With little context, this tri-series could be looked upon as another blow to Test cricket, but for the teams, it provides a chance to grow, build and streamline their ODI outfits

Abhishek Purohit27-Jun-2013Seen from one perspective, this tri-series could be the latest instance of Testicide – the act by which a scheduled Test match or series is aborted (or rescheduled, to an unspecified date) by cash-strapped boards for the big money that a one-day series, preferably involving India, brings in. The WICB and SLC achieved that by scrapping the two Tests they were scheduled under the FTP to play against each other in May; they also managed to convince India to be the third team in a one-day tri-series that starts in Jamaica five days after the Champions Trophy ended in England.But, as MS Dhoni might have put it in one of his interesting metaphors, if a delivery van has been assigned a particular route, there is little the driver, or anybody else, can achieve by fantasising about how good some other route may have been. And this route has one major attraction: The full-strength squad fielded by each country.Barring a couple of injuries, and in West Indies’ case, the need to cull a couple of players for a smaller home-series squad, all three squads are identical to the ones that participated in the Champions Trophy. These are first-choice squads, not some watered-down versions that may have made up the numbers in numerous forgotten one-day series in the past. The boards are quite serious about this series alright.What about the teams? Host captain Dwayne Bravo has had a heartbreaking start to his limited-overs leadership, with West Indies exiting the Champions Trophy following a rain-hit tied match against South Africa. As Bravo said after the game, West Indies are trying to grow and build a stronger one-day team. New Zealand and Zimbabwe were the last two visitors to the Caribbean. Compared to them, the challenge posed by India and Sri Lanka will aid West Indies’ development as a one-day unit. Admittedly, the hosts have made some strides. Having gone more than four years without winning at home against opposition excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, they drew with Australia in March 2012 and then won 4-1 against New Zealand. What Bravo will also want is to grow into his new leadership role. As of now, he is captain in only one format, and taking on two well-drilled ODI outfits can only make him develop further.The road ahead is tough for Angelo Mathews. Not only does he have to evolve as a captain and a player, he also has to make sure Sri Lanka’s reliance on the seniors goes down progressively as the 2015 World Cup approaches. India have successfully achieved that transition in ODIs, so much so that, the window on seniors such as Virender Sehwag seems to be all but closed. Sri Lanka appear to be nowhere close to achieving that. The absence of the injured Tillakaratne Dilshan in this series is a small opportunity, one which Mathews will hope he and Sri Lanka can use to their benefit.The last time India won a world title, they had Sachin Tendulkar, Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and Zaheer Khan in the line-up. In just over two years, the nucleus of the one-day side has changed beyond recognition. Who would have thought an opening combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma would win the Champions Trophy? The selectors had indicated their focus on the 2015 World Cup by selecting a young side for the Champions Trophy, and have chosen to continue with the same approach for this series. These four or five games, against reasonably tough opposition, aren’t bad for a young unit to build its confidence further.Coming to overall context, this series has none. Of course, it isn’t the first one-day series, bilateral or tri-nation, devoid of it. Nor will it be the last. Some might argue that a bilateral Test series between West Indies and Sri Lanka, in the absence of a Test Championship, would not have provided any more context. But at least in that case, the game would have been spared the latest instance of Testicide.

First-class cricket has been a struggle for Alex Hales this season, but in Twenty20 he remains a highly dangerous player looking to make a global name for himself

Jon Culley07-Aug-2013Alex Hales must have suspected Twenty20 might be his game when he took part in a tournament at Lord’s as a 16-year old and, taking advantage of three no-balls, smashed eight sixes and a four in the same over. Somewhat ironically, he had been invited along because he had been showing potential as a bowler.”It was a thing organised by Neil Burns for London County Cricket Club,” Hales recalled. “I was a tall lad, six foot by the time I was 13 and saw myself as a fast bowler who could bat a bit. When that happened, I realised I should probably take my batting a bit more seriously.”Eight years on and even taller now at 6ft 5ins, Hales has shown himself capable of wreaking similar havoc even against the best bowlers in the world, particularly in the shortest form of the game. His 81 matches have brought 18 half-centuries, five of them for England, for whom he shares with Luke Wright the distinction of almost scoring a T20 century. Hales scored a brilliant 99 on his home ground, Trent Bridge, against West Indies last June.”Twenty20 has always suited me,” he said. “It is not really my natural game to block it. I like to try to get on top of bowlers, which sometimes can be my downfall in red-ball cricket but has come off for me in T20.”His struggle to establish consistency as an opening batsman in four-day cricket has been particularly acute this season, when a run of poor scores cost him his place in Nottinghamshire’s Championship side, requiring him to seek to rebuild his form and his confidence in 2nd XI cricket. Yet he has been able to step back into the T20 spotlight seemingly untroubled, as was evidenced in the stunning 52-ball 82 in the final Nottinghamshire group game against Lancashire that secured the county’s right to host Thursday’s Friends Life t20 quarter-final, against Essex.”A couple of years ago I found some form across all the competitions but I’ve struggled a bit in four-day cricket this year and I missed a couple of games deservedly,” he said.”But I’ve found it relatively easy to put bad form in county cricket out of my mind because the technique and mindset for opening in T20 are completely different.”In four-day cricket, the bowlers are looking to tie you down and look for you to make mistakes and the stereotypical approach for openers against swinging conditions in England is to get your head down and work hard.”But in T20 a lot of the time the bowlers are bowling different deliveries, trying different things to out-think you but and that gives you plenty of opportunity to score without taking too many risks. If you stay still and watch the ball more often than not you are going to get good chances – and all you’ve got to do is beat the infield and it is four runs. And the white ball tends to not swing or do a lot off the pitch.”Nottinghamshire will attempt to reach Finals Day for the third time against Essex, whom they have never previously met in the competition. Hales identifies Shaun Tait, Ravi Bopara, Hamish Rutherford and Graham Napier as four Essex players posing a particular threat but believes his side are as well equipped as ever to win the competition.”This is as good a chance as we have ever had, with the quality we’ve got in our batting line-up, with someone of Chris Read’s calibre coming in at eight, which gives the top order even more licence to attack the bowlers.”Among our bowlers Graeme White has really shone this year, Samit Patel gives you real class and, of the seamers, Harry Gurney has been outstanding.”Determined though he is to become an accomplished opening batsman in first-class cricket, there are clear opportunities for Hales to enhance his standing – and earnings – from T20. Having caught the eye with a breathtaking 89 off 52 balls for Melbourne Renegades in the last Big Bash League tournament, he has already signed with Adelaide Strikers for another stint down under, and the temptations of the IPL will loom large again in the winter.Along with Samit Patel and Michael Lumb, Hales was prevented from taking part this year when Nottinghamshire insisted that their commitments at Trent Bridge had to come first. It may be a contentious issue again and Hales hopes the opportunity does not remain closed to him.”Ideally there will be a change in the dates that would allow us to play and not miss Championship cricket but I’m not sure that is going to happen in the near future. I would like the chance to play in that tournament – you see such a lot of world-class players involved and it would be a chance to develop your own game.”Notts Outlaws host Essex Eagles in the last of the Friends Life t20 Quarter Finals on Thursday evening. Quarter-Finals and Finals Day tickets are available from ecb.co.uk/flt20

Afghanistan cricketers have found a way to channel their aggression which has helped them focus, but the challenges have just begun, says the coach

Rachna Shetty04-Oct-2013In October 2011, four months into their World Cricket League Championship campaign, Afghanistan were a little wobbly. They had beaten Canada easily but were struggling in the lower half of the group after losing both matches to UAE, a team coached by a man who, until a few months ago, had coached Afghanistan.Former Pakistan fast bowler and current Afghanistan coach, Kabir Khan, can laugh about that memory now. But he is also quick to admit that the losses put Afghanistan under a lot of pressure. And he would know a few things about that.Khan had coached the Afghanistan side through a near-fairytale season, when they went from playing division five of the World Cricket League to a place in the qualifiers for the 2009 World Cup. He coached the team when they beat Ireland to qualify for their first T20 World Cup. And after his stint with UAE ended in 2011, Khan returned to Afghanistan, taking over at a time when the side were under pressure to stay in contention for a top-of-the-table finish.It was that pressure that the Afghanistan team absorbed and thrived on, according to Khan. Speaking after his side’s win against Kenya, which took them to the 2015 World Cup, Khan said that the team had learnt to be unafraid.”The boys have faced a lot of pressure and they are getting used to it, and they are starting to enjoy it,” Khan says. “I think for them, pressure is now something that they want to enjoy and grow into, as opposed to other amateur players who sometimes want to get out of it.”That ability showed in the way their spinners set up the win on Friday, first stifling and then dismissing the Kenyan top-order in a must-win game. It also showed in Mohammad Nabi’s resilient knock of 46, which brushed aside the loss of early wickets and bring the ebullience of win.Khan points out how that maturity and ability were a direct result of the World Cup qualifier in 2009. Afghanistan had a dream run until the qualifier, progressing from division five – the lowest in the tournament – to three and eventually to the qualifying tournament for the 2011 World Cup. The side finished sixth in a group of eight – it wasn’t enough to enter the World Cup, but good enough to get them ODI status for four years.”It [the season] was a huge difference of gain and the team was achieving its targets quickly. They were performing well, but the maturity was not there, to play against the big boys at the top,” Khan says. “And at that stage, if we had qualified for the World Cup and faced losses, it would have meant this team was not good enough at that level.

As a team, you need the support of your nation and that would only come when they know cricket. Now, if the team loses to Australia, people understand that Australia is a big team; if we lose to India, they understand. Now, the whole nation is ready for it.Kabir Khan, the Afghanistan coach

“The game was new in the country, and for them [the fans], they didn’t know the difference between the quality of Pakistan, India, Australia and Afghanistan. These four years, when we didn’t qualify but we still had our ODI status, we played two T20 matches against India and international matches and the people who started following cricket, began understanding the rules and the laws of cricket as well. As a team, you need the support of your nation and that would only come when they know cricket. Now, if the team loses to Australia, people understand that Australia is a big team; if we lose to India, they understand. Now, the whole nation is ready for it. The boys have matured in the last four years and they know what international cricket is all about and how to perform there.”Even as the cricket board is strengthening its own domestic season with limited-overs and first-class tournaments at different levels, the trend of playing in other countries is something that Khan encourages, for entirely practical purposes. Mohammad Nabi and pace bowler Hamid Hassan have played for the MCC alongside players like Sourav Ganguly and Brian Lara. Nabi plays in the Dhaka Premier Division, while fast bowler Shapoor Zadran has played for Badureliya Sports Club in Sri Lanka.”We want them to be busy,” Khan says. “The developed cricketing countries, like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, England and Australia have cricketing seasons, where boys are busy playing domestic cricket, keeping fit and they always have a professional coach and a professional staff. The problem with our players was, and is, that they are not always with professionals. We always encourage them to go to other domestic leagues; they will play with the top players and with top coaches there, they will learn something there.”The team doesn’t have too much time to celebrate, though. The World T20 qualifiers are scheduled to take place in the UAE between November 15 and 30 and that is the immediate goal. Given the format of the tournament, Afghanistan will be aiming to top their group and secure a place in the World T20 next year.The 50-over World Cup is a long-term goal and Khan stresses that training his batsmen to understand and adapt to Australian conditions will be one of the biggest challenges. Time, he believes, is on his side.”Asian batsmen struggle in Australia, so we have to create an environment for our batsmen, where they get a taste of what sort of wickets there are and how to play on wickets that are going to be bouncy, seaming,” he says. “We might take them on a tour to Australia, two or three months before the start of the World Cup and then come back and work on our weaknesses. At the Global Academy in Dubai, they have prepared some Australian-type pitches as well, so we can practise on them. Those are the things that you can work on. It’s going to be helpful to our fast bowling. And we have enough time on our hands, which is very good for us.”One of the things Khan is proud of is the transformation of the players from aggressive, hard-hitting batsmen to focused individuals, who have still retained their attitude.”By nature, they [the team] are aggressive, which goes against them because if you’re always trying to hit sixes, you’re going to get out. So as a coach, it’s about channelising their aggression and trying to control it at a time when it’s not needed. Now, after four years, I can say the fielding and bowling is around 80 percent controlled, while in the batting, they’ve controlled around 60 percent and 40 percent still remains to be controlled. But that’s their nature and that’s why they make good fast bowlers and fielders. They don’t want to lose to anyone. I have seen them play against the big teams and they always want to win; they talk about how it would feel to beat such a big team. Other teams are happy when they qualify, but this team when it qualifies, it wants to win.”

Sachin Tendulkar talks about the emotions he felt after winning the World Cup in 2011, and how he went about tackling Dale Steyn in Cape Town earlier the same year. Also, some tributes

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2013

‘We were all crying happy tears’

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Defining Moments – Sachin Tendulkar

‘One of the best sessions of my life’

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‘One of the best sessions of my life’

‘Incredible for an 18-year-old’

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‘Incredible for an 18-year-old’

The Sachin phenomenon

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The Sachin phenomenon

Test cricket in Newlands means lots of colour, noise, and a bit of ogling

Samantha Smith04-Mar-2014Choice of game
I’ve rarely missed an international game at Newlands. My love affair with Test cricket and this scenic stadium is such that I’d probably attend all five days of a Test between Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. As you can imagine, a series-deciding fixture between South Africa, the top-ranked Test side, and a newly revitalised Australia is not a match a cricket lover would easily forgo.Team supported
South Africa. Post-readmission, the Proteas have yet to win a Test series against the Aussies at home. It is the missing credential on an otherwise impressive record and I had hoped this Test would change that.Key performer
When Alviro Petersen raced to a half-century, the deficit appeared less daunting and the prospect of a draw likely. However, the immaculate bowling of Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris have all but ensured an Australia win. The duo shared seven wickets between them and combined sheer effort, reverse swing, menacing bouncers and variation to brilliant effect.One thing I’d have changed about the match
A small group of local school boys proudly declared that they were bunking school and vocally supported Australia. Every time Shane Warne or a reserve player ventured out of the dressing room or appeared on the team balcony, these young lads attempted to get their attention by continually calling out the players’ names. I’d have liked to put a muzzle on all of them.The interplay I enjoyed

There is no love lost between Johnson and the equally fiery Dale Steyn. In the 80th over, Johnson bombarded Steyn with pace and bounce, and the Newlands faithful erupted with applause when Steyn top-edged a delivery for four. Johnson responded with another bouncer which smashed into Steyn’s helmet. In true competitive spirit, the big screen quickly displayed a scene from the second Test when Steyn hit Johnson on the helmet, which elicited laughs from both players.Wow moment
The dismissal of AB de Villiers, South Africa’s new go-to-man, in the 36th over silenced the crowd and signaled thoughts of a follow-on. I personally mouthed a wow when, before the start of play, an Australia supporter seated behind me asked his friend who Graeme Smith was. Too bad the exemplary Proteas captain couldn’t respond with a solid contribution.Close encounter
From what I could hear, Johnson was occasionally heckled by several sections of a largely partisan crowd. One spectator, who noticed Johnson rubbing his hamstring, proceeded to tell the paceman that “he must go home” and is “finished for today”. Clearly all in good fun, a group of beer-chugging guys responded by begging the Aussie quick to “give us a wave”.Shot of the day
Hashim Amla looked in sublime form as he executed a number of well-timed cover drives. However, it was his sublime cut shot off James Pattinson in the 28th over that truly stood out. Despite a relatively modest score of 38, it is clear that the Hash is back!Crowd meter
There were healthy numbers of Australia supporters, most of whom could be found on a small grass embankment where they persistently waved their large flags and vociferously cheered on Johnson whenever he fielded near the boundary. They were however outnumbered by the Newlands faithful who rapturously applauded every run the South African lower order could muster.Fancy dress index
I spotted a couple of men wearing carved watermelons for hats, lime green tank tops and yellow pants. Apart from that, several guys rocked up in their whites complete with helmets and pads. They were probably hoping to have a bat! Clearly, the adventurous folk are still recovering from the weekend’s festivities.Entertainment
The PA system blared familiar radio favourites which included a number of cleverly selected tracks. At 121 for 4, Pharrell’s “Happy” reverberated across the ground. I don’t know whether the DJ intended to appeal to the celebrating Australians or to cheer up the disappointed crowd. When JP Duminy departed in the 39th over, “Wake Me Up When it’s All Over”, a line from an Avicii track, resounded – much to the amusement of a few alert spectators.At the tea break, the crowd was treated to a parade by the South Africa Under-19 World Cup winners. They received a prolonged standing ovation and gave the South African public a taste of the glory that has sadly alluded the senior side in ICC events.Tests v limited-overs
There is nothing you can get from an ODI that you cannot enjoy in large doses from a Test. If an ODI is a slow-cooked dinner at a family steakhouse then a Test is a three-course meal at a five-star resort. There simply is no comparison. It largely depends on one’s taste buds. The mark of a great player, however, is the ability to perform in the Test arena and not so much an impressive spell with an IPL franchise. After all, a T20 is simply a happy meal from a fast food joint.Accessories
A gadget-occupied couple seated a few rows in front of me arrived with binoculars, cameras, lunch boxes, ear pieces, a radio and miniature fans. Heck, they probably had an espresso machine in their backpack! When the husband eagerly dashed off to snap a picture of Shane Warne, his wife and her friend took turns to use the binoculars to ogle a group of bronzed, shirtless gentlemen. Oh, the joys of technology.Banner of the day
A very excited man held up an “Amla, your beard rocks my world” poster. Later, another placard holder displayed his affection for Johnson’s facial hair with an alliterative “Mitch, your moustache is manly”. Fail.Marks out of 10
7. Despite South Africa’s below par performance, I thoroughly enjoyed the bowling of the Australian quicks and only hope that Steyn and company follow their lead on day four.

He has gone under the radar for much of his career but Nathan Lyon is now Australia’s joint-leading Test wicket-taker in 2013 and a fixture in the team

Brydon Coverdale at the MCG28-Dec-20130:00

‘No one can take my 100 wickets away from me’ – Lyon

Dropped for Doherty, moved on for Maxwell, axed for Agar – Nathan Lyon has been Australia’s most underappreciated cricketer this year. What might have been had the selectors stuck firm with him? He could have been second or third on the world Test wickets list in 2013; instead he joins Peter Siddle as Australia’s leading wicket-taker for the year. Siddle’s 42 victims took 14 Tests to accumulate, Lyon claimed his in only 11.It was fitting that Lyon finally gained recognition in Australia’s last Test match of the year. When he flighted and turned a ball that caught Stuart Broad’s edge to slip, Lyon was mobbed by his team-mates, his thinning hair tousled so vigorously that what remains of it was lucky to survive. The MCG’s monstrously large new scoreboard flashed the message that Lyon had just taken his 100th Test wicket. It did not highlight how great an achievement that was.No Australia offspinner has reached that milestone in the past 30 years. Only Hugh Trumble, George Giffen, Ashley Mallett, Bruce Yardley and Ian Johnson had ever done it. The spin cycle that began when Shane Warne retired seven years ago looked like it would run ad infinitum, slow bowlers used and abused, discarded after one or two Tests, some sent into retirement, others back to Sheffield Shield cricket.Australia have tried 13 specialist spinners since Warne. Lyon has taken 101 wickets at 32.23 in 29 Tests; the other 12 collectively managed 119 victims at 48.75 from 46 appearances. But for all of his Test success, Lyon has been an under-the-radar type. He has never been Man of the Match in a Test. He had never, until his 5 for 50 here at the MCG, taken five wickets in a Test match in Australia. He says little, is as economical with his words as with his bowling.Lyon proud to be part of Australia attack

Nathan Lyon praised the influence of Australia’s captain Michael Clarke and his deputy Brad Haddin as he ended a year of challenges with his 100th Test wicket, and his first five-wicket haul in Australia.
Dropped twice in 2013, Lyon is now secure as the nation’s No. 1 spinner, a mantle he underlined by helping usher England’s latest collapse.
“I’m pretty happy,” Lyon said. “To be inside and outside the side is a massive challenge but I’m lucky to have a great captain, an awesome vice-captain and a really good relationship with both of them.
“To have their support’s been fantastic. I knew what I had to do and I knew if I kept trying to get better and really enjoy my cricket things would roll along well for me.
“I’m pretty proud of the achievement today but I don’t get the results I’ve got today without the fellow members in my team. To have Mitch Johnson, Ryan Harris, Pete Siddle, Shane Watson bowling at the other end helps me massively.
“I agree with Craig McDermott, our pace attack’s been fantastic, it’s probably up there with the best in the world right now. I’m lucky to be involved with them and if we keep bowling well in partnerships who knows where it may take us.”

But there was love for Lyon on the third day in Melbourne. Much love, and not just from his team-mates. As he ran back to field at fine leg during the afternoon, a beach ball lobbed on to the ground from the Olympic Stand. The security guard on duty collected it, sat on it, looked ready to burst it. Lyon signalled him to throw it back into the crowd. In the end, Lyon ran over, grabbed the ball from the guard and tossed it back to the raucous fans himself, winning a few thousand new friends.The Nathan Lyon of two years ago, perhaps even one year ago, would not have done that. When first picked for the Test side, Lyon was painfully shy in public. He is slowly coming out of his shell. When Australia were one wicket from victory at the WACA, Lyon was one of three or four players urging the crowd to get involved, signalling for them to cheer their team home. Hours later, he led an emotional rendition of “Under the Southern Cross”.Lyon was named by Michael Hussey as the song’s new custodian in January, but so miserable was Australia’s year that he did not have a chance to lead the chorus until November. He has now done so three times in three Tests, and his bowling on the third afternoon in Melbourne gave Australia a strong chance of making it four from four. His work cannot be underestimated. A 300-plus target would have been a challenge; the 231 they were set is very gettable.His drop did for Ian Bell, who didn’t get to the pitch of the ball and lofted a drive to mid-off. His dip also accounted for Ben Stokes, who also lifted a catch to mid-off. He got rid of Tim Bresnan and Broad, and most importantly Kevin Pietersen, who prides himself on going after the spinners. Lyon’s list of batsmen he has dismissed most in Test cricket now has Pietersen and Sachin Tendulkar at the top. Not a bad pair to have claimed four times each.It is hard to believe that only a year ago Lyon was struggling for wickets, though his figures in the last Australian summer were distorted by an unfair share of dropped catches and missed stumpings. In February he was attacked by MS Dhoni in Chennai and dumped from the next Test, replaced by Xavier Doherty and Glenn Maxwell. They failed, Lyon returned and took nine in the Delhi Test.Nathan Lyon reached 100 wickets in his 29th Test•Getty ImagesThat made him the incumbent spinner when the Ashes came around, but Australia’s desire to surprise England led to Ashton Agar making his debut at Trent Bridge. Two Tests later, the selectors realised their error and returned to Lyon. He duly took seven in Chester-le-Street, a performance that might have led to victory were it not for a collective panic attack from Australia’s batsmen.This summer Lyon has been in the side to stay. The spin coach John Davison has travelled with the squad, tutoring Lyon one-on-one in the nets in the lead-up to matches. Lyon has taken 16 wickets for the series, third behind Mitchell Johnson and Broad for this Ashes campaign. He outbowled his England counterpart Graeme Swann, a man Lyon had looked up to as a developing offspinner without doosras and other tricks.Swann retired with 255 wickets before this Test. Lyon emerged from it with 101 and a long future ahead of him. He doesn’t shatter stumps and bruise batsmen like Johnson and co. He rarely makes the headlines. He’s happy to be under the radar, just not to be underappreciated.

Sri Lanka have the ingredients of a fine Test team but a little all-round dynamism might make the end product more appetising

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dubai10-Jan-2014As Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan measured out another expert association, Sri Lanka’s advance was halted in Dubai. Having lost the first two days comfortably Pakistan mustered more spirit on day three, and in doing so, exposed a small, but not insignificant gap in Sri Lanka’s ranks.The batting and bowling appear much healthier than they did two weeks ago, but in the margins, limitations persist, and there appear to be no ready fixes yet.There are four wicketkeepers in Sri Lanka’s top seven. Of the three others, Dimuth Karunaratne and Mahela Jayawardene almost bowl, in the nets or in domestic cricket. Angelo Mathews once had ambitions of becoming a genuine allrounder, but as an average of 71.66 after 279 Test overs makes plain, his mix of steady seam-up, cutters and slower balls are only a serious penetrative threat in limited-overs cricket. Between captaining the side and continuing his own development as a batsman, he must avoid stretching himself, in any case.There appears to be no viable short-term solutions for Sri Lanka. One option is for Prasanna Jayawardene to make way for an allrounder, but the objections to such a move are threefold. First, he is clearly the best gloveman in the country, and robbing the attack of their best catching asset appears counterproductive to the bowlers’ development.Prasanna does not own a glimmering batting record, but he regularly plays valuable support innings and is versatile enough to marshal the tail. Perhaps most pertinently, there are no pre-eminent allrounders to replace him. Thisara Perera is the most obvious candidate, but lately he has had trouble proving he does enough work to hold a place in the limited-overs sides.Elsewhere on the fringe, the slip cordon is in poor shape. The present first-choice phalanx features Kumar Sangakkara at first slip, Mahela Jayawardene at second, and Mathews at third. Neither Mathews nor Sangakkara have proved natural slip-fielders, which is perhaps why the two Jayewardenes are split evenly between them. Mathews dropped a catch early in the first innings, before Karunaratne spilt a sitter at second slip after Mahela left the field with injury. Apart from Kaushal Silva’s sharp work in the infield, Sri Lanka’s fielding has been shabby throughout the series.Sri Lanka may have also begun day three with hopes of extending their lead beyond 300, or at least until such time as the pitch began to take significant turn, but they were easily thwarted by a regenerated Pakistan. Their last six wickets fell for 70, and though Mathews, and the two Jayawardenes would have hoped for more runs themselves, the Sri Lanka tail is hardly well-placed to offer sustained resistance.Perhaps on this front there is some hope, because it is thought Shaminda Eranga has not reached his batting potential. But like elsewhere in a young team the development of his first skill is more vital to Sri Lanka’s success, and his coaches will be wary of diluting his focus there.

A spotless effort in the field and more fire from the tail might have grown Sri Lanka’s lead by 40 runs.

As coach Graham Ford suggested at the close of play, the cricketers that plug shortcomings in the team must be bred at home. Until the inexperienced players in the present XI become more secure in Tests, only minor improvements may be possible within the team itself.”It’s been a concern certainly since I’ve been involved,” Ford said. “We haven’t quite had the allrounder, or maybe two allrounders, that give a real balance to the side. We’ve had the specialist batters and the specialist bowlers and that’s pretty much what we’ve worked with. That’s for the system to look into. They’re out there working hard at home to try and produce some allrounders.”In the past they’ve had Sanath Jayasuriya who could do a good job with the ball and who was an outstanding batsman. They also had Chaminda Vaas who could do a really good job with the bat but his main job was to be a strike bowlers. That helped with the balance of the side. We don’t really have that at the moment so the batsmen have to get out and make the runs and the bowlers have to take wickets.”In a series that has unveiled unsuspected skill from young men, these are miniscule contentions, particularly given the absence of a clear alternative. But if the team wishes to become a consistent force against the top four teams, gains around the edges will matter.A spotless effort in the field and more fire from the tail might have grown Sri Lanka’s lead by 40 runs. Overs from a competent second spinner in the third session may have allowed the quicks to return fresher on the fourth morning. Mathews’s reluctance to bowl due to a niggle enhanced the deficiency in personnel, but given the history of his ailments, Sri Lanka cannot always bank on overs from him.Sri Lanka have hinted they possess the ingredients of a fine, future-proof Test team, but a little all-round dynamism might make the end product more appetising.

Mahela Jayawardene’s T20 career is testament to an innate cricketing intelligence that has allowed him to freely adapt his game for the shorter formats

Andrew Fidel Fernando05-Apr-2014Long levers, a blacksmith’s shoulders, the chest of Adonis and a disregard for batting’s conventions: if a Twenty20 superhuman were assembled, Mahela Jayawardene may not be required for its parts. As the format hurtles giddily towards transitory millennial glamour, lighting up its stumps and jazzing up its dancers, by some small miracle Sir Mix-A-Lot has not been lured to reprise “I like big bats and I cannot lie” for a tournament song. Yet, through the neon noise, there Jayawardene was, dismantling attacks along with the brutes, crashing good balls over the ring, crafting T20 gems, but all on his own terms – always on analogue.Among the clichés evoked by Jayawardene’s T20 success has been the thought that he makes quick runs “playing proper cricket shots” – that he proves batting fundamentals can endure un-eroded in the age of “not losing one’s shape” and “swinging through the arc”. Yet, if he is an advertisement for old-world style, then he is its only poster-boy. The format at times seemed an indignity to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman; it was too new for Mohammad Yousuf and too much for Michael Clarke.Some might contend Kumar Sangakkara has also remained relevant in T20, but his innings have not been nearly as good, nor is his batting nearly as pretty as it pretends. Sangakkara has outstripped Jayawardene in so much in the past six years, but here, as they exit together, Jayawardene retains the higher ground.Perhaps it should be no surprise he has been his country’s best T20 batsman, because to label Jayawardene a purist is not to say he is a stickler for tradition. He wields the heave and over-the-shoulder scoop as well as anyone, and the reverse sweep has been among the most productive of his limited-overs array in recent years.That stroke also reveals something of the cricket IQ that has seen him transplant his game. During a priceless 42 on a Colombo dustbowl in 2012’s World T20 semi-final, Jayawardene had the gall to sweep Saeed Ajmal against the turn past short-third man, but when he manoeuvred to play the same shot against Shahid Afridi, he anticipated the bowler would fire in a googly, then sent it above the off-side field for four. The reverse-sweep would earn him close to a third of his runs that evening.That he resorted to using the back of the bat during the 2009 World T20, because he could not play the shot effectively even then, seems flabbergasting now. Tempered by care and circumspection in Tests, he is unshackled by instinct in the shorter formats, sometimes to his detriment: he was out to the reverse sweep in the 2012 final. As he cuts spinners late as sin, or slinks forward to lift the fast men over cover, few good bowlers will feel they do not have a chance. The joy of his success is heightened by his daring. Each four feels like a caper, every big innings an adventure. On the pitch, he lives out the observer’s wonder.”While I enjoy all formats of the game, and Test cricket is certainly the pinnacle for any player, the journey in Twenty20 cricket has been fascinating,” Jayawardene had said when he announced his T20 retirement. “In many ways it helped me get back to my roots, to bat like I used to when I was a schoolboy – for the sheer love of playing attacking shots and expressing myself with full freedom.”He is the second-highest run-getter in the format, commanding an average of 32.81 and a strike rate of 136. As is the case in ODIs, those numbers have been dramatically better when he opens the innings. The versatility of his cricket is so often a boon for his team, but a bane for his record. He is one of the few players who say there is little value in individual accomplishment beyond its use for the collective, and truly mean it.After the storm that cut West Indies short in Mirpur, Darren Sammy suggested the divine had intervened to send Jayawardene and Sangakkara through to the fifth final of their careers. So often the freest, most expressive Sri Lanka player at the big occasion, perhaps even the universe would not abide a Jayawardene diamond duck for a swansong.

Having averaged only 30 in England before this tour, Kumar Sangakkara has finally restored his record

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Headingley22-Jun-2014When Kumar Sangakkara arrived at the crease on day three, Liam Plunkett hurled a rocket at his chest. The Headingley pitch had been misbehaving since the second afternoon, and this was one of its naughtiest moments. The game’s fastest bowler was provoking it to mischief.In the first innings, Lahiru Thirimanne had got a similar delivery first-up, and he fended a catch to short leg. Given the abysmal series Thirimanne has had, maybe surviving the same ball does not mean much. But the one Sangakkara got was a brute all the same. The kind that makes kids want to become fast bowlers.Sangakkara deflected that one in front of short leg, but he knew the bowler had had the better of him. He looked down at the spot on the pitch that had caused him grief, then looked away, walking toward square leg, then back again. He shuffled his feet and took guard. The next legitimate ball was wide and full. He stretched out and cracked it through the covers as hard as he has hit any ball in the series.

Sri Lanka aim at 225 target

Sri Lanka believe a lead of around 225 could be the basis of a famous win at Headingley, fielding coach Ruwan Kalpage said. The visitors close day three 106 runs ahead, with six second innings wickets in hand.
“The next two wickets are very important for us to get a comfortable lead, of about 225 runs,” Kalpage said. “Anything more than that is a plus for us. We have two great batsmen in the middle and Dinesh Chandimal to follow. In the last three days the game was pretty open, and the next two days will be very interesting.”
The pitch has also begun to take appreciable turn, as witnessed from Moeen Ali’s dismissal of Lahiru Thirimanne, but Sri Lanka also used the medium pace and cutters from Angelo Mathews effectively on the third morning.
“If you’re a medium pace bowler, if you’re not bowling in these conditions, you can’t expect to bowl anywhere in the world. I think the pitch helped him. He bowled really well – a good line and length – so he got the results.
“It’s a bowler friendly pitch compared to Lord’s. Whenever a new bowler starts a spell, there is a chance. It’s a difficult pitch to score on.”

A hush hung over Headingley for a moment, then lifted with a swell of appreciation. The Yorkshire crowd is partisan, urging England on, saving their loudest for the local lads, but they know cricketing excellence when they see it. When Sangakkara was dismissed – perhaps for the last time in England – the ground stood to their feet to clap him off the field. But few will have known Sangakkara’s curious relationship with the cover drive when the clapped that first four. Many will also have been unaware of the batsman’s troubles in England, before this tour.The cover drive has been Sangakkara’s signature stroke for much of his career, because it is almost a marvel of engineering. The step forward is swift and precise. The still head and fast hands, practiced and mechanical. The back knee bends just enough to stabilise him, and the entire movement is set off by a checked flourish forged of control. The ball only ever goes in a slim arc between cover and extra cover. Mahela Jayawardene played a cover drive too on the third day, but his rendition of the stroke is languid and musical; more dependent on his mood, than the ball and the fielders, and capable of going almost anywhere in front of square.In many ways, the cover drive is a microcosm of Sangakkara’s cricket – meticulously refined and supremely efficient – but on previous tours of England, it had sometimes been his undoing. In the 2011 tour, he was out to it in Southampton and at Lord’s lunging at the ball when it had curved away from him. It has frustrated him in other parts of the world too, across all formats.In the last match at Lord’s, England tempted him wide of off stump for a good ten overs, when he arrived in the first innings. But in that innings, Sangakkara was hell-bent on his raid for a hundred. He could not be drawn into the shot until he was past 30, and even then, he applied it economically.The stroke was a risk at Headingley too, particularly against Plunkett, whose extra bounce had done Jayawardene in, when he drove outside off stump in the first innings. But for Sangakkara, the third day was no day for restraint. He was in the middle to move his team’s cause forward, but also to make a mark. In all likelihood, this is his last outing in England.Kumar Sangakkara played cautiously to ensure his side’s lead grew•AFPHe was glad for his error-riddled 79 in the first innings, but when he came off the field, most people would not stop deriding the innings. Sangakkara has been a dream interview for several major English papers since he arrived in the country, but when a radio station spoke to him before the second day, and led with “Wasn’t the best innings you’ve ever played, yesterday, was it?”, Sangakkara was audibly agitated: “That’s the way it sometimes goes in cricket, the important thing is getting the runs.” The reply was uncommonly brief. Over the next few minutes, one of the game’s most eloquent speakers would not offer more than a six-second answer to any of the interviewer’s stream of questions.On Sunday, the first ball from Plunkett elicited the only ugly moment from Sangakkara. From the very next ball, he was intent on reassuming dominance. He scored faster than any Sri Lanka batsman on the day, and sent four balls through the covers during his 55. The cover drive accounted for a higher percentage of his runs in this innings, than in any other this series.He has now scored as many 50-plus scores on the trot as any batsman has ever managed, only, he has a triple ton and a couple of centuries among that string of scores. He has raised his average in England to 41.04, when it had languished at just over 30 before the tour, creating doubt over his greatness. His 342 runs is more than any Sri Lanka batsman has scored in a single series in England.On day three at Headingley, he recovered from Plunkett’s first ball, and his strange first innings. For many in the country, where his record has now recovered too, that cool, calculated cover drive will be the enduring hallmark of the memory of his career.

Aftab Ahmed was long thought of as a potential star in Bangladesh cricket, and he had the game to match, but not the required desire and work ethic

Mohammad Isam29-Aug-2014In the late-1990s, teachers at Chittagong’s Nasirabad Government Boys High School would constantly ask their star batsman to stay back one more year to play the national school cricket tournament. He would always agree, in order to keep the school in the running for the championship. From the school yard, he would often break a few windows. Nobody would mind since it was Aftab Ahmed, rising star of Chittagong.He made his first-class debut in 2002, played two Under-19 World Cups, and made his senior debut before turning 19. He played at the highest level for six years, from 2004. Four years after his last game for Bangladesh, he has now decided to quit cricket a few months short of turning 29. He felt out of demand in the Dhaka Premier League and perhaps lost interest having done poorly last season. For someone like Aftab, the exit is a relief.He wasn’t cut from the same cloth as many of the big-city kids who played or were to play for Bangladesh. Off the field he liked to take things slow, and there was much of the old-time cricketer in him. But Nafees Iqbal, also from Chittagong and a Bangladesh team-mate, was surprised by the retirement.”Aftab was an enormous talent while we were growing up,” Nafees said. “Whenever I went back to Chittagong, I would actually go to see him play, and he was not much older than me. Then we played together and became friends. When I heard that he had announced his retirement I was surprised, but I respect his decision. I feel that he still had a few more years in him. As a player, I think he had a bit of homesickness about him, but when he was at the ground, he would always give his 100%. He would never back down. If he had probably worked a bit harder, he would have fulfilled more of his potential.”Homesickness is rare among Bangladeshi cricketers, most preferring the high life of touring. Aftab’s team-mates know their way around the big cities of the cricketing world. But Aftab wasn’t a go-getter. He was a strange mix of bravado and timidity. He would take on the best fast bowlers in the world like very few Bangladeshi batsmen could, yet he was never quite a crowd-puller. He would stick to a small group of friends, hardly be seen in public or starring in commercials. It is hard to remember him anywhere outside a cricket field, helmeted and with a Bangladesh flag worn as a bandana underneath.He was from a part of the country where cricket meant mostly batting. In Dhaka the scene was ultra-competitive. Aftab paid the price for his lack of interest in training and the nitty-gritty of modern cricket, factors taken seriously by players from smaller towns and those who graduate out of the BKSP (the national sports institute). There are stories from U-19 camps about Aftab sleeping in late when the rest had started training. A trainer would wake him up and bring him to bat, and Aftab would score runs and still make the cut. He was simply following the time-honoured tradition of Chittagong cricketers only turning up in training to bat in the nets. He understood that this was not the way, and never defended it.Then again, he is arguably Bangladesh’s best fielder, their best No. 3 in ODIs yet, and between 2004 and 2010 he had the best strike rate among No. 3 ODI batsmen who have played at least 50 innings.He was always a cavalier batsman, hitting the ball over the infield and pushing on to his front foot when facing short deliveries. A tic in his trigger movement – pushing his front elbow up slightly before playing his shots – added an attractiveness missing with most Bangladeshi batsmen. They were too busy finding a way to deal with fast bowling. Aftab made it look easy at times, but like many of his peers, threw it away too soon.As a 14-year-old, Aftab made his debut in the BCB-recognised equivalent of first-class matches. He made one first-class century in the next four years, and was picked to play for Bangladesh the following year, having long been considered a young talent.Aftab Ahmed was one of Bangladesh’s best fielders•AFPHis first ODI fifty came in Bangladesh’s maiden win over India. A month later, he and Mohammad Rafique thumped Zimbabwe in a series-deciding ODI. When everyone else crumbled in England, he enthusiastically stroked a run-a-ball 82 (eventually his only Test fifty). Two weeks later, his six and winning single sealed possibly the greatest upset of all time, Bangladesh beating Australia in Cardiff.Match-winning fifties, a much-loved style of batting, lightning reflexes and agility in the 30-yard circle. Bangladesh had themselves a hero who disappointed less than Mohammad Ashraful.Statistically, Aftab’s best year was 2006, and though the selectors waited for him to settle down as a Test No. 6, he couldn’t make it his own. He then found T20 to his liking: mostly batting and a bit of fielding. He went toe to toe with Ashraful in the 2007 World Twenty20 win over West Indies, and against South Africa threatened for about 15 minutes when he hit five fours and two sixes.It started to go downhill from there. Richard McInnes, who had two stints in Bangladesh as development coach, came across Aftab in 2003. “Aftab was very talented, as are many, but he was never really driven to be the best he could be,” McInnes said. “He enjoyed playing the game and as soon as the enjoyment is gone, as he referred to in his press conference, there is nothing left for him to play for.”He certainly had the physical attributes to be successful. Good balance, quick hands, powerful with exceptional timing, and importantly he could play the short ball. So I was impressed. Unfortunately he never really had the desire to see what he could achieve, to do the work to find out how good he could be.”Loss of form led to his axing in 2008, but his natural reluctance to do the extra work was probably catching up with him too. So when he missed out on the Australia tour that year after a sequence of 0, 0 and 3 against Pakistan, he decided to take up an offer from the ICL. He didn’t have a great time there in the middle, but players from that team would often refer to the lack of training in the unofficial T20 tournament. Must have fit nicely with Aftab’s way of playing, but it wasn’t to last.He returned to play for Bangladesh in 2010 but it wasn’t a well-timed comeback since he was asked to hold up the top order despite having struggled that season in domestic cricket. A year later, he was not in Bangladesh’s preliminary squad for the 2011 World Cup, and his time was up. He felt like an outsider, and now he was one.He was waiting to bat in a Dhaka Premier League match when he saw the squad without his name in it. Laying the newspaper aside, he murmured to himself, though loud enough for those within earshot: “Remember what Aftab Ahmed was like, and see what this Aftab Ahmed has become. There’s a World Cup at home and I am not going to be a part of it.”