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There is talent and spirit in this England side, though it is far from the finished article. For now, they should enjoy the champagne while it’s still cold.

George Dobell at The Oval23-Aug-2015There was something a little incongruous about the sprayed champagne, fireworks and glitter that greeted the end of the Oval Test: surely England have never seen an innings loss celebrated so enthusiastically.The celebration was not for the game, of course, but for the series. As the wag in the crowd remarked during the ceremony, though, “it felt like winning the lottery the day your wife left you”.”Wouldn’t that be like winning the lottery twice?” his friend asked. They laughed. There was little pain in this defeat for England and there won’t be much consolation in victory for Australia. They came for the Ashes, not encouragement.Perhaps it would be wrong to read too much into the result of this last Test. As Alastair Cook suggested afterwards, England were drained emotionally after Trent Bridge. And while the intentions were still good, just a little of the intensity had left their performance.And perhaps it is wrong to contextualise this series. The Ashes matters in its own right. It is an ending in itself. To many cricket followers – those who have packed the grounds this summer but may not make the fairly serious economic sacrifice in non-Ashes years – what comes next will matter little. Questions of quality or concerns about the future won’t bother them. England won the Ashes: the rest is an unnecessary detail.But that’s not the world in which we live and that’s not the schedule that England face. There is always another tour; another challenge. There is always context to consider and the future to plan. And, despite this victory, England will go to both the UAE and South Africa as underdogs.That may well be the way they like it. Coming into this summer, there were many who predicted a grim few months for England. New Zealand and Australia both looked strong opposition and it was feared that England would be thrashed in all formats.To have won four of the seven Tests and secured the Ashes is a triumph, then. Throw in the limited-overs success against New Zealand and England can reflect on a summer of impressive progress. Realistically, they could hardly have fared better.If that sounds hyperbolic, then consider how the season started. England returned from the Caribbean, where they had been held to a draw in the Test series, to a chaotic situation where their managing director and coach learned of their sacking from the media. They were in chaos.So this is a fine result. And while they benefited from the absence of Ryan Harris, home conditions, Brad Haddin’s failure to hold on to a chance offered by Joe Root at Cardiff and some odd Australian selections, they also benefited from some wise and calm coaching, a batting line-up that compensated for its fragility with its depth and a bowling attack that was strong enough to accommodate for one or two men having an off game. It speaks volumes that Cook rates this victory as his finest achievement.But problems remain; many of them familiar. They came into the summer looking for a new opening batsman and they still are. They came into the summer with questions to answer about both their ability to play spin and their ability to field a quality spin attack. Those questions remain. And for all the potential apparent in Jos Buttler’s white-ball batting, he has endured a pretty wretched Ashes against the red ball. England will retain faith, but as the careers of Mark Ramprakash and Graeme Hick showed us, talent alone isn’t always enough. For now, Buttler remains an unfulfilled talent at Test level.Ben Stokes drinks to England’s Ashes victory•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesHe is not the only one of England’s talented young players whose progress has stalled this summer. While Joe Root has confirmed his emergence as a world-class batsman, Gary Ballance – around whom England thought their batting would be built – has been dropped, James Taylor didn’t get a look in and Jonny Bairstow’s Oval performance suggested that the gap between county and international cricket has grown a little larger than is healthy.Maybe it is Ben Stokes who exemplifies the state of this England team better than anyone. Stokes has, at times this summer, looked a champion player. His century against New Zealand at Lord’s was a gem of an innings; his six-wicket haul against Australia at Trent Bridge a performance of which a swing bowler as talented as Jimmy Anderson would have been proud. In between times, he has taken a couple of outrageous catches, hit a couple of fine half-centuries and bowled some decent if unrewarded spells.But he has also, at times, looked like a novice. And what more could we expect? For Stokes, like many of this young England side, is learning his trade. He is 24. He is, like the team he represents, a work in progress.So while Cook’s prediction, even in the moment of triumph, for “more dark days in the future” may seem oddly negative, it is also realistic. Nobody should think that victory in the Investec Ashes means England are the finished article.But nor should they ignore his prediction of “really good days as well”. For there is talent and there is spirit in this side. And, unburdened by expectation, they will travel this winter with their hosts the ones feeling the burden of favouritism. Maybe England will surprise us once more. They are, at least, dangerous opposition and they appear to be enjoying the battle and the learning experience.As to the immediate future, England are likely to announce their limited-overs squad on Tuesday. Moeen Ali will probably to return to the top of the order – likely alongside Alex Hales – while there is a temptation to rest one or two players. Root is one obvious candidate, but Buttler, Stokes and Mark Wood might also benefit from a physical and mental break. Eoin Morgan, the limited-overs captain, is believed to want to field a full-strength side, but there is almost no point asking Stuart Broad or Jimmy Anderson to lace their boots again this season.As for those players not involved in the limited-overs squads – the likes of Ian Bell and Alastair Cook – a decision will be made about their workload in the coming days. Cook – with Essex left with little to play for – looks likely to take a decent break but Bell may be tempted to play for Warwickshire on T20 finals day this weekend. Judging by the weariness etched in his face, however, he may be better placed heading on holiday. He looks exhausted and, as the example of Jonathan Trott taught us, sometimes the player’s enthusiasm for the game needs to be managed for their own good.Perhaps such issues are details. England have reclaimed the Ashes 18 months after the nadir of Sydney. The squad – the coaches, the players, perhaps everyone involved in English cricket – deserves a moment of quiet satisfaction. The world hurtles on; the next hurdle will come soon enough. Enjoy the champagne while it’s still cold.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jan-2016Dawlat Zadran struck in the next over, having Chamu Chibhabha caught behind for a duck•Chris WhiteoakZimbabwe continued to lose wickets at regular intervals. Elton Chigumbura’s stumps were rattled by Mirwais Ashraf•Chris WhiteoakAshraf dismissed Sikandar Raza in similar fashion, and Zimbabwe were soon tottering at 49 for 7•Chris WhiteoakHamilton Masakadza, though, stayed firm, his gritty 83 leading a recovery•Chris WhiteoakMasakadza added 104 for the eighth wicket with Graeme Cremer, who stroked 58, as Zimbabwe eventually mustered 175•Chris WhiteoakThe start of Afghanistan’s chase was marked by the intrusion of a feline visitor•Chris WhiteoakThe cat left the field, and Afghanistan did not last too long either, as wickets tumbled freely. Mohammad Shahzad was the only batsman to reach double figures, but was dismissed for 31 by Tendai Chisoro•Chris WhiteoakLuke Jongwe collected career-best figures of 5 for 6 to run through Afghanistan’s line-up in 16.1 overs•Chris WhiteoakJongwe and Neville Madziva took eight wickets between them, as Zimbabwe bowled Afghanistan out for 58 to pull one back in the five-match series•Chris Whiteoak

A look at what each team must do to secure a berth in the Ranji Trophy quarter-finals

Shashank Kishore30-Nov-2015The ninth and final round of the Ranji Trophy begins on December 1, with seven quarter-final spots up for grabs. Only Mumbai are assured a knockout berth, having secured four outright wins to top their group irrespective of how they fare in their final clash. What are the seven possible teams that could join them? Here is a look at the possible scenarios:Group AFive out of the nine teams are in the hunt, with Delhi being the only ones who cannot control their fate, having completed their league engagements. Although Delhi currently top the table with 25 points from eight games, Bengal and Assam – who play each other in Guwahati – are also on the same number of points, with either side certain to leapfrog them. It is a fixture that could also decide which team tops the group, a proposition not many saw coming.Delhi would not mind an outright win either for Assam or Bengal, for that would mean they remain above the team that loses. If that match finishes with both sides walking away with at least one point, Delhi’s best chance would be to finish as the third qualifier from the group.Although Assam are sitting pretty, they would be well aware that a slip up that coincides with Vidarbha and Karnataka winning outright could cost them a knockout berth. Assam can make it through even if they lose outright, if both Vidarbha and Karnataka are kept to a solitary point. One point for Karnataka will mean they draw level with Assam on 25 points, but Assam would hold the aces with three outright wins to Karnataka’s two.Like Assam, Bengal are also not immediately in the firing line, and a first-innings lead or an outright win should see them through. But a loss that coincides with a couple of results going against them could upset their apple cart, given they have just two outright wins.The double-treble winning defending champions Karnataka need a first-innings lead against Maharashtra to progress, while an outright loss would bring their campaign to an end. If they concede the lead, however, they would need Assam to beat Bengal outright and Haryana, currently scrapping at the bottom of the group, taking at least three points against Vidarbha.Meanwhile, the equation is simple for Vidarbha: win and book a place in the knockouts for a second-year running. They could still hope to scrape through by virtue of a first-innings lead if a host of other results go their way.Group BAs many as six teams in Group B are vying for two spots, with Mumbai sitting pretty having sealed their knockout berth following their highest away chase in Ranji Trophy history, against Madhya Pradesh in Indore.Currently placed second, Gujarat have the tough task of facing a red-hot Mumbai in their own den. A first-innings lead, at least, should see them through to the knockouts. But they would be leaving their fate to their group rivals if they lose outright or kept to just one point.Punjab currently lie third and take on Tamil Nadu in a significant clash in Dindigul. With rains lashing India’s southern tip over the last two weeks, Punjab are right on the edge, needing maximum game time. While an outright win will see them through, just a lead would mean they would be dependent on other results.Like Punjab, TN too need full points. A win with a bonus point would seal their berth. But in the event of them winning without a bonus point, they will need Gujarat to beat Mumbai, hope the Uttar Pradesh-Baroda game ends in a draw, and that MP don’t beat Andhra with a bonus point.MP are also in with a slim chance, provided they win with a bonus point. If they don’t get the extra point, they will go to 23 and must hope there is no outright winner in either the TN-Punjab clash or in the UP-Baroda clash.Interestingly, UP and Baroda will be fighting a battle of their own and are in the least enviable position, needing to win with a bonus point to have any chance of qualifying. Even that may not be enough for UP if Gujarat and Punjab win outright.Group CFour sides are in contention for two slots, with Saurashtra, despite tailing off after posting four successive wins, best placed to top the group. They should back themselves to get a first-innings lead against Jammu & Kashmir to smoothen their passage into the last eight, where they could be boosted by the return of Cheteshwar Pujara, given he is unlikely to be in the scheme of things as far as limited-overs cricket with the national team is concerned.Things are unlikely to get tricky even if they are pipped by J&K. In the event that two other sides are tied on points with them, Saurashtra would still qualify given they have the maximum number of outright wins in the group.Also of consequence is the clash between Kerala and Himachal Pradesh in Mallapuram, with the winner assured of a quarter-final berth as well as promotion next year. The side that finds itself on the back foot will keenly follow Services, who play Tripura. With 20 points, Services need to win with a bonus point to throw their hat into the ring. For Jharkhand, a win against Hyderabad, placed second from bottom, is a must if they are to progress.

With heroes like Corey Anderson and Ben Stokes, Mohammad Saifuddin could be the pace-bowling allrounder his country needs

Mohammad Isam30-Jan-2016Looking at Mohammad Saifuddin, you get a lingering feeling that he has the bit between the teeth often missing in pace-bowling allrounders from Bangladesh. He runs in hard to the crease and rushes into his bowling action, which gives him decent pace. With the bat, his role in the Under-19s side is to attack from a lower-order position.Against South Africa in the opening match, he took 3 for 30 and made an unbeaten 17. In the practice match against England, he was 46 not out and took two wickets. Clearly, he can contribute with bat and ball at this early stage of his career, though he considers himself a batting allrounder. He averages 30.38 with the bat in first-class cricket, where he has made two fifties for Chittagong Division. He has also taken 19 wickets at 35.63.At Youth ODI level, he has 35 wickets at 23.28 to go with a batting average of just 19.00 in 23 innings so far. There will be a time when he has to decide which part of his cricket he wants to develop more, and although it is too early to say whether he will fulfil the role of a pace-bowling allrounder in the senior team, his skills point him in the direction of a role Bangladesh have struggled with.Saifuddin is also quite tall and well-built, chest thrust out. His wicket celebrations are like Shahid Afridi’s though he insists it is his own style. He spoke without much inhibition in front of the large media contingent present in Cox’s Bazar, explaining his role in the team, which is to bowl ten tight overs and give a thrust with the bat towards the end of the innings.”Because we have a good spin attack, our coaches told me to check the run flow in the first ten overs,” he said. “I think we did a fair job, so it helped bowl out South Africa quickly. My role in every match is to give as few runs and take a wicket or two. I am not worried about how fast I am bowling. I just think about being economical.”I am mainly a batsman-cum-pace bowler. Maybe I am batting at No. 7 or 8 because of the team combination. I try to fulfil what is expected of me. I try to give batting and bowling enough thought when I do either.”Saifuddin hails from Feni, a little southeastern district that partly borders Tripura to its east. He has just begun studying accounting at Feni college. The story goes that his father wasn’t too keen on him playing cricket so, after being encouraged by someone in his neighbourhood, he snuck out to the age-group trials. He failed the first time but in 2010 got picked for the regional Under-15s side. He also played a lot of regional tournaments, mainly with taped-tennis balls and in the T20 format. Saifuddin said he learned bowling the yorker in these tournaments, though he is still working hard to master the delivery.”I used to play a lot of taped-tennis cricket in my childhood. So I had to bowl plenty of yorkers since those days. I got taped-tennis accuracy with the cricket ball. I got the habit of bowling yorkers from playing in T20 tournaments in in Laxmipur, Noakhali and Comilla. I am trying to get better at it. I try to bowl at least 20-25 yorkers during spot bowling after bowling 18-20 deliveries at a good length.”Saifuddin’s heroes are Corey Anderson and Ben Stokes, two of modern cricket’s most destructive allrounders. Bangladesh could do with one of those but it is far more encouraging that they now have an Under-19 cricketer who wants to be a pace-bowling allrounder, and not just a batsman.

When the new SSC was contriving excitement with a score of 26 for 5, Dinesh Chandimal embraced everything he is not and no matter what the surface was doing, he had to wrestle himself

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo14-Aug-2016Through the noughties, the SSC pitch was so flat Sri Lankans were granted a Test hundred there along with their birth certificates. There was a bleak, authoritarian air to SSC matches in that decade. Games took on the unsettling aspect of a military parade.Mahela Jayawardene scored hundreds almost by rote here, and towards the end of his career, appeared more relieved than joyful at the milestone, almost as if he would have been court-martialled for falling short. Captains then had Muttiah Muralitharan wheeling away for days on end. Like with the general’s favourite jeep, his wearing parts would be continually replaced – limbs reattached when they fell off, eyeballs popped back in their sockets when they went rolling along the floor.In 2014, though, the old pitch was dug up along with the fossilised remains of generations of bowlers, and a new layer of clay had been put down. It is on this new strip that Rangana Herath smothered Pakistan with slow, lovable left-arm, in 2014. It is this strip that had been so seamer-friendly last year, that it inspired sweary, caveman, head-banging from Ishant Sharma. And it is on this pitch that South Africa almost lost a Test – saved on that occasion by rain, and batting so sleep-inducing that even its memory might prevent the conclusion of this sent…But if there is a Sri Lanka batsman who is the opposite of the noughties SSC surface, it is Dinesh Chandimal. His strokeplay is by nature, effervescent. He is so talkative he could chat up a power pylon. Chandimal, as character and cricketer, is more like Galle on day five, where the outrageous routinely occurs. Even on his quieter outings, he is Headingley on the first morning. He drives wildly, cuts extravagantly, throws his every atom into the sweep, and is in general like a human tune at the crease. It is not always great, but it rarely fails to get a few feet tapping along.In this innings, though, when the new SSC was contriving excitement with a score of 26 for 5, Chandimal embraced everything he is not, and contrived for viewers the old SSC experience. He made 132 from 356, when less than a year ago he famously struck 162 not out from 169. From the three sessions that he batted through, his returns were 30, 27 and 41. This was ballad batting. The block and leave were played again and again: two endlessly alternating chords.If there were two strokes that woke you up like the passing of a freighter, they were the slogged four off Jon Holland, and the reverse-swept six against the turn of Nathan Lyon, hot on its heels. But soon enough, disruption forgotten, his innings, and the SSC, was allowed to drift peacefully off again.This transformation of character took so much out of Chandimal that he was unable to take the field after his almost six-hour innings. Often a verbal runaway train after he has scored a hundred, Chandimal could barely muster one-sentence replies after play on Sunday. “I was under pressure before this innings,” he said. “I didn’t play that well for the reverse swinging ball. Because of that, I changed my approach a bit.”Batting in partnership with Chandimal, it was Rangana Herath who provided the day’s liveliest moments. Clearly in the midst of a batting revival at this late stage of his career, Herath waddles to the middle frowning like an old man peeved to find kids playing on his lawn, and brandishes his stick irritably, slapping Josh Hazlewood over midwicket for four. Having exerted himself, he hobbled off soon enough, retiring hurt for 33 after he was hit in a nasty place. Thankfully, he recovered. His gentlepersonly bowling avatar was seen later in the day.Through their second-wicket stand, Australia have now moved towards parity. But it is partly because of Chandimal that Sri Lanka can still dream of that rare whitewash. His was not one of the SSC’s handout hundreds. No matter what the surface was doing, for this one, he had to wrestle himself.

Jason Roy produced a special innings on his home ground to power England to a 2-0 series win

Alan Gardner29-Jun-2016Sri Lanka finally gave themselves a score to defend but it still wasn’t enough for their first win over England of the tour. Jason Roy made sure everyone knew they were on his manor with his second century of the series, and the second-highest score by an England batsman in ODIs, as the hosts cruised home with room to spare. These are strange times in what we must still refer to as the United Kingdom and England’s limited-overs revolution is also taking some getting used to.England players like to talk about confidence in terms of “having your tyres pumped” and Roy in this sort of form looks like a monster truck. Without his regular opening partner, Alex Hales, who was suffering from a back problem and did not bat, Roy marauded around the Kia Oval just like he has done on so many floodlit nights for Surrey. Memories of his slim returns in South Africa, where he scored 96 runs in five innings, have been subsumed by the avalanche against Sri Lanka, helping England to seal the ODIs 2-0 with one match to play.He is currently averaging 141.00 for the series, a figure which speaks for itself in stentorian tones. In one innings, his career average rose from 33.90 to a fat, round 40.00. Roy’s qualities had already been reaffirmed with his role in England’s rambunctious run to the World T20 final and, at the start of the tournament, he spoke of trying not to put himself under too much pressure to “go out and whack it from ball one”.England’s new ethos almost seems to demand as much from Roy, particularly as Hales often likes to take a bit more time to find his stride. But there is aggression, and there is aggression. Here, Roy was happy to putter along at a run a ball until the point at which he had made 24 off 25, then casually sauntered forwards and dumped Farveez Maharoof over long-on for the first of his three sixes. He had his moment of luck in Maharoof’s next over, when a thin inside-edge missed leg stump by a whisker and flew away for four, and was soon into his pomp.England, aside from their sloppy performance at Trent Bridge, have located gears that Sri Lanka currently cannot find and Roy drove them towards a target that initially seemed likely to be testing as if it were a summery Sunday afternoon, rather than a cold, damp night in south London. The crowd drank in each of Roy’s milestones as happily as another beer from the bar but, just as he seemed set to eclipse Robin Smith’s 167 – made during a 55-over game back in 1993 – he was dismissed aiming a tired swipe at Nuwan Pradeep’s slower ball. His evident frustration at not finishing off the job bodes well for England.Roy’s hundred, the fastest of his three in ODIs, came off just 74 balls and a couple of years ago that would have been second only to Kevin Pietersen – a player Roy has been compared to (not least because of his Durban birthplace). It is a mark of how England’s game has moved at light speed that it now sits joint-ninth in the list.”I’m pretty happy with where I’ve got to,” he said. “A lot of hard work has gone into it and to see the rewards is incredibly special, at my home ground, in a big game, to win a series… I’m pretty stoked.”England have kept faith in Surrey’s punkish young opener and he has begun to play like a king. Sri Lanka have a prince of their own in the ranks and on another night there would have been much heralding of Kusal Mendis. England’s rapid pursuit of their target made previous feats appear less dizzying but could not fully erase the impression of Mendis buckling his swash to fight the odds and the drizzle and give Sri Lankans something to smile about.Mendis is on the dinky side but he packs a punch. Were he from South America, he would doubtless be called “la Pulga Atomica” – the Atomic Flea, as Leo Messi is sometimes known. He struck seven fours in his first 18 balls, wresting back any early initiative England thought they had won from achieving a run-out in the second over, and setting the platform for their highest total of the series.At the start of the tour, Kumar Sangakkara had mentioned the former Schoolboy Cricket of the Year as a future star and Mendis will return home with a report card to make his family proud. His maiden Test half-century was the sole bright spot during Sri Lanka’s hammering at Headingley and he added a fifty on ODI debut in Dublin a few weeks later, before following up with another against England in Bristol.This was the first time he had pushed his score on. In his sixth ODI, it was Mendis’ highest knock in any form of white-ball cricket, so he could be forgiven for not quite knowing the route to a century. But he gave the Sri Lanka innings its impetus, dragging Danuska Gunathilaka along to a first fifty of the series in his wake and allowing Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews to start shovelling coal in the engine room.It is worth recording what a thoroughly miserable day this was on which to watch or play cricket. A sold-out Kia Oval shivered in the drizzle through the first half of Sri Lanka’s innings but returned from cover when the rain finally relented in the late afternoon. This was set to the be the highest attendance for a match at the ground in modern times, after the expansion of the Peter May stand, and in more clement conditions it would almost certainly have challenged the match between England and New Zealand here last year, which aggregated 763 runs – the most for an ODI in this country.Grey clouds scudded above the ground throughout, as the “right little, tight little island” of Thomas Dibdin’s imagination lay swaddled in murky weather and the fear of treachery. Above the pavilion, a union flag fluttered above a smaller St George’s cross. After Roy’s feat, the rain soon returned but this “snug little island” perhaps – strangely – felt just a little more secure.

Tamim Iqbal extended his remarkable record against England with his eighth Test century, but Bangladesh’s batsman collapsed to undermine his efforts

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur28-Oct-2016″The way the wickets fell today, my century seems to have suddenly become quite special.”Tamim Iqbal couldn’t stifle a grin when saying this, but to be fair, he was allowed at least a smile after his standout 104. He thrived on good form, clarity of thinking and batting skills that made his innings special even before the other batsmen (barring Mominul Haque) put together a miserable scorecard.This was Tamim’s eighth fifty-plus score in eleven innings against England, taking his average against them to 63.27. Among batsmen to have played at least ten innings against England in the last six years, Tamim’s batting average is second only to Hashim Amla’s 86.54.Despite an indifferent start, in which he took 20 deliveries to get off the mark, Tamim racked up seven boundaries between the ninth and the 13th over and took just 60 balls for his half-century. Mominul wasn’t exactly his calm self all the time at the other end, so Tamim had to ensure the scoring didn’t taper off while keeping his shape whenever playing a forceful shot. The 170-run second wicket stand came at a fair clip – 4.37 per over for 38.5 overs.”I batted with intent, and it is the way I usually like to bat, which means that I would rate it quite highly,” Tamim said of his innings. “I took 19 balls to get off the mark so I thought I handled that period well to go on and score a century. It is always special to get a century so I am happy in that regard.”But was it really fair for Tamim to attend an end-of-day press conference in which most of the questions were about his team’s batting collapse?Tamim had indeed been the first of those nine wickets to fall but, at 171 for 2 an hour after lunch, the expectation had been that Bangladesh’s middle order would build up their team-mate’s strong groundwork. Batting collapses aren’t exactly new to the line-up, but 9 for 49 in 22.5 overs stands out as an extreme example of giving away a good start to a Test match.It was evident that there was much pillow-passing going around, with none of those involved in the collapse ready to take the responsibility of rebuilding the innings after such a superb second-wicket partnership. Shirking away from such duties can happen when you put nine batsmen in a line-up. There will be debate about whether Shuvagata Hom and Mehedi Hasan belong in that category, but both have made themselves into viable batting options at domestic and age-group levels respectively.Mahmudullah’s initial response to Tamim’s dismissal had been to hit a six off Adil Rashid had had hit a six in the over and, even when Mominul fell for 70 two overs later, the pitch still didn’t look uncomfortable for the batsmen. But while Mushfiqur Rahim was unlucky to fall to a superb catch at leg slip, Mahmudullah, Sabbir Rahman, Shuvagata, Mehedi and Shakib Al Hasan all got out playing poor shots.Tamim Iqbal got going with a series of boundaries after a slow start•Associated PressProds outside off stump are commonplace when a pace attack is relentlessly plugging away but what Mahmudullah offered was catching practice. Sabbir and Shuvagata showed crass judgment with deliveries pitched well outside the line, while Mehedi chose both the wrong line and length to sweep when Moeen trapped him lbw with a full and straight one. Shakib saw all this and then tried to reach a wide delivery, which took the fateful edge.Moeen was bowling with accuracy while Ben Stokes generated some reverse swing, though not as prodigiously as in the first innings at Chittagong. Bangladesh know that such skills should have been handled better.Tamim, thankfully, didn’t offer an explanation for the collapse but admitted that even just another 100 runs would have made a huge difference.”I didn’t come here to defend the collapse in any way. Batting in the first ten overs was difficult, then it eased out for the next 20-25 overs which could be due to our attacking intent, and we also got a number of boundary balls. When you are scoring runs, any wicket would seem easy to bat on.”I can’t give an explanation to this collapse. We played some wrong shots while some were good deliveries. But if we had scored 100 more runs from what we got, the game would have been in our favour. The ball started to spin after 45 overs, but this can happen,” he said.Tamim admitted that he should have offered a shot to the Moeen delivery that led to his dismissal in the 42nd over, but that the team should have responded better when wickets were falling quickly.”It was the third ball I had left like that. I wasn’t doing it on purpose. On the Chittagong wicket, the ball was turning from that spot so maybe I was thinking about it. I made the mistake. I should have offered a shot. If you look at Mominul’s dismissal, so one came in and one turned. But we should have handled those deliveries better.”There weren’t any panic attacks but people do tend to get puzzled when a couple of wickets fall. They bowled really well but we could have handled it better,” said Tamim.But he remained hopeful, particularly having seen how much the Dhaka wicket was offering for Bangladesh’s spinners. It resulted in England losing three wickets quickly before rain brought an early end to the day’s play.”I think it will get a little difficult every day of this game. This is why I am repeating that we should have got 100 more runs. A score around 350 would have made it hard for the team batting second, and they will also be batting last in the game.”If we can take early wickets and bowl them out quickly, things can change quickly. We made mistakes as a batting unit but we can’t just sit on it. We have to fight with 220 runs,” he said.

Current stats and match numbers struggle to provide insights into the actual value a player brings to his side, underlining the need for the nature of information to evolve

Jarrod Kimber20-Dec-2016At 6 for 86, Pat Cummins came in to bat. Andre Russell, the Sydney Thunder’s expensive T20 master, had just played an innings where his last three balls were a series of shots he was not in control of. The Thunder were falling apart, and Russell’s wicket was followed by another one, meaning that Cummins had to bat in the 12th over.Unlike Russell, Cummins supported the in-form Ryan Gibson, who had been starved of the strike by wickets at the other end. The two started to rebuild an innings that had very nearly lost the plot, and then, when they were back on solid ground, hit out. Cummins’ batting choices were better than Russell’s too: instead of trying to hit every ball for six, no matter where the ball was, he waited for deliveries that were in his strike zones.When a slower ball entered his slot, he knocked it into the crowd. He cleared his front leg well to slog sweep for another six. One last one in the slot disappeared over midwicket. And when he was finally out, his original 8 off nine balls had ballooned to 30 off 20. Clint McKay got a couple away in his short innings as well, an accidental four and a muscled six.So what you have is your No. 8 playing the role of your No 6, and your No. 9 playing the role of your No. 8. They totaled 44 from their 31 balls and were the difference between no score and a decent score for the Thunder.The Sixers’ chase was almost taken over by Jason Roy, on a one-man mission to see how far he could hit the ball. But when he was out, to a beautiful bit of deception from a Russell slower ball, Moises Henriques came to the crease for the last few deliveries of the Powerplay. Russell decided, even with the fine-leg up, that he was going to bowl very fast right at him straight away. He did, and Henriques was late on the hook and got only an edge, which ballooned very slowly towards leg slip.McKay was the man on the end of it. He made superb ground to the ball, but when he got there, it was as if he wasn’t sure how to complete the catch. The ball trickled away. Russell got a consolation high five from a fielder for producing the error. The game went on and so did the partnership.Both batsmen were still together in the 13th over when McKay was bowling to Henriques. McKay went short at Henriques again, almost like it was a plan, and Henriques tried a big pull but just skied it towards the circle. Two fielders attacked the ball: Cummins from midwicket and Russell from long-on. The ball was in the air a long time; it always looked like Russell’s catch, but it was Cummins who tried to take it by running back and looking over his shoulder. It was Cummins who didn’t catch it.It was Henriques who should have been out first ball, caught McKay, bowled Russell. It was Henriques who should have been out 25th ball for 28, caught Russell, bowled McKay. It was Henriques who was not out 76 off 41, hitting the winning runs for the Sixers.You have four guys. Henriques makes a big score quickly and, in key overs where he attacks, he takes it from a potentially tricky chase to a stroll with controlled quality hitting. But he should have been out twice, both times a clear plan and a weakness showed up.Then you have Cummins, who saved the innings with sensible batting and hit out well to pump the score up to something he and his bowlers could bowl at. His first over was quality, in his second Roy got after him as can happen in a Powerplay, and then his third over Henriques faced five balls and took him for 20.Now with McKay, you have someone not expecting to bat facing far more balls than usual, batting with the No. 10 for the last over, and getting away two boundaries. His first over is taken for ten, but he starts his second over with the ball that should have dismissed Henriques. Instead he ends the over getting smashed for two more fours and not bowling again.Finally we have Russell, who in his last three balls was crazy. One was an edge that was safe; one was a mis-hit that was safe and then one was an edge that was out. With the ball it was Russell who dismissed Roy, it was Russell who should have taken Henriques’ wicket first ball and then his catch later on. Instead, he ended up with 1/27 off his four overs and the second-best economy rate of the night.So here is the problem, I watched the game, I watched some highlights, and I read the scorecard, but I have no way of accurately saying with numbers how well any of these guys actually played. How much impact they made, positively or negatively for their side.If you look at Cummins, he more than doubled his highest score, hit three sixes. Before today he had made 79 runs from 87 balls. So he is a weak No. 8, and he more than did his job and his runs were at least 25 more than you would expect from him. He went at 12.6 an over when he bowled, and the match average was 8.4. So that is 13 runs more than the average bowler. He also didn’t take a wicket, or even produce a chance, so for a strike bowler, that is a negative of at least ten runs. But most importantly to the result of the match he dropped the catch, which officially cost 48 runs, and so his net total to the game is -46.The problem with subtracting the amount of runs from a drop is that you can drop a player on nought with the most simple drop ever and if he still makes nought, you aren’t penalised. If you drop Chris Gayle on nought from a tough chance, and he makes 288* from 49 balls, suddenly you are -288 before going out to bat. And if that was all we didn’t know from the stats we have from this match, that would be one thing, but we have an ocean of unknowns, and very few of us who watch cricket all the time have tried to answer them.And the problem with all my other numbers is I’ve just tried to use them to get an answer on how much impact each player made. If we are ever going to know a player’s worth to a cricket side, the current stats and the way we think about cricket is simply not good enough. We need to evolve, think differently, open up data and move the game forward.But for now, the best I can do from today is: Cummins was good and bad, McKay was good and bad, Russell was bad and good, Henriques was bad, bad and Man of the Match.

ESPNcricinfo’s picks for the best performers at the inaugural edition of the tournament in the UAE

Peter Della Penna22-Jan-20171. Mohammad Shahzad (wk) – 207 runs @ 51.75
Afghanistan’s wicketkeeper-batsman stuck another feather in his cap by becoming
the first player to score two T20I fifties on the same day: he produced the highest
score of the tournament with 80 in the semi-final win over Oman, before an unbeaten 52 in Afghanistan’s title-clinching ten-wicket romp over Ireland. Shahzad had the most
wicket-keeping dismissals (nine) and finished as the leading scorer at the Desert T20. His finals-day tally alone would have put him in the top five. He also provided a perfect foil for Nawroz Mangal in the former captain’s farewell series, with the pair producing three half-century opening stands.2. Zeeshan Maqsood – 99 runs at 24.75; 2 wickets @ 33.50, Econ 4.18
His opening partners in this tournament made 14 runs in four innings and, as a result, he had to rein in his aggressiveness. Despite that, Maqsood was effective at the top of the order. He top-scored with 34 against Netherlands and 33 in the semi-final against Afghanistan before being run-out by his partner at a key phase of the knock-out match. Maqsood brought as much value with the ball, constantly building pressure through tight
spells of left-arm spin, and had the second best economy rate, after Rashid Khan, among bowlers who had played more than one match.3. Calum MacLeod – 117 runs @ 39.00
The right-hander swept and reverse-swept Scotland to an unbeaten run in Group B. He made 60 and teamed with Richie Berrington to add 127 for the third wicket against Hong Kong in the opening match of the tournament, a Scotland T20I record for any wicket and the highest partnership at the event. He also took four catches in the field, tied for second most of a fielder, behind George Dockrell, and completed one run-out as well.Gary Wilson regularly crafted Ireland’s final-overs surges in the tournament•Peter Della Penna4. Richie Berrington – 108 runs @ 54.00
Though his highest score was an unbeaten 60 in the win over Hong Kong, he had a greater impact in Scotland’s dramatic seven-run win over Netherlands. Entering at 13 for 3 after Paul van Meekeren wrecked the top order inside the Powerplay, he made a pivotal 38 to top-score in a total of 148 for 7. Berrington made sure the target would hold up as he charged in from long-on to run out Ahsan Malik and Paul van Meekeren on consecutive balls at the start of the 20th over to end the match. For good measure he added one more run-out two days later against Oman.5. Gary Wilson – 155 runs @ 51.66
The second-highest scorer behind Shahzad, Wilson’s strike rate of 156.56 was the highest among the top ten batsmen and he seamlessly transitioned Ireland’s middle-overs accumulations into final-overs surges. He struck 38 not out off 28 balls against Namibia to seal victory with two balls to spare and then smoked out Scotland in the semi-final with an unbeaten 65 off 29 balls through basically orthodox shots.6. Mohammad Nabi – 50 runs @ 25.00; 7 wickets, Econ 5.69
Nabi was named Man of the Tournament, earned basically through demolitions of Ireland on the opening night in Abu Dhabi and again in the final in Dubai. In the first instance, he took two wickets to help restrict Ireland to 125 for 6 before clipping an unbeaten 26 off 17 balls in a five-wicket win. In the final, he ravaged their batting order with 4 for 10 to trigger Afghanistan’s first ever ten-wicket win in T20Is and Ireland’s first ever defeat by the same margin in the format.Arguably the standout player of the tournament, Rashid Khan bowled with the confidence and experience of someone twice his age•Peter Della Penna7. Najibullah Zadran – 25 runs @ 25.00Because he’s “Half Man, Half Amazing”. And because he helped seal two chases in the two games where Afghanistan faced moderate challenges. He was with Nabi at the end in the opening match against Ireland, making 11 not out to seal a win with eight balls to spare. Afghanistan did it with seven balls to spare against UAE, though they were made to sweat a little bit more until Najibullah arrived at the crease with 33 off 20 required to win. Needing 20 in the final two overs, he then bamboozled UAE medium pacer Mohammad Shahzad with the shot of the tournament.8. Rashid Khan – 9 wickets @ 6.55, Econ 3.61
Definitely the standout bowler and arguably the standout player in the tournament. His best statistical performance of 3 for 4 wiping out the Namibia tail was easily his least impressive. On three occasions – against Ireland and UAE in the group stage, and Oman in the semi-final – the mood in the stadium palpably shifted when Rashid came on to bowl as he disrupted middle-overs batting plans, taking two wickets on each occasion. The 18-year-old bowls with the intelligence, confidence and experience of someone twice his age.9. Boyd Rankin – 4 wickets @ 18.25, Econ 6.63
He struggled to get anything out of the pitch on the opening night in Abu Dhabi against Afghanistan and then sat out the next match against Namibia dealing with back trouble. Coming back into the XI against UAE in a match to decide the second semi-finalist from Group A, Rankin flattened their opening pair and finished with 3 for 16.In the semi-final against Ireland, Scotland came out guns blazing in the Powerplay in pursuit of a target of 212, reaching 66 for 1 after six. That sequence included two Rankin overs in which he conceded a total of three runs and removed Matthew Cross. Scotland may well have reprised Netherlands’ Sylhet stunner without Rankin’s contribution.Jacob Mulder’s performance in the tournament may have cemented his status as Ireland’s No. 1 spin option heading into the spring and summer•Peter Della Penna10 Jacob Mulder – 10 wickets @10.20, Econ 5.66
The Australia-born legspinner made an immediate impact in his first overseas tour with the Ireland squad and finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. He helped Ireland save face in the opener when the side were on the verge of a colossal defeat. Against Namibia he decimated the middle order and neutralized the damage done by a blistering opening stand. Then, he claimed two more wickets against UAE before taking 4 for 16 against Scotland in the semi-final to hasten their collapse. In the process he may have cemented his status as Ireland’s number-one spin option heading into the spring and summer, ahead of George Dockrell and Andy McBrine.11. Bilal Khan – 7 wickets @ 16.71, Econ 8.45
The left-arm quick has had trouble getting into the Oman starting line-up due to restrictions on the number of four-year qualified residents being allowed in the XI at ICC tournaments. That restriction didn’t apply at this event and, given a chance to spearhead the pace attack in the absence of Munis Ansari, Bilal flourished. He was on a hat-trick in the first over of Netherlands’ chase, then sparked Hong Kong’s 87-all out implosion in their next match by reeling in the aggressive Nizakat Khan and Babar Hayat to finish with 3 for 18. That Man-of-the-Match performance against Hong played a major role in Oman reaching the semis.12th Man. Con de Lange – 6 wickets @ 16.50, Econ 6.18
The architect of Scotland’s bowling success in their unbeaten run during the league stages, de Lange has been an outstanding find for the national team. Josh Davey may have been named Man of the Match in the dramatic win over Netherlands, for taking four wickets, but it was really de Lange’s spell that changed the course of the second innings as he built pressure before dislodging the well-set Michael Rippon. He was effective in the other two group games and gave Scotland brief hope in the semi-final by removing both Irish openers.

Much of South Africa’s annoyance on the third day stemmed from one man’s display of resolve and skill, a performance that showed why he sits among the modern-day greats

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton27-Mar-2017The only thing that stood between South Africa and the back of Kane Williamson was their 58-over old ball. Or so they thought.It was a ball which South Africa started preparing, yesterday, before Williamson was even on their minds. With one side as shiny as a family’s prized silver and the other scuffed up by strategic throws from the outfielders, that ball had started to reverse and would soon do the damage that South Africa wanted.So you can imagine the visitors’ annoyance when, two balls into the 59th over, the players were told by the umpires that the ball had gone out of shape and that it needed replacement. While the ball was being checked with the aid of the hoop that the umpires keep handy, Faf du Plessis was having a word, doubtless to try and convince them that said-ball was still in good working order. South Africa, though, had to accept a replacement ball – and not their ball – to try and dislodge Williamson.The replacement ball would be in the same age-bracket but not nearly as carefully cared for; the Harrison Ford to a Keith Richards. Williamson’s first dealing with it was to punch it through midwicket off Keshav Maharaj to reach a half-century. On the other end, Vernon Philander had not quite accepted that he can’t always get what he wants and five overs later he complained, asking for the old ball back. His request was denied and, for good measure, Williamson smacked him for six as if to say, “I like this ball just fine, thanks.” Philander saved his response for when he was taken off and the new (and despised) ball dared to come near him. Instead of throwing it, he rolled it back in protest.Call it petulance, call it wounded pride but Philander was not the only one feeling the frustration in the post-lunch session. It was the only time in the series South Africa had gone wicket-less and the only time all their attempts to make something happen were blunted. The ball was one reason, but Williamson was the bigger one.The class and calm he brings to the crease can be summed up in one shot: the straight six off Maharaj, when he shimmied down the pitch, picked the ball up, as though holding a baby bird and then letting it fly, over the sightscreen. In that shot was all of Williamson, from timing and technique to calculated risk and delicate aggression. And that was before South Africa lost their precious ball before they decided that they needed to hatch some special plan to rid themselves of another problem-player in Jeet Raval, who was greeted after lunch with three slips, two gullies and a snarling Morne Morkel.South Africa already had some idea of Raval’s staying power because he had been simmering all series. He was tight outside off, showed patience and valued his wicket. His 80 in Wellington was already the highest score by a New Zealand opening batsman against South Africa this century. They didn’t want Raval to become the first New Zealand Test opener to score a hundred against them since 1953 and so they laid a trap and asked Morkel to bait him by bowling outside off stump.Williamson and Raval frustrated the visitors, especially captain Faf du Plessis•AFPIt worked almost immediately when Raval followed a fuller delivery but the edge fell short of the fielder at second gully. Morkel moved in closer, getting the ball to angle in and Raval left one that went close enough to off stump to leave him wondering if he should have played. He went after the next tester, angled across him, and again fell in the region of the close-in fielders. For 40 minutes in the middle session, Raval had to navigate the combination of a fired up Morkel and a feisty cordon but he survived and reached fifty in the process.What followed was a battle against Maharaj, with balls spitting out the rough, and when Raval came through that, a maiden hundred seemed just reward. Nobody wanted Raval to get there more than Williamson, who managed to craft his own century while simultaneously outscoring his partner, and coaxed the young batsman.The captain performed the ultimate multitask, making Raval feel “like a clown on one end with a master batting at the other”.Williamson’s run-making off an increasingly impatient South African attack caused them to default back to a short-ball approach which simply wasn’t threatening enough on this surface. He sensed that the bowlers were tiring and began to apply pressure. In doing that, he ensured the total never stagnated, even while Raval did. As the second new ball arrived and Raval entered the 80s, he spent 24 balls stuck on 83 and began to look more fidgety than he has all series.At the other end, Williamson was playing a different game, which is why South Africa placed a higher price on his wicket before this series even began. They knew he was capable of something like this.The century Williamson struck in Dunedin was quickly spoken about as one of the best of his career because it came in a tough situation – Ross Taylor was out injured – but this one confirms him as a modern great. At 26, Williamson is already one of only six New Zealand players to have 5,000 Test runs to his name, has equalled Martin Crowe’s record for the most number of Test centuries for his country – 17 – and has hundreds against every other Test playing nation. And he is doing it at a time when New Zealand’s line-up is fragile.Though they may have found an opening pair in Tom Latham and Raval, their middle-order, in Taylor’s absence, only has Williamson to really add gravitas. That’s a lot of responsibility for a man who also has to lead the team on the field but, so far, he is handling it well. Even after South Africa caused a wobble when they took 3 for 20, Williamson put New Zealand in the lead for the second time in the series. And the ball – both the new and the old one – was not what stood between South Africa and the back of the home captain. It was Williamson’s resolve and runs that did.