They could feel happy with the end result – second on the points table – but there remains a lingering feeling that they could have made fewer mistakes at crucial stages

Mohammad Isam14-Dec-2015Tournament overviewThe owners of the Rangpur franchise were the only ones allowed to retain their team in BPL 2015, and considering the Riders finished second on the table as opposed to fifth like the last time in 2013, they should feel pleased. Except, Rangpur got a healthy core of players from the draft in October and were one of the strongest squads on paper so tripping over on the last step before the summit might sting.The Shakib Al Hasan-led side would’ve made the final if they’d won the second qualifier, and though they put up 160 runs on the board and took two early wickets in the chase, a ferocious century partnership between Sabbir Rahman and Shahariar Nafees sealed Barisal Bulls’ victory.Shane Jurgensen, the Rangpur coach, was rueful his bowlers could not break that stand but the bigger concern coming into that game had been the batsmen – they had crumbled to 91 all out in the first qualifier.Luckily for Rangpur, they were not reliant on one player. Lendl Simmons, with 221 runs, was their highest scorer but the rest were no slouches. Jahurul Islam, Soumya Sarkar and Thisara chipped in with handy knocks.Rangpur’s bowling attack was propped up on many shoulders as well. Thisara and Arafat Sunny took 18 and 16 wickets respectively but it is hard to look beyond Shakib Al Hasan as their best, with 18 scalps. Shakib’s batting though could have been better, perhaps he could have avoided some unnecessary slogs and built bigger innings.Rangpur’s run this year was a proper team effort, but they ran out of contributions when it mattered most. They may have missed a trick by not playing Misbah for more than the five games. He is a proven match-winner and could have slotted in their middle order instead of Simmons, who was a bit hit or miss.Overall, it was a half-and-half campaign for Rangpur; they could feel happy with the end result but there remains a lingering feeling that they could have made fewer mistakes at crucial stages.High pointIn the first week of the tournament, Rangpur were riding high and their 69-run win over Dhaka Dynamites was an impressive display of their all-round strength. Simmons, Mithun, Thisara and Shakib combined well with the bat before Shakib shut Dhaka down with a four-wicket haul.Low pointTheir 72-run defeat to Comilla in the first qualifier. Thisara had taken a five-for to limit the target to 164, but then their batsmen could not follow through.Top of the classShakib took the most wickets in the matches Rangpur won, but that is almost expected of one of the world’s best allrounders. So Jahurul Islam edges ahead. Having recently recovered from ankle surgery, he was their best batsman and second highest-scorer overall. In the six wins he was part of with Rangpur, he was unbeaten four times with an average of 84 and strike rate of 111.25.Under-par performerMuch was expected of Darren Sammy but a batting average of 13 from eight innings and just four wickets in 10 games means he was one of the few who underperformed for Rangpur. Still, his acrobatic catch in the second qualifier would long be remembered in Mirpur.Tip for 2016Rangpur’s ownership would likely stick to their current combination. They have a strong bowling attack, their batting line-up has strong local flavor. Retaining players like Mohammad Mithun, Jahurul Islam and Arafat Sunny, apart from the overseas players and Shakib should be their main target.

The WBBL’s leading spinner, Molly Strano was originally a top-order batsman. She believes that in order to push for a national call-up she would need to start scoring runs again.

Adam Collins15-Jan-2016Molly Strano can’t really understand what all the fuss is about.But when you take a combined 8 for 35 across consecutive Saturdays, in front of three quarters of a million sets of eyeballs on national television, it follows that people will want to know a bit more about you.In the midst of her match-winning burst for the cellar-dwelling Melbourne Renegades that helped overcome off the ladder-leaders Sydney Thunder last week, Cricket Victoria boss Tony Dodemaide tweeted that she’s “normally so shy and introverted”.There’s a lot of sarcasm there; the 23-year-old Strano is anything but reserved. Rather, she’s confident, articulate and with a decent story to tell about how she has wound up the inaugural Women’s Big Bash League foremost finger spinner.Strano was never meant to be doing this – not as a tweaker. Prolific former Australia batsman Melanie Jones originally plucked her from junior cricket with the boys in Werribee to her powerhouse club Essendon-Maribyrnong Park as a top-order bat. The state selectors were watching and Strano was quickly ushered into the Victoria side to play in the Under-18 national championships in that discipline. Despite notching a century for Victoria, the runs inexplicably dried up. Her career stalled, afflicted by a protracted case of the yips.But Strano’s competitive instincts and love of the game were undeniable, so she set about finding another way to make her mark.”I wasn’t making any runs, I was hoping I could contribute and take a few wickets instead,” she told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the Renegades’ final four group games this weekend in Adelaide.While off-spin is arguably cricket’s least forgiving craft, Strano assessed that it was also the one where she could reinvent herself to have the greatest impact. ‘When you spin, you win’ is a powerful school of thought in the women’s game – look no further than the Renegades WBBL squad, loaded with nine twirlers.”In the underage pathway spinners are really successful; they normally take most of the wickets, and they lead the wicket-taker lists,” Strano said. “I just thought that I’d give it a crack and see how it goes.”It went very well, as it turned out.Strano took the club competition by storm and earned her senior Victoria cap, bowling in tandem with club team-mate and Australia’s incumbent wrist-spinner Kristen Beams. She led all-comers in the WBBL’s precursor league last season; 22 dismissals at a miserly 12 runs apiece. Strano has 15 scalps to her name in this summer’s WBBL; only four bowlers have taken more wickets, but each of them has also had the benefit of playing more games.Tactically, Strano shares much in common with the traditional high risk/high reward approach typically employed by legspinners. Of late, her professional development has included working with former Test offie Nathan Hauritz, who now also calls the Renegades home.”I’m a traditionalist … I don’t really look to shoot them out and bowl flat and try to restrict, I’m looking to take wickets, so I’m not afraid to toss it up,” she said. “I like to watch Nathan Lyon bowl and he tosses it up, gets some nice dip and turn. I’m not a massive side spinner of the ball, flight and dip is my strength.”Yes, sometimes you do get a bit of tap, but that doesn’t bother me too much, you’ve got to have a thick skin these days being a T20 bowler.”Strano acknowledges that she’s not yet a completed product, freely admitting she needs to generate more lateral movement from her tall frame to become more lethal as a spinner.”I just want to keep developing and try to be the best players I can, so I feel I just need to add that to my game,” she said.Strano’s passion (a self-professed “cricket badger”) can be a hindrance when not managed. She overworked herself when playing in England over the winter (“every time someone wanted a net I was down with them”) which resulted in a stress fracture that robbed her of three months at the start of this summer. She missed the entirety of the 50-over WNCL competition, and only made it back to the game in time for the WBBL due to thrice-weekly 7am sessions with Victorian high performance guru Tim McCaskill.Her truncated season couldn’t have helped her case for national honours this summer against the touring Indians ahead of the World T20 in March. Despite Strano’s WBBL success – which included earning Southern Stars skipper Meg Lanning’s vital wicket to kickstart her bag against the Stars – she wasn’t waiting by the phone when the squad was named earlier this week.”We have such a range and variety of spinners in Australia that selectors can choose from, so I didn’t really have any expectation to get picked,” she said, modestly declaring that 19-year-old South Australian Amanda Wellington would be currently closer to selection than her.”It would be a tough job to break into that team considering it is so settled and they’re so successful, but a girl can dream.”Despite moving from bat to ball it may very well be mastering her original skill that ultimately elevates Strano to a national debut. The Australian set up currently contains two finger spinners – Jess Jonassen and Grace Harris – but critically both are also established top six batsmen in their own right.During the course of the WBBL Strano has been promoted from No.9 to No.5 in the Renegades batting list after strong showings (including a blistering unbeaten 29 against the Stars in just 16 balls). She craves being a true allrounder who features ideally at No.6 or 7, and believes her success with the ball makes batting all the more easier.”I’m just enjoying my batting now that I’m a bowler who takes a bit more pressure of that facet off my game so I can come in and bat with freedom.”For now though, the focus is on finishing the season strongly with the Renegades, who need to win all their four remaining games this week to feature in the post-season. But when the cameras are switched off and instead of appearing on the scoreboard at the MCG Strano returns to the relative anonymity of club cricket, her positive disposition will prevail.”I’m just rapt playing WBBL and state cricket,” Strano said. “I’ve never played in front of a big crowd before and then all of a sudden at the ‘G we had 12,000 and at Etihad we had 14,000, I was just pinching myself.”When I finished my spell I ran down to deep square leg and everyone was clapping. I had no idea what was going on; normally it is my Nan at fine leg. I feel really blessed and I can’t believe how it has all panned out and how successful the WBBL has been. I didn’t expect it to be anything like this and it has been a great learning experience.”

England’s other big-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman talks about his experiences at the PSL and being picked up in the IPL auction by Delhi Daredevils

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Feb-2016″Yeah, I got the gig. I somehow got a gig.”Sam Billings is talking about the IPL auction that happened on Saturday in India. Billings followed it from Dubai over Twitter. He was having lunch with his agent when he went unsold at the first time of calling. Billings, 23, who plays for Kent and England, had listed his base price at Rs 30 lakhs (£30,000). It was his first audition in the IPL.”I wasn’t holding my breath in terms of [getting] a deal or anything,” Billings reflects a day later at the team hotel in Dubai, where he is playing in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) for Islamabad United.Billings was picked eventually by Delhi Daredevils at his base price when the unsold players were brought back for bidding a second time later on Saturday afternoon. “I was actually chuffed. I was in a cab on the way to meet some friends when Delhi Daredevils tweeted saying ‘Welcome to Delhi Daredevils.’ It was all a bit surreal to me,” Billings says, flashing a big smile.As his mother reminded him on Saturday evening, a year ago he was in Bloemfontein playing for England Lions against South Africa A. A lot has happened for Billings since then. He has debuted for England in limited-overs, both ODIs and T20s, and made an impression on the selectors with his aggressive batting in the lower order.When it came to the IPL, Billings had asked his agent specifically to keep his base price at the minimum. “I put it at the lowest price possible to get some opportunities,” he says. “It is not about the financial gain. I have got no interest in the money as such at the moment. It is about getting the exposure to play with the best players in the world.”Billings is one of the three England players selected through the auction, along with Jos Buttler, who was picked by Mumbai Indians, and former England batsman Kevin Pietersen, who went to Rising Pune Supergiants. Eoin Morgan will also be involved, having been retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad. “Welcome to IPL, bud,” was the congratulatory message sent to Billings by his close friend Buttler on Sunday morning.According to Billings, his explosive batting at the end of the innings is one of the strengths that have served him well so far. “Without doubt, being able to clear the boundary, being able to put pressure back on the bowler, get the score up towards a really high total towards the back end of the innings is what I have done for my county,” he says. Unfortunately, having steered a boundary off his first ball, Billings ran himself out while rushing for a non-existent single in Sunday afternoon’s match against Karachi Kings.

“I put the lowest price possible, I have no interest in money. It’s about getting the exposure to play with the best players in the world”Sam Billings on the IPL

Billings acknowledges ECB managing director Andrew Strauss’ support for allowing him to play in global T20 leagues to further his growth and confidence. “He is very keen for as many of us to go over and play in all the international tournaments because as English players we have been hindered [in the past]”.Billings has already cashed in on his PSL opportunity by picking up some coaching from former Australia wicketkeeper and Islamabad team-mate Brad Haddin. “I have got Brad Haddin teaching me keeping. It has already improved so much, otherwise I would not have taken that catch,” Billings says with a chuckle.The catch he is referring to came in the tournament’s third match, when Pakistan and Peshawar Zalmi opener Mohammad Hafeez attempted a steer to third man against Shane Watson. Sensing the batsman’s intention Billings moved quickly to his right and then dived to pluck the ball low, from where a first slip would usually stand.Haddin has been charitable in giving away valuable tips – and Billings has happily accepted. “He has helped me endlessly over the last few days,” Billings says. “It is amazing how the best players strip everything back and keep things simple: it all comes down to working hard. Their basics are so incredibly good, and that is what I want to get at.”Both men talked about the different styles of keeping in Australia and England. “It comes back to one thing: every keeper needs to be in that power position. We have just been talking about how he has worked at that and different ways he has done that with the physical training.”Then the drill work is amazing. He hits the ball so slowly when he hits [catches], because then you really have to hold that low position for as long as possible while the ball is in the air. As opposed to if you hit twice as quickly, you spend half the time in that low position. So he hits the ball off the bat really, really slowly, just to get your feet moving and get that rhythm going. Getting yourself as low as possible so you can explode – that is basically what we spoke about.”Straightaway after Billings came back to the change room having taken he catch off Hafeez, Haddin offered some words of praise: “‘That’s the position. Perfect,’ he said. He was more thrilled than I was.” Instinct, hard work and practice had come together. “It is very satisfying when things like that happen,” Billings says.It may seem odd for an Australian and an Englishman to team up, but Billings does not see it that way, considering Trevor Bayliss, a former New South Wales player and Haddin’s close friend, is England coach. Billings is happy to cash in on learning opportunities wherever he finds them.In the PSL, another learning experience has been in keeping wicket on slow, spinning pitches against good slow bowlers. “It is hurting my head concentrating,” Billings says with a laugh, talking about reading the likes of Islamabad team-mate Saeed Ajmal.Billings is happy to admit that he is the product of the T20 generation, and is looking to emulate his hero, South Africa captain AB de Villiers. On Friday, against Zalmi’s left-arm fast bowler and Pakistan international Junaid Khan, Billings noticed square leg was up. He went down on his knees and swept for six. “It is T20. You take it on. If I get hit in the face, I get hit in the face. You’ve got to be brave. You’ve got to be bold. The reverse sweep is one of my best shots. I know I got a little stick the other night for playing that. I am not fussed by that. It is probably my best shot. You have got be adventurous.”

Viv Richards has shown a different side of himself in the Quetta Gladiators dugout. He says unlike all the other T20 leagues where he has played similar roles, for the first time he felt he was part of a closely-knit family

Nagraj Gollapudi in Dubai22-Feb-2016The evening after they won the opening night’s clash against Islamabad United, Quetta Gladiators’ owner Nadeem Omar hired a yacht in the Dubai Yacht Club. He hosted a strictly team-only party and as the evening rolled on, Omar asked Viv Richards, mentor of Quetta, to have a word with a few players.Two days before the PSL had started, Richards had put the players at ease by giving a short opening statement in Quetta’s first team huddle. He asked them for one particular thing: to not refer to him as “sir”. Call him plain “Viv”.At the yacht party, Richards sat down Ahmed Shehzad. He told the outspoken batsman that he was lacking in confidence. According to Omar, Shehzad had told Richards that he was insecure about his spot in the Pakistan team after having been dropped a few times. Richards asked him to stop worrying. “That was what Viv told him. He said stop being insecure,” Omar recollects of that evening.The main thing, Richards reminded Shehzad, was to keep performing. “He told him (Shehzad), ‘Man, after I retired maybe 40% people recognised me, 10% know who I am today. But if you don’t make your bat talk, not even 1% will remember who you are. Man, you need to make your bat talk,'” Omar says.Omar recites another incident fondly. When Richards met Quetta allrounder Mohammad Nawaz he was blunt. Nawaz, who had taken 4 for 13 and scored 22 runs to bag the Man-of-the-Match award in the first match, might have been surprised a wee bit. “Richards just told Nawaz to change his body language,” Omar says. “He told him: ‘You need to have the swagger. The oomph is missing. You need to back your performances with confidence and walk as if you rule the world.’ From then on Nawaz has shown much more positive body language,” Omar says.On Monday afternoon, while Quetta were training on the eve of the final, Richards explained the message he delivered to Shehzad. “There are times when you are not doing well and no one wants to be associated [with you],” Richards says. “It is highly important for you to maintain consistency. This is one of the things that helps to keep you going as an individual. If you love the game and appreciate it whether you do well or not, you should be thinking about these things. The best thing for you to do is put in the effort and when you come back you will be immediately noticed.”Richards has attended every training session, every team-bonding evening and every dressing room meeting. He has played the ball boy during the fielding drills, put arms around the players in the nets and played the cheerleader in the dugout.Richards has shown a different side of himself in the Quetta dugout. He says unlike all the other T20 leagues where he has played similar roles, for the first time he felt he was part of a closely-knit family at Quetta.”When I first came here to the Quetta Gladiators we were like a family. This is why I think we have done so well and the reason where they have reached today,” he says. “The very first day it was of utmost importance because we are coming from all walks of life and for the period of time that we were going to be together it is important that we understand one another as quickly as possible. That to me is half way to success.”Richards explains why he has been so animated and emotional in the PSL. “It is because of the good people around. I’ve been in the CPL before. I’ve been in the Big Bash before. But I’ve never felt such happiness. The trust that they put in you for advice etc, this whole unit has been receptive. They have embraced me with open arms. That is why you see me as animated.”Richards knows his role. He is not here to coach or strategise. That job is handled by head coach Moin Khan, the former Pakistan wicketkeeper, along with senior foreign imports – Kevin Pietersen, Kumar Sangakkara, Luke Wright and the captain Sarfraz Ahmed. “My job isn’t about telling the guy how technically sound he may be. It is about making that guy as comfortable as possible in order for him to take the chances.”Viv Richards on Moin Khan: “He is one of the more relaxed coaches around. He is not boring”•PCBMoin, both Richards and Omar acknowledge, has played a huge role in Quetta’s attitude to play with freedom and confidence. “He is one of the more relaxed coaches around,” Richards says. “He gets over his programme as easily as it should be. He is not boring. Sometimes you can talk forever. The most important things Moin would say, just takes a few minutes. And that’s it. Everyone’s on board and then we take off.”It is a rare and surprising sight to see Richards jumping out of his seat in any dugout, both in jubilation and anxiety. Never since his playing days has Richards been seen charging onto the field as he did immediately after Quetta and Pakistan fast bowler Aijaz Cheema valiantly denied Peshawar Zalmi the ticket to the final when the latter needed just eight runs off the final over in the 1st Qualifying Final. Quetta won by only one run.Richards was tense and it showed. With three runs required from three deliveries, Quetta were on the edge. Cheema first had Hasan Ali top edge a short ball and held on to the return catch. When Wahab Riaz, too, fell prey to a similar strategy, Richards stood up, faced the dugout and said Quetta were going to the final.”I stood up and said ‘Come on, guys, we are in now. Let’s continue to believe.'” Minutes later, everyone including Richards, Moin, the management and coaching staff rushed to the ground to celebrate the victory along with the players. “This is what I am talking about. It is a family. We believe in one another. This is one of the more important things and lessons I have learned despite my experience of playing at the highest level just seeing how relaxed people are. When you are relaxed it is amazing how many things you can accomplish.”Omar points out that not just Richards, but even Pietersen has helped the Quetta dressing room stay positive and humble. “I was totally shocked when both Sangakkara and Pietersen voluntarily apologised to the dressing room saying they had let the team down by playing the wrong shots at the wrong time. Although the pair had built the momentum with a strong partnership, they felt they had faltered the team,” Omar says.According to Omar, Quetta are not tense on the eve of their first final. “Pietersen has reminded the players that no matter what happens one has to stay grounded. He even pointed out the examples of [Sachin] Tendulkar who in his 20-plus years always maintained the same consistency on and off the field. He never reacted to anything or anyone. Pietersen told the players that is the key element in performance and success.”The PSL comes to an end on Tuesday. The story of the Quetta family is a good indicator that the league has been a success. For the likes of Shehzad, Nawaz, Sarfraz and other Pakistan players, interacting with, partying with, living and playing with the legends will always remain an important part of their lives and careers.

Burning questions, walking on water, liquid breakfasts, and more selfies than you can shake a stick at

Alex Bowden29-Apr-2016

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Well obviously if you’re Cabin Pietersen, the day starts with coffee.

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After that, breakfast – the most important meal of the day.

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It’s probably not just that. He probably does some other stuff too.For example, a lot of current and former cricketers keep themselves in peak physical condition by going for a run. They don’t do it for fun, that’s for certain.

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Tino himself is not inclined to run, it seems. He’d rather walk.

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Surely they’re far more likely to try and find out more about your fabulous and unusually buoyant shoes?Frozen water, however – that’s easier to walk on. The county cricket season’s underway.

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What else is going on? Up in the north-east, it’s date night – and apparently things are getting a little steamy.

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Michael Vaughan is spurning rugs.

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Graeme Swann isn’t spurning rugs.

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Meanwhile, Jimmy Neesham is transforming his life by learning all about some of the finer points of modern technology.

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In-flight selfie time. Cabin Pietersen’s not got to grips with things. He took an in-flight everyone-elsie.

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This probably doesn’t count as a selfie either. Ishant Sharma does have unusually long arms, but presumably not this long.

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It’s also on a bus.Shane Watson did at least get the location right and also managed to get an elbow into shot, but you rather suspect it wasn’t deliberate. Again, it’s hard to argue that this is an in-flight selfie in the truest sense.

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Can no one give us the pointless photograph we crave?

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Well played, Virat. Not just the obligatory sunglasses, but also emojis confirming the form of transport were we in any doubt. Excellent work.

The often outspoken former cricket correspondent of the Times, turns ten short of a century on Sunday

Ivo Tennant06-Aug-2016To meet John Woodcock, whose grandfather was born before the Battle of Waterloo, whose home in a Hampshire village of antiquity contains a full set of and countless artefacts, and who has been a journalist since 1950, is to embrace cricketing history. Now that his close friend Richie Benaud has died, there can be no one alive who has seen so many Test matches, befriended so many great players and overseen so many controversies – all with enthusiasm for the game undiminished.Journalism has probably evolved even more rapidly than the game itself during his lifetime, yet Woodcock, who was cricket correspondent of the from 1954 to 1987, would choose no other occupation if he were starting out all over again. He doubts, though, whether he could cope with the greater pressures today. In a less hectic, less televised age, he relished the matches, the touring (for the most part), the sunshine, the friends. Particularly the friends, many of them made while sailing four times to Australia and once to South Africa from 1950-1963.Even in the 1970s, the had no objection to their correspondent driving from England to India before Tony Greig’s tour – with Henry Blofeld, in a 1921 Silver Ghost Rolls Royce. There were precipitous roads, potential diplomatic incidents, copious quantities of whisky, a scary moment or two in the Khyber Pass, opium-smoking through a hookah near Mashad – “We coughed ourselves stupid,” said Blofeld – back-tyre blowouts, and dinners in exotic company. There were no health and safety concerns, no mobile phones, night matches or internet distractions.More recently, the chief sub-editor in the sporting department, as it was always known, was impressed and amused when he rang the Old Curacy in Longparish and was informed that it was a difficult moment to talk as the Bedser twins were just arriving for afternoon tea. A vision of a charabanc from The Oval floated before him. Alas, Woodcock feels there might not have been a place for Alec in the modern game, given the emphasis on agility in the field.Woodcock spoke to Colin Cowdrey on the telephone most weeks, if not days. He shared a room on tour with Brian Statham. Alan Knott asked to use his bathroom in one particular hotel – a rather superior bathroom – and spent so long in it that Woodcock was concerned for his well-being. Knott’s fastidiousness was as fascinating to Woodcock, as was the strain that even such a great bowler as Statham felt on the first morning of a Test match.This bond between players and press could not have been more apparent than when Len Hutton invited Woodcock into the dressing room when he was recovering from illness, to watch England retain the Ashes in Adelaide in 1954-55. “That would not happen now. We were probably more of a family in those days.”Woodcock went duck-shooting with Harold Larwood, partridge-shooting with Imran Khan, played golf with the three great Yorkshire openers Herbert Sutcliffe, Len Hutton and Geoff Boycott (surely a record of sorts) as well as Don Bradman, fished with Ian Botham, and batted with Wally Hammond in his last ever match, at Richmond, near Durban, in 1965.Benaud would make the Old Curacy his summer base, at least until his views and Woodcock’s differed on Kerry Packer’s World Series. The flamboyant Colin Ingleby-Mackenzie, who liked his Hampshire players to go to bed before breakfast, “could not have been as nice as he appeared, but he was”. Barry Richards was, Woodcock thinks, the finest batsman he saw, better even than his namesake Viv – “if that is possible” – Bradman having been past his best in 1948.Great cricketing names, and great journalistic names as well. Woodcock would observe John Arlott – “he did have a touchy side but what a brain” – drink three or four bottles of wine a day yet still be capable of writing four hymns in one evening. Neville Cardus would summon Woodcock, pull up two deckchairs, bring out two cigars and fetch two glasses of port on his first voyage to Australia. “Come and listen to me and don’t waste your time dancing,” he would say. EW “Jim” Swanton expected peace and quiet and a glass of whisky when he entered the press box to write his report. “Really, you wouldn’t expect this noise,” he once complained to Hutton, who had retired and was sitting behind him. “Did you know that Broderick Crawford arrived at London airport this morning?” was the characteristically cryptic response.

Harder graft went into his articles than ever appeared to be the case. No one seemed to write with such ease and grace, or as Mike Atherton puts it, a lack of pretension compared with some sportswriters today

There was, of course, more than the odd disagreement. The influence of the was such that Packer – “not at all my sort of chap” – had some sharp words for Woodcock, who, as with all the influential correspondents, was strongly opposed to what was regarded as a circus. Greig, too, came to resent Woodcock’s having written that “it has to be remembered Greig is not English through and through”, when, as England captain, he had been secretly recruiting for World Series.Woodcock’s comments mattered not only because they were in the and therefore read by those in authority, but because they carried authority. This was also the case when he wrote for the and edited . Television had yet to set the agenda. “Hard writing, easy reading” was the advice Woodcock was given by the sports editor of the , for whom he worked for two years before joining the . And surprisingly, harder graft went into his articles than ever appeared to be the case. No one seemed to write with such ease and grace, or as Mike Atherton, his successor at the , whom Woodcock much admires, puts it, a lack of pretension compared with some sportswriters today.Apart from the World Series, the major controversies he had to cover were the D’Oliveira affair and subsequent unofficial tours to South Africa. Few people, Woodcock believes, came out with any credit other than D’Oliveira himself. As editor of , Woodcock had to decide whether the matches played by Graham Gooch’s breakaway side of 1982 should be first-class. “I said that depended on the board of control of South Africa and was criticised in a leading article in the . Had I foreseen [FW] de Klerk’s incredible volte face, I like to think I might have thought otherwise and not seen the sporting ‘bridge’ between the two countries as having something to be said for it.”Some tours Woodcock went on wound their way wearily to an end, although, as a bachelor, being away from home for periods of up to seven months at a time were not so trying as for colleagues who had families.Although, inevitably, there are some aspects of the modern game he does not like – helmets, the reverse sweep, the brutal nature of batsmanship, the lack of identity in Hampshire’s team – he follows it avidly, his knowledge and memory undimmed. He is unfailingly helpful and generous to the thirsty array of writers, old players and obituarists who descend on the thatched Old Curacy.That said, the postman in decorous Longparish has had to handle letters forwarded by the to Woodcock containing some fairly unprintable messages, for he has been nothing if not a correspondent with strong views. None was more specific, though, than the postcard sent on in Sir William Haley’s day as editor. “Your cricket correspondent is either a pompous ass or a maiden aunt. God preserve him or her from a rugger tour.” Fortunately for the game and his many friends and admirers, Woodcock stuck to cricket.

Stats highlights from the first day of the Antigua Test, where Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan stole the show from the hosts

Bharath Seervi21-Jul-20160:50

Virat Kohli’s century brought him level with Mohammad Azharuddin for most away hundreds by an India captain

3 Number of India captains to score a Test century in the West Indies. Virat Kohli became the third to do so after Kapil Dev (100*) in Port of Spain in 1982-83 and Rahul Dravid (146) in 2006. Kohli is the only Indian player to score 50-plus as a captain in his maiden Test innings in West Indies; the previous highest was 49 by Rahul Dravid. Kohli is the eighth visiting captain to score a century in his maiden Test innings in the West Indies. The last to do so was Ricky Ponting (158 in 2008).1 Number of higher individual scores by India players on the opening day of a Test in the West Indies than Kohli’s 143 not out in this match. Virender Sehwag made 180 in Gros Islet in 2006. Kohli’s 143 at the end of the day is the third-highest score of his Test career thus far.5 Number of centuries for Kohli as captain in Tests, all of which have come outside India. He drew level with Mohammad Azharuddin for most centuries by a captain for India away from home. His away average as captain is second only to Don Bradman, among those who have batted ten or more innings.18 Number of innings in which Kohli reached 1000 runs as captain in Tests, which makes him the joint second-quickest to the milestone for India. Only Sunil Gavaskar (14 innings) got there in fewer innings than Kohli while MS Dhoni also took 18 innings. Kohli’s average is the best among all India captains and fourth-best among all captains who have batted 15 or more innings. Kohli also passed 3000 runs in his Test career.Virat Kohli has scored five overseas hundreds as Test captain in 12 innings, compared to five in 41 by Mohammad Azharuddin•ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 Number of scores by India players in their maiden Test innings in West Indies higher than Shikhar Dhawan’s 84. Polly Umrigar made 130 in 1952-53, Brijesh Patel 115 not out in 1975-76, Sanjay Manjrekar 108 in 1988-89 and Ajay Jadeja 96 in 1996-97. Dhawan has made centuries in his maiden Test match in four different countries – 187 in India, 115 in New Zealand, 173 in Bangladesh and 134 in Sri Lanka.110.80 Average partnership between Dhawan and Kohli for the third wicket in Tests, which is the third highest by a pair having five or more partnerships. They have added three century stands in five innings for the third wicket. Only two other India pairs have shared more than three century partnerships for the third wicket.1958 The last time a visiting team had 50-plus partnerships for second, third, fourth and fifth wickets of the innings in a Test in the West Indies – Pakistan in the third innings of the Bridgetown Test where they secured a draw after following on. This was only the third such instance against West Indies in the West Indies.11.28 M Vijay’s average in Tests in the West Indies – his lowest in any country. He has scored 79 runs in seven innings there with a highest of 45, and five single-digit scores.7.89 Average opening partnership for India in the West Indies in their last nine innings. In these nine innings, they have added just 71 runs with a highest of 26. Their stands in the five innings prior to that were 61, 109, 59, 10 and 72.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2016Vince settled well into his maiden ODI innings•PA PhotosBut on 34, Roy holed out to Kusal Perera at midwicket•PA PhotosVince brought up his maiden fifty, from 54 balls•PA PhotosJoe Root was typically busy as he launched his innings•PA PhotosThe 41-run stand ended when Vince was stumped by Dinesh Chandimal off Danushka Gunathilaka for 51•PA PhotosRoot pressed on to make his second successive fifty•PA PhotosHe and Jos Buttler ran hard between the wickets in a 109-run partnership•PA PhotosButtler scored his last 45 runs from 20 balls …•PA Photosbefore being bowled by a Chaminda Bandara yorker•PA PhotosDavid Willey trapped Kusal Perera lbw early in Sri Lanka’s chase•PA Photos… before Liam Plunkett removed Danushka Gunathilaka for 48•PA PhotosPlunkett then bowled Angelo Mathews with a yorker•PA PhotosAdil Rashid bowled Upul Tharanga first ball during another economical spell•PA PhotosRashid had Dasun Shanaka stumped for 22 and ended with three wickets as England romped to a 122-run win•PA Photos

Marlon Samuels is supposed to be the senior batsman guiding the youngsters around him. It’s hard to say, however, what kind of example his batting in the series has set

Karthik Krishnaswamy18-Aug-2016It came out of nowhere. On the fifth day of the St Lucia Test, West Indies were 11 for 2 in their second innings with two-and-a-half sessions still left to bat out to save the game. Marlon Samuels had faced 12 balls, and was batting on 0. In the previous over, he had negotiated two snarling Mohammed Shami bouncers as well as he could have, managing to sway away from one and feeling the sting of the other on his bicep, dropping his hands safely out of the way and taking the blow. So far, he had batted like a man trying to save a Test match.Then came a regulation outswinger from Bhuvneshwar Kumar – good length, in the channel outside off stump. Samuels leaned back, cleared his front leg, and swung through the line. It was an unwise shot if he middled it, suicidal if he edged it, and just plain silly if he played and missed. Samuels played and missed.He missed another airy swish three overs later, against Ishant Sharma, and then, having struck R Ashwin for successive fours, ran down the pitch and looked to hit him back over his head.There were at least five reasons to avoid this sort of shot. A: Ashwin had a man back at long-on. B: Ashwin was capable of getting the ball to dip and beat him in the air. C: In the first innings of the second Test, Ashwin had dismissed Samuels by beating him in exactly that manner. D: Samuels was still fairly new at the crease. E: West Indies were trying to save a Test match.Samuels ran down the pitch. The ball dipped and pitched half a foot shorter than he expected. Samuels aimed to hit straight over Ashwin, but the turn caused him to drag his shot into the leg side, off the inside half of his bat, and send it bouncing to the right of long-on. He was lucky he didn’t connect slightly better, and hit it straight down the fielder’s throat.It’s hard to say what Samuels was trying to achieve. He certainly wasn’t succeeding. But he wasn’t going to pause and reflect and come up with Plan B. In the next over, he made room and tried to slash Ishant Sharma through point. He exposed his stumps, and carved away. Swish, clatter, bye bye.Samuels was 35 years old. He was playing his 120th Test innings.Two days before the second Test at Sabina Park, he had said the following words, when asked if he felt a West Indies comeback from 1-0 down was realistic.”Well, first and foremost,” Samuels replied, “I’m not going to be here to tell you that it’s a young team. For me to say that is like finding excuses for the team. It’s a Test team, and Test cricket is big-man cricket, and the players should know that by now.”They are here, playing Test cricket. So we all have to step up to the plate, and put up a very good challenge against the Indians. The Indians are a very good team, a very good unit, so what we want to try and build right now is a team spirit, and build a stronger unit in order [to move forward]. Yes, we have new players coming in, but they still have to deliver. At the end of the day, you have to do that to keep your job here.”At the start of the series, Samuels could have considered himself lucky to still be holding on to his job. He had made 11, 0, 13, 6, 9, 3, 0, 19 and 4 in his nine previous Test innings. That’s 65 runs in nine innings. When West Indies discarded Shivnarine Chanderpaul, he had scored 179 runs in his last 10 innings. Chanderpaul had averaged 71.00 in his penultimate year of Test cricket, and over 50 in each of the four years preceding that. Chanderpaul was one of the greats of West Indian batting.Samuels, before the series against India, was a man averaging 33.53 in the 17th year of his Test career. He had kept his place because of his limited-overs form.Before that brief, shot-a-minute, and frankly inexplicable innings on day five in St Lucia, Samuels’ scores in the series were 1, 50, 37, 0, and 48. He had shown flashes of willingness to leave the ball outside off stump, and flashes of his stroke-making ability, but had never looked entirely secure. He had looked a shuffling, perennially crease-bound figure trying his best to make an iffy technique work.In that second innings in St Lucia, even that seemed to have gone out the window. Here was a man who, according to reports in the media and voices in the commentary box, was possibly playing his last Test series, and who had himself neither confirmed nor denied this when asked the question. Here he was, playing shots that could justify the denial of a farewell Test.Ahead of the fourth Test in Port of Spain, Jason Holder said the retirement talk was “just speculation”, and tried his best to defend Samuels’ approach in St Lucia.”Firstly, I don’t know anything of this being Marlon’s last Test series,” Holder said. “I’ve heard a lot of speculation, but it’s just speculation. He hasn’t come out and said anything in the dressing room, so as far as I know this is not his last Test series.”In terms of his shot, obviously it didn’t look the best, but if you watch the way Marlon plays, Marlon is quite unique in the way he sets up. It’s tough to gauge, you know? Marlon can be very free-spirited when he gets going, but everyone knows how destructive he can be.”You know, he has to work out, and has to be a bit more selective in terms of his stroke play, and if he feels as though he’s on top of the bowling and he feels it’s the moment to capitalise, I guess I have to support him, I guess, in the sense of him trying to take the game into his hands, you know?”I think he’s a team player. He’s always been, in terms of the way he’s approached his innings in the past for West Indies, I have no doubt of him putting everything in for the team. The problem is, for all of our batsmen, we just need to work on, I guess, our shot selection, and at times in the game trying to capitalise on the starts that we’re getting.”Holder was right that all of West Indies’ top order, and not just Samuels, had been failing to convert starts through the series. But Samuels is supposed to be the senior batsman guiding the youngsters around him, setting an example. It’s hard to say what example the rest of West Indies’ batsmen can have taken from his batting in the series.Despite the various collapses of this series, it is still possible to look through West Indies’ line-up with the expectation of better things to come. Kraigg Brathwaite and Darren Bravo are still young and have good knocks in tough conditions behind them and potentially solid futures ahead of them. Leon Johnson has only just begun his Test career. Jermaine Blackwood is impetuous but clearly gifted, and is only 24. Roston Chase has only played three Tests, has already scored a cool, match-saving hundred, can bowl tidy offbreaks, and is only 24. Shane Dowrich is neat, busy, organised, keeps wicket fairly well, and is only 24. Holder often seems a man occupying the wrong slot in the batting order, a batting allrounder thrust into a bowling allrounder’s role, but he too is only 24.Samuels is 35, with the best years of a mediocre career behind him. With one Test remaining in the series, it is hard not to wonder if West Indies could replace him with a youngster such as Shai Hope, or simply promote everyone batting number five or below by one slot and include Carlos Brathwaite as a second seam-bowling allrounder. Apart from an extra bowler, they would gain a batsman with three fifties in his first three Tests.It’s hard to see how it would benefit West Indies to retain Samuels for the final Test of a series they have already lost. But it seems likely he will play, and add another Test appearance to a long and frustrating career. It may or may not be his final Test as well. Watch it closely, and don’t let your expectations soar too high.

Bangladesh’s Test history has been sprinkled with some of the nearest misses imaginable. ESPNcricinfo looks back on their record of heartbreak

Andrew Miller24-Oct-2016Multan 2003 – Lost by one wicket v Pakistan
Bangladesh’s record in their first three years as a Test nation had been nothing short of humiliating when they arrived at Multan for the third and final match of their 2003 tour of Pakistan. They had lost 22 of their 23 previous matches – 15 by an innings – with only a rainy draw against Zimbabwe to disrupt that sorry record. But then, out of the blue, they produced the game of their lives and came within a solitary wicket of the biggest shock of the decade. Khaled Mahmud – their cuddly security blanket of a captain who had begun the tour with a Test bowling average of 406 – rose above his reputation with seven wickets in the match, while the left-arm spinner Mohammad Rafique confirmed his status as the new attack leader with a first-innings five-wicket haul. The final day dawned with Pakistan on the ropes at 148 for 6 in their second innings, chasing 261 for victory and with all of their hopes invested in the home-town hero, Inzamam-ul-Haq. He delivered in heroic style, farming the strike and absorbing the pressure to finish 138 not out, despite running out his partner, Umar Gul, with four runs still required. Inzy was showered in rose petals as he left the field in triumph; but even in defeat, Bangladesh’s players were garlanded at the airport on their return to Dhaka.Ricky Ponting hauled Australia over the line in their Fatullah chase•Getty ImagesFatullah 2006 – Lost by three wickets v Australia
First the context – not that Australia would have accepted it as an excuse. Four days and five timezones earlier, Ricky Ponting’s men had wrapped up a 3-0 series win against Graeme Smith’s South Africa, having squeezed over the line by two wickets in Johannesburg, of all the polarising venues to have to get out of your system. They had barely enough time to shake off the jetlag, let alone the culture shock, as they rocked up at the extraordinary ramshackle outpost of Fatullah to be given the scare of their lives. A Shahriar Nafees century carried Bangladesh to 427 in the first innings (tellingly, the only bowler to put up a fight was Stuart MacGill, who claimed eight wickets in his first Test for four months) and Australia crashed to 156 for 7 in reply before, with the fury of champions, they roused themselves out of their torpor. Adam Gilchrist rallied the tail with a blistering century, Bangladesh were swept out for 148 second-time around, and at 173 for 1 in pursuit of 307, the game seemed done and dusted. Rafique, however, had other ideas, ripping out the middle order on a now-disintegrating wicket to claim nine wickets in the match, and the situation demanded every ounce of Ponting’s bloody-minded brilliance to haul Australia over the line with one of the greatest centuries of his career.Shakib Al Hasan claimed seven in the first innings against New Zealand in 2008, but couldn’t win the match•AFPChittagong 2008 – Lost by three wickets v New Zealand
Shakib Al Hasan has been consistently ranked among the best allrounders in the world for the best part of a decade, and must be wondering what more he has to do to haul his side from Test also-rans to genuine challengers (aside from staying in his crease in the first over of a day’s play, of course…) But his near-miss in Chittagong against England has distinct echoes of his first great disappointment in national colours, on the same ground against New Zealand exactly eight years ago this week. Shakib, then 21, had claimed just three wickets in his six previous Tests, but catapulted himself to stardom with a first-innings haul of 7 for 36, still his best in Tests. New Zealand were rescued from 100 for 7 by their own left-arm spinning allrounder, Daniel Vettori, who made 55 not out, but Shakib seemed to have trumped him when his second-innings 71 rescued his side from a familiar top-order wobble to set a formidable target of 317. And yet, it was the elder statesman who had the final word. Vettori promoted himself to No. 4 and anchored the chase with a masterful 76, finally falling with 19 runs still required. Shakib toiled manfully for 44.5 overs, but his figures of 2 for 79 weren’t quite good enough.Taijul Islam was a batting (and bowling) hero against Zimbabwe in 2014•AFPAnd the one that went their way …Mirpur 2014 – Won by three wickets v Zimbabwe
Taijul Islam’s dismissal on the final morning against England was possibly the most heartbreaking moment of a gripping contest – he’d battled so valiantly for 33 deliveries, to give his team renewed belief throughout his 25-run stand with Sabbir Rahman, but when he was sent on his way via a DRS referral, he sunk to his haunches for ten full seconds, unable to believe he’d fallen short of glory. In the aftermath of England’s victory, there was some criticism of Sabbir for exposing his team-mate so often, but then again, there aren’t many Bangladeshis who have genuine experience of being a Test hero. Two years earlier, against Zimbabwe at Dhaka, Taijul struck the winning runs in a similiarly excruciating finale, having joined Mushfiqur Rahim at an uncompromising 82 for 7, chasing 101 for victory. His batting on that day was bold and to the point, but he should never have been called upon in the first place. After all, he thought he’d already won the match with his second-innings figures of 8 for 39, Bangladesh’s best in Test cricket. That was before their batting crumbled to 0 for 3 in the fourth innings, of course. Thereafter, it was a fist-fight to the finish.