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A look back at the county’s darkest era, spread over two decades, with Geoff Boycott as its central figure

David Hopps19-Mar-2016The most commendable aspect of Yorkshire cricket’s return to dominance is that the perpetual unrest that dogged the county for the best part of two decades now seems consigned to the past.Put two Yorkshiremen in a room and conflicting opinions are potentially only seconds away, but the unity that has brought back-to-back County Championship trophies and produced a stream of players for England has been striking. Yorkshire cricket now concentrates on fighting with the rest of the world, not itself.Thirty years have dashed by since the retirement of Geoffrey Boycott removed from centre stage the central figure in Yorkshire’s civil war and made peace a possibility. The conflict had many characters, but at its heart was one talented, obsessive and – whether you regarded him as villain or victim – divisive figure: Stuart Rayner’s comprehensive study of the period – – could easily have been called the Boycott Wars.This admirably comprehensive and even-handed account of Yorkshire’s years of strife can now exist not as fresh fuel to the debate but as a valuable history of the times, a dispassionate study of an 18-year period full of malice and bitterness. One of the sort every responsible figure in Yorkshire’s affairs should vow will never happen again.Such even-handedness as Rayner has achieved was once virtually impossible. As a young cricket correspondent with the , I was flung into this maelstrom after the pro-Boycott Reform Group swept to power in rancorous elections in the winter of 1983-84, printers and BT engineers overthrowing a collection of former players who had tried to end his career.Early the following season, my first, I was leaving the hotel in Hove during an away match against Sussex when Boycott drew up in his car.”Get in,” he instructed, at which point, as we drove down Marine Parade he told me that the world was made up of those who were for or against him and that was the way it was. My suggestion that I intended to remain independent was waved aside as youthful naivety. “You’ll learn,” he said, pulling the car up so I could get out, well beyond Brighton pier. It was a long – and pensive – walk back to the hotel. For Yorkshire cricket journalists (and there were many), the rich pickings were endless, but the perpetual destruction could hang heavily.

Many will ask about this book, “Why now?” and suggest that to revisit the darkest period in Yorkshire’s history is unnecessary. Rayner suggests that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it

The recent Kevin Pietersen affair gives those who did not live through this period some clue as to the great themes of the Yorkshire civil war. Boycott, like Pietersen, was a hero to a large majority of the public, but his intractable manner frequently jarred in the dressing room, and by the time you reached the committee rooms packed with former players, he was widely despised, however respected his talent.The conflict involving Pietersen – even allowing for the fact that it was fought out on a national scale, whereas the Boycott wars were often county-based skirmishes – pales into insignificance compared to the sheer scale of the warmongering over Yorkshire’s most controversial son.The petty hatreds and bitterness recorded will astound many – enough of them for Rayner to fill 300 pages: stories of on-field rebellions; betrayed and broken captains; weak, unwieldy and out-of-touch committees; members’ revolts, driven by the wish to defend the interests of the batsman they treasured; and of conceited, purblind, prejudiced politicking that brought a great club to its knees. All of them faithfully recorded for posterity in such minute detail that only Yorkshire, among the counties, could regard as appropriate. A few more anecdotes to leaven the history have been advantageous.John Hampshire’s cry of despair on leaving the county in 1981 in search of a saner end to his career strikes a chord with me now as it did then. “Sadly, my lasting memory will be of the greatest of all counties reduced to a squabbling rabble; of squalid, petty arguments; of supporters, once the most loyal and sane of all memberships, torn apart by a cult that regarded one man as greater than the club and even the game itself; and of a committee which made a terrible mistake and didn’t try to put things right until it was too late.”The period was not just about Boycott’s character. To some extent this was a class war characteristic of its time – a breakdown of the traditional way of doing things. A committee largely made up of ex-players, nearly 30 in number, held an egotistical belief in its right to rule worthy of the 18th century landed gentry, and as unpaid volunteers, often did so ineptly. The cry “Members’ Club” was repeatedly heard by supporters, who believed their voice should be heard – even though such calls for “democracy” were largely a sham: no true democracy has ever centred around the worship of one individual.Pitch PublishingBoycott’s supporters were well drilled, focused, businesslike. His opponents lacked the common touch. In the winter of ’83, in the space of a single day, a group of Yorkshire cricket writers were called to an audience with both sides. The Reform Group served tea and biscuits in a soulless hotel just off the M1, and information worthy of headlines was swiftly provided. The establishment preferred a rather nice pub near Harrogate, where the drinks flowed, a flordidly drunk committeeman nearly fell into an open fire, and we all went home none the wiser about the point they wanted to make.The era of professional management boards, of directors of cricket, of established command structures, could not come too soon. Cricket has never been slow to establish another subcommittee – but only Yorkshire could draw up a Peace Keeping Subcommittee with a straight face, as Boycott and Raymond Illingworth, then back as team manager, were at loggerheads.Some good people in Yorkshire cricket sought to stay above the conflict, just as there were other good people on both sides drawn into it. But it was the players who deserved endless sympathy as Yorkshire raged over some of the leanest years in their history, their policy of fielding only players born within the county at a time when their rivals were stocked with world-class overseas players adding to their self-inflicted pain.”If you think of what we’re like now,” remarks Martyn Moxon, then an opening batsman making the best of it, now Yorkshire’s director of cricket, “there’s that togetherness as a club on and off the field, a common goal, a common way of going about things, a true identity – this is what we’re about, this is how we want to be seen, this is what we do. Things are all kind of joined up now where it was fractured then. There was no strong guidance or leadership from anybody.”Many will ask about this book, “Why now?” and suggest that to revisit the darkest period in Yorkshire’s history is unnecessary. Rayner suggests that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, and even today occasional flarings of dissatisfaction – Boycott recently challenging the board over the county’s level of debt – are a reminder that the peace is never easily won.Rayner is well positioned to tell the story. His Scarborough birthplace, for many, will give him the right to tell it, and as a north-east based journalist who has covered Durham with sound judgement, his knowledge of the county circuit is proven. He persuaded enough of those involved in the period to contribute to give his book extra substance, and his assiduous use of source material is apparent on every page.The War of the White Roses: Yorkshire Cricket’s Civil War 1968-1986
by Stuart Rayner
320 pages, £17.99
Pitch Publishing

Plays of the day from the tri-series match between Australia and South Africa in St Kitts

Brydon Coverdale12-Jun-2016The worry
David Warner’s century was the difference in the match, but the Australians had a concern late in South Africa’s chase when Warner left the field with a finger injury. Fielding at backward point, Warner dived, attempting to snare a tough catch off JP Duminy’s bat, but the ball flew through his hands, hurting the top of his left index finger on the way. He left the field to have the finger iced and was expected to be assessed over the next day.The off-field drop
In January, Glenn Maxwell was voted Australia’s ODI Player of the Year at the Allan Border Medal night in Melbourne. But a lean patch with the bat cost him his place for this game. Maxwell had fallen for a duck in the first match against West Indies and 3 against South Africa in Guyana, and his last five ODI innings read 0, 6, 0, 0, 3. He was replaced in this match by George Bailey and it was the first time since November 19, 2014, that Maxwell had been dropped from Australia’s ODI team. Since then Australia had played 32 games and Maxwell had played 31, missing just once due to injury.The on-field drop
Usually, AB de Villiers makes cricket look about as difficult as eating a sandwich. So it was rather a surprise to see him spill a simple chance when Usman Khawaja top-edged off Imran Tahir. South Africa’s captain positioned himself comfortably under the ball only to see it bounce off his hands to the turf, a life for Khawaja on 56. Fortunately for de Villiers, Khawaja made only three more runs before another top-edge was taken by Hashim Amla.The delay
Sometimes cricket does itself no favours. Only three overs had been bowled in the match when a sightscreen malfunction led to a quarter-hour delay, just another in the long line of sightscreen-related interruptions that are part of international cricket nowadays. Eventually play restarted and Warner showed his concentration had not waned by immediately clubbing a cut for four.

Plays of the day from the fifth ODI between India and New Zealand in Visakhapatnam

Karthik Krishnaswamy29-Oct-2016The tumbleVirat Kohli had just come in, and was batting on 5 off 7 balls when he went on the back foot to work Ish Sodhi to the right of midwicket. As he usually does, he ran the first run at full tilt, calling for two almost as soon as he played the shot. While beginning to turn as he touched down at the bowler’s end, he slipped and ended up sprawled in a heap. Slow-motion replays showed his right foot had lost its grip while landing on a grassy patch by the side of the pitch, and revealed his shoe lacked spikes in the heel area.Southee’s slower-ball varietyIn the 47th over of India’s innings, Tim Southee bowled a short ball to Kedar Jadhav, angling into the body. Failing to spot that Southee had rolled his fingers over like an offcutter, Jadhav swivelled too early, and missed. Next ball, Southee sent short again, this time wide of off stump. With backward point and third man inside the circle, Jadhav’s eyes may have lit up, but he quickly realised this was another slower ball, bowled like a legbreak. There was barely any pace on it, and Jadhav, looking to manufacture all the power he could to uppercut over the infielders, failed to make contact for the second time in two balls.Umesh knocks Guptill over, againBefore this match, Umesh Yadav had twice dismissed Martin Guptill with the new ball in this series. The first time, in Delhi, he had bowled him for a duck with an outswinger that straightened past his outside edge to knock back off stump. Now, in the first over of New Zealand’s innings, with Guptill again on 0, Umesh produced another jaffa. This time it pitched on middle stump, on a length that froze Guptill’s feet. Then it swung away late, past the outside edge and hit the top of off stump after a little deflection off the back pad.The flying substituteMandeep Singh was the only member of India’s squad to not get a game this series. He got a chance to field in the fifth ODI, thanks to Rohit Sharma’s pulled quadriceps, and got a chance to show off his prowess at cover point in the second over of the chase. Kane Williamson punched Jasprit Bumrah powerfully off the back foot, and the ball seemed destined for the boundary when Mandeep appeared in its path, throwing himself to his left and stopping it while horizontal, a foot or so off the ground. Next ball, Bumrah bowled closer to Williamson’s off stump, and Mandeep showed excellent anticipation to move quickly to his right and stop another firm punch without needing to dive.The googlyAmit Mishra has looked at the peak of his powers during this series, confounding New Zealand with a number of Test-match deliveries. In Mohali, he had dangled legbreaks that dipped and robbed Ross Taylor and Luke Ronchi of their balance which led to their stumping. He did the same in Visakhapatnam too, to Tim Southee, giving MS Dhoni a chance to demonstrate his skills again. But perhaps the most satisfying of his five wickets was that of BJ Watling. It was a proper, old-fashioned legspinner’s dismissal, a flighted googly that the batsman simply failed to spot from the hand. Watling came forward to defend and left just enough of a gap between his bat and pad for the ball to snake through and bowl him.

Also: most wickets in a bowler’s last Test, and Australia’s whitewashes

Steven Lynch18-Oct-2016Which bowler took the most wickets in his last Test? asked Partha Pratim Pal from India

The best match figures by a bowler in what turned out to be his last Test are 14 for 144 – 7 for 56 and 7 for 88 – by the legendary England medium-pacer Sydney Barnes, against South Africa in Durban in 1913-14. Two others took 13 in their last match: left-armer John Ferris claimed 13 for 91 in his only Test for England (after eight for Australia), against South Africa in Cape Town in 1891-92, while legspinner Clarrie Grimmett bagged 13 for 173 for Australia against South Africa in Durban in 1935-36. Charles “Father” Marriott, another legspinner, took 11 for 96 in his only Test, for England against West Indies at The Oval in 1933. In all, there are nine bowlers who have taken ten or more wickets in what turned out to be their final Test, excluding R Ashwin, Rangana Herath and Devendra Bishoo, who are on the list as I write but will presumably play again (but not Pragyan Ojha, who hasn’t appeared for three years now).What is the highest score by a batsman carrying his bat in an ODI? asked Craig Manuel from South Africa

There have been only ten genuine instances of an opener carrying his bat through a completed one-day international innings. The highest score among them remains 125 not out, by Nick Knight in England’s all-out total of 246 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge in 1996. Three other openers reached three figures: Saeed Anwar made 103 in Pakistan’s 219 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 1994-95, Damien Martyn 116 of Australia’s 191 v New Zealand in Auckland in 1999-2000, and Alec Stewart a round 100 in England’s 192 against West Indies at Trent Bridge in 2000. For it to be classified as carrying the bat, all the other wickets have to go down (apart from cases of injury). This occasionally leads to confusion, as it doesn’t count if an opener bats through an innings in which all the wickets don’t fall. The highest such score is Martin Guptill’s 237 not out – in New Zealand’s 50-over total of 393 for 6 – against West Indies in Wellington during the 2015 World Cup.Australia had never been whitewashed 5-0 in an ODI series before their recent series against South Africa•AFPAzhar Ali made 302 in the first innings in Dubai, and 2 in the second. Is this the biggest difference between two scores in the same Test? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England

The biggest difference between two individual scores in the same match is actually 320, by Hanif Mohammad – he made 17 in the first innings against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58, then amassed 337 in a famous rearguard as Pakistan followed on. There’s one other instance higher than Azhar Ali’s difference of 300 against West Indies in Dubai. In the Ashes Test at Old Trafford in 1964, Australia’s captain Bob Simpson made 311 in the first innings, and 4 not out in the second.Devendra Bishoo took 8 for 49 against Pakistan in Dubai. Was this the cheapest eight-for in Tests? asked Allan Alexander from the United States

While the West Indian legspinner Devendra Bishoo’s performance for West Indies against Pakistan in Dubai was a remarkable one, it comes in only 21st on the list of the cheapest hauls of eight or more wickets in Tests. In 1895-96, the England opening bowler George Lohmann took 9 for 28 against South Africa in Johannesburg, while Jim Laker claimed 9 for 37 in the first innings against Australia at Old Trafford in 1956 (and 10 for 53 in the second). Lohmann also has the cheapest eight-for – he claimed 8 for 7 as South Africa were blown away for 30 in the previous Test, in Port Elizabeth, and finished that three-match series in 1895-96 with 35 wickets at 5.80.The difference of 300 between Azhar Ali’s two innings in Dubai has only been bettered by Hanif Mohammad and Bob Simpson•Getty Images Pakistan’s 579 for 3 in Dubai had only one three-figure score, in Azhar Ali’s unbeaten 302. Was this the highest Test score with only one individual centurion? asked Ali Asif from Pakistan

Rather surprisingly perhaps, there have been 24 higher totals with just one three-figure score in Tests than Pakistan’s 579 for 3 declared against West Indies in Dubai. The highest of all was by West Indies when they made 687 for 8 declared against England at The Oval in 1976, Viv Richards made 291, but the next-best was Clive Lloyd’s 84. The highest total to include a single century (rather than a 200 or 300) is India’s 664 against England at The Oval in 2007. Anil Kumble top-scored with 110, but there were half-centuries for Dinesh Karthik (91), Rahul Dravid (55), Sachin Tendulkar (82),VVS Laxman (51), MS Dhoni (92) and even Extras (54).Australia were blanked 5-0 in the recent one-day series in South Africa. Has this ever happened to them in a one-day series before? asked Stuart from South Africa

The short answer is no – Australia had never previously lost a five-match bilateral one-day series 5-0. They had been whitewashed in a four-match rubber (in England in 2012, in a series in which one match was completely rained off), and in two three-match ones (in England in 1997, and in New Zealand in 2006-07). For the full list of one-day whitewashes in series of three or more matches, click here.Post your questions in the comments below

With a year to go until the 2017-18 Ashes, Michael Vaughan and Ricky Ponting assess the two teams’ current form and prospects of victory Down Under

Andrew Miller14-Nov-2016Australia’s cricketers have got plenty on their plates already, after slumping to an innings defeat in the second Test against South Africa in Hobart – which condemned them to only their fifth home series loss since 1988. But, as is the way in the inexorable cycle of the oldest rivalry in the game, attention is already beginning to drift 12 months into the future – to November 2017, when England travel once again to defend the Ashes Down Under.Forewarned is forearmed where long-range Ashes projections are concerned. After all, it was at roughly this stage of the cycle four years ago that Australia’s juggernaut last began to slide off the road. Another home series loss to South Africa was followed, in the spring, by their calamitous 4-0 whitewash in India, and there were few signs of a revival when Michael Clarke’s men were muscled out of the big moments of the 2013 series in England.But then, back on home soil and reeking of vengeance, Australia seized a violent 5-0 whitewash, with the twin forces of nature, Mitchell Johnson and David Warner, storming to the fore. It just goes to show, a year is a long time in cricket, particularly if – as the former Australia captain, Ricky Ponting, has implored – his fellow countrymen use their current problems as a cue to get their act together before it is too late.”I’d like to think they’ve got one eye on the Ashes already, in what is going to be a very tough series,” says Ponting, who will be commentating on the series for BT Sport next year. “If you look at England’s team and Australia’s team right now, you’d probably say that England’s team is more settled – Kevin Pietersen was calling for nine changes after the Perth Test – but it’ll be interesting to see who starts favourites when the Ashes come around.”Michael Vaughan, Ponting’s opposing captain in the 2005 Ashes, has been sitting alongside him in the BT Sport studios watching Australia’s fortunes over the past few weeks – including their capitulation from a dominant position at Perth, and their collapse to 85 all out in the first innings at Hobart – and he is unequivocal in his current assessment of the two teams’ merits.”My scouting report is that England have got nothing to fear,” Vaughan says. “But with Australia you know that, 12 months down the line, they can’t be any worse than this. I look at their batting line-up and it hasn’t improved at all since 2015. As soon as the ball moves laterally, they’ve got hard hands technically. One or two are strong but the rest are very vulnerable, but in 12 months’ time, I’m sure they’ll be much better.”Whether Australia’s projected improvement can atone for their current weaknesses, only time will tell. But both former captains are in agreement that Australia’s chopping and changing must stop if they are to give their players a chance of being ready for the most scrutinised contest in the Test calendar.’My scouting report is that England have nothing to fear’ – Vaughan•BT SportThe number of players that Australia have churned through in recent times is startling – 23 in the 16 Tests since Steven Smith inherited the captaincy from Michael Clarke. That may be some way short of England’s dark days in the 1989 and 1993 Ashes when they ploughed through 29 and 24 players respectively, but it is distinctly un-Australian in approach nonetheless. By way of contrast, Ponting and his precedessor, Steve Waugh, used just 58 players between them in a combined total of 134 matches in charge.”We’ve had such a bad run with injuries,” Ponting says in mitigation. “I know that sounds like a bit of an excuse, but we’ve lost [Peter] Siddle, [James] Pattinson, [Pat] Cummins, [Nathan] Coulter Nile … even Shaun Marsh broke a finger last week. A lot of the changes have been forced, but then there was the situation in Sri Lanka, where [Usman] Khawaja and [Joe] Burns were dropped after two Tests, then picked again straightaway. It seems they are forever trying to find a better formula.”Defeat in next week’s third Test at Adelaide would be Australia’s sixth in a row – they’ve only twice lost that many on the bounce since the start of the 20th Century – and while their current form brings with it some inevitable pressure on Smith’s captaincy, Ponting doesn’t seriously believe there are any other candidates to lead Australia into next winter’s Ashes. It’s the identity of the team-mates that is the biggest single issue.”I don’t think the wolves are circling,” Ponting says. “Up until the start of the Sri Lanka series, he’d won seven out of 11 Tests and not lost a game. There’s no doubt in my mind that Steve Smith is the right man for the job.”But they are throwing things around to find the right combination from series to series. If we take a view for the Ashes, and prioritise that, then let’s start picking guys that we think, with 12 months’ cricket under their belt, might be ready for that series. It might mean a little bit of pain along the way, but they are getting that at the moment anyway.”The bigger captaincy question mark, in fact, hovers over the more settled of the two Ashes teams. While Alastair Cook would surely love to exact revenge for England’s humiliation in the 2013-14 campaign, he hinted recently that the time might be nigh for him to take a step back into the ranks.With a draining tour of India currently underway, followed by a natural seven-month break from Test cricket as England switch to one-day cricket ahead of the Champions Trophy in June, it is not out of the question that Cook’s heir apparent, Joe Root, could be at the helm for South Africa’s tour of England in July.

I can’t think of a better person to be that father figure, giving the new captain plenty of adviceVaughan on the prospect of Cook resigning as captain

“Alastair has had this question thrown at him for the last seven series,” says Vaughan. “Two years ago [after losing to Sri Lanka in 2014], I thought he was gone, but he keeps springing up. But I do think he’s the type of character who could fit back into the team. I’ve played with many captains who couldn’t cope with having someone else direct them. I can’t think of a better person to be that father figure in the corner, standing at first slip, giving the new captain plenty of advice.”And if there is any doubt about Cook’s hunger to carry on in the role, then Ponting believes that the handover should come sooner rather than later.”The longer that Joe Root, if he is to be the captain, can have leading into the next Ashes series would be absolutely beneficial,” he says. “For all the obvious reasons, everything that comes around in an Ashes series – whether it’s the pressure on the players or in the media – everything is magnified ten times on every other Test series. You don’t want to have someone going into an Ashes series who isn’t ready for everything that comes with it.”We all look forward to that time when you don’t have that extra responsibility,” Ponting adds. “The thing with the captaincy is, it does really wear you down because you almost have to find a way to reinvent yourself as a leader every series. England have maintained a solid group for a long time, so your messaging to those players – finding a way to make it new and fresh and different – gets harder and harder by the series, and therefore by the year. That might be the stage that he is at.”That apparent desire for a quieter life does not, however, mean that Cook is remotely close to calling time on a remarkable career in which he has played in 133 consecutive Tests since 2006, and last week scored his 30th Test century to go past the tally of the great Sir Donald Bradman.”He’s remarkable,” says Vaughan. “When you look at what he’s gone through, for three-quarters of Alastair’s career, batting has been very difficult. He’s had to scrap for every one of his 10,000 runs, and there have been periods of play when he’s looked like he’s batting with a toothpick, but he’s eked every ounce of runs out of his ability.”He’s not just great but he’s so strong mentally. He’s worked out the opposition and kept to a simple method, and the three or four shots he does have, he sticks to them. He never goes out of his bubble. He has his sheep on the [family] farm that chill him out and get him out of the pressure zone, and he goes back and bats every other week. It’s a remarkable story.”A return to the ranks ahead of a return to the scene of his most prolific series – the 2010-11 Ashes, in which he made 766 runs to set up a historic 3-1 victory – could be, in Vaughan’s opinion, the start of a prolific final chapter to a record-breaking career, and the chance to pass his experience onto his opening partner, Haseeb Hameed, a player who looked, in making 82 on debut in Rajkot last week, accomplished beyond his 19 years.”He came into the side with no game for three weeks, but it just proves the mental side is key,” says Vaughan. “He’s got a mechanism in his mind that makes him a good player. He’s 19, he’s going to make mistakes, but he’s obsessed with the game and he’ll learn quickly. He looks controlled against the seamers, very controlled against spin, and he has that cheeky chappy character. He’ll be just fine.”They had to go with a kid,” says Vaughan, after nine inconclusive attempts to find a long-term successor to Cook’s former opening partner, Andrew Strauss. “All our great players start as kids. Gower, Cook, Botham, Anderson, Broad, Flintoff … Compton was 19. If you want to be a great player you start young, because you don’t have time to become a great player if you start at 24-25.”And if Cook has three years left, if he can have three years’ opening with Haseeb Hameed for 30-40 Tests before retiring, Haseeb can take over Alastair’s mantle. It will give Alastair a spring in his step to know he is guiding a young lad through the ranks.”All things being equal, Hameed and Cook will have had 12 Tests in harness by the time the 2017-18 Ashes gets get underway, and by then, the strength of Australia’s challenge should be far more apparent. In particular, nobody foresaw quite how savage their pace attack would turn out to be on England’s last visit in 2013-14, and though the gaps in their ranks have been telling against South Africa, Ponting is adamant that a potent line-up is not so far away.”Australia have two very good up-and-coming fast bowlers in [Josh] Hazlewood and [Mitchell] Starc, and hopefully by then they’ll have Pattinson and Cummins back and fit. When you start talking about those four guys, suddenly the Australia attack looks pretty formidable.”England have been a bit like Australia in recent months,” he adds. “They’ve had some serious batting collapses when the ball has moved or turned. And that’s what makes the next Ashes so intriguing. Who is going to handle the conditions better, who will bowl the best?”The one thing about England’s guys is they’ve been there and done it before. [Stuart] Broad and [Jimmy] Anderson continue to get the job done more often than not. But you’d like to think that the Australian players will have a better handle on the conditions than the English.” BT Sport is your new home for Australia’s home international matches and Big Bash League, including the 2017-18 Ashes series. For more info please visit sport.bt.com/cricket

With Alex Hales nearing full fitness, Sam Billings knows he has limited chances to prolong his run in the side and stake a Champions Trophy claim

George Dobell in Antigua04-Mar-2017It is not easy being Sam Billings at the moment. Having waited months for another opportunity in an England shirt – his last three ODI appearance have come in three different series in three different countries – he has been asked to bat in an unfamiliar position and play aggressive, selfless cricket while knowing that he requires a significant score to retain his position.Furthermore, he has been asked to provide such a contribution on pitches that, if the first ODI in Antigua is any guide, render strokeplay desperately difficult.And if there was any doubt whether he could retain his place once Alex Hales is deemed ready to return, it was all but dispelled by Eoin Morgan’s post-match comments on Friday. “Hales is a very formidable player and has scored a lot of runs when we’ve won games,” Morgan said. “Whether Billings plays on Sunday depends on how Hales has pulled up after training.”Not that’s he complaining. Billings can see the bigger picture and knows that England’s depth in limited-overs batting is a considerable asset. It just doesn’t make life any easier for him. Besides, as he says, “I’m playing for England in the West Indies. What’s not to enjoy?”Realistically, Billings is playing for a place in England’s Champions Trophy squad. He has the ability to bat anywhere in the top seven and to keep wicket, which renders him an ideal inclusion, but it is hard to see how he squeezes into a full-strength side. Certainly not as an opener, where Hales and Jason Roy seemed nailed in, or in a top six which looks set to filled out by Joe Root, Morgan, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler. While there is a possibility he could play as an extra batsman at No. 7, England seem keen to have the services of a sixth bowler.That leaves Billings the second ODI in Antigua – if, as expected, Hales is not yet deemed ready to return – and perhaps the two games against Ireland in May in which to make his case. Jonny Bairstow, despite looking as good as anyone in training and the warm-ups, is even further back in the pack with Liam Livingstone making a late run thanks to his Lions performances. It could be Livingstone who replaces Ben Stokes, who will be at the IPL, in the side for the Ireland ODIs.”I can’t really afford to think about Hales,” Billings said. “He’s been in fantastic form over the past year and he’s a fantastic player. It’s a credit to the squad that we have that depth.”It’s professional sport and it’s good for the side that there’s so much competition. But as an individual I’ve really got to make these chances count. I have to really make it count and make three figures. I definitely feel like I’m in a good place to do that.”Of course it’s frustrating. I got one game in Bangladesh and I made 65. If I’d made 100 I would have really pressed my claim.”Billings admitted to some frustration after his innings on Friday, too. While he made a plucky half-century – his second in three ODI innings – he conceded he “gave it away” by driving to short midwicket when well set.

“Series on series we’re improving in different conditions. We want to play our brand of cricket but with an intelligent side to it”

Still, it was an intelligent innings in demanding circumstances. With Shannon Gabriel bowling, in Billings words ,”quickly and well” and the pitch offering seam movement and variable bounce, England were obliged to readjust their expectations of a competitive total and soak up a lot of dot balls before starting to accelerate. It was a pleasing sign of progress from a developing sign, albeit against inexperienced opposition.”You look at anyone who got runs and they started off pretty slowly, then built,” Billings said. “We were joking when we were out there. We really couldn’t hit the ball off the square to start with. That may be the way of it here. It’s a bit old-fashioned. You have to keep wickets in hand and really make hay towards the back end.”The pitch wasn’t that good, so you had to fight for your runs. Morgan’s hundred was as good as you’ll see, because the batting conditions weren’t there.”We adapted well. Our whole ethos is to attack and take the positive option. But here we had to fight for your runs. Series on series we’re improving in different conditions. We want to play our brand of cricket but with an intelligent side to it.”At first glance it might appear that such pitches – pitches that will do nothing to attract Caribbean spectators back to grounds – render this series little use as practice ahead of the Champions Trophy. After all, the expectation is that the tournament will be played on excellent batting tracks. That’s the ECB’s intention, anyway, and there seems no reason why it will not be fulfilled.But it is worth recalling the surface used for the final of the 2013 tournament. With the regulations forbidding the Edgbaston groundstaff to water the surface for some time before the final, it was played on a desperately dry, slow pitch. It won’t do England any harm to have some experience of adapting to such conditions.Liam Dawson is another man pushing for selection in Sunday’s second ODI. England’s spinners were out-bowled by West Indies’ on Friday and with the pitch likely to prove even slower and more spin friendly in the second ODI – the same strip will be used – there is a case for Dawson to come in either as a replacement (Adil Rashid appears most vulnerable) or as a third spinner. With Root also able to contribute a few overs of offspin – he bowled five on Friday – Dawson may be frustrated, though. The competition for places has to be for the greater good, but for the individuals involved it must be tough to take.

Australia aren’t quite equipped to save Tests in Asia, but Shaun Marsh and Peter Handscomb pulled off an improbable result in Ranchi

Jarrod Kimber in Ranchi20-Mar-20171:45

Chappell: Australia’s batting more than Smith and Warner now

Matt Renshaw saw the shadow people. They hadn’t been there for four days, but someone had opened a door and now there they were, right in his vision, running, walking, swaying from side to side. Once he saw them he couldn’t concentrate. He had to pull away as the bowler ran in.This enraged Ishant Sharma, who threw the ball down in anger and started a fight with Steven Smith before being moved away. Angry Ishant, too rarely seen, is by far the best Ishant.He roars in next ball and follows right through to Renshaw to let him know how he’s feeling. Soon he hits Renshaw on the hip. Another ball gets stuck in Renshaw’s helmet after rattling around his face for a second. Then there is a bouncer that Renshaw barely avoids.When Ishant goes straight and gets one to skid a bit, Renshaw is trapped plumb in front. He shrugs his shoulders and leaves the ground, practising the shot he should have played as the shadow people dance and rejoice.A few minutes later, the shadow people dance again. Smith didn’t make many bad decisions in his first innings of 127 overs, or even when he was in the field for 210 overs. But this one is bad, and Australia have spent all tour doing the right thing.Australia have made a collection of decisions so far in this series. It started when S Sriram went from a development coach into the change room for this tour. He coached the batsmen on how to survive, and at times thrive, in India. But perhaps his greatest work was making Steve O’Keefe believe in himself. It was playing inside the line as Sriram had suggested and his constant mentoring of O’Keefe meant the weakest team to tour India, according to Harbhajan Singh, won a Test with a spinner who was fourth best , according to Shane Warne.They were supposed to be embarrassed. Instead they had done the thing that teams had been trying to do all season in India.In Bengaluru, Nathan Lyon got them off to a great start, and then it was the batmen’s turn to step up. On a day when India were outstanding, Australia tried to just get far enough in front to win the game. As good as Shaun Marsh had been, it was his wicket at the close on day two that ultimately kept India in it. When Smith dropped Pujara, India battled to a lead big enough that Australia with a team of their very best players of spin would have struggled to get over the line. The chase and pitch was set up for an Australian collapse.Australia have also been clever at little things. After O’Keefe’s 12-wicket haul in Pune it would have been easy to think he would be a strike bowler in India, but Australia went straight back to using him as their stock bowler. It allowed Hazlewood more rest, it allowed Starc (Cummins) to be Starc (Cummins), and when Lyon’s callous opened up, for O’Keefe to at least stop India getting away. They also got the ball to reverse while using their bowlers far better than Kohli used his. They played spin better over the first two Tests, they fielded and caught better, and they came up with intelligent plans and stuck to them well.It’s perhaps the most unAustralian they have been in India.Shaun Marsh stood tall and blunted India•Associated PressAn hour into this match, on a pitch so doctored that the Ranchi rolled mud was supposed to swallow the Australians whole, they looked completely at home. But then their first real problem on this pitch had nothing to do with this pitch: Warner failed again and they were leaving their fate in the hands of Glenn Maxwell.Maxwell was a bizarre choice, as Australia had barely used Mitchell Marsh’s allrounded-ness, and perhaps the more sensible thing to do was bring in Usman Khawaja. Very rarely is Maxwell a sensible thing to do, and when Australia needed someone to play very long innings, him coming out to bat at 140 for 4 with Australia at least 300 behind where they would need to be, few would have been confident. But Maxwell played either the best innings of his life, or the one that sets up the rest of it. But as good as he was, and as just phenomenally good as Smith continued to be, 451 never quite felt enough.When they had India at 328 for 6, with Pat Cummins defying pretty much everything to storm through the crease, it did seem like it might be enough. Australia had tried all the tricks they had. Bowling dry with interesting fields designed to stop batsmen scoring efficiently, short quick spells of reverse from Hazlewood, and short quick cutters from Cummins.India crawled past them, but no matter how good Cheteshwar Pujara looked, or how well Wriddhiman Saha timed the ball, Smith refused to concede a single run. Pujara made a double-hundred that was essentially a three-day arm wrestle with Smith’s fields. They let him stay in; they rarely let him score. They were tired, and never looked like getting a wicket, but they never rolled over, they never let India score. If India was going to score, it was going to be out of the footholes or with significant risk.Forget the part-timers, forget taking chances. There were no easy runs for India, and that took time, which turned out to be very important.Even with the restriction of India’s lead, and how long it took them to get there, there were problems for Australia. They had only faced more than 100 overs in the fourth innings of an Asian Test once, against Bangladesh, in 2006. The last time Australia batted an extended period to draw a game was six years ago in Sri Lanka. They hadn’t won a series since then either. They had only batted 100 overs in their second innings in Asia 16 times.This is a team that doesn’t win series in Asia, doesn’t bat out draws. Going into a final day with two wickets down, against the two best spinners in the world for these conditions, and a pit of despair outside the left-handers’ off stump, this team was not equipped to draw this match. Not that Australia were the team that should have won in Pune, or stayed in the game in Bengaluru for as long as they did.What makes this series more remarkable is that this isn’t a great time for Australian cricket. It’s hard to praise the selectors too much, when part of their plan was replacing Peter Nevill with Matthew Wade as wicketkeeper. Wade has averaged less with the bat since coming back into the team than Nevill did when he was axed. And it was Wade’s drop that ultimately cost them a chance of winning this Test.Then there is Mitchell Marsh, who even if he wasn’t injured – even if he had never been injured – was an odd choice for a team with an underperforming No. 7. He became odder when he barely bowled a charity over in two Tests.Then there was the fact that about five minutes ago, Callum Ferguson was playing. Or that the selectors seemed to pick Renshaw on a whim, and then started to second guess themselves when they realised the India tour was coming up. And they also threw Nic Maddinson into Test matches while they publicly slated the man who has now replaced him.But there was some method to their madness. Australian selections are still based on things like grit, youth, and aesthetic wonders that are apparently natural talent. However, when they turned their team around after the debacle in Hobart, they made three interesting calls with their batting. They went for a young kid who would become a star, the guy with the best recent first-class record, and the most naturally talented player they had.That got them two players who have been important since, Renshaw and Handscomb, and to be fair, Maxwell was out of favour, and Chris Lynn was injured, so Maddinson was probably third choice anyway.They continued to make big calls for this tour. At times it seemed like almost everyone did not rate Shaun Marsh outside of people who know his father, Western Australians, and Australian selectors. There is sometimes an overlap in those categories.Marsh is not a great batsman. If he was, with all the advantages he has had, he would have played a lot more than 22 Tests by the age of 33. He certainly would have averaged a hell of a lot more than 40 in first-class cricket and he would have averaged over 40 in more than one country. It just so happened that one country was Sri Lanka, and he also has a huge average in the IPL. So it made sense to see him as an Asian specialist.But it was still a risk. Marsh might know his game, he might be better in Asia than most Australian players, and he might also be one of Australia’s best players of spin – averaging 62, double his average against pace. While that might seem enough, in India you need big scores as well, and Marsh doesn’t do that. He can score, but he doesn’t score big daddy runs. His highest in first-class cricket is 182, and that is part of the reason he doesn’t average more.Matthew Wade and Virat Kohli shook hands and called it a draw after Australia had batted out 100 overs•Associated PressThat hasn’t been a big problem on this tour as Marsh has never gone past 70, and yet both of his fifties have been very good knocks. His 66 in Bengaluru ended up being remembered for its limp end, but in the context of the game it was a terrific knock. The incredible part was how he found a way to survive on that pitch. And that is what he needed to do today.The thing is, unlike in Bengaluru, Marsh had some help in Ranchi. Peter Handscomb has made three hundreds in each of the last three Sheffield Shield seasons. He played IPL and county cricket, and for someone still pretty young, he is a well-rounded and experienced. But he’s also weird. That’s okay if you’re chosen as a kid on a whim because you have something special about you. When you’re 25, and you’ve never played for Australia, and your batting technique looks like a drunk guy trying to imitate Steve Smith, getting into the Australian team is not a sure thing.Had there not been a crisis of faith after losing to South Africa, Handscomb might have had to wait a couple of years for a spot. Instead he was thrust in, and runs followed. Even in India, where he hasn’t gone on with it, he has almost always looked better than most of the other batsmen. In Bengaluru, on a pitch where to survive you had to cobble together three or four ideas and hope for the best, he was the one player who looked like he could have chased down the total.It was that cricket brain that shone again today. For 28 straight balls Marsh, who had fought hard against Jadeja in the rough, didn’t have to face Jadeja in the rough. When India finally got Jadeja back at Marsh, it was halfway through the day, the ball was softer, Jadeja wasn’t in rhythm, and the spit and fire were long gone.For the rest of the day, the two played so incredibly smart. Marsh made sure to get outside the line, Handscomb took 13 runs off a poor over from Ashwin, so India would have to take him off and change their plans. They looked for runs, turned the strike over when it suited them, and played the kind of cricket Australians don’t play in India that often.While India might have looked flat and out of ideas, and could blame the soft ball and the fact the pitch didn’t fall apart as they wanted, they also had to credit this partnership because both players were in control of over 90% of the balls they faced. That would be incredible on day one, but for the fifth day, with one guy still proving himself at 33 and another in his first Tests outside home, it was a tremendous effort. When the new ball did start to play up again, and Marsh struggled before getting out, it was Handscomb who remained.Had those two got out, the Test could have ended poorly for Australia. Wade could have got a ball from the rough, and then the tail would have not only had to handle the spinners and the pitch, but also the crowd.Instead, the crowd was quiet. Handscomb had silenced them and they were a shadow of how it had been the evening before.It even turned out that it wasn’t the shadow people distracting Renshaw. It was M Vijay on the field. The only shadows Australia saw at the end of the day were those of disappointed Indian fielders, as they knew a win was slipping away.When Handscomb knocked a ball gently through the covers, the shadows went to collect it, but Handscomb stood still. He could have run, but if he did there was a chance that Wade would have to face Jadeja out of the rough, so he refused the runs. While it probably wouldn’t have mattered much – the game was drawn shortly after – Hanscomb had made another sensible decision.Australia have no Starc, a barely functioning David Warner, and with one Test to play the score is 1-1. They haven’t been jumping at shadows like they usually do in India. They are determined to do the right thing. And more often than not, they have.

All the records Chamari Atapattu broke on her way to scoring 178* off 143 balls against Australia women in Bristol

Bharath Seervi29-Jun-2017178* Chamari Atapattu’s score – the third-highest in the history of Women’s ODIs. Australia’s Belinda Clark occupies the top spot with unbeaten 229 against Denmark Women in the 1997 Women’s World Cup. Last month India’s Deepti Sharma had scored 188 against Ireland Women.69.26% Percentage of Sri Lanka’s runs that came from Atapattu’s bat – the highest, by a distance, in a completed innings in Women’s ODIs. The previous record was 61.94% by Lynne Thomas for an International XI against India in 1982.60 (157) Combined score of Sri Lanka’s other 10 batsmen. Between them, they only hit five fours and no sixes. Apatattu scored 178 off 143 with 22 fours and six sixes. The second-highest scorer was Shashikala Siriwardene with 24. None of the other 10 players managed a strike rate of even 70.ESPNcricinfo Ltd124 Runs scored by Atapattu in boundaries – the most in an innings in Women’s ODIs. She bettered Deepti Sharma’s 120 runs in her knock of 188.3 Centuries by Atapattu in Women’s ODIs. No other Sri Lanka players has scored a hundred. She also has a 99, and thus the top four scores for Sri Lanka in Women’s ODIs.1 Bigger totals for Sri Lanka in Women’s ODIs than their 257 for 9 in this game. In the 2013 Women’s World Cup they scored 282 for 5 against India Women at the Brabourne Stadium.1973 The last and only time any team made a bigger total against Australia in a Women’s World Cup match. England scored 279 for 3 at Edgbaston in the first edition of the tournament.

Reactions from the Pakistan players and team management immediately after their victory against India in the Champions Trophy final

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2017Mohammad Hafeez
“Great team effort! After losing the first game, we were nowhere. We were in the knockouts stage but no one gave us a chance. The way we showed character, this is for the nation. They have been waiting for this for a long, long time. This is the least we could do.”The platform was there, when Fakhar and Azhar gave us a stand, we thought of 300 plus. I wanted to express myself without any fear in the mind. I just wanted to hit the ball hard. We all wanted to do something for the nation. Winning any tournament is a great feeling.”I believe it’s not about winning against the odds. We wanted to inspire the nation because we’ve been missing this from nine years … no cricket at home. Millions of people waited for that, we’ve been waiting for a moment like this.”Shoaib Malik
“It’s tough to describe this feeling in words. Back home, I’m sure roads will be blocked. People will be out dancing even though it is Ramadan. I would like to congratulate all the Pakistani people all over the world. This brings us united. I would also like to thank the Indian cricket team for playing the way they did throughout the tournament.”I wasn’t nervous, we were okay. Being a senior cricketer, a lot of youngsters look at you. I thought I have to calm myself and this is what I did. Credit to the boys for the way they played, controlled their aggression.”Imad Wasim
“Unbelievable! The crowd has been cheering like we’re in Pakistan. Thanks to all the people who supported us. The roads will be blocked, jam packed in Pakistan. I can’t wait to go home.”After the first game, we were down and out. We sat together and decided we have to do something. Everyone was writing us off and we were like ‘don’t write us off just yet.’ Pakistan can do anything on any given day, and we beat four top sides!”Mohammad Amir
Shikhar, Rohit and Kohli were in tremendous form. I was looking for early wickets and I did it. To be honest, this is team work. The South Africa game gave us momentum.Mickey Arthur, Pakistan coach
“It’s been an up and down ride for us, but so proud of the boys. We dusted ourselves off after the India defeat in Edgbaston and came back superbly. We knew we were prepared well. That loss was an aberration. It’s a remarkable achievement.”We want to be a little more consistent as a team. We’ve got a group of young players who are fantastic. We have to keep this momentum going. We’re happy with the brand of cricket we’re playing. We’ve got two years until the 2019 World Cup. We’ve got the monkey off our back in terms of qualifying. We now have two years to identify a squad we want to take forward and give them enough game time. That’s the aim at the moment.”0:43

WATCH – Pakistan fans go wild

Azhar Mahmood
“Fakhar Zaman is a brilliant guy, up the order he put pressure on the opposition, that’s why he made 300 odd runs in the tournament, if we’ve got a player like him to get such runs that’s a brilliant sign for us. Hasan Ali bowls with a big heart. Every time he runs in, he wants to get a wicket. The attitude is brilliant.”Hasan Ali
“First of all thanks Allah. A year ago I wasn’t in the side but I worked hard and believed in myself, and thankfully gave a good performance. Been learning since the start that if your body has energy you can perform well.”I was very calm, no pressure on me, and thankfully I did well in all our games. This was a great tournament for me, dismissed some top players. Very special to take the final wicket, to take the last wicket that won us. The tournament, very special for me and I will definitely remember that.”Sarfraz Ahmed
“After the India match, one thing I said to my boys was the tournament
hasn’t finished yet. I think he’s [Fakhar Zaman] a great impact player. Credit goes to him, he was playing his first ICC event, and he played like a champion player. I also want to give credit to my bowlers. Amir bowled brilliantly all tournament, and so did Junaid, Shadab, Imad, Hasan, they all bowled very well.It’s a very young team and credit goes to them and the management. It’s a very important boost for us to win this. When we arrived here, we just played like we have nothing to lose. Credit goes to my batsmen, my bowlers and the team management. I think it’s a very proud moment for me, and my team and my country. I want to thank the people of Pakistan. Keep supporting us and praying for us. Also thank you to all supporters here who watch to see us play!”

Chandika Hathurusingha had a lot of belief in Soumya Sarkar’s ability, even when he went through prolonged lean patches. Dropped from the Bangladesh squad soon after the coach’s exit, the batsman will have to prove himself all over again to stage a comeba

Mohammad Isam07-Jan-2018It is not entirely a coincidence that Soumya Sarkar’s first axing from a Bangladesh squad has closely followed Chandika Hathurusingha’s exit. Soumya was for long labelled as the coach’s blue-eyed boy because of the way he remained a fixture in the squad despite his form suffering a dip.The issue of certain players being perceived as the coach’s favourite was a major talking point when Jamie Siddons was coach between 2007 and 2011. During that time, Siddons worked very hard on the batting of Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Raqibul Hasan and Junaid Siddique, and they were soon given the label of being the coach’s favourites.Shakib and Tamim performed admirably during Siddons’ reign but Junaid and Raqibul didn’t do justice to their talent and their coach’s efforts. The international careers of Junaid and Raqibul ended, perhaps prematurely, after Siddons’ departure in May 2011.Players and officials have often compared Siddons’ love for those four with Hathurusingha’s affinity for Soumya.Soumya’s route back into the national side isn’t straightforward. An immediate big innings in the domestic first-class competition could bring him back even during this month’s tri-series but, at the same time, the batsmen who have earned recalls – Anamul Haque and Mohammad Mithun – will be hungry to make an impact. And they will get an extended run, which means Soumya might have to endure a frustrating wait.It is a world away from the last three years in which Soumya was treated with a lot of care. Hathurusingha first saw Soumya taking a catch at slip in Mirpur and, to quote the cliche, it was love at first sight. He was amazed by the young player’s soft hands which translated into his superb hand-eye coordination. Soumya was handed an ODI debut on December 1, 2014, and though he didn’t score too many that day, he did enough to win a World Cup place.Soumya’s honeymoon period extended from February 2015 to August 2015 when he impressed during the World Cup and a run of home series against Pakistan, India and South Africa, against whom he made an unbeaten 88 and a 90 in successive ODI innings. Runs dried up from that point, and 12 months later, Soumya’s selection began raising questions. His struggles against Afghanistan in a three-match ODI series led to his being dropped from the XI in the ODIs against England in October 2016, though he remained in the squad. It was a contentious call, and much of it came down to what Hathurusingha felt at the time.Often in the past, the team management’s view was that Soumya needed to be in the national set-up in order to regain his rhythm which had gone missing since those two match-winning knocks against South Africa. But even after he made a string of Test fifties in early 2017 – four in seven innings in New Zealand and Sri Lanka – Soumya’s form wasn’t reliable. He had a poor Champions Trophy in June 2017, scoring 34 at an average of 8.50, and struggled in the Tests at home against Australia and away in South Africa, scoring a combined 77 runs across those two series at an average of 12.83.Things didn’t get any better in the home front after the South Africa tour. Soumya averaged 15.36 in 11 innings in the BPL for Chittagong Vikings. Chief selector Minhajul Abedin, who acted as a mentor for the BPL franchise this season, said Soumya looked like he needed a break in international cricket.Now, with Hathurusingha’s exacting influence gone from the Bangladesh team, the national selectors have given Soumya that break.”Soumya has been playing all the formats for quite some time,” Minhajul said. “There’s no question about his talent, but since he hasn’t been consistent, we have decided to give him a break. He is still in our plans. We are hoping he will return to form, and also restore his mental make-up. Performance is the first criteria for a player in any format. I am hopeful that he will do very well, better than the others, in domestic cricket.”Minhajul hasn’t said or implied that his exclusion had anything to do with Hathurusingha’s exit. But it looks like it had been a long time coming for the young batsman, who has had trouble dealing with his technical flaws amid all his talent. Now he has to harness all his talent and find a way to come back into the national side.