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Edgbaston, as everyone in the cricket-playing world now knows, is England’s lucky ground

Andrew Miller04-Aug-2005

Edgbaston, as everyone in the cricket-playing world knows, is England’s lucky ground, a reputation largely based on their one glimmer of glory in two decades of Ashes misery – in 1997, when Australia were squashed by nine wickets after slipping to 54 for 8 on the first morning of the series.Four years on from that match, however, in 2001, Australia gained their vengeance in no uncertain terms, rampaging to victory by an innings and 118 runs, to set up a 4-1 series win. And, until Andrew Flintoff and Kevin Pietersen turned England’s fortunes around with today’s century stand, the 2005 Test seemed to be following an ominously familiar pattern.Admittedly, Marcus Trescothick did rather better on this occasion than the first-ball duck that he managed against Jason Gillespie back then, but his failure in 2001 was amply glossed over by Michael Atherton and Mark Butcher, who responded with a partnership of 104 in 23 overs for the second wicket. In fact, they batted with the same ease and poise that England’s openers, 112 in 25.3 overs, managed today. But, on the stroke of lunch, both then and now, Shane Warne struck.Admittedly, Warne’s impact was more seismic then than now – he needed just two balls to remove Butcher, brilliantly caught by Ricky Ponting at silly point (although that was twice as many deliveries than he had needed on his first Ashes tour in 1993). But the impact was similar on both occasions, as England continued to lose wickets in the second session (136 for 4 then, 187 for 4 now).The big difference, however, was the absence of Warne’s partner-in-crime. Glenn McGrath would doubtless have scented blood today, as he did with his three middle-order breakthroughs back in 2001. But this time he was holed up in the dressing-room with an ice-pack on his ankle, and England managed to wriggle off the hook. For the moment, at least.

Stats highlights from India’s thumping three-day win in the second Test against Bangladesh

S Rajesh27-May-2007

Tragically, one of the finest batsmen in Sri Lanka’s history, a technical artisan with a cover-drive from heaven, has ended his international days in a fog of injustice

Charlie Austin20-Nov-2007

Marvan Atapattu’s retirement announcement was widely expected in Sri Lanka after the second Test in Australia. All his recent public comments, most obviously the amusing “muppets and joker” broadside at the selectors, indicated a man poised to bid farewell. Tragically, one of the finest batsmen in Sri Lanka’s history, a technical artisan with a cover-drive from heaven, has ended his international days in a fog of injustice. If Roshan Mahanama had not already used it, would be the most fitting of autobiography titles.The Atapattu saga has been a sorry and disruptive affair that stretches back to 2004 when Ashantha de Mel, during his previous term at the helm, clashed with Atapattu, the captain at the time, over the axing of Tillakaratne Dilshan for a two-Test series against Pakistan. Ironically, on that occasion de Mel was determined to blood young players. Three years later Atapattu has publicly condemned de Mel for being too reliant on the older brigade. In truth, back then Atapattu was furious not so much because of the policy but because the decision was forced upon him without any consultation whatsoever.Ever since, Atapattu has been deeply suspicious of de Mel’s motives as chairman of selectors. While he was not overly enamoured of the team management as a whole during the time he watched the World Cup earlier this year from the bench, he blamed de Mel the most, apparently convinced that his omission was personally motivated. Unfortunately, like any top-flight sportsman with self-belief, Atapattu simply could not accept that the ODI team was better balanced without his massive experience.Rather than try to understand that Chamara Silva’s sudden emergence just prior to the tournament was the chief reason for his misfortune, Atapattu descended into a schoolboy-ish sulk. After being omitted for the ODI series in Abu Dhabi that followed, he grew even more distrustful and started looking at other options, signing-up with Lashings CC and starting negotiations with the Indian Cricket League (ICL). Offered a berth for the Bangladesh series last July, he saw a snake trap where others saw a golden opportunity to resurrect his Test career.The selectors publicly stated that they wanted him to play Test cricket and for Sanath Jayasuriya to concentrate on ODI cricket. Even his team-mates wanted the same, aware that even at 36 he had plenty to offer in the longer game if he could retain his fitness. Mentally he was far stronger than at any time of his career, and during the next 18 to 24 months he could have been a far better player than his final career average of 39.02.The problem, though, is that Atapattu is a proud and stubborn man. And unlike many others, he steers his own ship. He felt victimised – not for the first time in his career – and he was not going to bow to a selection chairman he distrusted and disliked. Only de Mel’s departure would have paved the way for a proper recall. But that was never likely. de Mel’s political support base is rock-solid in the current climate. So Atapattu started to plan for life after Sri Lanka.It is possible that he will wake up one morning and regret some of the decisions he has made during recent months, but this is improbable. They may have triggered his downfall, but his straight-talking honesty and open dislike of the extremely politicised cricket set-up in Sri Lanka have always been among his most endearing characteristics. Atapattu had little time for Sri Lanka’s cricket administrators and wasted even less trying to ingratiate himself with them. When cricket politicians tried to get him to play their games, he invariably ran in the opposite direction.

Sadly this controversial last year might overshadow his great achievements as a player, and especially as a captain.The way he fought his way back into the team after the abysmal start to his career, scoring piles of runs in domestic cricket, was a lesson in bloody-mindedness and determination. Once back in the team, he grew better and better as he gradually overcame all his inner demons.His greatest weaknesses as a batsman were his nerves at the start of an innings, his often appalling running between the wickets, and the traditional subcontinental frailty outside the off stump, especially on bouncy pitches. However, these frailties gradually faded in significance as he matured in his thirties into a top-class batsman. Technically he had no peer in Sri Lanka and his unbreakable concentration helped him to six double-hundreds. His off-side play was his strongest suit and his skill against the slower bowlers was exquisite.His captaincy tenure was cut short by his back injury, but he was also an accomplished leader when he was finally, apparently reluctantly, handed the reins. Indeed, another irony of his World Cup fate was that he had played an important role in laying the foundations for the team’s success, helping to foster a new team culture that embraced egalitarianism, self-improvement and personal responsibility. This fact has been frequently acknowledged by the current captain, Mahela Jayawardene, who referred to himself as the interim leader for many months after taking over.Whether Atapattu plays any further part in Sri Lanka’s cricketing future remains to be seen. His abrasive relationship with the establishment will always make it difficult for him to fit in and the likeliest scenario is that he will carve out a career overseas. The ICL might be his immediate priority, and then a relocation to Australia to play club cricket appears an increasingly likely possibility. A TV commentary role has also been discussed. Whatever he does, though, one thing is for sure, he will do it his way.

And so England’s series ended as it had begun, with the tail clinging on amid the lengthening shadows, waiting for the elements to give them a reprieve

Andrew Miller in Galle22-Dec-2007

And so England’s series ended as it had begun, with the tail clinging on amid the lengthening shadows, waiting for the elements to give them a reprieve. At Kandy they deserved a break and were given none; at Galle they deserved nothing of the sort and got one. Such is the way of Test cricket. It often rewards the tenacious, but it’s rare that justice isn’t done in the final analysis.That has certainly been the case with England’s outclassed cricketers. Hanging on at all costs has been the English way in Sri Lanka ever since Nasser Hussain won a street-fight of a series in 2000-01, but in consecutive tours under Michael Vaughan that approach has been shown to be flawed. Vaughan’s teams have got stuck in a rut, refused to adapt their ambitions, and recast Hussain’s brand of tenacity as negativity. For the Sri Lankans, five of whom have played in all three contests, the difference has been all too discernible.”If you want to compete, especially away from home, you have to be more positive,” Mahela Jayawardene said after the match. “You can’t go with a negative frame of mind, thinking these are not our conditions and we cannot survive.” Jayawardene credited their former coach, Tom Moody, with the change in Sri Lanka’s mindset, and pointed to two recent drawn series, in England in 2006 and New Zealand six months later, as evidence of their aggression in all conditions. England, on the other hand, have mustered a solitary win in their last 14 overseas Tests. There’s simply no comparison between the two at present.After a competitive first Test, the turning point of the series in Jayawardene’s opinion, was the opening day in Colombo. England won a good toss but ground their way to a nothing score of 258 for 5 in 87 overs, and from that moment on, the destiny of the series was confirmed. “They batted too slowly and we realised they were not actually pushing for a win, they were just trying to survive,” Jayawardene said. “We saw a lot of negativity in their game, and we thought if we could keep competing we would create more opportunities, and they would not come close to us.”

Aside from a rusty first morning in Kandy, when they were still readjusting from their roughing-up at the hands of the top dogs, Australia, Sri Lanka were magnificent. Even so, Jayawardene claimed he was surprised at the ease of their dominance. “I expected England to be more competitive,” he said. “They were, in the first game, but after
that they were competitive on certain days or sessions, but not all five days. We wanted to win this series more than they did. We batted much better in tough situations, and that was the difference between the two sides. You have to believe you have the talent to compete.”For Vaughan it has been a chastising tour. “Michael Vaughan, our most successful captain, we support you,” declared the Barmy Army in banner form, which rather underlines how far things have slipped since his first stint at the helm. He just has to hope his next vote of confidence doesn’t come from the England selectors. The Test side
hasn’t been beaten in consecutive Test series since Hussain’s men lost at home to Australia and away to India in 2001-02, and with a tricky away tour to New Zealand next, there’s no guarantee that the upturn is in sight.”We’re trying to develop a winning culture,” Vaughan said, as he inadvertently proved Jayawardene’s point. “We’ve fought very very hard to get draws, which is one of the things you require first and foremost, to make yourself difficult to beat, but now we’ve got to start winning. But we didn’t bowl as well as we could, we didn’t bat as well as we could, and we didn’t field as well as we could, and when you throw all those into a pot, they are not great ingredients for success.”England’s cricket was summed up as naïve at the very start of the series, and unfortunately for them, the experiences in Kandy and Colombo couldn’t be computed in time for success in Galle. Instead they were left to watch with wonder as Sri Lanka streaked ahead of them in all departments. “They’ve got batters who can bat time and
occupy the crease for a day-and-a-half and get big totals on the board,” Vaughan said. “They have an attack that is varied, with left-armers and a guy bowling at 140kph, and they’ve got the greatest spin bowler to play the game. In these conditions, they are a real handful.”

At least England spared themselves the indignity of going home without a single century or five-wicket haul for their efforts. Alastair Cook fronted up on the final day with England’s only landmark performance of the tour. He turns 23 on Christmas Day, and Vaughan was lavish in his praise for the efforts of a man who has now made seven Test
centuries in a little over 18 months of international cricket.”I was never in any doubt; he’s going to be a great player for England for many years,” Vaughan said. “This hundred in Galle will probably give his confidence the biggest boost of any hundred he’s ever got, because of the conditions, and because we were bowled out for 81. Going back in there showed a hell of a lot of character and skill.”And yet, for all of England’s improved effort with the bat, their final day of the tour was coloured by yet another moment of madness. Three wickets tumbled in the space of four deliveries from Muralitharan, in an over that Vaughan said summed up his team’s
experience in Sri Lanka. As souvenirs of the trip go, they’d probably prefer to pick up a nice carved wooden elephant from the boutiques in the fort.”If you switch off for any given moment, this kind of team can jump all over you,” Vaughan said. “When you’re facing the likes of Murali, if you relax for any ball, or any given period, he’ll take the opportunity.” The statement begged the question, why on earth were
England even allowing relaxation to enter their minds? “People have been doing things well in little instances, but we just couldn’t do it well enough or long enough to put Sri Lanka under pressure.” It’s been England’s story on a supremely disappointing tour.

Stats review of the five-match ODI series between Sri Lanka and India

S Rajesh30-Aug-2008India ended up with a fairly convincing 3-2 win in the ODI series, but you wouldn’t figure that out by looking at the overall stats. Sri Lanka scored 45 more runs and lost eight fewer wickets in the five games, and averaged five runs more per wicket than India, whose average run-rate was a tad lesser than the home team as well.The key factor was the margin of victories: Sri Lanka’s two wins were both by huge margins – they won the first match by eight wickets with more than 15 overs spare, while their consolation win in the last game was by 112 runs. India, on the other hand, won the rest but by relatively modest margins – three wickets, 33 runs and 46 runs. Not surprisingly, the overall numbers look much better for Sri Lanka.The one factor that stood out through the series was the extent to which bowlers from both teams dominated: India’s 258 in the fourth ODI was the only instance of a team topping 250, while both teams nearly had a 65% dot-ball percentage; in five games, only 13 sixes were struck, an average of less than three per game.

The new ball was the key in most games, and the Indians handled the Powerplay overs better than their Sri Lankan counterparts. Both teams lost 21 wickets during the Powerplays, but India scored 404 runs to Sri Lanka’s 362.Through the other phases of the innings, though, the Sri Lankans were better: during the middle overs they averaged eight more runs per wicket than India, and struck seven more fours. The difference is even more in the last ten overs, but most of the games were decided before that stage.

The partnership stats reveal just how much of a struggle it was for the top-order batsmen. The opening stand was a non-starter for Sri Lanka, who averaged just 13.80 for the first wicket. India’s one-down pair was worse, while Sri Lanka’s fourth-wicket partnership was equally dismal.There were only two century partnerships in the entire series: India’s only one was for the fourth wicket, when Suresh Raina and Mahendra Singh Dhoni added 143 in the fourth match, while Jayawardene and Chamara Kapugedera added 102 for the third wicket in the first game in Dambulla. India’s reliance on Dhoni is obvious from the fact that he was involved in each of the four 50-plus partnerships that India managed in the series; for Sri Lanka, Thilan Thushara was the unlikely batting hero, figuring in three of the five 50-plus stands. Thanks to Thushara, Sri Lanka’s average stand for the seventh wicket was 73.33 (obviously helped by the undefeated 94-run stand in the final ODI).Jayawardene made useful contributions, but the rest of the line-up was a huge disappointment: Kumar Sangakkara scored just 37 runs in five games, his lowest aggregate in a series in which he played more than three games.

Ajantha Mendis finished with 13 wickets in the series, the highest for either team. Some of the Indian batsmen played him reasonably well in the last few games, but Yuvraj Singh certainly wasn’t one of them: in just 14 deliveries, Mendis dismissed him thrice, conceding just seven runs. The one batsman who played both Mendis and Muttiah Muralitharan well was Raina, scoring 31 from 33 balls off Mendis and 35 from 34 off Murali. Dhoni handled Murali well too.Nuwan Kulasekara finished with 11 wickets, and he was particularly successful against the left-handers, dismissing Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina three times each. Eight of his 11 victims were left-handers, against whom he conceded less than ten runs per wicket. Rohit Sharma was Thushara’s bunny, while Sangakkara was so effectively shackled by Zaheer Khan that he only scored 16 from 44 deliveries, and was dismissed twice in the process.

It’s safe to say that those that doubted the calibre of Ricky Ponting will be feeling a touch sheepish this evening

Cricinfo staff09-Oct-2008

Five years ago, another tussle for the ownership of the Border-Gavaskar
Trophy started with considerable innuendo about the visiting captain being
a weak link, one to be targeted by the home side’s bowlers. Then, as now,
the soft target turned out to a hard opponent and the tone for the
series was set by his defiance. We don’t yet know what sort of impact
Ricky Ponting’s 36th hundred will have on this game, but it’s safe to say
that those that doubted the calibre of one of the modern greats will be
feeling a touch sheepish this evening.Sourav Ganguly was the Indian captain in December 2003, the man whose legs
would buckle at the mere mention of “chin music”, the notes for which had
been written by Jason Gillespie, Andy Bichel and others. Half a decade on,
it was Ponting that was expected to go into a light-headed trance at the
first glimpse of a certain turbaned offspinner.At the Gabba, that most intimidating of Australian cricket fortresses, Ganguly drove and cut his way to a magnificent 135-ball century. There were short balls aplenty, but he bobbed and weaved out of harm’s way like a nimble welterweight. Fast forward to the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and the fourth ball of the morning. Ponting had just reached the middle, having passed a visibly
angry Matthew Hayden on the way. With the bulwark of his batting back in
the dressing room after a contentious decision, the weight on Ponting’s
shoulders might have made Atlas wince. All he had to show for eight
previous Tests in India was one innings of 60, and an unwanted reputation
as Harbhajan Singh’s bunny.Though the pace bowlers gave next to nothing away, Anil Kumble didn’t wait
too long to play his ace of spades. Harbhajan was on as early as the 13th
over, and the stadium started buzzing. The scoreboard reminded everyone that Harbhajan had dismissed Ponting eight times in Tests, five of them
during that memorable series in 2001. A while later, it informed us that
he had also fallen seven times to Kumble, who waited till the 18th over
before bringing himself on.

Double-spin jeopardy then. Surely, Ponting would have no riposte. Turned
out that he did, and multiple answers at that. Kumble was treated with a
modicum of respect, and the harshest treatment saved for Harbhajan. You
can’t judge a spinner based on one day on a slow, low and comatose pitch,
but there were at least three Ponting strokes that laid down the sort of
marker that Ganguly had at the Gabba.Early on, Harbhajan had a man stationed at short midwicket. Ponting waited
till he was past 50 and then decided he had to go. Two thunderous
lofted strokes down to the rope at deep midwicket made Kumble switch to a
more conservative field that allowed easy singles, and a sublime
cover drive then took him into the 90s. Like every great batsman who has
played the game over the past 130 years, Ponting adapted to the situation.
The hard-handed and confused player of seven years ago was gone, and India
had no answer to the new prototype.You also wondered just how much the retirement debates had affected the
Indians. John Buchanan has spoken of how the prolonged Steve Waugh
farewell affected Australia in the 2003-04 series that they were fortunate
to draw, and it remains to be seen how both Indian selection and morale
will be affected by the unending saga of tributes, rants, soundbites and
asides.As there usually is between these two sides, there was no shortage of
drama or spirit. Kumble went from exasperation to frustration as catches
were dropped and appeals turned down, while Harbhajan’s sprint to the
middle first thing in the morning revealed just how keyed up he was even
in the absence of Andrew Symonds.Fortunately though, there was no repeat of the malice or puerile behaviour
that took the sheen off a terrific Test match in Sydney in January. When
Ponting got to his century, there was applause from Dravid at slip and
Ishant Sharma at square leg. The stakes may be impossibly high but true
champions have the grace to acknowledge and appreciate their peers.

They say never judge a book by its cover. The same should apply to cricket pitches

Andrew McGlashan at Centurion16-Dec-2009They say never judge a book by its cover. The same should apply to cricket pitches. Centurion Park’s surface was certainly green when the toss took place, if not quite the peasouper it had been during the airing it received on Tuesday. What actually happened off the surface, however, was far less colourful.Andrew Strauss’s decision to stick South Africa in certainly wasn’t up there with Nasser Hussain’s aberration at Brisbane in 2002 when he asked Australia to bat and watched them rampage to 364 for 2 on the first day. Compared to that indignity, 262 for 4 is vindication in the extreme, but Strauss wouldn’t be human if he wasn’t now having a few second thoughts – especially given that Graham Onions went lame during the afternoon session.A captain’s ideas clearly haven’t gone to plan when your spinner becomes the key bowler after the opposition have been inserted, and when – midway through the second session of the match – a medium-pacer is in action with the keeper standing up to the stumps, as was the case when Paul Collingwood started his spell in the 48th over. For a variety of reasons, Strauss was left juggling limited options, although Graeme Swann’s unbroken 24-over spell at least ensured he wasn’t facing the same sort of nightmares that confronted Hussain when he lost the services of Simon Jones in that debacle at the Gabba.Had Strauss been swayed by the pitch he saw on the previous day? The team selection suggested as much, given that England preferred Ian Bell at No. 6 ahead of Luke Wright, and didn’t give a moment’s thought to the out-and-out attacking route of picking Ryan Sidebottom and promoting Stuart Broad at No. 7. The oddity, though, was not in the team selection but in what followed. Having picked a batting-heavy line-up, Strauss then didn’t trust them to do the job by setting a first-innings score. Instead he gambled on his three-man pace attack having one of those days that captains dream of.Add into the mix that South Africa lost their premier strike bowler, Dale Steyn, moments before the toss, and it adds weight to the theory that Strauss’s call was premeditated – and wrong. It is dangerous to be swayed by what happens in the opposition ranks, but sometimes events make a compelling case for a reaction. With Jacques Kallis unable to bowl and Steyn ruled out, it was a chance to make South Africa labour in the hot sun. Instead, that became England’s tough task.”Having seen the wicket yesterday and this morning, we were well within our rights and justified to bowl first,” Swann insisted. “Certainly the stats on this ground [four wins against three defeats from 10 teams bowling first] seemed to back up the fact that bowling first can be very lucrative here.”Had a couple of the balls that kept low early on – especially from Graham Onions – cannoned into the pads or flicked the bail, we could be sitting here in a very different situation. We could have had them seven- or eight-down, or even bowled them out.”England had a chance with the new ball and didn’t take it. Broad, despite his third-ball removal of Graeme Smith, didn’t make the batsmen play enough and varied his length too often. His economical figures – he went for little more than two an over – disguise the lack of threat that he posed.To make matters worse, Onions, the pick of quicks, had to leave the field with a calf strain, albeit he returned late in the day for a brief burst. After a disrupted build-up, further injuries were the last thing Strauss needed, but it is the risk he was running with the formation he chose. This was also one of the hottest days of the tour which, coming on the back of a damp build-up, meant it wasn’t much of a surprise that the players felt the strain.So it was left to the joker in England’s pack to come to the rescue. It is amazing to think that it was only a year ago, in Chennai, that Swann made his Test debut. Then, as now, he struck in his first over with the memorable double blow of Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid. On this occasion he did for Ashwell Prince with his second ball, drawing him into a drive that ended up at slip.Swann faced a counter-attack from Kallis which left him with the early figures of 3-0-24-1, but he soon remedied his economy rate with subtle changes of pace and flight. There wasn’t much turn off the pitch for him so he had to use his brain instead. He also had to retain his composure after missing out on a caught-behind decision against AB de Villiers – a let-off so blatant, in Swann’s opinion, that he called for an almost-instant review. To his credit, he that frustration behind him, and soon nabbed de Villiers shortly before tea.An offspinner should not be the stand-out bowler on a presumed greentop. Still, Swann bowled more than a quarter of England’s overs, and thanks to his efforts, South Africa’s run-rate hovered around three an over for the day, well below the current average in a fast-scoring era.”As that last session went on, perhaps we lost a bit of the initiative,” Swann said. “But at the end of play, I think we’re fairly happy that they haven’t really got away from us. Ideally, seven or eight wickets would have been the order of the day having bowled first. But I think we’ve stuck to our guns on a very good pitch. We didn’t bowl badly at any point, and the fact we haven’t gone at more than three an over is a positive.”It’s still far too early to make a final judgment on England’s tactics, but they have left themselves an uphill task and will need to pile on the runs when it’s their turn to bat. In truth, they should probably have been doing that today.

It proved harder than many expected, but England secured a 2-0 series victory with their nine-wicket win in Dhaka

Andrew McGlashan25-Mar-2010Captain in the runs: Alastair Cook didn’t let leadership effect his batting form with two hundreds in the series•PA PhotosAlastair Cook – 8For a stand-in captain to arrive for a tour where the expectation is of a clean-sweep certainly added to the pressure, but Cook leaves with his record intact. Importantly for a captain his own batting form led from the front with a career-best 173 at Chittagong and an unbeaten 109 at Dhaka. The hard work he has put into his technique continued to pay off, albeit against a weak bowling attack. Some of his captaincy raised eyebrows – and he’ll want to forget the second morning in Dhaka – but he stuck to his guns and will have learnt plenty about the role. Will be a valuable deputy when Andrew Strauss returns.Jonathan Trott – 5A bit of a nothing tour for Trott, who never completely missed out with the bat but didn’t cash in, either. Received a couple of rough umpiring decisions – caught behind off the helmet and his run out at Dhaka – and was shunted up to open in the second Test where he responded with a laborious 64. It averted a potential collapse, but he needs to find ways of scoring more freely against spin. His fielding is a concern; the drop at Dhaka was a real YouTube moment.Kevin Pietersen – 6Finally the runs returned – it was only ever going to be a matter of time. A judgement on his true form will have to wait for more testing attacks, but the swagger was evident again. By the run-chase at Dhaka he was playing the switch hit and he may well look back on this short series as a key time in his recovery. Showed his determination to work hard by changing his technique to left-arm spin although still fell to them the three times he was dismissed. Pleasingly, he wants to work on his bowling.Paul Collingwood – 6Cashed in when the going was easy at Chittagong, but his 145 was no more than he deserved after spending vast amounts of time staving off Australia and South Africa last year. Will always be underrated, but now has ten Test hundreds. Only bowled one over all series although the management denied there was any injury issue and his catching wasn’t quite as infallible as normal.Ian Bell – 8Never has Bell been such a reassuring presence in the middle order. His runs at Chittagong were virtually freebies, but in the second Test his stylish 138 saved England from potential embarrassment and finally meant he was the lone century-maker in an innings. The No. 3 question will continue to be asked, but Bell is a perfect fit for that middle-order role. He should now kick-on and produce the career everyone has expected since he was an Under-19.Matt Prior – 6Was only called on for one significant innings and responded with a confident 62 at Dhaka before a hot-headed swipe meant he missed out on plenty more. Remains good enough to bat at No. 6 if England want five bowlers. Dropped a couple of tough chances against the spinners, but in hot conditions generally maintained his standards well. Has no challenger for his Test spot.Taking his chance: Tim Bresnan was the pick of England’s seamers and also provided an important innings at Dhaka•Getty ImagesTim Bresnan – 7For a man who wasn’t in the original squad, Bresnan took his chance with both hands. He was England’s most consistent seamer, but was more impressive with the old ball than the new one finding testing reverse swing in both Tests. He’ll have to wait a long time to bowl a better delivery than the one to remove Tamim Iqbal at Chittagong. Justified his promotion to No. 7 with a vital 91 in the second Test and could well have inked himself in for the first Test of the home series if Graham Onions remains unfit. The Ashes, though, is probably a different question.Graeme Swann – 9What would England do without Swann? Struggle to beat Bangladesh is the answer. There appears no sign of his form wavering as he claimed another Man-of-the-Series award after collecting 16 scalps in the two Tests including a 10-wicket haul at Chittagong. Maintained his amazing skill of striking in the first over of a spell and continued to show the value of giving the ball a rip. If two Tests bowling on these pitches can’t quell his enthusiasm, nothing will. His send-off of Junaid Siddique was unbecoming of such a fine man and he quickly apologised.Stuart Broad – 6There was a lot of huff and puff from Broad and quite a few snarls and stares to go with it, but not a huge amount of success on two dead pitches. Made an early mark with the new ball in the first Test, but struggled with the heat later in the game. The most significant aspect of Broad’s performance was his use of reverse swing in Dhaka, but he still needs to learn to watch that temper. Has been overtaken in the batting stakes by Swann.James Tredwell – 7Should have played in the first Test and didn’t let anyone down when he finally earned his debut. He ended Tamim’s blitz at a vital time and toiled away consistently throughout the match with six wickets a deserved return. Useful runs down the order, but he isn’t the long-term answer to England’s second-spinner role.Steven Finn – 5Impressed so much in the warm-up game that he leapfrogged Ajmal Shahzad and Liam Plunkett in the fast-bowling queue. After a nervous first spell he was impressive at Chittagong, extracting the most bounce of any of the quicks and showed he already knew about reverse swing. Not quite so effective at Dhaka as the strain of back-to-back Tests took its toll, but is certainly one for the future although may find himself back in the county ranks for a while.Michael Carberry – 4Two unfulfilling innings as he became bogged down against spin having looked at ease against pace. However, he was brilliant in the fielding with his stop, slide and throw to remove Naeem Islam a vital moment when England had gone flat. But will have to wait for injury for another chance.

What do you do when the curator has it in for bowlers? You plan, persevere and pray

Aakash Chopra29-Jul-2010The tracks laid out for the first two Test matches in the ongoing Sri Lanka-India series have pretty much dictated the course of the matches. The Sri Lankan tracks, like most in the subcontinent, are batting havens – classic “win-the-toss-bat-first” surfaces, which in most cases push the team losing the toss into playing catch up for the duration of the match.On these featherbeds the ball refuses to change its path after pitching, for spinners and fast bowlers alike, and the odds are stacked heavily against the bowlers and the fielding side. Yet there’s a job to be done – to dismiss the opposition, failing which you need to brace yourself for a dreadfully long haul. Nothing hurts a player more than the feeling of helplessness against the inevitable, which in this case is the declaration from the batting side.Does this mean one resigns to fate and does not plan at all? Definitely not. In fact, bowling on such tracks might need more planning than on helpful surfaces. But planning alone is often not enough; it needs to be complemented with lots of perseverance.Fast bowlers with the new ball

A fast bowler’s planning depends on the ball being used in the match. If the match is in India, it is the SG Test ball that is used, which of course behaves quite differently to the Kookaburra.The SG ball moves negligibly in the air while it’s new, and so it’s important to hit the deck hard till one side gets rough. You often see Zaheer Khan bowl cross-seam deliveries right at the beginning of a spell to hasten this process. And I vividly remember Glenn McGrath employing similar tactics in the 2004 series in India.Unless the team has three seamers at their disposal, it isn’t a bad idea to hold back the two frontline quicks till one side of the ball loses its sheen. A part-time quick or a spinner comes handy in these conditions. This was the job Angelo Mathews did for Sri Lanka in India last year.Once the ball starts swinging, releasing it right, instead of hitting the deck hard, becomes the mantra. The track might not offer lateral movement but the ball will likely swing in the air, if delivered properly. Since the swing in the air may not be complemented by movement off the surface, field placements may still need to be a little conservative. The bowlers must stick to a line, set their fields accordingly and err only on the side of fullness, for balls pitched short won’t even move in the air.Bowlers must employ different tactics while bowling with the Kookaburra, which, unlike the SG ball, moves appreciably when it’s new. Hence the endeavour should be to release the ball properly, pitch it slightly fuller and extract movement in the air. Smart bowlers use the more pronounced seam to bowl cutters too.Lasith Malinga did something remarkable in the first Test match, in Galle. He bowled fuller to start with, dismissed Gautam Gambhir cheaply in both innings, and then used the hardness of the ball to push Virender Sehwag on to the back foot with a barrage of well-directed bouncers when he saw there wasn’t much swing on offer. He knew that once the ball lost its hardness, he would have to wait for it to start reverse-swinging to inflict damage. The trick is to assess the conditions quickly and then react appropriately, be it the SG Test or the Kookaburra ball.Fast bowlers when the ball gets old

The brand of ball makes very little difference in the approach when the ball gets old, when there isn’t much conventional swing, no movement off the surface, and it’s too early to get reverse swing going. That’s when discipline and patience take centre stage.

The brand of ball makes very little difference in the approach when the ball gets old, when there isn’t much conventional swing, no movement off the surface, and it’s too early to get reverse swing going. That’s when discipline and patience take centre stage

Zaheer is a master operator in these situations, especially in post-lunch sessions in the subcontinent. He bowls at about 70% of his optimum speed, sticks to a line a foot outside off stump, employs a 6-3 or 7-2 off-side field and waits for the batsman to commit hara-kiri. He has the advantage of the natural angle working for him, taking the ball away from the right-hander even when it isn’t swinging.Another tactic, if executed well, is to accept that there isn’t enough movement to find the outside edge, and that even if you do, it’s unlikely to carry to the slips. Then one must bowl wicket to wicket, keep the catching fielders in front of the stumps and hope to either breach the defence or expect the batsman to get carried away and hit in the air. You need to be persistent rather than imaginative to see through such phases. But consistency in line and length is imperative, else you’ll be punished, for the margin of error is really small. The only thing you must constantly vary is the pace. Rolling your fingers over the ball to bowl slower ones and cutters are among the few ways to create doubt in the batsman’s mind in these conditions.Another tactic is to get two fast bowlers to bowl bouncers in tandem from around the stumps, with both fine leg and square leg on the fence. Since there’s nothing happening otherwise, there’s no harm in trying something different.Once the ball starts reverse-swinging, good quick bowlers come into their own. One is still required to stick to a line (you don’t want to bowl on both sides of the wicket) but lengths can, and perhaps must, vary with almost every delivery. The last thing you, as a bowler, want when the ball is reverse-swinging is to be predictable. Even a toe-crushing yorker doesn’t have the same effect if every ball is in the block-hole.Once again, Malinga used the old ball quite effectively in the first Test match to break the back of the Indian batting line-up, dismissing Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. Michael Kasprowicz did something similar in the series against India in 2004. He was so ruthless with his lines around the middle and leg stumps that he could do without a slip or a gully fielder.While talking about masters with the old ball, it would be criminal not to mention Waqar and Wasim. But these two were special bowlers with special skills and others can only dream of emulating them. Don’t they say: planning and plotting is for lesser mortals; geniuses carve their own road.Spinners
Slow bowlers are your workhorses on dead surfaces, for good captains rarely give their fast bowlers long spells. Spinners are required to do the donkey’s work of bowling extremely long spells with or, mostly, without any assistance from the surface. They need strategies too, but unlike for their quicker counterparts, their plans don’t vary from Kookaburra to SG Test, for balls don’t behave radically differently depending on their brand when in the hands of a spinner.Vettori: chokes off the scoring and waits for mistakes•Getty ImagesLength is not negotiable: they must stick to it for as long as they are bowling or pay for it dearly. The lines and the pace, though, must keep changing, along with the introduction of variations like the doosra, googly or the arm ball.The lack of purchase from the surface, unless you’re a Murali or Warne, might make a spinner monotonous, and that’s what they must guard against. They must keep using the drift, experiment with angles by coming over and around the stumps, and use fielders cleverly to play with the batsman’s mind. There may be nothing happening but the batsman must always get the impression that there’s a plan in place. And the most likely way for a spinner to get a wicket on these surfaces is to put pressure on the batsman by making run-scoring difficult and thus making him commit a faux pas.I really like how Daniel Vettori operates on good surfaces against quality players of spin bowling. He tries to block their working areas – i.e. behind square leg for a left-hander and point for a right-hander – by altering his line and length and placing a fielder to cut off the single. By doing so he challenges the batsman to do something different, like go over the top or play against the spin. He may not always be successful, though he mostly is, but his intentions are absolutely right.In batting-friendly conditions it helps to have a multi-dimensional attack: a couple of attacking bowlers who’re expected to go for wickets, though they might be a little expensive in the bargain, along with a couple of defensive bowlers who’ll stem the flow of runs and also give their more aggressive counterparts some respite.Ideally one would always have tracks like the ones England dished out for the recently concluded Pakistan-Australia Test series, which had enough in them to keep the bowlers interested. But expecting them from curators in the subcontinent would be a bit too optimistic. While I have written about how a bowler can plan, it’s still a bloody tough job to be a bowler in the subcontinent. Unless we make a conscious effort to prepare sporting wickets, it may well cut a few careers short, either due to injury or lack of results. To those who’re still standing and delivering in these inhuman conditions: take a bow!

Worrell had outstanding numbers as a batsman, but he will always be most remembered for his outstanding leadership qualities

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan26-Dec-2010Equipped with a classical technique, Frank Worrell was one of the finest and most stylish batsmen produced by West Indies. Born in Barbados, Worrell, together with the legendary Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott formed the three Ws. As a batsman, Worrell was top-class – he averaged nearly 50 from 51 Tests with nine centuries – and he remains arguably West Indies’ greatest captain. But his influence on the game went far beyond the field, as he was single-handedly responsible for unifying a bunch of talented players across the Caribbean. He instilled the necessary professionalism in the team and laid the foundation for a world-beating outfit.Worrell started his career with 97 against England in Port of Spain in 1948 and is one of 27 batsmen to be dismissed in the nineties on debut. He followed this up with a century in his second Test in Guyana. In Nottingham in 1950, Worrell made his highest Test score of 261 and added 283 for the fourth wicket with Weekes. He averaged 104.12 at the end of his seventh Test and his batting average never fell below 60 until his 17th match. His career can be distinctly divided into three phases – the most prolific was from his debut to 1953, when he averaged over 64 with six centuries. From 1954 to 1960 when he became the captain, he averaged 41.72 with three centuries. Despite Worrell’s captaincy stint being very successful, his batting declined as he averaged just over 40 without scoring a single hundred in his last three years in Tests.

The three Ws were an integral part of West Indies for much of the 1950s and were crucial to their success. While Walcott and Weekes made their debuts in the first Test in Barbados against England in January 1948, Worrell played his first match less than a month later in the second Test in Trinidad. They played 29 Tests together and their batting statistics are remarkably similar in those games: Worrell was marginally the highest run-getter of the three and averaged almost 52, while Weekes and Walcott averaged just over 47 and 49 respectively. Overall, though, Worrell’s career average was surpassed by the other two greats as they both averaged over 56.

Worrell was at his best against England, scoring six of his nine centuries against them at an average of nearly 55. His highest Test score of 261 also came against them, at Trent Bridge in 1950, and he remains one of the most successful West Indian batsmen versus England. Of the six series he played against them, only once did he go without a hundred, in his last Test series in 1963, when he scored only 142 runs in eight innings. Even in the disastrous tour of 1957, when West Indies lost three Tests by an innings, Worrell was one of only two West Indian batsmen to touch 350 runs for the series.

Despite scoring five of his nine centuries in away Tests, Worrell was a far more consistent batsman at home, averaging more than 55 in the West Indies, and slightly less than 45 overseas. Worrell played against only four teams during his Test career – England, Australia, New Zealand and India. Against all teams except Australia, Worrell was superb, with an average of more than 50 against those three teams. Against Australia, though, he wasn’t as successful, averaging only 32.78 against them. In 28 innings against them, he scored just one century, during the 4-1 defeat in 1951-52. On eight other occasions he passed 50, but couldn’t convert even one of those innings into hundreds. Worrell struggled in the 1954-55 home series against Australia, scoring just 206 runs in eight innings.Worrell averaged over 74 in wins, but only 18 in losses. He scored three hundreds and ten fifties in wins, but his only ton in defeats was against Australia in Melbourne in 1958, when he scored 108. In 34 innings in losses, he scored six ducks, five of which came in his last ten innings in defeats.Worrell was a far better player in the first innings of Tests, averaging nearly 62, while the average dropped to just over 31 in the second innings of matches. He did not shine with the bat when he was captain, though. He averaged over 52 as a player, but just over 40 as captain. For his detailed stats summary, click here.Worrell was involved in 21 century partnerships in his career, and shared 12 of those with Walcott, Garry Sobers and Weekes. His average of nearly 77 in partnerships with Sobers is the best among all West Indian pairs to have aggregated over 1000 runs. Walcott and Worrell averaged over 75 as well, with five century stands. Worrell’s association with Weekes was also extremely productive, with three century partnerships at an average of 60.59. Worrell was involved in three of the six highest partnerships for West Indies against England, including the record fourth-wicket stand of 399 with Sobers in 1960.

Worrell’s played first-class cricket for both his native Barbados and Jamaica, scoring 15,025 runs at an average of 54.24 with 39 centuries and 80 fifties. In 208 first-class games, he picked up 349 wickets at an average under 29 with 13 five-wicket hauls.Worrell was a tremendous batsman, but his greatest contribution to West Indies cricket was his stint as captain. Though George Headley had been captain for one Test, Worrell was the first regular black captain for the West Indies. Till Worrell led, West Indies were quite erratic in their performances, winning 25 and losing 30 Tests. They improved vastly winning nine and losing just three of the 15 Tests he captained. He united players from different islands and pioneered an aggressive brand of cricket that revolutionised the game. He started a dominant phase for the West Indies that continued for the next three decades. Worrell was a huge motivation even before he became captain, as he spurred Sobers and Kanhai to lead from the front in the subcontinent in 1958-59. Sobers made three consecutive centuries while Kanhai hit two double-centuries on the tour. Wes Hall, who took 192 wickets in his career, took 46 wickets on that tour and had his best success under Worrell in the next two years.

The 1950s had been quite depressing with many dull draws, but the start of Worrell’s captaincy, which coincided with the historic 1960-61 West Indies tour of Australia, ushered in an era of outstanding attacking cricket and set the platform for a highly dominant two decades for West Indies. Few gave the tourists any chance against Richie Benaud’s Australia. The series that followed, though, completely changed the way Test cricket was perceived. The series started with a tie in Brisbane, one of only two tied Tests in history. The match witnessed Sobers’ magnificent 132 and twin half-centuries by Worrell. After a win apiece for the two sides in the next two matches, Australia saved the fourth Test with the last pair batting out almost two hours and squeezed out a two-wicket win in the final Test to take the thrilling series 2-1. Despite the defeat, West Indies came to be regarded as a genuinely competitive side and Worrell’s captaincy won plenty of praise. The bilateral series between Australia and West Indies has since then been played for the Frank Worrell Trophy. Worrell led West Indies in ten more Tests, winning eight of them, including a 5-0 whitewash of India at home and a 3-1 away series win over England.

Worrell was also a useful bowler and picked up 69 wickets in his career. He was a much more regular bowler when he was not a captain, picking up 54 wickets at 38.70. His bowling stats overseas was far better than his display in home Tests. In away matches he picked up 48 wickets at an average just over 29 while his 21 home wickets came at a very high average of 60. At Nottingham in 1957, he bowled 21 overs, carried his bat through the innings with an unbeaten 191 and bowled seven more overs, spending the first 20 hours of the match on the field. His best bowling performance of 7 for 70, against England in 1960, came in a defeat.Worrell finished with outstanding numbers, but ultimately, Worrell will be remembered for his charisma and positive effect on West Indian cricket, and his ability to motivate and influence the careers of the greatest cricketers from the Caribbean.