Second-string or not, India’s visit will fill stadiums and that is simply the start of a pleasantly fuller season

Liam Brickhill08-Jul-2015Though the country lies wholly within the tropics, Zimbabwe’s seasons are marked by profound changes in scenery. By mid-June, the verdant green overgrowth of the highveld summer has withered to a tawny brown where the vegetation remains. The smell of woodsmoke from hearth-warming fires pervades the evenings even as temperatures plummet with the setting sun. Yet in the centre of Harare there is a remnant of summer. An oval emerald oasis. Harare Sports Club.Cricket is, arguably, far more suitably played in winter in Zimbabwe. Summer days are punctuated by massive electrical thunderstorms, which usually arrive at 4pm on the dot and rain disruptions are also frequent. In winter, as much as the nights are decidedly frigid, days are characterised by the virtual certainty of cloudless blue skies. Provided you can finish a game by 5pm, it’s perfect cricket weather.This fact certainly hasn’t been lost on Zimbabwe: Sri Lanka, India, South Africa and Australia have all been hosted in mid-winter. Indeed, with little else going on, Hararian winters would seem decidedly empty without a little cricket to look forward to. Second-string side or not, India’s visit is an event and big crowds can be expected on Friday afternoon, Sunday and at the T20s. The fixtures are also pleasing for a Zimbabwean side which has struggled to attract touring teams, and struggled to cover the costs of those who did visit in recent years.Zimbabwe might even be in with a shout to win a couple of games, though as coach Dav Whatmore pointed out, this adds an extra element of pressure to proceedings. “[India] are a great team, but then they’ve changed their group [for this tour],” he said. “And it’s almost like a different pressure now: that you’re expected to do well. If you win, people might say they’re only a second rate team, and if you lose it’s ‘bloody hell you can’t even beat a second rate team’. It’s a little bit tricky.”

When you think about what we had just a few months ago with Solomon Mire, Elton Chigumbura, and now Chamu Chibhabha also showing good progress, I think we’re the envy of a few to be honestZimbabwe coach Dav Whatmore

Whatmore has been with Zimbabwe since before the World Cup in Australia, after which he had to weather the departure of Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe’s best batsman in a generation. Yet they did alright without Taylor on their historic trip to Pakistan: both Elton Chigumbura and Sikandar Raza made centuries, while Hamilton Masakadza struck the ball with his usual vim and Sean Williams’ batting was predictably energetic. Zimbabwe were also greeted by the warmest welcome and the biggest, noisiest crowds they’ve ever played in front of.”With Pakistan not having played for six years, there were just huge crowds,” Whatmore said. “What we saw was real emotion. Every Pakistani was singing their anthem. It was really powerful, moving stuff.”The weather was really hot, conditions were tough for bowlers. And we know that our attack has been one area of our game that we need to improve on. Fielding and fitness is the other. The batting has been terrific, and we continued to show improvement in that area in Pakistan. Mind you, one area we really improved on was our extras, which does make a difference. It was like an average of two a game. Perfect. Little things like that make a difference.”With so many inexperienced faces in India’s squad, the visitors will also be looking to work on those little things and gain some experience. Indeed, they tackle some of the same issues Zimbabwe do: if India win, it’s only against Zimbabwe, but a series defeat will only add to depressed morale after the losses to Bangladesh last month.Stand-in captain Ajinkya Rahane repeated the refrain that’s used whenever anyone, anywhere is playing Zimbabwe – that they’re not opposition to be taken lightly – and also suggested that he’d learned a great deal under MS Dhoni but would also use the chance to test out some of his own ideas about captaincy.The series will certainly not be without its challenges for Rahane, with Zimbabwe’s squad ahead in terms of one-day international experience. Winter cricket also suits Zimbabwe’s strengths. The feeling within the team is that their seam attack might not be able to match India’s on a green track, but that dry pitches that will play slow and low could even things out and make spin more important.”We’re pretty lucky that two of our batsmen in the top six [Raza and Williams] are both spinners,” Whatmore said. “Wonderful. And then the legspinner Graeme Cremer, I think most teams around the world would love that. And then when you think about what we had just a few months ago with Solomon Mire, Elton Chigumbura, and now Chamu Chibhabha also showing good progress, I think we’re the envy of a few to be honest. They might not have the experience, but bloody hell, I think there’s about eight or nine who can bowl in an ODI, and that’s a good position to be in.”The real work, insists Whatmore, will be for Zimbabwe to get their heads straight and iron out the mental side of their game. “The hardware is there, you’ve seen it, it’s the software that they’ve got to work on. Keep their heads, execute. Skillset is important, but so’s mindset and that’s what we’re hoping to improve upon. I don’t care if you get hit for four or six, I don’t care if you mis-hit and get caught, you make a decision and you execute it to the best of your ability. If you make a wrong decision then fine, we can improve that, but if you can’t make a decision with 100% commitment, then that’s worse.”The absence of money worries, which have for some time been a perennial problem, will help to clear Zimbabwe’s heads, and they can also look forward to the prospect of plenty of cricket coming up: New Zealand arrive in August. West Indies, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan may be on the docket too. So for Zimbabwe, a winter of contentment could well lead to a summer of plenty.

The results of our social media poll on Sri Lanka’s greatest Test cricketer saw Kumar Sangakkara voted as #SriLankasBest. Here are some of the best comments we received

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Aug-2015

All legends produced in a tiny war torn island, but there's no doubt in my mind that Murali was #SriLankasBest https://t.co/8tb42zQFQv

— K Sanjane (@ksanjane) August 12, 2015

As a cricket-fan born in the late 90s, the title #SriLankasBest is undoubtedly deserved by @KumarSanga2. A role model for todays generation!

— Soyam Khanal (@S0yam) August 12, 2015

Cricinfo article on #SriLankasBest describes Muralitharan as Sri Lanka's greatest match winner. There, you answered the question yourself.

— Mahesh De Silva (@CharterKubiya) August 12, 2015

#SriLankasBest Legendary Kumar Sangakkara. Elegant Left Hander, Technically Sound, Composed and a great thinker of the Game! Kudos to him.

— Sidharth Acharya (@sidharth667) August 12, 2015

Unsung hero… Aravinda DeSilva is hands down #SriLankasBest! @ESPNcricinfo

— Heisenberg (@pankito09) August 12, 2015

#SriLankasBest Muralitharan is by far the best player, even though the batsmen might be greats at batting, this guys is a wizard. #Hogwards

— Cod (@CodPahul) August 12, 2015

#SriLankasBest Aravinda De Silva. Leaving the stat aside, he was fearless against any attack. Played all strokes in the book.

— හේතුහාමි සරණපාල (@shethuhami) August 12, 2015

@MahelaJay is the #SriLankasBest Test player, he batted well with Sanga and caught well off Murali's bowling @ESPNcricinfo @andrewffernando

— Daniel Alexander (@daniel86cricket) August 12, 2015

@ESPNcricinfo #SriLankasBest has got to be Murali; I'm unable to list out all 800 reasons in a tweet.

— Nitin Sundar (@knittins) August 12, 2015

@ESPNcricinfo Aravinda De Silva. The way he batted against McGrath on Australian soil was a true reflection of his genius. #SriLankasBest

— Utsav Bavisker (@utsavbavisker) August 12, 2015

@ESPNcricinfo @OfficialSLC #SriLankasBest : Muralitharan is the best spinner that Srilanka has gifted to the international cricket.

— Alok Mehta (@mehalok) August 12, 2015

@ESPNcricinfo @OfficialSLC #SriLankasBest Chaminda Vaas. Never got the credit he deserved

— Mihir Ahiya (@mihir_ahiya) August 12, 2015

@ESPNcricinfo @OfficialSLC Muralitharan for me, the smiling assassin #SriLankasBest

— Amey (@ansurkaramey) August 12, 2015

Statistically @KumarSanga2 is the best test player since Bradman. So undoubtedly Sanga is the #SriLankasBest too. https://t.co/8IlMgSMitv

— Ricky Boy™ (@Im_Rishad) August 12, 2015

@ESPNcricinfo @OfficialSLC Kumar Sangakkara – a fine leader on the pitch and a gentleman who plays the gentleman's game. #SriLankasBest

— Chelston D'souza (@chelston_dsouza) August 12, 2015

Of the many Sri Lankan cricketers who have brought me great joy as fan, no one was a greater player than Murali #SriLankasBest

— Nadeeka De Saram (@NadeekaDS) August 12, 2015

Aravinda De Silva, he catapulted SriLanka from mediocre competitors to World Champions!!! #SrilankasBest @OfficialSLC

— Ahtsham Cheema (@ahtsham_cheema) August 12, 2015

#SriLankasBest Murali has to be SL's best Test cricketer, probably the best spinner to play the game

— Arvind Iyengar (@iyengar_arvind) August 12, 2015

@ESPNcricinfo #SriLankasBest Kumar Sangakkara without a doubt … The man is a living legend and he is the master of a cricket field!

— Neo 'Lanny' Felane (@NFelane10) August 12, 2015

Without a doubt Murali was the best test player from SL and Sanga the No. 2. #SriLankasBest

— Birendra Katugampola (@aka_Bira) August 12, 2015

#SriLankasBest That's easy. Murali. Then daylight. Then Vaas. Then daylight. Then the others. @ESPNcricinfo

— cricketingview (@cricketingview) August 12, 2015

First of all Aravinda was the path breaker for Sri Lankan cricket but in both statistics and longevity he is below all of the other four. Now Murali was definitely the leader of the attack in the early 2000s so it can’t be Vaas. While in terms of MJ and Sanga one struggles to decide but Sangakkara was also a wicketkeeper and his stats are much better than jaya. Finally it comes down to Sangakkara and Murali and here one simple fact seperates them, Murali is one of the greatest bowlers in history, while Sangakkara is unfortunately not in mine or most people’s top 10 batsmen list. Thus Murali was greater at what he did.
– Abhyudaya Tyagi

Chaminda Vaas is the unsung hero of Sri Lanka…One of the most underrated cricket players of all times. Him and Murali lead the fearsome bowling attack for so long…..This hero will always be in every true Sri Lankan’s heart.
– Mayoouran Gnanasampanthan

For me, Muralitharan is the best Sri Lankan cricketer. It was his prowess that led the Tigers’ resurgence in world cricket. He simply outmaneuvered and outwitted the opposition every single time.
– Ashutosh Jha

Aravinda de Silva, as he was the first of the great Sri Lankan batsmen. Sanga and Mahela had the benefit of de Silva’s shoulders to stand on. de Silva stood out at a time when Sri Lanka were still minnows in international cricket, he saw his team through a transition phase and into an era where they believed they could win consistently. That is an achievement that cannot be quantified like average, strike rate etc. But definitely not one that should be ignored.
– Abraham Abhishek

Aravinda is the Greatest for sure! By reading comments of most, I feel that most have not seen even A glimpse of Aravinda who by far the best ever produced by Sri Lanka. It’s a pity he played during mid 80s & 90 s when we did not have many games like nowadays. He was matched with likes of Lara & Tendulkar as among the greats & faced more quality bowlers than those of present era.
– Rondy

Kumar Sangakkara, as I am not more knowledgeable about cricket till 2009. Thereafter Sangakkara made huge contribution to Sri Lanka cricket team. I watched every SL match, because of Sangakkara. No one needs to talk about him, his figures stand for him. Salute Sanga. #SRILANKASBEST
– Aneeq Ahmadh

It was tough to select between Sangakkara and Muralitharan. But Sangakkara will win the battle because he has never been criticised for his batting whereas Muralitharan throughout his career had to face remarks like illegal bowling action and all.
– Man007nashik

TBH all of them are legends. I love the batting style of Aravinda De Silva, even I use to ape his batting style during my childhood days. Vaas lacked speed in his bowling but extremely clever bowler, Murali was no doubt a genius of a bowler. It’s difficult to pick any one, it’s like asking do you love chocolate more or ice cream? But I would rate Aravinda highest because he is the one who changed the face of Sri Lankan cricket..and he was gem of a batsman and true gentleman. Love from Indian Fan
– Datta Abhijit

Really a Tough call!!! I am following SL cricket for past 18 years and have been fortunate to watch all these greats reaching pinnacle of their career. Be it home series or playing overseas, all these SL stalwarts have been outstanding. But since its about voting “The Greatest”, my vote would go for Muttiah Murlitharan. He has been prolific all through his career and the best part is his performance outside subcontinent. Mr. Hair no-balled him 7 times in 1995 and it looked like the end of his journey. He fought, hard, and bounced back with a bang,served SL cricket for another 15 years, scalping five-fors a whopping 67 times and 10-for a record 22 times. Hats off to this great ambassador of the game who is unarguably the greatest match-winner for his country!!
– Mayank Agarwal

For those old in the tooth there is only one answer and that is Aravinda. You need to understand that Sri Lanka rarely even got 3 test series. Also, too even compare the bowlers that Aravinda had to face in comparison to Sanga and Mahela will give you an idea of what he had to contend with.
– Wijeya

Muttiah Muralitharan: A player’s greatness is defined by his ability to win matches. Muttiah had the ability to win matches single handedly. No other players has won so many matches for Sri Lanka. So in my opinion, there is no comparison.
– Malik Aftab Ahmed Awan

Not only is Muralitharan the best test cricketer Sri Lanka have ever produced, but he’s also the best Asian test cricketer of all time
– Sanoj Boteju

.

I’d arguably go for Aravinda, despite his stats being significantly lesser than Sanga or Mahela. Aravinda was the standout batsman in an era Sri Lanka were thriving to be a formidable force, as well as the higher class of bowlers in that period and his steely performances when the chips were down contributing to my choice.

Plays of the day from the first ODI between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Colombo

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Colombo01-Nov-2015The no ball-drop
When Ajantha Mendis hoicked Johnson Charles’ length ball toward deep midwicket, with Sri Lanka nine down, West Indies thought they had the chance to win the game. Jerome Taylor ran forward from that position and dived to get both hands to the ball, but let it bounce out of his palms. In the end, two West Indies errors on this delivery led to their defeat next ball. Charles had overstepped, and conceded a front-foot no-ball. Had this been a legitimate delivery, Mendis might not have aimed a six off the next ball, which became a free hit. Had Taylor caught the ball cleanly at deep midwicket, Sri Lanka might not have run two, and Suranga Lakmal would have been on strike for that next delivery.The double-strike
Jason Holder was forced to go to his part-time bowlers after an injury to Andre Russell left West Indies short of front-liners. In the 24th over, Jonathan Carter’s medium-pace revived West Indies’ hopes of victory, after the Mendis-Sachithra Senanayake partnership seemed to be taking it away from them. Carter first snuck his third-ball between Senanayake’s bat and pad to break that stand, and then left his team on the brink of victory by nailing Lasith Malinga in front of the stumps next ball. Lakmal would survive the last two balls of that over, however, allowing the hosts to hang on.The carbon copy
Danushka Gunathilaka and Shehan Jayasuriya received their ODI caps on Sunday, and they departed within four balls of each other, in almost identical fashion. Not picking Sunil Narine’s offbreaks, both batsmen saw the ball pitch on leg stump and played for the straighter one. Narine spun it past both men’s outside edge and clipped off stump on his way to a triple-wicket over.The yorker
Angelo Mathews has been reluctant to bowl over the past few weeks, owing to an ankle complaint. But upon seeing Andre Russell begin to take the match away from Sri Lanka, he took it upon himself to stop Russell’s advance. Bringing himself on in the 22nd over, Mathews deployed a long-off and long-on, and looked for the yorker-length that had been eluding his team-mates. He didn’t quite hit the blockhole, but when Russell attempted to slam him over long-off second ball, he found the ball was too full to achieve enough elevation and was caught comfortably in the deep.

Stats highlights from the third Test between Sri Lanka and India at the SSC where India completed a rare away series win

Shiva Jayaraman01-Sep-20154 Number of Tests Sri Lanka have now lost at home this year, this is the most they have lost at home in a calendar year. The last time they lost more than two home Tests in a calendar year was in 2003-04, when they lost three Tests.1993 Last and the only other time Sri Lanka lost two home series in a calendar year. Sri Lanka had lost two of their four Test series in that year, to India and South Africa. In 2015, they have played two and lost two including the one against Pakistan earlier this year.1988-89 Last and the only time before this India bowlers took all the 60 wickets of the opposition in any three-Test series. On that occasion, India spinners Arshad Ayub and Narendra Hirwani had combined to take 41 wickets in three Tests against New Zealand. Overall, this was only the 11th time that bowlers took all 60 wickets of the opposition wickets to fall in a three-Test series.1 Number of times India had won a Test series in Sri Lanka before this. That win had come in 1993 when they won the three-Test series 1-0. India’s last win in an away series came in 2011 when they beat West Indies 1-0. Between the two wins India had played seven away series and had lost six and drawn one, against Bangladesh.2004 Last time India won two away Tests in a series against oppositions excluding Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. On that occasion India had won the series 2-1 in Pakistan. Overall, this is only the fifth time that India have won two or more Tests in an away series that have not been played in Zimbabwe or Bangladesh.0 Number of times India had come back from 1-0 deficit in an away series to win it before this one. Overall, this was the third time India had come back from such a situation to win in any series. The last such instance had come in 2001, when India lost to Australia in Mumbai before winning their next two Tests at Kolkata and Chennai. The first ever such instance for India came way back in 1972 when India beat England 2-1 in a five-Test series. The last time a team came back from a 1-0 deficit in an away series to win it was in 2012 when England beat India 2-1 after losing the first Test in Ahmedabad.4 Number of Sri Lanka captains to get a fourth-innings hundred including Angelo Mathews in this Test. The last Sri Lanka captain to do this was Kumar Sangakkara – also at the SSC – who got an unbeaten 130 against Pakistan in 2009 to earn a draw. Mahela Jayawardene and Duleep Mendis are the other captains to do this.240 Balls faced Mathews in his innings of 110 – equal the fifth highest in the fourth innings of a Test at the SSC. The last time a batsman batted 200-plus deliveries in the fourth innings at the SSC was in 2006, when Kumar Sangakkara faced 303 deliveries to help Sri Lanka force a draw against Pakistan.3 India fast bowlers to take 200 or more Test wickets before Ishant Sharma who took his 200th wicket when he dismissed Angelo Mathews in Sri Lanka’s second innings. Kapil Dev (434 wickets), Javagal Srinath (236) and Zaheer Khan (311) are the India pacers. Overall, among 65 bowlers to take at least 200 wickets, Ishant is the fifth-slowest bowler in terms of innings bowled in to the milestone having taken 114 innings. Among India bowlers, Zaheer, who took his 200th Test wicket in his 116th innings, is the slowest.1 Number of times before R Ashwin an India spinner had taken 20 or more wickets in an away series from three or fewer matches. Anil Kumble had played three Tests in the four-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2003-04 and had taken 24 wickets at an average of 29.58. Ashwin’s 21 wickets in this series are the most by an India bowler in a Test series between India and Sri Lanka, beating Kumble’s 20 wickets in the 2005-06 home series.37 Number of wickets by India’s spinners – equal the most they have taken in an away Test series with three or fewer matches. Before this, they had taken 37 wickets in a three-match series England in 1971.1985 Last time before this as many as 27 wickets fell to fast bowlers in a Test at the SSC. On that occasion as well, the same two teams were involved. The only time when a Test at the SSC had more wickets taken by fast bowlers than this one was in 1983-84, when the hosts were playing against New Zealand. The 27 wickets taken by fast bowlers in this Test equal the fourth-highest in a Test in Asia since 2000.18.09 Ashwin’s bowling average – the best for an India spinner to take 20 or more wickets in an overseas series. Earapalli Prasanna, also an offspinner, had taken 24 wickets at 18.79 apiece in a four-Test series in New Zealand which was the previous best. Including Ashwin in this one, there are only 12 instances of an India spinner taking at least 20 wickets in an away series.2 Number of wicketkeeper-batsmen to make two fifty-plus scores on debut before Kusal Perera in this Test. The last one to do this was also from Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal got two fifties against South Africa on his debut in Durban in 2011. The first one to do achieve this was India’s Dilawar Hussain against England in Kolkata in 1934. Kusal is also only the second Sri Lanka batsman after Chandimal to get two fifties scores on debut.125 Runs by Kusal in this Test – the fifth highest in a match by a batsman batting at No. 7 on debut. Romesh Kaluwitharana had made 136 on debut against Australia, the highest for Sri Lanka. The highest such score by any batsman was also made against India: Moises Henriques got 149 runs on debut for Australia in Chennai in 2013.135 Runs added by Kusal and Mathews for the sixth wicket – the second-highest partnership in the fourth innings of a Test at the SSC and only the 11th century stand in the fourth innings at this ground.2 Century stands for Sri Lanka’s sixth wicket in the fourth innings of a Test before the one in this match. The last such stand also involved Mathews: in 2011 Mathews and Mahela Jayawardene had added 142 runs in Galle against Australia. The first and the highest such partnership was between Aravinda de Silva and Arjuna Ranatunga against Zimbabwe at the SSC in 1998 when they added 189 runs in an unbroken stand.

Stats highlights from the first day’s play between India and South Africa in Bangalore where AB de Villiers fell 15 short of a century in his 100th Test

Shiva Jayaraman14-Nov-20158 Number of times R Ashwin has picked up at least four wickets in an innings in Tests in 2015 including his 4 for 70 in this match. This is the most such hauls by any bowler in 2015. Yasir Shah is next on this list with seven such hauls this year. Ashwin has taken at least one such haul in each of the seven Tests he has played in 2015.592 Runs by AB de Villiers in international matches on South Africa’s current tour – the most any batsman from either side has made from the ten games played. His 85 in South Africa’s first innings was his sixth score of fifty or more runs. De Villiers has made three hundreds and three fifties and has averaged 65.77. The next highest is by Rohit Sharma, who has made 383 runs at 54.71.51 Wickets by Ravindra Jadeja in just 13 first-class innings this season including his four in South Africa’s innings in this Test. This equals the most he has taken in any season in first-class cricket. He had taken exactly 51 wickets in 2012-13. However, Jadeja’s bowling average of 11.54 of 2015-16 is his best in any season.1029 Runs made by de Villiers against India in Tests. He passed 1000 runs during his innings of 85 in this innings. De Villiers is the third South Africa batsman after Jacques Kallis and Amla to score 1000-plus runs against India. De Villiers has made three hundreds and four fifties against India in Tests and averages 42.87.1974 The last time a captain winning the toss in Bangalore chose to field before Virat Kohli in this Test. In each of the 19 Tests after that and before the current one, teams winning the toss had batted first. In fact, this was only the 20th time in 246 Tests in India that a team had opted to field. This is also only the second time in 39 Tests in India since 2007 that a captain has opted to field. MS Dhoni had chosen to field against West Indies in the last Test of the series in 2013-14.55.50 De Villiers’ average against spinners on this tour; he has scored at a strike rate of 93.27 against them and has been dismissed six times in 357 balls. In contrast, the other South Africa batsmen have averaged 19.90 against the India spinners and have conceded 43 wickets off 1290 balls. De Villiers had made 44 runs off 62 deliveries in this innings before being dismissed by Jadeja.2009 The last time South Africa played a Test without Dale Steyn in the team, which was against England in Centurion. Since then Steyn had played in each of the 48 Tests South Africa had played before this match.2000 The last time a team batting first in a Test in Bangalore posted a total lower than the 214 by South Africa in their innings. On that occasion, India had been on the receiving end against the same opposition, and had been bowled out for 158. Since then, this is the first time in eight Tests that a team has failed to post at least 300 runs in the first innings.2 Wickets by Ashwin in the eighth over of South Africa’s innings; he got Stian Van Zyl and Faf du Plessis out in what was his first over in the match. This was the earliest a spinner had dismissed two or more batsmen in an over in the first innings of any Test since 2002. The earliest before this was the 15th over in the first innings of the Guyana Test in 2003 when Brad Hogg got the wickets of Wavell Hinds and Marlon Samuels in the same over.490.00 Hashim Amla’s batting average in his previous Test series in India; in three innings in this series he has managed just 50 runs. In international matches in India before this tour, he had made 1192 runs at 79.46 including five hundreds and four fifties from 17 innings. However, ten innings on this tour have produced just 177 runs at 17.70 and a highest of 43.0 Number of fifty-plus opening stands for India in eight Test innings before the unbeaten 80-run stand between Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay in this Test. The last time their openers had added 50-plus runs in an innings was against Bangladesh in Fatullah earlier this year where the same pair had added 283 runs. Since then India had managed only 44 runs in eight innings with a highest partnership of 14.

Also: highest first-class scores in each position, and the lowest and highest chronological shirt numbers in the same Test team

Steven Lynch15-Dec-2015What was the greatest difference between the lowest and highest chronological shirt numbers in the same Test team? My hunch is that it would involve Brian Close… asked Phil Ribbons from England

You’re not too far out, as Brian Close comes in third and fourth on this particular list. He was England’s 344th Test player, and played in 1976 when Mike Selvey (No. 466) made his Test debut at Old Trafford, a difference of 122; Mike Brearley (465) had made his debut in the first Test, at Trent Bridge. However, Close is beaten by another long-lasting Yorkshireman. Wilfred Rhodes was England’s 121st Test player when he made his debut in 1899. And there was a difference of 133 between him and Les Townsend (No. 254) in the third Test of the 1929-30 series in Georgetown. Bill Voce (253) had made his debut in the first Test, in Bridgetown. Rhodes was 52 at the time – the oldest Test player of all – but still played in all four matches of that series, England’s first in the Caribbean. The biggest difference for a side other than England – 98 – happened earlier this year, when Shivnarine Chanderpaul (West Indies Test player No. 204) played alongside the debutant Shai Hope (302) against England in Bridgetown.No one scored a hundred in the India-South Africa series until Ajinkya Rahane made two in the fourth Test. Has there ever been a series with no centuries at all? asked Bilal Ahluwalia from India

There has never been a series of four or more Tests which did not feature at least one century: indeed the recent series between India and South Africa provided only the fourth instance of as few as two hundreds in a four-Test rubber. The fewest in a five-Test series is three centuries, which has happened nine times; there were also only three in the six-match India-Pakistan battle in 1979-80. There have been six three-Test series without an individual hundred, most recently when New Zealand visited India in 1995-96. It also happened in the Ashes of 1882-83 and 1888 – when Bobby Abel’s 70 was the highest score of the three Tests – and in the series between India and New Zealand in 1969-70, Pakistan and West Indies in 1986-87, and Pakistan and Zimbabwe in 1993-94.Was R Ashwin’s 31 wickets against South Africa the most by an Indian bowler in a four-Test series? asked Dr Bhatia from India

Yes, Ashwin’s 31 wickets in the recent series against South Africa was a new record for India in a four-Test series, breaking the record held by… Ashwin himself, with 29 against Australia in 2012-13. Anil Kumble took 27 in the four-match series against Australia in 2004-05. India’s record for any series is 35, by legspinner Bhagwath Chandrasekhar in five Tests at home to England in 1972-73. Vinoo Mankad (against England in 1951-52) and Subhash Gupte (against New Zealand in 1955-56) both took 34 wickets in a series, while Kapil Dev claimed 32 in six Tests against Pakistan in 1979-80. But arguably the most meritorious performance of all came from Harbhajan Singh, with 32 wickets in just three Tests against Australia in 2000-01. Bishan Bedi also took 31 wickets in the five Tests in Australia in 1977-78, the Indian record for an away series.Victor Trumper once smashed 293 batting unusually low, at No. 9 in a first-class match•PA PhotosWho has hit the most sixes in Tests and ODIs? asked Brian Hall from England

The Test record could well be about to change hands: during New Zealand’s Test against Sri Lanka that finished yesterday in Dunedin, Brendon McCullum hit his 100th six, to equal Adam Gilchrist’s record. Chris Gayle might yet become the third batsman to hit a century of sixes – he currently has 98. Jacques Kallis finished his career with 97, while Virender Sehwag clouted 91. The next current player is Misbah-ul-Haq, with 67. For the full list, click here. The leading six-hitter in one-day internationals is Shahid Afridi with 351, comfortably ahead of Sanath Jayasuriya (270), Gayle (238), Sachin Tendulkar (195), and McCullum and Sourav Ganguly (both 190). The leaders in T20 internationals are McCullum (91) and Gayle (87), well clear of Shane Watson (69) and David Warner (66). If you combine all three forms of international cricket, then Afridi leads the way with a grand total of 465 sixes, ahead of Gayle (423) and McCullum (378), with Jayasuriya fourth on 352.How many batsmen have scored two centuries in the same match for India? asked Venkat Raghav from India

Ajinkya Rahane’s double of 127 and 100 not out in the recent fourth Test against South Africa in Delhi made him only the fifth Indian to have scored twin centuries in a Test. The first to do it was Vijay Hazare, with 116 and 145 against Australia in Adelaide in 1947-48, in a match India still lost by an innings (Don Bradman scored 201, and Lindsay Hassett 198 not out). Sunil Gavaskar achieved the feat three times – 124 and 220 against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in his debut series of 1970-71, 111 and 137 against Pakistan in Karachi in November 1978, then 107 and 182 not out six weeks later against West Indies in Calcutta. Rahul Dravid did it twice, with 190 and 103 not out against New Zealand in Hamilton in 1998-99, and 110 and 135 against Pakistan in Kolkata in 2004-05. And finally Virat Kohli, in his first match as captain, scored 115 and 141 against Australia in Adelaide in December 2014.Following on from the recent question about triple-centuries from Nos. 6 and 7, what are the highest first-class scores from the other batting positions? asked Jeremy Hall from New Zealand

The highest by an opener is Hanif Mohammad’s 499 for Karachi against Bahawalpur in Karachi in 1958-59, while the best by someone down at No. 2 on the scorecard is Bill Ponsford’s 437 for Victoria against Queensland in Melbourne in 1927-28. Brian Lara’s 501 not out for Warwickshire against Durham at Edgbaston in 1994 – the overall first-class record – is the best from No. 3. The unsung Aftab Baloch, who made just two Test appearances for Pakistan, has the highest from No. 4 – 428 for Sind against Baluchistan in Karachi in 1973-74. Bill Ponsford pops up again at No. 5, with 429 for Victoria against Tasmania in Melbourne in 1927-28. Nos 6 and 7 were covered in the earlier answer, but the best from No. 8 is 268, by Cecil Maxwell – his only century of an otherwise unremarkable career – for Sir Julien Cahn’s XI against Leicestershire at West Bridgford in 1935. The highest from No. 9 is 293 by the great Victor Trumper, going in artificially low for an Australian XI against Canterbury in Christchurch on a private tour of New Zealand in 1913-14. The last two are more authentic: John Chapman made 165 from No. 10 for Derbyshire against Warwickshire at Blackwell in 1910, while last man Peter Smith, an occasional England legspinner, hammered 163 from No. 11 for Essex against Derbyshire at Chesterfield in 1947.Send in your questions using our feedback form.

Stats highlights from the third ODI at the MCG, where Australia took an unassailable lead in the five-match series

Bharath Seervi17-Jan-201617 Consecutive ODIs won by Australia at home, including this three-wicket win at the MCG – the longest streak for any team. They surpassed West Indies’ winning streak from 1986 to 1990 and Sri Lanka’s from 1996 to 1998 of 16 consecutive wins each. Australia’s last defeat at home was to South Africa at the WACA on November 16, 2014.8 Losses for India against Australia in their last nine ODIs at the MCG since February 1986. Their only win was in 2007-08. Since 1986, India have an even win-loss record at both MCG and SCG – 0.125 (won 1, lost 8).2010 The last time Australia lost a bilateral ODI series at home, 2-1 to Sri Lanka in 2010-11. Since then, they have played six series, including this, and have won five of those; they drew 2-2 against Sri Lanka in 2012-13.4 Consecutive ODI losses for India in Australia – three in this series and the semifinal of the 2015 World Cup. Last time they lost four or more consecutive ODIs there was more than 10 years ago, between January 2000 and January 2004.0 Totals higher than India’s 295 for 6 at the MCG against the hosts in the first innings. India overtook England’s 294 which they scored on January 16, 2011, though they lost that game by six wickets. This is the eighth total of 265 or more against Australia at the MCG and the hosts have chased them down successfully on six of those occasions. Australia have made the highest successful chase at MCG as well with this victory.161 Number of innings needed by Virat Kohli to complete 7000 runs in ODIs – the least by any batsman, beating AB de Villiers who achieved it in 166 innings in November 2014. Kohli is the 36th batsman to score 7000 ODI runs and eighth from India. Kohli’ 161 innings are also the fewest by any batsman to make 24 ODI centuries, and by a distance too; Sachin Tendulkar took 219 innings to score as many tons. Only four batsmen have scored more centuries than Kohli in ODIs.Fastest batsmen to milestones of 6000 to 10,000 ODI runs.•ESPNcricinfo Ltd3 Kohli’s ODI centuries that have come in defeatsfor India, including this one. His previous two centuries in defeats were: 107 against England in Cardiff in 2011 and 123 against New Zealand in Napier in 2013-14.0 Times Australia conceded 275 or more in three consecutive ODIs against a team before this. India scored 309 for 3 and 308 for 8 in the first two ODIs of this series. This is only the second time Australia have given away 275 or more runs in any three consecutive ODIs. First was in 2007 – 305 for 5 by New Zealand at the WACA, 292 for 7 by England at the SCG and 290 for 7 by New Zealand at the MCG in the CB series.4 Number of times Glenn Maxwell has got out in the nineties in his ODI career, including his 96 in this match. Since his debut, on August 25, 2012, only Kane Williamson has got more such scores- six 90s. The other Australia batsmen together have got only three nineties in this period.5 Man-of-the-Match awards for Maxwell in ODIs. Since his debut, only two Australia players have got more such awards – Steven Smith and Mitchell Starc, with six each.40.22 Kohli’s average against Australia in Australia in ODIs, after this innings of 117. It was just 15.83 before this in seven innings and has increased with his scores of 91, 59 and 117 in the first three innings of the series.300 International matches captained by MS Dhoni; this match was his 300th. Only Ricky Ponting (324) and Stephen Fleming (303) have captained in more times than Dhoni. He has led India in 60 Tests, 189 ODIs and 51 T20Is – only player to lead his side in 50 or more matches in all three formats of the game.1 India batsmen who made fifty-plus scores in three or more consecutive ODIs against Australia in Australia before Kohli in this series – Sunil Gavaskar scored 59, 92*, 77 and 72 in the Bensen & Hedges World Series Cup of 1985-86. This is the sixth time Kohli has scored 50 or more in three or more consecutive ODI innings; it’s his first outside Asia, though. His best sequence is five 50-plus scores in five innings twice: 133*, 108, 66, 183, 106 in 2012 and 68*, 61, 100*, 68, 115* in 2013.0 Instances of India having at least one centurion in three consecutive ODIs against Australia in Australia, before this series. Rohit Sharma scored 171 not out and 124 in the first two ODIs and Kohli did it in the third ODI with 117. There have been two previous occasions of at least a century in two consecutive ODIs in Australia against the hosts – in February 2008 and January 2004. This is only the second such instance against Australia in Australia. The first was at least a century in four consecutive innings between November 2014 and January 2015.1 Previous occasions of India having a century partnership for the second-wicket in three or more consecutive ODI innings. Kohli put up 207 and 125 in the first two ODIs with Rohit Sharma and 119 in this ODI with Shikhar Dhawan. India had stands of 205, 148, 133 and 173 in 2012; Kohli was also involved in all four of those stands.0 Fifty-plus opening partnerships between Dhawan and Rohit in the last 10 innings they have opened together, with a highest of 42 against South Africa in Nagpur. They had added more than 50 runs in four of the previous five ODIs. They averaged 49.43 till then and in the last 10 innings, they average only 23.50.

From resolving conflict of interest to stemming corruption to helping women’s cricket, ESPNcricinfo looks into how the BCCI has tackled the problems facing it

Arun Venugopal and Nagraj Gollapudi03-Dec-2015

Conflict of Interest guidelines

Proposal: “The board would frame regulations with regards to conflict of interest of administrators, players and their staff. That would be done within a month’s time.”Action taken: Manohar’s three-page document, listing the various conflicts that administrators (both BCCI and state associations), players and employees (board and state associations), was sent out in October. Concern, confusion, criticism followed in clipped tones and whispers but after the BCCI AGM on November 9, Manohar declared all the proposals were accepted unanimously. On November 21, conflict of interest guidelines were published on the board’s website.Response: At the AGM, Manohar had revealed that former national selector Roger Binny had to vacate his position owing to the perception of conflict concerning his son Stuart, who is part of the Indian squad. Another former selector and Indian legspinner Narendra Hirwani stepped down as chairman of the Madhya Pradesh selection panel as he did not want to hurt the future of his son Mihir, who plays for the state.

Appointment of ombudsman

Proposal (made at the AGM): “The board would appoint an ombudsman who would be independent of this board and who would look into the complaints as with regards to conflict of interest of the administrators, players or the staff.”Action taken: Former chief justice of Madras and Delhi High Court AP Shah was appointed as the first ombudsman of the BCCI. Shah was vested with independent powers with Manohar making clear that the ombudsman’s decision would be binding when it came to conflict of interest issues concerning administrators, players and employees.Response: The Kolkata-based National Cricket Club, one of the 30 members of the BCCI, has approached the ombudsman asking his intervention to remove the club’s longstanding secretary and director KP Kajaria, who has been alleged of not holding elections for many decades.

Tackling corruption

Proposal: “The board would lay down the norms and would make programmes to educate players. We would like to meet the government officials to see and work out if we can get certain investigative agency, because the board people do not have any investigative powers and therefore our hands are tied.”Action taken: The BCCI has approached the Maharashtra government to set up an Intelligence Gathering Unit (IGU), which will see the board and Maharashtra Police working together. The IGU, based out of Mumbai, will work in coordination with BCCI to share information with the security agencies of other states on cases relating to corruption. This is the first instance of BCCI tying up with a security agency of a state to counter corruption in the game.Response: None so far

Independent audit of accounts of State associations

Proposal: “We would build a system by which the accounts of the affiliated units would be audited by an independent auditor appointed by the board. The board would also be empowered to take action in case the board finds that the money which has been given to the state association is not being properly utilised.”Action taken: The BCCI appointed PricewaterhouseCoopers to look into how funds granted to the state associations were being utilised. The board also engaged Deloitte as part of its ‘Project Transformation’ to strengthen its governance structure and improve financial processes.Response: While there have been no reports of an independent examination of accounts of state associations yet, it is understood that a couple of state units were not sanctioned funds from the board following discrepancies in their financial records.

BCCI constitution and balance sheet to be made public online

Proposal: “There is another grievance that the board is not transparent. I feel that this problem could be sorted out by putting on the website of the board the constitution of the board, all the rules of the board, any expenditure made by the board over and above an amount of [Rs] 25 lakhs (approx. US$ 38,000), so that people are aware on what activities the board spends their money.”Action taken: In his first act as president three days after taking charge, Manohar made the BCCI constitution available online. More recently, the board’s annual report for 2014-15 and payments of more than Rs 25 lakh have been published on the BCCI website.Response: Although there is no tangible outcome as a result of this measure yet, there is direct access to these documents; the links to the reports have been displayed prominently on the homepage of the BCCI site

Reinvigorating the NCA

Proposal: “The board would also look into starting of National Cricket Academy (NCA) again, whose activities are not up to the mark as on date. And we would see to it that NCA functions round the year so that cricketing talent is developed in this country.”Action taken: The board appointed Dilip Vengsarkar as the chairman recently after Brijesh Patel had to reportedly step down owing to the conflict-of-interest guidelines introduced by Manohar.Response: Vengsarkar said he hadn’t yet formulated a plan of action, but that he would present his vision to the NCA board during this week.

Women’s cricket

Proposal: “The board would also like to develop women’s cricket and we would enter into contracts with women cricketers as we enter into contracts with men’s team. That would promote the game and more and more women players would love to play this game.”Action taken: Women cricketers were formally handed out contracts at the BCCI’s AGM. They will be contracted under two categories – A and B – and will be paid Rs 15 lakh and Rs 10 lakh each.Response: The introduction of contracts has been welcomed by women cricketers. “I think it’s a very positive move from the BCCI,” India women’s team captain Mithali Raj told ESPNcricinfo. “Because they were not financially secure, a lot of girls have left the sport to take up some other job. That will not happen now with contracts in place.”

Stats highlights from the final T20I between Australia and India in Sydney, which the visitors won to complete a series sweep

Bharath Seervi31-Jan-20163 Instances when India have successfully chased targets of 190 or more in T20Is, the most by any team. South Africa is the only other team to do it more than once. India had chased 207 against Sri Lanka in Mohali in 2009 and 202 against Australia in Rajkot in 2013. This is the first time India finished a successful chase off the final ball of a match and the 15th instance overall for any team.4 Clean sweeps in a T20I series of three or more matches; this is also only the second in a series involving two Full Member sides. The previous instance came in 2014 when Australia beat England 3-0 at home.124* Shane Watson’s score in this match, the second-highest score in T20 internationals after Aaron Finch’s 156. Finch’s innings came against England in Southampton in 2013. Watson’s score is also the highest in T20 matches in Australia beating Luke Wright’s 117 for Melbourne Stars against Hobart Hurricanes in Hobart in 2012.1 Virat Kohli is the first batsman to score more than two fifty-plus scores in a bilateral T20I series. Kohli’s tally of 199 runs in this series is also the second-highest by a batsman between dismissals in T20Is. Martin Guptill had scored 216 runs with scores of 91*, 78* and 47 in February 2012. Kohli’s aggregate is also the second-highest by a batsman in bilateral T20I series. Hamilton Masakadza’s 222 runs in the four-match series earlier this year against Bangladesh is the highest.119* The highest individual score by a captain in T20Is before Watson’s 124*, by Faf du Plessis against West Indies in Johannesburg in January 2015. Tillakaratne Dilshan is the only other batsman to score a century as captain in T20Is.98 The highest score by a batsman in his first T20I as captain before Watson’s 124*, by Ricky Ponting in February 2005 against New Zealand in Auckland. Another Australia captain is third on this list: Steven Smith had made 90 on his T20I captaincy debut, against England in Cardiff in 2015.0 Centuries scored against India in T20Is before Watson’s knock. The previous highest individual score against India was Chris Gayle’s 98 that came in Bridgetown during the 2010 World T20.71 Balls faced by Watson in this innings, the most by a batsman in T20Is. He surpassed Morne van Vyk’s 70-ball innings of 114 not out against West Indies in Durban in 2015.4 T20I centuries in a losing cause. Watson’s score is the fourth-highest in overall T20 cricket in a defeat.62.94 Percentage of runs scored by Watson in Australia’s 5 for 197 – the fourth-highest percentage contribution in a completed T20I innings. Kane Williamson’s 70% contribution against Sri Lanka in Chittagong in 2014 is the highest.93 Runs added by Watson and Travis Head, the highest fourth-wicket partnership for Australia in T20Is. The pair went past an unbeaten 84-run stand shared by Adam Voges and David Warner against Sri Lanka in Sydney in 2013.3 Number of Indians who have aggregated 1000 or more runs in T20Is. Rohit Sharma is the latest on the list behind Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina.24 Runs scored off a Shaun Tait over [third of the innings], the third-most expensive over against India. The most expensive one was bowled by Stuart Broad, who conceded 36 in Durban [19th over of the innings] in the 2007 World T20, followed by Rory Kleinveldt’s 25-run over in Gros Islet [18th over] in the 2010 World T20.

Twists, turns, mishaps and jailbreaks. It’s all par for the course with the Pakistan batting line-up

Alagappan Muthu in Mirpur29-Feb-20162:15

‘Mature players take you out of problems’ – Waqar

Imagine you are on a tour bus. It is hijacked by a clown. One who’s fond of running into as much trouble as possible. Flooring it with a speed bump five yards away. Swinging the wheel this way and that on a simple, straight stretch of road. Attempting to drift because he had seen the night before and it seemed super cool.The whole damn thing is about to keel over. You are on edge. You don’t know what is going to happen. You can’t even figure out how it has come to such dire straits. To think you could have just sat at home and watched Pakistan play UAE in the Asia Cup.Don’t worry. The experience wouldn’t have been much different.Twists, turns, mishaps and jailbreaks. They seem so ingrained in a Pakistan game, as if their innings gets hijacked by a mad clown. Just ask Waqar Younis, their coach. He’d had a word with the openers Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Hafeez before they had gone out to chase 130. “Yes I did tell [our plans] to the openers, but they came back very quickly.”See. Things have this habit of going haywire. Take the fact that in a Twenty20 game – where you have only 120 balls to bowl – they stopped 72 of them yielding any runs. The remaining 48 provided UAE with 129.

Waqar wary of top-order issues

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis was happy to have “opened the account” in the Asia Cup, but said there were still some kinks to a iron out.
“There are problems. The top-order hasn’t scored runs again. The conditions are such that scoring runs against the new ball is difficult. Credit must be given to the UAE team for fighting hard. Then again, our experienced Umar Akmal and Malik played matured innings and got us home.”
Moving on to issues with the bowling, he said, “We did have a poor middle overs. That’s also one thing we have to really talk about and make sure we do not give away easy runs. At the end overs, it’s going to happen. The ball is going to fly all over the place but, especially in the middle overs, we have to be a bit more thoughtful.”
And finally a word on the misfiring Khurram Manzoor, and his selection for the Asia Cup and World T20. “It is too early to give an answer about it. We haven’t thought about what to do going forward.”

Still that’s not the worst total to be chasing. It’s a required run rate of 6.5. Speed bump. Sharjeel given lbw, although it did seem a dicey call on height. Speed bump. Khurram Manzoor, a rather left-field selection in this squad and later on for the World T20 as well, was caught behind. Speed bump. Hafeez gives catching practice to cover. Amjad Javed, the bowler on all three occasions, wore a smile that should put him on the cast list of a toothpaste commercial. Clearly the clown was making someone happy, at least.So Pakistan’s bus was out of control at 17 for 3 and at this point they needed Keanu Reeves, as you do when buses go out of control or when machines try to take over the world.That’s pretty hefty work for one man in the real world, so Shoaib Malik asked Umar Akmal for a little help.Like Reeves’ character in deduced the bad guy had a live feed of the bus and used that vital bit of knowledge to save lives, Malik and Akmal figured out something equally hard to spot in order to save their team. They actually had time to settle in, maybe as much as they would have had in a Test match.”We decided to forget about the run-rate,” Malik revealed at the presentation ceremony. He was 0 off 7, having been beaten on the outside and inside edge off back-to-back deliveries. He was given a half-volley in the sixth over which was converted into his first boundary of the night. The next one came as he capitalised on a short ball and the third was a pick off the legs.Bad balls still needed to be put away, but for all that efficiency Malik was still 19 off 23. He drifted to 23 off 30 and even after hitting his first six of the innings, he was travelling well under run-a-ball. He could afford to. Pakistan needed him to.If Malik had been chilled out, Akmal was absolutely frozen: 13 off 23. He had smashed eventual PSL finalists Quetta Gladiators for 54 runs for the same amount of balls three weeks ago. Pakistan had spoken about misreading conditions in Mirpur after their 83 all out against India. The Asia Cup featured the finest from the subcontinent and the pitches were a little spicy. It was not a domestic T20 tournament played on featherbeds. Shahid Afridi had spoken about the need for senior batsmen to show the way.Akmal, although only 25, was playing his 200th game for Pakistan. Normally such a resume would demand the most exalted tags. Yet Akmal is still seen as a player whose temperament often betrays his talent. He has a tendency to shove good sense aside and go for glory, often at the worst possible time. Tonight was different. Tonight, his first hit to the boundary was off his 26th ball and he lugged 24 of his 50 runs in ones and twos.”The maturity [both batsmen] showed was very clear,” Waqar said. “They took their time. When you lose wickets like this in a cluster in the first few overs, it always creates pressure. I think they absorbed the pressure very well. The run-rate which was at six and a half had gone up to nine and a half, but we always knew they were capable of getting the target when the time comes. It was a little scary in the beginning, but as I said, they played really well.”By the time Malik reached a strike rate of 100, in the 16th over on 41, he should have been out on the very next ball. Instead, a catch was dropped at deep square leg. The mad clown was thwarted.Malik struck his next two balls for four and six to cruise to his fifty. He and Akmal set the world record for the fourth-wicket partnership in T20Is – an unbeaten 114 in 93 balls and Pakistan had won on the occasion of their 100th T20I.End scene.