Wickets and economy in tough conditions prove once again how versatile England’s senior seamer is

George Dobell22-Jan-2021It would probably be stretching things a little to compare James Anderson to Dame Judi Dench, Sir David Attenborough or even the late Queen mother.But, as he rose above the conditions to produce another outstanding performance – a performance that kept his side in this match despite losing an important toss – the thought occurred: he’s been around forever, he’s reliably excellent and it’s hard to avoid the suspicion they don’t make them like this anymore. He is, despite the chuntering – which is rarer these days – well on the road to becoming a national treasure.Anderson could have been forgiven for letting out a sigh of despair when England were sentenced to a day in the field. There was nothing for him here: not seam; not swing; not pace. Just oppressive humidity and a temperature that would have a tomato loosening its collar. For a man who claimed just one Test wicket on the last tour of Sri Lanka, it might have been an intimidating prospect.But so great is Anderson’s control, so impressive his array of skills, he found a way to not just build pressure but claim his best Test figures in Sri Lanka since 2012. Despite his age, he delivered 19 overs in the day – 10 of them maidens – conceding just 24 for his three wickets. And so high are his standards, so much does he detest conceding runs, he still left the pitch grumbling to himself after a rare loose ball in the last over of the day allowed Niroshan Dickwella to flick one off his legs for four.Related

• Joe Root passes Geoff Boycott as fluent batting form sets England agenda

• Grant Flower pleased with Sri Lanka application despite 'giving them three wickets'

• Mark Wood finds relief in rare breakthrough as hard graft earns overdue reward

• Angelo Mathews edges day for Sri Lanka after arm-wrestle with James Anderson

Bowling, like batting, isn’t just about doing the right thing. It’s every bit as much about not doing the wrong thing. And what Anderson is able to achieve better than most, is an ability to marry variation without releasing pressure.So here, despite the lack of assistance, he was able to gain a fraction of reverse-swing, a hint of bounce and a scintilla of seam movement. Combined with his control, it allowed him to prey on batsmen’s insecurities and impatience. So if the wicket of Kusal Perera – “trying to hit me over the fort,” as Anderson put it to the BBC – was a touch fortuitous, perhaps he earned it by starting with a maiden and making it clear that the batsman was having nothing for free.The wicket of Lahiru Thirimanne was probably the most pleasing. Having probed around the off stump from round the wicket throughout the first session, early in the second Anderson persuaded one to leave the batsman, taking the outside edge as Thirimanne pushed at it. At that stage, he had 3 for 4 in his sixth over.It was revealing that Anderson admitted he was uncharacteristically nervous going into this game. It had been five months since he had played, after all. He was replacing his old friend Stuart Broad who had done such a sterling job in the first game. – “they’re big shoes to fill,” Anderson said – and, in his four most-recent Tests in Asia, he had claimed only one wicket across 85 overs. When you’re 38, such spells can be interpreted as symptoms of a terminal decline.

England’s spinners contributed just four maidens between them and conceded more runs per over than Wood and Anderson. For Bess to deliver fewer overs than Anderson is telling

But we have surely learned not to write-off Anderson. Like Broad, he demonstrates his hunger by retaining his fitness and continuing to develop new skills. And as much as the England management know they have to plan for the future, the fact is Broad and Anderson have so far bowled 45 overs in this series. 24 of them have been maidens and they’ve claimed six wickets for just 58 runs. The bar for Olly Stone and co is set impossibly high. England’s other seamers have claimed 3 for 198 between them.With all that in mind, you could make a strong case to argue this performance – in conditions – was of more value than several of those five-fors claimed on green surfaces and with a Duke’s ball in England. These are the conditions in which Anderson’s critics say he is impotent, after all.In truth, Anderson’s reputation as effective only at home doesn’t really stand up to scrutiny. While his bowling is clearly best suited to conditions in England, his record in Asia compares favourably to many of the best in the business. He averages 30.14 across 22-and-a-half Tests in the region. By comparison to other top seamers of the age – Ishant Sharma averages 32.14 in Asia, Kagiso Rabada 34.52, Mohammad Amir 50.46, Vernon Philander 38.06 and Zaheer Khan 34.46 – that is excellent.Dale Steyn, it should be noted, claimed his Test wickets in Asia at 24.11, while Pat Cummins, in a small sample size of four Tests, averages 29.71.Anderson won especially fine support from Mark Wood. The figures don’t show it, but Wood has been immense in this series and finally claimed his first wicket during an eight-over spell before the arrival of the second new ball.You wonder what Wood makes of the way he’s used by England. He always looks willing; he always runs in with complete commitment. But he played just one Test in helpful conditions during the English summer and he rarely sees anything like a new ball. To then use him in back-to-back matches on surfaces offering him so little assistance… The decision not to award him a full central contract looks more ridiculous by the moment.Jack Leach didn’t find much purchase from the Galle pitch•SLCEngland’s issue – and it really is a big issue given they are about to head to India for four Tests – is that that can’t really rely on their spinners to retain control on flat pitches. Dom Bess and Jack Leach didn’t, by any means, bowl badly. It’s okay that they don’t have the weapons to trouble good batsmen in such conditions. In the key stand, against Angelo Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal, they were up against two men averaging more than 40 in Test cricket on a surface that would have tested any spinner. Indeed, Bess bowled far better than in the first innings of the first Test when he finished with figures of 5 for 30.But what England would like, is just a little more control. And here the spinners contributed just four maidens between them and conceded more runs per over than Wood and Anderson. For Bess, 23, to deliver fewer overs than Anderson is telling. “I wasn’t expecting to bowl that many overs,” Anderson admitted afterwards.This was, in some ways, an old-fashioned day’s cricket. And absorbing, in its own way. We’ve been spoiled, really. In the not-so-good old days – before opening batsmen reacted to the introduction of spin by attempting to reverse-sweep them past the slip cordon – this is what Test cricket was like. For those who don’t remember, at one point in the 1960s, England drew seven Tests in succession and 13 out of 15.Often, in such circumstances, England’s lack of variation is bemoaned. But they had plenty here: they had pace, left-arm angle and two spinners turning the ball – well, trying to – in opposite directions to one another.These things are not a silver bullet. Sometimes attrition is the only way. And whatever the conditions, wherever the game, it seems England’s elder statesmen remain the answer to their captain’s prayers. England know they have to move on at some stage. But, when you’ve become accustomed to such standards and have something this special, you’re going to be very reluctant to waste a drop of it.

India opener has added the chip to his game to keep the runs coming, but it won’t always work

Sidharth Monga16-Jan-20211:29

Rohit Sharma has had a ‘pattern’ of such dismissals – Aakash Chopra

In the 30th over of the second innings in the Sydney Test, Rohit Sharma hit Nathan Lyon for a four. It was a significant shot, and not just because it brought up his fifty in his first Test opening away from home. It had more to do with the shot. He had skipped down the track to an offspinner, there was a long-on in place, and then he surprised those thinking “here we go again” by chipping the ball wide of long-on instead of trying to clear the field. It was actually not the first time in the innings that he had played this chip, deliberately towards the wide-mid-on/straight-midwicket region, but this was the exclamation point.Sharma, spinners, and outfield catches are an old horror story for those who have felt frustrated by his returns in Tests. There was the time in Southampton – after India had conceded 569 – when he went to clear mid-off 14 overs before the new ball and five minutes before tea. He got too close to the ball, and holed out after having got a start and playing 61 balls.Related

Stand-ins Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar stand out, add twist to fairy tale

Frustrated Australia lose their edge at critical moment

Both teams have fragile batting, and that has made this Australia-India series enthralling

Rohit Sharma on Gabba dismissal: 'No regrets playing that shot'

Australia's plateauing performance puts World Test Championship final place in danger

On the last trip of Australia, in Adelaide, once again he got off to a start from 41 for 4, and then skipped out to Lyon. Nowhere near the pitch of the ball, he ended up dragging a catch to deep square-leg, out for 37 off 61. In Kanpur in 2016-17, he hit Mitchell Santner straight to mid-on. Gone for 35 off 67. Coming into this Test in Brisbane, Sharma had been out caught off spinners 12 times, six of them not to traditional catchers: the keeper, slips, gullies, silly point, short leg. On five of those occasions, he had got a start.When Sharma added to those dismissals in Brisbane, with a severely depleted India looking to fight out a draw to take the Border-Gavaskar Trophy back with them, it was bound to attract undesired attraction. It always tends to happen in Test cricket when you get out to an attacking shot. Especially if you are Sharma because, at various points of your career, both Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been dropped to make way for you.This dismissal has brought about the expected outrage, but as with the criticism of Pujara’s (supposed lack of) intent, it isn’t as though Sharma doesn’t know the consequences of batting the way he does. There is a reason, a method, to what he does. So it is worth looking at it from his point of view too.First of all, it is important to acknowledge how solid he has looked and how smart his options have been. Sharma has looked the best opener in this series, slightly ahead of Shubman Gill and way better than the Australians, who have had to face much less potent bowling. Against Lyon, too, Sharma has used more of a method than when he used to hole out to the outfielders.Rohit Sharma walks off dejected after being dismissed by Nathan Lyon•AFP via Getty ImagesAgainst fast bowlers, Sharma has looked more solid than ever. Before this tour, on his previous trips outside Asia and the West Indies, to length balls and full balls outside off from pace bowlers, Sharma played 16% towards mid-off and 27% towards covers. On this tour, the split has been an even 24%. By doing so, he has kept the keeper and the cordon less interested. It is perhaps a reaction to opening the innings and thus being more compact; if that is the case, it has done its job. He credits moving his guard closer to off for that tightness in his game.Sharma has looked comfortable, rarely hurried, playing the ball right under his eyes. When he has driven, he has driven hard, which gives you a margin of error the defensive pokes or half-hearted drives don’t. You can see why he gets more chances than others to play Test cricket; when he looks good, he is too good to be not utilised in Test cricket.This little change has given him starts, and has brought his contest with Lyon into limelight. It was expected that before long, Lyon would test Sharma out with an in-out field. Sharma has refused to abandon his instinct of trying to dominate the spinner. He has instead introduced the chip shot to his game to keep the runs coming. A new shot is never a guarantee it will keep working; the bowlers will come back with new plans.When he got out to Lyon in Brisbane, Sharma was not trying to hit a six or take the deep fielders on. He was just trying to chip wide of the man, but Lyon smartly moved his line closer to the stumps, taking his arms out of the shot. Perhaps he should have aborted the shot and defended, but you can’t expect a batsman to do everything right. He trusted his instinct and his shot, and got done in by a good ball. As a matter of optics it looks worse this being Test cricket, but in Sharma’s mind, he is probably taking as much risk as some other batsman do when defending Lyon.This was by no means a reckless, desperate, get-out-of-jail swipe when bogged down by dots, but part of a larger plan to not let the bowlers settle. He might not be making the bowlers come up with their best ball to get him out, but he is also reducing their margin of error by being more attacking, which happens to be his natural game. That is a role Sharma is happy to take on in a series where the bowlers have benefited a lot from shutting down the scoring. Just like there is a Pujara method, there is a Rohit Sharma method too, which he will have to fine-tune while opening the innings at a time when opening in Tests has never been tougher. He has earned all the rope and breathing space.

Both Bangladesh and West Indies had their moments in Dhaka, but neither team has pulled away just yet

Mohammad Isam11-Feb-2021A run-rate of 2.47 for 90 overs hints at a dreary day of cricket but don’t judge the Dhaka Test by its scoreboard right now. Imperfect teams often make the most intriguing battles and West Indies’ 223 for 5 gave birth to several little stories that have the potential to merge together to form a climax befitting of a post-modern Test match.Much of the underlying tension throughout the day was a result of the previous Test match where the visitors overturned the status quo with their come-from-behind win. This is a last-minute stitched-up West Indies side without some of their best Test batsman, and who, with a second-string ODI side, got crushed at the start of the tour.So that’s why the defeat left Bangladesh – at the very least, their cricket board, who pride themselves on their home record – quite red-faced. There have been reports of several online and in-person meetings over the last three days, suggesting a nervous time inside the home side’s bubble.Bangladesh also lost Shakib Al Hasan and opener Shadman Islam to injury during these three days. You have to replace Shakib with a specialist middle-order batsman and a specialist bowler. Bangladesh have both in their squad, but not one who does both. The selectors didn’t pick a back-up allrounder in the 18-man squad, so they brought in Soumya Sarkar, who is now likely to open the batting. Mohammad Mithun and Abu Jayed were also included to replace Shadman and Mustafizur Rahman.Despite so much happening and then West Indies deciding to bat first, Bangladesh reacted rather calmly during the first session. There was neither an overt show of enthusiasm from the fielders, nor the odd word to the batsmen in retaliation for Chattogram. The beauty of the first day was in the way both teams weighed each other’s intentions, and waited for someone to blink.And true to form, throughout the day one side or the other blinked just when they seemed to be getting on top. West Indies started well with their openers adding 66 runs, just like their coach had asked after the first Test. But the partnership ended just when John Campbell looked dangerous.Likewise with Brathwaite, who got caught in the slips off Sarkar’s dibbly-dobblers just when he was looking to consolidate on his good start. Kyle Mayers, fresh off the unbeaten match-winning 210, also got caught in the slips when he threw his bat at a slightly wide one from Jayed.Brathwaite, Shane Moseley and Mayers were a cluster of wickets that West Indies lost just after lunch. Bangladesh may have felt that normal service at the Shere Bangla National Stadium may have resumed but Nkrumah Bonner and Jermaine Blackwood halted their momentum.Bonner, like Mayers, is fresh off a debut performance that everyone is talking about. But unlike Mayers, Bonner continued where he left off in Chattogram. Even when Blackwood fell to a soft caught-and-bowled, he hunkered down with Joshua Da Silva for the rest of the day.At every juncture of this day’s play, either team could have run off with the advantage. But nobody is in front and nobody was left behind. Two flawed Test teams are trying to outwit each other on a potential minefield of a pitch. West Indies appear to be in front but they want more than the momentary joy of winning day one. They want to win the series. Bangladesh are hell-bent on keeping their home advantage intact and their ego well massaged. This promises to be a fascinating, if at times frayed, Test match.

Also, a record seventh-wicket partnership among the statistical highlights from a high-scoring game in Dunedin

Sampath Bandarupalli25-Feb-2021132 – Sixes by Martin Guptill in his T20I career. Guptill now holds the record for most sixes in the format, going past Rohit Sharma’s tally of 127 sixes.ESPNcricinfo Ltd18 – Sixes by New Zealand in the match, the joint-most they have ever hit in a T20I; they had also struck 18 sixes against Australia at Eden Park in 2018. The 13 sixes by Australia in the chase extended the match tally to 31, the joint third-most in a T20I.92 – Partnership between Marcus Stoinis and Daniel Sams, the highest seventh-wicket partnership in T20I history, surpassing the 91-run stand between Paul Collingwood and Michael Yardy against West Indies at The Oval in 2007.1 – T20I scores higher than Marcus Stoinis’ 78 for Australia while batting at No. 5 or lower: Cameron White scored an unbeaten 85 against Sri Lanka in 2010 T20 World Cup while batting at No. 6.273.33 – Strike rate of Daniel Sams during his 15-ball 41. No Australian has scored 25-plus runs in a T20I innings at a better strike rate. The previous best was 257.14 by Aaron Finch when he scored 36 off 14, also against New Zealand, in 2018.4 – Century partnerships between Guptill and Kane Williamson in T20I cricket. They now share the record for most century stands in T20I by a pair with Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan.0 – Number of second-wicket partnerships for New Zealand higher than the 131-run stand between Guptill and Williamson. The previous highest second-wicket partnership for New Zealand was 129* between Tim Seifert and Williamson against Pakistan at Seddon Park in December 2020.

Also: what is the record for the most consecutive first-class fifties?

Steven Lynch31-May-2021Two players opened the batting in a Test, and later their sons opened together too. Who were these people? asked Maneck Divecha from India

This unusual double was completed when Mudassar Nazar and Shoaib Mohammad opened the innings for Pakistan against New Zealand in Karachi in 1984-85. Their fathers, Nazar Mohammad and Hanif Mohammad, opened in Pakistan’s inaugural Test, in Delhi against India in 1952-53.Who took the most wickets in first-class cricket without ever taking ten in a match – is it Peter Siddle? asked Evan Sweney from New Zealand

Essex’s Australian fast bowler Peter Siddle currently lies seventh on this list, from which I suppose he may yet escape. Before the round of Championship matches that started last Thursday, he had taken 645 first-class wickets, with a best match return of 9 for 77, for Victoria against South Australia in Melbourne in 2011-12. Ahead of him lay Lancashire’s Paul Allott (652 wickets), Bertie Buse of Somerset (657), the three-county seamer David Masters (672), Warwickshire’s Freddie Calthorpe (782), Hampshire’s Mike Taylor (830) and the overall leader, Glamorgan and England allrounder Allan Watkins, who took 833 wickets without the aid of a ten-for. Garry Sobers finished with 1043 wickets in first-class cricket with just one haul of ten – 11 for 156 for Nottinghamshire against Kent in Dover in 1968.In Test matches, the record is held by the late Bob Willis, who took 325 wickets with a best match return of 9 for 92, for England against New Zealand at Headingley in 1983; Brett Lee took 310 Test wickets without a ten-for, and Morne Morkel 309.Babar Azam has won his first four Tests as captain. What’s the record for this? asked Qamaruddin Ijaz from Pakistan

Babar Azam is one of five men who won their first four Tests in charge, following Englishmen WG Grace, Lord Hawke and Brian Close, South Africa’s Ali Bacher (who won all four Tests he captained), and MS Dhoni of India. But two others are some way ahead: Warwick Armstrong won the first eight Tests in which he captained Australia, while later in the 1920s, England’s Percy Chapman went one better, winning his first nine matches in charge.Percy Chapman (seated, centre) led England to victory in the first nine matches he captained•Getty ImagesI know that the record for the most successive first-class hundreds is six. But what’s the most half-centuries in a row? asked Andrew Percival from England

Three men have managed a run of ten successive first-class scores of 50 or over. The first to do it was the Lancashire and England batter Ernest Tyldesley, in 1926. His sequence included seven centuries, and ended with an innings of 81 after being recalled for the fourth Test against Australia at home at Old Trafford. In his next innings, against Essex, he made 44.Almost inevitably, Don Bradman is also on the list, achieving the feat during 1948, starting in Australia and concluding in England. His run also included seven centuries, plus 98 for the Australians against MCC at Lord’s; in his next innings, against Lancashire at Old Trafford, he was bowled for 11 by slow left-armer Malcolm Hilton, who achieved brief celebrity in England by also dismissing the Don in the second innings.The third man to do it is perhaps a surprise name: in 1994-95, the attacking wicketkeeper-batter Romesh Kaluwitharana hit ten successive half-centuries – converting only one of them to three figures – for Galle and Western Province South in Sri Lanka.Bradman is also one of the three batters who scored six hundreds in successive first-class innings (in a different spell in 1938-39), along with CB Fry (1901) and Mike Procter (1970-71). Everton Weekes (1955-56), Brian Lara (1993-94), Mike Hussey (2003), Parthiv Patel (2007-08) and Kumar Sangakkara (2017) all managed five in a row.Adil Rashid took 5 for 85 in his ten overs against West Indies early in 2019. Was this the most expensive five-wicket haul in a one-day international? asked Nitesh Aryal from Nepal

The quick answer is yes: Adil Rashid’s 5 for 85 for England against West Indies in Grenada in February 2019 was the most expensive five-for in an ODI, beating Scotsman Gordon Goudie’s 5 for 73 against Australia in Edinburgh in 2009. It could have been worse: Rashid actually had 1 for 85 before finishing his spell with four wickets in five balls.Later in 2019, during the World Cup, Mustafizur Rahman took 5 for 75 for Bangladesh against Pakistan at Lord’s to edge Goudie down another place in the list. In fourth spot lies England’s Steven Finn, whose 5 for 71 against Australia in Melbourne during the previous World Cup, in 2015, included a hat-trick with the last three balls of the innings.And there are a couple of additions to last week’s question about players who scored half-centuries in their first three one-day internationals, from Nik Boon and Philip Kemp

Navjot Singh Sidhu actually passed 50 in his first four ODI innings, although that run did include a match in which he didn’t bat, as was stated in the column. And Kepler Wessels made half-centuries in his first four ODIs for South Africa, in 1991-92, having already played several for Australia.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Willingness to go hard from the first ball rips contest from England’s grasp in series-leveller

Deivarayan Muthu14-Mar-20212:13

Ishan Kishan – ‘Batting second we knew the the wicket would play better’

Jason Roy missed three reverse-sweeps against India’s gun spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, but that didn’t persuade him to shelve that shot or slow down. He rolled out two more reverse-sweeps against Chahal and swatted them away for boundaries. Such relentless attacking intent at the top has been a missing ingredient in India’s T20I recipe for a while.In the T20I series opener on Friday, India tested out Shikhar Dhawan, who had undergone a transformation of sorts from an anchor to an aggressor in IPL 2020, at the top along with KL Rahul, one half of India’s first-choice T20I opening combination; Rohit Sharma being the other (of course).Dhawan managed a mere 4 off 12 balls on Friday before he was ripped out by Mark Wood. In the second T20I on Sunday, Kishan stepped in for Dhawan and provided India with that magical missing ingredient they’ve been searching for, on his international debut.India had lost Rahul for a duck to Sam Curran in a first-over wicket maiden, chasing 165, on a grippy, sluggish Motera track. India’s new opener Kishan was anything but sluggish, marrying intent with execution and swagger. He whipped the very first delivery he faced, from Jofra Archer, for four and rumbled to 28-ball half-century. According to ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball data, Kishan was defensive against two of the 32 balls he faced, providing a peek into the new, no-holds-barred approach that India captain Kohli had promised on the eve of the series opener.Kishan’s left-handedness at the top may have also foiled England’s plan of using legspinner Adil Rashid as a new-ball enforcer once again. Eoin Morgan held Rashid back until the eighth over and once he came on, Kishan lined him up and smoked him for 21 off 10 balls, including two sixes (and one rather ugly drop).Kishan had started out as a leg-side basher in white-ball cricket, but in the UAE in IPL 2020, he expanded his repertoire without losing his explosiveness. Quite surprisingly, Kishan didn’t start the last IPL season for the Mumbai Indians, with the franchise leaning towards his Jharkhand state-mate Saurabh Tiwary, who seemed better-equipped to access the shorter, straighter boundaries in Abu Dhabi.The dimensions in Ahmedabad are fairly comparable to the ones in Abu Dhabi: the square boundaries are longer than the straighter ones. So Kishan showcased his white-ball evolution by not targetting his favourite square boundaries and instead peppering the arc between deep midwicket and wide long-on. He scored 25 runs in that arc, as opposed to 16 square on the wicket on either side.Ishan Kishan used the pull for a lot of runs•Getty ImagesAll of this meant Kishan dominated a 94-run second-wicket stand with Kohli and bent England’s attack out of shape.”When you play in the IPL with such dominance like he has, against quality bowlers, we’ve seen him hit international fast bowlers for big sixes,” Kohli said of Kishan at the post-match presentation. “He’s a fearless character. He should continue to back his instincts. We had a conversation out in the middle where he understood and analysed the game very smartly. He knew he was hitting the ball well so he kept taking his chances. But he was calculated. He wasn’t reckless. And that’s what you want to see in youngsters. Coming in, looking composed, still backing themselves but being aware of what the situation of the game is and I think today that counterattacking innings of his and our partnership [94 runs off 54 balls] was something that the team needed and he provided that for the team.”Related

Washington Sundar can bowl to right-handers too

Rashid's new-ball reincarnation opens up tactical flexibility

India to shed caution for aggression, says Kohli

Shikhar Dhawan's transformation from anchor to aggressor

Kishan’s Man-of-the-Match-winning performance on T20I debut only enhances his reputation as a versatile player. He can also float in the middle order, as he has done successfully for Mumbai, and keep wickets when needed. He said that he was open to performing any role for India as they tune up for the T20 World Cup that they will host later this year.”I feel that as you play higher levels in cricket, there’s no fixed spot for you,” Kishan said during the post-match virtual-media interaction. “It’s not like you will only open; you keep on floating. Like there’s a lot of emphasis on left-right combination these days, so I don’t think of any spot, I play the situation. I try to do whatever the team needs from me.”The evening started for Kishan with Kohli handing over his maiden cap, and it ended with his captain patting him on his head and an Ahmedabad crowd of 66,352 clapping him off. “I don’t know if I’m going to get this feeling again. It was truly….I was just looking all over the ground and I was so happy that finally I’m here,” Kishan said at the post-match presentation. And he certainly belongs here.

And what’s the record for the most consecutive Test appearances by a player against the same opposition?

Steven LynchI was looking at Rory Burns’ Test stats, and noticed that his average during wins is surprisingly quite a bit lower than in defeats. Who has the biggest difference between averages in wins and defeats? asked Rahul Sompura from India

That’s a great spot because, as it turns out, England’s Rory Burns has the biggest negative difference between his batting average in Tests won (25.41) and lost (35.86). Looking at the 394 players who were part of at least ten wins and ten defeats, next comes the 19th-century Australian Harry Trott, who averaged 16.40 in wins but 25.88 in defeats, a difference of -9.44 to Burns’s current -10.45.This is a very wide-ranging list: next come Mohammad Sami of Pakistan, with 6.11 in wins and 12.87 in defeats, and the old England wicketkeeper Dick Lilley (13.38 in wins, 20.11 in defeats). The England offspinner John Emburey averaged 13.88 in wins but 20.26 in losses, while Wasim Raja managed 21.92 when Pakistan won but 28.09 when they lost.Another old Australian deserves a mention: Monty Noble averaged 26.17 in victories, and 36.73 in losses – a difference of -10.56, slightly higher than Burns – but Noble only tasted defeat on nine occasions in Tests, so doesn’t quite make our cut-off.The winner in the opposite direction is rather less surprising: Don Bradman averaged a stupendous 130.08 in Australia’s wins during his long Test career, but a more modest 43.27 in defeats, a difference of 86.81. Next comes the West Indian Frank Worrell, with a difference of 55.74 (74.15 in wins, 18.41 in losses).I think Mark Waugh played 29 successive Tests against England without missing one. What’s the record for consecutive appearances in one match-up? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England

This query tested the database skills of ESPNcricinfo’s Shiva Jayaraman, who thought it was the toughest one I’d ever asked him (luckily, he enjoyed the challenge!) And the record turns out to be held by Mark Waugh’s long-time captain for Australia – Allan Border played 44 successive Tests against England between 1979-80 and 1993. He went past two other Australians in Ashes matches: Victor Trumper played 40 in a row between 1899 and 1911-12, and Monty Noble 39 between 1897-98 and 1909.Next come the first non-Ashes combatants: Sunil Gavaskar appeared in 38 successive Tests for India against England between 1971 and 1986, while Courtney Walsh played 38 in a row for West Indies against Australia between 1984-85 and 2000-01.Jaskaran Malhotra of the USA hit 16 sixes but only four fours in an ODI the other day. Was this some sort of record? asked H Sharma from the United States

That remarkable effort by Jaskaran Malhotra last week, when he hammered 173 not out – the United States’ first century in ODIs – against Papua New Guinea in Al-Amerat also included six sixes in the final over, only the second instance of six sixes in an over in ODIs after Herschelle Gibbs did it for South Africa against Netherlands in St Kitts during the 2007 World Cup.The ratio of sixes to fours wasn’t quite a record, however. For England against Afghanistan during the 2019 World Cup, England’s captain Eoin Morgan thrashed an ODI-record 17 sixes, but only four fours, in his 148 at Old Trafford.The most sixes in an ODI innings without any fours at all is six, by Paul Collingwood for England against New Zealand in Napier in 2007-08, and Jimmy Neesham (who faced only 13 balls) for New Zealand against Sri Lanka in Mount Maunganui in 2018-19. For the list of the most sixes in an ODI innings, click here.Jimmy Anderson has been not out in 99 Test innings so far, 38 more than the next No. 11, Courtney Walsh•Getty ImagesAs a perennial tail-end “not-outer” myself I was interested to see that Jimmy Anderson is currently on 99 red-inkers in Tests. Is this the record? asked Robert Lewis Jones from the UK

It’s the record by a distance: Jimmy Anderson is on the verge of becoming the first man to have remained not out in 100 Test innings. Only five others – all fully paid-up members of the No. 11s union – have managed more than 50: Courtney Walsh (61), Muthiah Muralidaran (56), Bob Willis (55), Chris Martin (52) and Glenn McGrath (51). The first recognised batsman comes next: Shivnarine Chanderpaul was unbeaten in 49 innings in Tests, during which he made more than 4000 runs. Allan Border and Steve Waugh both finished not out on 44 occasions.Anderson also leads the way in all international cricket, with 145 not-outs in the three formats – but his lead there is much narrower: MS Dhoni had 142 not-out innings, Muralidaran 119, and Shaun Pollock 113.Maheesh Theekshana took a wicket with his first ball in ODIs – how many people have done this? asked Jayant Sampath from Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka’s latest “mystery spinner”, 21-year-old Maheesh Theekshana, dismissed Janneman Malan of South Africa with his first ball in one-day internationals, in Colombo last week. His captain, Dasun Shanaka, predicted a bright future: “It’s not easy to read him because he’s now got the googly and the carrom ball, and his offspin as well. Because he’s got several variations, I don’t think it’ll be easy for any team to read him.”Theekshana was the 29th bowler – the third this year – to take a wicket with his first delivery in ODIs, a list which includes a few unexpected names.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Statement win made possible by batting depth, smart captaincy and international-standard attack

Matt Roller22-Jul-2021Their two pinch-hitters made 8 off 8 between them, England’s in-form fast bowler was limited to five balls with a side injury, and their two world-class wristspinners were missing due to a visa hitch and international duty.And yet the Oval Invincibles swept aside the Manchester Originals in the opening men’s match of the Hundred, defending their near-par total of 145 with relative ease despite their options being severely limited by circumstance. They were among the favourites for this competition but this was a statement win made possible by batting depth, smart captaincy and an international-standard bowling attack.The win was set up by Sam Billings, the Invincibles’ captain and one of England’s most-travelled franchise cricketers who has been an advocate of a city-based tournament to raise the standard of domestic cricket. His innings of 49 off 30 balls – having come in at 32 for 3 – was a perfectly-paced rebuilding job, hitting the gaps against spin on a used, slowish pitch while cutting and pulling well against seam.Perhaps the more impressive element of Billings’ performance was his captaincy, not least after Saqib Mahmood hurt his side while diving at fine leg to stop the 32nd ball of the innings, rendering him unable to bowl again. Billings was one of the England players to test positive for Covid-19 after the third ODI against Sri Lanka and used his self-isolation to devise strategies and plans alongside head coach Tom Moody.Billings was alert to the intricacies of the new rules and largely opted to shuffle his pack: Sam Curran bowled the first 10 balls of the innings, but Reece Topley was the only other bowler to stay on after an initial set of five. His hand was forced by Mahmood’s injury, but he was also proactive in making changes: when Sunil Narine, the best bowler on the night, removed Jos Buttler to bring a second left-hander to the crease, he immediately turned to his part-time offspinner Will Jacks to squeeze in another set of five. “Love this match-up!” Billings shouted from behind the stumps when Carlos Brathwaite came in, facing Nathan Sowter’s legspin, and he managed only seven runs off the six balls he faced from him.Related

Lamichhane asks ECB for 'clear answer' after losing Hundred gig

Hundred offers something for bowlers and will keep captains alert

Sam Billings leads scrapping Oval Invincibles to Men's Hundred opening night win

Narine’s success was a vindication of the Invincibles’ decision to pick him as their first draft pick back in October 2019. Narine is one of only three of the first-round picks from that draft still involved at the team that signed them, and bowled with the control and genuine mystery that has made him such an asset across his T20 career.Billings opted against using him in a 10-ball block, instead opting to bring him on against set batters and making them force the pace against him. He had Buttler caught at extra cover when cramping him for room with a sharp offbreak as he backed away to open up the off side, and conceded only 22 runs from his 20 balls. “He’s a phenomenal man,” Billings said. “You don’t want to use all his overs up because a batsman coming in and facing that? It’s as difficult as anything.”But it was in keeping with the evening as a whole that it was the Surrey core in the attack that held the win together. After evidence of the fabled new audience during Wednesday’s women’s fixture, the 18,000-strong crowd in Kennington felt much the same as a usual Blast crowd here, with long queues for the bar and chants of “Don’t Take Me Home” for much of the run chase.And as with many of Surrey’s home Blast games over the last five years, it was the Curran brothers who held the key in the chase. Sam will be a big miss when he joins up with England after Sunday’s London derby and bowled cannily with the new ball and at the death. Hair bleached peroxide-blond, it was no surprise that he was keen to show off his box of tricks, delivering a 56mph slower ball with the final ball of his initial 10, and his dismissal of the set Brathwaite with the 96th ball sealed the win.Tom, meanwhile, had chipped in with a vital 29 off 18 balls at the death from No. 8, adapting to the slowness of the pitch, before filling a Dwayne Bravo-style role with the ball. He was the seventh bowler used and bowled the 10th, 13th, 17th and 19th sets of five: once he has found his groove in this tournament, there may be room for further back-loading, with the playing conditions leaving open the possibility of death specialists’ bowling 20 of the last 25 balls.All told, this was the second night in a row which showed that for all the light-hearted pre-tournament build-up, the Hundred will be taken deadly seriously by those involved. This was a performance straight of the Moody playbook: scrapping up to par then defending it with some breathing space thanks to the strength of his bowling attack, the gameplan that worked so well during Sunrisers Hyderabad’s glory days.The Invincibles’ flexible batting order and recruitment of a bowling attack which saw 80 of their 100 balls bowled by internationals had all the hallmarks of a successful short-form team: it will be a tough ask to live up to their name, but this win showed why they will be among the contenders.

An 11-5 points scoreline was a bit flattering to the home side, but they won the key moments

Andrew McGlashan10-Oct-2021In the end an 11-5 scoreline in the first multi-format series between Australia and India looked convincing for the home side. In reality it was a touch flattering on them and tough on India.A borderline no-ball decided the second ODI, they won all four days of the rain-affected Test, and the weather curtailed a promising position in the first T20I (although Australia would have still backed themselves). India’s fielding let them down and there were some tactical missteps. But after the opening ODI, which raised concerns it could be one-sided, Australia were not able to put together a complete performance while the series was alive. They needed to be tested, and they were.That they still won key moments when it mattered (and a marginal umpiring call should not detract from the magnificent come-from-behind run chase in Mackay) is a credit to their resolve and tenacity. It is also worth remembering that they were without two key cross-format bowlers, Megan Schutt and Jess Jonassen, for the whole series, and Rachael Haynes only appeared twice due to injury.”Think it’s a huge statement, the scoreline probably suggests we ran away with it towards the back end but think it was a much tighter contest than that,” Beth Mooney said. “India were exceptional at times and really tested our depth and it was great to see that come to the fore.”That much-vaunted depth, certainly in bowling and allrounders, was on display with Tahlia McGrath’s Player of the Series performances and the rotation of pace bowlers. A lot is made, often quite rightly, of the young talent that emerges in the Australian game, but McGrath is a prime example of someone who was picked young, didn’t quite make it at their first attempt, went away to domestic level (both in Australia and overseas) and made herself into a much more complete cricketer.Tahlia McGrath celebrates the winning run•Getty Images”T-Mac has shown in the WBBL especially that she has totally evolved her game and become one of the premier cricketers in the country and think she has proved that this series,” Mooney said. “She has come in in pretty tough conditions and scenarios for such a young player in her international career and looked like she has been out there for years and years.”I can’t speak for Tahlia but think what has really driven her is having a taste back in 2016/17 and a little bit of a rough patch after that with injury. It’s a tough team to get back into so you have to be bloody good and she’s shown that in spades, so really excited to see what she can do in the next six months.”The consistency of Mooney carried the batting in the white-ball components. Throughout the series Alyssa Healy had a habit of attracting some crackerjack deliveries and Meg Lanning could never quite get going after her opening fifty. The India pace bowlers were outstanding, from Jhulan Goswami’s nip-backers and leg-cutters, to Shikha Pandey’s magic delivery, via Meghna Singh’s emergence and Pooja Vastrakar’s development.”Think the next step forward for us is playing the swinging ball a bit better than we have this series and we have been put under the pump a lot with that,” Mooney conceded. “So in the next little period think we’ll see the group really working hard on that. “Ellyse Perry looked most at ease, with bat and ball, in the Test match. She was not given a bowl in the last T20I, but Lanning’s plans appeared more focused in the latter two matches after eight options had been used in 15 overs before the rain came in the first game. Perry’s standing means what she does or doesn’t do will always attract the spotlight; it is the T20 game where most of the questions are being posed and her WBBL with Sydney Sixers will be watched with interest.There will be some tricky selection calls to make across formats when the Ashes comes around in January. McGrath has made herself undroppable and Haynes will be a certainty to return which means room for one fewer allrounder, although the balance of the team would feel more natural for it. Whether the top order has the depth coming through of other areas is worth posing. Georgia Redmayne is next in line but didn’t get a debut in this series.Schutt’s tone-setting ability was missed, especially in the ODIs and Test where new-ball control was vital, while Jonassen may well force the excellent Sophie Molineux back to the sidelines. Australia will also hope that Tayla Vlaeminck’s body can withstand all formats – she was pushing 125kph in the T20Is – although Darcie Brown and Stella Campbell offer great promise.”I’d hate to be a selector after this series,” Mooney said. “Every time someone got an opportunity they absolutely stood up. To see a number of different people to do that is really pleasing.”It’s mostly problems of plenty for Lanning and Matthew Mott, but England will be better in the field – and should be calmer under pressure – than India, so any slip-ups could be more costly. Then it will be all eyes on the World Cup.

Every mega IPL auction reveals a bit more about how franchises plan when building a team. It was no different this time

Nagraj Gollapudi and Gaurav Sundararaman14-Feb-20225:30

Best and worst buys? Biggest surprise? Missed opportunity?

Got wheels and can bat? We’ll pay you a million dollars
“Fast bowlers were definitely the commodity of the auction,” Akash Ambani, Mumbai Indians’ owner, said. He decided to pay more than USD 1 million to secure Jofra Archer, who is not even going to play this season.This year there were 13 fast bowlers, including fast-bowling allrounders, who were million-dollar buys. Five of those were Indians. In 2018 (when the dollar exchange rate was INR 64), seven players in that category were paid at least a million dollars of which there was just one Indian player.The best fast bowlers have always been among the top buys in IPL auctions. However, during this auction the franchises were also on the lookout for fast bowlers who are handy batters too. Deepak Chahar, who has hit a couple of stand-out half-centuries for India in the last six months, entered the auction tipped to be one of the most expensive buys. That prediction came true as he finished as the most expensive Indian bowler at INR 14 crore.India bowling allrounder Shardul Thakur, another Chennai Super Kings product, missed out on returning to his original franchise after Delhi Capitals snapped him for INR 10.75 crore, the same amount paid by Royal Challengers Bangalore to get back Harshal Patel, the 2021 IPL’s highest wicket-taker who is also a handy bat. Former West Indies captain Jason Holder, who has been in scintillating form recently, was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for INR 8.75 crore. Another West Indies allrounder, Romario Shepherd, who has never played the IPL but can bowl good pace and smack the ball hard, was picked by Holder’s former franchise Sunrisers Hyderabad for INR 7.75 crore.But it is not mandatory that the fast men need to bat. The franchises also placed big money on bowlers who either have extreme pace – Lockie Ferguson (Gujarat Titans, INR 10 crore), Mark Wood (INR 7.5 crore, Super Giants) – as well those with good pace and bowling smarts, including Prasidh Krishna (INR 10 crore, Rajasthan Royals), Avesh Khan (INR 10 crores, Super Giants) and Josh Hazelwood (INR 7.75 crore, Royal Challengers).As Anil Kumble, the Punjab Kings director of cricket, told ESPNcricinfo, “for once this was a bowler’s auction”.Chennai Super Kings bought back Deepak Chahar for INR 14 crore•BCCITeams focus on core strength
Successful franchises will agree that auctions are disruptive. Because after investing big money in players who are then looked after well and are assigned key roles, teams are forced back to the drawing board for a mega auction. However, at least four of the eight old franchises focused on retaining the core they had created in 2018 as part of their auction strategy this time. Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Capitals and Sunrisers decided that continuity was what would get them short- and long-term success.Little surprise that the franchise to sign the largest number of players who were part of their squad last year were defending champions Super Kings, with seven players. This bunch included Deepak, Ambati Rayudu and Robin Uthappa – all of them had played key roles in Super Kings winning the title in 2021. Super Kings also tried hard to get back Faf du Plessis and Thakur but had to quit the bidding race to the rivals with bigger purses.Super Kings even bought back the uncapped pairing of Prashant Solanki and Tushar Deshpande, who were mostly in the reserves last season.Knight Riders bought back Nitish Rana, Pat Cummins and Shivam Mavi and tried hard to buy back the uncapped Indian batter Rahul Tripathi, who became one of the million-dollar buys after Sunrisers signed him for INR 8.5 crore (USD 1.13 million). Sunrisers themselves were not shy to bring back Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan and the uncapped pair of Abhishek Sharma and Priyam Garg, all of whom played for them last season.Mumbai Indians held back their purse for Jofra Archer and Tim David•BCCIBut it was Capitals who matched Super Kings in bidding aggressively for virtually every player who had been part of their roster over the last two seasons. The fact that four key players from their 2021 batch were in the marquee set of ten did not help Capitals, but that did not dissuade them. Having already retained four players before the auction, Capitals bid hard for Shikhar Dhawan, R Ashwin and Kagiso Rabada in the marquee set and later for Shimron Hetmyer and Avesh Khan. In the case of Dhawan, Ashwin and Hetmeyer, Capitals made the penultimate bid. Even for Avesh, who was Capitals’ second-best bowler last season after Anrich Nortje, Capitals raised the paddle until INR 8.75 crore before Super Giants won the bid at INR 10 crore.Conservative and high-risk: franchises take different lanes on auction highway
The pattern of spending the purse this time around was very different from previous auctions. Different teams had different strategies to make up their squads. Most teams went heavy on the first day to pocket as many players as possible for their first XI. Super Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Royals and Knight Riders spent in excess of 85% of their purse for 9 to 11 players. Consequently, these teams were keen buyers during the accelerated phase of the auction to cover all the slots as well as get as close as possible to the maximum allowed squad size of 25. Royals bought four overseas players within five minutes at the fag end of the auction at base price.However, Punjab Kings and Mumbai were both conservative on the first day for different reasons, spending just around 65% of their respective purses. Kings’ strategy was to go big on a couple of marquee players and play the waiting game so that they could spread their purse till the end of the auction. Still, they managed to pick up 11 players on the first day.This allowed them to buy Liam Livingstone and Odean Smith, two multi-skilled match-winners, at high prices on the second day. In contrast, Mumbai went for the high-risk approach, spending INR 31.5 crore (USD 4.2 million) to secure just three players and a little above half of that figure – INR 16.4 crore (USD 2.2 million) – to get their 18 other players. But if Mumbai remained silent until the accelerated phase, it was because part of their strategy was to bag Jofra Archer and Tim David at high prices. In the end, Mumbai’s recovery was swift and while they might not have the best squad, they still have a decent first XI.Shahrukh Khan is proven finisher for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket•Deepak Malik/BCCILesser-known Indians a hit

Shahrukh Khan was bought back by Punjab Kings for INR 9 crore. Rahul Tewatia, too, got the same amount. Tripathi was clinched by Sunrisers for INR 8.5 crore. Knight Riders did not blink to spend INR 8 crore to bring back Rana, who has performed the No. 3 role for them for the past few years. Sunrisers staved off stiff competition to get Punjab allrounder Abhishek Sharma for INR 6.5 crore while India allrounder Deepak Hooda, who got his maiden international cap days before the auction, was picked by Lucknow Super Giants for INR 5.75 crore.Those were the top five buys among low-profile or emerging Indian talent. The one clear trend to emerge in this auction, and one that might also suggest that the IPL franchises have matured in their strategy, is picking uncapped and fringe Indian talent and willing to pay them more than established Indian names. Shahrukh is recognised as a power-hitting finisher in domestic cricket and has played a big role in Tamil Nadu’s white-ball success in the past few years. Tewatia has not made headlines since that memorable evening in Sharjah where he hit Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over back in 2020, but has the promise of being a good finisher and a decent legspinner.Tripathi has grown from playing cameos to becoming one of the most consistent Indian batters in the IPL. In 2021, he had a strike rate of nearly 147 in the middle overs (overs 7-15) which was the fourth-highest. As for Abhishek, scouts are impressed by his all-round talent that enables him to float in the batting order and also deliver a few overs of left-arm spin. The potential he has for growth is what compelled Sunrisers to pay him more than ten times the price they paid him in 2018 (INR 55 lakhs).Another name that can be added to the list is Punjab left-arm spinner and lower-order batter Harpreet Brar. Remember him? Brar, playing for Kings, silenced Royal Challengers’ top order last IPL by picking up Virat Kohli and Glenn Maxwell off successive deliveries and AB de Villiers in his next over. He can also smack the ball hard and that is what Kings are likely to have kept in mind before they shelled out INR 3.2 crore to buy him back. Kumble told ESPNcricinfo that the franchise did not think of filling up the eighth overseas spot because they had placed their belief in players like Atharva Taide, an uncapped 21-year-old from Akola in Vidarbha. Taide is an opening batter who bowls handy left-arm spin and impressed scouts during the Vijay Hazare and Syed Mushtaq Ali tournaments last December.This approach of paying more to fringe talent is also another indicator of the vast pool of Indian players that keeps getting stronger. Not only will it make lesser-known players get exposure and big money, but also limit teams’ over-reliance on overseas players.David Warner was a bargain buy for Delhi Capitals•BCCI/IPLHow auction draw created bargain buys
Bargains are what make markets dynamic. You can get lucky in the IPL auctions, too, if a player comes up at the right time and you have the money and are proactive. Take Capitals, for instance. They knew they could not get all the four players who played for them in 2021 and were part of the marquee set this time. In fact, they got none of them, but bagged the prize catch of David Warner for just INR 6.25 crore. Warner is one of the IPL’s greatest players and was expected to become a multi-millionaire. In Warner, Capitals have found an opener who can play the aggressor or drop anchor, a proven IPL-winning captain, and an ace fielder. Also, his rapport with head coach Ricky Ponting will come in handy. Importantly, Warner and Prithvi Shaw could be one of the IPL’s best opening pairs in the powerplay.A conservative approach from a fair few franchises also ended up affecting the price points of players, especially up front. R Ashwin was bagged by Royals for INR 5 crore, Quinton de Kock went to Super Giants for INR 6.75 crore. Titans might have seemingly had a scrambled auction plan, but they would have been happy to get Jason Roy at his base price of INR 2 crore.Supply and demand can always skew the auction dynamics. If the pool for a certain skillset is shallow, one odd player can get an exponential price. This auction featured a lack of quality Indian wristspinners. Yet, it came as a bit of surprise when Rahul Chahar, Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav were acquired at INR 5.25 crore, 6.5 crore and 2 crore respectively. Similarly, as the auction entered the accelerated phase, the likes of Alex Hales, Evin Lewis, Tymal Mills and Jason Behrendorff – performers in overseas franchise cricket – were all bought at significantly low prices.