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Part five of our look at players in focus at the World Twenty20 features a number of cricketers with plenty to play for

Brydon Coverdale, Firdose Moonda, Siddhartha Talya, Ger Siggins, Umar Farooq11-Sep-2012Sunil Narine
West Indies
Such has been Narine’s impact for West Indies and in the IPL in 2012 that it’s hard to believe he had not made his international debut this time last year. But he showed his talents during the Champions League Twenty20 and in February was picked up by the Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL auction for $700,000, despite having played only three ODIs and no T20 internationals at the time. It was a rare occurrence of a young man with a big IPL price tag paying off immediately. Not only did the Knight Riders win the title, Narine was named Player of the Tournament for his 24 wickets at an average of 13.50 and an economy rate of 5.47. This is his first opportunity at a major international tournament and, especially given the conditions in Sri Lanka should help spinners, few players will enter the World Twenty20 with higher expectations on them.What’s he about?
Narine is tougher to read than James Joyce. He spins the ball both ways and varies his pace and length, giving little discernible indication of the changes in his action. In Test cricket he is yet to really make his mark, but such bowlers are invaluable in T20, where batsmen cannot afford to take a cautious approach. It’s the reason Saeed Ajmal and Ajantha Mendis are not only in the top ten T20 international wicket-takers but have the best bowling averages among the top ten.What the team needs
Wickets and economy. West Indies have the kind of batsmen who can set or chase big targets, but restricting the opposition will make it all the more manageable. Narine is the standout bowler in the squad and has to lead the attack. Baffling and dismissing the best batsmen in the opposition is his major task. West Indies deserve to be one of the favourites in this tournament, and Narine is key to their chances.Big day out
4 for 15 v Mumbai Indians, IPL, Mumbai, 2012
They weren’t his best figures of the IPL, but what made this match special for Narine was one key wicket. Mumbai Indians were chasing 141 and were in a decent position at 60 for 1 when Narine’s battle with Sachin Tendulkar concluded with an outstanding delivery. The ball turned viciously back towards the leg stump and clipped the pads of Tendulkar, who was trying to cut, and the ball ricocheted onto the stumps. Narine picked up three more wickets and closed out the win for the Knight Riders.Trivia and stats
Of bowlers with more than 50 wickets in T20 cricket, Narine has comfortably the best economy rate: 5.28Narine’s father named him after Sunil GavaskarQuotable
“The amount of cricket you play game by game [in the IPL], you get experience, and by playing among the world’s best and just being able to perform with the best it just gives you the confidence and courage that anything’s possible on the cricket field.”du Plessis: can be stormy or stable•AFPFaf du Plessis
South Africa
A product of one of the country’s finest sporting schools, Afrikaans Seuns Hoërskool, du Plessis was always destined for success. He played in a first-team with AB de Villiers, Jacques Rudolph, Heino Kuhn, Neil Wagner and Kruger van Wyk, all of whom are international players, but took a little longer than some of them to find his feet. Years in the domestic game groomed him for higher honours but he made a major breakthrough in the 2008-09 season, when he averaged over 60 in the 40-over competition. He repeated the run-scoring in 2010-11, which earned him a place in the 2011 World Cup squad, and he has not looked back since. Du Plessis has now featured in the national squad in all three formats of the game.What’s he about?
An aggressive, all-round stroke-maker, du Plessis is as confident against pace as against spin. He has a sound temperament and good judgement, and is a player who can provide stability and acceleration, depending on the situation. He is also a handy legspinner who could be a genuine option as an additional bowler on the subcontinent.What the team needs
With Jacques Kallis set to open the batting, South Africa could need a risk-taker to partner him. That will likely be Richard Levi, but du Plessis may be better equipped for the role. With experience and success on the subcontinent, he has the technique and temperament to give Levi competition in the XI. He could also operate as a No. 3 and can perform the role of either an anchor or an enforcer. South Africa have not had someone who can play a pivotal role in their batting line-up in the shortest form of the game, and if du Plessis can fulfil that role, it could prove a key factor in their challenge for a trophy.Big day out
66 v Zimbabwe XI, Harare, 2012


Despite finding a regular place in the national ODI team, du Plessis was only drafted into the T20 squad as part of a World Twenty20 preparation series in June against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh. The South African side was an experimental one and lost to both minnows once in the group stages but progressed to the final, where they were once again in trouble. Du Plessis arrived at the crease in the second over with the score on 6 for 2 and had to do a repair job. He was dropped on 12 but went on to score 66 and set up a decent total for South Africa.Trivia and stats
After being asked to open the batting for the Chennai Super Kings in the fifth edition of the IPL by Stephen Fleming, du Plessis was the second-highest run-scorer for the team, after Suresh Raina.His only five-wicket hauls have come in T20, both in the 2011-12 season. The first, 5 for 19, came for his amateur provincial union, Northerns, against Easterns and the second, 5 for 28, was in the franchise T20 competition for the Titans against the Lions. Four of them were bowled but the Titans lost the match.Quotable
“If you have to ask me where I would like to bat in the 20-over format, I would say I would like to open. I think my batting is really suited for it. The more I’ve played in that role, the more I have started to understand when is a good time to go and when was a good time to try and sit back.”Harbhajan: everything to play for•Associated PressHarbhajan Singh
India
A call-up for the World Twenty20 could just be the opportunity Harbhajan needs to win back some confidence and remain in contention for a place in the limited-overs side. He was dropped from the national team after a poor tour of England in 2011, and subsequent injuries didn’t help his case. The succeses of R Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha in home conditions means a return to the Test side is a difficult task, though his determination to resurrect his career is apparent from his rewarding stint with Essex.What’s he about?
Once a match-winner for India, and still among their leading wicket-takers, Harbhajan’s decline has coincided with the emergence of a more attacking offspin alternative in Ashwin, who first captured headlines with his success in the IPL. Harbhajan, though, brings with him years of experience, and a proven ability to contain. While many thought his exclusion from the team after the England tour was the end for him, he remains assured of his ability but candid about where things didn’t fall into place with his bowling. In a squad that includes two other specialist spinners and a series of part-timers, Harbhajan finds himself in a situation where his team isn’t short of options. The pressure and scrutiny of this comeback will be of a different order.What the team needs
A strong partnership with an in-form Ashwin, in which Harbhajan may have to a play a complementary role. He is well-placed to do that, given his knowledge of the conditions in Sri Lanka and experience of adapting to different roles.Big day out
1 for 24 v Australia, ICC World Twenty20, Durban, 2007
Harbhajan has an impressive record in T20 internationals, with an economy rate of 6.44. He has had superior figures in other games, some of which were lost by India, but a spell of 1 for 24 against Australia played a significant role in India’s charge to the final, which they ultimately won. He turned in a tight spell as Australia, with wickets in hand, tried to accelerate their chase, yorking Michael Clarke in the 18th over – it began with Australia needing 30 from 18 balls with six wickets intact – and conceding just 3.Trivia and stats
Harbhajan is India’s second-highest wicket-taker in T20 internationals, with 18 wickets to Irfan Pathan’s 20. However, he has the best economy rate in the top six.He’s also India’s most-capped specialist T20 bowler, with 23 matches.Quotable
“I just want to go and enjoy the game, because I felt during the time out I had forgotten to enjoy the game. Even in the IPL I was under pressure, which came out of my own expectations. I was feeling like I need to lead the side well, I need to perform well to come back into the side. So that probably affected my chances.”Paul Stirling: maker of the second-fastest international Twenty20 fifty•AFPPaul Stirling
Ireland
Stirling has just turned 22, but he has already played more than 50 times for his country since 2008, while establishing himself in the Middlesex one-day team. Despite scoring more Friends Life T20 runs than all bar four others, in fewer games, and making his first CB40 century, Stirling’s career path hit a bump in the summer of 2012. The reluctance of Middlesex to use him in their championship team is frustrating for a man who has shown his ability to build an innings in two first-class centuries for Ireland. “He’s the most gifted Irish player I’ve ever seen,” says Niall O’Brien. “He needs to realise that and reach the heights that he can achieve sooner rather than later. The world is his oyster and he can do whatever he wants in the game.”What’s he about?
"Stirling can do things with a cricket bat that I’ve never seen anyone do before,” says team-mate Ed Joyce, "and the last man I said that about was Eoin Morgan.” Stirling’s belligerent stroke-making at the top of the order has the potential to take control of a game from the start. But a tendency to make unforced errors means he hasn’t gone on as often as he would like to. If he gives himself time to bat, he can destroy a team.What the team needs
Stirling’s early aggression will ensure Ireland stay in touch, and if he can stay around for 12-15 overs, another Kevin O’Brien-style shock could be on the cards. His offspin has come on well too: he took 3 for 21 against Bangladesh recently. He needs to be fit too, as a shoulder injury sustained at the end of July kept him out for almost a month, hitting preparations for the World Twenty20.Big day out


79 (38) v Afghanistan, World Twenty20 qualifier final, Dubai, 2012

Having lost William Porterfield first ball, Stirling, his opening partner, might have felt the need for caution, but instead he hit his first three balls for four on the way to a 17-ball fifty. “I think we came out positively,” the understated Stirling said afterwards. Coach Phil Simmons had a different view: “It was a knock to be put up there with the Chris Gayles and Virender Sehwags of this world.”Trivia and stats
Stirling’s 17-ball fifty against Afghanistan is the second fastest in T20I history after Yuvraj Singh’s 12-baller against England in 2007. Stirling’s ball-by-ball: 44431044240642161.His father, Brian, was a leading international rugby referee, officiating in 1994 at South Africa’s first two Tests in New Zealand after their return from isolation.Quotable
"T20 is a form of the game that suits me, but I’d like to prove people wrong about the long stuff too.”Hassan: Full-Member quality•Getty ImagesHamid Hassan
Afghanistan
Hassan has returned to the fold for Afghanistan after missing eight months of cricket due to an ankle injury. Before that, he took the wickets of Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott for the ICC Combined Associate and Affiliate XI against England in Dubai. He is one of a few Afghanistan cricketers who have earned an international reputation with standout performances.What’s he about?
Hassan is powerfully built, is quick, bowls a tidy line and length and swings the ball both ways. He is Afghanistan’s best fast bowler at the moment and probably one of the most accomplished among the developing cricketing nations. Former Afghanistan coach Rashid Latif summed Hassan up: "He is a bowler who is good enough to represent even a full nation in a developed team. He is a thinking bowler and has good control over the swing.”What the team needs
Though he has missed most of Afghanistan’s cricket this year, Hassan is still an integral part of the side. His consistency with his line and length can provide the team a fitting start with the ball, and he can pin down opponents with his death bowling.Big day out


3 for 21 and 22 (21) v South Africa, World Twenty20, Barbados, 2010
Though his side lost both group matches in the 2010 World Twenty20, Hassan gave them cause for a little smile when he bagged 1 for 8 from three overs in the match against India. But it was the game against South Africa that gave him a lot more, in the form of the wickets of Jacques Kallis, JP Duminy and Mark Boucher – though his side didn’t captalise in their chase, where too Hassan chipped in, with 22 off 21.Trivia and stats
In the 2009 qualifier tournament for the 2011 World Cup, Hasan signed off as the second-highest wicket-taker, with 18 wickets. Though his side wasn’t able to qualify for the World Cup, Afghanistan did qualify for ODI status.Quotable
“I want to be a future big international cricketer. I want the world to know me, to be famous. ‘Look, it’s Hamid,’ they might say.” Narine by Brydon Coverdale, du Plessis by Firdose Moonda, Harbhajan by Siddhartha Talya, Stirling by Ger Siggins, Hassan by Umar Farooq

The only question in West Indies’ Test team against Bangladesh surrounds the elevation of Veerasammy Permaul

Tony Cozier28-Oct-2012Some have been more contentious than others but the selection of no West Indies team, home or abroad, has ever met with the unanimous approval of media and fans. The latest, for the two imminent Tests in Bangladesh, comes under the category of “others”. Even popularity-seeking prime ministers and narrow-minded board members who so eagerly take up the cause of their countrymen deemed to be unjustly omitted have been silent on the chosen fifteen.Even so, in a region where insularity is rife in every area, it is hardly surprising that the one endeavour supposedly binding together its dozen separate entities should also be open to it.In an attempt to counter the inevitable misconceptions, Clyde Butts, the current chief selector, took to occasionally calling a media conference to explain his panel’s decisions. If it rarely satisfied the skeptics, the question-and-answer sessions at least revealed the reasoning behind the choices. Butts summoned no such forum this time. Perhaps the euphoric hangover of last month’s World T20 triumph and the general satisfaction in the composition of this squad persuaded him that it wasn’t necessary.What adverse comment there has been mainly surrounds offspinner Shane Shillingford’s absence. Enlightenment on that score alone would be helpful. Tom Lafond, Shillingford’s fellow Dominican and former Windward Islands team manager, was quoted as saying he was “really flabbergasted”, calling the preference for the uncapped left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul “a travesty” before going on to the ironic non-sequitur that the recall of Barbados batsman Kirk Edwards led to his concern that “we are going back to the days of insularity”.As predictable as that was, and without Butts’ account, we can only speculate on how he and his colleagues, Courtney Browne and Robert Haynes, came to replace a spinner with 29 wickets in eight Tests (albeit at 44.79 each) who claimed ten wickets in a Test against Australia as recently as April, with one whose reputation has been made against India A in the Caribbean in July and on the Sagicor High Performance Centre’s tour of Bangladesh in September.A logical deduction would be that, in the unlikely scenario that two spinners are required, the other should turn in the opposite direction to Sunil Narine, a certainty in the starting XI who, for all his mysteries, is basically an offspinner. As it is, Marlon Samuels and Narsingh Deonarine, two accredited batsmen, have also proved themselves as handy offspinners.In other words, to add Shillingford, although a fine bowler whose spirit is evident in overcoming the trauma of adjusting his flawed action, would be overkill; without Narine, he would be an automatic pick. Unless Narine is injured, overcome by the bowling yips or commits himself fully to global T20 franchises, such a scenario won’t change.The dilemma, of course, is what happens should some misfortune indeed eliminate Narine from a Test (or both) in Bangladesh. It would place a heavy responsibility on Permaul but, quite apart from his bowling, his elevation to the A team captaincy against India A had already flagged the selectors’ confidence in him.On experience alone, left-arm spinners Sulieman Benn and Nikita Miller, have claims stronger than Permaul. The evidence is that neither seems to fit into the present scheme of things, perhaps, but not solely, as they are both past 30 while, at 23, the Guyanese Permaul has more of a future.It is a year since the West Indies were last in Bangladesh for a couple of Tests, one T20 and three ODIs (the upcoming tour is in the first year of a renewed ICC Future Tours Programme). A lot has happened since in the 11 Tests, 17 ODIs and five T20s against India and England away and Australia and New Zealand at home, quite apart from the World T20 triumph in Sri Lanka.

To add Shillingford, although a fine bowler whose spirit is evident in overcoming the trauma of adjusting his flawed action, would be overkill

For the return to Bangladesh for the Tests, Shillingford (who was there but did not play a single match in Bangladesh and India last year) is not the only one replaced. So too are Fidel Edwards, Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Devendra Bishoo and Kraigg Brathwaite.Edwards set up the second Test victory last year with a typically explosive new-ball burst of the first five wickets that left the first innings in ruins at 59 for 5. It was his eleventh haul of five wickets or more in an innings but he has somehow lost much of his venom in the interim as well as being deserted by the luck all bowlers need.He hasn’t reproduced such devastation in his last 11 Test innings. The upshot is that he has been supplanted by Kemar Roach (who was his understudy last year) and Ravi Rampaul with the new ball.Edwards’ exclusion was not unexpected but, if only for the feel of touring, his place might have gone to one of the up-and-comers like Delorn Johnson, Shannon Gabriel, Sheldon Cotterell rather than Tino Best. Still fast, fit and eager, he is in the twilight of his best years at 30 and, in the conditions, unlikely to feature in the first eleven.The major disappointment is that Bishoo, Barath and Brathwaite remain at home.Bishoo, the tough little legspinner, was the ICC’s Emerging Cricketer of the Year 2011. His prospects could hardly have been rosier. Now he is back in the A team, attempting to rediscover the magic of his most difficult art. The young guns, Barath (22), Brathwaite (19) and Kieran Powell (22) shared the post left vacant at the top of the order during the protracted absence of Chris Gayle.Barath, the dashing right-hander with the advantage of a debut hundred against Australia, seemed to be in pole position to keep his place on Gayle’s return. He hasn’t. Whenever he appeared well set in his last eight consecutive Tests, untimely impetuosity led to his dismissals – and now his exclusion.Brathwaite’s remarkable powers of concentration that brought him a truckload of hundreds at junior level were confirmed in his nine Tests but so were his technical blemishes. There is ample time for him to correct them. By process of elimination, the stylish left-hander Powell got the spot on Gayle’s return and immediately secured it with his 134 and partnership of 254 with the returning Jamaican against New Zealand.What Butts might point out is the several encouraging options open to the selectors. Like Permaul, others have stepped forward from the A team and the High Performance Centre’s trip to Bangladesh. Their performances add more than usual significance to next season’s first-class tournament.

Stats preview to the England-New Zealand Test series, and the first Test at Lord’s

S Rajesh15-May-2013England were extremely lucky to escape with a drawn series in New Zealand earlier this year, but they’ll still start as firm favourites in the return leg, which starts at Lord’s on May 16. Conditions are likely to be seamer-friendly in the early part of England’s summer, and while both teams have the bowlers to exploit those conditions, England’s batting looks more equipped to handle seam and swing.New Zealand’s recent record in England doesn’t inspire much confidence either. In Tests between the two teams since 2000, New Zealand have been very competitive against England at home: they have a 2-3 win-loss record, with four draws. In England, though, they’ve lost five out of six Tests, including a defeat by an innings and 9 runs in their last Test in the country, at Trent Bridge in 2008.In their last two series in England, New Zealand struggled with both bat and ball. They scored more runs than England, but that’s only because four of England’s five wins have been by wickets, when they’ve scored a run more than the opposition. In the drawn Test at Lord’s in 2008, New Zealand batted twice to England’s once. In all, New Zealand have scored 249 more runs than England in these six Tests, but their batsmen have also played 39 more innings. Hence, though they’ve gone past 50 almost as many times as England’s batsmen, the rate of doing so is much poorer. England’s batsmen have scored a century every 11 innings; for New Zealand, the rate has been one every 25 innings.

England’s problem has been their form over the last year and a half. None of their batsmen have averaged 50 (though there are a few in the 40s), while the best bowling average is barely below 30. In terms of batting averages, the best is Matt Prior’s 47.30. Among the specialist batsmen Alastair Cook’s 46.41 is the best, while Jonathan Trott averaged 41.51. Ian Bell, though, has been a disappointment, averaging less than 35 in 30 innings. Of the 24 times he has been dismissed, nine have been for scores of ten or fewer.Among the bowlers, Graeme Swann is the leading wicket-taker with 59 at 29.93, while Anderson and Broad have averaged a touch over 30. Tim Bresnan has been the biggest disappointment during this period, with 16 wickets from eight Tests at 55.43.

New Zealand’s top-order batting has been a problem too. Their middle-order – No.3 to No.6 – has averaged 31.76 since the beginning of 2011, the lowest among all sides. In 20 Tests they’ve only managed six hundreds. England’s middle order has averaged 40.67 during this period, with 15 hundreds in 26 Tests.And then there’s England’s record at Lord’s. Before their defeat to South Africa last year, England had won six of their last seven Tests, most of them by huge margins. New Zealand achieved their first win at the ground in 1999, in their 13th attempt, but they lost by seven wickets in 2004.As the two tables below show, England’s batting and the bowling have been pretty impressive at Lord’s. They’ll miss Kevin Pietersen, especially at this ground, given his stats here: in 14 Tests Pietersen has scored five hundreds and averages 61.40. Bell averages 61 too, while Trott has done even better, averaging 74 from six Tests.The bowlers have done well too, with their four frontline bowlers (excluding Bresnan) all averaging less than 30. Steven Finn has been especially impressive, taking 25 wickets in four Tests at 21.44. Bresnan is the only one among the current lot who’s struggled, taking five wickets in three Tests at 66.

Among the batsmen in New Zealand’s current squad, only Taylor and McCullum have played Tests in England. Taylor scored a century at Old Trafford, an unbeaten 154, though he didn’t top 21 in any of his other five innings. McCullum’s scored four fifties in 12 innings, with a highest of 97, but his average is only 34.33. New Zealand will want more from their top two batsmen if they are to provide the kind of challenge they did in the home series against England.

Surrey’s mid-season sacking of Chris Adams and his assistant Ian Salisbury is more the preserve of football than cricket

Tim Wigmore17-Jun-2013Mid-season coaching sackings tend to be more the preserve of football. But no one can fairly accuse Surrey of knee-jerkism after their removal of Chris Adams as manager.Adams coached Surrey for four-and-a-half-seasons. In a total of 72 County Championship games they won 16 – and only eight in the 56 games excluding their promotion year in 2011. While Surrey won the 2011 CB40, their first trophy since 2003, they did not reach the Twenty20 quarter-finals in Adams’ reign.The statistical record, therefore, is not an impressive one. But no account of Surrey’s problems can neglect the tragedy of Tom Maynard’s death. Poignantly, the one-year anniversary of the tragedy that ripped the heart out of Surrey will come tomorrow.The players lost a friend, a lively team-mate and one of the side’s most important players. The reverberations ran deep. An emotionally-drained captain, Rory Hamilton-Brown, needed to leave the county to make a fresh start, Steve Davies suffered depression and Mark Ramprakash, one of county cricket’s most prolific and intensely-driven run-scorers, retired.Surrey recovered remarkably to retain their Division One status. The decision to entrust the captaincy to Gareth Batty was a shrewd one.But some of Adams’ other decisions were more questionable. Nothing attracted more opprobrium than the recruiting of so many older players in an attempt to provide short-term stability. Signing world-class players with a strong record of leadership such as South Africa’s Graeme Smith and Australia’s Ricky Ponting was one thing; the addition of Zander de Bruyn, Jon Lewis, Gary Keedy and Vikram Solanki was quite another.During Surrey’s recent defeat in a televised CB40 game at Chelmsford, six players were aged 37 or above, none of whom were home grown.Leaving Surrey winless after eight Championship games, eight points above the relegation zone, and with little chance of progression in the YB40 competition was certainly not what Adams envisaged when he arrived as Surrey coach before the 2009 season.After his captaincy success at Sussex, leading them to the first three Championship titles in their history, Adams, vigorous, ambitious and successful, had seemed to many to be the perfect candidate to reverse Surrey’s slump. Yorkshire had been so keen to sign him that they also sought him out to be their skipper and director of cricket in 2006, but failed to persuade him he would have the authority he wanted.Surrey made that commitment. Upon arriving at The Oval, Adams proclaimed that it was “Year Zero”. He rather had a point: the squad was old, lacking in direction and, as the jibe of “Ramprakashshire” showed, lacking quality too.There was no better indication of this than that season’s revolving captaincy. Incongruous as it now seems, the armband was worn by Michael Brown and Stewart Walters, two players of limited pedigree.The first season brought plenty of unfamiliar faces – 27 players appeared in the Championship – but rather less success. A solitary Championship win left Surrey seventh in Division Two. It was one of their lowest points in an illustrious history.

Nothing attracted more opprobrium than the recruiting of so many older players in attempt to provide short-term stability.

Adams recognised the need for radical change. In Rory Hamilton-Brown – a product of Surrey’s youth system and, briefly, a team-mate of Adams’ at Sussex – he identified a man who could, in the manner of Adam Hollioake, who had skippered to Surrey to great things, or as Adams had himself at Sussex, lead the club for an extended period.A six-figure salary and the captaincy constituted an extraordinary degree of faith in a 22-year-old who had played only six Championship games. As Adams and Hamilton-Brown stood together, with the director of cricket lavishing praise upon his young student, some reckoned it was the biggest gamble in Surrey’s history.And there were plenty of problems – Hamilton-Brown was not short of self-confidence but his batting remained stubbornly cavalier while tactically his inexperience was often clear.Despite three expensive new signings to accompany him – Batty, Davies and Chris Tremlett – Surrey remained far too erratic to challenge in any format. If 2009 was Year Zero, 2010 could only be described as Year 0.5, at best, although Adams could claim a part in England’s Ashes triumph for inspiring Tremlett’s rejuvenation. was the title of one of Ian Botham’s autobiographies, and it was an appropriate description for Surrey’s triumphant 2011. On August 12, Surrey had to reflect on a new nadir: losing 20 wickets for 177 at Canterbury. Five weeks later they were celebrating a double – Championship promotion and a CB40 triumph. Few people had seen that coming, but it suggested that Adams’ Surrey were on the march.Adams could feel especially vindicated, too: Tim Linley, given a chance where others had spurned him, took 73 Championship wickets; Hamilton-Brown, a captain beginning to attract more favourable attention, was man-of-the-match in the CB40 final; and Maynard, one of the most exciting young one-day batsmen around, had played pivotal innings.But the smiles of that day were seldom a feature of Adams’ regime. There was certainly no shortage of cricketing misfortune: persistent injuries to key players, especially overseas ones; and an Oval wicket that often seemed designed to neuter their pace bowling.But ultimately a coach with Adams’ resources was expected to overcome such problems. His years were marked by the singular failure of batsmen to learn. Signs of progress had been replaced by a sense of exhaustion and divided opinions about how to rebuild the county. Surrey decided that Adams was no longer the appropriate man for the job.

Stats preview of the first Test between India and West Indies in Kolkata

S Rajesh05-Nov-2013Given that India are the third-ranked team according to the ICC rankings, and are playing at home against the sixth-ranked West Indies, it’s clear who the favourites are going into this series. Almost everything in this series revolves around Sachin Tendulkar, but there are other incentives for both teams: a series win will lift India to No.2 from their current third position, while West Indies will improve from sixth to fourth if they win the series.India lost a home series against England last year – and one of the Test defeats was at the Eden Gardens – but since then they’ve thrashed Australia 4-0, and they’ll also remember that they notched up a comfortable 2-0 series win the last time West Indies toured, in a three-Test series a couple of years ago. The fact that they’re touring again so quickly is also unusual, given that their four previous tours had come at intervals of at least seven years each – they toured in 1987, 1994, 2002 and then 2011.West Indies have lost their last two series in India by 2-0 margins. The last time they didn’t lose a series in India was in 1994, when the three-Test series was drawn 1-1. However, they are on a bit of a roll at the moment, having won their last six Tests on the trot, beating New Zealand, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe by identical 2-0 margins. Admittedly, the opposition weren’t the best around, but six wins in six Tests should still give the team some confidence: the last time they’d won six or more on the trot was between June and December 1988, when they won four Tests in England and three in Australia.The last time West Indies toured India was in November 2011, and the batsmen who shone then were Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo. Both are around this time as well. Chanderpaul’s form is as strong as ever: since the beginning of 2007 he averages 70.58, the highest among any batsman who’s scored at least 1000 runs during this period. The Mumbai Test will be his 150th, though that’s unlikely to be the most celebrated landmark of that Test. Chanderpaul’s also generally a quick starter on tours: he averages 52.04 in the first Test of an away series, and scored 118 and 47 in the first Test when he toured India in 2011.Bravo was the most successful batsman on that tour, scoring 404 at an average of 67.33, with two hundreds in six innings. This will be Bravo’s fourth Test in India, which is more than the Tests Brian Lara played in India over his entire career.West Indies will also be bolstered this time by the presence of Chris Gayle, who’d missed the 2011 tour. With Marlon Samuels around as well, the West Indies middle order is a fairly experienced one.

India’s spinners did the job against Australia, with R Ashwin taking 29 wickets at 20.10, but India will probably miss Ravindra Jadeja, who took 24 wickets at 17.45. Pragyan Ojha is likely to be India’s second spinner, but West Indies’ left-handers will fancy him, given that he averages more than 53 runs per wicket against left-hand batsmen in his Test career so far.

While there are other aspects of interest during the series, the centrepiece is clearly Sachin Tendulkar. He has played 12 Tests in Kolkata and averages 47.88, with his highest score – 176 – also coming against West Indies, in 2002. That century came in the second innings, and saved India the blushes: after trailing by 139 in the first innings, India had slumped to 87 for 4 in their second innings, when Tendulkar and VVS Laxman put together a double-century partnership to lift India to 471 for 8. Since then, Tendulkar has gone past 50 five times in Tests in Kolkata, but converted only one of those into a hundred, when he scored 106 against South Africa in 2010.In all, Tendulkar has scored 862 Test runs at the Eden Gardens, which puts him in third place in the all-time list, behind Laxman (1217 runs at 110.63), and Rahul Dravid (962 runs at 68.71).

If Tendulkar scores 138 runs in this Test, he’ll become only the third Indian batsman, after Laxman and Sunil Gavaskar, to score 1000 Test runs at a venue. Gavaskar scored more than 1000 at two grounds – the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai and the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. Tendulkar’s best is 970 in Chennai, followed by 869 in Bangalore. If he doesn’t get 138 here, the task will get slightly tougher at the Wankhede: he’ll need 153 to get to 1000 Test runs there.

A maiden ton to Kithuruwan Vithanage at almost a-run-a-ball was the most telling personal contribution, as he joined the wave of young players suggesting Sri Lanka’s future is more secure than previously imagined

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Mirpur29-Jan-2014As the Sri Lanka middle order, led by Mahela Jayawardene, ground Bangladesh into the Mirpur dirt on day three, perhaps little was revealed about the extent of their skill, or the depth of their character. Jayawardene did not admit this had been the easiest of his seven double-centuries – even if it had brought the most muted celebrations – but he did concede that, at times, the hosts’ efforts subsided to allow his team easier progress.Jayawardene has also prospered in such conditions before, and had already been in fine touch in the approach to the series. Angelo Mathews’ 86 was further evidence of increasing batting maturity, but also perhaps of a frustrating tendency to fall when three figures are in sight – he had already hit two scores in the 90s in the past month.A maiden ton to Kithuruwan Vithanage at almost a-run-a-ball was the most telling personal contribution, as he joined the wave of young players suggesting Sri Lanka’s future is more secure than previously imagined. Vithanage has a reputation for power and positivity in first-class cricket, but few Sri Lanka batsmen translate home success into such emphatic Test returns in as few Tests as he has had. Far sterner examinations await him than this friendly surface and tired attack, and he will probably never again arrive with 554 runs already on the scoreboard. But there was technique and intelligence to match his spunk, and to outscore Jayawardene – already batting on a ton – during their 176-run partnership is a praiseworthy effort.”The way Kithuruwan batted today – that’s the first time I batted with him – he looks very promising, very confident out there, the way he was striking the ball,” Jayawardene said. “All in all we’ve got some young talent coming through. It’s important we give them the opportunity and guide them in tough situations and they’ll carry forward the good work we’ve done.”Day three did reveal, however, something of Sri Lanka’s mentality. Not content with a first-innings lead of 400 the visitors spurned the chance to have half a session or more, bowling to Bangladesh. That Sri Lanka plays conservative cricket is no surprise to fans who followed their tour of the UAE. Although a deterioration of that approach had ended with Sri Lanka receiving an almighty shakedown in Sharjah, they proved they remain committed to the grind, against Bangladesh.That outlook is not without merit, but a strong argument may be presented that a 498-run lead is overkill, particularly against a team that has never come close to defeating Sri Lanka. In their last Test match less than a year ago, 240 and 265 were the totals Bangladesh managed. The pitch had flattened out since the hosts were dismissed for 232 on day one, but it has also become more profitable for spinners, of which Sri Lanka played two.The team might argue though, that mounting a mammoth total not only served to demoralise opposition batsmen, it also ensured Bangladesh would begin on a pitch that was in worse shape. The wicket of Tamim Iqbal, whose leading edge caught a ball he did not expect to turn so much, may be presented as supporting evidence.”We were looking at a 400-run lead because the wicket still looks good,” Jayawardene said. “So we needed as much as we could get. We had to make a call to try and give them about 15 overs, but the way Kithuruwan batted, the management and the captain decided to give us a few more overs. We got the message that we’d get another four-five overs max to try and get a hundred and a double-hundred. It wasn’t easy because they had fields spread. We had to bide our time a bit longer, and that was the call. Having as many runs on the board as we’ve got gives us the opportunity to attack more tomorrow.”It is difficult to imagine this team would choose to pursue the quickest, most emphatic win they can manage. On this occasion, they have a chance of dealing the final blow on the fourth day, particularly as some deliveries had begun to misbehave towards the end of Sri Lanka’s innings.”There’s a bit of rough being created so there’s a bit of spin,” Jayawardene said of the surface. “Shakib Al Hasan spun quite a few yesterday and today. We just needed to make sure we keep putting the ball in the right areas as many times as possible and try and wait for those opportunities to come our way and try and create that pressure. That’s what we did to them in the first innings, so we’ll try and do the same.”Fans will note there has been no public concession that negative strategy brought Sri Lanka’s downfall in Sharjah. The team has not been anywhere near as defensive in this match, nor is there much chance Bangladesh can turn this Test around, as Pakistan did. There are also good reasons for delaying Wednesday’s declaration – it is just hoped that Sri Lanka know boldness and intent can put an opposition under pressure just as well as a blown out scoreboard.

Stats highlights from the second day in Centurion, when Australia’s bowlers backed up the good work done by their batsmen on the opening day

S Rajesh13-Feb-2014

• The 233-run partnership between Shaun Marsh and Steven Smith was the third-best for any wicket in Tests in Centurion. The only higher ones are 301 by Herchelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith against West Indies in 2004, and 271 by Mark Boucher and Ashwell Prince for the sixth wicket against Bangladesh in 2008. In fact, the Marsh-Smith stand is the first 200-plus stand at this ground by an overseas pair; the previous-best was 183, by Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori in 2006.
• This was also the third-highest fifth-wicket stand for Australia against South Africa in Tests. The highest remains 385, by Greg Blewett and Steve Waugh, in Johannesburg in 1997.
• Marsh’s 148 is his highest Test score and the third-best by an Australia No. 4 batsman in Tests against South Africa. The only higher ones are 190, by Neil Harvey in Sydney in 1953, and 164, by Warren Bardsley at Lord’s in the Triangular Tournament in 1912. Australia’s previous-best at this position since South Africa’s return to the Test fold had been Mark Waugh’s 116 at Port Elizabeth in 1997.
• Smith’s century is his fourth in his last seven Tests. During this period he averages 57.20 from 12 innings, and has converted each of his 50-plus scores into centuries. During the first 22 innings of his Test career, he averaged 29.52 and converted none of his five 50-plus scores into centuries.
• In eight innings during the Ashes in Australia, Brad Haddin scored 493 runs at an average of 61.62, with one century and five fifties; in his last eight Test innings in South Africa, Haddin has scored 141 runs at an average of 17.62, with a highest of 55.
• In the South Africa innings, AB de Villiers was the only batsmen who had a measure of Australia’s pace attack and it showed in his in-control stats. Through his entire innings, his in-control figure – the percentage of deliveries he middled or left alone – was an impressive 95%; for the rest of the South Africa batsmen, it was only 82%.
• South Africa’s bowlers were more incisive, too, on the second day and troubled the overnight batsmen more than they had on the opening day. Smith’s in-control factor, which had been 97% on the first day, dropped to 86% on the second, while Marsh’s fell marginally from 91% to 89%.
• Ryan Harris is the only Australia bowler who hasn’t taken a wicket so far but that isn’t necessarily a reflection of the way he has bowled. The batsmen’s in-control percentage against him on the second day was only 79%, which means 21% of the deliveries were edged, mistimed, or beat the bat. For Mitchell Johnson, the percentage was 82.
• De Villiers has topped 50 eight times in 15 Test innings at the SuperSport Park, and averages 65.57; it’s the only home venue where he averages more than 50. His aggregate of 918 at the ground is the second-highest, after Jacques Kallis’ 1267.
• In his last 11 Tests, dating back to the Perth Test against Australia in November 2012, de Villiers has scored at least a half-century in every match, which equals the world record for 50-plus scores in successive Tests. Viv Richards, Gautam Gambhir and Virender Sehwag are the others who have scored at least a half-century in 11 successive Test matches. (Click here for the full list, which doesn’t include the ongoing Test.)

Stats highlights from West Indies’ win against Pakistan at Mirpur, World T20, Group 2

Shiva Jayaraman01-Apr-2014

• This was West Indies’ biggest win by margin of runs in T20 internationals. Their 74-run win against Australia in the semi-finals of the last World T20 was their previous biggest.
• This 84-run loss was Pakistan’s second-worst defeat in a T20I by margin of runs. Their worst defeat in T20Is came against Australia in Dubai in 2012, when they lost by 94 runs.
• West Indies’ batsmen hit 82 runs from the last-five overs off Pakistan’s bowlers, including 59 runs off the last three. This is the most any Full Member has conceded in the last five overs in a T20I. The previous highest scored in the last five overs was 81, by Sri Lanka against Australia in a T20I in Pallekele. Incidentally, Pakistan were bowled out for 82: exactly the same number of runs that they conceded in the last-five overs.
• Pakistan started disastrously, scoring just 13 runs off the Powerplay overs and losing four wickets in the process. This equalled the worst Powerplay score by a Full Member team in T20Is. The other such instance also came against West Indies was when Zimbabwe stumbled to 13 for 4 at the end of the Powerplays when batting first against West Indies in a T20I in Port-of-Spain. On that occasion though, West Indies ended up on the losing side.
• Pakistan failed to hit a single boundary in the Powerplay overs – only the fifth such instance in T20Is. The last such instance also involved Pakistan, although they were the bowling team on that occasion, when Afghanistan scored just 16 runs for the loss of two wickets without hitting a boundary in the Powerplays.
• Saeed Ajmal conceded 24 off his last over – the highest he has conceded in an over in T20Is. His previous-most expensive over had come in the semi-final of the 2010 World T20, when Michael Hussey took 23 runs off five deliveries in the last over of the match. Ajmal’s figures of 0 for 41 in this match are his third-worst in T20Is. His worst figures came in the semi-final of the 2010 World T20 against Australia, when he went for 46 runs off 3.5 overs.
• Umar Gul’s third over went for 21 runs: his second-most expensive over in T20Is. He was hit for 24 runs by New Zealand batsmen in a T20I in Hamilton in 2010, which is his most-expensive over in T20 internationals.
• Both the Pakistan openers were dismissed for a duck in this match. This is only the eighth instance of both openers of a team getting dismissed for a duck in a T20 international. Only three of these instances have involved Full Member teams. This is the second such instance in this World T20 – Netherlands’ openers were also dismissed for a duck in an earlier league match against Sri Lanka.
• Denesh Ramdin effected four stumpings in Pakistan’s innings, equalling the record for the most stumpings in a T20 international. Kamran Akmal also had effected four stumpings in a match against Netherlands in the 2009 World T20. Including the stumping of Chris Gayle by Akmal, there were five stumpings in this match – the most in a T20 international.
• Darren Sammy scored an unbeaten 20-ball 42 in this match, his highest score in T20Is. His previous highest also came in this World T20, in the league match against Australia at the same venue, when he hit 34 runs off just 13 balls. Sammy has scored 101 runs from four innings in this tournament at a strike rate of 224.4 and has been dismissed only once.

Plays of the day from the CLT20 match between Dolphins and Lahore Lions in Bangalore

Abhishek Purohit27-Sep-2014The costly drop
With Lions four down for little, Umar Akmal came in and heaved at his sixth delivery, from Cameron Delport. There was a faint sound as the ball passed the inside edge but Morne van Wyk could not hold on behind the stumps. Although it was difficult to spot an edge from replays, there was no doubt about what happened in the 13th over. Akmal had a swipe at Prenelan Subrayen, and there was a discernible edge this time, but van Wyk wasn’t up to it again. Akmal was on 20 off 19 then; he finished unbeaten on 73 off 45.The glare
Akmal had carted Kyle Abbott for a four and a six already in the last over when he forced the fifth delivery to deep mid wicket. Eager to keep strike for the last ball, he shouted “two” several times on the first run and turned around at the non-striker’s end, only to see Asif Raza in no mood to come back. Raza would have probably been run out as the throw came quickly to Abbott but Akmal’s purpose would have been served. An incensed Akmal glared at his partner and Raza did not seem to like his stern words. Raza went on to miss an attempted scoop off the last ball, leaving the glare on Akmal’s face for some more time.The birthday treat
Birthday boy Robbie Frylinck gave Lions absolutely no pace on an already slow surface, and gave himself an early treat as he removed the openers in his first two overs. Ahmed Shehzad tried to smash a length ball down the ground, but only went as far as mid-off. Nasir Jamshed could not quite figure out what to with another slow length ball. He tried to chip it uncertainly and but played too early and only found mid-on.The fours
In his first over, Aizaz Cheema varied his pace nicely, which is what bowlers try to do in T20s. He tried a slower one first, and then bowled the next ball much quicker. Morne van Wyk couldn’t have been bothered. He waited for the slower one to arrive, and opened the face of his bat to time it for four past point. He then leaned into the quicker one, and timed it for four more past cover.

A preview of the prospects of Maharashtra, Saurashtra and Railways ahead of the 2014-15 Ranji season

06-Dec-2014

Maharashtra

By Alagappan MuthuSamad Fallah missed two of Maharashtra’s matches last season, but ended up their joint top wicket-taker•Dainik Dabang DuniaWhere they finished last season
Finalists, but lost to Karnataka. Were undefeated in Group C with four wins from eight matches.Big Picture
A conscious effort to blood in youngsters over previous seasons has borne fruit in 2014-15 as Maharashtra look a settled side. They are led by 23-year old Rohit Motwani, their engine room is in the care of 21-year old Ankit Bawne, who averages 55.25 from 42 matches anda World Cup probable in Kedar Jadhav, they have a former under-19 national captain in Vijay Zol and their lead spinner Akshay Darekar has India A experience.With Maharashtra returning to Group B though, their core will face a “test of character,” according to Motwani. They also have a perception to address. Surendra Bhave played a key role in Maharashtra’s first appearance in a Ranji final in 21 years, but he has moved on to coach Haryana and the team must prove they have learned from him. Australian David Andrews, who took the under-19 team to the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy in 2011-12 and again in 2012-13 when they won, will be in charge of the senior side.Motwani said they will miss Bhave, added Andrews knows “Maharashtra cricket in and out,” and finished with “coach’s input does help, but I think it will be better for the side to play and come out of difficult situations on their own and they are capable [of it].”Player to watch
Samad Fallah missed two of Maharashtra’s matches last season, but ended up their joint top wicket-taker. A quirky action and loud grunts tend to single him out, but he will hope another striking factor will be the amount of wickets he takes. With Maharashtra scheduled to play five home matches on a placid Pune pitch, he and fellow seamers Anupam Sanklecha, Domnic Joseph and Shrikant Mundhe might have to work overtime.Teamspeak
“We want to keep very small goals for us to achieve rather than keep too many things in our mind and having that pressure that we’ve been in the finals last year and we have to win the final this time.”

Saurashtra

By Devashish FuloriaJaydev Shah forms a part of Saurashtra’s strong batting core•ESPNcricinfo LtdWhere they finished
Fourth in Group BBig Picture
Saurashtra missed out on a place in the knockouts last season in a three-team race for third place despite registering a strong win in their final league game, and they are looking to make amends in 2014-15. However, they won’t have the services of Cheteshwar Pujara, who is in Australia, for a good part of the season, or of Jaydev Undadkat, who was their leading wicket-taker last year.Unadkat has been ruled out for at least four weeks due to a recurrence of the back-stress injury he had picked up during India A’s tour to Australia. However, the seam-bowling has been boosted by the return of Siddharth Trivedi after serving a one-year suspension, and the addition of Sudeep Tyagi, the former Uttar Pradesh seamer.Arpit Vasavada, captain Jaydev Shah, Sagar Jogiyani and Sheldon Jackson make up a strong batting core. They were among runs last season and Saurashtra coach Shitanshu Kotak expected to deliver again in the absence of Pujara.Players to watch
Dharmendrasinh Jadeja, the left-arm spinner, picked up 20 wickets in the five matches he played last season, a decent return for someone in his second year of first-class cricket. What was probably more impressive was the number of overs he bowled – 176.4, the second-most in his team. On an unresponsive pitch in Rajkot, the ability to bowl long spells is one trait that is going to benefit both Jadeja and his team.Teamspeak
“Delhi have Sehwag, Gambhir, a good pace attack, but I don’t see them as a challenge. Punjab is a very good all-round team I think, but they will be coming to Rajkot. All teams are good. The only challenge is to finish in top three this time,” Shitanshu Kotak, the Saurashtra coach

Railways

By Rachna ShettyRailways’ Anureet Singh, who took 44 wickets last season, will be required to bowl long spells again•Abhijit Addya/ESPNcricinfo LtdWhere they finished last season
At the top of Group B with three wins and five draws. They lost in the quarter-finals to Bengal.Big picture
Change is the dominant theme for Railways this season. They’ve moved up from Group B to Group A, alongside Karnataka, Mumbai, Tamil Nadu, Baroda, Madhya Pradesh, J&K and Bengal. They will, for the first time in more than a decade, begin a Ranji Trophy season without Murali Kartik after the left-arm spinner retired from all forms of cricket earlier in the year. Kartik’s successor as Railways’ slow-bowling leader, legspinner Karn Sharma, is in Australia with the India Test squad. The side has a new captain, Mahesh Rawat, a new coach in former India seamer Harvinder Singh and plenty of other changes.Arnab Nandi, who played just five first-class games for Bengal since his debut in 2010, has moved to Railways, along with Maharashtra batsman Rohan Bhosale. In the absence of Shivakant Shukla and Amit Paunikar, the batting will once again rest largely on Rawat and Arindam Ghosh, who were the top run-getters for Railways last season. Anureet Singh, Krishnakant Upadhyay, Ranjitkumar Mali and Amit Mishra make up the pace attack, while the spin department rests with left-arm spinners Ashish Yadav and Avinash Yadav, who played his last first-class game in 2012.Player to watch
Seamer Anureet Singh had a breakthrough season in 2013-14, finishing second on the Ranji Trophy wicket charts with 44 at an average of 17.56. One of the key characteristics of his performance last season was an ability to bowl long spells and Railways will require that again from him.