As Western Australia captain Sam Whiteman stepped up for the media conference on Wednesday ahead of the Sheffield Shield final, he undoubtedly knew the barrage of questions headed his way.A bombshell broke late on Tuesday that WA opener Cameron Bancroft was ruled out of the final against Tasmania after a bike accident left him concussed. It continued a season of adversity for WA, who are striving for their first hat-trick of titles since the late 1980s.Not even the iconic WA team of the 1990s, filled with a slew of players who ended up being Test greats, managed the feat. Only Victoria from 2015-17 have won three in a row during the past 20 years.Related

• Bancroft hospitalised after accident as WA mull a replacement for the final

• Beau Webster, Tasmania's talisman: 'I'm absolutely ready for the next level'

• Bancroft out of Sheffield Shield final due to concussion after bike accident

• 'It's a difficult job' – Gannon prepares for Shield final after a career on the fringe

• Wade to retire from first-class cricket after Sheffield Shield final

It’s obviously something rare and very difficult to achieve as WA can attest to in an injury-hit season. Frontline quicks Jhye Richardson, Lance Morris and Matt Kelly have only played five Shield matches between them and none of them will be available for the final.Having rejuvenated his red-ball career with a century in last season’s final, Ashton Turner has not been available since knee surgery in December.Cameron Green played only two matches, while Mitchell Marsh did not feature in domestic cricket at all this season given his heavy international workload across the formats.WA have often looked worn down and below their best – echoes of Perth Scorchers’ disappointing BBL season – but they found a way to overcome the obstacles and finished the season in peak form with a mishmash of players, unexpectedly clinching a home final with a victory over Victoria at the Junction Oval last week.Jordan Silk and Sam Whiteman pose with the Sheffield Shield trophy at King’s Park in Perth•Getty Images

“It’s been a challenge to get to this year’s final. Last year was pretty much in a straight line, but this year it’s been do or die the last three weeks,” Whiteman said on Wednesday.There’s a gag going around social media that a WA second XI might be the next-best team in the Shield. Of course, that can never be proven, but WA’s depth of talent and their fringe players stepping in seamlessly have them on the cusp of another title.”We’ve used 22 players this year, and I think every one of those players has done their role for the team,” Whiteman said. “You need to get a whole squad to win a Shield. I think that’s the strength of this group.”While WA broke a 23-year title drought in 2022, a triumph here would be the “most satisfying” for Whiteman, who is on the brink of becoming a three-time Shield-winning captain. WA would also become the first team to win a hat-trick of titles in the Shield and Marsh Cup concurrently.”If we get the job done this week, it’s something we can look back on and be really proud of, ” he said. “Leaves a really strong legacy for this group.”Before the media conference started at King’s Park, a popular place for tourists to take photos of Perth’s picturesque surroundings, the burly Shield trophy was already in position for the cameras. Those walking by barely gave it a second glance apart from a person purportedly the relative of a former Test player, who wandered by to take a photo of the trophy.Amid a cool morning breeze, a nod to the changing of seasons in Perth, it was a reminder that the final will be played in relative anonymity in the AFL-mad city.But in Tasmania interest in the match should be high as the Tigers look to end an 11-year drought. George Bailey and Ricky Ponting were their talismen the last time they lifted the trophy, but their star with the bat was Jordan Silk, who as a 20-year-old frustrated Queensland with 108 off 358 balls as Tasmania secured the draw needed at home to clinch their third title.James Faulkner, George Bailey and Ricky Ponting were playing the last time Tasmania won the Sheffield Shield•Getty Images

“I just reflected on it myself. It was really special,” said Silk, who is the only member of that XI playing in this final. “I was really only in the team for a couple of weeks and found myself winning.”So it certainly means a lot more if we win this week because of the journey that I’ve been on and also for a lot of our guys who have been around for quite a while.”With few international players in their squad, Tasmania have enjoyed continuity and were in the box seat of a home final until a final-round slip-up against South Australia at Bellerive Oval.It seemed a costly defeat, with Tasmania faced with the daunting task of the long journey to Perth and confronting WA, who have only lost three matches at the WACA since the start of 2021-22.But one of those defeats was to Tasmania, who also drew a high-scoring match earlier this season on an uncharacteristically flat WACA surface. The pitch in the final is expected to be bowler-friendly although perhaps not as spicy as seen at the WACA since that Tasmania match in October.”We’re really confident in our ability at the moment. I think we’ve strung together a really solid first-class season. The guys should take belief out of that,” Silk said. “We’ve beaten teams on the road this year, and we’ve got a good record in Perth, so we take a lot of confidence from that.”Tasmania will also have the added motivation of Matthew Wade’s red-ball retirement, while they might be able to ride the wave of a sports frenzy bubbling away in the island state. The JackJumpers, their basketball team, are in the NBL grand final while Tasmania’s first AFL team was launched earlier in the week.”It’s been a really good week for Tassie sports,” Silk said. “Hopefully we can add a little bit to that this week. That will be really special.”

The former Australia batter has previously been the head coach for Bangladesh and West Indies

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Apr-2024

Former Australia batter Stuart Law has been appointed as the new head coach of the USA men’s team. His first assignment in charge will be the three-match T20I series at home against Bangladesh before the T20 World Cup in June, for which the USA are co-hosts along with West Indies.”It is an exciting opportunity to join USA cricket at this time. USA is one of the strongest Associate nations in the sport, and I believe that we can mold a formidable squad going ahead,” Law said. “The first task will be to prepare the team for the series against Bangladesh and then set our sights on our home World Cup, which will be huge.””Stuart is one of the most accomplished coaches in the sport. He brings a lot of experience to USA Cricket with his varied assignments, particularly in developing international sides over the years,” USA Cricket chairman Venu Pisike said. “His appointment will only help the team grow to their full potential. We are excited to have Stuart on board just before the World Cup and look forward to lots of successes together.”Law has previously been the head coach for Bangladesh and West Indies, and Sri Lanka and Afghanistan on an interim basis in the past. He has also coached Bangladesh Under-19s. He had led Bangladesh to their first Asia Cup final in 2012.He also had a number of roles in Australia, including batting coach to the national team, a job with CA’s Centre of Excellence, and coaching the Under-19 team.USA will play the three matches against Bangladesh at Prairie View, where they recently beat Canada 4-0 in a T20I series.

Maphaka takes five as South Africa crush Zimbabwe, while Borson and Jibon set up Bangladesh’s win over Nepal

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Jan-2024Australia captain Hugh Weibgen led his side from the front to dismantle England in a rain-hit game in Kimberley. England, who came into the game with just two points and an NRR of -0.08, are now on the brink of elimination.Weibgen made 120 after being sent in and lifted Australia to a competitive 266 for 6 on a tough pitch. He started watchfully along with Harry Dixon after Sebastian Morgan breached Sam Konstas’ defence in the first over.Both Weibgen and Dixon defended firmly and ran quick singles in the powerplay. England had a chance to break the promising stand in the 12th over but Luc Benkenstein dropped Weibgen – on 20 at the time – at backward point off seamer Eddie Jack.Dixon cruised along with Weibgen and reached his fifty in the 20th over. But Theo Wylie, the pick of the England bowlers, had him holed out at deep midwicket right after. Ryan Hicks and Tom Campbell were not quick to get off the blocks but stuck around with Weibgen as Australia moved to 176 for 5 in 38 overs.Weibgen hit a pair of boundaries in the 39th and did the same in the 42nd and brought up his hundred in the 44th. Wylie knocked over Weibgen on return but Raf MacMillan smacked two fours and a six in a 20-run final over that carried Australia to 266.England started positively, hitting ten fours and a six in the first 57 balls but also lost four wickets to a red-hot Callum Vidler. They were reeling at 60 for 4 in the tenth over when lightning and rain forced the players off the field.The revised target, after a 140-minute break, was a daunting 215 off 24 overs. So England needed another 155 from 87 balls. But Tom Straker and MacMillan took five wickets in the next six overs to flatten them. Campbell finished off the game by dismissing Tazeem Ali in the 17th over.

Borson, Jibon help Bangladesh take down Nepal

Ariful Islam and Rohanat Doullah Borson celebrate Akash Chand’s wicket•ICC/Getty Images

Medium-pacer Rohanat Doullah Borson and offspinner Sheikh Paevez Jibon shared seven wickets to set up Bangladesh’s five-wicket win over Nepal in Bloemfontein.After opting to bat, Nepal did not have a great start and lost three wickets for just 29 runs. Captain Dev Khanal and Bishal Bikram KC stabilised the innings by adding 62 off 115 balls for the fourth wicket. The stand was broken when Jishan Alam dismissed Khanal for 35.Bikram and Gulsan Jha had steered the side to 121 for 4 when Jibon triggered a collapse that had Nepal losing five wickets in 21 runs. He dismissed Jha and Dipak Bohara in his successive overs before Borson cleaned up Bikram, for 48, and the tail. Despite the last wicket adding 27, Nepal were all out for 169 on the penultimate ball of their innings.Nepal’s hopes of a comeback were dashed by Alam, who raced to 55 off just 43 balls at the top of the order. After he got out, Ariful Islam took over and smashed an unbeaten 59 off 38 to take Bangladesh over the line in the 26th over.For Nepal, offspinner Subash Bhandari made regular strikes and took all five wickets that Bangladesh lost but there were not enough runs on the board.

Maphaka takes five as South Africa crush Zimbabwe

Kwena Maphaka took 5 for 34•ICC/Getty Images

Left-arm quick Kwena Maphaka picked up 5 for 34, including three of the top four batters, as South Africa crushed Zimbabwe in the Super Sixes of the Under-19 World Cup. Maphaka’s spell helped bundle Zimbabwe out for 102, with the hosts’ top order hunting down the target in less than 14 overs.Zimbabwe were reduced to 16 for 4 at the start of the fifth over, and three of those wickets had gone to Maphaka. He had struck first in the third over of the innings, removing both Brandon Sunguro and Campbell Macmillan without scoring. That is when Ronak Patel and Ryan Kamwemba got down for a repair job with a half-century stand.But right-arm quick Tristan Luus ensured that partnership didn’t last too long, as he started the 16th over by dismissing Ronak for a better-than-a-run-a-ball 32, which included five boundaries. Four balls later, Luus struck again to get the opposition captain Matthew Schonken for a duck. That started another slide for Zimbabwe, who lost 6 for 33 in a middle and lower-order collapse.Maphaka returned to nab two lower-order wickets, as he and Luus wrapped the tail up.South Africa’s chase got off to a flyer, with openers Lhuan-dre Pretorius and Steve Stolk pumping boundaries regularly. The first four overs fetched 42, while the powerplay ended with 86 runs already getting knocked off. Next ball, Anesu Kamuriwo got Stolk for 37, but Pretorius continued in a hurry, getting to his fifty off 38 balls to end the 12th over.Come the 14th over, David Teeger hit the winning runs, as South Africa won with plenty to spare. The victory put South Africa at second place in Group 2, with the margin of victory giving their net run rate a massive boost.

CSK are yet to win an away game this IPL and their next two matches are on the road

Srinidhi Ramanujam13-Apr-20242:57

Moody’s advice to CSK:’ Deny Bumrah wickets’

Match detailsMumbai Indians (P5 W2 L3 7th) vs Chennai Super Kings (P5 W3 L2 3rd)
Mumbai, 7.30pm IST (2pm GMT)Big pictureIt’s the IPL’s biggest rivalry. At the Wankhede Stadium. On a double-header Sunday. But has the rivalry mellowed down this time? Possibly because it’s the first time in over a decade the CSK-Mumbai game will not witness Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni as captains, as Hardik Pandya and Ruturaj Gaikwad have taken over at the helm. So, what’s in store in this new era?Two away games and two losses. It’s a small sample size, but CSK are yet to post a win away from home in this IPL. After winning three out of five games, they now go on the road – the first stop is Mumbai and then Lucknow – before going back to Chepauk after 15 days. Can they be at home, away from home, when they meet a strong host?Mumbai, though, registered two wins in a row after succumbing to three straight defeats. The turnaround was possible due to their strong batting performances. Their top six batters strike at more than 147 each and this firepower reflected in their scores of 234 for 5 and 199 for 3 in their last two games, which were played at the Wankhede Stadium. With Suryakumar Yadav finding his feet sooner than later with a 19-ball 52 in his second game after returning from injury, Mumbai’s line-up is looking solid again.However, the same cannot be said of the bowling group. Barring Jasprit Bumrah, Mumbai’s bowlers have been guilty of going for plenty of runs. They have been expensive at the death, especially, going at 12.31 runs an over – the third-most runs leaked by any team thus far in this IPL (before the Punjab Kings vs Rajasthan Royals game on Saturday).CSK would also want to tighten their bowling. In their two away losses in Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad, their bowlers struggled for early wickets. There’s still uncertainty surrounding their pace mainstay Matheesha Pathirana’s participation. Against a dangerous Mumbai side on a seam-friendly surface, CSK will be expecting the likes of Mustafizur Rahman and Deepak Chahar to do the bulk of damage.Related

CSK-Mumbai rivalry enters new era

'I am six foot three, 100 kgs' – Mitchell is easing himself into Rayudu's role at CSK

Form guideMumbai WWLLL (most recent match first)
CSK WLLWWTeam news and Impact Player strategyMumbai Indians
Mumbai opted to bring in Shreyas Gopal as the like-for-like replacement for Piyush Chawla in their last game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru. A fit and firing Suryakumar could be used as an Impact Player, swapping for fast bowler Akash Madhwal.Likely XII: 1 Ishan Kishan (wk), 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 , 4 Hardik Pandya (capt), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Tim David, 7 Mohammad Nabi, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Shreyas Gopal, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Gerald Coetzee, 12 Chennai Super Kings
Matheesha Pathirana did some bowling before CSK’s previous game against Kolkata Knight Riders at home but didn’t feature as a precautionary measure. Coach Stephen Fleming is hopeful of having his death-bowling specialist back for Sunday’s game or next Friday’s clash against Luckow Super Giants. While Mustafizur, who had to leave for home to work on getting a US visa, returned to the XI at Chepauk, Chahar had missed that match with a niggle. He might return to the team against Mumbai, if he’s fit.Likely XII: 1 Ruturaj Gaikwad (capt), 2 Rachin Ravindra, 3 Ajinkya Rahane, 4 , 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Sameer Rizvi, 8 MS Dhoni (wk), 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Tushar Deshpande, 11 Matheesha Pathirana/Maheesh Theekshana, 12 1:48

Who will be CSK’s key batter in Mumbai?

In the spotlight – Bumrah and ChaharJasprit Bumrah is fresh off a five-wicket haul against RCB and has been phenomenal in containing the batters. He is the only Mumbai player to have an economy rate under six this IPL and he has claimed seven of his ten wickets in three innings at the Wankhede, at a stunning economy rate of 5.75. In an otherwise misfiring bowling unit, Mumbai will once again rely on Bumrah, the most experienced fast bowler in the attack, to keep CSK quiet, especially at the death.For CSK, how Deepak Chahar performs in the powerplay will be key to their success. At the Wankhede, he has fared well in the first six overs, picking up ten wickets in ten games at an economy rate of 7.59. Chahar is also the only player who hasn’t played for Mumbai Indians to have taken wickets in double digits in this phase at Wankhede. With four wickets in four matches this season, can Chahar step up against the likes of Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav?1:25

McClenaghan: The Wankhede conditions will suit Ravindra

Stats that matter Shivam Dube’s IPL strike rate is as low as 111.97 at the Wankhede, his home ground in domestic cricket. CSK have the third-best death-overs economy rate (9.85) in IPL 2024 so far, with Mumbai at 12.31, the third-worst in the same phase. Mumbai have bowled a total of 173 dot balls, the second-fewest for a team this season. Kishan’s strike rate this IPL is 182.95 so far, his best in any IPL season.Pitch and conditionsIn the last match, Hardik Pandya termed the venue as a “chasing ground” – two of the three matches in this IPL were won by the teams batting second. After a low-scoring opening game in which Rajasthan Royals chased down 126, Wankhede has been a batting paradise, with a total of 834 runs hit in the next two games. One can expect another high-scoring match on Sunday. The surface has also assisted pacers traditionally.Quotes”Everyone thinks about hitting offspinners, when they come into the attack. Even I have the same mentality as a batter – to try and hit at least two sixes against offspin. I use that mentality while bowling and try prevent myself from getting hit. If there is no turn, I try to attack batters and pick up wickets.”
“Ruturaj is as cool as it gets; I know the last captain was pretty cool and this guy is cut from the same cloth. He is such an impressive young man around his game and what he needs to do. He is unfairly put into a bracket where he is called slow but you need to have context to some of these stats. The last game was a great example of how a leader plays.”

Ajit Wadekar, the former Indian captain, and Madhav Gothoskar, the former Indian umpire look back at some of their fond memories from India-England encounters

Sriram Veera24-Feb-2006Ajit Wadekar

That 1972-73 series against England hung in the balance with both sides tied 1-1 as we entered the Madras Test. As the game entered the fourth evening, Mike Denness starred with a fine 76 to set us a small target of 86. I walked in after Farokh Engineer fell early to Chris Old, and slashed at an outswinger to trigger the controversy. The ball flew fast and low to first slip where Tony Greig stooped low to catch it. It had all happened in a flash and I was not sure whether it was a clean catch. Also, Greig was a guy who liked to win by any means and since I didn’t see it clearly, I stood my ground, waiting for the umpire to rule me out.Ahmad Mamsa was the umpire and he must also not have seen it properly. When he didn’t signal me out, Greig created a huge fuss. He ran from first slip, all the way to where Mamsa stood, uttering four-letter words and carrying on with his bullying act. Alan Knott threw his gloves down, and a few other English players also carried on. Mamsa then walked across to square leg to consult with his colleague Nagendra. From where he stood, Nagendra must have had a clear view and he conveyed to Mamsa that the catch had been taken cleanly. Mamsa then declared me out and I walked back. We went on to win, with Salim Durrani hitting a six to take us home in style.Donald Carr, the MCC manager, personally expressed his regret to members of the Indian board for the anger shown by Greig and others when the decision was delayed.Madhav Gothoskar

I made my debut in the third Test of the 1972-73 MCC tour at Kanpur. However, the incident involving Geoff Arnold and Tony Lewis occurred at Bangalore in a South Zone v MCC match in January. In those days, umpires were introduced in a tour game before they stood in Test matches. South Zone were led by S Venkatraghavan and had Nawab of Patuadi and Brijesh Patel in their ranks. Arnold was bowling and I don’t know why he did it, but at one point, he used four-letter words against the Indians and the country as well.I went to Lewis, the MCC captain, and told him that I wouldn’t tolerate insults against my country, whereupon Lewis took Arnold out of the attack. At some point during the day, during a drinks break, Lewis approached me and said that English people have a habit of using foul words casually quite often. I then told him in humorous manner that when there is another organ for that particular action, why use his mouth?Just before close of play, Lewis looked at me and I nodded. Arnold then bowled the last over of the day. I reported the matter in writing to Mr Chinnaswamy, the vice president of umpires’ commission.At Kanpur, in my first Test and the fourth match of that series, there was an lbw appeal from Tony Greig against Sunil Gavaskar. After I had negated it, Gavaskar apparently commented quietly that I was his uncle – because he was Gavaskar and I was Gothoskar. Afterwards, Tony Lewis asked me whether I am really related to Gavaskar. I asked him why, and he told me that the last names were Gavaskar and Gothoskar. Then I told him that there were so many “Kars” in that team – Wadekar, Parkar, Solkar – and was I uncle to all of them? I told him that in that case, Sid Buller, the English umpire, and Keith Miller should also be related.In the same match, Nawab of Patuadi was beaten neck-and-crop and bowled, and the ball went to the boundary. But I had called it a no-ball and the tall Greig leant towards me (unfortunately, I don’t have the photograph with me now) and exclaimed: “Oh God! Why did you call it a no ball?” I told him, “Had you told me you were about to beat him neck-and-crop, I wouldn’t have called”.I umpired in the next Test at Mumbai as well. When Gundappa Vishwanath scored his century, Greig lifted him and cradled him like a baby, singing a lullaby. When Greig then scored a hundred, Gavaskar called Vishy and they both tried to lift Greig. Of course, they couldn’t!

Lara may have just broken Border’s record, but to measure his greatness one must turn to many other greats

Vaneisa Baksh26-Nov-2005

Brian Lara acknowledges the cheers after breaking Allan Border’s record. © Getty Images
The latest Brian Lara record was achieved by overtaking Allan Border’s tally of 11,174 Test runs, but it is not to Border one must turn to measure the epic stature of the feat. Passing Border’s record was all but inevitable from the time Lara appeared in cricket’s saga with the classic 277 at Sydney. This was going to be an epic journey of the proportions of an odyssey. As his footprints mark a long and complex trail that will soon turn homeward bound for what might be his last stand in the 2007 World Cup, he has left deep imprints on the game, revealing the weight of the burdens he’s carried on his quest.From childhood, he had imagined himself a cricketer of the world, a steadfast cause. On April 5, 2000 shortly after he’d resigned as captain of West Indies, he told David Ellis of that his goal was “to be the best or one of the best batsmen of the nineties, and maybe one of the best batsmen of the 21st century.”Despite the debates provoked by claims to that stature, he has etched his name alongside the greats of cricket history, and whatever the disputes in ranking, he will remain one of the elite. In five overs on the second day’s play of the third Test at Adelaide, Lara became the game’s leading run-scorer. At 213, a single off Glenn McGrath, his old bogeyman, broke the record, and it was fitting that it should be against one of the finest bowlers of his time. McGrath was responsible for his wicket at 226, leaving the new mark at 11,187.We have seen spirit and grace when Lara walks and finesse and mastery when he stands. Lara’s innings do not begin at high noon as Neville Cardus said of Frank Worrell’s; they harbour the tentativeness of a night person greeting dawn’s piercing rays. Yet, as that first cup of coffee can make everything right, so when he gets started it is high noon till sundown.

A guard of honour for Brian Lara after he made 400 against England at Antigua © Getty Images
Figures present a framework, but not all the material required for holistic appraisal. His numbers alone could tell the tale of batting that knows no end; of Waugh will and Ntini stamina occasionally camouflaged by Inzy-like girth that suggested easy life rather than athlete’s rigour. Let’s consider them for a bit.Restrict them to those who’ve scored more 30 Test centuries: Sachin Tendulkar (34), Sunil Gavaskar (34), Steve Waugh (32) and Lara (31). Just for perspective, because you really need it here, add Don Bradman (29), the man whose record has the most significance now for Lara. All these hundreds do not reveal accurately what they built innings after innings. (I’d always wondered why in cricket a batsman is allocated one century per innings even if he has scored two or three.)In this small group, Lara has shown the most consistent capacity for the big hundred, second to only Bradman. In Tendulkar’s 34, four reached 200 and 14 more than 150, adding up to 5196 runs. In Gavaskar’s 34, four reached 200, and 12 more than 150, adding up to 4802 runs. In Waugh’s 32, he made 200 once, and 14 times crossed 150, adding up to 4342 runs. In Lara’s 31, eight crossed 200, and 18 more than 150, adding up to 5431 runs. For some last century perspective, Don Bradman crossed 200 on 12 occasions, with 18 scores, nearly two thirds, over 150. His 29 centuries tallied 5393 runs. Bradman possessed the courage, stamina, concentration and will to construct mammoth innings: characteristics of the epic hero with absolute focus.Born on May 2, 1969 in the village of Cantaro in Santa Cruz, the young Lara tirelessly practised strokes. His family reported that at three, he was batting at marbles. In his book, , he reveals the single-mindedness of his pursuit, a common trait with superlative performers. “When the others grew tired and went home and there was no one else to play with I used to play my own Test matches on the porch of our house, using a broom handle or a stick as the bat and a marble as the ball. I would arrange the pot plants to represent fielders and try to find the gaps as I played my shots.”This kind of focus typifies the relationship formed by super-achievers with their disciplines. The intensity of their encounters comes from an obsessive desire to master performance, to understand its internal structures, and a feeling that to engage it is the most beloved activity. Given his notions of mastery, he staked his claim dominantly on April 18, 1994 at the Antigua Recreation Ground against England. Lara’s innings of 375 broke the world record that had been established 36 years before by Garry Sobers, the 365 against Pakistan in Kingston in 1958.

Brian Lara celebrates the famous victory against Australia in Barbados. He scored an unbeaten 153 © Getty Images
To make the highest individual Test score, Lara had faced 538 balls and hit 45 boundaries in an innings lasting 766 minutes. He had given warning in Sydney of the potential with the 277, which Sobers wrote could easily have been the record breaker, except that his luck ran out. “When I wrote my autobiography . “I based that on the theory that one-day cricket was producing a type of batsman who is less capable of playing a long innings. There were few batsmen around, I said, with the necessary concentration to stay at the crease for ten hours or more and aim for a score of 300 plus.”Lara had shown the discipline and the concentration to build big scores. Shortly after Antigua’s record-breaking performance, he took off for England to pick up his new £40,000 contract with Warwickshire. In his debut on April 29, 11 days after the Antiguan spectacle, Lara scored 147 against Glamorgan. By May 23, he had collected five first-class centuries in a row, and another world record for consecutive first-class centuries was in sight. He missed it when he was out for 26 at Lord’s, but in the second innings he recovered enough to make 140 off 147 balls. The next month, he broke the first-class individual record with 501 runs at Edgbaston. He had become the first player to score seven centuries in eight first-class innings. Ten years later, he would regain his Test record with 400 not out in Antigua again.After 1995, he teetered on the edge of greatness. Stardom brought controversy, and conflicts shadowed his every move, all under the glare of media spotlights. He did not perform well during the Australian tour of the Caribbean in 1995, and the visitors ended the West Indies’ 20-year victory spell over them with a 2-1 win. Following this deflating series West Indies went on tour of England amid widespread reports of strained relations between Lara and the captain Richie Richardson.Superstar status, acrimony with administrators, and a drift away from the centre of his cricket made him declare cricket was “ruining my life.” Long dry spells punctuated by flashes of brilliance led him to resign the captaincy he’d held for only two years as he struggled for form.

The first signs of a genius: Brian Lara’s maiden century – 277 at Sydney © Getty Images
Sri Lanka could not have seemed a likely place for resurrection. He went on that tour with concern over the hamstring injury that had plagued him since the England tour of 2000. That same injury had flared up at crucial moments in Tests in between, and seemed to frustrate him by its doggedness despite medical interventions. Yet, from the first innings of the first Test at Galle when he scored 178, Lara squared his shoulders, as George Headley must have done when he too carried the weight of West Indies, and fashioned a series of spectacular innings. His performances were particularly poignant as they emphasized the solitude of his task amidst his flailing, falling teammates.Perhaps it was the challenge still resonating in the Caribbean air from Bob Simpson’s insistence little more than a week before that Lara could not be called great because he was inconsistent. Simpson had dismissed Lara’s world records as being unworthy in the face of weak opponents and the sledging and the furore it invoked provided the right fire. Lara had told young cricketers training at the Shell Cricket Academy that sledging lifts his game. “You can’t come out here and talk to me like that,” he’d warned. The Australian’s Andrew Ramsey recently reported that Ricky Ponting taunted Lara for batting slow early in his innings during the Adelaide Test in 2001.”From that moment on he just smashed us,” Ponting said. “After the game he came into our dressing rooms and said to me ‘thanks very much’, to which I replied ‘what do you mean?’ And he told me that’s the way he likes to go about it, to face a certain amount of balls before he starts playing his shots.”Ramsey referred to Lara as “sublimely gifted but emotionally erratic,” a label easily affixed unless underlying layers are examined. CLR. James, writing in of WG Grace, had noted: “Like all truly great men, he bestrides two ages.” The great West Indian teams of the past had always had a balanced blend of experience and precocious youngsters. From the end of the eighties and into the nineties, a large proportion of the experience was abruptly removed when players such as Richards, Haynes, Greenidge and Marshall left. Gone was the blend, gone were the synergies that had developed between bowling pairs, batting partners and fielders. The bridge between the old and new had collapsed into a sea of amnesia, cutting the youngsters adrift from their past, and effectively turning them into orphans.Lara had been thrown up at this convulsive time in the social order. While his front foot was firmly pointed in the direction of the new, global outlook, his back foot still carried an imprint of the traditional West Indian world. He has straddled both worlds, like WG Grace he bestrides two ages, and within this complex role he has often been misunderstood and vilified. As he holds this new record, one can ask: what next for Lara? Alexander the Great had wept at the prospect of no new worlds to conquer.After his first world record Ian McDonald wrote: “To have a dream come true is one of the saddest things that can happen to anyone.” It is what Lara must have discovered ten years ago as he struggled to find another dream. At this point in his life, it might be the right time to dream of Bradman.

Nobody made the game look better and few ever played it better than Brian Lara

Rahul Bhattacharya20-Apr-2007Brian Lara, maker of epics, will bat one last time on Saturday. As ever, man and batsman, leader and performer, will take stage together in familiar conflict. Appointed captain a third time specifically for the Caribbean World Cup, he had some encouraging success with the one-day side but ultimately leaves behind this botched campaign as his final mark. Humiliation still fresh in their minds, but still the momentousness of the exit of the most brilliant batsman of his time before their eyes, West Indians will be divided. To savour him one last time or blame him one last time?Always it has been so with Lara. I stumbled across an article from many years ago by BC Pires in Jamaica. To the Jamaican taxi driver the issue of Lara was clear: “‘im like a child, like my likka son at home: ‘im want captaincy, ‘im must get captaincy; ‘im wan’ to bat at number five, ‘im must bat at number five; ‘im don’t want captaincy any more, ‘im t’row it back; ‘im don’t wan’ play, ‘im don’ play, ‘im never care if the team need ‘im. No, bredren, West Indies parform better without him.”I also came across a short note on the message boards of caribbeancricket.com minutes after the understated announcement of retirement. “My hero since I was a very young boy. I’ve followed his career since de afro days at Fatima. Missed classes to watch him bat. This is a sad day for me.”It is for me too, because Lara’s batsmanship was the greatest pleasure I derived out of cricket in the last two decades along with the bowling of Wasim Akram and I could have watched the game if they alone played it in the field. Lara batted with sensual beauty and gluttonous appetite. To watch him move into position was to already understand the possibilities of this game. To study his figures was to marvel the scope of his conception. He made the most runs in an over, an innings, a career. Anything anyone did he did bigger. Can you imagine someone making five hundred runs at one shot?Nobody twinkled his feet so and angled his blade so and keep hitting gaps like Lara, an intuition sharpened in childhood when he arranged pots as fielders to practise. In 2003 a man at deep midwicket was taken out and put beside another behind point. This comes from Adam Gilchrist in a couple of seasons ago. “Mistake,” hissed Lara. Next ball Lara lofted to midwicket for six. Gilchrist taunted Lara to take on the two men behind point instead. Lara strung it between them for four. Next ball was straighter, Lara backed away and strung it through again. Best remain silent now, Gilchrist then decided. This was to demonstrate precision of his skill. But I particularly liked “mistake”. ‘You don’t know what I can do?’ was the strut. That is the Lara motif.The ambitions of his mind as much as the liquidity of his movements have been of fascination. A colleague from junior cricket told me about the time Lara the boy would come knocking at the door early in the morning every week when they published the averages, brandish the paper in his face with a great satisfied smirk and be off on his way to practice. When he was performing the improbable task of continuously taking apart Muttiah Muralitharan in Sri Lanka

Nobody could pack so much drama, meaning in every shot of cricket. Consequently nobody could so illuminate the point that this is a sport of such independent events, of an infinite number of worlds

in 2001, his likely successor Ramnaresh Sarwan, unable to summon such mastery, watched in awe from the other end. ‘Just watch how I do it,’ Lara is said to have advised Sarwan, testament to both the man’s ego and his genius.Five years ago after a fair chase I did a satisfying interview with him. He told me a little story behind the 153 not out against Australia, perhaps his defining work in a career full of defining works. You remember the scenario, pay dispute, 0-5 in South Africa, 51 all out in the first Test, and then the brilliant double-hundred to level the series before the classic Test at Bridgetown. A school friend, Nicholas Gomez, had presented him a Michael Jordan book. In it Jordan had spoken about his visualisation techniques. “I remember calling Gomez at six o’clock in the morning, the last morning of the Test match, and we went about planning this innings against the best team in the world.” This was Lara’s focus upon arousal, and if it deserted him he always found it back, and in the waxing and waning there was something reassuringly cyclical as it was frustrating.Seven years on from that Australia series came another contract dispute, and Lara among others was dropped for endorsing the wrong corporate. When he returned, 36 years old now, he walked out at 13 for 2 in the opening hour against South Africa, having not played a Test for seven months. He made 196; the next highest score was 35. Thirteen days later he emerged at 12 for 2, soon to become 12 for 3, again on the first morning, and made 176 from 224 balls out of 296. West Indies were drubbed in both Tests. To test the point that Lara inhibits the rest of the team, he was dropped for the following one-dayers against Pakistan. West Indies lost all matches. Back for the Tests, Lara now walked out at 25 for 2 – for a third time, in the opening hour of the match – and struck 130 from 120 balls , this the most sublime of the lot.Lara tees off against Harbhajan Singh in Trinidad last year•Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty ImagesHe bows out now in a one-day match but it was not his preferred stage. Though his magical wrists, his intuition for gaps, his talent at going aerial were all suited to one-day cricket, not so the scale. The canvas was too small. Lara was of odysseys. He liked to get in, bat one, two days, score two, three, four hundred runs. Before such calibre, the limitations of one-day cricket were too petty.Even so he was for a time – early in his career, when he batted always in the top four, rather than five or six where he has spent much of his last stint as captain – about the finest limited-overs batsman in the world too. He took 41 matches to get his first hundred. Then he added another ten in the next 70. His average passed 47. Those were the days of the mid-Nineties when the world of cricket turned for Brian Lara. All he touched turned to runs. Then came the slump, and while he regained his genius in Test matches, it wasn’t ever quite the same in one-day cricket. The same appetite he could not bring to the short form and many a potential masterpiece was sawn off. In the past eleven innings alone he has had scores of 44, 31, 37, 37, 21 and 33.But every now and then the brilliance shone through. His last one-day century, the only one in three years, was 156 against Pakistan at Adelaide last season. The final 57 balls of that innings brought 106 runs. It was a stunning reminder of his destructive potential and reminiscent particularly of his Sharjah blitz against Sri Lanka a decade ago when he had gone from 100 to 169 in 29 deliveries.Having been unlucky in that way, it is from a one-day match that I have the best memories of watching Lara live. This was in Trinidad last year. The position was carefully determined so as to find the most unfettered view of that great big glittering backlift and wind-up. We settled somewhere between wide long-off and extra cover. Till he closed the issue with triumphant sixes off Harbhajan Singh, he played an innings of hard grit. So it was an hour or two of watching him size it up and really it was all I wanted to watch.There comes a point in the Lara wind-up when all the game seems frozen. He is bent climatically at the knees, bat, as the cliché’ has it, raised like a guillotine, eyes trained down the pitch and, surely, given his knack for reading of spin and swing, at the bowler’s wrist. Insofar as the life of a cricket stroke goes, this is the fatal moment, the hairline between death, glory and a day at the office. It is perhaps not normal to think of cricket shots in those terms. Yet nobody could make the spectator more alive to these possibilities. Nobody could pack so much drama, meaning in every shot of cricket. Consequently nobody could so illuminate the point that this is a sport of such independent events, of an infinite number of worlds. Nobody, for better or for worse, could so strongly confirm that this here is the ultimate individual sport played by a team.Nobody made the game look better and few ever played it better. So look hard on Saturday because we may not see the likes of this again and if we do we can think back to Lara and smile.

Hugh Massingberd reviews

Hugh Massingberd24-Dec-2006Wisden Anthology 1978-2006: Cricket’s Age of Revolution Edited by Stephen Moss (Wisden, hb, 1309pp) £40

Buy it from Cricshop

In one of the chatty asides thatenliven this ambitious anthologyStephen Moss remarks: “‘FromNorman Preston to Atomic Kitten’would I think, be quite an engaging- and evocative – title for thisvolume.” Preston presided over theAlmanack in a period when, as Mossnotes, Wisden “could never quiteunderstand why South Africa hadbeen excluded from internationalcompetition” and “when the sportwas deemed to have some godlikequality that should not bebesmirched by controversy, self interest,or money”. As for AtomicKitten, m’lud, you will recall theywere the pop group who performedat Trent Bridge during theinaugural Twenty20 Cup finals day.Certainly this jeu d’espritwould have been preferable to theponderous subtitle Cricket’s Ageof Revolution. My heart sank whenthe editor spelt out the publisher’sbrief in his preface: “to make thisnot just a compendium of facts andfigures, a jumble of memories, buta coherent picture of a sport thathas been transformed in the past30 years. Like the game itself, thebook must be fun – but fun with apurpose”. In the event the fun andjumble of memories are plenty tobe going on with. So many of the’issues’ have acquired an awfulstaleness.Richie Benaud’s foreword, apaean to Kerry Packer, is a caseof history being written by thevictors. I preferred his pithy tallyof Tests he has witnessed and hisappreciation of Keith Miller, “whomanaged to be a great cricketerand a star at the same time”.Yet it would be churlish notto cheer Wisden coming off thefence upon which the craven ICChas placed itself over Zimbabwe.Tim de Lisle described theblack armband protest byHenry Olonga and AndyFlower as “a shining momentin the game’s history” and thecurrent editor Matthew Engelhas been a noble advocate of’Don’t play cricket with monsters’.Among the well-chosenillustrations I was struck by thephotograph of Michael Holdingkicking down the stumps after anappeal was turned down duringWest Indies’ fractious tour of NewZealand in 1979-80. The captioncontains the withering phrase “latera respected TV commentator”.I also found my blood pressureshooting up when reading MartinJohnson’s essay on David Gowerbelow – the best thing in the book- in accord with his contention that”it is a matter more for anger thansadness that he was prematurelylost to the game”.Gooch and’sergeant-major’ Stewart (MJ)should surely never be forgivenfor curtailing Gower’s Test careerand it nettled me that Moss shouldcategorise the bewigged press-upbore as a “great” batsman aboveGower, who incidentally has ahigher Test average than Goochie.The row over Gower’s exclusionis a surprising omission, as isthe absence of any reference toAlistair Brown’s amazing 268 in aC&G game against Glamorgan, aworld record that has not receivedremotely enough recognition. Butthis indefatigable editor has donea splendid job. He has an acute eyefor the quirky detail (such as PatsyHendren wearing a helmet, madeby his wife, in the 1930s) and a nicesense of humour. How right he is togive the lie to that absurd phrase”out without troubling the scorers”.There is immense pleasure to behad from these pages. My favouritepieces include John Woodcock’swell-rounded assessment of EWSwanton; Mike Brearley’s perceptiveanalyses of Alan Knott and JohnArlott (as Moss observes, Brearleycould have been one of the greatcricket correspondents); DonaldWoods’ study of the black playersignored by South Africa; andDavid Hopps’ affectionate tributeto Nancy Doyle, the Lord’s cook.The obituaries linger long in thememory – Colin Milburn, who was28 when he lost his eye, and BenHollioake, who died, as Moss puts it,”unbearably young”, aged 24.

Following Shivnarine Chanderpaul’s heroics, Cricinfo looks back at similar one-day thrillers

Kanishkaa Balachandran03-Aug-2006

Javed Miandad – Pakistan v India, Australasia Cup final, Sharjah, 1986
The most legendary of them all. Nobody could have scripted a better climax – a tournament final between India and Pakistan, four needed off the last ball, and a rampaging Javed Miandad fighting a lone battle. Chasing 246, Pakistan lost their ninth wicket with five runs needed to win, as Tauseef Ahmed joined Miandad, unbeaten with a dogged century. Chetan Sharma, who bowled the final over, dished out a slow, friendly full toss on leg stump which Miandad spanked over the square leg almost on his knees. His wild celebrations with Tauseef sent one nation into a frenzy and the other into a state of paralysis. It was Pakistan’s first victory in a one-day tournament, and its psychological impact on India was palpable for years, in contests between the two rivals.Lance Klusener – South Africa v New Zealand, Napier, 1998-99
This was a prelude to Klusener’s heroics in the World Cup. Chasing 193, South Africa needed 11 off the final over from Dion Nash with two wickets in hand. New Zealand drew first blood with Mark Boucher skying the ball straight to the fielder at midwicket, but significantly, the batsmen crossed. With ten still required, Klusener bludgeoned the third ball to the backward point fence. Two singles later, Klusener was back on strike for the last ball with four required. Nash’s attempted yorker went totally haywire, as Klusener duly smashed it over the long-on boundary. A dejected Nash failed to exorcise the ghosts of the previous year, when his attempt at guiding his team home in another thriller, in Brisbane, was foiled by a running catch at the boundary by none other than – you guessed it – Klusener.Asif Mujtaba – Pakistan v Australia, Hobart, 1992-93
Another typical Pakistan heart-stopper, this time off Asif Mujtaba’s bat. Needing 17 to win off the final over, Mark Taylor tossed the ball to the `Iceman’ Steve Waugh, whose famous last-over spells became a part of World Cup folklore during their successful campaign in 1987. Mujtaba lived up to his own reputation as a finisher, and paid scant respect to Waugh’s, carting the ball at will, with a last-ball six to level the scores. Technically, there was no winner, but the moral victory was certainly Pakistan’s.Brendan Taylor – Zimbabwe v Bangladesh, Harare, 2006
This time the minnows possessed the license to thrill. With Zimbabwe requiring an astronomical 28 off the last two overs, Brendan Taylor and Tawanda Mupariwa caused a few tremors in the penultimate over, taking 11 runs off it. The final over from Mashrafe Mortaza had it all – a six off the second ball by Taylor, a single which was refused, a run-out, a one-handed swish to midwicket for a boundary. With five required off the last ball, a six seemed the only option, as Taylor sent the home crowd into raptures with a lofted six over midwicket.
The one that got away – Australia v New Zealand, World Series Cup, Melbourne,1980-81
New Zealand were one big hit away from – a tie – but the thought of No.11 Brian McKechnie slamming Trevor Chappell into the stands of the world’s biggest ground was too much for his elder brother and captain Greg Chappell to take. What followed was one of the most controversial incidents ever witnessed on a cricket field. The captain instructed him to bowl an underarm ball,
exploiting a “glaring” omission in the playing conditions, which at that time deemed it a legitimate delivery. Scathing criticism followed and the loophole was soon rectified.

Andrew McGlashan looks at how Netherlands fared in 2007

Andrew McGlashan23-Dec-2007

Tim de Leede pulls off a stunning return catch in the World Cup match against Scotland. Netherlands won the game by eight wickets© Getty Images
Despite their third World Cup appearance, Netherlands failed to develop to any worthwhile extent at all levels. There were changes, albeit cosmetic, in key positions with captain Luke van Troost retiring and coach Peter Cantrell stepping down following the World Cup. Being a rare patch of reasonable cricket in Europe, Netherlands continued to struggle in a football-dominated environment.Cantrell’s resignation, citing his inability to commit all the time required, was symptomatic of problems affecting all Associates. Paul-Jan Bakker, the former Netherlands and Hampshire medium-pacer who now lives in Switzerland, was named as his successor and faces a toughjob.The biggest headline was made by Daan van Bunge, the legspinner, who was dispatched for six sixes during the World Cup. As van Troost, the captain said afterwards, “before the game we said let’s make history today, well, we made history!” van Bunge later retired, at just 24, another player unable to commit a professional level of time when he had to considered life outside the game. He was a former MCC Young Cricketer, but talent alone isn’t enough.Their 15 ODIs brought seven victories, including success against Scotland at the World Cup which decided last place in the group. They faced a similar problem to Ireland and Scotland when trying to field their strongest teams during the English season. Ryan ten Doeschate,their star allrounder, was regularly needed for Essex duty and left a huge hole in the team. Alex Kervezee, the top order batsman, was carving out a carry with Worcestershire although was released more oftenDomestically the picture wasn’t very rosy. Participation levels didn’t increase as the core group of players, supporters and fans tried to keep the game alive. Even getting onto the field is proving a problem with some clubs losing their pitches. If there is any chance of Netherlands make significant strides, the game has to be safeguarded at home first.New man on the block
At 18, Alex Kervezee has the world at his feet after already securing a county deal and impressing with his skill and temperament. So far he has managed to maintain his international appearances, but if his development continues at the current rate Worcestershire will want hisservices on a more regular basis.Fading star
Tim de Leede had been part of the Netherlands side for more than a decade when he finally called it quits following the World Cup. He ended with a respectable 29 wickets in 29 ODIs and managed the notable scalps of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist during his penultimatematch.High point
Victory over Scotland in St Kitts was, in effect, Netherlands’ World Cup. The Scots were skittled for 136 then ten Doeschate showed his class with a 68-ball 70 as Netherlands won with more than half their overs remaining.Low point
Missing out the ICC World Twenty20 cost Netherlands the chance of a sizeable pay-day and the opportunity to put their game on the big stage for the second time in a year. They failed to win the key matches during the World Cricket League, which acted as the qualifying event, and ended up a distant third to Kenya and Scotland.What does 2008 hold?
A tough year of trying to keep the game alive with limited overseas exposure. They don’t hold the advantage of receiving the tour teams which head to England, unless sides make a detour on their way home as Sri Lanka did a couple of years ago. There are ODIs against fellowAssociates on the cards, but without a major injection of cash they are destined to remain on the fringes.

ODIs 14 7 6 1 Twenty20 – – – – Intercontinental Cup 3 2 1 0