Stats highlights from the match between India and Pakistan in the Asia Cup in Mirpur

Bharath Seervi27-Feb-201683 Pakistan’s total – their third lowest in T20Is. They were out for 74 against Australia in Dubai in 2012-13 and 82 against West Indies, also in Mirpur, in the 2014 World T20. Pakistan’s total in this match was their lowest while batting first. It was also the third lowest by any team against India.73.44 Kohli’s average while chasing in T20Is compared to his average of 35.88 when batting first. Seven of his 12 half-centuries have come while chasing. This was his sixth Man-of-the-Match award.68 Runs added by Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh for the fourth wicket – the highest after a team lost its first three wickets for less than ten runs. There has been only one other fifty-run partnership after such a collapse – 62 between Mahmudullah and Tamim Iqbal against Netherlands in 2012.3-18 Mohammad Amir’s figures – his best in T20Is. It was the third time he took three wickets in a T20I. He took two wickets in the first over of the innings, only the second such instance by a Pakistan bowler after Zulfiqur Babar dismissed David Warner and Shane Watson at this same venue in 2014. Angelo Mathews is the only bowler to take three wickets in the first over of the innings. Amir’s figures are the third best for Pakistan against India.8 Runs conceded by Hardik Pandya for three wickets – the least conceded by an India bowler taking three or more wickets in a T20I. R Ashwin had taken 4 for 8 against Sri Lanka in Vishakhapatnam recently. These are Pandya’s second best figures in all T20s, behind his 3 for 7 in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.21 Runs by India in the Powerplay – the lowest for them in T20Is. Their previous lowest was 24 for 4 against Australia in Bridgetown in the 2010 World T20. Pakistan also lost three wickets in their Powerplay and scored 32 runs.8 Runs added by India’s first three wickets – the lowest for them in T20Is. The previous lowest was 17 against Australia in Bridgetown in the 2010 World T20.1 Number of times India had taken six or more wickets in the first 10 overs, in their first 62 T20Is. They have done it twice in three games now: in the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Visakhapatnam two weeks ago and in this match. The only such instance in the past was in the 2012 World T20, when they had England six down for 54 in ten overs.6 Number of T20Is where no six was hit by either of the teams. This was the sixth such T20I. There were 18 fours hit but not a single six. Pakistan hit eight fours and India ten.0 Instances of India’s openers getting out for a duck in T20Is, before Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma in this match. This was the second time Pakistan bowlers got the openers for ducks in a T20I.1 Number of all-out totals lower than Pakistan’s 83 with no batsman getting out for duck. The lowest was also against India recently – Sri Lanka’s 82 in Vishakhapatnam. Incidentally, there were three ducks in India’s innings, the most for them in T20Is.

Quinton de Kock was marked for great things from a young age but it was his maturity that shone through during his maiden Test hundred

Firdose Moonda in Centurion23-Jan-2016In 2014, 13-year-old Malavath Poorna became the youngest girl to summit Mount Everest. At the same age, 51 years before, Stevie Wonder was the youngest to have a No. 1 in the US charts. Even though we occasionally get the likes of Stephen Cook, who became the fourth-oldest debutant to score a century on day one in Centurion, we live in a world of wonder kids.Three days after his 17th birthday, when Quinton de Kock made his first-class debut, he looked like he would be one of them. Six days before his 21st birthday, when he stuck his third successive century against India in ODIs, he was one of them. But now, just over a month into his 24th year, de Kock is no longer a wonder kid. He has grown up.

‘They used to call me Gilly’

When a dashing wicketkeeper-batsman makes a mark in Test cricket comparisons are not far away. Adam Gilchrist reinvented the role and set a benchmark for all others to be compared to.
It’s nothing new for Quinton de Kock – a stroke-making left hander as well – but the comparison was there on the second day in Centurion as he reached a maiden Test hundred. Speaking on , the former England captain Michael Vaughan said de Kock could “be another Gilchrist” if left at No. 7 in the Test team.
“At the Lions, they used to call me Gilly. I’m not the only guy – there’s been Matt Prior and Brad Haddin – but I guess it has fallen into place,” de Kock said. “It’s quite relieving. If you talk to anybody who has scored their first hundred, we are all gonna tell you the same thing. It’s just the start.”
It was a marked upturn in fortunes for de Kock after a fall when walking his dogs meant he missed the third Test at the Wanderers. He was not the sort, though, to get too down about his bad luck despite having fought his way back into Test contention after a difficult 2015.
“I was trying to climb up a koppie [hill] and I just slipped on a massive boulder,” he explained. “I fell flat on my face and on my shin. And then when I woke up at 1am that morning, my knee was swollen. Silly things like happen. I’m not the only one with a story like that.”

South Africa needed him to when they slipped from 237 for 1 to 273 for 5 during Friday’s final session. The four wickets that fell for 36 runs were not just any four, they were the batting core. Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Stephen Cook and JP Duminy left the last recognised batting pair, Temba Bavuma and de Kock, to face the second new ball.The elder statesmen may have passed on advice about being circumspect, buying time or batting sensibly; de Kock did not seem to have heard. Six overs into the new nut, he took on the England spearhead, James Anderson, first on the front foot with a crisp drive, then twice on the back foot with a punch and a pull. In the next over, Bavuma attacked Stuart Broad and by the close the pair had put on 56. If that was a glimpse into South Africa’s long-term future, it may not look as bleak as it has sometimes seemed over this series.South Africa’s more immediate concern was this morning when de Kock threw his bat at a wide delivery from Anderson and with that, almost threw it all away. It was fitting that it was Ben Stokes, the man stationed at gully, who could not hold on. Stokes would have understood that shot perfectly. It’s a shot he would have played.Batsmen like Stokes and de Kock don’t mind taking risks. “It’s just the way they play,” is the rhetoric which unburdens them of responsibility. Today, de Kock could not escape that duty.Shortly after his reprieve, he lost both Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada. He was left with the tail but he did not seem to be preparing for a speedy end. Even though he slayed width from Stuart Broad, he also stole as much of the strike as he could. In the first 14 balls of his partnership with Kyle Abbott, de Kock faced nine.Once Abbott was a little more comfortable, the ball was a little older and the bowlers a little more frustrated, de Kock settled into a more relaxed role. When Dane Piedt replaced Abbott in holding up the other end, he responded by turning aggressor once more. The part Piedt played cannot be underestimated. He batted for almost two hours and faced 104 balls for just 19 runs. He gave de Kock the freedom to press the advantage home.De Kock’s first fifty came off 68 balls, his next fifty off just 36. He scored equally all around the wicket and targeted the least-experienced member of England’s attack, Chris Woakes, who was unlucky not to have the last laugh. When de Kock was on 80, Woakes drew the edge but the ball flew between between Jonny Bairstow and Alastair Cook at slip.

De Kock’s innings was a testament to the development he has made over the last three years, a progression which has gone unnoticed

The most impressive aspect about de Kock’s assertion of authority was the way he played spin. He took 45 runs off the 28 balls he faced from Moeen Ali, who also could have taken revenge when de Kock drove to short cover but Cook spilled it. De Kock was on 90 at the time; four balls later, he had his first Test hundred.The value of that innings was obvious from de Kock’s reaction – the air punch, the whirl of the bat, the leap – but it worth more than the numbers. It was a testament to the development de Kock has made over the last three years, a progression which has gone unnoticed against the backdrop of his limited-overs’ returns.De Kock has been grafting in the longest format since his first match for Gauteng in 2009. He scored 9 and 6 but did more behind the stumps with five catches and a stumping. The next summer, de Kock was properly part of the province’s plans. In the first four games he played in the 2010-11 season, he was deployed everywhere from No. 7 to the opening berth and scored a century and two fifties. That earned him a promotion to the franchise side, the Lions, where he found the going tough; his top score was 35 and he did not keep.When the next season began he had to start again in the provincial set-up. In five games for Gauteng in 2011-12, de Kock struck two centuries and three fifties and got another chance in the franchise team. He was more successful, albeit with the added job of keeping wicket. In the second match that summer, de Kock scored 194 opening the batting in the second innings for the Lions, who were following on. He did not save the game but he did come to the attention of the national selectors.Quinton de Kock’s maiden Test hundred held South Africa together•Getty ImagesHe then made his T20 international debut in late 2012 against New Zealand. But even there, de Kock’s first showings at that level did not stand out. He struggled in Sri Lanka and was sent back to the domestic game to tighten up his technique. When he returned against Pakistan, he scored his first ODI century, which was his establishment innings in the shorter formats.His Test career has followed a similar path. After debuting when Alviro Petersen fell ill the night before the second Test against Australia in February 2014, de Kock was given a permanent spot when South Africa toured Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe that year and put in promising performances before hitting a slump.He was dropped 12 months later, in Bangladesh, after a lean patch that had stretched from the World Cup. He was demoted to the South Africa A side, where he scored a century against India A, but was not picked for the Tests in India, even though he was back in the runs. A half-century for South Africa A against England ahead of this series was still not enough. Only when de Villiers complained of a heavy workload was de Kock recalled but, on his comeback in Cape Town, he scored 5 and then missed the Wanderers game with a knee injury.But he got a second second chance at Centurion and he did not let it go. He played with the maturity that puts him past wonder kid status and an innocence that keeps him in it.At the end of the day, a day in which de Kock spent every minute on the field, he was first to reach the boundary rope to leave it. But he didn’t know if he should step ahead of his seniors. So he turned back to de Villiers, as though to ask. De Villiers gestured that he should lead them off. The crowd cheered. The wonder kid was wonderful again.

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Apr-2016Joe Root came in and looked in fine touch, and showed the pitch in Kolkata was quite fine too•Getty ImagesThe other end though wasn’t quite as solid. Eoin Morgan misread a googly from Badree and England were 23 for 3 in the fifth over•Getty ImagesJos Buttler did not care about the scoreline though, and helped Root and England out with a partnership of 61 runs in 40 balls•Getty ImagesCarlos Brathwaite dragged West Indies back, removing Buttler for 36•Getty ImagesAnd Dwayne Bravo struck twice in the 14th over, removing Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali, as England sunk to 110 for 5•Getty ImagesRoot completed his fifty and kept the fight going, but an ill-timed scoop in the 15th over led to his end•Getty ImagesDavid Willey landed some telling blows in the slog overs though, his 21 off 14 balls lifting England to 155 for 9•Getty Images/ICCEden Gardens was packed, lending an explosive atmosphere•Getty Images/ICCAnd England got an explosive start to their defence as Root dismissed Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle in the second over•Getty ImagesMarlon Samuels held the innings together with another superb half-century, and like in the World T20 final in 2012•Getty ImagesBut David Willey bowled a similarly inspired spell, taking 3 for 20 in four overs•Getty ImagesDarren Sammy fell for a run-a-ball two and West Indies, at 107 for 6, had still needed 49 runs off 27 balls•AFPSamuels took the chase as deep as he could and finished with an unbeaten 85 off 66 balls,•Getty Images/ICCBut the spotlight was stolen by Carlos Brathwaite in the final over. West Indies needed 19 off six balls to win, and he hit four back-to-back sixes•Getty ImagesBen Stokes, the bowler who was given the final over, was left absolutely distraught•Getty ImagesWhile West Indies were over the moon to be two-time World T20 champions•Getty Images

Stats highlights from the second day’s play at Headingley

Shiva Jayaraman20-May-2016438 Number of wicket James Anderson now has in Tests; he went past Kapil Dev’s tally of 434 wickets with the dismissal of Angelo Mathews. Among pacers, only Glenn McGrath and Courtney Walsh have taken more wickets than Anderson. Click here for a list of highest wicket-takers in Tests.548 Runs scored by Jonny Bairstow in his last four first-class innings at Leeds. This was his third century in his last four innings at this venue; he had made a career-best of 246 against Hampshire last month and had followed it up with a 198 against Surrey in his next match. He has now made 1018 runs at an average of 92.54 in Headingley since 2015. Bairstow fell just ten runs short of his highest Test score of 150* which had come in Cape Town in the New Year Test this year. Bairstow has 1344 runs in Tests at 35.36 with two centuries and six fifties.46.98 Bairstow’s percentage contribution to England’s innings – he made 140 of the 298 runs that England scored in their first innings. This is the third highest contribution by an England batsman batting at No. 7 or lower in an all-out innings in Tests. The highest such contribution is by Len Hutton who scored 62 out of the 122 made by England in the first Ashes Test of 1950-51 at the Gabba. Bairstow’s contribution is highest since Jack Russell made 128 out of 264 runs (48.48%) scored by England in the fourth Ashes Test in 1989, at Old Trafford.5/16 Anderson’s returns from Sri Lanka’s first innings – his first five-for at Leeds from eight Tests. His previous best of 3 for 91 too had come against Sri Lanka in 2014. This is only the third time he has taken three or more wickets in Tests in Headingley. This was Anderson’s 19th five-wicket haul in Tests.6 Number of times before Bairstow in this match a wicketkeeper had made a century and also taken five catches in an innings in Tests. The previous such instance was by BJ Watling in the Wellington Test against India in 2014-15. This was the third such instance by an England keeper. The previous two instances were by Matt Prior. Click here for a list of such instances.136 Runs scored by Alex Hales from eight Test innings before this one. He had averaged just 17.00 on England’s tour to South Africa in 2015-16 with a highest of 60 which came in Cape Town. Hales’ 86 is his second fifty in Tests. Hales has made 222 runs at 24.66 with two fifties in Tests.2013 Last time before this England enforced follow-on in Tests, which was against New Zealand in Wellington. After that Test, this was the third such opportunity for Alastair Cook. Before this, England had batted again at Lord’s in the second Ashes Test in 2013 and also against India in Southampton in 2014.2011 The last time Sri Lanka were dismissed for a score lower than the 91 that they managed in the first innings in Tests. England were the opposition on that occasion too – they had bowled out Sri Lanka for 82 in Cardiff with Chris Tremlett and Graeme Swann taking four wickets each. Sri Lanka’s total in their first innings is their sixth lowest all-out total in Tests.2 Number of partnerships that have added more runs for the sixth wicket in Headingley than the one between Bairstow and Hales in England’s first innings. Kevin Pietersen and Matt Prior had put on a partnership of 160 runs against West Indies in 2007. The only other higher stand had come between Tony Greig and Alan Knott, also against West Indies, in 1976.1 Number of Sri Lanka fast bowlers who have returned better figures than Dasun Shanaka’s 3 for 46 on debut in away Tests. Lasith Malinga had taken 4 for 42 in Darwin on his debut. Shanaka is the only the third Sri Lanka pacer – after Malinga and Hasantha Fernando – to take three or more wickets on debut in overseas Tests. Fernando took 3 for 63 in Johannesburg in 2002. Shanka took all the three wickets in his first three overs giving away just a run. He dismissed Alastair Cook and Nick Compton in his second over and got Joe Root in his third.26 Runs scored totally by Sri Lanka’s top four batsmen in their first innings – the second fewest they have added in an innings in an away Test. The only time they had managed fewer runs was in 1982-83 in Wellington, when their top four totally scored only 21 runs. Overall, Sri Lanka’s top four have aggregated fewer than 26 runs only nine other times, eight of which have come in home Tests.

Plays of the day from the IPL final between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Bangalore

Shashank Kishore29-May-2016Warner’s helping hand to GayleIn a move to negate the threat posed by two belligerent left-handed batsmen, Virat Kohli introduced Chris Gayle in the second over of the match, and the move nearly worked. Shikhar Dhawan popped a return catch and Gayle, moving to his left in his follow-through, had to dive almost full-length. He got his hand under the ball, but it popped out when his elbow thudded onto the ground. David Warner, who watched from not more than a yard away, helped Gayle back on his feet and even produced a smile out of him.Kohli’s thunderboltCricket fans got a glimpse of the Warner-Kohli admiration society at the toss, when both men could not stop praising each other. On the field though, neither gave an inch. Warner drilled a full ball to mid-off in the 10th over and was ambling down the pitch when he saw Virat Kohli’s throw headed his way like a thunderbolt. Putting his hand out may have amounted to obstructing the field, so Warner ducked and somehow managed to get under the throw, slipping as he did so and falling to the floor. Kohli quickly put his hand out to apologise, and Warner accepted the gesture with a smile.Chris Jordan’s confusionYuvraj Singh and Warner are not necessarily the swiftest pair of runners. That became evident when Yuvraj survived a run-out early in his innings. He knocked a delivery from Chris Jordan towards midwicket, but was hesitant in starting for a quick single. While he was ball-watching, he did not see his partner sprinting towards him. Yuvraj eventually set off and Jordan did well to run to his left to stop the ball. But he fell backwards as he turned, causing him to undercook his under-arm throw to the bowler’s end. That allowed Yuvraj enough time to make his ground.Cutting’s monster hitIn trying to dart the ball into the stumps from round the wicket, Shane Watson fell into a trap of his own. A slightly greasy outfield and a wet ball may have contributed to his lack of control, which caused him to bowl full-tosses instead of yorkers. Ben Cutting took full toll. One of his hits – a pull – went over the roof at deep backward square leg, and was still ascending at the final point of contact for measurement purpose. The biggest hit in the competition before that had gone 110m. This one set a new record, at 117 metres. Two more sixes followed, as Watson conceded 24 off the last over to finish with 0 for 61.

The battle over the future of domestic T20 in England is set to come to a head once again. At its heart is a conflict between profitability and growing the game

George Dobell19-Aug-2016There is a line in the film where Gideon Haigh asks the question: “Does cricket make money to exist or does it exist to make money?”It is a question that ECB executives should consider over the next few weeks as they seek to persuade the counties of their plans for a new-look domestic T20 competition.Make no mistake: this debate is about money. If it was about reaching out to a new generation of supporters, there would be more emphasis on free-to-air broadcasting and less on the size of a potential broadcasting deal.If it was about the quality of cricket, there would be recognition of the success of England and the relative failure of Australia and India in recent World T20 tournaments.It’s all about money.While the ECB executive will claim they have no preferred option among the five proposals suggested to the counties for the future of domestic T20 in recent weeks, it has become clear – it has been clear for months – that they want a city-based T20 competition involving eight freshly branded teams starting as soon as possible (realistically in 2018). This, they believe, will bring in substantial new revenue in broadcast deals – up to £50m is claimed – and a new audience to the game.Sounds good, doesn’t it? But there is a downside. To maximise revenue, the competition would be sold to a subscription broadcaster – with a perfunctory amount of action shown free over other platforms – and it would be played only in a few larger cities.So, no place for Northants (who have reached Finals Day three times in the last four years), no place for Leicestershire (who have won the competition more than anyone else) and no place for Somerset (who sell out just about every game they host). Worcestershire and Gloucestershire, who have seen ticket sales improve markedly in recent times, would also be among the excluded, as would Sussex and Essex, who have been selling out T20 games for almost as long as the competition has been played.Not just that, but to appease broadcasters – Sky’s current deal for live English cricket runs until 2019 – the competition would be played in a block that would see games scheduled just about every day of the week in a July window.If that sounds familiar, it is because it was tried as recently as 2012. It left the competition dangerously at risk of a bad spell of weather – gate figures dropped by more than 50% (from 633,957 to 313,215, though there were also 54 fewer games) that year – and asked too much of spectators. Instead of inviting them to attend a home game every second Friday, there might be two or three in a week (Surrey hosted four home games in five days in 2012), with no predictability of schedule, no pattern and no time to budget. There are good reasons it was discontinued.The smaller counties are rightly worried that they will be marginalised by this new competition. They point out not just that it is contrary to the ECB’s constitution to stage a competition involving only eight sides – the constitution states explicitly that all competitions must involve all 18 counties (though the definition of the word “involve” may be open to some debate) – but that if they are seen to play in a lesser competition (the “LDV Vans Trophy of cricket”, as one CEO puts it), it will impact on their ability to attract players, spectators and, in time, their viability.Those clubs would either surrender their best players to the city-based team for the duration of the tournament – not ideal as one of the options sees the County Championship season continuing at the same time – or lose them entirely.

There is another option: two T20 divisions with promotion and relegation, and an FA Cup style knock-out involving the minor counties

Yes, they would share in some of the revenues – it looks as if they will be offered £1m each if they sanction the new tournament – to alleviate some of their short-term financial pressures but, long term, they risk sinking into irrelevance.Because if there is no cricket broadcast free to air, if there is little cricket in state schools, if the mainstream media stop reporting on domestic cricket (the fact that the no longer provides independent coverage of county cricket should send warning bells around the game) and the most attractive competition is removed from the market towns and smaller cities where it thrives, how can the game in those areas sustain itself? How will a new generation stumble upon its charms? How can any decision to embrace a city-based T20 competition be anything but short term?While the ECB points to the Big Bash as the template for a new-look competition, there are important differences. The Big Bash sets ticket prices far lower than we do in England in the knowledge that it is crucial to attract families. It provides better match-day entertainment off the pitch and, crucially, it is played (in part) over the Christmas holiday period.But, most importantly, it has been, in recent years, shown on free-to-air TV. Cricket Australia, realising it had an opportunity to win over a new audience, took the sort of long-term view that is both so rare and so admirable in sports administration. Viewing figures trebled. The ECB appears less keen to adopt those characteristics of success.We have not even scratched the surface of the practical issues. What evidence is there that English and Welsh sports fans will support newly branded teams? It certainly didn’t work in Welsh rugby. Could an eight-team competition make room for unproven youngsters? How will young players – the likes of Ben Duckett or, before him, James Taylor and Jos Buttler – gain experience without the ‘smaller club’ development period? Wouldn’t taking so many players out of county cricket threaten the integrity and strength of the Championship and, as a consequence, dilute the strength of the Test team? How would a club sell tickets for two T20 competitions at the same venue within the same week?Oh, and good luck getting all Lancashire and Yorkshire supporters to cheer on a side with “Manchester” or “Leeds” in the name.There’s actually rather a lot to celebrate in the current NatWest Blast competition. Attendances are up for the third year in succession. Despite rival events (football’s European Championship and the Olympics) and a prolonged period of poor weather which dragged numbers back sharply, final average attendance figures for this season will be about 5% up on the record achieved last year. Anyone who says it doesn’t attract quality overseas players simply hasn’t been paying attention.And it should improve markedly next year. In 2017, the competition will start later in the season (meaning most of it will be played in the school holidays, rather than finishing just as they start), be played in something approaching a block and without any major rival sporting attractions. It is entirely possible that attendances will pass a million for the first time.As a result, some of the counties feel the ECB should take the domestic competition to the market after next year’s competition. And they feel it should be taken to the open market; something that you could argue has not happened since 2004.Why, they argue, is the ECB so keen to do a deal with Sky now? Before the market is tested? Before the current TV deal expires at the end of 2019? Before the current format is given the ideal schedule in 2017? Why the hurry?Smaller clubs such as Sussex have enjoyed packed crowds for the T20 Blast•Getty ImagesThe ECB executive stance is not without support. Generally, those clubs deep in debt – Durham, Hampshire and Warwickshire spring to mind – are for the city-based competition, while players and coaches make persuasive arguments about the benefits of playing each format in a block.While some, such as Hampshire, have a long and sincere commitment to city-based cricket, others are simply desperate for a cash injection to help them survive. Durham know they may well be excluded in a city-based competition, but a starving man probably doesn’t think about the consequences when they’re offered a meal. The same might be said about several of the smaller clubs.You might ask why some counties are so impoverished, though. Why, when the ECB has reserves of more than £70m, are some counties so desperate that their survival is in doubt. Might it be that the ECB has kept them poor in order to keep them amenable? You would hope not. But it is convenient, just as it tries to push this plan through, it has the carrot to dangle in front of the counties: £1m is a colossal sum for some of these counties.The smaller clubs (and for those who claim there are too many clubs, look at the excellent record the likes of Essex, Northants, Leicestershire and Somerset have in producing players compared to some of their big-budget rivals) also have the support of Surrey, probably the MCC (who are mindful not to be seen to push Middlesex into oblivion) and perhaps Yorkshire, who insist they will not change their name but owe trusts formed by the ECB’s chairman, Colin Graves, around £24m.Many of the clubs will feel the need to consult with their members – again, it is their duty as part of the constitution – over decisions of such magnitude. The ECB’s desire to operate in secrecy and without consultation with spectators seems oddly high-handed. As ever, the wishes of the spectators are way, way down the list of priorities. The sooner a supporters’ group is formed, with a seat on the ECB board, the better.All this means that, if the ECB tries to force the issue through in the coming weeks – and it appears it might despite failing in attempts to alter the make-up of the ECB board – the outcome is too close to call. And if it fails, the position of both Graves (who you may recall called this competition “mediocre” at the start of the season; a Gerald Ratner moment if ever there was one) and the chief executive, Tom Harrison, will be compromised. They have, since their first days in office, tried to push this idea through.If they fail – and they may well – the ECB could well be looking for a new chairman and chief executive before Christmas.The perception is that Graves and Harrison have stopped listening to the counties. And, judging by the way they have suggested marginalising the County Championship – one of the recent proposals suggests playing the new city-based T20 competition at the same time as the Championship, meaning the best 80 or so players would be withdrawn from first-class cricket – they seems to have diminishing faith in Test cricket, too.By chipping away at the foundations of the Championship, the ECB isn’t protecting Test cricket, it is in the vanguard of the attack upon it. England’s results in Test cricket have improved largely – not entirely, the introduction of central contracts was among the many other measures to contribute -because of the improvement of the County Championship since the introduction of promotion and relegation in 2000. Meddle with that and you meddle with everything good in the county game. You compromise its essence.There is another option. The compromise solution remains available: two T20 divisions with promotion and relegation. Broadcasters could focus primarily on the top division but all teams would retain the potential to win the competition. Add on an FA Cup style knock-out involving the minor counties and given to free-to-air broadcasters, provide the marketing budget the new-look competition would be given and you have the recipe for growing the game, reaching new areas of the country and, yes sustaining all 18-counties and the futures of Harrison and Graves. Any other outcome will see either counties fail or individuals leave.That option will not bring in the same short-term revenue, but it may well best provide for the long-term health of the game. All of which takes us back to Gideon Haigh’s original question: does the ECB exist to make money or propagate cricket? The answer should be obvious.

How a lover of many sports from the USA came to be a fan of cricket as well

Tim Lowell06-Jul-2016I’m an American baseball and football fan, and I love cricket.There are those around the world who believe that I don’t exist, and I may be the only one – based on my attempts at outreach on social media sites – but I do in fact exist.At the moment, I am bingeing on the Caribbean Premier League. I can stream the entire league for a few bucks, and I have taken full advantage of the offer.A little background. I grew up in upstate New York, and my introduction to sports was the New York Mets of Tom Seaver, Jon Matlack, Jerry Koosman and Buddy Harrelson. My earliest sports memory was Buddy getting into a fight with Pete Rose of the Cincinnati Reds at second base during the 1973 National League Championship Series, which the Mets won in five games. My mom, dad and grandmother had all followed the Brooklyn Dodgers until the Dodgers unceremoniously decamped to California, and the excitement in my house around the Mets’ improbable run to the pennant in ’73 hooked me onto baseball. I went on to play Little League, Babe Ruth League, high school baseball and American Legion baseball until I stopped being able to make contact with the increasingly blurry fastballs thrown at me, and stopped being able to track the hard-hit line drives in the outfield. I am still a Mets fan 40-something years later. I thrilled to the great 1986 World Series championship team when I was in college, and suffered through all the missed opportunities since, including last season.I am also a huge NFL fan, and the New England Patriots have always been my team. I sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket every season, so I can watch all 16 of the Patriots’ regular season games. The Patriots have rewarded my fan investment handsomely these days with four Super Bowl titles and two other appearances in the Tom Brady/Bill Belichick era, albeit with plenty of controversy.My insatiable appetite for sports has taken my in many other directions. Tiger Woods’ run in the PGA was an obsession, and I’m a big fan of Michelle Wie in the LPGA. I check in with the English Premier League on weekend mornings, and I follow the USA’s men’s and women’s national teams in international soccer tournaments. I’ve tried and failed to follow the NHL and the NBA, but I’ll still watch a hockey or basketball game if there’s nothing else on.I had never considered cricket as a sport to follow until I started watching online, where the shenanigans in the British government often took a back seat to whatever Test match was on the radio; and then, especially, the podcast with ESPNcricinfo’s own Andy Zaltzman. On one episode, Andy was paying more attention to the Ashes than he was to whatever John Oliver was saying. After I heard that, I needed to see what was so engrossing.My first Ashes was the 2010-11 edition in Australia. It took about three matches to understand the rules and generally what was happening, but somewhere during the Perth match I became enthralled. Australia had dropped the second match badly, after a first-match draw, but battled back and destroyed England out west using local knowledge of the surface. I was intrigued that the results could be so drastically different in different locations, and felt compelled to tune in to see if England would rebound to win the series or if Australia could find a way to sweep the final two matches. I spent the Christmas holiday watching the fourth and fifth tests. I was now a full-on cricket fan.Since 2010, I’ve watched two World Cups, two World T20s, three more Ashes series, and countless other matches that were available on WatchESPN. Shane Warne and Sachin Tendulkar’s Cricket All-Stars came to Houston – where I live – last November and, of course, I was travelling that week and had to miss it. Finally, though, I’m going to see a professional game live.I bought tickets to the Trinbago Knight Riders v St Kitts & Nevis Patriots game in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and I will be attending right before my wife and I go on a cruise. I’ve been watching every game I can of the CPL T20 season to familiarise myself with the teams and players. I am looking forward to the constant drumming, costumes, dancing, Caribbean food and drink, and hard hits that I am seeing in the games so far. About the only regret I will have is that I didn’t get tickets to the Jamaica Tallawahs game to watch #UniverseBoss himself, Chris Gayle. I watched his methodical destruction of Trinbago this week, and my respect for his batting ability is right up there with my respect for Tom Brady’s quarterbacking and Yoenis Céspedes’ all-around play.I hope to keep watching the tournament and then write about my experience at the Florida match. Stay tuned.Want to be featured on Inbox? Send your articles to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

Stats highlights from the second day’s play in Pallekele where Australia were bowled out for 203 by Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan

Bharath Seervi27-Jul-20160 Number of chinaman bowlers who have better figures on Test debut than Lakshan Sandakan’s 4 for 58. The only other chinaman bowler to take a four-wicket haul on Test debut was Chuck Fleetwood-Smith (4 for 64) , against South Africa in Durban in 1935. Sandakan’s figures are the second-best by a Sri Lanka spinner on Test debut.320 Aggregate of runs by both teams in their first innings of this Test, the second-lowest in a Test in Sri Lanka where both sides batted. The lowest is 298, which came in Kandy in 2005 after the hosts were all out for 150 and West Indies scored 148.1934 The previous instance when two left-arm spinners took four or more wickets in the same Test innings – for England against India at Chepauk. The current Pallekele Test, where Rangana Herath and Sandakan both took four wickets, is only the third such instance. The first two instances were both for England and came before World War II.3 Four-wicket hauls for Herath in Tests in Pallekele, in four innings; he took three wickets in the other innings. His bowling average of 16.13 at this venue is his second-best among the six Sri Lankan venues he has played at.7 Four-wicket hauls for Herath in nine Tests against Australia. He has taken at least one four-wicket haul in seven of the nine Tests. His strike rate of 57.5 balls per wicket against Australia is his second-best against any team.2004 The last time Australia were all out for a total lower than 203 in Tests against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka – 120 in Kandy. Their total of 203 is their fourth-lowest against Sri Lanka in the country. The first three instances were all in Kandy.1 Australia’s innings of 203 in Pallekele is the first time that no batsman in their side has scored a 50 or more in an innings against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. Adam Voges was the top scorer in Australia’s first innings with 47.1983 The last time Australia’s Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6 all scored 25 or more runs in a Test innings against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka – in Kandy in April 1983. Australia had amassed 514 in that innings, though, compared to just 203 in this Test.5 Number of consecutive 50-plus scores for Steven Smith in Tests, before this match. The streak ended with his dismissal on 30. His scores in his last five innings were: 134*, 70*, 71, 138 and 53*.

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2016Alex Hales saw the funny side of an early mix-up between the wickets•Getty ImagesAt the other end, Jason Roy was aghast to fall early for 15•Getty ImagesHasan Ali was ecstatic after making the first breakthrough•Getty ImagesHales dumped a Hasan free hit into the stands for six•Getty ImagesJoe Root was the perfect foil as he brought up his fifth half-century in a row•Getty ImagesHales cut loose as the stand began to grow•Getty Images… and was ecstatic to bring up his fourth ODI hundred•Getty ImagesHis century had come from 83 balls, at the precise halfway mark of the innings•Getty ImagesHales continued to cut loose as England piled on the runs•Getty Images… as he and Root added 248 for the second wicket•Getty ImagesHales eventually fell for an England record 171•Getty Images… before Root departed for 85, caught behind by Sarfraz Ahmed•Getty ImagesJos Buttler picked up the pace with a 22-ball fifty, England’s fastest in ODIs•Getty ImagesHis half-century included six sixes•Getty ImagesEoin Morgan took on the leg-side boundary in reaching his fifty from 24 balls•Getty ImagesButtler pulled out his full repertoire in finishing on 90 not out from 51 balls•Getty Images… as England posted a total of 444 for 3 in 50 overs•Getty Images… a new world record•Getty ImagesIn reply, Sharjeel Khan started with intent to make 58 from 30 balls•AFP… but Chris Woakes struck three times in the Powerplay to put the result beyond doubt•Getty ImagesHis victims included the captain, Azhar Ali, caught at third man for 13•Getty ImagesSarfraz Ahmed resisted once again with 38 from 43 balls•AFPBen Stokes bowled for the first time since his calf injury, and claimed the wicket of Babar Azam•Getty ImagesPakistan crumbled during the middle overs, Adil Rashid taking two wickets•Getty ImagesSome late hitting from Mohammad Amir – who struck a 22-ball fifty – averted Pakistan’s heaviest defeat but England sealed the series with victory by 169 runs•Getty Images

Australia’s batsmen had the chance to take control of the Test on day two. They didn’t. On day three, Dean Elgar and JP Duminy showed them how it was done

Daniel Brettig at the WACA05-Nov-2016Welcome back to the friendly, air-conditioned confines boys. It was hot work out there, hey? Hot enough for extra drinks breaks anyway. The breeze came in to the WACA Ground in the evening session, which offered some kind of respite from the heat and the sun. That should have helped you cool down enough to process a few things.But before you do, I want you to remember how you feel right now. The heavy legs, the dry mouths and the dull headaches from your sweaty baggy green hat-bands. Remember too the sinking feeling you got when you took a final glance at the WACA’s old scoreboard before reaching shade, showing South Africa’s vast lead. A word of warning: it will be a fair bit bigger by the time you get another bat.Inconvenient memories like this can help you in future, when you have the opportunity to make a Test match your own. They can help you to keep your focus clear and your ruthlessness intact as they should have been yesterday, in the hour or so after Dale Steyn dropped out of the match, the tour and possibly even his whole career with a serious shoulder injury. That moment should have been one to steel yourselves, and think coldly about the physical imperative of Test cricket.South Africa had lost a bowler, and a great one at that. Chat to your team’s long-time physio Alex Kountouris, now Cricket Australia’s head of sports science. He will be able to tell you of the pitifully small percentage of Test matches won by teams that lose a frontline bowler so early on. Another medico, doctor John Orchard, is perhaps the world’s biggest advocate for injury substitutes in Tests. His forward thinking can’t help this week though.One of Orchard’s prime case studies comes from the last time South Africa toured Australia, in 2012. He has outlined how a side injury to James Pattinson – remember him? – in Adelaide led to an excessive workload for Peter Siddle in a match South Africa fought back to draw. In Siddle’s absence the visitors won in Perth, and the extra overs duly bowled by Mitchell Starc flowed into the need to rest him from the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka. It all adds up, you see.I don’t need to tell you much about the physical drain, because your legs are still heavy even as you cradle some ice water, Gatorade or perhaps a consolation beer. Adam Voges has a tender hamstring. The sight of the fast bowlers icing feet, legs and shoulders – Starc is re-dressing the open wound in his left leg as we speak – should also remind you of the fact that you didn’t give them much rest at all after their exertions on day one. Less than 24 hours in fact.That’s a betrayal (a strong word, but a true one) of the unwritten compact between batsmen and bowlers. They work so hard in the field on days like these, and should have the right to expect a decent total to defend after a reasonable amount of time at rest in the team’s viewing area. Pattinson (he’s not had much luck, Jimmy) once suffered serious injury in a Lord’s Test match after being asked to bowl again too soon after the first innings, due to a batting collapse. Slim first innings exacerbate the risk of injury to the very men who can win you the Test match. A confronting thought.Equally, the first Test of a series can influence how the rest play out, particularly back-to-back matches. Starc and Siddle in particular are coming off limited preparation for this series. They are playing in Perth not because they are fully fit, but because they are the best available for a vital contest. Selectors, coaches and medical staff took a calculated gamble that they would not be placed in the position they are now in, with the second Test in Hobart starting as soon as Saturday. South Africa are exacting a physical toll that will help them later.This brings us to the main thing I want you to take out of today. Once your thoughts of frustration subside, you really need to take in the lessons offered up by JP Duminy and Dean Elgar. Much like you on day two, they had a massive opportunity to take control of the Test. Unlike you on day two, they took it.Not through anything flashy or overly ambitious, but simply through relentless and disciplined Test-match batting – the batting you needed to provide on day two of this game. The bowlers bowled well, there were a few plays and misses, but they forged on regardless, frustrating and tiring the fielding side. That’s the way it’s done. As the day went on, South Africa’s drinks waiters brought on chairs for them to sit in. You’d have to agree they earned that.Now there may still be hope of escaping Perth without defeat. The pitch is still good, the cracks are far from the most dangerous ones seen in these parts – just ask your fielding coach Greg Blewett – and, as we’ve said, South Africa are a bowler down. But even if there isn’t, you should be using days like these as motivation to bat like Elgar and Duminy in the future. The rewards will be Test match victories, happier bowlers, and fewer days of exhaustion.Anyway, I’ve said enough. Go cool off, binge on a season of , and we’ll catch-up tomorrow. Look forward to seeing some resilience.