have enough time.”The boys deserve a lot of credit for their attitudes more than anything else. Our intent was the way it needs to be when you’re playing against such a good team. I think the way Ed Cowan and Michael Hussey batted, they certainly showed that intent and our attitude was spot on today with the ball. We were quite aggressive with our approach … We can certainly use the momentum that we take from this game and hopefully take it into Adelaide.”Australia’s attacking mindset was personified by James Pattinson on the final day. In a spell full of venom and verbal aggression, Pattinson was infuriated by Smith pulling away as a bird flew across the pitch with Pattinson in his delivery stride. Pattinson told Smith what he thought in no uncertain terms, and sent down a searing bouncer next ball, and it was the start of short but fiery contest between the two men.It didn’t take Pattinson long to have his man. Coming around the wicket, he enticed a loose shot from Smith, whose edge flew to gully. A pumped-up Pattinson gave Smith a send-off of sorts, but Clarke had no problem with the aggression showed by his young fast bowler. Pattinson collected five wickets for the match, the most by any Australian bowler, and he is rapidly making himself the spearhead of Australia’s attack.”Patto knows the rules,” Clarke said. “Like all the bowlers, I think the aggression, the intent is a big part of the way we play our best cricket. I certainly don’t want to stop that. But we understand there’s a line and you can go to the line but you can’t overstep it. Simple as that.”Patto’s enjoying being out there and playing, being on the park. I’ve said for a while we’ve got plenty of talent, it’s now about performance with the ball. It’s about guys being fit and firing at the right time. This is a great test for our quicks. We’re playing against a very good batting team, as we did against India last summer. It’s been a good start for us, especially after day one.”Day one certainly wasn’t a good start for the Australians. But there is no question they will fly out of Brisbane with more reasons for positivity than their rivals. And as Clarke knows, positive thinking is half the battle.

Or why Hamish Rutherford has blown his chance at immortality: a piercing statistical analysis

Andy Zaltzman12-Mar-2013England made their now traditional and always captivating useless start to an away series, followed by a characteristic dogged second-innings rearguard on a pitch that could have been scientifically created by The International Society for the Proliferation of Dogged Second-Innings Rearguards. For the second Test in a row, England played out an ultimately tedious draw on a travesty of a cricket pitch. Dunedin was not in the class of Nagpur in terms of inflicting misery on (a) spectators, (b) bowlers, and (c) cricket, but it was dismal nonetheless.It took a first innings of relentless, almost heroic, incompetence by England to make a game of it. With hindsight, it was a gesture that now looks like a selflessly public-spirited attempt to breathe some life into a match that could otherwise have been about as interesting as writing a 30,000 word dissertation on how to spell the word “dreary”, particularly after a first-day sog-out. England’s batsmen, aware that they are custodians of the game first and international sportsmen second, generously hurled their wickets away for the good of Test cricket. Their dismissals should be discounted from their career averages.Another Mogadon-infused surface should not detract from the quality of Hamish Rutherford’s spectacular debut innings, a performance that mixed flair, judgement, and an ominous range of strokes into a potent cocktail that England found utterly undrinkable.Not since day two of the History of Test Cricket has an England team looked up at a scoreboard to see a batsman in his first Test innings with 165 or more runs to his name. In that inaugural Test, in 1877, Charles Bannerman, the first of many Australian batsmen to inflict pain on England, scored 165 before retiring hurt. Few in the commentary box or TV studios at the time would have predicted that the “Highest Debut Innings Against England” graphic they whizzed up that day would last for 136 years.Rutherford departed the stage with an impressive haul of Test debut silver medals – the second-highest score by a New Zealander, the second-highest by a left-hander, and the second-highest by an opener (behind, respectively: Mathew Sinclair [214 v West Indies, 1999-2000]; Jacques Rudolph [222* v Bangladesh, 2002-03]; and Brendon Kuruppu [201* v New Zealand, 1986-87]). His 171 was, in fact, the second-highest by a debutant against England – George Headley hit 176 in the second innings of his first Test, in 1929-30.Eagle-eyed cricketologists will notice that, with one exception, this is not exactly a list of legendary all-time batting megastars. Headley would go on to prove himself one of the greatest batsmen ever to lay hands on a plank of willow, but even a man with a tattoo of Sinclair, Rudolph and Kuruppu riding in a motorcycle pyramid emblazoned all across his back would admit that those three have not established themselves in quite such elite company. Headley scored a further nine hundreds (all of them in his next 16 Tests). Sinclair scored two more tons in 32 matches, Rudolph five in 47, and Kuruppu did not even pass 50 in the three subsequent Tests in which the Sri Lankan selectors generously invited him to participate.In fact, from a career point of view, Rutherford would have been well advised to smash his stumps to pieces on 163. Javed Miandad scored 163 on his debut. He proved to be a tidy batsman – 22 more hundreds and a Test average of 52. But of the other 11 players who have scored more than that on debut, seven have never scored another hundred after their first match. And four of those seven never again even waggled their bat in celebration of a half-century.Of the seven, Bannerman, RE Foster (whose 287 has been the highest debut innings for 109 years now) and Archie Jackson are looking long shots to add a second hundred to their tallies, having been regrettably dead for a combined total of 261 years. Billy Ibadulla, aged 77, looks too old even for the craziest of Pakistan selection panels to recall him after 45 years out of the Test game. Probably. The 51-year-old Kuruppu might harbour secret ambitions to become the oldest Test player in history, but Sri Lanka appear to be trusting in youth now, whilst Pakistan’s Yasir Hameed – who scored centuries in both innings of his 2003 debut against Bangladesh – has gone 24 Tests and almost ten years without troubling the honours-board engravers again. Even if the tattooed man had added some Yasir Hameed ink to his shoulder blade, he would concede that the Pakistani resides in the Has Had Enough Chances folder of the selectorial filing cabinet.

You may have carved your name into the record books against a bowling attack of proven class. But you will also need the strength of body to vanquish Statisticor, the Implacable Deity Of Cricketing Destiny

The only one of the seven with a realistic hope of adding to a mighty debut megaton is Fawad Alam, who scored 168 in the second innings of his 2009 debut Test, a match in which only one other Pakistan player passed 40. A little mystifyingly, even by Pakistan’s heroically mystifying standards, Alam played in his country’s next two Tests, and has not been selected since.Only two of the highest-innings-blasting debutants have ever improved on their highest career score after their initial plunge into the Test jacuzzi – Headley, and his fellow West Indian Lawrence Rowe. Rowe scored 214 and 100 not out in one of cricket’s more striking entrances, went on to stroke a triple-hundred against England, part of a sequence in his first 13 Tests in which he averaged 70 and scored six centuries. However, then he realised that the career trajectory of spectacular debutants is supposed to mirror that of a seagull after a disappointing rendezvous with an aircraft engine, and averaged 27 in his final 17 Tests, with only one more century.The top 11 pre-Rutherford debut centurions have gone on to average 33.8 in the remainder of their Test careers combined, scoring a hundred every 14.7 innings. Remove the genius Headley, the exception who has proved the rule (and who, in his pre-war peak, averaged 66, whilst the rest of the West Indian top six collectively averaged 24), and the remaining ten players have averaged 30.4 after their stellar debuts, with a hundred every 22.6 innings. By comparison, all top five batsmen not on debut have collectively averaged 38.1. So scoring over 164 on debut is a surefire, guaranteed, immutable means of ensuring you proceed to have a disappointingly below-average Test career. Unless you are George Headley. Or Lawrence Rowe, for a bit.So beware, Hamish Rutherford. You may look as if you have the technique, temperament, skill, class and strokeplay to flourish in Test cricket for the foreseeable future. You may have carved your name into the record books against a bowling attack of proven class. But you will also need the strength of body to vanquish Statisticor, the Implacable Deity Of Cricketing Destiny. Or the strength of mind not to believe in Statisticor. Whose powers are, at best, erratic. Your choice.● On current form there are not too many Australian batsmen queuing up to follow in Bannerman’s footsteps and inflict 21st-century pain on England. Some of them might be waylaid queuing up in a stationer’s shop for a new homework book instead. I have not followed this extraordinary story closely, but Australia’s strategy in India seems to have been: (a) to ensure they do not peak too early in this Ashes hyperyear; and (b) inculcate a feeling a smug over-confidence in the English cricketing media and public (which was not entirely necessary, and akin to painting a banana yellow). Both prongs of that masterplan are running eerily smoothly.After a useless all-round performance in Hyderabad, coach Mickey Arthur had apparently asked his squad to write down three suggestions for how the Baggy Greens could recover from their 2-0 deficit. Four of the players missed the deadline. In mitigation, after the first two Tests, they could have claimed that they were still wrestling with the Herculean task of trying to narrow it down to just three suggestions. (I told you Prong B was working.)Do not be taken in by these cunning Australian ruses. I am an English cricket fan who has followed the game since the 1980s. I fear the Australians, even where they are bearing gifts. Even when those gifts are as entertaining as dropping four players over a paperwork issue.

Zimbabwe will soon have to move away from the safety of bits and pieces players and towards specialists. That can only happen if their top-order strengthens and they are can unearth some depth

Firdose Moonda30-Apr-2013Brendan Taylor said a worrying thing after Zimbabwe lost a Test against Bangladesh for the first time at home to share the series. He deemed it “not the end of the world,” which was fair enough, but he also said he felt the team had progressed overall.Their sizeable win in the first Test may have partly explained his assessment but their heavy defeat in the second should have prevented him from settling on praise instead of self-examination. From the position they were in, after dominating the first Test, against an opposition that had been spooked into thinking conditions would not suit them, Zimbabwe should not have shared the series.They should not have lost the second Test either and it seemed a lack of confidence rather than inadequate skills accounted for their defeat. Inexperienced teams are capable of pulling off surprises when they are on top but they struggle to recover when they are against the tide because they often do not believe in themselves enough.Zimbabwe are a prime example. In the first Test, Taylor’s century and solidifying partnerships with Malcolm Waller and Graeme Cremer gave them the advantage. When Kyle Jarvis began tearing through Bangladesh, they did not look back. In the second Test, when Bangladesh put on 300 on day one, Zimbabwe were at a disadvantage. From there, they could not look up.Sometimes only conviction can change that. Zimbabwe play too infrequently and are too used to being beaten to have built up any of that. They suffer from the small-country syndrome and that may only change when they have the players who can force that turnaround.For that reason, it may be worth them rethinking their policy of allrounders versus specialists. In a bid to lengthen their batting line-up in this series, Zimbabwe opted for lower-order allrounders like Shingi Masakadza, Keegan Meth and Cremer instead of out and out bowlers like Tendai Chatara, Brian Vitori and Prosper Utseya or Ray Price.In Masakadza’s and Meth’s case, it turned out to be the right decisions because they contributed with the bat and had success in their primary role with the ball. In Cremer’s case it may not have. Although he was also responsible for lengthening the batting order, his bowling in the second Test was expensive and lacked penetration. A holding spinner may have worked better.Zimbabwe will soon have to move away from the safety of players who can do a little bit of everything and towards those who do their main task very well. That can only happen if their top-order strengthens and they are can unearth some depth to create competition for places.

At the moment, Zimbabwe centrally contract 10 players and the franchises take care of the rest. The non-centrally contracted players only have deals for a seven-month season and are left without security over how they will earn money in the winter

Before the series started, Stephen Mangongo, the interim coach, proudly declared that Zimbabwe had 75 professional cricketers (15 from each of the five franchises) to choose a national squad from. He didn’t mention that only included one opening batsman. Vusi Sibanda had to make do with makeshift partners in both Tests because Tino Mawoyo was injured and Zimbabwe did not seem to have anyone else who could do the job.Timycen Maruma and Regis Chakabva were used in that position and while both showed some promise, it was not enough. Mawoyo will likely return to the role when fit but the lack of other options should worry Zimbabwe. The only solution will be to go on a scouting mission to each franchise, examine the prospects there and monitor their progress.Their middle order and bowling stocks seem better supplied but holding on to players has proved difficult because of Zimbabwe’s precarious financial situation which may improve with a healthy dose of transparency all-round.At the moment, Zimbabwe centrally contract 10 players and the franchises take care of the rest. The non-centrally contracted players only have deals for a seven-month season and are left without security over how they will earn money in the winter. This year, ZC introduced winter contracts but the amounts being paid were too little for every player they wanted to retain to accept and they lost some of their men to club cricket gigs overseas.It was Craig Ervine this time, but it could be anyone else next year. Ensuring there is enough money to run the game is proving tough for Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) but they do themselves few favours through some of their smoke and mirror policies that create and exacerbate uncertainty.A glaring example was available during this series. ZC refused to comment on the situation with their new coach, Andy Waller, who was present at the ground for most of both matches. He has quit his job in England and he would not have done that to take a holiday so it was obvious why he was there.ESPNcricinfo understands that Waller has a signed contract to take over as head coach from May 1. ZC could not confirm this, nor explain the reason for him being in the country and in the stadium.Instead, they continued to play a charade that the board will announce the new coach in due course because they did not want to detract from the ongoing series. What they are waiting for, no-one knows.After the first Test, Mangongo was asked by one of the members of the local media if he thought the victory would increase his chances of getting the job full time. He swerved past the question and went on to discuss his experience as a coach and his commitment to ensuring the players develop and give of their best.That will be difficult for them to do when they are not being told the truth about things like who is taking over as their coach and why. It also makes one wonder what else don’t they know. Two years ago, Tatenda Taibu revealed they were always unsure of when they could expect payment. Before this tour, a player who did not want to be named, said nothing had changed in that regard, salaries often came late or not at all and questions around them go unanswered.With that on their minds, it’s hardly surprising the players lack faith in the structures they are working in. That has reflected on the playing field. Zimbabwe are a talented crop who have made some strides since their Test comeback in 2011.They have held on to the core group and players like Kyle Jarvis, Taylor and Hamilton Masakadza have become better. They have found some youngsters with potential and seem to have nurtured them somewhat, like Shingi Masakadza. They have not found the binding ingredient that can marry those individuals into a team that regards itself as one that can win. Real progress will be achieved the day that is not an ideal or a dream but something Zimbabwe can turn into reality, more often than they do now.

Plays of the Day from the second Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh

Firdose Moonda in Harare26-Apr-2013Shot of the day
Sohag Gazi made the first ripple on a quiet morning when he decided to take on Zimbabwe’s best bowler, Keegan Meth. Mid-way through the morning session and almost out of nowhere, Gazi gave Meth the charge. He lofted a length ball over midwicket and stood back to admire his own hit. It was cleanly struck and well-placed and took Meth by complete surprise. He was moving the ball both ways and challenging the batsmen and did not expect to be taken on in that fashion. Meth followed up, as any hot-headed fast bowler does, with a bouncer.Over of the day
When Bangladesh’s innings ended with 12 minutes to go before lunch, most assumed the break would be taken. Not so in this game. Since the changeover is limited to 10 minutes and time is the most sacred commodity in a Test match, the umpires indicated a solitary over would be bowled in the two minutes before the scheduled break. It was a testing six balls for Zimbabwe’s openers, as Robiul Islam gave them a taste of what was to come later with his away swing, and they would not have gone into the dining room with much of an appetite.Missing DRS moment of the day
Even if both teams agreed, there is simply not enough in the way of funding for this series to accommodate DRS but it could have been put to good use. For evidence of that, one need look no further than Regis Chakabva’s dismissal. Robiul delivered his stock ball – pitching on off and moving away and Chakabva stretched forward but was beaten. Mushfiqur Rahim collected and Robiul led the appeal for caught behind. Chakabva stood until Tony Hill raised the finger when he walked off in disbelief. Replays showed he had not hit the ball and the sound was the result of bat against pad. It was a classic example of where the batsman is so sure that he would have asked for the review had it been available.Soft dismissal of the day
There had to be one but this time it came from an unlikely source. Brendan Taylor had been Zimbabwe’s example in the first Test and looked set to do the same in this one. He saw off dot ball after dot ball and only allowed himself the occasional release but even he couldn’t resist when Gazi tossed one up invitingly. Taylor eyed the area over midwicket and launched it there but picked out Shakib Al Hasan. He knew immediately that he made a mistake and Zimbabwe would have to depend on someone else this time.

Recent batting collapses have shown just why West Indies need the dour Shivnarine Chanderpaul in a line-up full of T20 stars

<b>Roger Sawh, Canada</b>15-Jul-2013″Chanderpaul in one-day cricket? He’s too old, man! Brethren, he doesn’t score fast enough, he needs 150 overs! He’s been in so many losses man! Brotha, we’ve got to move on from him!”In the above few lines lies a modern-day cricket mystery that I struggle to comprehend.The West Indies’ one-day international cricket team of 2013 is the personification of the phrase ‘all flash and little substance’. Blessed with a galaxy of stars of the Twenty20 arena, it’s a group that would command an IPL owner’s highest bids with ease and, given 20 overs of operation, would most likely deliver breathtaking results. Sadly for them, T20s and ODIs are entirely different endeavours.On the spectrum of cricket formats, ODIs are thought to be in the middle while T20s and Tests lie at their respective extremes. A closer consideration, though, gives a better idea of things as ODI cricket is closer to Test cricket in nature than T20. Batsmen are required to build innings in ODIs, hence the format necessitates patience, soundness of technique, deep consideration, concentration, and conditional awareness. In T20s, a ‘wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am’ fifty in no time at all is a game-changer, but in ODIs, its effect is not quite as prolific – a steady and calculated approach bears greater fruit in a 50-over war of attrition, as the value of an innings lies not just in the shots and runs, but also in the negotiation of bowlers, spells, fielding restrictions and playing conditions.In the West Indies’ set-up, the vast majority of batsmen either completely lack or inexplicably suppress the rare talent of building an innings. It is a talent that Shivnarine Chanderpaul, an evergreen batsman of close to 300 ODIs who has been producing runs across formats despite approaching the age of 40, has bursting forth from his anti-glare eye patches. It is a gift that the powers that be in West Indies team selection are willfully blind to and, as collapses continue to litter modern-day West Indies cricket history, it is a boon that has been simply deserted.Recent history bears testament to the need for a Chanderpaul-like presence. Throughout the course of the Champions Trophy, when Chris Gayle or Marlon Samuels failed to provide a platform for an innings, the team’s batting would generally be lost at sea. In the just concluded tri-series with India and Sri Lanka, fireworks in Jamaica only temporarily hid the batting unit’s frailties, as the team eventually failed to make their own home series final. Fast forward to Sunday, when Pakistan surgically dismantled the West Indies batting approach on a minefield in Providence, Guyana, and you could see the tumour just grow.After pinpointing the ineptitude of the West Indies batsmen against pressure, and recognising the gaping need for an anchor man, Pakistan simply did what their team has the ability to do – they bowled a consistent and threatening line and length to allow the mentally fragile batsmen to whither in the South American heat. If only there were a stabilizer, a thorn in opposition’s side, a Trott-like gnat to hover annoyingly despite the predator’s fiercest swipes. If only substance had not been jettisoned for style and if only conditional awareness had come into play when the squad was being picked to select a player, any player, who could dig deep and tackle the demons of the pitch and the opposition. Chanderpaul is renowned for prizing his wicket like no other – more often than not, he would have found a way to tough things out.Those who support Chanderpaul completely understand the argument against his inclusion. Quite frankly, though, it doesn’t hold when compared with the need that exists. Across the cricketing world, ODI nations have their best Test batsmen in their line-ups because they recognise that the format requires a chutzpah that great Test batsmen possess. From Amla to Trott to Misbah, there is the knowledge that you need a backbone in an ODI batting line-up, regardless of the lack of glamour. Unless another batsman in the current line-up steps up to do the dirty work, the selectors have to plug the enormous hole in their order.Chanderpaul never retired from ODI cricket – he was a victim of a post-World Cup 2011 purge that placed the blame at his feet for the team’s unsuccessful campaign. He was a scapegoat, and he was thrown away in ODIs for the wrong reasons.Chanderpaul is often described as a ‘crab’ at the crease. Crabs don’t make great entertainers. They don’t drive with elegance or pull with panache. They claw. They scratch. They exist in perpetual commotion with themselves, lacking suave but forever battling against all challenges. For the West Indies, there needs to be a survivor among the showmen; not only to see out the difficulties, but to help them develop strong shells of their own.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line

With South Africa unlikely to deviate from their strategy of seven batsmen and three seamers, Duminy will have to get accustomed to being the second spinner, starting from this tour

Firdose Moonda07-Oct-2013JP Duminy will not be drawn into discussing in detail exactly how he felt when the back of his ankle popped, as he described it last November in Brisbane, rupturing his Achilles’ and condemning him to six months on the sidelines. But it must have been some shade of disappointment, especially considering the stage of his career he was in.His replacement for the remainder of that series against Australia, Faf du Plessis, remembered Duminy being in “peak condition,” at the time and predicted he would play a crucial role in the contest. Du Plessis’ assessment was based on Duminy’s form over the previous nine months – he scored a century on his comeback against New Zealand and an important 60 in South Africa’s mace-winning victory over England at Lord’s – and the increased responsibility the management team were about to give him.In last November’s Australia series, Duminy was due to graduate from a part-time bowler into a more important part of the attack. He was picked as the sole spinner in the Test he took no part in. It’s been 11 months since then and South Africa have been given a second opportunity to see whether that strategy could work.Russell Domingo, the coach, confirmed Duminy will slot back into the starting XI and that his bowling is one of the reasons for that. In conditions which are certain to offer something to the spinners and with a team make-up that seems uncertain to deviate from its seven batsmen-three seamer strategy, Duminy will have to play the role of the second spinner.He seems to have identified that as being a job that will require holding up an end. “Consistency in my length is key to my bowling performance so that’s what I am going to keep working on,” he said. “There’s a lot of responsibility that goes with bowling more. I am not going to put too much pressure on bowling miracle balls.”So I’ve been bowling a lot because the amount of overs you put in gives you some confidence. And I’ve also been discussing fields and strategies with Claude Henderson (spin consultant). It’s just about having game-plans in place, especially with the wickets turning more.”Duminy will have a first opportunity to sample his new job during South Africa’s only warm-up match, a three-day affair against Pakistan A in Sharjah, which gets underway tomorrow. The match will be Duminy’s second outing in whites since making his comeback in June.Playing for South Africa A, he top-scored in the first innings with 84 and took three wickets in India A’s first innings. Despite being in the squad for the second match as well, Duminy was thought to have done enough to show that he had not lost what it took to play in the longest format and he was not included in the next XI.Lack of first-class game time is always a concern for players making comebacks but Duminy is confident of being able to get back into Test cricket habits quickly. “I am pretty happy to be slotting back in. Even though I had a long layoff, the last two months has been really good from a performance point of view so I am excited to be back in Test cricket again,” he said. “It’s just like riding a bike and I will be trying not to do too much differently.”The whole South African unit is thinking along the same lines and basing their game plan on doing things the same way they always have. But they also know keeping the challengers to their No.1 spot at bay will not be easy. Even beating Pakistan 2-0 in the UAE will only result in a gain of one point on the ranking. Any other outcome will result in them losing a point. That’s why, despite the gap between the two sides (Pakistan are at No.6), this series is actually worth a lot more than face value suggests it is.Duminy, for one, knows that. “We are coming here expected to do well being No.1. We are going to be under pressure. The quicker we accept that, the easier it will be,” he said.