A controversial start followed by repeated batting meltdowns meant even a lion-hearted performance from Mohammad Amir wasn’t enough to save Chittagong Vikings some skin

Mohammad Isam08-Dec-2015 Tournament overview
What ultimately cost Chittagong Vikings were the four defeats in a row after they won their first game against the Sylhet Super Stars. Two of those losses were at their home ground, after which they beat Sylhet again. But at no stage did they look like a team in contention.Much depended on Tamim Iqbal right from the outset, and remained that way till the end. Whenever Tamim made runs at the top, Chittagong looked a threat. His partnership with Tillakaratne Dilshan – they put together three fifty plus stands and a century stand that resulted in a 10-wicket win – was one of the highlights of their campaign. While the flagbearers stood up, the likes of Anamul Haque, Asif Ahmed, Ziaur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed couldn’t perform up to the level expected of the local players. If that was bad enough, worse was how the Akmal brothers – Umar and Kamran – Saeed Ajmal and Elton Chigumbura fared.Tamim was left disappointed after they lost to Dhaka Dynamites on Tuesday by 45 runs, and repeated a phrase he used earlier in the competition: “We can buy players, but not performances.” This has been the theme of Chittagong right from the start, where they lost to Rangpur Riders despite ruling much of the game. They won the next game on the back of a needless controversy and then went on to lose to Comilla Victorians, Dhaka Dynamites, Barisal Bulls and Rangpur in consecutive matches. There seemed to be very little that they could have done other than hope that Tamim scores and Mohammad Amir get them out of tough situations with the ball, which he did to an extent.Their fielding too was poor at times, something that cost Asif his place in the team. Naeem Islam did a job with the bat and occasionally with the ball but it was never enough.High point
Chittagong were at the receiving end of one of the worst controversies in the BPL, when the Sylhet franchise sent Ravi Bopara and Josh Cobb to play without naming them in the playing XI at the toss. The fiasco took over an hour to solve and it got uglier as Tamim later alleged that one of the Sylhet owners abused him during the stand-off. But to his credit, Tamim played a handy knock and Chittagong held on to clinch a thriller.Low point
Their most uninspiring performance was when they were bowled out for 92 against Dhaka Dynamites. The collapse started when Tamim was wrongfully given out caught down the leg side, a blow from which they could not recover. Naeem played the sort of anchor role, 29 off 38, that had no place in a T20.Top of the class
Mohammad Amir was always going to be a much-talked about acquisition considering the BPL was to be his first tournament out of Pakistan since being allowed to play cricket after a five-year spot-fixing ban. His performance for Chittagong – 14 wickets at an average of 12.64 from nine games – has given the PCB reason enough to get him to play for Pakistan A and perhaps the senior side shortly. His most memorable wickets were be the yorker to Misbah-ul-Haq in the first match and the late outswinger that took Shahid Afridi’s off-bail and the ball slamming into the sightscreen.Under-par performer
Anamul Haque was Chittagong’s first draft pick back in October. But his 114 runs in the eight innings hardly paid back the faith shown in him by the franchise owners and the team management. He started off with scores of 36 and 39 not out in the first three games but made scores of 1, 12, 14, 0 and 9 in the remainder of the tournament. There was concern before the tournament about his adaptability, and he did little to change that perception.Tip for 2016
Apart from Tamim Iqbal and Shafiul Islam, none of Chittagong’s local players did well in the tournament. Their collection of overseas players should also have been a bit more about performers and less about reputations. Despite the early exit, the franchise owners DBL Group are said to be interested to build this team next season and beyond, while Tamim too has said that he wants to play for this team. A better approach to team selection would be paramount.

Wriddhiman Saha has slowly started settling into the India Test line-up, showing fight with the bat and sharp keeping skills

Sidharth Monga in Delhi30-Nov-2015MS Dhoni was many things. He was an awkward batsman, a resigned Test captain, a reluctant diver towards first slip, but he was also a joy to watch when he kept wicket to spinners. It will take another freak of nature to start collecting sharply turning deliveries without any give, a reverse follow-through if you will. The one second he saved when managing to complete a take without taking his gloves back to absorb the impact put him miles ahead of any wicketkeeper of spin-bowling.To add to the pure joy of Dhoni’s keeping was his running commentary that could be heard through the stump mic – his wisecracks, his big-brotherly admonishments. Once when Ravindra Jadeja* was not flighting the ball, Dhoni said, “I have not called Pujara to gully to clap and encourage you. He is there to take a catch.” Equally legendary was “Sree, there is no girlfriend there” to Sreesanth who had wandered away from his fielding position. To Jadeja he would often say “can bowl from here, too” when he needed a change of an angle. Dhoni’s readings of a batsman’s mind when facing spin used to be immaculate.When Dhoni announced his retirement from Tests, in a shock email from the BCCI minutes after he had finished a post-match press conference, we knew these were what we would miss the most about Dhoni. The no-give takes and the mouth. And there was going to be no point trying to emulate him. Those hands and the mind that worked that mouth were unique.To the team, though, when playing in Asia – where India were likely to play close to 20 Tests in a row – his batting, which enabled them to play five bowlers, was equally, if not more, important. The first time Dhoni moved to No. 6 in a home Test, though, was not part of a plan. It was enforced upon him by short-sighted selection. The squad given to Dhoni included only six batsmen. When one of them – VVS Laxman – fell ill, Rohit Sharma was hastily called up. When Rohit injured himself in the warm-ups before the toss, Wriddhiman Saha, reputed to be the best pure keeper in the country, had to play as a specialist batsman. He scored 0 and 36 as India lost by an innings and six runs. Thus began a journey of a player who looked dead set to be a nearly man.Saha’s next Test came two years later, and the next more than two-and-a-half years later. Both because of Dhoni’s absence: due to a suspension and then injury. Both in Adelaide. In that second Adelaide Test, in December last year, he came in to bat in the final innings with under 100 required, five wickets in hand and Virat Kohli still unbeaten. We don’t know what the plan was, but it seemed that Saha – an IPL centurion now – was to go for quick runs while Kohli would try to stay till the end. After getting in for the first six balls, he hit Nathan Lyon for a six and a four. All of a sudden India needed just 65 with five wickets in hand for an incredible Test win.Adrenalin must have flown. He was running away with the Test against the best bowler on offer. Another six and the target would be under 60. Twelve per remaining wicket. How tempting to go for it after you have already done so twice. Saha did so. Bowled. Dhoni was back for the next Test. Who knew when the next Test would be?The next Test came soon enough with Dhoni’s retirement, and in his sixth and seventh matches – both in Sri Lanka – Saha scored crucial fifties to now, finally at the age of 30, start cementing a place in the Test side. A spot many felt he was born for, but was unfortunate in having been born in the same era as Dhoni. In the photo with the trophy from that series, though, you won’t see Saha. Instead you will spot a beaming Naman Ojha, who had to be brought mid-series to replace the injured Saha and had responded with a sprightly 35. Had Saha again found a way to be only nearly there? For you never knew with this side, what with its preference for quick runs.Saha got his chance for Mohali. In fact he was the only wicketkeeper named in the squad. He didn’t make Mohali. On the eve of the Test as the rest of the squad went into the nets, Saha sat with a doctor, getting his blood pressure examined. A pill came out. It was popped. Saha went back into the change room. The spring wasn’t quite there in his step. A Bengali journalist asked him what the matter was. Saha didn’t say much. The journalist asked, “Jor [fever]?” Saha said, “Jor type.”That no replacement was called up was a good sign. Then Saha took field. For those who believe in signs, something extremely significant happened when India bowled the first time round. India had scored only 201. South Africa had started shakily on the first evening, but now Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar had added 76. We were reaching a stage where another half an hour of Amla could have meant South Africa getting into a comfortable position. Amla was trusting his defence. He was managing to stay back to counter the unexpected movement or inconsistent bounce off the pitch.Then Amla jumped out of the crease to try to get to the pitch of R Ashwin’s delivery, but the ball dipped on him and bounced alarmingly. Saha rose but the gloves failed to follow the ball. For that brief moment – it is funny how much can happen in a little moment – you thought how Dhoni would have managed, but the ball hit Saha’s chest and fell on the stumps. That ball could have gone anywhere, Amla could have scored more or had a partnership with de Villiers, but he was stumped. All the years of mixed fortune had evaporated in that one moment, well before South Africa had been psychologically damaged for good.Two Tests later Saha was back in Nagpur, back where it had nearly begun, against the same opposition. This time, though, he did what only three batsmen managed on an extremely difficult surface: bat out 100 balls. Towards the end of the Test he rose beautifully with a turning ball down the leg side to take a deflection off the glove. Umpire Ian Gould, a wicketkeeper himself, was impressed too, perhaps the closest we can get to the fabled reaction of “wonderful” from the square-leg umpire to a leg-side stumping from Jack Blackham. In 123 overs of keeping on that surface Saha conceded just five byes. Dane Vilas let 23 go through.Saha is not going to run away with games with the bat like Dhoni did, but he has shown he is going to fight just as much with the bat in hand. He cannot even dream of being as entertaining near the stump mic as Dhoni was. In fact, all he can be heard saying is “lubhly, lubhly”. He is not as flashy with the stumpings either. But now that Saha seems to have settled in the team, there is still a joy to how he reacts to sharply turning deliveries, puffs of dusts and moving batsmen notwithstanding. The nearly man is finally embedded.
*Bowler’s name corrected from Pragyan Ojha to Ravindra Jadeja

The Wanderers has a history of producing result-orientated Test cricket and for England there is the tantalising prospect of being able to secure a series victory

Andrew McGlashan10-Jan-2016After their short break following the second Test in Cape Town, England’s players will return to the day job on Monday as they begin preparations for the third Test at the Wanderers with the chance at a second series victory in South Africa since readmission.They will need to spend the three days ahead of the series resumption adjusting to the new challenges posed by cricket on the Highveld, where the thinner atmosphere allows the ball to travel further and faster, while also pushing the physical endurance of the players – especially the bowlers – in the middle.England, who arrived on Sunday, landed into a region in the midst of a drought. Temperatures had soared to record highs on Friday in Johannesburg (38 degrees) and Pretoria (42.5 degrees). After the bowlers’ toil in Newlands – although from England’s point of view some of that was self-inflicted with fielding errors – they will hope that the hot weather does not mean the Wanderers surface loses the characteristics which make it a result-orientated venue.Although perhaps of limited value, the evidence of the two first-class matches played at the ground in the Sunfoil Series this season – both within the last month – suggests that an even contest between bat and ball should still be on offer. Both games have been victories for the side batting first, the highest team total in eight innings has been 316 for 8 and seamers have taken 61 of the 72 wickets to fall.The Wanderers has not staged a Test for more than two years, when India were the visitors, and although it was a draw it was an epic contest where South Africa finished on 450 for 7 having been set 458. Results are the norm at the ground; before that 2013 match the previous drawn encounter against New Zealand in 2000 with three days ruined by rain. The last draw without significant weather intervention was in 1997.England’s Test matches at the Wanderers have produced some famous moments: Michael Atherton’s unbeaten 185 in 1995 when he and Jack Russell achieved one of the game’s great escapes, being 2 for 4 inside three overs in 1999 against a rampant Allan Donald and in 2005 when Matthew Hoggard and Marcus Trescothick combined to earn England one of their finest overseas victories.The most recent meeting between the teams in Johannesburg was a slightly more prosaic affair as South Africa surged to an innings-and-74-run series-levelling victory in 2010. England arrived following the Christmas-New Year period where, like this time, they had achieved victory in Durban and drawn in Cape Town, although the Newlands encounter on that occasion was an emotionally-fraught nine-wicket down survival.Having also saved the first Test of that 2009-10 series by the skin of their teeth at Centurion, England looked drained during the final encounter and could not cope with Dale Steyn – who is battling to be fit for this Test – and Morne Morkel on the opening day. The pair shared eight wickets in the first innings and 14 across the match as only Paul Collingwood with a second-innings 71 passed fifty. If the series is 1-1 after the Wanderers this time it will set up a terrific conclusion at Centurion, but England will not want to take it that far.

Stats highlights from the fourth ODI between Australia and India in Canberra where the hosts stretched their undefeated home streak to 19 matches on the trot

Bharath Seervi20-Jan-201619 Consecutive ODIs without defeat for Australia at home – 18 wins and a no-result. They last lost to South Africa in November 2014 at the WACA. West Indies had a run of 18 home games without defeat from 1986 to 1990 and Sri Lanka 17 from 1996 to 1998.1 Australian bowler with a five-for when the opposition made more than 300 before Kane Richardson. Nathan Bracken had taken 5 for 67 at the Wanderers when South Africa chased 434 in 2005-06. Richardson’s 5 for 68 in this match are his best figures in ODIs and it is also the first time a bowler has taken a five-for at the Manuka Oval in eight ODIs.671 Runs scored in the match, the third-highest ever for an ODI in Australia. The top spot in this list also came recently, when the hosts and Sri Lanka tallied 688 runs in 2015. This is the 13th instance when both teams have made 300-plus totals in an ODI in Australia. Six of them have come in the last two years, and three in this series. India’s total of 323 is the fourth-highest by a team batting second in ODIs in Australia.162 Innings Virat Kohli has taken to score 25 ODI centuries making him the fastest to the mark and by some distance too. The old record was held by Sachin Tendulkar – 234 innings in 1998. Three other batsmen have at least 25 centuries in ODIs: Ricky Ponting (279 innings), Sanath Jayasuriya (373) and Kumar Sangakkara (378). This was Kohli’s fifth century against Australia in ODIs, the third-most by a batsman after Tendulkar (nine) and Desmond Haynes (six). With this century, Kohli now has nine centuries across all formats in Australia – five in Tests and four in ODIs. He equals Jack Hobbs and David Gower’s record for most centuries by visiting a batsman in Australia.2 Australia batsmen who have scored 2000 ODI runs in fewer innings than Aaron Finch’s 54 – David Boon (52) and Matthew Hayden (53). Greg Chappell and George Bailey also got to the mark in 54 innings. Steven Smith completed his 2000th ODI run in this match too, playing his 55th innings. Finch scored his seventh ODI century in this match. Among Australia openers, only four have scored more.187 Runs added by Finch and David Warner for the first wicket – Australia’s second-highest opening stand in ODIs against India, after the 212-run partnership between Boon and Geoff Marsh in Jaipur, in 1986.212 Partnership for the second wicket between Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan, the third-highest for any wicket against Australia in Australia; the second, third and fourth on the list have all been by Indian pairs. It was also the second-highest partnership in a chase that ended in defeat. The highest, also by India, is 223 between Mohammad Azharuddin and Ajay Jadeja in Colombo (RPS) in 1997. Sri Lanka won that game by two runs. Kohli has now been involved in eight double-century stands, the most by any player going past Ponting and Upul Tharanga, who have seven each.131.33 Australia’s average opening stand at the Manuka Oval in Canberra from three innings. Warner and Finch, who put on 187 today, had added 118 against South Africa in 2014-15 while Finch and Watson combined for 89 runs against West Indies in 2012-13. In 13 innings at this venue, visiting teams’ opening partnerships have averaged 33.84, with three fifties including the 65 runs put on by Rohit and Dhawan in this match.0 Dismissals in 90s for Warner in his international career, before his 93 in this innings. He has got to the 90s 21 times in his international career prior to today’s match, and converted them into centuries on 20 occasions – 16 in Tests and four in ODIs. He was 90 not out once in a T20I against Sri Lanka at the SCG in January 2013.16 Wickets lost in the match after the 35th over – the most that have fallen after this cut-off in ODIs since 2002. Both the teams lost their second wicket on 37.3; while Australia managed to score 128 runs at 10.10 sine then, India were could add only 46 runs for their last eight wickets.74 Balls taken by India to reach 100 in this ODI – second-fastest by any team against Australia since 2002. The fastest came in 68 balls by New Zealand at the Gabba in February 2009, a 22-over ODI interrupted by rain.72 Innings taken by Dhawan to complete 3000 ODI runs – fewest by an India batsman beating Kohli, who did it in 75 innings. Only Hashim Amla (57 innings) and Viv Richards (69 innings) have been faster, while Gordon Greenidge and Gary Kirsten also took 72 innings. Dhawan is also the second-quickest to nine ODI centuries in terms of innings; only Amla (52 innings) has scored as many in fewer innings. Click here for the list of fastest batsmen to 3000 ODI runs.77 Runs conceded by Ishant Sharma in the match – most by an India bowler in an ODI in Australia, beating Debasis Mohanty’s 76 runs against Pakistan in Hobart in January 2000. Ishant’s 4 for 77 is the third-most expensive four-wicket haul in ODIs. Richardson’s 5 for 68 in the second innings is the joint-fourth expensive five-wicket haul in ODIs.2 Times, including India in this match, a team has been bowled out in an ODI after losing their second wicket at a score of 250 or more. India were the team on the receiving end in the other instance as well: against South Africa in the 2011 World Cup. They were 267 for 2 in Nagpur and collapsed to 296 all out. India lost their last eight wickets for 46 runs in last 12 overs in this ODI, which is the fourth-lowest aggregate by those wickets in an ODI for India.3 Instances of a team failing to chase a target despite having two centuries in the innings, including this match. And India have been involved in all of them. Azharuddin and Jadeja’s tons went in vain against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1997 while Zimbabwe’s Stuart Carlisle and Sean Ervine felt the sting against India in Adelaide in 2003-04.

He took only one, but what a wicket to take

Brydon Coverdale17-Feb-2016″He’ll be the answer to a trivia question one day.” You’ve probably heard that phrase in cricket a few times. Usually it would a boring, irrelevant question whose answer nobody would know or care to know. Take it from somebody who takes their quizzing seriously: trivial does not equal trivia. But with the man standing in front of me, it is different. He the answer to a trivia question, and quite an interesting one at that.When Richard Hadlee took 9 for 52 against Australia at the Gabba in 1985, who took the other wicket?It was not Martin Snedden or Ewen Chatfield, the other pace bowlers who played in that match. It was not the offspinner John Bracewell; he came into the team only later in the series, on the turning SCG pitch. It was not one of the part-timers, Martin Crowe or Jeremy Coney. No, the answer to this trivia question, and probably the least recognisable face at the 30-year reunion of that team at the Basin Reserve over the past week, is Vaughan Brown.If you haven’t heard of Brown, that is no surprise. He was an offspinning allrounder who made his debut in that famous victory in Brisbane. He also played the second Test, in Sydney, but those were the only two Tests of his career. And the wicket that denied Hadlee his ten-for was Brown’s only Test wicket. And, just to add another fascinating element to the story, the man who took the catch that gave Brown this wicket was Hadlee himself.”He could have opened his mouth and caught it,” Brown says. “The media would have rubbished him [if he’d dropped it] because it was such an easy catch.”Maybe, maybe not. You can find the match highlights on YouTube, and when you get to the part where Geoff Lawson goes for a mighty slog off Brown, you will note that Hadlee takes the catch only after running back from midwicket, with the flight of the ball. To be truthful, he made a somewhat challenging catch look much easier than it was. In doing so, Hadlee left Australia at 9 for 179, and ended his own run of eight wickets in the innings.He came back to take the last, though, when Bob Holland could only push a catch to short leg. And the man who was under the helmet to take the chance and give Hadlee his ninth wicket for the innings? Vaughan Brown. The same man whose one and only Test wicket prevented Hadlee from having a shot at the greatest figures in Test history, which to this day remain Jim Laker’s 10 for 53 against Australia in 1956.”It wasn’t until later on that I realised,” Brown says. “I didn’t know there was a world record at stake for him.”But Brown, now 56, is quick to point out that he could have actually ended Hadlee’s streak of wickets even earlier, when John Wright put down a chance. “People don’t realise that Wrighty dropped a catch off me a couple of overs beforehand,” Brown says. “But I have to give Mr Lawson his dues, because everyone knows that John Wright can’t catch a ball on the boundary.”At the Basin Reserve during the New Zealand-Australia Test over the past week, most members of the team that achieved that historic series win over Australia on that tour 30 years ago were present for their first proper reunion. There were a few absentees – the ill Martin Crowe, the ICC match referee Jeff Crowe, and the Wellington coach Bruce Edgar – but most of the players were there.”I was just the baby of the team who used to clean their shoes and just do my job, and a hell of a nervous one at that,” Brown says. “It was great to be part of, in hindsight – such a memorable thing. It hasn’t happened since. I think everyone thought this current team might’ve done it before Christmas, and that didn’t happen.”Brown was an allrounder rather than an out-and-out bowler – he batted at No. 7 in that Brisbane Test, ahead of Hadlee – but 190 first-class wickets at 28.97 tell of his bowling ability. But he holds up his right hand to show one of the problems he faced: his fingers are distinctly stubby, not the typical long digits you expect on the hand of a spinner.”Look at these fingers: these are not spinning fingers,” Brown says. “We went down to Adelaide pre-Test and Ashley Mallett was there. Ashley was a well-known, fantastic bowler, the guys said, ‘Go and have a session with him.’ Ashley was trying to get me to bowl a straight ball, which is literally bowling against the seam.

“I was petrified. When I bowled, my hands were sweating. It was humid, admittedly, but I was so nervous it wasn’t funny”Vaughan Brown

“Ashley has got big fingers. I said, ‘I’ve got a problem, mine are half the length of yours, so I can’t do it.’ I used to flight the ball a lot more. I had a lot of competition with Braces, who had massive fingers and would just rip it. I relied a lot more on flight than him.”Hence the wicket-taking delivery to Lawson was tossed up somewhat, and Australia’s No. 8 was beaten in flight.”I was petrified,” Brown says. “When I bowled, my hands were sweating. It was humid, admittedly, but I was so nervous it wasn’t funny. Fortunately the guys encouraged me and supported me.”[Lawson] was nervous and the other batsmen were nervous as well, because we had them on the back foot, so it creates opportunities. You’ve got to seize them. Carpe diem – seize the day.”Of course, Hadlee has often been asked about his part in the dismissal, and the one that got away because of the catch that didn’t. On that same YouTube video that features the match highlights, there is an interview between Richie Benaud and Hadlee, in which the fast bowler is asked about the catch.”People have often said to me, ‘Why didn’t you drop it?'” Hadlee says in that clip. “I said, ‘The game of cricket is not like that. You take every chance that you can.’ It was significant for Vaughan Brown, of course, because that was his first ever Test wicket.”First and only. Just 430 short of Hadlee’s tally. Whereas Hadlee only strengthened his status as a great of the game, Brown slipped off the international cricket radar and back to a regular working life in sales and marketing with Air New Zealand. But he remembers with great fondness his part in the Gabba Test, and in a series that remains arguably the high point of New Zealand’s cricket history.”You’ve got to be honest about it, the Australian team wasn’t strong,” he says. “They had challenges. We had a pretty good all-round team, if you look at what everyone has achieved. To get that win, and then the second Test in Sydney – we knew it was turning and they brought Braces across. It’s just like prey with wildlife, when there’s a weakness there, you go for it, and we knew Australia were at that level.”I remember we got a dozen bottles of wine from the minister of tourism, and [New Zealand businessman] Sir Ron Brierley sent another dozen… The boys were certainly enjoying it, because a lot of them had been playing cricket for a long, long time, and this was a very special time for them.”And for Brown. After the series there was the typical camaraderie between the Australians and New Zealanders, and some swapping of equipment. In a suitcase at home, Brown still has Holland’s baggy green cap and jersey. Thirty years on, he is happy with the part he played in a slice of New Zealand cricket history, even if Hadlee occasionally gives him a light-hearted ribbing about taking wicket.And, of course, he remains the answer to a trivia question: “I’m still on a card game and on bottle tops – ‘Who was that other person?'”

Stats highlights from the final day of the Christchurch Test between Australia and New Zealand, where the visitors wrapped up a 2-0 series win

Bharath Seervi24-Feb-20160 Number of home Tests lost by New Zealand out of the 12 they had playedunder Brendon McCullum’s captaincy before this series. They lost both Tests in this series, thereby losing their first home series under him.7-0 Australia’s win-loss record in Tests under Steven Smith, in 11 Tests. They are yet to lost a Test under him since he started captaining in 2014-15. This 11-Test streak is also the longest for an Australia captain before his first defeat. Warwick Armstrong had not lost any of his ten Tests as Australia captain.10 Successive Tests by Australia in New Zealand without a defeat. Their last loss was in 1992-93 in Auckland. Since then they have won nine of ten Tests.2010-11 The last time New Zealand lost two or more consecutive home Tests before this. They had lost two Tests to Australia and then to Pakistan in three consecutive home matches in 2010-11.8 Instances of two Australia batsmen scoring a century and another fifty-plus score in the same Test. In this Test, Joe Burns made 170 and 65 and Steven Smith 138 and 53 not out. Among the eight such instances, three have come in 2015-16. Burns and David Warner had done it against New Zealand in Brisbane, Usman Khawaja and Smith against West Indies at the MCG. The only other previous instance by Australia batsmen against New Zealand was in 1973-74, when Ian Chappell and Greg Chappell scored centuries in both innings in Wellington.80.54 Combined average of Australia’s top-five batsmen this season – the highest for them in any season. This is also the highest for any side in a season playing five or more Tests. The 19 centuries from these batsmen in 2015-16 is the second highest for a team in any season. There were 20 centuries from Australia’s top-five in 2005-06.2 Instances of a team’s top five scoring 500-plus runs each in a season at an average of 50-plus. Australia’s top five this season – Burns, Warner, Khawaja, Smith and Voges – have all scored 500 or more at average of more than 50. In 2003-04, South Africa’s Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Jacques Rudolf, Jacques Kallis and Gary Kirsten had done the same.28 Smith’s average in the fourth innings of Tests before his unbeaten 53. He had scored just 252 runs in 10 innings with two fifties. His unbeaten 53 has raised his fourth-innings average to 33.88. He averages 88.08 in the first innings of Tests, 47.30 in the second and 45.55 in the third.161.50 Adam Voges’ average in the 2015-16 season, scoring 969 runs in 11 innings with four centuries. It is the third-highest average for a batsman scoring 500 or more in a season. The top two averages are both by Don Bradman: 201.50 in 1931-32 and 178.75 in 1947-48.2 Instances of two batsmen averaging 100 or more while scoring 500 or more in a season for a team. Along with Voges, Khawaja has also ended the season with average in excess of 100, scoring 713 runs. The only previous such instance for a team was in 1982-83 for Pakistan, when Mudassar Nazar scored 959 at 106.55 and Zaheer Abbas 919 at 114.87. There have been other instances of two batsmen from different teams doing this in a season: Sunil Gavaskar and Charlie Davis in 1970-71, Brian Lara and Hashan Tillakaratne in 2001-02, Alastair Cook and Jacques Kallis in 2010-11, and Mominul Haque and Ross Taylor in 2013-14.

When Kieron Pollard came out to bat, having already given RCB a foothold with the ball, the game could have gone either way; he made sure it was Mumbai’s with a dominant show on a tricky pitch

Deivarayan Muthu in Bangalore12-May-2016Kieron Pollard is among the most powerful finishers in the world. Mumbai Indians’ batting coach Robin Singh had recently said that Pollard’s role is to give the opposition the “jitters”. When he walked out to bat at 79 for 3 in Bangalore on Wednesday night, it might have been his team experiencing the jitters, with their asking rate having climbed to 10.42 in a chase of 152. That might have been stroll on an easy-paced, hit-through-the-line Chinnaswamy surface. But here they were presented with a slow surface that offered grip even to the new ball.Pollard had found that grip as well, earlier in the evening, in the only over he bowled – the 18th of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s innings. But he had become too predictable, sending down slower ball after slower ball, and leaked 22 plus a leg bye. This meant that the hosts boosted their total to 151 for 4 from 98 for 4 in 15.3 overs.But Pollard recovered from that onslaught with one of his own. He finished the match for Mumbai with an unbeaten 35 off 19 balls. Twenty minutes before his 29th birthday, Pollard was celebrating in the middle with Jos Buttler.This was still anyone’s game when Mumbai were 84 for 3 in 14 overs. Shane Watson, Royal Challengers’ in-form bowler who had three overs left at that point, bowled the 15th over. He marginally missed his yorkers and offered width, and Pollard clouted a flat six over long-on and followed it with a punchy drive to the right of sweeper cover for four.AB de Villiers claimed a stunning catch in the 16th over to get rid of Ambati Rayudu for 44 off 47 balls, but that did not stop Pollard from attacking Watson again to grab hold of the game. Having ducked under a loopy bouncer, which was called a wide, Pollard launched a full ball over long-off for his 400th six in T20s off the first legal ball of the 17th. He then sliced and whipped Watson for successive fours to bring the equation down to 26 off 18 balls. Pollard had flayed 26 off 10 balls from Watson to take the pressure off Buttler, who later showed off his hitting range as well.Things did not go quite as well with the ball for Pollard. When Rohit Sharma eventually turned to him, both fine leg and third man were inside the circle and Pollard dropped hints that he was going to bowl slower balls or cutters. His first ball was floated outside off at 105kph and KL Rahul, having waited for the ball to arrive, swatted it over square leg for six. Rahul deflected the next one off his pads for one and then Sachin Baby threw his bat too early at a cutter for a dot. He adjusted, waited more patiently for the next two balls and clubbed them both for sixes. Baby capped the over by pulling a short, slower ball to the square-leg boundary. Pollard was left seething, but then he redeemed himself with the bat.Mumbai will want him to do more of the same with the bat and better with the ball as the tournament reaches its climax. Before this game, Pollard had hit a 17-ball half-century against Kolkata Knight Riders, but by the time he had come in Rohit’s own half-century had already ensured that game was Mumbai’s. He has had little else to contribute this season, with 168 runs in nine innings and having conceded 81 runs from six overs.That his bowling and fielding have not been at full tilt is perhaps because he is returning from a lengthy injury lay-off; a knee injury ended Pollard’s Ram Slam T20 Challenge last year and then forced him out of the subsequent Big Bash League and World T20. He will know that Mumbai also have Corey Anderson, who could be similarly unstoppable with the bat if he gets going and perhaps offers more with the ball than Pollard. The New Zealand allrounder has been on the sidelines for all 11 Mumbai games so far. Pollard will know he needs to find more consistency to keep justifying his place in the XI. With the bat on Wednesday, he did state a solid case to stick with him.

David Warner’s brazenness upfront has allowed Shikhar Dhawan opportunities to discreetly put together pieces of his batting, and the results are starting to show

Arun Venugopal in Visakhapatnam08-May-2016Shikhar Dhawan’s last five innings prior to Sunday – 53*, 45, 56*, 11, 47 – lend themselves to more than one narrative. While the bleeding obvious would be consistency and the weight of his contributions – three of those came in winning causes – the more compelling story is how he has played the role of a marathoner for Sunrisers Hyderabad. Of the five innings listed above, he has been dismissed before the 14th over just once. All this after he managed only 16 runs in his first three innings.Dhawan admits he has been empowered to play the way he has because of David Warner’s presence. Warner’s brazenness in the Powerplay has allowed Dhawan to discreetly put together pieces of his batting. The fire and ice routine has been particularly effective in chasing down totals – Warner would go for broke and swiftly prune the target, while Dhawan’s holding act helped close out games.Dhawan’s knock against Mumbai Indians was in the same mould, but the difference lay in how he had to set the game up rather than having a target to chase down. Warner bossed the bowling as usual in an 85-run opening stand in 9.5 overs. Dhawan, then on 34 off 26 balls, was steady without being imposing, with most of his runs coming via dabs and steers to third man. In between, there were a few ill-timed pull shots too.Sunrisers managed only eight runs off 13 balls following Warner’s dismissal. They also lost Kane Williamson cheaply. The pressure was on Dhawan and Yuvraj Singh to ensure Sunrisers didn’t waste a strong start. Dhawan endured another two-over lull which yielded just nine runs. But he looked confident of making up for the slowdown.The take-off point, according to him, was after the second strategic time-out when Sunrisers were 102 for 2 in 14 overs. Yuvraj was the first to switch to attack with a brace of boundaries off Kieron Pollard, who conceded 14 runs in the over. Dhawan continued to feed Yuvraj the strike, and he played a big hand in another 14-run over, off Mitchell McClenaghan.”It was crucial for us to build a partnership. That’s why we took a bit of time and made the game a bit slow for a few overs,” Dhawan said after Sunrisers’ 85-run win. “After the second break [timeout] we started targeting all the bowlers because only five-six overs were left and we wanted to achieve a good target. Once Yuvi [Yuvraj] paaji was also set we knew we had to change the gears. Yuvi played amazingly well, especially the way he was striking the ball after coming back from an injury.”Dhawan took off in the 17th over with a stunning combination of the cunning and power to rattle Jasprit Bumrah. He backed away and then extended his arms to carve the first ball over third man for four. The second ball, a yorker, didn’t fetch him runs, but Dhawan sold Bumrah the dummy the next delivery. Seeing Dhawan had given himself room, Bumrah bowled the off-cutter around off stump, but Dhawan tweaked his plan at the last moment to shuffle across and scoop the ball over fine leg. A demoralised Bumrah then sent down a leg-stump full toss which was flicked for four behind square.A broader range of leg-side strokes has been a refreshing aspect of Dhawan’s batting over the last year, and 47 off his 82 runs – a majority of those behind square – against Mumbai came on the on side. He said strokes like the shuffle-and-scoop helped him throw bowlers off gear. “[I] know I am good at playing those shots, and when a bowler has a good slower one or when he is bowling two-three kind of deliveries I try to disturb bowler’s line by doing that stuff.”Dhawan’s dot-ball percentage stood at 29, but the rapid burst at the end helped him achieve his fastest knock yet in IPL 2016. “When we decided to change our gears I had spent enough time so I was comfortable and knew what the ball was going to do,” Dhawan said. “Before that because we were losing wickets we couldn’t take big chances. I was playing according to the situation [but staying] patient for those particular moments came handy, and once when we attacked the opposition it went our way.”

Going into the tri-series opener against West Indies, South Africa may need to choose between Chris Morris and Wayne Parnell for one spot in their eleven

Firdose Moonda02-Jun-2016As much as Chris Morris enjoyed “connecting” with his South African team-mates on their first assignment together in two months, he also issued a warning to one of them: Wayne Parnell, his chief competitor for a place in the starting XI. Morris and Parnell are the two pace-bowling all-rounders in the current squad and there is likely to be space for only one of them to take the field and Morris made it clear he wants that one to be him.”It’s quite a big responsibility to be the all-rounder in the team,” Morris said. “It’s an opportunity I am trying to grab with two hands. I am trying to grab it and go because it’s what I want to do.”Morris was South Africa’s preferred allrounder at the World T20 after eye-catching performances in the limited-overs matches against England in February. He single-handedly kept South Africa in the ODI series with a swashbuckling 62 in Johannesburg and he hopes his batting could set him apart. “I have put a lot of hard work on especially my batting,” Morris said. “I look at it as an exciting phase of my career. I am at an age where I think I can cement my spot and it’s an opportunity to do it so I am going to give it my all.”At 29, Morris is three years older than Parnell and he is also ahead in game-time terms. While Parnell has been at home in April and May, Morris has been toiling at the IPL, where he justified his million-dollar deal. “The IPL was one a good one personally,” he said. “It’s a good place to learn more about yourself as a person and as a cricketer. It was a very good year for me. I will take a lot of confidence out of the IPL.”Morris’ Delhi Daredevils finished third from bottom on the IPL table after winning as many of their 14 matches as they lost. Morris played in 12 of those and was their leading wicket-taker with 13 scalps at 23.69 and also did his bit with the bat. Morris finished as Delhi’s fifth run-scorer with 195 runs at 65.00 which included an unbeaten 32-ball 82.Still, Morris admitted the international game was “a different animal,” and that it would take more than a few strong performances in a T20 competition to succeed in making the step up. “I have never been [in the West Indies] before,” he said. “It’s going to take a couple of overs to adjust.”Neither has Parnell, which could leave South Africa with an interesting choice of who to include. For all Parnell’s recent inactivity, he has fought his way back to into the national side with strong performances in the 50-overs format for his franchise, the Cobras. He was their highest wicket-taker, and third highest overall in the domestic one-day cup and his coach Paul Adams said he has “never seen Wayne play better.”

He was the youngest man ever to score a Sheffield Shield century, but Kurtis Patterson took a few years to prove he was no one-hit wonder

Brydon Coverdale29-Jul-2016November, 2011. An 18-year-old from New South Wales makes a stunning debut and is Man of the Match, but doesn’t play another first-class game for two years. No, this story is not about Pat Cummins, although the description fits. This is about Kurtis Patterson. A week after Cummins bagged six-for in the baggy green in Johannesburg, Patterson plundered 157 in the baggy blue at the SCG.Neither man was seen again in first-class cricket until 2013 – Cummins due to the gamut of injuries that befall young fast men, and Patterson due at first to being squeezed out of the New South Wales XI, and then suffering injuries of his own. But now Patterson – nicknamed “KP”, of course – has made the progress that always seemed likely, and is about to make his debut for Australia A.His selection for this winter’s campaign, which begins with a four-day game against South Africa A in Brisbane this weekend, came after a summer in which Patterson scored 737 Sheffield Shield runs at 52.64, putting him sixth on the competition tally. It was a year of significant gains for Patterson, now 23, who enjoyed the responsibility of batting at No.3 for New South Wales.There were centuries against Western Australia in Perth and against Tasmania in Hobart, and there were very few games in which Patterson did not make a contribution. Importantly, he has now established himself in the New South Wales side, something that seemed inevitable back in 2011 when he became the youngest batsman to score a hundred in Sheffield Shield history.”Looking back at that hundred, I think there were two very big lbw shouts in my first 10 balls which, on another day, could very well have been given out, and my career is probably a totally different story,” Patterson told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve always put that in perspective and known that there was an element of luck involved in that.”I was left out of the following game because we had a couple of guys coming back from Aussie duties. Then unfortunately over that Christmas break I was playing Under-19s for New South Wales and ended up tearing a quad. One thing led to another and that year I kept re-injuring myself. It was quite a frustrating time after that. But there were lessons learnt for sure, particularly around my body and first-class cricket.”The following season was my first contracted season and that was a big learning curve, going from being essentially just a club cricketer to being a professional cricketer. It’s a very different thing training five days a week as opposed to one or two. It was a big learning curve.”The difficulty in making that transition perhaps contributed to Patterson sitting out of the New South Wales XI until November 2013, when he finally reappeared against England in a tour game, and then in a handful of Shield matches. It had been a long couple of years but Patterson was back – and still only 20 years old.”I didn’t want to be known as a one-hit player or anything like that,” Patterson said. “But at the back of my mind I always had confidence in my own ability and I felt, as a couple of seasons went past, that I was improving and it was just about having that same mentality as I did before my debut, making sure that if an opportunity came up I was ready for it.”Patterson believes his game has improved since that debut hundred, particularly his ability to bat patiently and know where his off stump is. He has also gained perspective off the field, and is studying a business degree. Playing alongside his childhood idol Michael Hussey at the Sydney Thunder in the past couple of summers has certainly helped.”It was a great thing for me, having him at the Thunder the last two seasons,” Patterson said. “It’s just his general outlook on the game, and also the bigger picture than the game. His success didn’t interrupt anything happening outside for him, and I thought that was great. For such a good player to be such a good guy, such a caring guy who was happy to help out youngsters – that was one great trait I saw in him.”One lesson I did learn in my first year as a professional cricketer is that whilst it’s exciting and we do live a great life and have a great living, it’s also important for me to have a focus outside of cricket. It can be quite a tough game when you’re not playing well, that’s for sure.”