All posts by h716a5.icu

Cricinfo presents the Plays of the day from the match between Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians in Mumbai

Cricinfo staff13-Apr-2010What the…
Sachin Tendulkar might have said to Dinesh Karthik as soon as the Delhi Daredevils’ wicketkeeper jumped in the air and naughtily appealed for a caught behind when the Mumbai Indians’ captain tried to pull a harmless short delivery from Pradeep Sangwan and failed to connect. Obviously, Karthik’s cries were more to distract the umpire from calling it a wide than to make the umpire raise his finger.Another naughty call
Joining Karthik later in such notorious acts was Sangwan in his second spell. He tried to reach out and deflect a straight chip from Saurabh Tiwary, which went on to hit the stumps, but could not get a touch on the ball. That did not stop him from a ridiculous appeal for run-out, with Tendulkar out of his crease. There was a clear arm’s length between Sangwan’s outstretched left hand and the path of the ball. It would be apt if the administrators fined such acts.Harper messes his count
It is another thing that Daryl Harper can easily get distracted. Perhaps today he was a bit too focused and missed the count of a Paul Collingwood over. Fortunately, K Hariharan, the TV umpire intervened and prevented a seventh ball from being bowled. For once Harper was speechless and retreated to the square-leg with an embarrassed smile.No run-up for Bravo
Usually bowlers of all kinds mark their run-up at the start of their spell – a tradition that is as old as the game. But one really can’t afford to spend too much time in a format like Twenty20 going through the paces. Dwayne Bravo, when called on to bowl, almost as an after-thought, ignored measuring his run-up and instead just ran in with smooth strides to pitch it perfectly.Delhi’s run-out saga continues
Even cricketers call much better and show more understanding when pinching tight singles. It was plain embarrassment for Delhi when first Virender Sehwag laboured back for two, having pushed to the right of mid-on. But Sehwag should have known the implications of taking on Kieron Pollard’s might arm when he turned back for the second. In the end he was nowhere near the crease when the bails were knocked off. Then in a moment of panic both Paul Collingwood, and Karthik at the non-striker’s end, set off for a non-existent single after the Englishman hit a return shot to Pollard. Picking the ball neatly on his follow-through, Pollard rushed in to push the bails off and have Collingwood red in the face, and the fans in splits.

The beating sun, the inaccessible facilities and the boring bits of play didn’t hurt as much as the master falling at 98 did

Nikhil Jha04-Oct-2010Choice of game
After realising that my cricketing talents are limited, I pledged to contribute to the world by watching a match at every stadium in India. The experiences so far have been misadventures, to say the least: a match almost cancelled because of incessant bottle-throwing in Jamshedpur, another actually abandoned due to a poor pitch in Delhi, the Sachin-booing incident at the Wankhede, and being forced to stand on chairs to watch an entire IPL match owing to the appalling arrangements in Jaipur, among others.Nevertheless, all this has failed to kill my enthusiasm. Considering Mohali is so close to Delhi, where I live, it is almost a sin I had never been there before. What better occasion than an India-Australia Test to set matters straight.Team supported
The first priority is always my fantasy team, irrespective of nationalities of the players. But now that I’m not playing fantasy cricket, two strong feelings guide me: supporting India and rooting for Australia’s opposition.Before they ban me from watching any more matches, I have a confession to make. India have lost all their games I have watched live. (This is excluding those that were abandoned, of course!)Key performer
Considering the mayhem that occurred after Sachin Tendulkar departed at 98, he was the key performer of the day, beyond doubt. Tendulkar’s departure and the domino effect of wickets falling after that was a throwback to the depressing early-90s era of Indian cricket, when switching off the TV after he was dismissed was a reflex action. A lot of people walked out of the stadium today, after watching him trudge back at 98.Mitchell Johnson ended with a five-for, making him the key performer as far as the Aussies are concerned.One thing I’d have changed
Along with roughly 1/10th of the world’s population, I wish that the ball that got Tendulkar out had been a rank full-toss, and the master had dispatched it over the fence to get his 49th ton. Better still, I wish that six had landed in my hands.Since we are being really wishful, I also wish the sun god was little less harsh, for he almost made us jump over the fence and head for the Gatorade box kept near the ropes for the players. We nearly got roasted today. Respect to the cricketers for running around all day in the scorching sun.Interplay I enjoyed the most
The things that makes Test matches comparable to epic wars are the match-shaping personal battles between in-form batsmen and bowlers, with both trying to stamp their authority on each other. Unfortunately, such moments were hard to come by today. One brief, testing phase that the well-set batsmen went through was when Johnson was brought in just before tea. He tried to get the ball to reverse and attempted to use his natural angle to get the occasional false shot from Tendulkar.Otherwise it was either the batsmen dominating the bowlers or the batsmen capitulating without resistance, as seen towards the end of day’s play.Filling the gaps
My two friends and I ran from the stands to our car during the lunch break and turned the air-conditioner to full to get some respite from the sun. We sacrificed a few post-lunch overs for an elaborate lunch-and-refreshment outing to get some life back. It proved to be a wise decision in hindsight for it charged us enough to last the rest of the day in the sun.Wow moment
As an Indian fan, it gives you goosebumps when Tendulkar walks in to bat. Every single person is on his or her feet, applauding and cheering wildly, with cries of “Sachin, Sachin” resounding through the stadium. I have been fortunate enough to witness, and contribute, to that adulation before. I did so this time as well. It is a special feeling.Player watch
Often the boredom during slow periods is partially alleviated by interesting characters entertaining the crowd near the ropes. For most part of the day, it was funny seeing people trying hard to guess players’ names, and then trying to make them turn and acknowledge their chants. Let me tell you, trying to come up with something smart that rhymed with “Hilfenhaus” wasn’t easy.Things changed when Michael Clarke came to the boundary in front of our stands. He acknowledged the crowd, waved to them, even did small jigs in between, much to the delight of the people cheering. But the best moment came when he turned and gestured that he felt like sleeping – an apt commentary on the state of play at that moment. Just after that, things changed with the fateful Marcus North over, and how!Shot of the day
Tendulkar had scored his first seven runs quite cautiously, and somewhat uncharacteristically. Then Hilfenhaus bowled one outside off and Tendulkar drove it exquisitely through the covers – a trademark drive. That shot also brought Rahul Dravid back to life. He hit two fours in the next over, off Johnson.Crowd meter
The stands were only partially filled, though the attendance had improved over the previous two days. Most of the noise was emanating from the West Stand where we were seated, with a large group of fans wearing “Cricket ‘”(an indigenous version of Barmy Army, I guess) t-shirts making the most noise. There were also a few painted faces and flag-waving fans around.Nearly everyone supported the home team, but I could spot one or two Aussie fans. Tendulkar’s entry drew the most cheers and his heartbreaking dismissal sent the crowd into shock. There was a brief lull before the stands erupted again to applaud his entertaining knock.Entertainment
The Punjab Cricket Association officials are clearly sadists, having locked the washrooms during the first session. The situation seemed to offer some comic relief to the policemen and the guards, who were busy mocking the queries of the needy. My friend, a fellow sufferer, was told to direct his queries to IS Bindra, the association’s head, if he wanted to know why such a ridiculous decision had been taken.Accessories
I did not bring the one essential accessory for watching a day’s play in India – a cap. The three of us ended up revisiting our origami skills to come up with innovative ways for protection against the unforgiving sun. One friend made a fancy cap using a piece from a sponsor’s boundary banner; the other came up with a hat made out of a small ice-cream carton.I would advise readers planning to watch matches in these parts in the future to not be so experimental. Bring a cap. And sunglasses and energy drinks if you want to be more comfortable.Overall
I really wish the frenetic action that took place towards the end had been distributed throughout the day, to make the experience more entertaining. Although Tendulkar, Dravid and Suresh Raina batted well, there were periods when it got slightly boring for the spectators, who had nothing to cheer about.The quality of cricket, in terms of the Indian batting, was top-class till Tendulkar got out. The same cannot be said about the bowling of Nathan Haurtiz, who suffered at the hands of the Indian batsmen. However, the end of the day seemed to bring out the worst in both teams. A missed stumping, dropped catches and awful shot selection meant that both sides contributed towards bringing down the quality of cricket on display.Marks out of 10
7, considering the overall quality of cricket, the viewing experience and the facilities.

Still, the Hoff was at the SCG but so were the fun police

Andrew Pelechaty04-Jan-2011Choice of game
As a traditional fan of cricket, I always make an effort to go to a Test during the Australian summer, regardless of the opposition or the likelihood of Australian victory. The Ashes this summer was always going to be special. Unfortunately, due to other commitments (and a general slackness in getting tickets) I was unable to go to the opening game in Brisbane. Luckily, I was taking a trip to Sydney in early January, While many sporting stadiums are losing their charm in favour of bigger capacities and the chase for dollars, the SCG still has a traditional feel to it with the old stands.Fast forward to early 2011 and the series was over. England had retained the Ashes, having brutalised the hosts in Adelaide and Melbourne and getting the better of a draw at the Gabba. There was still plenty for both teams to play for – a win or a draw would see England win the Ashes outright, while an Australian win would draw the series and finish their Test summer on a high. There were also the debuts of local boy Usman Khawaja and the Shane Warne-endorsed Michael Beer (though I thought Nathan Hauritz had been harshly done by), and the captaincy debut of the much-criticised Michael Clarke.Team supported
Born in Canberra and living in Brisbane since 1993, I am duty-bound to support Australia. However, most of my supporting energy is devoted to my favourite football teams, so I don’t really care if Australia win or lose, as long as the cricket is competitive. Like most people, I thought Australia’s Ashes loss in 2005 was the best thing to happen to us. Not only did it unite the public behind an Australian team seen by some as arrogant and sore losers, but it re-energised interest in Test cricket. It’s fair to say the 2006-07 Ashes series was the most anticipated in Australia since the days of the fearsome West Indies teams.Key performers
Australia entered day two at 134 for 4, with fans hoping Mike Hussey, Brad Haddin and Steve Smith could push the Aussies to a competitive score. Twenty-five overs later, Australia were struggling at 189 for 8, with Jimmy Anderson removing Steve Smith and Peter Siddle in the space of four balls. As they have done most of the summer, the bowlers rescued Australia: Mitchell Johnson and Ben Hilfenhaus compiling 76 runs, helping Australia to 280. While Johnson hit five fours and one six, Hilfenhaus was hardly a shrinking violet, charging the England pacemen (despite missing regularly) and hitting three fours and a six. Hilfenhaus and Johnson continued their good work with the ball, taking all three wickets as England reached 167 for 3 after 48 overs, and leaving the game delicately poised entering day three.Player watch
Michael Beer acquitted himself reasonably well in his first day of Test cricket. Not only was his opening run with the bat applauded loudly, he went for less than three an over, bowling for the majority of the time against the dangerous Kevin Pietersen, who almost single-handedly ended Xavier Doherty’s Test career in Adelaide. His big moment came when Alastair Cook (on 46), attacked him and gave Hilfenhaus an easy catch at mid-on. Beer, delighted with an important first Test wicket, ran to celebrate, but umpire Billy Bowden called a referral for a possible no-ball. Surely the left-arm orthodox Beer couldn’t have overstepped? When replays showed he did, the boos were deafening. Fortunately, Beer redeemed himself nine overs later, catching Pietersen off Mitchell Johnson for 36.Shots of the day
The 40,000-strong crowd went nuts when 14 runs were scored off the last ball of the 98th over and the first two of the 99th over. Hilfenhaus started by hitting Tim Bresnan for six over long-on. Johnson carried the momentum in the next over, hitting the usually economical Graeme Swann for four and six over cow corner. It energised the crowd, who feared another below-average total.So was the Hoff all at sea watching cricket?•Getty ImagesCrowd meter
Considering it was the first official working day back after the Christmas and New Year period, the crowd of 40, 257 was fairly impressive. The people around me – mainly young friends, both male and female – were in a jovial mood, keen to enjoy their day at cricket. This was helped by a pleasant day, starting out cloudy, but clearing up in the afternoon with a cool breeze ensuring it wasn’t too hot (which, having spent so long in brutal Brisbane summers, I appreciated). The tone of the crowd was pro-Australian, with some more vocal than others. Of course, the Barmy Army were in full voice, with their usual repertoire of songs and chants. The crowd united late in the day when security kicked out someone who had built a snake out of empty beer cups. Many have criticised the “fun police” in Australian grounds, and this didn’t help their reputation.Marks out of 10
7. While not the most exciting day of the summer – that seems to belong to the dramatic first day in Brisbane and Peter Siddle’s birthday hat-trick – there were 313 runs scored for nine wickets. Atmospherically, the game had few bright spots aside from the upbeat crowd – Johnson and Hilfenhaus’ tail-end defiance comes to mind, as well as the Beer no-ball controversy, and even a touch of celebrity – Michael Parkinson and “The Hoff” were spotted in the crowd – but it had its slow patches too, especially when England openers got off to a good start, quelling the crowd’s enthusiasm. Compared to the MCG Test – which England had virtually won after the first day – this Test looks to be in the balance entering day three.

Watching Dale Steyn with the new ball today was like watching the fireworks display at the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the stroke of midnight on New Year’s Eve

Firdose Moonda at Newlands04-Jan-2011Dale Steyn’s usual wicket-taking celebration involves air punching, foot stamping, vein popping, voice-box exploding, manic joy. When he dismissed Cheteshwar Pujara, it was all of that and more. This time the air was reeling from the blow it got, the ground was bruised by the kick and the joy looked more like overflowing rage that somehow blended with immense satisfaction. It may have been because Steyn knew he had bowled a delivery that was pretty close to being the perfect ball.It moved more deliciously than a belly dancer, curving into leg stump, then pitching and straightening. The thud it made on Pujara’s back pad was a death knell. If anybody ever needs to understand the lbw law, they should watch a replay of that ball. It was hitting the middle of middle stump. It had so much artistry and skill that Steyn could well be nicknamed Claude Monet in the future. The delivery had all the finesse of the famous Water Lilies paintings and the same hard edge as the Rouen Cathedrals works. Pujara should count himself unlucky that he was the recipient of such craftsmanship.The conjurer of the ball himself didn’t seem to appreciate his own masterpiece as much as others did. “I would have loved to have seen the stumps flying,” Steyn said, although he did feel it formed part of his collection of good balls. “I’ve bowled other very good balls and I’m fortunate enough to have bowled another one today. I’m lucky.”The full range of missiles were on display in his opening spell with the second new ball, a seven-over burst in which he took two wickets for just three runs. Steyn with the new ball is as awesome to watch as a fireworks display on New Year’s Eve, but Steyn with new ball was like being at the Sydney Harbour Bridge on the stroke of midnight. The explosions of colour arrived at exactly the right moments. The movement he got off the seam and the shape of his outswingers were mesmerising. They puzzled the eye as much as they puzzled the batsmen, and it was clear just how good Steyn has become when he was bowling to Sachin Tendulkar.The little master played and missed enough times for Steyn’s class to be evident. That he scored 146 is a testament to Tendulkar’s own brilliance but there’s no doubting that Steyn was delivering his best to the world’s best batsman. Suddenly Steyn v Sehwag and Zaheer v Smith seemed like sideshows. The intrigue was now captured by two of the best in their discipline grinding it out. Steyn said he wasn’t putting any special effort in, despite what it may have looked like. “Sachin is such a good player that is there is not point wasting your energy on him. You tend to save your energy and bowl at the other guys.”Steyn was asked to call a winner in the contest he had with Tendulkar but he wouldn’t do it. Instead, he asked the questioner himself to decide who was victorious. “You were,” said the journalist. Steyn smirked, knowing that it’s rare to find someone who will utter a word against the man who has scored 51 Test centuries. “Well, that’s refreshing,” he said.That was a rare moment of self-contentedness for Steyn, who quickly went back to being a boy from a farm who doesn’t want to be lauded as exceptional and played down his ranking as the world’s best bowler. “I don’t really think about it and it doesn’t mean that much. We saw today that even Zaheer Khan can hit me for six. It all boils down to putting the ball in the right areas.”It may sound banal, but it is also an insight into how he has taken 20 wickets in the series at an average of 16.20. Behind every fairytale spell is a plan, and therein lies Steyn’s true genius. The scary thing for the batsmen is that he thinks he can get even better. “I hope I can [bowl better]. I feel like there’s something extra in me.”So far, we’ve seen plenty extra from Steyn. He dazzled with the new ball in both Centurion and Durban. His opening spells in both saw him claim the wicket of Virender Sehwag and the swing he got at Kingsmead earned him the additional wicket of M Vijay, who grew tired of leaving. He hasn’t been as successful in the second innings of either match, but that may all change, given how he managed to get so much movement on the Newlands pitch. It was the one surface that was touted as batsmen friendly and today, a scorcher, was the day when conditions would have best suited the batsmen.There were times when it looked as though Steyn was lacking in support, when Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Morne Morkel were not making an impact and Jacques Kallis’ absence could be felt. None of that bothers Steyn, whose core personality is still rooted in simplicity. His bowling may be intricate but there is nothing of the sort present when he beams and says, “I’m just happy to be getting wickets.”

The Pakistan Task Team never actually came to Pakistan, and it shows in their unrealistic report. And what of the original purpose of the team – to help Pakistan deal with losing international cricket? That has been almost completely ignored

Osman Samiuddin06-Jul-2011″Pakistan has been a member of the International Cricket Council,” begins the ICC’s Pakistan Task Team report, “since 1953.” It is an unfortunate way to begin what should be a document of such importance because it is wrong; Pakistan was elected in July 1952 and the team played their first Test later that year in October. In a way – if imperfectly – the error captures something of this report.When the task team was first approved in June 2009 its main purpose was to ensure that Pakistan wouldn’t suffer from the loss of international cricket at home and at least look at ways of resuming it. In fact when it was first offered in February that year, the Lahore attacks that eventually ruled out international cricket in Pakistan hadn’t even occurred. The task team was a response to an unstable couple of years, in which some teams had pulled out of tours and the Champions Trophy (2008) had been taken away on security grounds.It is more than a little strange, then, to see that over 38 pages and through 63 recommendations so little space and thought has been given to this central matter, the very crisis for which the task team was first formed. Only three of the 63 recommendations are actually concerned with reviving cricket and they are not so much recommendations as they are sentences of nothingness. “ICC Members should continue to support PCB through fulfillment of FTP commitments, at neutral venues in circumstances where safety and security remains a concern.” Really? Yes, that is thoughtful.”Where ICC Members are confident following their own risk assessments, they should consider touring Pakistan to honour their FTP commitments.” That’s that sorted then, the first step towards resumption confidently taken. “ICC should support ongoing activity involving the Pakistan ambassadors ([Mike] Brearley and [Greg] Chappell) to keep issues relating to tours involving Pakistan in the public eye.” Eh? Is this even a sentence?Matters of security in Pakistan are not in the hands of the ICC and PCB and there is nothing they can do to change that. But should there not have been more intent, or rather, any intent at all from the PTT? On the ground, what has the task team actually done to try to revive cricket here? Have there been periodic risk assessments by the ICC security task force? Does that force even exist still? Has the PTT even begun to think of a roadmap back, slave as it must be to Pakistan’s internal war, but an important sign of intent nevertheless? Only the delusional expected the PTT to bring back cricket in two years, but even the realist could expect a little more than nothing.That considerable-sized elephant in the room ignored, the rest of the report reads a little like Barack Obama’s first-term report card soon might: noble in intent, divorced from reality. The changes it recommends in governance, in cutting the chairman’s powers, empowering the regional associations and strengthening the hands of selectors are especially fantastic. Have they met Ijaz Butt yet? Does he look like someone who would willingly reduce his own power? Has any PCB chairman ever? And clearly they have little idea of the kind of troubles that ail regional associations if they can cover it all with this beautifully reducedproposal: “Regional bodies should be empowered to manage their affairs and given more say in the decision-making of the PCB itself.”In these places it feels like a report made from afar and in a way it is. The team met a vast number of former players and officials and other stakeholders during its work, but it never came to Pakistan to see and feel how cricket works. There were eight meetings in all but none in the country to which the report pertained.When Zimbabwe was dealing with their own task force a few years ago, there were at least two ICC fact-finding missions to the country. The last one in November 2008 was particularly useful and it led to Zimbabwe accepting the recommendation in April 2009. But the PTT never came to Pakistan to meet, for example, officials from the sports and law ministry or constitutional experts, all of whom have a role in any of the constitutional changes the report recommends.In other places it feels far too intrusive, an indication of confusion as to its own purpose. It suggests better balls be used in domestic cricket. It advises the board to cut the number of central contracts from 45 to 35 (incidentally the board had already cut this down to 20 before the report was published). It urges the board to look again at the value of having regional and departmental teams together in the domestic set-up. Frankly, these points may merit debate, but within the PCB and instigated by them. They are not the concern of the ICC, unless they intend to micro-manage all other Members as well.Nothing in this report, by the way, is binding on the PCB. Implementation already appears a non-starter. The PCB will get back to the ICC with its own “observations” and there will be plenty. So the lasting impression, especially as far as the more expansive recommendations go, will be of a document that most students and well-wishers of Pakistan cricket could have produced. There is much that is right in it, but that is not the point. We all want there to be no nuclear weapons, a world of peace, no corruption, rape, murder or genocide. Not knowing how to get there is the problem.

Stats highlights from the third day of the first Test between Pakistan and Sri Lanka

S Rajesh20-Oct-2011 Among innings for which balls-faced data is available, Taufeeq’s 496-ball innings is the sixth-longest; this excludes Hanif Mohammad’s 337 against West Indies in 1958, which lasted 970 minutes. Hanif would have faced more deliveries in his knock, but the balls-faced data isn’t available for that match.Taufeeq’s knock was only the 34th double-century by a Pakistan batsman in 360 Tests, which works out to an average of one every 10.59 Tests. Australia lead the way with 62, though they’ve played 733 Tests. England (51), West Indies (47) and India (40) are the other sides with more double-hundreds than Pakistan. (Click here for the full list of teams and their double-hundreds.)Taufeeq joins 17 other Pakistan batsmen in the 200-club, six of whom are openers. Javed Miandad leads the way with six, while Zaheer Abbas and Mohammad Yousuf (four each) are the only others with more than three. The period when Miandad and Zaheer were around was also the most productive for Pakistan in terms of double-hundreds: between January 1980 and December 1990, Pakistan’s batsmen amassed 13 double-hundreds in 89 Tests, an average of one every 6.85 Tests, which is considerably better than their overall average. Since 1991, Pakistan have only managed 13 more in 166 Tests (average 12.77), which suggests that their ability to make big scores has fallen away considerably. Taufeeq also became only the third left-hand batsman from Pakistan to score a Test double – the previous two are Wasim Akram and Aamer Sohail. Saeed Anwar, easily the best left-hander Pakistan have produced, had a highest of 188 not out.Thanks to Taufeeq’s effort, though, Pakistan’s innings lasted 174.4 overs. (It would have lasted several more had they not declared.) Only four times since 2000 have Pakistan played more overs in an innings. Of their top five such efforts, three have been against Sri Lanka (the other two were against New Zealand). Rangana Herath became the fifth Sri Lankan bowler to bowl more than 60 overs in a Test innings. Muttiah Muralitharan dominates that list, having bowled 60 or more overs on eight occasions.

Mahela Jayawardene, the ninth player to reach 10000 runs, has been terrific in Tests in Sri Lanka but has struggled to perform similarly outside the subcontinent

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan26-Dec-2011Less than a month back, Mahela Jayawardene became the second Sri Lankan batsman after Sanath Jayasuriya to reach the 10,000-run mark in ODIs. But in the second Test against South Africa in Durban, he scaled an even greater landmark- that of 10,000 runs in Tests. He becomes the ninth player overall and the first Sri Lankan to reach the mark. Jayawardene reached the 10,000-run mark in his 210th innings, making him the fifth-fastest (in terms of innings batted) to get there. In the course of the last decade, along with Muttiah Muralitharan’s bowling, Jayawardene’s batting has played a major role in cementing Sri Lanka’s position as a highly-dominant team in home Tests.Jayawardene has scored over 80% of his career runs batting at No.4. While his aggregate of 8167 runs at this position is second only to Sachin Tendulkar’s 12754, his average of 55.18 at No.4 is third behind Jacques Kallis and Tendulkar (among batsmen with 5000-plus runs at No.4). His association with Sri Lanka’s second-highest run-getter Kumar Sangakkara has been one of the most prolific in Tests. The pair is one among only four to aggregate over 5000 partnership runs and the average of 60.29 is third on the list of highest partnership averages (pairs with 4000-plus partnership runs).Over the years, Sri Lanka have been exceptional in home Tests but far more vulnerable away. Jayawardene’s batting stats tell a similar story. He has been outstanding at home, scoring over 60% of his career runs at a superb average of 62.92. He has scored 20 centuries in home Tests but has managed just nine in away contests. Jayawardene’s batting, which has been all about grace and elegance, has not quite been at the same level outside the subcontinent. In matches played in the subcontinent, he averages 57.22 with 23 centuries. In contrast, he has averaged just 35.42 outside Asia with six centuries. However, in 13 home Tests as a captain, he has been enormously successful with seven centuries and an average over 100. Although he has lacked the same form outside Asia, his stats as a captain outside the subcontinent (average 45.88 with five centuries) are better than his numbers as a non-captain.

Mahela Jayawardene’s Test record

MatchesInningsRunsAverage100/50Overall1272101003050.9129/40Home70108629262.9220/29Away/Neutral57102373838.539/11In subcontinent93150801157.2223/36Outside subcontinent3460201935.426/4As captain (home)13191706100.357/4As captain (away)1528123945.885/1Jayawardene, who made his debut in 1997, had a fairly decent start to his Test career, averaging over 45 in his first 25 Tests. In 2001, he scored four centuries and went past 1000 runs in a year for the first time in his career. In the period from 2003-2007, he scored 12 centuries and fell just short of 1000 runs in a year in both 2006 and 2007. In July 2006, playing at the SSC, he set the record for the highest score by a Sri Lankan batsman when he made 374 against South Africa. He followed up this knock with another century in the next Test to take Sri Lanka to a one-wicket win.Statistically, 2007 proved to be his best year as he aggregated 982 runs at a stunning average of 98.20 with five centuries. His top form continued in to 2009 as he scored 1194 runs in 11 Tests including a double-century in Ahmedabad in a series Sri Lanka lost 2-0. In 2011, however, he has averaged just 25.15 with his solitary century coming in the fourth innings in the defeat against Australia in Galle.

Phases of Jayawardene’s career

PhaseMatchesInningsRunsAverage100/50Debut-20024775335147.879/162003-20074676392056.0012/142008-20113459275948.408/10Jayawardene, like most Sri Lankan batsmen, has played often against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe and profited heavily (1280 runs in 19 Tests at an average 60.95).A detailed analysis of his record against each team both home and away reveals some interesting numbers. Against both Australia and Pakistan, Jayawardene has found the going tough in home matches too. While he scored his only century against Australia in home Tests in Galle earlier this year, he is yet to score a hundred against Pakistan at home. In 13 away/neutral matches against Pakistan, Jayawardene averages 32.79 with a century and three fifties. He has played only four Tests in Australia and has been below-par, averaging just 34.25 with one century.Against most other teams, there is a distinct disparity in his run-scoring in home and away Tests. The largest such difference is in matches against South Africa (home average 105.27 and away average 30.00) and England (home average 89.16 and away average 34.11). While his performances in home and away Tests against India are comparable, the same is not true against New Zealand (home average 66.72 and away average 27.71). From these numbers, it is quite clear Jayawardene has had his problems in countries where the conditions are in favour of seam and swing bowlers.

Record against each team (home and away) – excludes Bangladesh and Zimbabwe

OppositionMatches (home)Runs/Avg (home)100/50 (home)Matches (away)Runs/Avg (away)100/50 (away)Matches (overall)Runs/Avg (overall)100/50 (overall)Australia9529/35.261/34274/34.251/013803/34.912/3England91070/89.164/510614/34.112/2191684/56.136/7India121194/70.235/46628/62.801/4181822/67.486/8New Zealand7734/66.722/54194/27.711/011928/51.553/5Pakistan8430/30.710/413787/32.791/3211217/32.021/7South Africa71158/105.275/17390/30.000/1141548/64.505/2West Indies8454/45.400/44294/42.001/012748/44.001/4Jayawardene’s batting stats are heavily skewed towards the team’s first innings. He has scored 7384 runs at an average close to 60 in his team’s first innings but just 2631 runs at 36.54 in the second innings.In the second innings of matches [out of four], he’s scored 13 centuries and an average of 68.30 as compared to a corresponding number of 50.79 in the first innings. In the third innings, he has scored just two centuries at a low average of 30.94. However, Jayawardene’s fourth-innings performance is among the very best. His average of 50.30 makes him one among only six batsmen to score over 1000 runs in the fourth innings and have an average over 50. However, as is the case with his overall away numbers, his second-innings (third and fourth innings of matches) average falls to just 27.79 in away matches against top teams (excluding matches against Bangladesh and Zimbabwe).

Jayawardene’s record across the four match innings

Innings of matchNo of innings (home)Runs/avg (home)100/50 (home)No of innings (away)Runs/avg (away)100/50 (away)1st332179/68.098/930970/32.333/02nd362774/77.059/11271461/56.194/63rd24708/32.180/731932/30.062/24th15631/63.103/214375/37.500/3Reaching the 10,000-run mark places Jayawardene in illustrious company. Not only is he the first Sri Lankan to get there but is also the fourth player from the subcontinent after Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid to achieve the feat. The table below analyses the batsmen’s run-distribution in home and away Tests.Jayawardene, who has played 70 of his 127 matches (55%) at home, has scored nearly 63% of his total runs in home Tests. His away-run percentage (36.97) is the lowest among all players in the group. Dravid, who has played 70 of his 160 Tests at home (44%), has scored 57.24% of his total runs in away games. Gavaskar, the first player to reach the 10,000-run mark, has a near-even distribution of home and away runs.A batsman’s consistency in away matches can be gauged from the ratio of his away average to his home average. While Tendulkar and Jacques Kallis have ratios of 0.98 and 0.97 respectively, Allan Border and Steve Waugh have away averages that are much better than their home averages (ratios of 1.23 and 1.16). Jayawardene, who falls way behind in this list with a corresponding ratio of just 0.61, is likely to be remembered more for his outstanding match-winning exploits in home Tests than his display in away games.

Jayawardene’s record in comparison with other 10000-plus run-getters

PlayerTotal runs/avgMatches (home)Runs/avg (home)100/50 (home)Matches (away)Runs/avg (away)100/50 (away)away runs %ratio of away avg to home avgSachin Tendulkar15183826765/56.3722/291028418/55.7429/3455.440.98Rahul Dravid13094705598/51.3515/27907496/54.7121/3557.241.06Ricky Ponting12718867064/56.9621/36735654/47.5118/2344.450.83Jacques Kallis12036806514/58.1621/32685522/55.2219/2345.870.97Brian Lara11953656217/58.6517/26665736/47.8017/2247.980.81Allan Border11174865743/45.9413/35705431/56.5714/2848.601.23Steve Waugh10927895710/47.5815/30795217/55.5017/2047.741.16Sunil Gavaskar10122655067/50.1616/23605055/52.1118/2249.941.03Mahela Jayawardene10030706292/62.9220/29573738/38.539/1137.260.61

Plays of the Day from the fifth day of the third Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Pallekele

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Pallekele12-Jul-2012Celebration of the day
Adnan Akmal braved a fractured finger to come in at No.10 to support Asad Shafiq, as Pakistan looked to build their lead inch by inch. Shafiq did his best, at the start, to farm the strike to protect Akmal. Akmal played it safe, choosing to defend with soft hands or simply leave it to the keeper. Akmal had plodded along to 5 off 41 balls before he leaned forward to Nuwan Kulasekara and pierced the gap between the slips and gully to bring up his first boundary. It was not the manner of the boundary that stood out, but the child-like celebration that followed. He smiled and stretched his arms as if he were a No.11 bunny defying all expectations. Asad Shafiq might have been more emotive when he reached his century, but Akmal’s reaction was unique.Redemption of the day
It was ironic that on a fifth-day pitch, not a single wicket had fallen for over a session. The Sri Lanka openers had motored along to 27 at lunch, and they remained positive after the break. Tharanga Paranavitana, who didn’t look comfortable around the off stump, then edged Junaid Khan, but Misbah-ul-Haq fluffed a sitter at first slip. With wickets hard to come by on a flat track, it must have been demoralising for Pakistan. However, the pain lingered for barely a minute as Paranavitana obliged with another edge off the very next delivery. This time, it was taken by Younis Khan at second slip. Misbah didn’t redeem himself, but Pakistan did.Audacious shot of the day
Akmal was seen gasping in pain even after regular defensive shots. However, the pain didn’t stop him from getting innovative. Akmal’s first boundary had given him enough confidence to try something new. Rangana Herath wasn’t quite a threat on the fifth day pitch, so Akmal decided to reverse sweep for four, much to the surprise of everyone watching. He repeated the shot off the same bowler shortly after. Akmal had found a way to beat the pain.Fumble of the day
Akmal’s absence behind the stumps placed a lot of demands on stand-in keeper Taufeeq Umar. He would especially have felt the heat during the course of a mix-up between Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Sangakkara had dropped the ball towards point and a communication breakdown followed. Jayawardene, who wasn’t sure about the single, had no chance of making it to the other end. The throw was fired in on the bounce to Taufeeq, who fumbled and allowed Jayawardene a life. A peeved Jayawardene looked back at his good friend Sangakkara, and then the two laughed it off.

George Bailey and Ed Cowan could be considered unlucky to have missed out on Cricket Australia contracts this year. But if they’re good enough, it won’t matter.

Brydon Coverdale22-Jun-2012The purpose of a central contract system is right there in the name. Central. The aim is to put on retainer the players expected to be central to the team’s performances in the coming year. George Bailey and Ed Cowan come to fit that description this season. If they do, they will be rewarded. They will also provide Australia with much-needed batting depth.Neither man should view being left off Cricket Australia’s contract list, which this year featured only six batsmen, as an insult. They are both new to international level. They may become long-term prospects. They may drift back to state cricket, as plenty have before them. Their fate, like that of all of Australia’s young batsmen, is in their own hands. They can’t ask fairer than that.Simon Katich might disagree after his omission last year, but there is one undeniable truth about Cricket Australia’s contract system. Eventually, the right players always earn a deal. Sometimes the wrong ones do as well. That is another matter.But the right players, those who become key performers for Australia during a contract year, will be upgraded to a national contract. It is built into the system. Call it natural selection. Last year, Katich was not in Australia’s plans, so there was no point signing him up. Others, Matthew Wade and Nathan Lyon for example, became regular internationals and were contracted mid-year. Simple.To be upgraded to a national contract from outside the initial group, a player must accumulate 12 points based on a system where each Test appearance is worth five, an ODI is worth two and a T20 international earns one. Bailey is the country’s Twenty20 captain, but has still only played nine times for Australia. If he can make himself a regular ODI player on top of his T20 duties, he will earn a contract.Cowan has played Australia’s past seven Tests. He has shown promise, but that is all. He will need more than the odd half-century and an average of 29 to make himself a viable long-term Test prospect. But if he is good enough to hold his place for three more Tests, he will be upgraded.There are others in the same situation, notably Clint McKay, Daniel Christian and Peter Forrest. They are all likely to play enough games to be upgraded. But why not make them earn it? In the past, too many contracts have been awarded prematurely. Too many contracts have been awarded full stop.Only 17 men have been handed deals for the coming year, down from 25. A less bloated list is no bad thing. England awarded only 13 central contracts last year, and their criteria for a mid-year upgrade is even tougher. They seem to be coping.Now, players won’t just make up the numbers. Remember Cullen Bailey, the young legspinner who was contracted in 2007? He did not play an international match that year, and hasn’t come within cooee since. Adam Voges was handed a contract in 2007, 2008 and 2010, for the grand total of 15 ODIs and four T20s.Not that this year’s 17-man squad is perfect. Mitchell Johnson can count himself extremely fortunate to have been included. Presumably the selectors view him as a first-choice player in the ODI and T20 sides, for his Test bowling in recent times has been about as intimidating as his Movember moustache.The retention of Brad Haddin is an indication that the selectors either believe he is still the No.1 wicketkeeper ahead of Matthew Wade or are yet to make up their minds. After a disappointing year in both Test and one-day cricket, there would have been justification for leaving Haddin off the list.Clearly, Ricky Ponting is not going anywhere in a hurry. His outstanding series against India bought him more time in the Test side, although a poor tour of the West Indies followed. The selectors want him around and he wants to be around. He is likely to be part of the Test side for at least another summer.Ponting is one of only six specialist batsmen given contracts this year, along with Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, David Warner, Michael Hussey and David Hussey. There is no reason the split between bowlers and batsmen should be more even – it is a contract list, not a starting XI – but the imbalance does indicate that John Inverarity and his fellow selectors want more from the wider batting group.That is far from ideal a year out from the Ashes, but nor is it a surprise. This is a team that in the past year has relied on four men – Clarke, Ponting, Warner and Michael Hussey – for more than half its Test runs. It is a side that was bowled out for 47 in a Test match in November.Young batsmen like Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh and Phillip Hughes have let Test opportunities slip over the past year, while Cowan, Bailey and Forrest are still proving themselves. There are others showing promise at state level – Joe Burns, Liam Davis and Rob Quiney, to name a few – and it is up to whoever is given a chance to grab it.Australia’s young bowlers have been doing that over the past 12 months. It’s no wonder there are seven fast men and two spinners in the contract list. This year it’s time for the batsmen to make themselves indispensable. Cowan and Bailey would be a good start.

The contest between the attacks that was supposed to dictate the terms of the series never materialised because England’s bowlers could not hold a candle to South Africa’s

Telford Vice22-Aug-2012We would be forgiven for underestimating the importance of ice-cream in the emergence of South Africa as the world’s top ranked Test team, but the sweet, snowy stuff does help to explain what we have seen unfold in England these past few weeks.Like other aspects of a series that has pushed buttons in unexpected ways, we have social media to thank for this revelation.It was close to midnight on Saturday when Dale Steyn tweeted: “Late night McFlurry … check the chaos in here!” The message was accompanied by a photograph of Steyn looking bemused as he surveyed the lengthy queue he was surprised to encounter at that time of night in a McDonald’s in London.Steyn was not alone on his midnight mission, as was made plain in his next tweet posted a few minutes later: “2 McFlurries … 1 for me and 1 for Morne Morkel.”In these few lines of admittedly unserious communication lurks the kernel of why the South African attack has been able to fix what was far from broken but which was in need of attention.For one thing, Steyn was out and about at an hour when previous incarnations of South African fast bowlers would have been tucked up in bed dreaming about the next day’s cricket. That he was in search of nothing more intoxicating than frozen confectionary is another point of departure from the past.On midnights past, the denizens who dared to bowl fast for South Africa would spend a fair chunk of the dark hours searching out dangers of touring like drink and damsels. That Steyn and Morkel were not, and were happy to advertise the fact – significant in a team that has tended to confuse stereotypes with strengths – should not be taken lightly.Nevermind that Steyn had succeeded in luring as contrasting a character as Morkel to share his calorific craziness. Steyn has a chronic sweet tooth. Only his superb fitness and conditioning allows him avoid the damage that the moleheaps of sugar he pumps into his body would otherwise cause.Morkel is known to seek out the more wholesome options on restaurant and hotel menus, and his girlfriend is a dietician given to tweeting helpful hints to the health conscious. But there he was, giving in to the urge, moderately, that almost all of us feel for something we want to eat rather than need to eat.At another level, Steyn is the evil comic genius of the South African team; a man who is entirely capable of pulling your leg and the trigger on an utterly serious notion at precisely the same time. Morkel is, without trying to be nasty, Forest Gump. For him, the world is a place of wickets and wonders.And there they were, the genius joker and the genial giant, at midnight in a McDonald’s during the most important match of their careers so far, being human.South Africa’s bowlers have been given a long overdue licence to be who they are, and that goes for when they are tearing in to the crease with nostrils flared as well as when they are not.That, of course, holds true for all of their players. But bowlers, the engines of any team, tend to be the freer spirits in most teams. They are likely to benefit most from the South African team management’s philosophy of treating the men under their authority like grownups: no curfews, no rules about alcohol, and no need for persona in lieu of personality.So Vernon Philander, who is closer in the good ways to an old-fashioned fast bowler – complete with sneer, strut and snappy repartee, as in “stats don’t lie” – is allowed to be exactly that: an old-fashioned fast bowler despite the fact that he is just 10 Tests into a career that will include many more.At the other end of the scale, the untouchably great Jacques Kallis is less bothered by this tangle of intangibles than any other member of the South African squad.Which could help explain where there has not as yet been a major difference in his bowling output in the 10 Tests South Africa have played since Gary Kirsten’s appointment as coach last June.In that time, Kallis has bowled 167.5 overs and taken 11 wickets. In the 10 Tests he played before Kirsten came on board, he sent down 171.1 overs and claimed 10 scalps. But there has been, since Kirsten set about asking his players to be who they are – not who they thought they should be – a discernible surge in Kallis’ enthusiasm for bowling.He has hit speeds above 140kph more often, and his vigour for fetching from memory deliveries that will beat even the best batsmen appears renewed. If even the colossus of Kallis can be moved by what is happening in the South African team, what price a comparative mortal like Imran Tahir?Much was made of his selection to the Test squad, and much has been made of his relative lack of success in his 10 Test matches. Tahir is not the average South African cricket aficionado’s idea of a Test spinner – he tries to get batsmen out before he tries to stop them from scoring runs; he doesn’t fuss too much about how many runs he gives away in the process, and he does it all with the kind of flair that would get people beaten up in plenty of Jo’burg bars.But Tahir would seem to occupy a special place in the heart and mind of Graeme Smith. In the second Test at the Wanderers in November, with eight Australian wickets down and five required for victory, Smith made the breathtaking decision to thrust Tahir into the fray. And he came close to obliging, hitting Pat Cummins’ pad an inch outside the line with a googly that satisfied all the other lbw requirements.At Lord’s on Monday, England were eight wickets down but careering towards what would have been an improbable triumph when Smith opted to give Tahir another over with the old ball even though the new nut was due. That prompted a hearty cheer from the crowd, who had delighted in Tahir being hammered for 35 runs in five overs.But they were silenced while Rod Tucker, the third umpire, deliberated whether Matt Prior had grounded his heel behind the crease before AB de Villiers had broken the wicket with the fourth ball of that over. Not for the first time in the match, Tucker decided to go against the evidence and rule in England’s favour.So, given a mite more luck, pitches more conducive to spin and better umpiring, Tahir would not be seen as the weak link in the South African attack.It is an attack that, curiously, does not harbour a designated holding bowler. They all attack: Steyn with pace and swing, Morkel with bounce, Philander with sniping seam movement, Kallis with blinding bolts of pace, sweeping swing, and booming bounce, and Tahir with tenacity and a devious googly.But, in the same way that The Doors are among rock’s greatest bands despite the absence from their line-up of a bass guitarist, South Africa don’t seem to need someone to dry up the runs. Smith prefers to do so by spreading the field, and in any event taking wickets is the most effective way to keep the opposition’s run-rate down.However, they haven’t always been riders on the storm. Steyn’s patience in England – in the first match of the tour against Somerset in Taunton he showed no adverse reaction to swinging the ball past the bat with almost comical frequency – was not there in New Zealand in March, when he tetched under questioning about his relative lack of wickets.Also in Middle Earth, Morkel was left alone to bowl himself back to confidence and by the time he arrived in England he fairly bristled with the stuff.And now, welded into a unit of contrasting threats that is vastly different from the sameness of the South African attacks that used to rely on perseverance and discipline to take most of their wickets, they have conquered England.The contest between the attacks that was supposed to dictate the terms of the series never materialised because England’s bowlers could not hold a candle to South Africa’s. Would any of England’s fast bowlers be able to unseat their counterparts in the South African attack? Would any of South Africa’s not be able to walk into the England line-up?Does ice-cream melt in the freezer?