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.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the fourth day at The Oval

George Dobell and Firdose Moonda at The Oval22-Jul-2012Dedication of the Day
With Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis both starting the fourth day with milestones imminent, emotion was guaranteed. Amla reached 200 with a perfectly-placed back-foot drive and celebrated long, but carefully. Kallis was more emphatic when he reached three figures. With arms raised he soaked in warm applause and then gestured to his eye with a small nod of the head. Although Kallis had pointed to his right eye instead of his left, it was a tribute to his best friend, Mark Boucher, whose left-eye injury forced him to retire at the start of the tour. Kallis and Boucher, friends for almost two decades, were the longest-serving members of the South African squad and also live next door to each other.Achievement of the Day
Before today, no South African batsman had scored 300 runs in a Test match. AB de Villiers’ 278 stood as the tallest mountain and when Hashim Amla went past him, De Villiers was shown on camera cheering him on. It took 35 balls from the time Amla broke that record to the time he brought up 300. There were some nerves when Tim Bresnan trapped him on the pads and appealed vociferously but otherwise his usual calm predominated. The milestone came with a drive through the covers, Amla’s signature shot of the innings. As he jogged down the pitch, he punched the air – a first for a usually understated man. The Oval crowd were on the feet for a full minute.Big call of the Day
Graeme Smith has been criticised for sometimes being too conservative. Today, he went the other way. At tea, with South Africa 252 runs ahead with eight wickets in hand and Jacques Kallis on 182, Smith decided they would bat no more. He gave his bowlers four sessions to bowl England out and left open the possibility that South Africa might have to chase a small target. With a series lead at stake, it was a daring move.Commitment of the Day
The score was 628 for 2 when James Anderson, rushing around the cover boundary, dived full length to turn what had appeared to be a certain four into a two. For a man who had bowled 41 overs – and not taken a wicket since his second – it was a fine effort. While such episodes were of small consolation, this was a day of little joy for England and such a moment at least hinted at the spirit, the fitness and the determination of Anderson and his colleagues.Stat of the Day
By the South Africa declared on 637 for 2, England’s bowlers had taken their last three Test wickets for a cost of 780 runs, in a period stretching back to the Edgbaston Test against West Indies where Tino Best and Denesh Ramdin added 143 for the tenth wicket. For the No. 1 Test side who pride themselves on possessing a fine bowling attack, that is a major stain on their record.Telling moment of the Day:
Some England supporters argued with gateman around the tea interval after demanding their money back. Their point, as far as it was possible to tell through the somewhat inebriated slurring of words, was that they had come to watch a game of cricket but had been bored by the lack of a contest. They argued in vain. While those supporting England might have been disappointed, the pleasure of watching Amla should have provided ample compensation.

В сервисе Steam стартовала бесплатная раздача сразу двух игр — Black Desert (до 18 декабря) и Just Ignore Them (до 15 декабря). Обе игры доступны в России.

Black Desert — фэнтезийная MMORPG с большим открытым миром, динамичной боевой системой, разнообразными ремёслами (торговлей, рыбалкой, охотой, алхимией, кулинарией и не только) и разными режимами, включая PvP. Игра была разработана южнокорейской студией Pearl Abyss на собственном движке и выпущена в 2015 году. Проект получил 73% рейтинга. Страница в Steam.

Just Ignore Them — пиксельный инди-хоррор с видом сверху про восьмилетнего мальчика, который оказался в доме с жуткими монстрами. Игра получила 79% положительных отзывов. Её похвалили за неплохой сюжет, приятное музыкальное сопровождение и атмосферу. Страница в Steam.

Ранее мы опубликовали новую подборку игр из Steam, которые стали полностью бесплатными. В неё попали 4 проекта: Chrono Port: Heroes of All Time, Autogiro, Knight Brawler и Geisterbahnhof.

Недавно в сервисе GOG стартовала большая зимняя распродажа со скидками до 95%.

Следить за халявой и скидками на игры можно в нашем Telegram-канале.

🐻 Второй фильм по FNAF разгромили критики — сейчас у него 11% свежести на Rotten Tomatoes

-2

Поделиться:

PC Новости Black DesertНовостиИгровые новостихаляваSteam

Liverpool have been told that Mohamed Salah is irreplaceable and that there is "no way" reported target Antoine Semenyo, who continues to impress at Bournemouth, is as good as their current No.11. Ex-Reds striker Dean Saunders has been discussing an unfortunate Anfield saga with GOAL after seeing Salah aim an explosive blast at the reigning Premier League champions.

• Exit talk: Why Salah is seeing transfer mooted

  Having found himself benched in three successive fixtures, Salah felt the need to speak out following a frustrating evening in Leeds. He accused Liverpool of throwing him under the bus, as he becomes a scapegoat for title defence struggles, and admitted to seeing his relationship with Reds boss Arne Slot break down.

  Inevitable transfer talk has been sparked, with teams in the Saudi Pro League already being credited with interest in an Egyptian superstar that appears to be pushing for the exits. It may be that Salah, who will soon be heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, has played his last game for Liverpool.

Advertisement

• Getty/GOAL
  

  Salah replacement: Who should Liverpool look at?

  With the Reds being linked with the likes of Semenyo, West Ham captain Jarrod Bowen and Bayern Munich winger Michael Olise, Saunders – speaking via Casino.org, the go-to platform helping British players in finding online casino sites – told GOAL when asked who should be lined up to fill Salah’s boots: "I don’t think you can replace him. Bear in mind, three-and-a-half months ago he won the PFA Player of the Year. He won the league with Liverpool, ended up with 34 goals. I actually said he was the best player in the world, four months ago, because it’s the toughest league in the world and he’s just won the vote of all the players as the Player of the Year.

  "The club does need Mo Salah in the team, it’s so hard to replace him. There is no way Semenyo is as good as Mo Salah. It’s a different level. At one point we thought Son [Heung-min] at Tottenham would probably get a game for Liverpool if [Sadio] Mane went. If Salah goes, who do they get?

  "You look at [Bukayo] Saka, maybe, but they [Arsenal] aren’t going to let him go. It’s players like that. It’s ‘are you going to produce every week, because Mo Salah produces every week?’

  "For whatever reason this season he has not been the player he has been. I think it’s a bit premature at the moment to say ‘let’s get another player to replace him’. They will have to at some point. They will have players lined up."

• Legacy tarnished: Will Salah be welcome back at Anfield?

  Salah – with two Premier League titles, a Champions League crown and 250 goals to his name – stands accused of tarnishing his legacy at Anfield. Saunders added on the 33-year-old burning bridges and what Liverpool need to do next: "I feel like ringing his agent and saying ‘can he not just apologise, say he was emotional after the game, got the hump because he was left out, got the hump because he was never brought on and say sorry, he didn’t mean to offend?’

  "He has offended all of the Liverpool fans who love him. Every week the camera goes on the directors’ box – we see Kenny Dalglish, Alan Hansen, Ian Rush, legends of the past. Will he ever be able to do that now? Has he spoiled his legacy?

  "I’m sure if he had said to Arne Slot: ‘Gaffer, I want to leave in the summer, between you and me. Or I want to leave at Christmas because I’m not happy with the way things are going. I’d rather you tell the owners that I want to go to Saudi. Can I leave the club in the best possible way because I love it, I’ve been here eight years and I don’t want to leave under a cloud?’. Trent [Alexander-Arnold] left under a cloud, not all his fault.

  "They are going to have to find a replacement. He’s a good player, Semenyo, he’s doing really well, but it’s a decision they didn’t think they would have to make. They have just spent half-a-billion on attackers. You’d think they would be able to get a front three out of that lot. You are going to have to be shopping in Harvey Nichols or Harrods for the next right winger at Liverpool."

• Getty
  

  Stay or go: When will Salah leave Liverpool?

  It remains to be seen when Liverpool will be forced into the market for a successor to Salah, and if they choose to frequent the most lavish of transfer outlets. For now, the ‘Egyptian King’ of Merseyside remains tied to a contract through to 2027 and may yet be able to talk and play his way back into favour with disgruntled supporters and coaching staff.

ScorecardWorcestershire’s relegation to Division Two was confirmed as they slumped to an innings defeat against Essex at Chelmsford.After Joe Clarke fell to the third ball of the morning, the task was simply to delay the inevitable, and despite Wayne Parnell’s battling, unbeaten 50 taking things into the day’s second session, Essex wrapped things up with time to spare.The damage in this game was done on the first day, when they were shot out by Jamie Porter, and these three days confirmed the pre-season suspicions of many that, despite an exciting crop of young talent, Worcestershire lacked that little bit of quality to keep them in the division.In truth, it was a cruel way for their Championship campaign to end. Their narrow defeats at Southport and at home to both Essex and Surrey were hard-fought games that could easily have gone their way, and in all three, a poor session or two cost them.Here, they were outplayed by an excellent Essex side who may well go into next season as Surrey’s nearest challengers with the bookies.”We haven’t played anywhere near our best in this game,” said Daryl Mitchell, who suffered his fifth relegation today. “We’ve got an absolute pasting this week – we haven’t competed well at all. The rest of the year, there’s been some near misses and we’ve competed really well, but we’ve been completely annihilated here.”It was hard not to spare a thought for Mitchell this afternoon. In the past week he captained the side against the county champions in one of their toughest games of the season, won the Vitality Blast on Worcestershire’s first appearance at Finals Day, played two days of trials for the Hundred, and now he finds himself relegated again.As is often the case for the club, there is reason for optimism yet. Next year they will be strengthened even further by the returning Joe Leach, and with Parnell signing a Kolpak deal to complement the young trio of Ed Barnard, Dillon Pennington and Josh Tongue, their seam attack will be among the best in either division.And with county heads set to vote on a proposal to expand the top division to ten teams next week, the years of lurching between the divisions may soon be over.Mitchell was not the only county stalwart on the mind today. James Foster, who is leaving the club at the end of his contract, was heralded on the pitch during the lunch interval, came on as a substitute fielder for a final Chelmsford outing, and played football with his young family on the outfield as the ground emptied.Tensions have been high in the final phase of Foster’s Essex career. Negotiating with the club has proved tricky: he has not played for the first team since his mid-season coaching stint in the Global T20 League in Canada, and it has been made clear that his contract is expiring rather than him retiring.While this was not the farewell season he would have wanted, it was clear from the club’s presentation that he will go down as a great in these parts; and after 18 years of service, he deserved every last ripple of applause that came his way.Essex go into next week’s game at The Oval needing a win to have a chance of sealing second place, but third should not be seen as some kind of failure.”In the time I’ve been here, barring last year, we’ve never even finished as high as second from bottom in Div One,” said Ryan ten Doeschate, now the dressing room’s senior citizen, during the defeat to Surrey two weeks ago. “It would be jumping the gun to think Championship, Championship, Championship: we need to be realistic.”And this performance showed that all the ingredients of last year’s success are still there. Porter’s 11 wickets in the match will leave him hopeful of a Test debut before long and Ravi Bopara’s hundred gave a reminder of his immense worth to the club.Today, they were not at their best with the ball, but the pressure was off after Clarke’s early departure, and when Simon Harmer wrapped things up with the wickets of Ben Twohig – whose elegant cameo showed promise – and Pennington, it was some time since the game had been won.