Thilan Samaraweera reflects on his international career and looks ahead to an enriching county stint with Worcestershire

Tim Wigmore24-Apr-2013Thilan Samaraweera may have played for 12 years for Sri Lanka but his first season in county cricket, where he is fulfilling “one of my dreams”, is bringing its own challenges. Samaraweera’s enthusiasm, after fielding for Worcestershire, is in stark contrast to Manchester’s rain, wind and unrelenting chill, which are enough to make anyone question the sanity of organising first-class cricket at Old Trafford in April.”You get tougher and tougher when you field in this cold weather,” he said. “It’s not easy. You get tougher and tougher living away from home.”Samaraweera’s international career may have been overshadowed by those of Sri Lanka’s big beasts, Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara. Yet in his own charmingly unobtrusive way he averaged 48.76 in Tests and there is a very legitimate case for him being Sri Lanka’s third-best Test batsman, even ahead of Aravinda de Silva and Sanath Jayasuriya.He earned a deserved reputation as Sri Lanka’s stylish man for a crisis – their VVS Laxman – cemented by a pair of centuries in South Africa in 2011-12, including 102 and 43 in Sri Lanka’s Boxing Day Test win. Not bad for someone who began cricketing life as an offspinner.While Samaraweera laments neither winning a Test Match in Australia nor scoring a hundred against them, what particularly grates – because it was so out of character – is the way his Test career ended: an aberrant slog when on nought in Sri Lanka’s defeat in Sydney in January.”Because of desperation I came down the track and tried to hit over the top and got caught at mid-on,” he said. “Every time I go to Sri Lanka people ask and remind me about that shot – that’s a little annoying because I did a lot of things for Sri Lankan cricket but still people remember that shot. Because every time the team needed me I did better every time – in South Africa, Pakistan, New Zealand.”At the time, no one thought it would be Samaraweera’s final Test innings. He had been looking forward to playing Test series against West Indies and South Africa this summer, and then retiring after playing Pakistan in December. The series against West Indies and South Africa were both cancelled.

“We are a little bit weak on our system – 20 first-class teams, I believe that is too much. It should be six, maximum seven to eight. And we have to encourage playing four-day cricket. At the moment it’s only three-day cricket”

“That’s six Test matches, a tough six Test matches and definitely the selectors [would have] looked at me because of my experience. Unfortunately we cancelled because of the shorter-format cricket and after that I had a big chat with the selectors and they said they would go with two senior players [Jayawardene and Sangakkara] with the youngsters against Bangladesh, and then Zimbabwe in October.”The selectors tried to persuade Samaraweera not to retire from Test cricket – “They said they need me in December in Pakistan” – but he decided against waiting ten months between internationals.The rescheduling is just the latest piece of evidence that the Sri Lankan board is not prioritising Test cricket. “Definitely I’m worried about the future in Sri Lanka. If you play 12 years of international cricket, you have to play 100 Test matches but in Sri Lanka if you play 12, you end up on 75 [he finished on 81 Tests].”Samaraweera always regarded Tests as the ultimate goal but it is perhaps not a view shared by many of those involved in Sri Lankan cricket today. One issue is the Sri Lankan first-class structure. “We are a little bit weak on our system – 20 first-class teams, I believe that is too much. It should be six, maximum seven to eight. And we have to encourage playing four-day cricket. At the moment it’s only three-day cricket.”Another – perhaps more significant – factor is the proliferation of T20 cricket. “If you send a bad message to the youngsters [about] playing the shorter formats, I think that’s kills their technique. You never find good spinners, you never find fast bowlers because of that mindset.”He calls for restrictions on T20 in age-group cricket: “You have to stop Under-19-level T20 cricket in Sri Lanka. If you play T20 cricket at 18, 19, there’s no point.”Samaraweera’s first-class debut came in 1995-96, months before Sri Lankan cricket was transformed with their victory in the World Cup. But he feels that the legacy could have been so much better.”The biggest, saddest thing is, after the 1996 World Cup win the board got money, a lot of money. We did well but financially we were very mismanaged. Unfortunately mismanagement happens but people don’t take action. That’s the way sometime our system goes – we can’t control those things.”There are few better players of spin on the county circuit than Samaraweera, whose adroit footwork against Simon Kerrigan’s left-arm spin was one of the highlights of the first day of the new season at Old Trafford. It was a matter of considerable surprise and, to all but the most parochial of Lancastrians, disappointment when Samaraweera misread a quicker delivery to edge a back-cut for 28. In seaming conditions in Cardiff last week he made a four-ball duck, but a second-innings 79 illustrated his technical fortitude.It also illustrated Samaraweera’s enduring capacity for self-improvement, nowhere seen better than in his performances in England.”I travelled here in 2002 with the Sri Lankan team, but I didn’t get a game here. In 2006 I had an awful national tour. After that I was dropped. I came in 2008 on a Sri Lankan A team tour and did really well. And in 2011 I averaged 52 in the Test series here.”If that trend continues, county bowlers will suffer this season – though it will be damage of the most gracefully inflicted sort. Samaraweera only wishes that his county chance had come sooner.”If I got this chance ten years before, I would be a better cricketer definitely.”

A few key numbers from the Champions Trophy

S Rajesh05-Jun-201312-5 – Australia’s win-loss record in the Champions Trophy, the best among all teams. They’ve won each of their last eight completed matches, starting from their second match of the 2006 edition. By contrast, in their first nine matches in Champions Trophy, they’d lost five and won four. The last time Australia lost a Champions Trophy match was in their first game of the 2006 tournament, when West Indies beat them by 10 runs in Mumbai. Australia are the only team with a win-loss ratio of more than two in the Champions Trophy – the next-best is India’s 1.67.12* – Matches won by West Indies in the Champions Trophy, the most by any side. Apart from winning the tournament in 2004, they also reached the final in 1998 (lost to South Africa) and 2006 (lost to Australia). However, West Indies have lost nine, which is also the highest by any side in this tournament. Zimbabwe have lost nine as well, and they haven’t won a single match.26 – The number of 50-plus scores by England and India, the most by any team in the Champions Trophy. Australia have 25, while South Africa and West Indies have 23 each. India, Sri Lanka and West Indies lead in terms of hundreds, with six each. Among the individual batsmen, Sourav Ganguly, Chris Gayle and Herschelle Gibbs have three each.12 – The number of Champions Trophy matches Australia have won under Ricky Ponting’s leadership, the most by a captain in this tournament. Australia have played only two matches when Ponting hasn’t been captain, and they’ve lost them both, against India in 1998 and 2000.695 – Gayle’s aggregate in Champions Trophy matches, the highest among all batsmen. Three others have scored more than 600, but none of them are playing the tournament this year – Sourav Ganguly (665), Jacques Kallis (653) and Rahul Dravid (627). Among those playing this tournament, the next-best after Gayle is Mahela Jayawardene’s 574.24 – Muttiah Muralitharan’s wickets tally in Champions Trophy, the most for any bowler. Murali took those wickets in 17 matches, at an average of 20.16 and an economy rate of 3.60. Kyle Mills is the joint second-highest along with Brett Lee, and needs only three more wickets to go past Murali’s mark.17 – The number of sixes struck by Ganguly, the most by any batsman in Champions Trophy matches. A couple of batsmen playing in the current edition could go past that mark: Gayle is second with 13 sixes, while Watson has 12.4 – The number of ducks for Watson in 12 innings in Champions Trophy games, the most ducks for any player in the tournament. However, Watson has also scored two hundreds and two fifties, thanks to which his overall tournament average is 52.37, at a strike rate of 84.98.13 – The record for most wickets in a single Champions Trophy edition, by Jerome Taylor in 2006. Farveez Maharoof took 12 in the same edition, while Wayne Parnell (in 2009) and Lasith Malinga (in 2006) took 11 each.210 – The biggest margin of victory, in terms of runs, in the Champions Trophy. New Zealand beat USA by that margin in 2004. The biggest margin in terms of balls remaining was also in that edition against USA, when Australia beat them with 253 balls to spare.252 – The biggest partnership in Champions Trophy matches, by Ponting and Watson against England in Centurion in 2009. The only other double-century partnership was also at the same edition and same venue – 206 by Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Yousuf against India.* June 6 2.45pm The matches won by West Indies stat has been corrected

The circumstances of the match and the series demanded, beseeched and implored something of the batsmen but they collapsed in a messy heap

Daniel Brettig at Lord's19-Jul-2013So this is what happens when Australia are not illogically bailed out by their tail. On a glorious day, a flat, dry pitch, against bowling of moderate standard, the tourists fell utterly and comically apart. At the moment of greatest possible importance in the series so far, they conjured the worst performance possible. Englishmen wondered aloud if they had ever been quite as bad as this during 16 years of Ashes embarrassments up to 2005. Australians looked sheepishly for somewhere to hide, or to drink.Up on the balcony, the coach Darren Lehmann could offer only rueful smiles as a succession of his batsmen found increasingly idiotic ways of getting out. For all his qualities as a mentor and uniting-force, Lehmann can do little about such a woeful lack of application, now clearly established as the dominant pattern of Australian batsmanship in the era beyond Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey. There will surely be no coming back from this. Not in this match, nor this series, nor possibly the next one in Australia.Of course the chances of the touring batsmen putting together a decent, coherent first innings response to England’s quite middling 361 were always slim, based on all recent evidence. They had run the Trent Bridge Test so unforgettably close mainly due to the freak contributions of the Nos. 11, Ashton Agar in the first innings and James Pattinson in the second. They had been called to account for this by Lehmann in the aftermath of the Test, and the omission of Ed Cowan had provided a reminder to all that mediocrity was not to be tolerated.Yet the circumstances of the match and the series demanded, beseeched and implored something of the batsmen. There was no better stage on which to perform than a sun-drenched second day at Lord’s, the crowd packed into St John’s Wood, the sky flecked with the merest clouds and the opposition’s first innings far short of intimidating – propped up by England’s last pair, Stuart Broad and Graeme Swann, coshing a joyful 48 in half an hour. This was not a day to lose wickets, but Australia gifted them away. England’s bowlers go home as well stocked as rich kids at Christmas.No great signs of peril were initially evident. Shane Watson and Chris Rogers began soundly enough, surviving the typically probing early overs of James Anderson and then accelerating nicely towards the lunch interval. Tim Bresnan looked unthreatening, and Swann’s first over decidedly tame, Watson nudging a single and Rogers cuffing him twice for two.Alastair Cook swung Bresnan around to the Pavilion End for the final over of the morning session, hoping for a change of fortune. He was to get it in maddening circumstances for Australia.

In Nottingham, Australia’s final pair had been the source of miracles. At Lord’s it was simply a reminder of how horridly inadequate the rest had been.

Watson squanders a lot of starts, gets out lbw almost as often, and wastes precious decision referrals with similar profligacy. Now he was to do all three at once. Playing around his front pad at Bresnan’s nip-backer, he immediately granted England an opening into the unstable and reshuffled batting beneath. Whatever the merits of Michael Clarke’s alleged description of Watson as a cancer on the team, his dismissal on the stroke of lunch infected Australia’s batsmen and their thinking.Having lost a review, Rogers and the new No. 3 Usman Khawaja were conscious of not wasting the one they had remaining. So when Rogers contrived quite bizarrely to miss a high full toss from Swann, his shock was also accompanied by worry about burning the other referral. Khawaja had little to offer in the way of a second opinion, and Rogers wandered off in a daze that would only be enhanced by replays showing the ball drifting well past leg stump. Suddenly the Australians were not only two down but mortified at having double-crossed themselves in doing so.The man walking out at No. 4 would not be Clarke but Phillip Hughes, the captain choosing to demote himself to his favoured spot in the order. As the only batsman who could be said to have completely succeeded in his chosen position during one innings at Trent Bridge, Hughes had reason to be miffed about his move. His state of mind would be exposed by a haywire slash at a Bresnan ball not there for the drive and a thin edge behind. Hughes was not sure he had hit the ball and so reviewed the decision. Moments later Australia had lost their final review.The run out of Ashton Agar compounded Australia’s misery•Getty ImagesKhawaja had waited more than 18 months for this chance but on the evidence of this innings he had not made sufficient use of that time. In a halting display that appeared wracked by nerves, he edged pace through the cordon, was dropped at slip when Swann extracted a nick, evaded a staunch lbw appeal and then perished to a panicked attempt to loft down the ground. Before the series Khawaja had spoken of his hunger to play Test matches again. In circumstances demanding patience, composure and desire, he did not appear particularly famished at all.Steve Smith and Clarke were then to fall in ways that reflected some credit on the bowlers, but also demonstrated a limited capacity to thwart them. Noted as a good player of spin, Smith’s hands wandered too low so a Swann delivery with some top spin kicked up and struck the gloves on the way to short leg. Clarke made a start of some promise, showing more energy and intent than he had managed at Trent Bridge, but fell to the simplest of bowling plans. Broad hurled down a few short balls to push Clarke back, then a full one to pin him in front of the stumps. England celebrated raucously but might have expected more of a fight for the most prized wicket of all.Agar and Brad Haddin represented Australia’s last real hope of significantly reducing the deficit. Their runs in Nottingham had pushed Australia to the brink. Their parting at Lord’s would epitomise a day of infamy. A short ball directed at Haddin’s hip bobbled away on the legside, but he was oblivious to Agar’s call and sprint for a single. As Matt Prior collected the ball and threw neatly to the non-striker’s end, Agar turned and hared back for the crease, but found himself well short.If anguish had been the natural response to the dismissals of Watson, Rogers, Hughes and Khawaja, then Agar’s departure was something like the final insult. From 42 for 0, Australia had dived to 96 for 7, ceding all control of the match and the series to their hosts. When Ryan Harris and James Pattinson cobbled 24 for the final wicket, they posted the second highest partnership of the innings. In Nottingham, Australia’s final pair had been the source of miracles. At Lord’s it was simply a reminder of how horridly inadequate the rest had been.

Plays of the Day from the fifth ODI between Sri Lanka and South Africa in Colombo

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo31-Jul-2013The merciful end
One run off 22 deliveries constitutes a poor innings in almost any ODI, but in a chase of over 300, it is nearly unforgivable. Farhaan Behardien has had fine moments with the ball in this series, but his final innings in the series was one he’d hope the selectors were not watching closely. Uncomfortable against the pace of Thisara Perera and clueless against Ajantha Mendis, who dismissed Behardien for 2 and 0 in his two other matches in the series, he missed, prodded and left his way into a hole, from which escape grew less likely with every dot ball. Although South Africa were already four down inside 20 overs at the time, it seemed a minor blessing when he fell, attempting to loft Perera through the leg side.The anti-climax
If there is any batsman who is least likely to be nervous in the nineties, it’s one who scored three figures in the last match, but as the Premadasa crowd prepared to celebrate what would have been Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 18th ton, he hit a wall of doubt and gave his wicket away. Cleverly, Ryan McLaren aimed yorkers at Dilshan on 99, and though the bowler did not always hit the blockhole, a tentative Dilshan could not force a run in four deliveries. The fifth ball tailed into the batsman, who should have been equal to it given his longevity at the crease and his fluency before that over, but a half-hearted drive allowed the ball to slip past and strike middle stump.The skip
Dilshan doesn’t hold back when celebrating, whether it’s a hundred, a wicket or a fine catch. But his joy took an unprecedented form when he removed JP Duminy in the 11th over, to the amusement of the crowd. Breaking out in a synchronised double windmill with his arms first, Dilshan then moved into a dainty skip around the square, whooping as his team-mates trailed after him. Dilshan is so often a figure of aggression and machismo on the field, but pigtails and a picnic basket might have nicely completed the aesthetic for this jaunt.The finish
With 75 not out off 45 balls, Kumar Sangakkara completed the most profitable bilateral series for any Sri Lanka batsman, and his final stroke epitomised his present form and complete dominance over the South Africa attack. Walking down the pitch even before the delivery left Morne Morkel’s hand, Sangakkara received a back of a length delivery outside off stump – Morkel perhaps reasoning that length would prevent Sangakkara from making use of his forward momentum. It was not to be. In an instant, Sangakkara set himself for the pull, and arching his back, launched the ball flat over midwicket for four, bringing noise in the stadium to a crescendo.

The two Tests between India and West Indies has little in terms of context apart from it being Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series. Hopefully the cricket will make up for its manufactured existence

Sidharth Monga in Kolkata04-Nov-2013On November 2 – Diwali weekend – India worked desperately hard to defend 383 against Australia in Bangalore. Next morning, nine bleary-eyed India cricketers were on a long flight to Kolkata for a Test series that would begin in fewer than 72 hours. Luckily for them the flight wasn’t heavily booked, and the logistics manager could arrange for Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli to move to the first-class section so that MS Dhoni could spread himself out on three seats and get some sleep.There were to be a total of two training sessions before this series against West Indies. The Tests were arranged because the BCCI reportedly wanted to punish CSA for appointing a CEO it didn’t like, and at the same time couldn’t have its players sit at home during peak season. So onwards we went towards a series with no build-up or context or duration. Two training sessions before the two Tests each, and boom, in two weeks the series is over. Although, on the duration front it might be as good as it gets with the BCCI: India’s next three series are two Tests each.Down in Kolkata, though, ground reality has changed. This, you see, happens to be Sachin Tendulkar’s last international series. One thousand people lined up to welcome him at the Kolkata airport, and hundreds waited outside Eden Gardens on a work day to catch a glimpse of Tendulkar after one of the two practice sessions. This series is one last burden for Tendulkar, one last thing for him to carry on his shoulders alone, like the Indian team of the ’90s.This series has sprung up so randomly that there cannot be any other storyline. Time is central to Test cricket. The fan needs time to build up anticipation for a Test series, to think of possible contests, to play them out in the mind, to follow the form of the visitors in the practice games, to start thinking of match XIs as the first Test comes around. This series has had none of it. It’s more like, “Pleased to meet you, now heads or tails?”Or rather, Tendulkar or Eden? For that’s what the sides of the coin for the toss will be. And you can only hope that once the toss has happened the quality of cricket makes up for this series – well – being there. There is no better way to classify its existence. Put the Tendulkar retirement aside, and it’s just there.The cricket better be good because it is always going to be compared to what would have happened had West Indies not been the only team free in the world at this time of the year. The opportunity cost will always crop up. West Indies would have chilled, and India would have been preparing for a proper tour of South Africa, and not starting a Test series three days after finishing an ODI runathon against Australia.Now that the series is here, it is time to look beyond Tendulkar too. He remains a fascinating story even without the retirement. His last Test century came in 2010-11 in Cape Town, after which he has played some good innings – against West Indies in the chase in Delhi, in Melbourne and Sydney, in Chennai against Australia, a fighting 76 against England right here in Kolkata – but he has failed to turn them into big ones. Even if he hadn’t been retiring, Tendulkar would have made for interesting viewing.Beyond Tendulkar is another milestone man, the quiet Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who will play his 150th Test in Mumbai. Surely no one has challenged the cricket-is-a-side-on-game tenet for longer and with better results? He is also a known India slayer. Well, slaying is too violent a term for what Chanderpaul does, but you get the idea, with a fourth of his 28 Test centuries coming against India in just 23 Tests out of 148. He averages 66 against his favourite opposition, compared to 52 overall. And unlike Tendulkar, he doesn’t seem to have plans of retiring anytime soon.There is an upside to this, though. Players from both sides will know that performances in this series will not go forgotten. Everyone will remember the bloke who scored a hundred in Tendulkar’s last Test, no Indian fan will forget the man who gets Shivnarine Chanderpaul early in his 150th, and glory is his who can be the modern Eric Hollies.Despite there being precious little to recommend this series by, apart from Tendulkar and Chanderpaul, what it has going for it is the relief it will bring after the batting pornography that played out in India over the last month. There will be consequence attached to big shots here. The ball will swing more, turn more, and reverse when it ages. Chanderpaul and Cheteshwar and anyone who puts a price on his wicket will be welcome sights. R Ashwin can go back to working batsmen out as opposed to finding ways to concede as few sixes as possible; Kemar Roach’s pace will be respected and not flayed. Chris Gayle and Shikhar Dhawan might want to upset the pace a bit, but they will do so after weighing up the massive consequences of an early wicket in a Test match.And if it doesn’t go to plan, you can always wear the Tendulkar mask you will be given on the first day, reminisce, enjoy his farewell, and put the burden of this series on his shoulders.

The new, tight domestic schedule also allows young regional players a better chance to develop into reliable first-class cricketers

Umar Farooq23-Oct-2013Pakistan’s domestic structure has been constantly transforming over the past decade, with change occurring every two years. But this year the season’s format has remained consistent from the previous year, though the calendar is tightly planned for better financial viability. Two major first-class tournaments will run simultaneously while two List A events happen concurrently. Besides making it financially cost effective, the season has been ideally planned to stop mixing top departmental players with the regional teams in order to allow more young players to feature for the regional sides. If executed efficiently, this calendar could eventually allow an increase in the quantity of first-class cricketers in the country.Last year, the re-structuring of the domestic structure centered around the President’s Trophy, the country’s new premier first-class tournament, with the eminence of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy fading. Previously the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy was the nucleus of the first-class competition in the country, comprising 22 teams (13 regional and nine department teams) in two divisions, based on a promotion and relegation system. It was revamped last year by separating regional and departmental cricket, creating two first-class events with equal quality. This structure has created a sense of stability and promoted a competitive spirit, with the top teams in the President’s Trophy playing against a mixture of tough opponents rather than the rookie cricketers of the region. Players who might have failed in the President’s Trophy, made their way into the regional teams to work on their deficiencies.This year, the board has planned both events concurrently to maintain a balance in the levels of competition. The number of teams in the President’s Trophy has been increased from 10 to 11 with Pakistan Television being promoted to Grade1 cricket. Eleven departmental teams will play a round-robin league phase, with the top two teams making the final.As many as 350 players are registered to feature in the 14 teams in QEA, while around 220 player are signed with the various 11 department teams. The 14 regional teams will field only local and non-departmental players. Teams in QEA will be divided in two groups – the top eight will be in a super-eight group while the remaining six teams will play a plate league. The two top teams from super eights will play the final. Either way, each team will at least play nine matches. Once a prime means for players to earn national call-up, QEA is no more relevant in that regard.

A player of his magnitude cannot exactly be replaced, but South Africa have options to help them rejig their line-up

Firdose Moonda13-Jan-2014For the first time in 18 years, South Africa’s selectors will have to pick a Test squad without one of its certainties. Jacques Kallis’ retirement has left a gap many have said will be impossible to fill.While it’s understood a player of his magnitude cannot be replaced, South Africa have to, as Shaun Pollock said, find a way to move forward without him as quickly as possible. They have a lot to ponder as they search for a new strategy in the post-Kallis era.The first consideration is the No. 4 spot. For years, it was thought AB de Villiers was being groomed for that role. De Villiers is the most outrageously talented and adaptable batsman in South Africa’s line-up and is capable of switching between the two most important roles in that position: he scores runs under pressure (like at Headingley 2008, and in Hamilton 2012 and Johannesburg 2013) and is the best person to have on hand when there is a platform to take off from (Perth 2012 being a standout illustration).But de Villiers is not an automatic pick for No. 4 because he is already heavily burdened. He keeps wicket and is also the team’s vice-captain; there’s also a strong chance he will eventually succeed Graeme Smith, and though that is not imminent, it is something to bear in mind for the long term.That’s why Faf du Plessis is likely to fill the No. 4 spot. Du Plessis’ batting style is similar to de Villiers’ in that he understands when to attack and when to defend, and has the skills for both. Batting is his only responsibility, although he is also expected to take Kodak-moment catches, so he is a good pick for the crucial role.Du Plessis also prefers to bat higher up and has openly said so on several occasions. In his 11-Test career, he has already been pushed up three times. The first was against Pakistan in Cape Town last February, when he came in ahead of Kallis, with South Africa in trouble at 50 for 2. The second was in the next match, in Centurion, when Kallis sat out because of injury, and the third, and most telling, was against India in Johannesburg in December 2013.In that last match Kallis had bowled more than his quota of overs and the team management wanted to give him an extra night’s rest. South Africa needed a consolidator and du Plessis was trusted with the job. His century, crafted with patience, took them to the brink of a historic win. It was a performance that underlined his claim to be slotted in at No. 4.Because Kallis’ place in the batting line-up is likely to be occupied by one of de Villiers or du Plessis, the change to the XI will have to happen lower down, at No. 7. That spot has been occupied by an extra specialist batsman since Mark Boucher’s retirement in July 2012, and South Africa have always said it is a berth they would like to use creatively, which suggests some experimentation could be in order.Without Kallis, the only way they can keep a specialist batsman in that position is if JP Duminy becomes their premier allrounder. That would mean forsaking the specialist spinner, a role that has yo-yoed between Imran Tahir and Robin Peterson, though neither has taken ownership of the spot, and tasking Duminy with filling that role in order to include another seamer and maintain the side’s balance.

Du Plessis’ batting style is similar to de Villiers’ in that he understands when to attack and when to defend. Batting is his only responsibility, although he is also expected to take Kodak-moment catches, so he is a good pick for No. 4

Duminy’s offspin has developed significantly. He has shown himself capable of holding up an end and he makes timely breakthroughs, but whether he is good enough to operate as the sole spinner is still a matter of debate. South Africa could try him out at home, where spin rarely plays a role, before deciding if he is a viable option for away Tests as well. In that case, Dean Elgar, who has been on the fringes and has played a handful of matches, would slot in as the additional batsmen. South Africa’s XI would then look like this:Smith, Petersen, Amla, du Plessis, de Villiers, Duminy, Elgar, Philander, Steyn, Morkel, extra seamer (Tsotsobe/Abbott/Kleinveldt).Another, more likely, option for No. 7 is to slot in an allrounder. That person will be more of a bowling two-in-one, as opposed to Kallis, who was seen as a batting allrounder. Even though there appears to be a dearth of these rare cricketers around, South Africa have some options in that regard.Ryan McLaren is first name that pops up. He established himself as the first-choice allrounder in the ODI team when Kallis was unavailable for bilateral series, and blossomed once given a regular run. McLaren has only played one Test, against England in 2010, but more than 100 first-class matches. He has a batting average of over 30, with three centuries and 20 fifties, and has taken 329 wickets at 25.47.Wayne Parnell is the other option. After falling by the wayside, following an impressive start that included three Tests, he has made a full recovery from a serious groin injury, plays regularly for his franchise, and is performing well. Parnell has racked up two List A hundreds, has even opened the batting for the Warriors, and is in good form with the ball. So far in the 2013-14 season he has eight wickets at 12.75 from one match.South Africa could also look for the allrounder within the group they already have, where three candidates emerge. Rory Kleinveldt is a regular member of the squad and someone who is considered front of the queue. Kleinveldt has scored one first-class hundred and nine fifties and has been one of the most consistent wicket-takers in the domestic game.The other two options are already part of the team. Both Vernon Philander and Robin Peterson are capable of batting at No. 7. They have three Test fifties each and have batted South Africa out of difficult positions in the recent past – Philander at Lord’s in August 2012, Peterson in Durban in December 2013.If South Africa make use of one of them, they will have a free spot to toy with in the XI, which can be used for either an extra bowler or batsman. The team would look something like this, with the unallocated role able to move anywhere in the order:Smith, Petersen, Amla, du Plessis, de Villiers, Duminy, No. 7, Philander, Peterson, Steyn, MorkelVernon Philander has shown he is capable of shoring up the batting from No. 7•Associated PressMike Procter, the former convenor of selectors, who admits his panel “never thought of a team without Kallis”, is in favour of this approach. He would use the gap to bring in a specialist wicketkeeper, because even though de Villiers’ batting average has increased since he took over from Boucher, Procter thinks he is better off as a batsman only. “His batting will progress even more if he does not keep.” Some may wonder how much better de Villiers can get but Procter believes he can score match-winning double-hundreds if freed from the gloves.Should South Africa go this way, they will have to bring in one of the reserve glovemen – Thami Tsolekile or his Lions team-mate Quinton de Kock. Tsolekile is probably the first choice. His issue has also become political because of the lack of black African players in the team. South Africa’s Test side has gone more than three years without a member of the country’s biggest demographic group and it is understood CSA board members are pushing for Tsolekile’s inclusion.But there is a wave of public support for de Kock, who went from a promising youngster to proven international in the space of a week in which he scored three consecutive ODI hundreds against India. De Kock has played 19 first-class matches, averages 51.96, and has scored four centuries. He is only in his second season as a franchise cricketer and the selectors are wary of rushing him, as current convenor Andrew Hudson confirmed when the squad for India was announced. They also believe his glovework could do with some improvement. De Kock will definitely come into the picture in the future but the Australia series may be a little soon to expect his inclusion.What all this highlights is that South Africa have options. There is depth, they have different players who offer different skills, and several capable candidates. Kallis’ absence will require a rethinking of strategy, but that is not an insurmountable task. Nobody can fill in for the sun but if the stars band together in the correct combinations they can produce something that could be just as good.

In the last two ODIs, India’s bowlers have shown a tendency to concede ground in a short burst. While New Zealand’s bowlers have extracted help from the pitches, India have struggled and their only hope of saving the series is to avoid mistakes

Abhishek Purohit in Hamilton23-Jan-20140:00

Worked a lot on bowling yorkers – Bhuvneshwar

India have already lost the No 1 ODI ranking following two defeats in Napier and Hamilton. One more defeat in Auckland will see them lose the series as well. The games at Napier and Hamilton must have felt almost like playing at home, seeing the bowlers go for so many. However, the batsmen, despite coming close, have been unable to mop up for the bowlers and that has been the crucial difference compared to playing in India.New Zealand’s one-day pitches may have flattened out over the past decade but they are still nowhere close to the roads that Indian bowlers are used to back home. There is little the team can do if the bowlers are slammed for 320 in Rajkot, apart from hoping that the batsmen do not have a rare off day. But New Zealand have shown that there was something in Napier and Hamilton for bowlers who were prepared to and knew how to squeeze out that help from the pitches. Napier had bounce and pace, Hamilton was a touch two-paced.India, though, went through periods where they conceded too much ground in a short burst. It was not as if they were poor throughout, but their attack has this tendency to suddenly lose it in unison, especially if a batsman starts going berserk. The new fielding restrictions have only exacerbated that tendency. Corey Anderson has gone after them in both games, and although India, by their standards, have done admirably to come back at the death, the damage he inflicted proved too costly.India’s death-bowling performance has improved but basic errors are proving costly•Getty ImagesMS Dhoni knows his bowlers better than anybody else and has maintained right through that only four deep fielders are too little protection for their profligacy. But it has been over a year now since the new rules came in and the attack has to show signs of adapting, for there is no choice. And those signs have to translate into something concrete, especially outside India where everything cannot be blamed on dead pitches. If they don’t, in another year, Dhoni will be left with the same woes in the 2015 World Cup.Dhoni does feel that his bowlers have achieved some progress, particularly at the death. “To some extent, yes,” Dhoni said after the Hamilton match. “To compare it to what was happening maybe six months back. Our death bowling seems to have improved a lot. What you are seeing close to 300 runs, you may see it as slightly expensive, but if we do not bowl as well as we are bowling in the last few overs, it may go in excess of 340. That puts some serious pressure on the batsmen. We have seen improvement.”The captain thinks a lot more can be done, and pointed out a couple of things which may appear quite basic, but are seemingly beyond the reach of Dhoni’s bowlers at the moment.”There is still scope for improvement. If we cannot give easy boundaries, off something like a wide ball or something on the pads that goes through short fine for a boundary,” Dhoni said. “Stuff like that really adds on. Especially the first ball of the over or the sixth ball of the over, if you don’t concede boundaries in those two, it really helps. That is one area where we are conceding quite a few runs – the first ball or the last ball of the over. Either we are not starting well or we are not finishing that particular over well.”Of the 61 boundaries India went for in Napier and Hamilton, 20 came off the first and last deliveries of overs. That is not an alarmingly high proportion, but you can see the point Dhoni is trying to make.His attack may probably not have the skills to extract as much out of New Zealand pitches as the home bowlers have. But if they can at least avoid the above mistakes under pressure, India might yet be able to salvage this series.

Also, New Zealand’s Caribbean record, England’s youngest double-centurions, and four-fors without fivers

Steven Lynch17-Jun-2014Mark Craig hit his first ball in Test cricket for six. How many people have done this? asked Hemil Maniar from India
The answer is that, as far as records show, no one has ever hit their very first ball in Test cricket for six before, as New Zealand’s Mark Craig did in Kingston last week. Seven others are known to have opened their accounts in Tests with a six (but not from their first ball): Australia’s Eric Freeman in 1967-68, Carlisle Best of West Indies in 1985-86, Zimbabwe’s Keith Dabengwa in 2005, Dale Richards of West Indies in 2009, and three Bangladesh players – Shafiul Islam and Jahurul Islam in 2009-10, and Al-Amin Hossain in 2013-14. Both Shafiul and Jahurul started their Test batting careers with two sixes before any other scoring shots.Has anyone bettered Mark Craig’s haul of eight wickets on Test debut for New Zealand? asked Tim Carney from Auckland
In another first for Otago’s Mark Craig, he became the only New Zealander to take eight wickets on his Test debut in Kingston. The previous-best was by another offspinner, Paul Wiseman, who took 7 for 143 on his debut, against Sri Lanka in Colombo in May 1998. Six other New Zealanders – including Doug Bracewell in Bulawayo in 2011-12 – took six wickets in their debut Test. New Zealand’s best innings figures on debut are legspinner Alex Moir’s 6 for 155 against England in Christchurch in 1950-51 (England only batted once so they were his match figures too).No. 11 Shane Shillingford top-scored – and hit five sixes – during the first Test in Jamaica. Is either of these a record? asked Craig Hartman from Barbados
Shane Shillingford’s five sixes in his rapid 53 not out in Kingston last week is indeed a record for any No. 11 in a Test: the previous mark of four was shared by Bill Voce (England v South Africa in Johannesburg in 1930-31), Alan Connolly (Australia v India in Calcutta in 1969-70), Sylvester Clarke (West Indies v Pakistan in Faisalabad in 1980-81), Mushtaq Ahmed (Pakistan v South Africa in Rawalpindi in 1997-98) and Al-Amin Hossain (Bangladesh v Sri Lanka in Mirpur in 2013-14). Shillingford was only the 16th No. 11 ever to score a half-century in a Test, and he got there in just 25 balls – a rate beaten only by Jacques Kallis, who reached his fifty in 24 deliveries for South Africa against Zimbabwe in Cape Town in 2004-05. Shillingford was also only the tenth No. 11 to top-score in a Test innings, a list headed by Ashton Agar with his 98 on debut for Australia against England at Trent Bridge last year. For the full list of No. 11’s top-scoring, click here.Was New Zealand’s 186-run win at Kingston their first Test victory in the West Indies? asked Douglas Berkheiser from Denmark
New Zealand had played 15 previous Tests in the West Indies before last week’s win Kingston, and you’re right to think they haven’t had too much success there – but they have won one previous Test in the Caribbean, in Bridgetown in 2002, coming out on top by 204 runs in a match notable for Stephen Fleming’s fine 130 and seven wickets apiece for Shane Bond and Daniel Vettori. West Indies have won five of those other matches, and there have been nine draws, including the first seven encounters between the teams in the Caribbean (kicked off by a five-match 0-0 stalemate in 1971-72).Was Joe Root the youngest man to score a double-century for England, or at Lord’s? asked Dennis Morgan from Cyprus
Only three batsmen have scored double-centuries for England at a younger age than 23-year-old Joe Root, who made 200 not out against Sri Lanka in the match that has just finished at Lord’s: Len Hutton (364 v Australia at The Oval in 1938), David Gower (200 not out against India at Edgbaston in 1979) and Bill Edrich (219 v South Africa in Durban in 1938-39) were all 22. The only younger batsmen to make Test double-centuries at Lord’s were Don Bradman, who was just 21 when he made his superb 254 – the innings he rated the best of all his many masterpieces – for Australia against England in 1930, and Graeme Smith, who was 22 when he hit 259 for South Africa in 2003.Which bowler has picked up the most four-wicket hauls without ever taking a five-for in Tests? asked Siddhartha from India
The answer here is the Western Australian fast-medium bowler Wayne Clark, whose ten Tests included seven instances of four wickets in an innings, but no five-fors. Clark took eight wickets in a match three times, including on his debut against India in Brisbane in 1977-78. Dayle Hadlee of New Zealand and England’s Mike Hendrick both took five four-fors, without ever managing a five: Hendrick’s overall tally of 87 wickets remains the most by any bowler in Tests without the aid of a five-for.

With India’s bowling coming good in the World Twenty20, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have not been tested but they need to sort their techniques and mindsets to match their ODI successes

Abhishek Purohit27-Mar-20148:20

Manjrekar: Worried about India openers’ form

Few gave India a chance going into the Champions Trophy last year. They had chosen a young squad over a few established names, and had a fresh pair of openers. One of them was making a comeback to the one-day side, albeit after a spectacular Test debut. The other had only recently been converted into an opener following several underwhelming years in the middle order.Few would have expected Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma to start the Champions Trophy with partnerships of 127, 101, 58 and 77. It was even more of a surprise than India’s roaring bowling form has been in the World T20 so far. Dhawan and Rohit went on to establish themselves as the first-choice limited-overs opening pair for India. They average nearly fifty in ODIs and have ten fifty-plus stands in 31 innings.In the World T20, the expectations have ratcheted up significantly from the duo. They have become a hit pair in one limited-overs format, and are expected to carry that success into the shorter one as well. The bowling surprise has meant that they have not really been tested so far, and India will be hoping they will deliver when they come up against one, which will surely happen at some stage in the tournament, if not against Bangladesh on Friday.While they may have spent plenty of time together in the middle in ODIs, Rohit and Dhawan had only one opening stand in T20s coming into this world event, worth 12 runs against Australia in October last year in Rajkot. India do not play much international T20 cricket, and the dynamics of opening in ODIs and T20s are vastly different.Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan must fall back on the familiarity of their ODI partnership to tide over their lack of experience as a pair in T20s•BCCIRohit is not a natural opener, and it is well known now that he likes to take his time in ODIs, occasionally at the cost of the flow of an innings. He has opened in T20s before – in the 2009 World T20 – but most of his innings previously in the format have come in the middle order. He made 24 off 21 before falling against Pakistan but once he got in against West Indies, he ensured he remained there until the end, finishing on an unbeaten 62 off 55. He’s largely done what was required of him in those chases, especially against West Indies. As Rohit will know, his real challenge will come when he will not have the leeway of a benign asking-rate, especially if India’s bowlers have an overdue off-day and he is handed a stiff chase.Dhawan has a bigger challenge. Against Pakistan, he charged at Umar Gul and heaved a top-edge off a short ball once more but that is not his challenge. It can be argued he will have no choice but to attack the short ball in this format, and will have to make do with his tendency to get out in doing so. It is spin he has to combat. Mohammad Hafeez had a leg before appeal against Dhawan off the first ball the batsman faced in an unconvincing effort against Pakistan. Against West Indies, he was given leg-before off the third ball against Samuel Badree, although it was a poor decision with the ball appearing to miss leg. Like he did against Badree, Dhawan often gets cramped on the back foot and becomes vulnerable to the incoming or straighter delivery. It is not even a question of blocking away such balls; he is often too late bringing down his bat on them.With tougher tests lying in wait, what Rohit and Dhawan will have to fall back on is the mutual understanding they have developed since June 2013, according to Rohit.”When you have the right combination going around and you’ve batted for a while, together, you understand each other very well,” Rohit said. “These things really matter when you play the short format. All those little things like running between the wickets and taking singles really matter. We’ve had a good understanding and a good run for the last year or so.”The team expects a lot of us because we’re the ones who set the tone for the games. It’s important for us to take on that challenge. It’s very important what you do in the first six overs in this format – whether you bat or bowl. As openers, it’s important we give the team a good start. We know we’ve got a good middle order to capitalize.”That is the difference between the Champions Trophy and the World T20. The team, as well as the fans, now expect “a lot” from Rohit and Dhawan. Those expectations are about coming good on a night when India will dearly need them to.