Osman Samiuddin15-May-2017To sign off, a bit of history and a lot of drama: if ever a 101-run victory can said to have been stolen, then it was by Pakistan on the final day in Dominica. Yasir Shah’s fifth wicket of the innings, off the last ball of the penultimate over of the Test, sealed a series win, Pakistan’s first ever in the Caribbean. For the captain Misbah-ul-Haq, a man whose career has resounded with moments of extreme drama, there was no better way to walk off into the horizon – with the bonus of another little notch in a tenure full of them.The win was Pakistan’s 26th under Misbah’s captaincy, nearly double the next closest – Imran Khan and Javed Miandad led in 14 wins. And while the months since he led Pakistan to a brief stay at the top of the Test rankings have represented a dip in fortune, Misbah leaves the game broadly satisfied with what he has done.”Whenever you think back, you think I’ve done this and that, you always have a feeling I could’ve done this a little better,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. “I tried all that I could on my part, with whatever authority and responsibility I had, whatever was in my hands, I did what I could. I tried my level best with this team.”And I think, thank God, we have achieved quite a few things in Test cricket especially. One-days also we achieved some things, stuff that other big sides couldn’t do. With the resources, the situation, the limitations of Pakistan cricket I think that I am, to a great degree, satisfied with whatever we have achieved.”As glittering as some of the results have been – the three series against England, the whitewash of Australia – it might come to be the uninterrupted duration of his captaincy that, in time, turns out to be the most remarkable of his achievements.Misbah was Pakistan’s Test captain for well over six years, a stretch in which he missed only two of 58 Tests – and those were only because he was suspended for over-rate breaches. And he was 36 when he took over. Given the historic instability around the Pakistani captaincy, this was almost unimaginable continuity; even when Imran Khan captained over a decade between 1982 and 1992 there were periods when he was not automatically selected as captain”No secret [to his endurance],” he said. “Patience is very important. The other thing, for captaincy, is that the most difficult task, you go there and do it yourself. If you do, then automatically players get behind you and start playing their roles.”I didn’t think of it is as a burden. Neither did I ever think that I would do it for this long, or did I worry about it being taken away from me. You are given a responsibility and you have players and resources around you who help you in fulfilling that.”You maintain good relations with the players, with the board – with whoever you work with. Giving respect to everyone has helped me in my captaincy and I got respect in return.”Somehow, Pakistan must now fill the gargantuan hole left by Misbah’s exit, as well as that of his great comrade Younis Khan. The pair leaves with nearly 200 Tests-worth of experience as well as over 15000 runs. It is not just the runs or Tests, however, that will need replacing.”It will be difficult,” Misbah said. “The most important thing, in any situation, is to have players who truly believe they can do it, players who believe that whatever the situation, whatever circumstances, they are the ones who can do it for the first time. That is the key thing to bring, that belief in a side – who are the players who will bring that belief into a side?”That is where Pakistan will miss Younis Khan. In those scenarios, there has to be someone who can stand up, who can play an outstanding fourth innings, or who is out of form and can make a 200. From nowhere to play such an innings, if you have someone like that, you’re always confident as a team.”And though he is leaving the field, Misbah will stay on in the game. It was unlikely to ever be in any other way. “It’s simple. You’ve spent so much time in cricket, so you try and stay on in the field that you’ve worked in.”Help others, continue things. I haven’t decided specifically what yet, but, even if it is with my department (SNGPL), who have young players, I’ll see what I can do. Or with my district side, if I can do something.”

When Anya Shrubsole was brought back into the attack, India were on course to win the World Cup. Then it all changed.

Firdose Moonda at Lord's23-Jul-2017Anya Shrubsole was 10 years old when her father, Ian played in a club final at Lord’s. That day she told him she would like to play at the ground too. For England. In a World Cup final. She left out the part about winning. England almost left that part out too.Despite boasting four of the top 10 run-scorers in the tournament, they posted a below-par score in the final. Only three totals lower than their 228 had been successfully defended in the competition, twice against a team that did not win a match. India’s 169 and Sri Lanka’s 221 were both enough against Pakistan. England themselves had turned 220 into enough against West Indies but this was India.India, who had beaten Australia, who were the defending champions. India, whose captain Mithali Raj was five runs away from overtaking Tammy Beaumont as the leading run-scorer before this match and whose No.4 Harmanpreet Kaur had played the most dominant innings in women’s ODI history just three days ago. India, who were in the process of revolutionising the women’s game. And India, who until the 43rd over, were on track and in luck.The things England usually do right, they did wrong. Heather Knight dropped a catch, Sarah Taylor missed a stumping, Katherine Brunt misfielded. The occasion, the rare occasion in which women’s teams could play at Lord’s, rarer still because it was in front of a full house, seemed to be getting to the hosts. Aerial shots were falling safe, gaps were being pierced and Punam Raut was overcoming cramp to play what was shaping as a tournament-winning knock.With Laura Marsh bowled out, Heather Knight brought Shrubsole back in the 43rd over even as she got the sense “things were slipping away.” After the first two balls, they only seemed to slip further. Veda Krishnamurthy struck back-to-back boundaries, India were 191 for 3 and needed 38 off 44 balls. Even a wicket at that stage would only be consolation, right? Maybe not.Shrubsole slid one in from wide of the crease that struck Raut on the knee roll. She was given out. By the time Raut wanted to review, it was too late so she had to go. The review would have been wasted anyway. The ball was going on to hit the stumps.Watching on Raj still wore her pads, as though she was hopeful she may get to bat again. She said afterwards that was not when the butterflies stirred. Neither was it in the next over when Sushma Verma tried to sweep and gloved the ball onto her stumps. India had lost two wickets in five balls but Krishnamurthy was still there. Between those dismissals, she’d executed a gorgeous inside-out cover-drive off Alex Hartley. As far as Raj was concerned, India still had. As far as Shrubsole was concerned, they didn’t.Anya Shrubsole takes the wicket to win the World Cup•Getty ImagesShrubsole was sure England had created enough pressure to cause doubt in their opposition’s minds. With the level of noise, even though it was evenly split in favour of both sides, and the significance of the game, she thought that the two wickets they’d already taken could bring a few more. She was almost proved right the very next ball. India were feeling the heat and Deepti Sharma wanted to be anywhere but on strike. She dabbed the ball into the offside and set off even though Krishnamurthy was not interested. She had to turn back and was saved by a dive but it was obvious there was some kind of panic.At the end of that over, Krishnamurthy decided she would have to do it on her own. Two balls into the next over, she aimed for the stands and slogged but toe-ended it to midwicket. The next time she tried that, Shrubsole took pace off the ball and Nat Sciver settled under a simple catch. Shrubsole ended the over by castling Jhulan Goswami and by then, she was certain all the “key wickets” wickets had been taken. But Raj, still believed.Sharma and Shikha Pandey, in particular, was “the last person I felt could pull the match through”, Raj said. So when Sharma survived a stumping off Shrubsole’s next over, an over she only bowled because she had taken wickets in the previous one after she got wind that Knight was going to take her off, Raj was relieved but Shrubsole may have started to stress. Especially because at that exact moment, a powder-puff drizzle pattered onto the ground.Shrubsole was sent to point for Jenny Gunn to bowl the 48th over. India still needed 14 runs off 18 balls, England needed three wickets. The first ball was steered to third man, the second pushed to Shrubsole and the third wide down leg. 11 runs. 15 balls. Three wickets. Gunn had to bowl the third ball again and Pandey hit it to point again, harder than the first time and ran anyway. Shrubsole collected it and threw awkwardly, Taylor had to try and find her feet while whipping off the bails, Pandey was nowhere near her crease. Raj knew, Shrubsole knew, it seemed everyone knew at that moment where the trophy was going.But those 11 runs were still gettable by the time Shrubsole took the ball at the start of the penultimate over and she had to make sure she did not give them away, especially after their seemed a final twist. Two balls after Sharma had been foxed into skying one to midwicket, Gunn dropped a gift at mid-off. Shrubsole was so sure she would catch it, she was about to charge up to her in celebration and then “had to hold myself back.” She showed very little emotion, and certainly no anger or disappointment or frustration as England had before. She was already sure it was over.”As a batter down the order myself, if you get a full, straight ball, it’s going to be hard to hit,” she said. So that’s what she delivered to Rajeshwari Gayakwad and that’s what secured England’s fourth World Cup. “Pure elation,” is what Shrubsole said she felt afterwards. “Because we were out of the game but came back.”England did exactly the same thing earlier in the week, against South Africa in the semi-final and it was Shrubsole who showed the steel then, too. She hit the winning runs and strutted around like she was born to do it. “We call her ‘Hoof’ because she sometimes walks like a show pony with her feet,” Gunn said. “She was proper serious and I was like ‘we’ve got this.’ She just charged and smashed it through the covers for four which no-one has managed to do all day, but she timed it for four and then jumped at me.”It’s moments like that Shrubsole lives for. “Enjoying the pressure,” is why she plays this game. At least one person was enjoying it with her.Ian has been Anya and England’s biggest fan through this tournament. He has also become what Anya called a “new media super-star” who has “never had this much popularity on Twitter” born through his support of the team. From congratulations to Fran Wilson and Nat Sciver to an interview on , dad Shrubsole has enjoyed this tournament as much his daughter.”Proud parent,” he posted, captioning a photograph of Anya celebrating the win against South Africa in the semi-final. “Super proud parent,” he wrote in the same post, about the adjacent image of her consoling a distraught Dane van Niekerk.This time he might have to find some new words.

Zimbabwe’s historic ODI series win in Sri Lanka was celebrated by many in 140 characters including Kumar Sangakkara, who also called for measures to improve Sri Lankan cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2017

Emotions will sum up everything I want to say
No description will do justice to our emotions @Craig_Ervine77 @PJMoor10 @GraemeCremer pic.twitter.com/rsmC71a6cu

— Sikandar Raza (@SRazaB24) July 10, 2017

It was all a dream……… life changing moments……. #champions #team #history #celebrations… https://t.co/MfSZiRYreJ

— Solomon Mire (@kingsoly21) July 10, 2017

So proud of my team mates. A day we won't forget. @SRazaB24 @kingsoly21 @Craig_Ervine77 @ryanburl3 @chamulaw @GraemeCremer

— PJ Moor (@PJMoor10) July 10, 2017

Deserved win for @ZimCricketv. I know how devastated the @OfficialSLC players, fans and team officials feel. This is when they need even –

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) July 10, 2017

– more support, nurturing and patience. Correct measures put in place for for resurgence and improvement. Not a time for people with –

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) July 10, 2017

– vested interests to score social and political brownie points and distract attention from actual facts. Quo Vadis Sri Lanka cricket?

— Kumar Sangakkara (@KumarSanga2) July 10, 2017

A historic series win against @OfficialSLC ! incredible performances throughout from all the boys!!!!!

— Ryan Burl (@ryanburl3) July 10, 2017

How good was @ZimCricketv This series. @masakadza You were amazing.

— Tatenda Taibu (@taibu44) July 10, 2017

A one-off is anybody's game but in a series of 5 matches, the better team should win. Well done Zimbabwe #SLvZim

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) July 10, 2017

Congratulations @ZimCricketv Very impressed with the cricket played. Tactics amd ever willing to learn and Adjusted fast.. Well done !!!

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) July 10, 2017

Congrats Makhaya Ntini and @ZimCricketv on a historic series win vs Sri Lanka

— Robin John Peterson (@robbie13flair) July 10, 2017

Congratulations @ZimCricketv on a sensational victory. Beating SL in SL is not easy. Hope this is a beginning of a new rise for Zim.#SLvZIM

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) July 10, 2017

From teenage fast bowler to middle-order rock, Ellyse Perry has evolved into a match-winning allrounder over her decade in the game

Melinda Farrell in Bristol02-Jul-2017Australia v New Zealand, second ODI, Darwin, July 22, 2007A precociously talented 16-year-old makes her debut. She has never played a senior domestic match but she is one of Australia’s best teenage athletes, excelling in both cricket and football. But while she is an all-round sporting talent, in this match her role is very much defined by her bowling. She takes two wickets and helps effect a run out. Coming out to bat at No. 9, she manages 19 runs off 20 balls before being bowled. Australia lose the match by 35 runs.And the international cricket career of Ellyse Perry, bowler, has begun.

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There is footage of Perry playing for New South Wales as a young girl. She is small for her age, so small that the regulation shorts hang below her knees and the sleeves of her t-shirt come well past her elbows. She doesn’t look to quite fit in with the bigger girls around her any more than she fits in to the clothes she wears.As a teenager she was constantly wheeled out as the promotable, marketable face of the women’s game. She was asked in almost every interview what it was like to juggle two sports – there were times you could almost see her eyes glaze over while she smiled obligingly and gave the same answer she had given what must have seemed a thousand times before. Women’s cricket was not a ‘sexy’ sport and few media sports editors could name a female cricketer beyond Perry; she was the go-to girl in an industry where the coverage was often cursory at best and patronising at worst.But as the game – and the coverage of it – has matured, so has Perry in a myriad of ways.As the players from that first match – a roll call that included Karen Rolton and Shelley Nitschke – lived out their careers and moved on, Perry became less the prodigy and more the cornerstone of Australia’s bowling attack. Blessed with the the athleticism to generate pace and a lovely action which teased just enough movement both through the air and off the seam to trouble batsmen, Perry could easily have consolidated a lengthy career batting low in the order while winning games with the ball in hand.When Meg Lanning writes her selected line-up on the team sheet, Perry is undoubtedly the first bowler listed. She opens consistently and is there at the death. She is a go-to strike bowler who led Australia to victory in the 2013 World Cup final carrying an ankle injury that left her unable to complete her first two attempts to bowl a delivery. She is special, a match-winner.But here in Bristol it wasn’t really working for her. It wasn’t that she was bowling badly, it was more that the pitch – used for three consecutive World Cup matches – wasn’t giving her much help. It was a day for spinners, a fact highlighted by selectors opting to include only Perry and Megan Schutt as quicker options.So while Perry took on Suzie Bates with a series of short-pitched deliveries – she seems to employ aggressive bouncers far more often these days – with little success, it was the left-arm spin of Jess Jonassen and Schutt’s hooping inswing that most discomforted the New Zealand batsmen and claimed three wickets apiece.In the end, Perry was the only Australia bowler who finished without a wicket and she was also the most expensive, conceding 58 runs off her ten overs. They weren’t terrible figures, but they weren’t match-winning.But such is the beauty of Perry’s evolution that there are as many ways in which she can influence a game as there are to skin a cat, some of them just as painful for the opposition.As other players left the side it opened the way for Perry to gradually move up the batting order. And as she climbed so did her average. Overall it stands at 49.12 –  at one stage during her innings it touched 50 – but batting at No. 4 she averages a mighty 83.83. Considering the bulk of those innings have occurred in the past 18 months it’s reasonable to imagine that number could become even more impressive.Often it is has been Lanning at the other end; the squad numbers 8 and 17 have shared many a match-defining partnership.Against New Zealand it seemed as though the Lanning-Perry show would bring down the curtain. Lanning looked to be in imperious form and Perry was offering solid support. They differ in style, of course. Lanning’s shots are more expansive, strong on both sides of the wicket and she scores at almost a run a ball. Perry, as displayed in her innings today, loves to score in the V; the high-elbowed drive is her trademark while she interspersed it with delicate late dabs for easy singles down to third man.The pair were controlling the tempo of the chase, despite the slower pitch that made scoring look far more difficult than it had been in the previous matches at Bristol.When Lanning edged behind to become the victim of the latest 16-year-old prodigy, the exciting legspinner Amelia Kerr, and then Elyse Vilani was out the very next ball – a rip-roaring wrong’un that was easily the delivery of the day – it was the only time Australia wobbled as they steadily accumulated.With the brisk, no nonsense, Alex Blackwell pushing Australia’s run rate into the black, Perry continued to drive and dab, drive and dab, until the scores were level, at which point she went for the big smash over midwicket only to be caught in the deep by Amy Satterthwaite. A red-faced Perry apologised to Alyssa Healy as the wicketkeeper walked to the non-striker’s end to run the winning single. Even Perry is not perfect.Nor does she have to be. Because, on a day when her bowling didn’t win the match, she was the highest run-scorer. Because the skinny little bowler whose clothes were too big for her had just clocked 2000 ODI runs. Because there was the reminder of her all-round sporting abilities when she brilliantly booted the ball into the stumps and almost effected a run out while following through.

****

Australia v New Zealand, Women’s World Cup, Bristol, July 2, 2017There is only one player still there from that Australia side of ten years ago. The 26-year-old is playing in her 86th ODI. She is no longer defined by her bowling, she excels in all parts of the game. She takes no wickets but, coming out to bat at No. 4, she makes 71 off 90 balls. Australia win the match by five wickets.And the international career of Ellyse Perry, allrounder, is still evolving.

Bangladesh have managed to unsettle Steven Smith by bowling from around the wicket, and while it is a relatively untested angle by offspinners, it puts pressure on them to be more accurate

Mohammad Isam31-Aug-2017Australia’s Test tour of India earlier this year may have given Bangladesh a plan against Steven Smith, a possible chink that may have evaded the other attacks he has conquered. In the final Test of that tour, in Dharamsala, India offspinner R Ashwin bowled around the wicket to Smith extensively, and drew an edge to slip from that angle. In the first two Tests of that series, he had bowled only three balls from that angle.In the first Test in Mirpur, offspinner Mehidy Hasan seemed to have carried on from where Ashwin left. His bowling from around the wicket, to some extent, curtailed Smith’s free-flowing batting against spin, although in Chittagong, more accurate lines and lengths could make a significant difference. In 2016 Sri Lanka offspinner Dilruwan Perera had managed to curb Smith’s strokeplay with an around-the-wicket line, dismissing him once in 41 deliveries bowled from that angle. Smith, who has three hundreds in India across two tours, now has a couple underwhelming innings – 8, 37 in Mirpur – and a new challenge to overcome.This is a relatively new angle for offspinners against Smith, and one that bowlers like Graeme Swann, Moeen Ali and Mark Craig did not try extensively over the past seven years. Swann, Moeen and Craig had little success bowling around the wicket to Smith and even Ashwin, from whom Bangladesh have taken their cue, wasn’t successful in the 2013 series: he bowled 62 out of 93 balls to Smith from around the wicket, but his only dismissal came from over the wicket.In the first innings in Mirpur, Mehidy bowled one ball to Smith over the wicket before switching his angle. Three balls later, he had Smith bowled. In the second innings, Mehidy began from around the wicket to Smith and nearly had the Australia captain stumped first ball. He bowled from the same angle for another 30 deliveries during Australia’s unsuccessful attempt at chasing 265.In the first innings, Smith began by charging at Mehidy when he came from around the wicket, but was bowled by a delivery that would have turned to yorker-length after the batsman stepped out too soon. It dipped on him late, and he was left with no room to drive it down the ground, let alone loft it over wide mid-on, which seemed to be the original intention.After the first-innings dismissal, Mehidy said that the Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim had told him on the eve of the Test about this new line of attack.”We had a specific plan for Smith,” he said after the second day’s play. “Mushfiq told me that if you can bowl around the wicket, he can be in trouble. He doesn’t use his feet too well. He is someone who likes to come down the wicket and, if the ball turns, there is a possibility of a stumping or a catch. I just tried to follow his instruction and bowled around the wicket. It worked.”Mehidy’s accuracy, coupled with his subtle variation of pace and turn, made him a dangerous proposition for England last year and now for Australia. While successive Bangladesh captains, including Mushfiqur, have been eager to use offspinners against left-handed batsmen predominantly, Mehidy was given a long run when Smith was at the crease on the third evening and fourth morning. And that also highlighted a challenge for the young bowler.In the second innings, Mehidy’s first ball to Smith was an offbreak that drifted away in the air, drawing the batsman out and catching him slightly overbalanced. Mushfiqur whipped off the bails, but replays showed that Smith had a bit of his boot inside the crease. In Mehidy’s seventh over, Smith flicked one right at the short-leg fielder’s body but a chance wasn’t held.Apart from these two close calls, however, Mehidy struggled with his length from around the wicket to Smith for the rest of the innings. He bowled 13 short deliveries and offered plenty of full balls too, allowing Smith to read him easily. If the new angle has the potential to test Smith, it is also a challenge for Mehidy to maintain his consistency when the margin of error is smaller: anything straight can be whipped through the leg side and a bit of room can be crashed through the covers.After Mehidy spoke about the new angle at the press conference, there was some unease in the Bangladesh camp, as they felt he may have given out too much. Mushfiqur did not comment on it during the post-match press conference, while Sunil Joshi, the spin coach, refused to speak about it, too. Not that Smith would have needed Mehidy to tell him that the around-the-wicket angle was a problem: he was bowled the third ball he faced from this angle, and nearly stumped first ball the next time he came to the crease. The next match, which begins from September 4, in Chittagong will test both Mehidy and Smith.

Rangana Herath mixed some cracking shots square of the wicket with a good sprinkling of plays and misses in a unique innings that was frustrating for India and very, very handy for Sri Lanka

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kolkata19-Nov-20170:49

‘Compared to first two days, today much easier to bat’ – Herath

Bowlers who bat a bit (as opposed to bowling allrounders like Mitchell Starc or Vernon Philander) can be broadly divided into two camps: blockers, such as Ishant Sharma or Devendra Bishoo, and bashers, of whom Tim Southee – who has clattered 61 sixes in 57 Tests – would be an extreme example.Rangana Herath doesn’t really fall in either camp. He isn’t built like most bowlers, of spin or seam, and like other short, squat batsmen he’s happiest playing square of the wicket. Early in his innings on Sunday, Bhuvneshwar Kumar swung one into his stumps, late, and was on the verge of appealing for lbw when Herath braced his front leg to make last-minute room for his bat to flick the ball to the midwicket boundary.At that point Sri Lanka were 206 for 7 and led India by 34. Herath had walked in when India had taken three wickets for just one run, and Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar were snaking the ball this way and that. The first ball Herath faced, from Shami, beat his inside edge and whooshed over the off bail. His flicked four came in an over in which he was beaten four times. When he misread one that swerved away from him and tried to whip it through the leg side, he missed by more than a foot.But Herath, as he often does, kept fighting, kept punching, kept playing his shots. His glory shot is the pull, into which he puts everything he’s got, swiveling violently and slapping the ball like it’s the villain in a revenge melodrama. He unleashed it on 22, when Shami dropped one short, swatting it away well in front of square.Slowly, he gained a measure of the conditions and began looking relatively secure even while defending, getting behind the line, flourishing his bat high over his head when he left outside off stump.Dilruwan Perera, whose delayed decision to review an lbw on 0 earned him the chance to extend his innings by a further 27 balls, added 43 with Herath for the eighth wicket. Suranga Lakmal, weathering a barrage of short balls including one that hit him on the grille, added 46 with Herath for the ninth.BCCISri Lanka’s lead swelled. Herath, not really leaning over the ball but trusting his hands to do the job, square-drove Umesh Yadav to bring up his third Test fifty. He pulled Umesh in his next over and beat deep square leg sprinting to his right.That prompted Virat Kohli to place a fielder two-thirds of the way back at deep midwicket. No use. Herath pulled one to that fielder, Ravindra Jadeja, who fired at the non-striker’s end and gave away four overthrows.Next ball, Herath flashed at and missed a wide one from Shami. Wriddhiman Saha collected the ball and passed it to second slip, from where Kohli hurled it to R Ashwin at mid-off. It was a flat, hard, one-bounce throw more suited to a run-out chance than the passing chain from keeper to bowler returning to his mark. Few captains are as transparent with their emotions.By the time India found a way to take the last two wickets – Herath was ninth out for 67 – Sri Lanka’s lead had grown to 122. Every run of that lead was a run they would not need to score while batting last, whether they were to bowl India out quickly in the third innings or, as it turned out, chase leather in rapidly improving batting conditions.

Over the course of his 124-ball 138 against Tamil Nadu, India’s hottest young batsman took apart the world’s best offspinner with a sumptuous combination of skill and calculation

Arun Venugopal at the Bandra-Kurla Complex27-Oct-2017It was lunch on day three and Tamil Nadu were trailing Mumbai’s first-innings total by 29 runs with only two wickets in hand. While most members of the Tamil Nadu camp might have been plodding through an anxious meal, a group of players and support-staff members headed to a distant corner of the Bandra-Kurla Complex ground for a net.R Ashwin was at the front and centre of the group. His India commitments mean you don’t often see him in a Tamil Nadu jersey – since his international debut in 2010, Ashwin has turned out for his state only 19 times across formats. Before this season, his most recent Ranji Trophy appearance had come in a rain-affected game in 2012. So, for the likes of B Aparajith and Ganga Sridhar Raju, who were going to be Ashwin’s sparring partners in the nets, this was an opportunity to watch their senior partner from close quarters and learn from him.Ashwin, on the other hand, could have used whatever game-time came his way in his build-up to the three-Test series at home against Sri
Lanka followed by a demanding trip to South Africa. There are other factors, too, that would doubtless have been spurring him on. He hasn’t
figured in India’s limited-overs plans recently after being “rotated out” for the series against Sri Lanka, Australia and New Zealand. His absence has since coincided with the rise of two young wristspinners – Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav – who, according to captain Virat Kohli, have been so good that he has been tempted to play them in every game.Ashwin himself wasn’t going to leave the wrist-spin base uncovered. As he has been doing often, lately, Ashwin invested time and effort in bowling legbreaks. To the left-hand batsman Raju, he even bowled the flipper, often on the shorter side of a good length. When he bowled to Aparajith, a right-hand bat, he went over the wicket and from a run-up of eight or nine steps, tried different lengths and lines. He constantly checked with the batsmen and L Balaji, Tamil Nadu’s bowling coach, if the ball was getting enough drop or if there were too many “freebies.”On Thursday, Ashwin would get a crack at putting his plans into work in the middle. They would be subjected to a severe examination, though, by one Mumbai batsman. Over the afternoon and on the following day, he would second-guess and eventually dismantle Ashwin’s plans. The batsman was Shreyas Iyer.John Michel Hard numbers, stripped of nuance, would tell you that Iyer won the duel with Ashwin, by pinfall and submission. He scored 37 off the 40
balls he faced from Ashwin, including three sixes and two fours; on Friday alone, he made 22 off 21. But, the broader story lies in the subtext and the circumstances.At 22, Iyer is currently hot property. For long recognised as one of the country’s best young batsmen, Iyer has backed up the hype with some barnstorming performances in the last few months. It got to a point where the selectors could no longer confine him to to A-team
cricket, and included him for the T20Is against New Zealand next month. Right from his higher-than-usual backlift against fast bowlers on Friday to his nonchalant shrugs, everything about him screams swag.At the other end of the spectrum is Ashwin, nine years Iyer’s senior and with an experience of 209 international games. As India’s main
spinner for a few years now, he’s almost expected to turn up and knock batsmen over, particularly if it’s a domestic fixture. Ashwin had tried bowling around the stumps to Iyer on the third afternoon, but the ploy backfired after Iyer smacked him for two sixes, one of which went out of the park.It wasn’t until after 12 overs on the final day that Ashwin was given the ball for the sequel of their stoush. Iyer was then on 84 and was
racing towards a hundred. There was little of the abrading that is said to be the mark of a fourth-day subcontinental surface; except for
the odd ball, there was very little turn on offer. So Ashwin continued to operate from around the stumps with a 3-6 field, and initially kept Iyer quiet. He did it by landing the ball on middle and leg and turned the ball into the body, and on occasions, outside leg. Every now and then, he would use the carrom ball and also slant one across the stumps.It seemed like a sound strategy at first, as it denied Iyer the hitting width he craved for. Up to that point, Iyer had been brutal on anything remotely outside off stump, either carting it over the bowler’s head or drilling it through the covers. When you combine these factors, it is fair to expect Iyer to lose his rhythm at some point and attempt something rash. Except, that didn’t happen. Iyer knew the field was spread out for him – the Tamil Nadu captain, Abhinav Mukund, later reasoned that Iyer was anyway going for lofted shots, so there was always the possibility of a mistimed hit that would result in a catch – and knocked Ashwin around for singles and twos. Whenever he couldn’t lay bat on ball down the leg side, he was happy to leave. One of those deliveries was even called wide.On only one occasion did Ashwin come close to getting Iyer out. He slid one across the batsman, who slashed hard and edged, the ball flying quickly to the left of slip for four. Soon after, Iyer completed his hundred, and in a repeat of his shot from Thursday, whacked Ashwin over the
wide long-on fence. Ashwin appeared a little rattled, and bowled a faster, shorter legbreak the next ball. This time Iyer went back, held his shape, and steered it behind point for another four. He would invariably follow such shots with a single to sweeper cover or deep square leg.Ashwin went back to bowling over the stumps – a touch belatedly, perhaps – but Iyer had messed his plans up by then. Ashwin’s uninterrupted 11-over spell had cost him 50 runs. An extension of the contest, however, was not to be seen as Iyer was run out before lunch. Perhaps that was the only way Tamil Nadu could have got him out.

South Africa’s second-innings 73 was their lowest total since readmission, while Dilruwan Perera picked up his career-best innings and match figures

S Rajesh14-Jul-201873 – South Africa’s total, their lowest since their readmission to Test cricket. Their previous lowest was 79, on that wretched tour to India in 2015. Six of their eight lowest scores in Asia have come since November 2015.28.5 – Overs that South Africa’s second innings lasted, which is also their lowest in Asia. Over both innings, South Africa lasted 83.2 overs, which is again their lowest in Asia when they have played two complete innings in a Test. Overall, there have only been eight instances of South Africa playing fewer overs in two complete innings in a Test.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 – Instances of Sri Lanka bowling out an opposition team in fewer than 28.5 overs. Both of them were against Bangladesh: 25.2, at the P Sara Oval in 2007, and 27.4 at the Premadasa in 2005.278 – The margin of defeat by runs, one of the heaviest for South Africa in Asia. They have lost by a higher margin (in terms of runs) three times, with the highest being 337 runs against India in Delhi in 2015.10/78 – Dilruwan Perera’s bowling figures in the Test, his second 10-wicket haul in Tests, and his best match figures; his 6 for 32 in the second innings are also his best innings figures. His only other 10-wicket haul was also in Galle, against Australia in 2016, when he took 10 for 99. In seven Tests in Galle, Dilruwan has taken 45 wickets at 24.20, but that also includes disappointing figures of 1 for 197 against India in 2017.17/174 – Match figures for Sri Lanka’s spinners in the Test: apart from Dilruwan’s 10 for 78, Rangana Herath took 5 for 77, and Lakshan Sandakan 2 for 19. South Africa’s spinners struggled in comparison, with combined figures of 8 for 242. Both Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi took four wickets each, but conceded more than 100 runs.ESPNcricinfo Ltd153 – Runs scored by South Africa’s top seven over both innings of the Test, which is also their lowest since readmission. The previous lowest was 194, in the Nagpur Test of 2015. South Africa’s top seven averaged 11.77 runs per dismissal in the Test.19 – Runs by which Dimuth Karunaratne outscored the entire South African team in the Test. Karunaratne scored 218 runs in two innings, while South Africa made a combined total of 199.31 – Tests for Kagiso Rabada to get to 150 wickets, the third-fastest in terms of Tests for South Africa, after Hugh Tayfield and Dale Steyn, who got there in 29 matches each. In terms of age, Rabada is the youngest at 23 years and 50 days, breaking Harbhajan Singh’s earlier record of 23 years and 106 days.6 – Instances of both openers being out stumped in an innings in Test history. Both Dean Elgar and Aiden Markram were out in this manner in South Africa’s second innings, which was a first for the team. Four of the six such instances are by England.

CPL 2018 broke records for the most sixes, the most 200+ totals, and the most overs with 30+ runs

Bharath Seervi17-Sep-2018Record run rate, number of sixes, and totals
The Caribbean Premier League 2018, which was won by Trinbago Knight Riders, had the highest ever scoring rate in the tournament’s history. The average run rate in this edition of the tournament was 8.53, which was about 0.4 runs higher than the previous best: 8.13 in 2016. The run rate in the last edition was 7.93 per over. However, the scoring rate at the start of the edition was 9.01 in the first 12 matches, before dropping off a bit.The average runs per wicket for the season was 26.63, again the highest among all six editions.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe season had a record nine totals of 200 or more. The total number of such scores in the first five seasons were just six, with not more than two 200-plus totals in any season. There were three matches in excess of 400 runs this time, compared to just one such aggregate in the first five seasons. Six of the seven highest totals in CPL history have come in the 2018 edition.There were a record 530 sixes hit in the season, which is 82 more than the previous highest in a season. The 2018 season is also the first when a boundary was hit within every six balls on an average.

Trinbago’s third title, Guyana’s fourth lost final
Trinbago Knight Riders won their second successive CPL title and their third in four seasons. While Trinbago are the most successful side in the tournament, Guyana Amazon Warriors have been runners-up four times in the six seasons. In the last four years, no team has won more T20 tiles than Trinbago and no team has lost more T20 finals than Guyana. Titans, of South Africa, have also won three titles in the last four years.Bumper overs
The number of overs than yielded 30 or more runs in this edition of CPL were four. The highest was 32 runs, and there were three overs worth 30 runs. There were another five overs of 27 runs each. Comparing this to other T20 tournaments, there was no such over of 30+ in this year’s Indian Premier League. In the first four seasons of CPL, there were only two overs of 30 or more runs.Darren Bravo was the batsman who hit Kieron Pollard for those 32 runs in an over, which included five sixes. Pollard, while batting, hit 30 runs off Devenra Bishoo eight days later.Munro’s massive season
Colin Munro smashed 567 runs in CPL 2018, easily the most by a batsman in any edition of the CPL. Chadwick Walton’s 458 in the 2017 season was the previous highest. Munro scored 109 runs more than that tally. He averaged 51.54, scoring at strike rate of 140.34, and hit six fifties in 13 innings. Munro has made 350-plus runs in each of the last three seasons of the CPL; no other batsman in the tournament has scored more runs than his 1315 runs in 37 innings in this period.

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Smart Stats champs
Dwayne Bravo scored 209 runs but his Smart Runs* were 280.62, meaning he contributed 71.62 runs more taking into account the context under which he scored his runs. His Smart Runs contribution was the highest among all players.The batsman with the highest Negative Smart Runs was, rather surprisingly, David Warner. He scored 220 but his Smart Runs were just 162.46, thus he effectively cost his side 57.53 runs. Hashim Amla, Andre Fletcher and Chris Gayle are the top four in this list along with Warner.Bravo also had the best Smart Strike Rate among all batsmen who faced 100-plus deliveries: 252.81. Andre Russell had a Smart Strike Rate of 259.88 facing 83 deliveries.Martin Guptill had the least Smart Runs (95.54) among all players who faced 100+ balls and Evin Lewis slotted in last in the Smart Batting Index (-12.29).

Bravo was one of the best batsmen according to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats but he was also one of the worst bowlers by the same metrics. His Smart Economy Rate was 11.77, which was the worst among all bowlers who bowled 100-plus deliveries. Imran Tahir had the best Smart Economy: 4.23. Tahir also saved the most runs for his side (80.56) while Rayad Emrit leaked most runs (55.24).Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane impressed with his ability to bowl dot balls in a row. He had the best Dot Ball Pressure Index among all bowlers to deliver 100-plus balls: 1.86.

The two-Test humiliation in the Caribbean earlier this year has channeled a focused spin-heavy side to turn the tables at home

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur01-Dec-2018’Don’t forget what they did to us in July.’This was Shakib Al Hasan’s simple, yet potent message to his mates ahead of the Test series at home against West Indies.On Saturday, after Bangladesh put themselves in a position to clinch the series, Mahmudullah resonated Shakib’s words. “Ahead of this Test series, Shakib said that we should remember how we lost to them in July,” Mahmudullah said. “If we keep that in mind, it will motivate us a lot to play in these matches. I think it was an important message to the team, which motivated all of us. If you forget the loss easily, you won’t learn.”West Indies’ collapse to spin in Mirpur and Chattogram have been eerily similar to Bangladesh’s surrender to pace in North Sound and Kingston.Where Bangladesh struggled at deliveries outside the offstump against pace there, West Indies haven’t been helped by going back to play spin on rank turners. The inability to adjust to conditions has been the common thread.In Chattogram, all 20 West Indies wickets went to spin as they were bowled out twice within three days. Here in Mirpur, they slipped to 29 for 5 in the first 12 overs of their reply to Bangladesh’s 508. This is the lowest score where a team has lost five wickets against Bangladesh.West Indies’ saving grace so far has so far been the 46-run unbroken sixth-wicket stand between Shimron Hetmyer and Shane Dowrich, incidentally the two batsmen who batted with some composure in Chattogram too.In Dhaka, Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell were bowled leaving a huge gap between bat and pad while negotiating spin. Sunil Ambris missed an ambitious lofted drive while Roston Chase played for turn that wasn’t there.”I guess the guys played for too much turn and clearly the ball kept straight and lost the key wickets,” said spinner Jomel Warrican, who toiled for 38 overs to pick two wickets. “We just need to apply ourselves better.”Mahmudullah felt the key wasn’t to be obsessed about picking a wicket every delivery. “I don’t think it will be easy to bowl them out. We can’t think of getting a wicket every ball. Shakib stressed on bowling in good areas. There is variable bounce, which can be useful if you bowl in the right areas, sticking to the plan.”The good news is that Taijul Islam and Nayeem Hasan, the other half of Bangladesh’s spin quartet in this Test series, have only bowled four overs between them. Nayeem became the youngest cricketer to take a five-wicket haul on Test debut in Chattogram last week, while Taijul’s 6 for 33 was decisive in the fourth innings.Like the spin duo are handing it to West Indies, the pace pack of Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel, Jason Holder, Miguel Cummins and Keemo Paul took 38 of the 40 wickets in the July Test series.West Indies’ current series batting average stands close to their lowest 17.07, against Sri Lanka in 2005, and only a desperate effort from the Hetmyer-Dowrich pair can get them somewhere better in Mirpur.How quickly can they turn around a batting approach that isn’t clearly working could determine if there’s a fight to follow in the second innings.