All posts by n8rngtd.top

An auction veteran gives an insider’s view of how teams prepare for two days of madness

Amrit Mathur11-Feb-2014Between the first IPL auction in 2008 and the one to be held in Bangalore over the next two days there have been many trials, a few errors and much experience. There is much that has morphed around the IPL from its first year and in Bangalore on Wednesday we will have a “mega-auction”, where teams will be built from scratch.In 2008, the first auction blew into the IPL like a tornado. The auction was hit-and-run, trial-and-error, for many teams; it felt like it had come and gone before anyone had time to assimilate what was going on. Nobody understood the dynamics of a market-driven bid process and the accompanying uncertainties of multiple buyers chasing one product. Many thought, “Let’s prepare a wish list and we’ll learn and decide as we go along.”In one very fundamental way, though, the first IPL auction set the ground rules for subsequent auctions. Not for the modus operandi but for the essential building blocks of the IPL teams. The nomination of “icon” players ensured that Indian players would fetch prime value and those players would become the face or brand of the team with the squad built around them.It also brought to Indian cricket the word “marquee.” Teams understood instinctively that nothing and no one is more valuable in the IPL than the Indian “marquee” player. Everyone now builds their squad around these players and agrees to pay top dollar – now rupee – for them.The mandated presence of seven Indians in every starting XI, and the resulting gap between demand and supply, ensured that Indian players would go for serious money, and consequently teams with better Indian talent would be stronger. The icon player rule also meant that, in the Indian context, players took precedence over teams. This is completely in contrast to other sporting leagues where the team or brand is supreme. But the IPL was a new tournament and no one knew the brands it was putting out on display. The known entity, and in the Indian context the household names, in this mix, of course, were the Indian players.Six years later
If in 2008 the auction was driven by the reputations of players and their past records, the air has certainly cleared in that regard over the past six years.Auctions now are more focussed, teams have far greater clarity about what kind of team they want and the type of players needed to execute their plans. This learning has come from experience and better awareness of the nuances and complexities of 20-over cricket and, more importantly, better assessment of players in T20 situations.

Each player is assessed by a very rigorous system, not just strike- and economy-rates but a much deeper analysis of actual performance in crunch match situations

Each player is assessed by a very rigorous system, not just strike- and economy-rates but a much deeper analysis of actual performance in crunch match situations and data analysts are coming up with more and more precise figures about pressure indicators and similar issues when going into an auction. Auctions are more rational, the bidding more precise and focussed. But we are not at Moneyball yet, despite Rajasthan’s early success and its general branding as the ‘poor man’s team.These days the cricket operations people play a more prominent role. Some owners who were front and centre in 2008 chose not to attend last year’s auction. For sure, frantic calls on mobiles ensured they were always involved in key decisions but they left most decisions to their highly-paid experts. Shah Rukh Khan, for example, has not sat at the owner’s table since the first auction. Some owners are more hands-on while others choose to keep a low profile, restricting their role to holding up the bid paddle or signing the transaction/purchase document once the hammer comes down to close the bidding.The Auction war room
What has happened in these six years is that, the odd choice based on whim or instinct apart, the selection of players tends to be more sensible and made by cricket experts. There is now an exhaustive process where inputs from owners or experts are discussed and taken on board or not. Pre-auction brainstorming sessions resemble a war-room situation, where every eventuality is carefully considered, options weighed and each response carefully calibrated.Ahead of the auction, each team has several plans with spreadsheets detailing options A to B to C for every key position. Laptops are filled with every manner of information and analysis, including the names of ‘must haves’ and ‘preferred choices.’There must be clarity about the kind of team you want to build. Focus on Indian batting with foreign bowling – or the other way round, because Indian batting is very expensive? Among foreigners there is another shuffling through the options – do you punt on ‘value picks’ (smart, cheap T20 specialists) or go for the big boys? Or look for bowlers according to the character of ‘home’ pitches?From this nucleus arises the choice of your top Indian players. Once these are secured through an auction, the rest of the team is built around them. Top Indian players ensure fan support, give comfort to potential sponsors, provide captaincy options.At ground zero
Team owners are now generally happy to leave decisions on selection of players to cricket experts•AFPInside the auction room, the table of eight does not usually include, as has been imagined, someone working a calculator to do the numbers of how much cash a team has left to spend. There are updates on a wall for all the teams to understand the number of players being offered, the purse available to each team at each stage, the slots to be filled in with Indian or foreign players. As most teams have retained some players, their strategies can be anticipated. They have, in a way, already revealed their hand.All teams really need going into the auction is their most-wanted list, its options and the buzz they have picked up from everyone else. For example, at the last auction it was common knowledge that KKR would go hard for Gautam Gambhir.Auctions may look like an eyeball-to-eyeball contest but they are more rational, there is little room for emotion and decisions are based on cricket and commercial considerations. As the IPL combines cricket and commerce, players are gauged on these terms – their T20 skills and their commercial appeal with sponsors and fans.Teams know they are restricted by the available purse. The buying has to be prudent because, ultimately, resources have to be spread over 27 players – the maximum permitted squad size – and it will not surprise me if more than one team now restricts its squad size to between 23 and 25.Teams are now very smart about how far they are willing to go chasing a certain kind of player. Ideally no team will go into any auction based on an emotional or personal choice. There are always options for each position that teams need to fill. If a much sought-after player is “lost,” you wait for the next option. It is there that the order of the auction plays an important role. Splurging on a player can hit a team badly and leave little money for others.Then there are other calculations to be worked on through gut instinct: if your second choice player is on offer first, you can either bid aggressively or pass. The risk in letting the second choice go (only because he is offered first) is you might be outbid, later, for the first choice and therefore lose both options.In such situations, instinct matters. Not science or strategy. It is why not everything goes to plan. Auctions are dynamic, impossible to control and throw up surprising numbers. Like Mashrafe Mortaza being picked by KKR for US$600,000 in 2010, or Dan Christian by Hyderabad for $900,000 in 2011 and Mumbai spending $1m on Glenn Maxwell in 2013.The joker in the pack

Every auction has had its moment – like the complete silence in 2011 when Sourav Ganguly was passed over by all teams. Or the hush, that same day, when Gautam Gambhir became – at $2.4 million – the most expensive IPL auction buy ever

The unexpected drama at this auction could well spring from the right-to-match (RTM) or joker card. There is no telling how much teams would bid for a player knowing they could lose the player anyway. In such a situation, it comes down to instinct again – how far a bidding team is willing to stretch itself, how far do they think the player’s original franchise would be willing to stretch to keep their player. It is very possible some teams could be tempted to push up price of a select favourite of another team with the sole intention of hurting their purse. This, though, is a high-risk game: in case the original franchise refuses to buy the player after the bid process, then you could be stuck with someone you did not want or at best, someone who should not have cost that much.Regardless of all the cold calculations that have been made, there will always be drama at an IPL auction. Every auction has had its moment – like the complete silence in 2011 when Sourav Ganguly was passed over by all teams. Or the hush, that same day, when Gautam Gambhir became – at $2.4 million – the most expensive IPL auction buy ever. That year the low bids for Rahul Dravid, Ricky Ponting and VVS Laxman – three legends of the game – were put into sharp perspective when KKR spent $5.6m in the first hour bidding for Gambhir, Yusuf Pathan ($2.1 million) and Kallis ($1. 1 million). Not only did this stuff make for great television, but the room began to buzz on its own.There’s a very good chance it is going to happen again tomorrow.

A year after the ECB announced a major push to integrate Asian cricketers into the English game, we examine the progress made

Sahil Dutta04-Jun-2014This is not a tranquil afternoon on an English village green. Instead it is inner-city East London, cricketers wear garish colours, and games are just ten overs a side. What is more, there are four stumps in place, no lbws offered, and the vast majority of players are Asian. Most strikingly, this unorthodox cricket is entirely endorsed by the ECB.Asian cricket is deeply established in Britain. ECB research found that ethnic minorities – mostly south Asians – make up a third of all cricketers in Britain. Asian leagues and teams have existed since the 1970s but have been invisible to the authorities running the game.Now, finally attempting to rectify this, the board last year launched a major initiative to reach the cricket-loving Asian community in Britain. This led to some important steps, including intelligence meetings with British Asian media as well as infrastructural changes like encouraging county grounds to make prayer areas and halal food available.”We know there is a huge demand with Asians who would like to play more cricket, and also we know that there is a whole lot of cricket being played outside of traditional structures,” said Jane Hannah, volunteer and participation manager at the ECB.”It’s a huge part of our market that traditionally we’ve not reached and we’re now taking the extra step to do so.”It is a challenge Gulfraz Riaz of the Club Cricket Conference has taken up. The CCC, an association of more than 1000 clubs across the country, claims to represent grass-roots cricket in England, a statement more valid in some regions than others. And Riaz in his role as its development officer, has over the last year tried to link the Asian cricket leagues to the county boards so that resources and opportunities are shared.It has been a painstaking process. Riaz began by seeking out the “underground” leagues that were not affiliated to any county board or formal organisation. “It wasn’t a case of picking up the phone and telling them they now belong to us,” he says. “It was a case of going there, talking to them, and understanding their achievements and needs. That won their respect.”His early efforts appear to be paying dividends. Starting in London and the South East there are now 13 leagues affiliated to the CCC, totalling over 300 teams and 5000 players. In January, the CCC brought these groups together for the first Asian Leagues Forum at Lord’s, an event Riaz hopes will become nationwide soon.”Some teams had been going for 35 years and for the first time they had a chance to share ideas and concerns with each other. It gave them a voice.”The ECB, through the county boards, is now trying to contact such teams but the boards are traditionally conservative in outlook and Riaz argues that it may take time for some in Asian cricket circles to overcome the “suspicion and resentment” they feel for their years of neglect.One county making progress is Essex. As part of the ECB’s “target cities” programme launched last year they used the CCC to forge initial links with the Asian leagues. They now oversee a number of schemes cultivating cricket in the Asian community, with a view to keeping an eye on emerging talent.

“People want to become coaches and do umpiring but they just don’t know where the courses are and how to get on them”Gulfraz Riaz of the Club Cricket Conference

In 2012 they made their old county ground in Leyton – in the heart of East London – available to ten different leagues to share, granting them the kind of quality pitches normally reserved for established clubs.”The leagues have real insight into the needs of the players,” said Dan Feist, Essex’s cricket operations manager. “They told us they played four-stump cricket because it’s quicker, more explosive, and there are no arguments over lbws. That has been really popular.”So it’s a question of: how can we support that with facilities and promote their work. But through them we’re also reaching the further 80% who don’t yet play the game.”One plan was to deepen the well-established Chance to Shine programme – which provides one-off cricket sessions to state schools – by ensuring interested kids had further opportunities to play.”We’re setting up satellite clubs to those schools based on Street Chance [the charity taking adapted cricket to urban settings] so kids can either go to a traditional club or, if they do not exist, a borough hub which goes up into regional cricket sessions. Then we linked up by having a representative team from all this East London cricket play against our Essex Second XI.”The first player to break through from here was Tanveer Sikandar. Born in Pakistan, he made his first-class debut for Essex at the beginning of May and two weeks later bowled Hashim Amla at The Oval.It’s a story to celebrate. But plenty of work remains. Leicestershire, for example, is another “target city”. But with limited resources, the county is still trying to discover the precise needs of its Asian cricket community and has not yet built the links others have managed.Closer to the ground, a major issue both Riaz and the counties identify is that many Asians prefer looser ties to the teams they play for. “Family, education and work expectations are different and some don’t have the same time for the voluntary side of traditional club cricket,” says Feist.”People like to turn up, play and go, like five a side in football. Rather than set it up, run it, organise it, cut the grass etc.”Riaz agrees to some extent but insists the appetite is there. “People want to become coaches and do umpiring but they just don’t know where the courses are and how to get on them.”He suggests one route could be to build on what’s already in place. “The Telugu community, for example, run a T20 tournament like the IPL. Teams are like franchises with sponsorship, and they have generated £35,000. There is enormous potential in examples like this for a club culture to develop.”It has taken a long time for the English cricket establishment to accept its failings. Asian cricketers too are embracing change. Attitudes are shifting, connections are strengthening, but it will take more than a year to overturn history.

For much of the second day Sri Lanka toiled without reward and the Test match was slipping away from them, but they refused to yield and their hard-working seamers have ensured they retain hope

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Headingley21-Jun-2014The Sri Lankan community in Leeds is small and scattered. Only a smattering turned out at a sold-out Headingley on Saturday. It is partly because the Sri Lanka fans abroad are yet to develop a taste for days out at a Test, much like the hordes at home. Maybe there are more pragmatic reasons as well. This Sri Lanka team, with this bowling attack, will inevitably spend long, tortuous days in the field. Many times, there are modest rewards for the team, and their supporters.On social media, Sri Lanka fans likened most of the day’s play to watching plants grow, but that is exactly what the team is doing too. This is a green pace attack, on their first trip to England. There is a little bit about each bowler that suggests they could be a force in Test cricket in the future. But for now, Sri Lanka is tending shoots, hoping the opposition do not trample on them too heavily. The pitches at home are about as lively for seamers as Colombo morgue. In recent years, good fast bowlers have lined up at the hospital as well, with long-term, career-threatening injuries.Another day of toil seemed to be firming up at Headingley, until finally, their luck turned. On the whole, Sri Lanka’s attack might reflect they did not bowl to their potential, but for Shaminda Eranga, it had been a different kind of day altogether.Shaminda Eranga had Ian Bell caught down the leg side – it was the least he deserved•Getty ImagesIn the morning he had swung the ball the most, and had the batsmen missing so emphatically that their photographs should have been printed on milk cartons. Post-delivery stride, Eranga’s hands would clutch at his head, almost by reflex.Later in the day, the ball grew soft, but Eranga’s effort remained undiminished. He had bowled 48 overs at Lord’s – more than any other quick in the attack. In the first innings here, he has sent down more overs, than any bowler, from either team. He also has the best economy rate, at 2.33. Of the six boundaries he has conceded in the innings, four have come off edges. The other two were drives off the front foot. Swinging it away from the right handers, closing the lefties up, off the seam, Eranga begged for a wicket with his body language. His pitch map screamed out for it.England had gunned Sri Lanka down with their wicked, varied arsenal on the opening day, but Eranga’s method was working class to the core. It is not difficult to see why he endures through long, luckless spells better than most. He has done it that way all his life.Growing up in a small fishing town on Sri Lanka’s west coast, Eranga’s father died when he was 10, thinning the family’s already slim resources, to say nothing of the trauma. There were no high-flying cricket leagues for his school, no accredited coaches in the area. He had not even placed in the top five in the pace-bowling contest that earned him his big break.

‘Rangana has a great chance’

A first-innings deficit has not necessarily killed Sri Lanka’s chances in the Test, thanks to a surface that may be given to turn in the second innings, Dimuth Karunaratne said. England lead by 63 runs with four wickets in hand, but a late string of wickets and a touch of variable bounce suggested the pitch was already becoming harder to bat on.

“The first few sessions they batted really well, but if we can get them for under 400, we still have a good chance,” he said. “If we bat well in the second innings, we can put them under pressure. They are batting in the fourth innings, and Rangana Herath can do something.”

A few balls spun hard off the pitch for Herath, including one that turned past Gary Ballance’s blade, raising a raucous appeal, as well as the umpire’s finger. But Ballance would review that decision to find the ball was heading past leg stump.

“I think the wicket will turn in the coming days, because if you saw the lbw shout for Rangana, the projection showed it would turn quite a lot. When England bowl in the third innings, the rough will become more pronounced. Rangana’s got a great chance.”

When he won through to under-23 cricket, Eranga would board a bus in Chilaw before dawn, play a full day’s cricket in Colombo, then return home at close to 11pm. When he played three-dayers, he sometimes repeated this gruelling routine thrice in a row. No easy way to chase a far-off dream. But then, Eranga barely had a choice.Earlier this year, in the UAE, Eranga delivered 130.3 overs inside 21 days, went at 2.64, and averaged less than 30. Then, as at Headingley, his wickets did not so much bring him joy, as they gave him relief. Only when Ian Bell glanced a rare bad ball through to the keeper did Eranga allow himself a smile on Saturday. Taken in isolation, that wicket was a lucky dismissal. Maybe Eranga’s smile was at how comical cricket can be sometimes.At times in the day, other bowlers were wayward from the opposite end. There were no shelled catches off Eranga, but Sri Lanka missed three clear-cut chances and a difficult fourth. At least behind the stumps, Eranga had a kindred soul.Dinesh Chandimal kept faultlessly through the day, with unflagging energy. At the end of almost every over, he would race through to give the bowler a pat on the back, and a few kind words. His attention spread to the fielders as well, as he clapped on at his post, chirping into the evening. In between, he pouched four good catches, including both of Eranga’s scalps.From modest beginnings himself, Chandimal has lost everything in a tsunami, then gone on to cricket acclaim at one of the nation’s top schools, in his own, homespun style. As the Sri Lanka team gradually moves beyond its Colombo-centrism, perhaps more deserving men, who have done it tough, will play for their country. They know a day on their feet at Headingley is no great difficulty, in the grand scheme. It is the staying up, and staying hungry that matters.The few Sri Lankans in the stands will have been lifted toward the close. But the Yorkshire crowd went home happy as well. They watched a local lad hit fifty. Another youngster scored a ton. For Sri Lanka, it was a day of grit. A day of honest work and belated reward. It was a day for their survivors.

Plays of the day from the CLT20 game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings

Rachna Shetty17-Sep-2014The drop
On a track with good bounce and carry, the slip fielders were expected to come into play early. Yusuf Pathan at first slip was in the thick of things in the first over itself, when a slash from Dwayne Smith off Pat Cummins’ bowling came straight to him. Yusuf raised his arms over his head to collect the ball but it got through him and Smith, who was on nought, managed to get off the mark. Fortunately for Yusuf, Smith scored only 20 before falling in the fourth over.The stumping

Manvinder Bisla had played just one game in IPL 2014 but made an impact while replacing Robin Uthappa for this game. In the 13th over, a delivery from Piyush Chawla sneaked between Faf du Plessis’ bat and pad and Bisla was alert to the fact that the batsman had overbalanced and raised his foot in the air for a bit. He whipped off the bails and the umpire ruled in the fielding side’s favour, reducing Super Kings to a shaky 86 for 4.The line call
In the over before Du Plessis’ stumping, there was another close call for Super Kings, which was eventually ruled in favour of Knight Riders. Sunil Narine appealed for an lbw against Suresh Raina after the batsman missed a late cut and was struck on the pad. On-field umpire Kumar Dharmasena gave Raina out but when the third umpire was brought in to check for a no-ball, it seemed as if Narine’s heel was in the air but possibly in front of the crease. It looked tight, and the third-umpire ruled Raina out.The bowling change
A typical Knight Riders innings is always high on drama and Super Kings added a few moments of their own to the mix. Ashish Nehra took two in two to leave Knight Riders gasping at 10 for 2. Mohit Sharma then began his run-up to start the third over but MS Dhoni stopped him and asked him to give the ball to Ishwar Pandey. The umpire said to Dhoni that Mohit would have to continue, having begun his run-up, and by the end of the first ball, Dhoni might have had a word of thanks for the official. Yusuf Pathan poked at an outswinger and du Plessis was only too happy to take the catch at slip.

Seven years back, 22-year-old Manzarul Islam was heading towards a roadside shop on a motorbike to try some . Fate, though, had a cruel plan in store

Devashish Fuloria in Khulna02-Nov-2014, a spicy meat curry is a must in Khulna, I am told. It’s a preparation local to the western part of Bangladesh with the principal ingredient being a fragrant and fibrous plant stem that renders a uniquely piquant flavour to the mutton or beef that it is cooked with. Like in most parts of Bangladesh and West Bengal, it is accompanied with , or rice, that also helps in soaking the heat. I am warned the dish is not meant for weak tummies, but after not being disappointed even once with the food in Bangladesh, I am happy to ignore the warning.Like with most good things, finding the right place to eat means you have to trust the locals’ sense of taste and follow their directions. Such places do not hit you just with a dash of flavour on your tastebuds, they create a story. One needs to follow the trail, take the narrow gullies, walk through the crowds, drive through the empty streets and smell the world’s smells to prepare the senses for the climax. The appetite gets worked with the body wanting the food as much as your brain. It’s all part of the recipe. maintains that allure for the locals, including the numerous cricketers that have come from Khulna. Some say it is food worth dying for. Mashrafe Mortaza, who started playing his first-class cricket in the town, is quite a fan and ensures he makes the trip to the roadside shops when he is in town. On the night of March 16, 2007, one of his closest friends, Manzarul Islam, made a similar trip too, a trip that happened to be his last.Along with his friend Sajjadul Hasan, Manzarul was headed for on a motorbike but lost control and collided with a minibus. At 22, Manzarul was the youngest Test cricketer to die. Sajjadul, also a cricketer from Khulna, died too.Manzarul Islam’s forest green Test cap has been encased in a glass box in his room•Devashish FuloriaThe Bangladesh team received the news of the accident just before their World Cup tie against India, in Trinidad. The team was distraught but Mashrafe picked up four wickets in the match to cause one of the major upsets. He had wanted to win that match for his friend. On March 16, 2012, Bangladesh defeated India again in their Asia Cup tie. Mashrafe was the leader of the bowling there too, with 2 for 44.A promising left-handed batsman who bowled left-arm spin, Manzarul played first-class cricket for Khulna Division along with Mashrafe. After three seasons, he graduated to the international level, making his debut in an ODI against England in 2003.”He was a hard-working cricketer, someone who could bat and bowl,” Dav Whatmore, who was the coach of the Bangladesh side then, said. Manzarul went on to play six Test matches along with the 25 ODIs but could not make a comeback after being dropped in 2006. He came close to playing an international at his home ground that year but could not find a place in the XI. He spent the evening broken and upset at his house near the north-western corner of the ground.Manzarul was the youngest of three brothers but his mother now lives alone in their family home, a short walk from the Sheikh Abu Naser stadium. A narrow concrete road with small, simple houses on either side, all belonging to the extended family, leads to Manzarul’s two-storey house, the last one on the road. Manzarul’s mother receives us at the door and walks us through the house. Right after the verandah entrance is a glassed cabinet with numerous trophies. “Some of them have been burgled,” Manzarul’s mother says before leading us to the first floor, to his son’s bedroom.

Along with his friend Sajjadul Hasan, Manzarul was headed for Chui Jhal on a motorbike but lost control and collided with a minibus. At 22, Manzarul was the youngest Test cricketer to die. Sajjadul, also a cricketer from Khulna, died too

The room with pink walls, two large windows and a double bed is basic but it has been maintained in the state Manzarul left it. There is an autographed bat by the wooden mirror, and there are the parrot green Bangladesh pads with their paint chipping standing on one corner on top of a BCB logo-encrusted cricket kit. There is a Vampire bat next to it followed by a wooden rack that has a row of shoes, all wrapped up in transparent plastic. To the other side is a big chest on top of which are probably Manzarul’s most prized possessions. His two Bangladesh helmets and encased in a glass box, his forest green Test cap. Behind them is a picture of him taken at Lord’s.His mother also brings us an envelope with some old pictures. “I don’t know why I live,” she says. “Two years after my son, his father, too, passed away due to cancer.” The sadness can be felt in her voice but she maintains her composure as she talks. “Mashrafe pays me a visit from time to time. He considers me like his own mother,” she says. One of the regrets that Manzarul had was that he never got to play an international here, she says, before adding that part of the ground was built on their ancestral land.In 2012, the BCB president paid her a visit before the ground’s inaugural Test and asked if she needed anything. “I asked for a stand to be named after my son,” she says. The BCB obliged within two days, naming the stand closest to their house as Manzarul Islam Rana stand. After spending half an hour, we leave quietly. The family’s local friend then takes us to the grave, made on a family plot next to one of their houses. It’s an unassuming mound in an unkempt garden of a deserted house the gate to which is locked. There is no tombstone. Unlike the brightly-painted banner under the double-arched roof of the north-western stand in the stadium, the only marker to the grave is a marble plaque with fading lettering on the outside of the boundary wall. In Bangla, it says –

Stats highlights from the 7th ODI between Sri Lanka and New Zealand in Wellington

Bishen Jeswant29-Jan-2015474 Dismissals effected by Kumar Sangakkara in ODIs, the most by any wicketkeeper. Sangakkara was already the joint highest with Adam Gilchrist before this game, but now holds the record solo after his two catches in this ODI.4 Number of times that Nuwan Kulasekara has taken a wicket with the first ball of the innings. He dismissed Martin Guptill off the first ball of the innings in this ODI, as well as during the fifth ODI of this series. Chaminda Vaas, who has taken eight wickets off the first ball of an ODI innings, is the only bowler to take more such wickets than Kulasekara.21 ODI hundreds scored by Sangakkara, the second-most by a Sri Lankan, going past Tillakaratne Dilshan (20). Sanath Jayasuriya (28) is the only Sri Lankan batsman to score more ODI tons. Sangakkara is fifth on the overall list, after Sachin Tendulkar (49), Ricky Ponting (30), Jayasuriya and Saurav Ganguly (22).7 New Zealand used seven bowlers during the first innings, with each of them conceding more than five runs an over. Corey Anderson was the most expensive, going at 6.55 runs per over in his nine overs, but he did pick up three wickets.6 Number of ODI series that New Zealand have won against Sri Lanka at home. There have been nine series in all, with Sri Lanka winning one and the other two being drawn.1 Instances of Nos. 5 to 9 all making 20-plus scores in the same ODI innings for New Zealand; this is the first time. This has happened five times in all ODIs. The New Zealand batsmen who did this today are Grant Elliott (24), Anderson (29), Luke Ronchi (47), Daniel Vettori (35) and Kyle Mills (30).

Bangladesh will play the role of the underdogs in their World Cup quarter-final against India, but would it stop them from plotting to turn over the applecart? ESPNcricinfo looks at five things they must do to beat India

Mohammad Isam18-Mar-2015Play with underdog freedomBangladesh have very little to lose in their first appearance in a World Cup knockout match. Not many had expected them to qualify for the quarter-finals ahead of the tournament. Beating Afghanistan and Scotland were considered more important than looking further ahead, especially after a dismal 2014. Bangladesh’s goal posts moved as soon as they beat England in Adelaide.Pressure, though, isn’t much on the Bangladesh players. Sure, there is a large media contingent following the team and the madness back home is at an all-time high. But India have it a lot harder, in every sense of the word. Simply put, no team riding a wave as high as India’s would want to lose to a lower-ranked team.Take early India wicketsBangladesh rely heavily on a good start with the ball whether bowling first or second. They have taken at least one wicket in the first ten overs in four out of five group matches. The only time an opening partnership went beyond the first 10 and 20 overs was Sri Lanka’s after Anamul Haque dropped a sitter in the first over at the MCG.Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have had only one substantial partnership, when they added 174 against Ireland. Bangladesh can take heart from the fact that this pair has not batted together for more than 7.3 overs in the other five group matches.Bowl better at the deathIndia’s run rates in different stages of the innings in this World Cup read: 4.65 in the first 10 overs, 5.88 from the 11th to the 40th over and 8.86 in the last 10 overs.Bowling first or second, Bangladesh have to break these scoring trends if they are to have any chance to remain at the same level of contest. They have generally kept the lid on the opposition’s batsmen in the first 10 (4.42) and the next 30 (5.09) overs. But the main danger is the last 10 overs when Bangladesh have conceded at 9.38 runs per over, so anything lesser would be seen as an advantage, particularly if they are bowling first.Handle the short ballIf Bangladesh have been looking at India’s bowling footage, they must have seen Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Mohit Sharma take wickets with bouncers. Shami has used it best, taking the wickets of Younis Khan, Misbah-ul-Haq, Hashim Amla and Chris Gayle, among others. Umesh and Mohit have bowled at sharp pace, particularly when pitching it short.Playing the short ball was one of Bangladesh’s primary concerns before they arrived in Australia in January. Two weeks in Brisbane were not considered sufficient enough to get the batsmen tuned to lengths there but so far only two of their dismissals have been caused by bouncers: Sabbir Rahman and Soumya Sarkar dismissed by Lasith Malinga and Chris Jordan respectively.Remember who they are playingBangladesh players have mentioned it a few times in the past that they find extra motivation when playing against India. Nobody has been able to put a finger on the exact reasons but this has emerged mostly after they won in the 2007 World Cup in Port-of-Spain. They have only won once more, in the 2012 Asia Cup, but the players never stop talking about the excitement of playing against India. Who doesn’t like beating their neighbours?

Rajasthan Royals have extracted the best out of James Faulkner with a well-set role for the allrounder and will continue to hope he can have a bigger impact on the 2015 season

Amol Karhadkar in Pune11-Apr-2015Shane Watson had been ruled out due to a niggle. The stand-in captain, Steven Smith, dazzled for a short while. Mitchell Johnson was at his menacing best, until he went for runs in his last over. The man who tormented Johnson in that one over – 20 runs in the 19th over of the match – and dismissed Glenn Maxwell in his first over was the clear winner of the battle of the world champions at the Maharashtra Cricket Association’s stadium on Friday night.James Faulkner has delivered with the bat and the ball against some of the best teams in the international arena. His Australia team-mates suffered from his onslaught on Friday as he almost single-handedly helped Rajasthan Royals start their IPL 2015 campaign with a comfortable victory against last year’s finalists, Kings XI Punjab.Faulkner appeared to be at his aggressive best. Perhaps because it was the first game he was playing after being adjudged Man of the Match of the World Cup final. Perhaps, it was also the opposition – a team that hadn’t really made the best use of his skills.Even the most hardcore IPL fans tend to forget that before joining Rajasthan Royals in 2013, Faulkner had a stint with Kings XI Punjab and Pune Warriors as a replacement player. He made a solitary appearance for Pune Warriors, bowling two overs against Delhi Daredevils. In 2012, he was roped in by Kings XI but was ignored for most of the season except for two games.Since 2013, however, Royals have extracted the best out of him. His role with the bat and the ball seems to be well-defined and it has shown in the improving results with every passing seasonWith an allrounder, the confidence gained from success in one aspect of play lifts his other strength, too. That happened on Friday with Faulkner as he rescued Royals with the bat. Tottering at 75 for 5, the Royals were in danger of being wrapped up for mediocre total, but Faulkner’s assault on Johnson and co, pulled them out of the hole.That gave him an extra zip to his key strength – death- bowling. After managing to see the back of Maxwell early on in the innings, Faulkner came back at the back end to seal the win for his team with the wickets of George Bailey and Johnson.”When I get some wickets, I don’t worry but I will definitely cop some stick from time to time,” Faulkner said. “Look, that’s the role I have been given, bowling in one-day cricket in Powerplays and in T20 cricket at the back end of the innings.”The game’s funny. There’s going to be times when you get hit out of the attack. There’s going to be times when things go to plan. One might fold the hands like one did tonight. But that’s the game. That’s what we play for. It’s a roller-coaster ride. Hopefully, more often than not, there’s going to be a winning feeling as a team.”Royals would be hoping Faulkner can continue having the same impact over the next six weeks.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from an action-packed one-day international

Alan Gardner at Kia Oval12-Jun-2015The lost ball
Brendon McCullum was not quite as frenetic in the early exchanges as we have come to expect, even defending a delivery in Chris Jordan’s first over. He soon settled in to his work, however, launching a succession of boundaries in the sixth; the first was pulled off a length over mid-on, the second smeared flat to third man for six. The third disappeared off the bat like a baseball home run – and disappeared was the word, as the ball bounced on the concrete of the Peter May stand, out of the ground and away down Clayton Street. A souvenir for a lucky passerby.The helmet half-chance
That barrage came from the first three balls of Jordan’s third over and McCullum made it four consecutive boundaries – though there was a touch of fortune about the last one. Or, perhaps more accurately, a clunk of fortune, as a top-edged pull flew off the helmet and cleared slip. Ben Stokes, standing at second slip, made a move forward, thinking the ball would balloon up, only for it to keep going at a rate of knots and leaving him grasping thin air.The not no-ball
Kane Williamson was moving serenely towards what would have been his seventh ODI hundred – and first against England – when he was rudely interrupted by a Stokes full toss. Williamson swatted at it and the ball came high off the bat and looped to mid-on but, while Stokes celebrated, umpire Tim Robinson was signalling for a no-ball. England had to use a review to get the decision looked at and Bruce Oxenford did not dwell long on his decision, deciding that the delivery was not above waist height and Williamson would have to go.The doffed cap
Late in the innings, with New Zealand closing on 400, Ross Taylor drove the ball firmly but not unstoppably towards Eoin Morgan at mid-off, where a fumble allowed the batsmen to get back for a second. The next delivery was hit in exactly the same direction and this time Morgan got his long barrier working to stop it cleanly. A boozy cheer went up around the ground and Morgan responded by raising his cap in polite acknowledgement.The drop
England had made an encouraging start through Jason Roy and Alex Hales but it should have been stalled from the last ball of the third over. Tim Southee got a delivery to straighten on Roy as he played with an angled bat and an outside edge flew towards Nathan McCullum at second slip. The ball burst through his upturned hands, however, and despite a flailing hand juggling the ball once, he was unable to grab it at the third opportunity as he fell on to his back and contorted his arm around in vain.The closest call
Roy was almost out again shortly after the Powerplay finished but this time it was his own athleticism that saved him. Having squeezed the ball out towards deep midwicket off Nathan McCullum, he took on Mitchell Santner’s arm and looked to be about to lose as a pinpoint throw came in to the keeper. In the fractions of a second it took Luke Ronchi to pouch the ball and break the bails, though, Roy leapt in an arc to bring his bat down over the line to safety by the frame.

Stats highlights from the second day of the Pallekele Test

Bishen Jeswant04-Jul-20151:09

By the Numbers – Azhar surpasses Younis, Yasir joins Warne

3388 Runs scored by Azhar Ali in Tests in the last five years, the most for any Pakistan batsman. He has scored more runs than Misbah-ul-Haq (2933) and Younis Khan (3383).1001 Runs scored by Younis Khan in Sri Lanka, making him the first Pakistan batsman to hit 1000 runs in Sri Lanka. The only other overseas batsman to have scored 1000 Test runs in Sri Lanka is Sachin Tendulkar (1155).9 Years since Younis Khan was last run out in a Test – versus West Indies in Karachi in 2006. He was run out after scoring three runs in the first innings of this Test.6 Times Younis has been run out in Tests, the third most for any Pakistan batsman. The only Pakistan players to be run out more often are Javed Miandad (8) and Wasim Akram (7).7 Consecutive 300-plus first innings scores for Sri Lanka against Pakistan at home before failing to do so today. Sri Lanka were bowled out for 278 in the first innings of this Test.2 Visiting bowlers who have taken three or more five-wicket hauls during a Test series in Sri Lanka – Shane Warne and Yasir Shah. Yasir has taken a five-wicket haul in each of the three Tests this series – 7 for 76 in the first, 6 for 96 in the second and 5 for 78 in the third.10 50-plus scores for Sarfraz Ahmed in Tests, making him the fourth Pakistan keeper to post 10 or more 50-plus scores. The other keepers to do this are Kamran Akmal (18), Moin Khan (18) and Imtiaz Ahmed (14). Sarfraz’s batting average is by far the best among these four.