Peter Siddle collected five wickets to put Australia well on top, thanks to some advice from a recent England bowler

Peter English at Headingley07-Aug-2009It took three Tests but Peter Siddle remembered the lessons given to him by Darren Pattinson, his Melbourne club-mate and the former England bowler, as he captured career-best figures to put Australia on track to level the series. Siddle rammed into England’s tail to collect 5 for 21 off 9.5 overs, finishing with four wickets in 14 deliveries, and after play told of his chats with Pattinson, who appeared in a Test at this ground last year.Dandenong is the Australian summer home for both players and Siddle chased up his friend of a decade for some advice. “We’re very close and I’ve spent a lot of time with him,” Siddle said. “We had a few chats about the conditions and the way you go about stuff over here. It’s been handy. He gave me some good insight into how to handle the conditions.”This was the performance the Australians have waited for as Siddle finally lived up to his Sid Vicious nickname in England. In the opening three games he hadn’t been tame, but was inconsistent and unreliable, a shadow of the 24-year-old who grew up during the home and away series against South Africa.Mixing short balls to ruffle the batsmen and fuller ones to dismiss two of them, Siddle shook the hosts after lunch to back up the impressive return of Stuart Clark, whose three wickets before the break made everyone wonder why it had taken four Tests to call for him. Until Nathan Hauritz was removed from the line-up this morning it was Siddle who thought he was in danger.Brett Lee was also chasing Siddle’s spot but the selectors held firm and the Victorian stayed. Merv Hughes, one of the panel members at the ground, is a huge admirer of Siddle’s intimidating style and the group retained their unswerving belief in a player in his 12th Test.”Coming into this match I didn’t know what would happen,” Siddle said. “There was talk that I’d miss out or Hauritz would miss out. I was lucky enough to get the nod, went about my business, and in the end it paid off and I had a bit of success.” With 15 victims, he is now the series’ leading wicket-taker and was the muscular presence required at the opposite end from Clark and Ben Hilfenhaus.Siddle started by removing Andrew Strauss with serious help from Marcus North, who flung out his right hand at third slip, but the real damage came when the tailenders arrived full of padding. Suddenly Siddle was an intimidator and after England chose an extra bowler in Steve Harmison, he had extra targets.Graeme Swann was pushed back by some short deliveries before a fuller one clipped the edge on the way to Michael Clarke at first slip. The second ball to Harmison rattled his helmet, which is a serious bouncer to a guy standing at 6ft 4in, and in the following over Siddle brushed the side of his bat with another lifter.Anderson was forced to fend to Brad Haddin before the innings ended when Graham Onions popped an uncomfortable rising effort to Simon Katich, the short leg. It struck his armguard instead of his bat but he was probably happy to escape further damage.As the players stepped from the field in the second session a couple of fans wearing Aussie rules jumpers ran over to congratulate Siddle. This was his second five-wicket haul and came at an incredibly valuable time for Australia, who must win here to retain a chance of claiming the series.By the end of the day they owned a 94-run lead and had Siddle and his bowling mates to toast for the strength of their position. “We knew how we’d gone over the first three Tests and we knew we had to change something,” he said. “We just relaxed a bit. It was good having Sarfy [Clark] at one end bowling so tight and consistent, it frees up that other end. I got my goodies at the end.”

The return of former players to decision-making roles and the revamp of the domestic structure spell better days ahead for Zimbabwe

Martin Williamson28-Dec-2009For the last five years the end-of-year report on Zimbabwe has grown gloomier and gloomier. Twelve months ago Steve Price wrote that just keeping the game alive against the backdrop of political chaos represented a major achievement.And yet, a year on there are finally signs that a corner might have been turned. There’s a long way to go, especially on the field, where half a decade of neglect cannot be turned around in a few months, but there are glimmers of hope.The changes have largely been made possible by the improvement in the country’s political fortunes. Zimbabwe, so long an international pariah, has started to rebuild, although the situation remains fragile, and if Robert Mugabe has one of his notorious mood swings then the dark days of 2007 and 2008 could return in weeks.But for now, Zimbabwe Cricket, berated by many, including me, for years, deserves credit for a number of initiatives, the main one being a complete revamping of a tattered and discredited domestic structure. The old system has been swept away and heavily politicised provinces replaced with five new self-contained franchises. Time will tell how independent they are, but it’s a start and the early signs are promising.That change was allied to a decision to embrace the country’s players, including those who had been at the heart of the battle with the board, and many returned as either players or coaches. Perhaps the biggest sign of returning normality was the sight of overseas cricketers such as Chris Silverwood and Steve Tikolo turning out for the franchises.Internationally there was little to write home about. With fixtures hard to come by, the year was spent playing Bangladesh and Kenya. The results highlighted Zimbabwe’s status as being too good for Associates and way short of being able to mix it with the big boys. Only four of 14 ODIs against Bangladesh were won, while only one of 10 against Kenya was lost. The three ODIs against Full Members resulted in comprehensive defeats.Until the on-field results improve, talk of Zimbabwe returning to Test cricket is premature. Unfortunately they were a notable absentee from the ICC World Twenty20 – a competition in which they bloodied Australia’s noses in 2007 – because of political tensions between England, the hosts, and the Mugabe regime.Another reason was that Peter Chingoka, ZC’s chairman, who has been in situ for almost two decades, was banned from the European Union as well as Australia and New Zealand. That caused a few dicey situations as the ICC sought a balance between backing one of its own and not risking a major standoff over someone increasingly hard to support. Common sense prevailed and Chingoka appeared to become increasingly marginalised even in his own country, handing over day-to-day control to chief executive Ozias Bvute, who embarked on a largely successful media charm offensive.The ICC commissioned a fact-finding report from Julian Hunte, the head of the West Indies Cricket Board. The irony of someone whose own board remains a bigger shambles than the one he was supposed to be advising on caused more than a few wry smiles. The end result was the common-sense move to include a Zimbabwe side in the ICC Intercontinental Cup, as well as a number of other supportive moves from Full Members. Sadly, that generosity did not seem to spill over to neighbours South Africa, who insisted on being paid almost $100,000 to host two ODIs against the Zimbabweans in November.New kid on the block
Twenty-year-old fast bowler Kyle Jarvis, who represented Zimbabwe at the Under-19 World Cup in 2008, was brought straight into the national side and showed enough promise to suggest he could be a feature of the team for some time. Quick if raw, he should benefit from guidance from bowling coach Heath Streak.Tatenda Taibu had a turbulent year•Bangladesh Cricket BoardFading star
It’s hard not to feel for Tatenda Taibu, who was left keeping Zimbabwe’s head above water, often almost single-handed, during the dark days. His talent as a keeper-batsman is not in doubt, but his fortunes off the field have sent his career into reverse. Too often he was missing from the side because of off-field rows. He refused to play in Kenya because his kit had been left in Bangladesh, and was then slapped with a 10-match ban after admitting he lied to a Harare court when accused of assaulting a ZC employee.High point
Returning from a three-year self-imposed exile, Charles Coventry smashed an unbeaten 194 against Bangladesh in August, equalling the world record for the highest score in an ODI. His previous best in any format had been 106. Perhaps it underlined Zimbabwe’s weaknesses that despite his innings boosting his side to a post-300 total they were easily beaten.Low point
The final ODI of the year, against South Africa, was almost like watching the Zimbabwe team in the dark days of two or three years ago. South Africa eased to 331 for 5 without ever breaking sweat and then Zimbabwe all but waved the white flag as they were bowled out for 119 in under 35 overs. If anyone who matters had been watching – and the banks of empty stands suggested few were – it would have reminded them how far Zimbabwe have to go.What 2010 holds
A real watershed, both on and off the field. David Coultart, a minister in the power-sharing government, is likely to turn his attention to cricket, but whatever happens, it has to be hoped it won’t deflect too much from the advances made in 2009. With experience back on the playing and coaching side, the national team needs to start producing more consistent performances to back the goodwill the international community has for it.

There was no drama. No last minute dash past the tape. Instead it was a compelling performance from a confident team led by a spirited leader

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston06-Jul-2010There was no drama. No last minute dash past the tape. Instead it was a compelling performance from a confident team led by a spirited leader. It is funny that despite being the world champions in the format twelve months ago questions were being raised at the outset today about Pakistan finishing on top of this two-match series against Australia. Yes, there is no denying the fact that, like Roger Federer or Rafa Nadal, Australia possess the skill and mental discipline to crush any opponent any day but based on Pakistan’s aggressive performance Monday evening there was never a doubt about who entered the arena more positive.Australia seemed cagey from start to the finish. Pakistan seemed more sure and precise in what they did. In the end Michael Clarke fell short of reasons behind Australia’s defeat. Shahid Afridi, his opposite number, glowed with pride in the gloaming, as he was more decisive on both evenings while defending a par score. He was the single biggest reason behind Pakistan’s self belief and it is easy to forget his tactical nous considering the enfant terrible he has been in the last decade.For Afridi, in addition to his own performance, the biggest challenge was to get every player in the squad to read from the same page – something Pakistan teams have never been famous to do. But once the Pakistan Cricket Board had dealt firmly with the happenings in the aftermath of the disastrous Australian tour and given Afridi the captaincy; he has not wasted time to make his mind clear. Together with his coach Waqar Younis and the selectors, Afridi charted a plan which encouraged the inclusion of youngsters. And despite his eccentricities, Afridi remains a good mentor.Importantly, Afridi knows his winning unit. Shoaib Akthar might not be completely fit to consistently feature in all the three formats but Afridi has shown faith in the maverick speedster. Hence it did not matter that Shoaib had been taken to the cleaners by the Davids – Warner and Hussey on Monday. He returned today charged by the vociferous crowd and steamed in with a renewed vigour that brought back memories of the bowler who once could hold an entire stadium enthralled. Today Afridi did not break Shoaib’s rhythm with a three-over first spell. Though Shoaib managed just one wicket, he troubled the batsmen with bounce, with movement with changes of pace.At the other end the exemplary young talent of Mohammad Aamer continued to flourish as the left-armer got a wicket in first over for the second evening in a row. With his ability to control the swing and also bend the ball at will at optimum pace Aamer is easily one of the most destructive bowlers in cricket. Afridi had worked out his plans precisely where he knew he would save his three best bowlers – Aamer, Umar Gul and Saeed Ajmal – for the final five to six overs. These are his go-to men.Australia needed 52 runs off the final six overs with the Hussey brothers looking dangerous. Ajmal straightaway got in his most favourite weapon – the doosra – which the younger Hussey (David) failed to read and returned a simple catch. Afridi was unhappy when Ajmal sent a long hop to debutant Steve O’ Keefe, who duly smashed it past the cover boundary. But O’ Keefe was involved in a run out a ball later and Ajmal finished with impressive figures of 1 for 26. Next over Gul kept his nerves, despite being hit by Michael Hussey for two fours off the first two balls, bouncing back with a a lethal yorker from round the stumps and wide off the crease, which the Australian erroneously tried to reverse sweep and was declared plumb. Aamer took his second three-wicket haul in two days first delivery of the next over, trapping Mitchell Johnson leg before.Like a babysitter Afridi never left the bowlers alone – he walked towards them virtually after every ball, cajoling them, patting them and at times directing them what to do when the bowler failed to carry out the instructions. Obviously the twin victories have now put Pakistan in a positive frame of mind ahead of the two-match Test series, starting at Lord’s next Tuesday. But this result will hardly have a bearing on that, something the Pakistan think tank is well aware of. Waqar was understandably guarded. “[It is] still early days. It is a good start. A win always gives us the momentum,” he said. Still the opponent will be wary now.”We can learn a lot form the way they bowled at the death,” Clarke said in praise of the Pakistan bowlers, before going on to single out Gul who he felt was “outstanding”. “They missed him during the World Cup. You have to be at your best to beat a team like that,” he said.It takes a lot to stir Australia. For the moment, without getting carried away, Pakistan can be proud.

A sun-stroked Perth resident enjoys Nathan Hauritz’s all-round display and admires the beach-ball hitting skills of another spectator

Luke Juniper30-Jan-2010Choice of game
Being the only game that was on during my summer holidays, I had no choice in the matter. Despite being a dead rubber and a scorching 39 degrees in the sun, there was no way I would be missing it.Team supported
Australia. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want Pakistan to put up a good fight, but the pain from our Ashes loss still burns. Every single victory is cherished and required to extinguish that flame.Key performer
Say what you want about him but Nathan Hauritz cannot avoid the action or the scrutiny as he may like. A rip-snorting 53, a run-out, and the wicket of Saeed Ajmal (though he went for six an over) justified the selectors’ and Ricky Ponting’s support for him.One thing you’d have changed
Please, WACA, give me some shade. Granted, I purchased tickets for the East Grass Bank which resulted in approximately seven hours under an intense sun. Live and learn, as they say.Wow moment
Security officials at the WACA displayed a total and utter disrespect for the crowd’s beach-ball-hitting rights. After they snagged and popped approximately 11 of said balls by the middle of the first innings, a young Australian fan won the admiration of the Prindiville Stand crowd by dispatching a beach ball from a security guard’s hands into the rabid mob below. Pity it only lasted another minute.Player watch
Mohammad Asif saw the most action for the day at fine leg. Any time the ball came his way, the ultra-witty Perth crowd would bellow “AsIf you just fielded that!”Shot of the day
Hauritz’s baby face just screams cheeky ninth grader. The third of his four sixes – off Naved-ul-Hasan – was pure contempt.Crowd meter
It was an absolutely scorching day, and being a dead rubber, I did not predict a crowd of such size and enthusiasm. Mexican waves continued all day and there was a steady stream of ejections by the local security. Heat, alcohol and a more or less gutless performance from Pakistan are never a good mix. Following his Man-of-the-Match performance in Adelaide, Ryan Harris was a popular man. He did not disappoint in the slightest with another top-shelf performance.Accessories
Shirt, sunscreen, sunglasses and wide brim hat.Overall
Australia displayed plenty of composure and flair to post a strong 277. Pakistan bowled reasonably well and fielded far better than they have all summer. Unfortunately their bowling in the last 10 overs and their batting overall were extremely disappointing. Boom Boom Afridi provided some fireworks, but by then it was far too late.Marks out of 10
6/10. It is near impossible to get overly excited about a match of this nature and I feel Pakistan have so much more to offer than what they showed in this game. Some big-hitting late in the innings, and some great bowling by Australia maintained interest long enough to avoid early departures from the spectators.

They handled India’s spinners by productively employing the sweep shot to chase down a target of 348

Karthik Krishnaswamy05-Feb-20202:51

We were able to use one short boundary to our advantage – Taylor

New Zealand were 180 for 3. They needed a further 168 to win, off 111 balls, or just a tick above nine runs an over. Tom Latham was batting on 4 off 14 balls.New Zealand fans following ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball commentary were turning edgy. One of them questioned Latham’s decision to bat himself ahead of James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme.Kuldeep Yadav floated the next ball up outside off stump. Latham stretched forward and swept it hard, all along the ground, and bisected deep backward square leg and deep midwicket. The next ball, almost an action replay save for landing a little closer to off stump, disappeared into the same gap, in the same, unstoppable way.Two balls, two clinical sweeps, eight runs.The sweep played a central role in New Zealand’s successful chase of 348, the biggest target they’ve ever overhauled in ODIs. The shot allowed them to dominate India’s spinners, Kuldeep and Ravindra Jadeja, who went for a combined 148 in their 20 overs.In all, according to ESPNcricinfo’s data, Latham played 11 sweeps of various descriptions (conventional, paddle, slog, reverse), scoring 25 runs off them. Sweeps brought Henry Nicholls 13 off seven balls, and Ross Taylor 26 off 13.That’s 64 runs in total, off 31 balls.India’s batsmen, in contrast, only played two sweeps of any description. One was a slog-sweep for six by Kedar Jadhav in the 48th over, off Tim Southee, a fast bowler. Off the 84 balls (not including wides) India faced from spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi, they only played one sweep.This isn’t to knock India’s batsmen for their shot choices. Most of them aren’t regular sweepers when you compare them to Nicholls, Taylor and Latham, who are among the world’s most prolific players of the shot. Moreover, conditions weren’t exactly the same for both sides. The pitch had flattened out considerably when New Zealand batted, while the odd ball gripped and stopped on the batsmen during India’s innings.India also had less of an opportunity to attack the spinners, with Latham pulling Sodhi out of the attack after KL Rahul hit the legspinner for successive sixes in his fourth over. Wary of the six-hitting ability of Rahul and Shreyas Iyer, Latham used his fifth and sixth bowlers, Neesham and de Grandhomme, for a combined 16 overs.Henry Nicholls uses the sweep to good effect•Getty ImagesIndia didn’t have a sixth bowling option, unless you consider Jadhav, who has bowled just four times in his last 11 ODIs. At his best, his stump-to-stump round-armers might have kept New Zealand from sweeping as much as they did, given his lack of bounce, but the fact that he’s stopped bowling regularly suggests he’s lost rhythm or confidence, or the confidence of the team management.And so, India had to keep bowling Jadeja and the under-fire Kuldeep, who went for 84 in his ten overs. New Zealand feasted on these overs, demonstrating just how dangerous a weapon the sweep can be on a flat pitch, and on a ground with one short square boundary. Taylor singled this out in his Player-of-the-Match interview.”Tom batted very well, but I think we were fortunate with the right-left-hand combination throughout the innings and we were able to target the short boundary,” Taylor told the host broadcaster. “[For] Tom to come in there wasn’t easy to start, but I thought the way he way he came in there and targeted that short boundary released a lot of pressure off me, and, you know, that innings was fantastic.”The sweep gave India their one chance to end Taylor’s innings early, when he top-edged Jadeja while on 10, but Kuldeep misjudged the swirling chance at short fine leg. That apart, New Zealand’s batsmen swept with unerring brilliance, putting away all kinds of lines, hitting with and against the turn, and in doing so severely narrowing the range of lengths the spinners could bowl.Take the 24th over, for example. First, Nicholls swept a good-length ball from Kuldeep hard and square to beat the fielder at deep backward square leg. Kuldeep went fuller to compensate, but drifted slightly down leg, and Nicholls paddled him away for a couple. The next ball, almost inevitably, was a touch short, and at Kuldeep’s pace, he doesn’t need to be all that short to get pulled fiercely between mid-on and midwicket.What is a spinner to do? Jadeja might have asked himself that question, when Latham reverse-swept him against the turn, from well outside leg stump, over a leaping backward point fielder, and Taylor followed up with two slog-sweeps, for four and six, in the same over.India, in the end, could only sit back and admire their opponents’ skill.”Credit has to be given where it’s due, and I think they batted outstandingly well,” Virat Kohli said at the post-match presentation. “We thought 348 was good enough, especially with the start we got as well, with the ball. We were patient enough to get a couple of wickets and then got a run-out in there as well.”But then, Ross obviously is the most experienced player [in the New Zealand team] now that Kane [Williamson] is not there, but I think Tom’s innings was something that took the momentum away from us, after Nicholls got out, and as I said, those two in the middle overs were simply unstoppable.”Credit to them, the way they batted and the areas they hit, it made life very difficult for our bowlers.”

A stats preview of the fourth Test between England and Pakistan

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan25-Aug-2010After dreadful performances in the first two matches, Pakistan fought back superbly to win the third Test at The Oval and keep the series alive. Australia are the only team to win a Test series after going down 2-0, but the inexperienced Pakistan side will believe that they can level this series, and drawn efforts against England and Australia will constitute an excellent English summer for them. Pakistan’s batting still remains a worry but their potent bowling attack has proved to be a handful in helpful conditions and England will be very wary leading into the final Test at Lord’s.Judging by their past record, though, England would rather play a crucial Test match at Lord’s than at any other ground. Their record over the last decade at this ground is fantastic. They have lost only to Australia and South Africa and performed impressively against all other opponents. Pakistan’s last win at Lord’s came in 1996, and considering their frail batting resources they will be hard-pressed to repeat that feat. The table below summarises England’s performance at various home venues.

England’s Test record at various home grounds since 2000

GroundPlayedWonLostDrawLord’s211137The Oval11623Edgbaston10532Old Trafford9612Headingley9540Trent Bridge10532Pakistan’s batting woes were thoroughly exposed in the first two Tests of the series. Mohammad Yousuf’s return to the team has boosted the middle order and the batting was much better at The Oval. Yousuf’s experience will be vital at Lord’s as it has been a very ordinary venue for most of the other Pakistan batsmen. Pakistan’s batting average is among the lowest of all teams in Tests at Lord’s in the 2000s. Yousuf’s batting performance at Lord’s, though, has been in sharp contrast to the team’s showing. He averages over 70 and is one of 14 batsmen to score a double-hundred at this ground.

Pakistan batsmen at Lord’s since 2000

PlayerMatchesRunsAverage10050Mohammad Yousuf228270.5010Salman Butt216541.2502Kamran Akmal210434.6601Imran Farhat27919.7500England’s batsmen, on the other hand, have been prolific at Lord’s. They average nearly 40 at this venue, scoring 35 hundreds and 41 fifties. England’s batting performance at various home venues is summarised below.

England batting performance at various home grounds since 2000

GroundMatchesRunsAverage10050Lord’s211123339.833541Old Trafford9451636.711415The Oval11596634.481132Headingley9446931.47920Edgbaston10454329.50823Trent Bridge10476527.701022Alastair Cook batted himself into some good form ahead of the final Test by scoring a century after going eight innings without a fifty. Kevin Pietersen and Andrew Strauss have scored four centuries and average over 64 while Jonathan Trott has scored a double-century in his only Test at Lord’s. Pietersen, in particular, has not had a great series and will be looking to make amends at his favourite venue. The records of the current England batsmen at Lord’s indicate why they will relish the prospect of batting at this venue.

England batsmen at Lord’s since 2000

PlayerMatchesRunsAverage10050Andrew Strauss13134764.1446Kevin Pietersen1090664.7142Alistair Cook974853.4225Paul Collingwood848640.5022James Anderson has been in exceptional form throughout the series, and if his record at Lord’s is anything to go by, he will be the biggest threat for Pakistan. Steven Finn and Graeme Swann have also produced excellent performances at this ground over the last year and this augurs well for England going into this crucial clash. Pakistan will once again rely primarily on Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir to provide the breakthroughs although Saeed Ajmal’s five-wicket haul at The Oval gives them an attacking spin option.In Tests at Lord’s since 2000, pace bowlers have picked up 535 wickets at 33.64,and have performed much better than spinners, who have taken 123 wickets at 40.74.

Bangladesh’s cricketers take time to get back into the groove after a significant event, and so Stuart Law’s resignation as coach comes as a big setback

Mohammad Isam17-Apr-2012Stuart Law’s resignation as Bangladesh coach after only nine months in the job is a backward step for the team, which had turned a corner with their performance and outlook during the Asia Cup. His sudden departure will be a critical break in continuity for a team notorious for its unpredictability.As they have shown in both the micro – after a break for drinks, lunch or tea – and macro – change of coach or captain – Bangladesh’s cricketers take time to get back into the groove after a significant event. The start under Law was poor, with losses in Zimbabwe and against West Indies and Pakistan, but Bangladesh hit form in the Asia Cup. Their dedication to the cause and their team spirit was praised by those outside and inside the dressing-room.Law was blessed, in some ways, with a combination of cricketers who are more talented than any in Bangladesh’s history. Shakib Al Hasan and Tamim Iqbal are products of the Siddons-era, but Shakib, despite losing captaincy, has risen to prominence as a world-class allrounder and Tamim has been on the road to recovery over the past two years. Mushfiqur Rahim, who was made captain after Shakib was sacked in mid 2011, has also made his mark as a finisher, and Nasir Hossain made a impressive start in international cricket.In Law’s first Test as coach, former captain Mohammad Ashraful, who was battling for form, struck an important half-century. He was then given an extended run despite falling into his characteristic dip right after that Zimbabwe Test. Ashraful said Law liked to give players confidence without tinkering with how they play. “I have seen him work and he didn’t really want us to change techniques,” Ashraful told ESPNcricinfo. “He wanted to give players assurance with what they have.”He was getting to know the players though he didn’t get a lot of time to work with everyone properly. Before the Zimbabwe series he only got two days and even later he didn’t get much time But he made a difference, as was seen during the Asia Cup.”A nine-month stint is too short to pass judgement on but Law had more success in the same time period than the two previous coaches. Dav Whatmore, who took charge in 2003, only won a single one-day international in his first nine months, while Jamie Siddons oversaw four wins against weaker teams but had poor results against the stronger ones.However, while Law thrived on bringing a cluster of performing cricketers together to form a core group, the team’s biggest stars, Shakib and Tamim, did not have the greatest relationship with him.In Zimbabwe, there was an alleged spat between Tamim and Law in his first match as coach. After Bangladesh beat India in the Asia Cup, Law wanted to remind the senior players to keep learning. He said: “If you think you’ve got it, it will come back and bite you in the backside. It’s got that wonderful knack of doing that.”On the day he resigned, Law again reminded Bangladesh that they must have everyone performing, and not just one or two players, to move forward. “I am a firm believer that you do have your outstanding performers in the team but they can’t be the ones you rely on all the time. At some stage they’re going to come up short so that’s when the other players should be ready to take the bull by the horns.”As great a player Shakib is, I didn’t want him to be the only player making all the contributions. Shakib and Tamim are the marquee players but the other players have stuck their hand up so that’s what you want to see.”Law also saw the darker sides of cricket administration in Bangladesh, when the board suddenly sacked Shakib as captain and took its own time to name a successor, even holding a warm-up tournament to determine whether Mushfiqur Rahim or Mahmudullah was the better choice. There were selection issues before every series with the matter coming to a head when Akram Khan resigned ahead of the Asia Cup. While insisting his departure was for family reasons, Law was gracious enough not to find fault with the BCB.However, former captain Khaled Mashud said the board must look into the reasons behind Law’s departure. “He [Law] has a personal problem, as he has told us, but the board should dig deep. There should be an inquiry so that the next man doesn’t have the same problems he had,” Mashud said. “His performance was better towards the end of his short tenure but he seemed like a good coach, listened to the players as much as he talked to them. It will be a big loss.”Law’s approach to coaching Bangladesh was to take a backseat and not take the lead like Whatmore or Siddons did. With a team containing two stars, a captain and a few more performers, it was important for the coach to let it function on its own. He will always be remembered for sitting in the dugout when Bangladesh took the Asia Cup by storm.Ashraful was of the opinion that Law’s successor should be a high profile coach. “We are still the No. 9 team in the world so there is an effect of what he [a coach] says. The coach also has to be a good motivator.”ESPNcricinfo has learned the BCB is already looking for a new coach and will put out a circular in the next three days with applicants from home and abroad. The likelihood of former Australia batsman Dean Jones, who said he had been contacted by the BCB, getting the job might not be popular with some players after Jones’ stint with Chittagong Kings in the Bangladesh Premier League.

The former batsman, umpire, coach and now commentator answers readers’ questions on bowlers who frightened him, being diplomatic, England’s dry run in the 80s and 90s, and more

19-Nov-2010David Lloyd has done everything in cricket: debuting for Lancashire in 1965 as a spinner, he ended up playing nine Tests as an opening bat for England, hitting a double-century against India in his second game, in 1974. Six months after that, Lloyd played his last Test, one of many casualties of England’s 4-1 Ashes trouncing down under by Lillee and Thomson’s Australia. The left-handed Lloyd was a key part of the Lancashire side that dominated English one-day cricket in the early 70s, winning the first two Sunday Leagues (1969 and 1970) and three Gillette Cups in a row from 1970. By the time he played his last game, in 1985, he had made nearly 27,000 runs all told in a 21-season career.In retirement Lloyd turned first to umpiring and then to coaching, first with Lancashire before being rapidly promoted, to the England job. He was in charge of the national team between 1996 and 1999 before retreating to the Sky gantry. His time as England coach was mixed. Using specialist coaches alongside his own Churchillian approach to team talks, Lloyd’s tenure laid foundations for the future: the win over South Africa in 1998 was England’s first in a major series for 11 years and the side was at least competitive despite losing the Ashes 3-1 the following winter. But failing to win a game on tour in Zimbabwe in 1996 and the debacle of the 1999 World Cup exit cast a shadow.Steeped in cricket and always entertaining, in his decade with Sky, Bumble has become the natural heir to Dickie Bird as cricket’s No. 1 maverick national treasure, and this month he embarks on a national theatre tour to meet his public. There’s plenty of them: at last count he had over 90,000 followers on his Twitter account.When you retired as a player, did you think you would be an umpire for the rest of your career?
No. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It was a good time in my life. But I probably knew I would go into coaching because I’d done lots of coaching badges. But when I was an umpire my ambition was to be an international umpire – and if I’d got that far, I would maybe still have been doing that, I don’t know.Who first called you Bumble?
John Sullivan, who was at Lancashire in the 60s. He gave me the nickname because I looked like one of the characters on Michael Bentine’s show, the that was very much like .When was the first time you spoke in public?
It would be when I was captain of Lancashire, mid-70s. I’d have a good guess at it being Liverpool Cricket Club. I think I just had to introduce the team and told a couple of anecdotes about each one. Someone in the audience said they’d like to book me to speak at a function and I said, “No, I don’t do any of that.” But it moved on from there…Do you think you should you have played more times for England?
[] No! I came back [into the one-day side] in 1980 and I should never have been picked. Botham was captain and you know how bad a captain he was – he chose me to play in that game. He must have been mad. I couldn’t see, for a start. I mean, I could see all right for county cricket but he brought me back against West Indies. And there was no chance of seeing them.

“Botham was captain and you know how bad a captain he was – he chose me to play in that game. He must have been mad. I couldn’t see, for a start”

Has anyone been as frightening to watch or play against as Jeff Thomson was on that 1974-75 Ashes tour?
One I played with who was ferocious was Colin Croft – and against, Sylvester Clarke [of Surrey]. He was frightening. Both nasty on the field. They didn’t like cricket, I think, basically. They thought the faster we can get this bloke out or kill him, the quicker I can get off.[]
Well, I hope all fast bowlers go out to hurt people. That’s part of the make-up: “I’m gonna hurt you, you’re not going to bat”. Having a ruthless streak is part of it. We had Malcolm Marshall come to Lancashire as a specialist bowling coach once and he said to the fast bowlers: “The first thing you do is break the spin bowlers’ hands.”Who had the best one-day team in the 1970s: Kent or Lancashire?
There’s only one winner there! Bloody hell! () They were good, Kent were a good side. But we kept having to go down to London to play in finals. It were bloody costly to keep going down there to play! You had to pay for your wife… you got a bob or two but you’d spend more than that. I don’t think we got a share of the prize money…Ian Austin opened the bowling for England in the 1999 World Cup. When you were England coach, were you biased towards Lancashire players?
[] No. In Austin’s case we canvassed every opening batsman in county cricket and asked them who were the two most difficult bowlers to play against and they said Chris Lewis and Ian Austin.Andy Flower’s set-up is very different to yours: could you be England coach now or would it not suit your style?
Central contracts are the be-all and end-all. That’s what made England a competent team. Andy Flower is a wonderful bloke, he has a wonderful team. His management set-up is perfect and he has a world-class team, a cracking team. We suggested central contracts when I was coach, then Duncan Fletcher took them on and now Andy is getting the full benefit of it.Is it true that being given a Fall CD changed your musical taste for good? Who gave you the CD and what were you listening to before?
Paul King, who is executive producer of Sky cricket, gave me the Fall CD. And he said, “You’ll either get this or you won’t”, and I got it immediately. But I’m still into the Rolling Stones. You’re either the Stones or the Beatles… and I’m the Stones. I mean, I like Sinatra, I think he’s terrific, but I’m a bit more punk rock.What has been your greatest achievement in cricket?
Beating South Africa, when I was England coach in 1998. They were a hell of a side: Cronje, Klusener, Pollock and Donald opening the bowling. They were a good set of lads and a bloody good side. They had a team and a half.Why did England go 11 years without a major series win in the 1980s and 1990s?
Well, we were playing fewer major series for one thing: we were just embarking on split tours – an odd game here and two Tests there – I remember in ’96 we were just getting our teeth into what would now be a fantastic series against India, but it was over after three matches. We won that 1-0, then Waqar and Wasim’s Pakistan came with a great side and beat us 2-0 and we beat them 2-1 in the one-dayers. The ultimate in that came straight after that South Africa series: we’d given everything to beat them 2-1 and then they stuck a single Test against Sri Lanka at The Oval onto the end. You might as well have played on Galle beach. We just gave Murali a pitch that he wanted. I was up in arms about that. He took 16 wickets and it was just like an exhibition: “Look at these lovely chaps.” They turned us over good and proper.Did you find it hard to keep schtum and be diplomatic when you were England coach?
I wouldn’t do it. I wouldn’t tow any diplomatic line. If that’s what they wanted when they employed me, then they had the wrong bloke. I come from an area where if someone kicks you once you kick ’em twice. So it wasn’t difficult for me! I wouldn’t change it. I wouldn’t be anything different. I assumed they knew what they were getting.”John Player cricket came in because the rest of it was completely on its arse”•PA PhotosWas that 1974-75 Ashes tour England’s nadir during your whole time following of being involved with or following the England team?
The result was terrible, but as a tour it was enjoyable… I’d never been out of England before. I come from a rough area. We didn’t go abroad. I didn’t come from Weybridge or Maidenhead, I came from Accrington! And there were plenty more on the trip who’d never been out of England. I know Ken Shuttleworth, who went in 1971, had never been out of England…How much have you grown into your role at Sky? How “cast” is it? Don’t you wish you could play the grumpy old man sometimes?
No, no, they pay for what they get and I ain’t changing. I like a bit of fun, I enjoy myself – but I can be serious and fight my corner. There’s no casting. But there are plenty of times where they despair and they’ve got their heads in their hands!Who is the funniest man in cricket?
The man who I think is fantastic – in fact, he’s on my ringtone – is Bill Lawry. “Got him!” I think he’s fabulous. Just the enthusiasm… he’s well into his 70s and his patriotism, his love of the game and his enthusiasm is fantastic. He was a dour player, a very dour player. But as a commentator he brings it all alive. But my all-time broadcasting hero is Fred Trueman. He was the first northern voice on commentary, as far as I can remember. The first one who didn’t speak like Mr Cholmondeley-Warner.Lancashire won the first two 40-over Sunday Leagues, in 1969 and 1970. Was that tournament the Twenty20 of its day: half of cricket people saying it will save the game and half saying it will kill it?
Duncan Edwards. I was 11 when he died in the Munich air disaster. But he was the complete footballer.Who is the best player you’ve seen who never made it at the highest level?
Don Shepherd of Glamorgan. Spin bowler. Just check his record: 2000-plus wickets! [2200 wickets at 21 each, between 1950 and 1972]. I played against him. He was playing into the 1970s and he’s still totally involved in the game now, at 80-odd. He overlapped Jim Laker a little bit, and Fred Titmus and Ray Illingworth, so he never got a chance with England. But he was a wonderful bowler. The lad who’s missed out right now is Glen Chapple. It’s just never quite happened for him: wrong place, wrong time… he’s been in that many squads and missed out.Should England players be banned from tweeting?
No. Definitely not. I’d be quite the other way. Engage with the fans. Graeme Swann and Jimmy Anderson are very clever with it. They tell you if they’ve had a bad day – but don’t go into any details – but there’s also little nice snippets. Swanny’s a card, he’ll have some fun. But they don’t go into anything in-depth that they shouldn’t do. It’s vital. In any sport, players are so isolated from the public – particularly soccer – you just never see them about now.

“My all-time broadcasting hero is Fred Trueman. He was the first northern voice on commentary, as far as I can remember. The first one who didn’t speak like Mr Cholmondeley-Warner”

Do you find it odd that we don’t have a 50-over domestic competition in England, when international cricket is still 50 overs?
Yeah. I think you’ve got to try and mirror international cricket. The 18 counties rule the roost because they are the ECB. But my mild criticism is that I’m not sure they put the England team on the pedestal. I think it should be.Everything should be geared towards the England team, and I’m not sure all the counties take that on board. I’d like the distribution of wealth to be a bit more thought out. Not to give 18 counties £1.5m every year and let them spend it on what they want. It’s unbelievable that so many of them are struggling, on those terms. I like the Australian model. Take the WACA: the money goes to the Western Australia Cricket Association and the state teams get money from the WACA, but a lot of money goes on grass roots. And – just in my opinion – the English game is awash with money, awash with it, and I’m not sure the money gets to grassroots the way it should do.Have you ever “died” when you have been doing after-dinner speaking?
Loads of times! Loads. But I haven’t done after-dinner speaking for years. This tour isn’t like after-dinner speaking. I don’t have to sit next to some bloke I’ve never clapped eyes on before for four hours and drink water… I got out of that game a long time ago because standards were dropping. People were chatting on their mobile phones while you were up there doing your best and getting home at two in the morning. So I took a view: why am I doing this? I could be tucked up in bed!

After a string of defeats since their Test comeback last August, this is a series victory to get Zimababwe cricket going again

Firdose Moonda24-Jun-2012Zimbabwe’s victory in the unofficial Twenty20 tri-series, which included a stunning nine-wicket win over South Africa in the final, is an indication that they are “on the right path” according to their coach Alan Butcher.Zimbabwean cricket started its upward trajectory since they made their Test comeback against Bangladesh last August but hit choppy waters soon after. Tough series against Pakistan and New Zealand set them back but their coup in this competition is an affirmation for Butcher that improvements have been made.”This is a real sign that we are on the right track,” Butcher told ESPNcricinfo. “It can sometimes get hard to convince people that things are going well when we don’t get the results so this has been really good from that perspective.” Since making their Test comeback with a victory over Bangladesh, Zimbabwe have lost to Pakistan and New Zealand in all formats, the latter both home and away.Their 2012 schedule is sparse, with no cricket from January until the World T20 in September. The tri-series was organised at the request of South Africa coach Gary Kirsten, who wanted to give his team match practice and a chance to experiment ahead of the World T20. It was initially supposed to be a bilateral five-match series played over five days. But, after Bangladesh had their tour to Pakistan postponed, they requested to join in. Their participation brought with it television coverage which gave the series a far higher profile, something Butcher said will add to the publicity of his team’s showing, albeit in a series of practice matches.”It didn’t matter that it was unofficial, we took it very seriously,” Butcher said. “We had training camps since the beginning of May and we worked very hard for this, so I’m pretty pleased with the way it turned out. The guys worked well as a unit.”The coach had a few special words of praise for one of his stand-out charges. Hamilton Masakadza was named man of the series after finishing as the tournament’s top run-scorer with 267 runs at 66.75 and notching up four half-centuries in five matches. He also scored a hundred in the tour match against Bangladesh and is enjoying what some like Zimbabwe cricket committee chair Alistair Campbell, have called the form of his life.”I am very pleased for Hamilton. He had his problems and he was even left out of the side but he has worked on them,” Butcher said, referring to Masakadza’s exclusion from the 2011 World Cup squad. “He had an outstanding tournament and he deserved this.”Masakadza’s unbeaten 58 and Brendan Taylor’s 59 not out took Zimbabwe to a comfortable win in the final, but Zimbabwe gained the advantage first-up when their bowlers pinned South Africa down to 146 for 6. “We had a good start, which helped, but generally all the bowlers have worked well as a unit,” Butcher said. South Africa were 6 for 2 in the second over and had lost both their openers, Richard Levi and Hashim Amla.Chris Mpofu was the joint leading wicket-taker in the tournament, with seven wickets and an average of 16.14. He showed good ability on a familiar surface to mix up pace with cutters and performed the role of the senior seamer that he is. Mpofu said he benefitted from being pushed by youngsters like Kyle Jarvis and now has another pace bowler to contend with as well.Richard Muzhange was the find of the tournament. He bowled with control and executed the yorker with perfection, especially at the death of an innings. Jason Gillespie, who coached Muzhange at the Mid-West Rhinos last season, identified him as a future star and Butcher could not be more pleased with what they have found. “He is definitely one for the future. He showed great composure and that he is willing to learn.”That is quality that could be associated with almost all of the Zimbabwe side. They have found that knowledge of what to do in certain conditions and how to play in certain situations has made them a more competitive team and Butcher said it has also had an influence on their mindsets. “The players are growing in confidence and self-belief. Hopefully, we will take that with us into the World T20.”

England’s conduct in the last hour of the Manchester Test came across as moral posturing, and it’s regrettable that it came on the watch of an otherwise great ambassador for the game

Sidharth Monga28-Jul-20251:19

Harmison: ‘A little bit farcical towards the end’

It’s weird what offends cricketers.They work with an opaque internal moral code of conduct. They can legit bully players in the name of sledging after singling out who they feel are “mentally weak”, but hell hath no fury like a batter scorned by a run-out backing up, which is well within the laws of the game. They can desperately appeal for wickets when they know the batter is not out but their side is out of reviews. They can bend the laws for every last bit of advantage and then take offence at someone running the clock out or getting treatment on the field. Or someone batting on for a well-earned milestone after having batted the best part of a day to save a Test and keep his team alive in a series.Ben Stokes is an elite competitor. The game of cricket is immensely richer for him. He leaves everything out on the field even if it means he is absent for his family between Tests. This was his 12th Player-of-the-Match award in Test cricket. Only 12 men have more. Not long ago, he and his team were gracious in victory, checking on a crestfallen Mohammed Siraj practically seconds after taking the last wicket at Lord’s.Related

• Injured Stokes out of fifth Test against India, Archer and Carse rested

• Jamie Overton added to England squad for fifth Test against India

• Weary England show their frustrations as Test ends on sour note

• India's grit outlasts England's endurance to make 2-2 a possibility

• Gill on the dramatic end: Jadeja, Washington 'deserved a century there'

And here they were, going on and on about India not accepting their offer for a draw at the start of the mandatory overs.The teams had been at it for hours, days. At that stage, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja had withstood everything England could throw at them. They were 80 not out and 89 not out, respectively. Washington has previously run out of partners on 85 and 96 in Tests. This would be his maiden Test hundred.England went into this righteous fit the moment their offer for the draw was not accepted.There is no specific morally superior way of playing the game. The laws of the game clearly say you can’t consider a game over until the overs are bowled or both captains have agreed on ending the game prematurely.Just like England were right to offer the draw when they didn’t see another result possible, Shubman Gill, the India captain, was well within his rights to let his two rescuers go on and have a moment of personal glory on top of a gigantic effort in the absence of their best batter of the last five years, Rishabh Pant.3:12

‘Would they have walked off?’ – Gambhir on Stokes’ draw offer

The same dressing room stands up and applauds Joe Root, a great Test batter, when he gets to a hundred. They get twitchy when Root has to go to stumps unbeaten on 99.They can’t say with a straight face that personal milestones don’t matter. If they come at the expense of a team’s interests, it is that team’s problem. In this case, there was no such possibility. India would have had to live with it if they had lost wickets in pursuit of the milestones and left open a window for a daring England chase, but they were confident that couldn’t happen.The meltdown that ensued can happen in the heat of the moment. When you are at the absolute brink of physical endurance – like England were – the mind can get frayed. However, even after he had had an hour to think about his actions, Stokes still chose to virtue-signal. When asked if he would have pulled the plug on a young batter a few hits away from a maiden Test century after having batted through the day, Stokes said he couldn’t see how the extra ten runs made any difference to what Washington and Jadeja had already done.If this piece was about whataboutism, it would have pointed out the Wellington declaration, made soon after Root’s century to set New Zealand a target of 583, or the declaration with a 352-run lead against Ireland in 2023, made soon after Ollie Pope’s double-century.Those extra few runs were not making a difference to England’s team goals, but this is not about that at all.It is about not trying to impose your values on others.If this was done to gain some kind of competitive advantage, it would have still been fine. This, unfortunately, came across as moral posturing, which is highly avoidable, at all times. It is regrettable that it came on the watch of an otherwise great ambassador for the game.