Stats highlights from the third ODI of the Carlton Mid Tri-Series between India and England in Brisbane

Bishen Jeswant20-Jan-2015135 Number of balls left when England achieved victory in this ODI, the most for them against India. The only other time England beat India with more than 100 balls to spare was at Trent Bridge in 2004. This is also their biggest win against a top-eight team in terms of balls remaining away from home.9 Number of wickets by which England won this ODI, their largest margin of victory against India [by wickets]. The only other time England beat India by nine wickets was at Headingley in 1982. 1 Number of times two English bowlers have taken four-wicket hauls in the same ODI innings when playing outside England. This has happened three times in England. James Anderson returned figures of 4 for 18 in this match, while Steven Finn had figures of 5 for 33.6 Number of overseas bowlers who have taken an ODI five-for in Brisbane. Finn became the sixth. Only three Australia bowlers have taken a five-wicket haul in Brisbane. Finn is also the fourth England bowler, after Darren Gough, Mark Ealham and Chris Woakes, to take a five-wicket haul in Australia.153 Score at which India were bowled out in this ODI, their lowest ever against England. Their previous lowest against England was 158, at Headingley in 1996.5 Number of times Ajinkya Rahane has been dismissed by Finn in ODIs. No other bowler has dismissed him more than two times in ODIs. The two batsmen that Finn has dismissed most often in ODIs are Rahane and Suresh Raina – five times each.0 Number of times that India have successfully defended a target of 200 runs or less in a full ODI against England. They have now lost nine such games. India have won a couple of curtailed games under these circumstances in in 2008 and 2013.5 Number of dismissals effected by Jos Buttler in this ODI – four catches and a stumping. This is the joint-highest by a keeper in an ODI in Brisbane. Australia’s Matthew Wade and West Indies’ Courtney Browne have also effected five dismissals each in Brisbane.18 Number of years since India have lost an ODI to England at a neutral venue. The last match India lost was in Sharjah in 1997. Between that game and this one, India had won four ODIs.

The spotlight has been on the batting position of Rohit Sharma and surprise moves such as Harbhajan Singh’s promotion, but it is their bowling that has consistently hurt Mumbai Indians so far this season

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai17-Apr-2015Mumbai Indians have been up to their usual ways in the early part of this IPL season. Notoriously slow starters, they have lost their first four games. Their tendency to shunt batsmen up and down the order has also manifested itself.They have already deployed three opening batting combinations in those four games, although they have also been forced on that front to some extent by Aaron Finch’s injury. Two failures for Rohit Sharma as opener have meant he dropped down to No. 4 for the next two games. Harbhajan Singh’s six sixes at No. 8 against Kings XI Punjab pushed him up to No. 5 against Chennai Super Kings, ahead of Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu.Not only have they been slow starters overall again, they have also batted slowly in the first half of their innings. They were 59 for 6 against Kings XI in the 14th over, 45 for 3 against Rajasthan Royals in the 10th over, and 57 for 4 against Super Kings in the 10th over.The spotlight has been on the batting position of Rohit and surprise moves such as Harbhajan’s promotion, but it is their bowling that has consistently hurt Mumbai Indians so far this season. They must have felt it most acutely when Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum were taking them apart at Wankhede Stadium, but even in previous matches, their bowlers have done little of note.At 9.36 runs an over, theirs has been the most expensive attack (after 12 games). They have taken 15 wickets in four matches – not even four per game. Their opponents on Friday night, Super Kings, have taken 21 in three.On a night where 372 runs came in 36.4 overs, the Man of the Match was a fast bowler: Ashish Nehra, for his haul of 3 for 23. As Nehra said, T20 is a batsman’s game, but bowlers will win you matches if they bowl good lines and lengths and keep taking wickets. If they can strike early, that can set the tone for the rest of the match.The Mumbai Indians bowlers have just not been able to create pressure in any match. If someone occasionally has, it eventually gets frittered away at the other end. Kolkata Knight Riders chased 169 against them in 18.3 overs. Royals chased 165 in 19.1 overs. Both sides lost only three wickets each. Kings XI racked up 177 for 5 batting first. Super Kings hunted down 184 in 16.4 overs only four down.Despite an arsenal of big stars and a boatload of coaching resources, Mumbai Indians have struggled to come up with a winning formula in 2015•BCCIThe Mumbai Indians attack is led by the world’s leading wicket-taker in T20s. Lasith Malinga has taken four wickets this season at nearly nine runs an over, compared to a career economy-rate of 6.66. The yorkers are being attempted but they are often ending up as full tosses. The bouncer does not have the old surprise and bite. There have been too many easy offerings on the pads.Royals needed 39 from the last four overs, two of them to be bowled by Malinga. Not long ago, if you managed not to lose a wicket to Malinga in such a scenario, you had done well. If you also managed to score at a run a ball, you had done really well. Against Royals, Malinga was taken for 26 in those two overs, both wicketless. Tonight, he went for 33 in his first two. Seeing your best bowler carted around the park can be demoralizing for the rest of the attack.If not Malinga, Mumbai Indians look up to Harbhajan. But for his 2 for 20, Kings XI could well have gone past 200. But even the senior offspinner has been successfully targeted in the two other games he has played.While Pawan Suyal and Jagadeesha Suchith have showed potential, their inexperience has not helped. Jasprit Bumrah and Pragyan Ojha have been benched after only one expensive spell each. Corey Anderson and Pollard have barely been used.So after their first four games, Mumbai Indians’ most economical bowler has been Vinay Kumar, who has taken all of one wicket and gone for nearly eight an over.As Rohit indicated after the Super Kings defeat, Mumbai Indians could continue to chop and change, especially with the batting order, till they start winning a few matches. They are desperate, and that is what desperate sides do. But it might amount to little as long as their bowlers, especially the best ones, don’t start firing.

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2015The Australian pacers would go on to inflict more damage, and Glenn Maxwell chipped in with Martin Guptill’s wicket in his first over to reduce New Zealand to 33 for 2•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesMitchell Johnson made it 39 for 3 after he induced a return catch from Kane Williamson•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesHowever, two players – Ross Taylor and the hero from Auckland, Grant Elliott – stood up to the Australian onslaught with a 111-run alliance in 22.5 overs•Quinn Rooney/Getty ImagesElliott frustrated Australia with his blend of deft steers and punchy drives•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesTaylor was scratchy for the most part, but his resilient innings ensured Elliott’s wasn’t a one-man act. New Zealand went into the batting Powerplay reasonably well-placed at 150 for 3•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesBut it began badly for New Zealand, as Taylor was brilliantly caught by a diving Brad Haddin off the first ball of James Faulkner’s over•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesTwo balls later, Faulkner shattered Corey Anderson’s stumps, and sent him back for a duck•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesAustralia then dismissed Luke Ronchi, and completed an impressive Powerplay that saw them concede just 15 runs for three wickets. Faulkner’s slower balls then accounted for Elliott, who made 83 off 82 balls. New Zealand’s tail didn’t offer much resistance, and they were bowled out for 183 in 45 overs•Darrian Traynor/Getty ImagesNew Zealand got an early breakthrough through Trent Boult, who snaffled a caught-and-bowled chance offered by Aaron Finch in the second over•Mark Kolbe/Getty ImagesDavid Warner remained unaffected by the setback, and smacked 45 off 46 balls before falling to Matt Henry•Darrian Traynor/Getty ImagesThere was a sprinkling of good fortune, too, as Steven Smith watched a ball kiss the stumps but not dislodge the bails•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesMichael Clarke, playing his last ODI, smashed 74 off 72 balls before being dismissed with nine runs to get. He put on 112 runs along with Smith to quell New Zealand’s challenge•Mark Kolbe/Getty ImagesIt was only a matter of time before Smith pulled Matt Henry to hit the winning boundary – and let out a victory cheer•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesAustralia completed their seven-wicket victory with 101 balls to spare, and clinched their fifth World Cup title•Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

A look at past games when one batsman made a big score without a significant contribution from the others

Mathew Varghese12-May-2015KP 355 not out, next-best 36•PA PhotosBert Sutcliffe, Otago v Canterbury, Christchurch, 1952
Top score: 385 Next best: 29
Sutcliffe, one of New Zealand’s all-time batting greats, had become the second* from his country to score a first-class triple hundred when he made 355 against Auckland in January 1950 – the next-best in the innings was 67. But his next triple was even more remarkable: if you take aside his 385, and the 29 extras that Canterbury gave, the remaining 10 batsmen only scored 86. It still remains the highest first-class score by a New Zealander and in New Zealand – it was the best by a left-hand batsman till Brian Lara made his record-breaking 501 in 1994. His innings came in Otago’s total of 500 – a first-innings lead of 191 – and they won by an innings after bowling out Canterbury for 98.VVS Laxman, Hyderabad v Bihar, Jamshedpur, 1998
Top score: 301 Next best: 35
VVS Laxman, whose big scores for India often came in innings where others made a contribution, made his first first-class triple century in an innings where the next-best score was 35. Coming in at 32 for 1, Laxman’s unbeaten 301 took his team to 529 for 8 declared, with the others scoring 20, 35, 33, 2 (Azharuddin), 20, 8, 24, 30, 34. He finished the first day unbeaten on 158, and completed his triple on the second. Hyderabad went on to beat Bihar by an innings and 152 runs.Vijay Hazare, Rest v Hindus, Bombay, 1943
Top score: 309 Next best: 21
In the early days of Indian first-class cricket, the Bombay Quadrangular and Pentangular tournaments were a bigger attraction than the Ranji Trophy. It was the final game of the tournament, and featured the marquee battle between Vijay Merchant (Hindus) and Vijay Hazare (Rest). Batting first, Hindus made 581 for 5 declared, with Merchant scoring 250 not out and Hemu Adhikari unbeaten on 186 – Hazare bowled 51 overs and took 3 for 119.Rest crumbled in reply, Hazare top-scored with 59 in his team’s 133. Following on, it was a Hazare show as he delayed the outright win for Hindus. Only one other batsman scored more than the 19 extras, Hazare’s brother Vivekanand (21). The brothers added 300 for the sixth wicket, Vijay scoring 266 of those. Hazare went past Merchant’s 250 to once again claim the top score in the Pentangular Tournament – Merchant had bettered his 248 scored in the same season. Hazare’s 309, though, could not prevent an innings defeat – he was out caught and bowled.Graeme Hick, Worcestershire v Somerset, Taunton, 1988
Top score: 405 Next best: 56
Graeme Hick, with still three years to qualify to play for England, nearly broke the record for the highest first-class score in the country – he perhaps would have if Worcestershire had not declared their innings. His unbeaten 405, which came off 469 balls with 35 fours and 11 sixes, was just the second quadruple hundred in England after Archie MacLaren’s 424, also scored at the County Ground in Taunton way back in 1895. Worcestershire were reduced to 132 for 5 – Ian Botham made 7 – before Hick put on a stand of 265 with Steve Rhodes, whose 56 was the next-best score. Two more partnerships with the lower order pushed the total to 628 for 7, a total that was big enough to ensure an innings victory.Don Bradman, Victoria v South Australia, Melbourne, 1936
Top score: 357 Next best: 63
Don Bradman has six first-class triple hundreds, but perhaps he didn’t dominate his team’s scoring as much as in the innings against Victoria at the MCG. His 357 came in a team score of 569, with the others only scoring double figures, opener Ronald Parker’s 63 being the highest. Victoria followed on , but managed to draw the game. Bradman made another triple, 369, against Tasmania later in the season.* May 13, 0305GMT: Corrected to state that Bert Sutcliffe was the second – and not first – New Zealander to score a first-class triple century.

After six years of despair and uncertainty, Friday at the Gaddafi was a mix of the fantastic and the familiar for the common cricket-lover

Hadeel Obaid23-May-2015Six years is a long time to have empty grounds, dusty seats and no international cricket in sight. It has been a tough six years for Pakistan cricket fans. And it has been a week of ambiguity, the tour never really confirmed. Would Zimbabwe take a chance? There were prayers, tears, cops and a desperate hope as we descended to watch the first T20 international to be hosted at the Gaddafi Stadium.I receive a frantic phone call. Several of the flights from Karachi to Lahore have either been cancelled or delayed. My bags are packed, tickets in hand, whistles, flag, paint and pom-poms all safely tucked away, and yet the uncertainty surrounding domestic travel makes Lahore feel all that much farther away. All I can do is pray.We are at the airport. There is only one flight departing that will make it in time for the match. There’s a frantic rush at the counters. The flight is booked to capacity. Our tickets are confirmed but there are boys in green jerseys pleading for seats. They wanted to be a part of history.We have 30 minutes to get to the ground. Security is tight, traffic is currently at its peak and there have been several text messages about the gates closing at 6 pm. I’m shaking as we near the stadium. The term “heavy ” (passion) is being thrown around frequently. There are balloons, wigs, paint, posters and selfies being taken on the walk to the stadium, and security unlike anything I have ever witnessed before.The lines are long. The heat is intense. The spirit is very much intact. Whistles are being blown everywhere; chants have already begun before we’ve even entered our stand. I saw a group of boys in a country obsessed with manhood walk in with tears in their eyes. Later, they admitted how overwhelming it was: all these years it had felt like cricket wasn’t meant for us anymore; they didn’t believe the Gaddafi would get a second life.The flags are out. The teams have walked out. I look around and see almost every fan in my section with their hands on their chest. That was probably the loudest the Pakistan national anthem has ever been sung at a stadium. Amid the sea of green, you can see specks of Zimbabwe jerseys and posters of their players. There was heart and sportsmanship, and a real love for cricket. It wasn’t the men in green who were our heroes; it was the boys in red we were hailing.The first ball is bowled. I cry. The exile is over. The sights, sounds and feel of a home ground had become such a faded memory, I was afraid we would always be left chasing that feeling. There are three different in the stands today, each unique, with his band of followers. There are too many different slogans being chanted to follow. It is 43C and no bottled water of any kind. There is only available for those desperate for reprieve.The Zimbabwe players were as popular as Pakistan’s•AFPThe entire stand is chanting “selfie” in unison as Ahmed Shehzad takes his position near our boundary. There is between the overs. Four men seated in front of us had flown in from Multan. They were only interested in seeing Shahid Afridi play and were blown away with how beautiful the Gaddafi Stadium was. I had to agree; for someone more used to the National Stadium, Karachi, where matches are watched through cages, these seats were intact and the ground rivalled any I had been to abroad.Zimbabwe has been ahead in the first innings. Showing their strength, hitting boundaries, keeping wickets in hand. They set a target of 173, a tall ask for a team with a poor history of chasing and the added burden of sentimentality for the day.The second innings is absolute mayhem. The crowd is on its feet as the opening pair of Mukhtar Ahmed and Shehzad has it raining fours and sixes. Pakistan is cruising to victory. The run rate well ahead of what is required. People can be heard discussing whether Mukhtar can make a century.Fans begin to leave, expecting the team to take it home easily. It takes eight balls for two wickets to fall in succession and suddenly, the road gets a little bumpier. People are cheering for wickets, anything for their captain to make an appearance in the match.And then the match begins to move for Zimbabwe.We are ready to go home. Our stand has tired, and thirsty fans are anxiously waiting to watch the winning runs but, quite typically, nothing ever comes easily with our team. In six overs Pakistan lost five wickets, and you can feel the tension in the air. It is almost a comical procession of batsmen, the familiarity most fitting.It is the final over. Afridi scores the winning runs. This is what the fans were waiting for. Bottles are being thrown everywhere. There is an excited rush near the gate as we head towards the exit. Shouts of “Pakistan ” can be heard in several areas surrounding the ground. People give interviews, lots of pushing, peace signs, loud proclamations of how incredible it was to finally witness cricket at home. Policemen are being relentlessly thanked for their service. They made it possible.We are headed back to our hotel. The family in our shuttle is talking about how they bought tickets at twice their original value because not being at the game was not an option. We have paint smeared on our faces, we have lost our voices, our jerseys are drenched, but the significance of today is not lost on us.Zimbabwe has given Pakistan cricket a new lease on life. I have remembered what it feels like to watch a game live, to feel the patriotism and fandom associated with the sport. Our love for cricket supersedes all. It would be heart breaking to have to wait another six years to witness it again.

Plays of the day from the third ODI between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Harare

Arun Venugopal07-Aug-2015The freakish catchGiven the assurance with which Kane Williamson was batting, Zimbabwe required a piece of freakish brilliance to send him back to the change room. Craig Ervine provided exactly that in the 41st over when Williamson jumped out of his crease and hoicked one down the ground. Ervine, sprinting to his left from long on, caught at the ball, and realising that the momentum was taking him beyond the boundary, threw the ball up. He then jumped back into the field of play to complete the catch, and flashed a wide grin. The bowler, a pumped-up John Nyumbu, was already charging towards Ervine to celebrate the wicket.The botched stumpingWilliamson had just passed fifty in a chanceless effort up to that point, and Zimbabwe were getting increasingly edgy. Their captain, Elton Chigumbura, was shuffling his spinners around, and he turned to Sikandar Raza’s offspin. In his second over, Raza fired one flat outside off stump after seeing Williamson come down the track. The batsman missed and, unluckily for Raza and Zimbabwe, so did the keeper Regis Chakabva as Williamson returned to his crease. As if to rub it in further, he flicked the very next ball over midwicket’s head, and it sped to the fence. Raza could only summon a rueful stare.The elusive runZimbabwe did not have the swiftest of starts to their pursuit of 274. Their initial dawdling was mostly a result of Chamu Chibhabha’s early struggles. While his opening partner, Hamilton Masakadza, was tonking errant deliveries, Chibhabha was yet to get off the mark even after five overs. After remaining on nought for 16 deliveries, Chibhabha pulled Mitchell McClenaghan unconvincingly behind square to finally get off the mark.The sharp run-outSean Williams blocked the last ball of the 33rd over and looked up only to find that Ervine had backed up a long way. Williams wasted no time in sending him back, but the bowler Ben Wheeler had by then swooped down on the ball, turned and threw down the stumps in one motion. Ervine put in a dive, but replays showed he had not made his ground in time.The flying McCullumBrendon McCullum’s exploits on the field have been amply documented. And, while, over the years he has carved a reputation for pulling off screamers, it was the turn of his older brother, Nathan, on Friday to keep the McCullum flag flying high. In the 38th over of Zimbabwe’s innings bowled by Nathan, Chakabva pushed the ball uppishly off the backfoot. The bowler immediately leapt to his right, and after plucking the ball with his right hand, used his other hand to ensure it did not spill out.

From the low point of being suspended in 2012, Mitchell Marsh is now ready for the high of an Ashes debut

Daniel Brettig15-Jul-2015A little less than three years ago, Mitchell Marsh walked out to the middle of Centurion Park in Pretoria, sat down on the pitch and cried. He had just been suspended following a 21st birthday dinner that spiralled out beyond the original plans, and his place in the Perth Scorchers team had been taken away.It was a low point, not only for Marsh but for Western Australian cricket, as the state team’s troubled culture took a toll on the players but also the support staff. Within weeks the coach Lachlan Stevens and the captain Marcus North would both be out of their jobs, while Marsh was left to ponder his future.Looking back, Marsh tells ESPNcricinfo that his tears were not those of a player questioning where he was headed, but of a young man angry at the circumstances in which he had been disciplined – 14 of the squad’s 15 players were out that night. From that day in South Africa, Marsh commenced a slow but steady upward march into better behaviour. His state team did too, and both will be rewarded when Marsh walks out to play for Australia in the Investec Ashes Test at Lord’s.”I was certainly very upset,” Marsh recalls. “It wasn’t in a sense of ‘where’s my career at’, it was more out of disappointment at the way that situation was handled, and it’s obviously something that I look back on and certainly regret, but I was certainly upset at the way it was handled. Looking back now, it feels like such a long time ago, and I’ve certainly come a long way as a person and a cricketer since then. It’s more a distant memory now.”Marsh had always been a confident young man, more outgoing than his quieter older brother, Shaun. He was once touted as a future Australian football prospect, something unsurprising when his tall, strong and broad physique is factored in. He also fell easily into the train hard, play hard culture of Perth, something with which the city’s AFL club West Coast was synonymous.”The biggest thing then was that I was a young kid who enjoyed himself,” he says. “I still do, it’s just a case that the last few years I’ve certainly matured, not only as a cricketer but as a person as well. You tend to grow up and make better decisions, and I like to think I’m doing that now. I’m working extremely hard at my game every day to try to improve and hopefully that can keep progressing in the middle.”Around the time of the aforementioned Champions League, progress had stalled somewhat. It took the arrival of Justin Langer to the Western Australian rooms to provide Marsh with the sort of direction he needed, not only from the coach but from other senior players. All were given a stronger sense of purpose by Langer, who was unafraid of harsh truths and difficult conversations in order to get the state side performing again.Among Langer’s early lessons for the team was a strong reminder of the fact that celebrations of a win should never be allowed to impinge upon the chances of taking out the ultimate prize – in WA’s case the Sheffield Shield – and that team behaviour had to be modulated accordingly. Legends of Langer’s intensity have travelled widely, but Marsh argues that he has knocked a tad more common sense into what had been a quite wayward group.”JL’s been fantastic for West Australian cricket as a player and now as a coach,” Marsh says. “Probably the best thing he does for us, because we’ve got such a young group and a young squad, he just instils great morals and work ethic for all of us moving forward. When you’ve got a young group that’s something that will hold us in good stead for a long time.”He’s certainly been great for me, when he first came in he was quite hard on a certain few of us, and we’ve all reaped the rewards for that. I can’t thank him enough. A lot of people when they talk about Justin Langer as a coach they say it’s a boot camp and you’re not allowed to enjoy your teammates’ success or enjoy a win, but that’s certainly not the case. What JL’s brought in is just common sense.”It’s something all of us have taken on board. We’re Australian, and as an Australian cricket team or WA team you’re always going to enjoy your team-mates’ success and that’s why you play the game. Common sense is certainly one of our team rules and it’s all about knowing when to pull the reins in.”There is something of this culture in the Australian team also, not surprising when it is considered that Darren Lehmann played all but one of his 27 Test matches alongside Langer. “People watch us, it’s why we train so hard, why we work hard off the field, so when we do have success in the field we can enjoy it and then the next day it’s bang, straight onto it and back into preparing hard for the next game,” Marsh says. “It’s certainly a great balance in this squad and great fun to be around.”Another key influencer of Marsh for both state and national teams has been Adam Voges, who was appointed state captain after North stepped down. Voges’ performances as a batsman have been prolific, and he was rewarded with a baggy green during the recent West Indies tour. Marsh, who earned a debut Test cap against Pakistan in Dubai last October, said Voges’ example was perhaps his most inspiring.”He’s one of the best leaders I’ve ever played under, and certainly any leadership roles in the future,” Marsh says, “if I ever get one, he’s certainly taught me everything about being a role-model as a person off the field and as a captain on the field.”He’s someone I look up to massively, it was amazing to see him make his Test debut and it was a little bit weird being a younger guy and having a baggy green before someone like him, who I look up to so much. For our young group he’s been amazing, he teaches us all so much.”

“The biggest thing then was that I was a young kid who enjoyed himself. I still do, it’s just a case that the last few years I’ve certainly matured, not only as a cricketer but as a person as well. You tend to grow up and make better decisions, and I like to think I’m doing that now”

One area Marsh had to improve was his physical readiness for the arduous task of an allrounder’s workload. His back and hamstrings have been unable to bear the strain at times in the past, and his bowling action is now significantly remodelled in order to allow him to keep from breaking down. Considerable fitness work at the National Cricket Centre before this tour had Marsh lean and primed for the task ahead.”A lot of my injuries have come from bowling, and like everyone says it’s a matter of bodies maturing. As a young bowler you’re going to get injured, and hopefully over the last 18 months I’ve got my body to a point where I’ll have less and less injuries,” Marsh says. “At the moment it’s feeling really good, I had an extended break after the World Cup which allowed me to get really fit, the body feels great at the moment.”It’s about finding an action that’s going to put the least amount of stress on your body as you can. Certainly at a young age, you see some of the older guys don’t worry too much about changing their action because their bones and muscles are mature.”For me I feel like I’ve found an action that’s working for me, and it’s about every training session trying to get better with Craig McDermott – he’s been great for me – and as an allrounder one thing is making sure you’re bowling fast enough to fill that fourth bowling role.”In England, Marsh placed his stamp on the tour with a pair of domineering hundreds against Kent and Essex, two innings that allowed him some time in the middle after weeks of running the drinks in the Caribbean. “The one thing that is hardest when you’re not playing is just to stay hungry all the time,” Marsh says. “That’s one thing I’ve worked on with [batting coach] Michael Di Venuto, just practising good habits so when I do get an opportunity hopefully I’m good to go.”Having chosen to pitch Marsh into an Ashes debut in place of Shane Watson, that’s what Australia’s selectors are hoping too. If Marsh does well there may be more tears, but any shed at Lord’s will be far sweeter than the bitter ones shed at Centurion back in 2012.Mitchell Marsh has joined PUMA’s stable of elite cricketers including New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum, who will be touring Australia this coming summer with the Black Caps.

Free to attack for Yorkshire, he has proved the value of his legspin. Now England look ready to be seduced. Can he take the final step in an insecure occupation?

Tim Wigmore26-Aug-2015As it often does, Hove had acquired a rather somnolent air. In sweltering heat, Sussex’s openers were going nowhere on the second afternoon. Yorkshire’s seamers had bowled with parsimony but without bite on a pitch designed to neuter them.It was here where Adil Rashid was striving for the presence that would identify him as the right spin bowler to partner Moeen Ali against Pakistan in the UAE. Throughout the Ashes summer, they have practised together and prayed together. Rashid, still awaiting a chance in the five-day game, hopes that one day soon they will play Test cricket together.Rashid was the man to halt Hove’s gentle drift, just not as he intended. He dragged a delivery down to Ed Joyce, and was deposited over long-on for six: too short and too straight. Two balls later Rashid was driven through the off side for four: too full and too wide. A legspinner’s world has always been a hazardous one.As more long hops and half-volleys, along with the odd full toss, followed, it would have been easy to whisk Rashid out of the attack. But Yorkshire had amassed 494 runs in the first innings and, just as importantly, the knowledge that their seamers would struggle. For good or ill, at least Rashid would make things happen. He needed to bowl to rediscover himself in his bowling again.Sussex also recognised as much. In its own way Joyce’s assault on Rashid, which included two more sixes over the leg side, was a tribute to the bowler; Joyce said that Rashid “was threatening to get me out” and so he resolved to attack while he could. He insisted he was ready for Test cricket, but only after exacting considerable punishment.England will be keen to get some success in UAE with Rashid and Moeen bowling in tandem•Getty ImagesRashid showed flashes of why he is held in such regard. An immaculate forward defensive from Luke Wells was not enough to prevent Rashid from toppling his off stump. Two balls later, another left-hander, Matt Machan, poked a delivery that turned and bounced into the hands of short leg. The day ended with Rashid inducing Joyce to flick another ball to short leg.He had bowled numerous deliveries of which he would not be proud, leaking four runs an over and demanding much of Andy Hodd’s agility behind the stumps. Yet Rashid had taken three of the four Sussex wickets to fall.It was an afternoon that encapsulated the hopes and fears that surround legspin, and Rashid, most pressingly. One senses England’s new coach, Trevor Bayliss, wants to see Rashid and Moeen in harness – a potential alliance of two players of Pakistani origin with inner-city upbringings in Bradford and Birmingham respectively. He was behind the decision to select Rashid in every Test squad of the summer, even though he did not make his debut.Alastair Cook is reportedly among those who fear Rashid’s legspin may be is too slow to succeed in Test cricket. The ease with which Ben Brown and Michael Yardy pillaged Rashid as his deliveries lingered in the surface at Hove – where he finished with 3 for 159 from 33 overs – did little to ease such fears.Rashid defends his method, saying he likes to give the ball “a bit of air”, but is working on developing a quicker delivery in the nets.

“Legspinners tend to develop at a later age. They know their bowling a lot more, they know their action and they’re just mature”Rashid

Rashid returned to international cricket at Edgbaston – close to Moeen’s heartland – after a six-year absence in the ODI series against New Zealand. As England threw off the straitjacket, they embraced the value of a spinner able to turn the ball both ways.It might just have been the most gladdening sight of England’s pulsating ODI series victory over New Zealand. On his ODI return, he scored 69, fusing brutality with silkiness, and then took 4 for 55 to secure victory. “It gave me a real confidence booster,” he says. “I feel as if I’ve got a place in this team and don’t really feel under pressure.”A Royal London Cup quarter-final against Essex offers another opportunity to showcase his talent and then the ODI series against Australia awaits. Every eye-catching performance will increase the possibility of a Test debut in the UAE, where England will need support for Moeen since spin will be the heart of this series. They have known each other since they were 13. Moeen is the more assured, but both take pride in their emergence from demanding circumstances.”I’ve just got to do what I did against New Zealand – bowl, give it a good rip and look to have fun,” Rashid says, lauding the enlightened approach of the new England set-up to his legspin. “They just encouraged me to do what I’m doing, keep mixing it up and bowling my variations, looking to enjoy it and get wickets.”It has not always seemed so simple. “When I first came into the England side there were a lot of big-name players and I was a bit young. I was a bit nervous and I didn’t know how to express myself. Now it’s a completely different atmosphere. I’ve matured a lot as a person as well and I’m a lot more confident in my cricket as well.”Rashid’s journey has been at times a bumpy one. Somewhere the philosophy that underpinned his remarkable County Championship debut, when he famously took 6 for 67 in Scarborough as an 18-year-old in 2006 – “I was just looking to bowl and enjoy myself” – got lost. He admits that self-doubt “can creep in at times”. As Yorkshire were relegated in 2011, they became more concerned with his bowling avoiding damage than inflicting it on batsmen.Adil Rashid has been given licence to attack at Yorkshire•Getty ImagesRashid is a classical legspinner with classical flaws; he marries prodigious turn and a googly that frequently obliterates lower orders with ragtag deliveries. He and Yorkshire both now embrace as much. “He can bowl what he likes, even if it’s six googlies in an over,” Yorkshire’s captain, Andrew Gale said recently, echoing the philosophy of Jason Gillespie that players should be encouraged to find their own way.”My job as a spin bowler is to create chances and take wickets, and not worry about going for runs,” Rashid says. “Legspin is a tough art to bowl – it takes a lot of practice and it’s really hard to control. Sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days, but at this moment in time I feel in a decent place.”So he should. Since the start of 2014, Rashid has taken 78 first-class wickets (excluding the latest match in Hove) at 26.60 apiece, scoring 1063 runs at 39.37 in that time to boot. But still some are unconvinced. Rashid’s performance at the start of the West Indies tour in April virtually implored the selectors to pick James Tredwell instead.He may still have more time to hone his game than many think: Rashid is six years younger than Clarrie Grimmett was when he began a Test career that yielded 216 wickets. “Legspinners tend to develop at a later age – they might be 29, 30 or 31,” Rashid says. “Later on they know their bowling a lot more, they know their action, and they’re just mature and know themselves a lot more.”Rashid is a long way down this path. Against Pakistan in October, his evolution will culminate, surely, in becoming that rare thing: an England Test legspinner.”All I’ve got to do is look to do what I do for Yorkshire – just enjoy myself and bowl my variations,”he says. “Whatever happens, happens. If it’s a good day it’s a good day and if it’s a bad day it’s a bad day. I’m not going to think about whether I’m ready or not ready. If they select me that means I am ready to play.”

Sabbir Rahman seems to have the skill required to graduate to Test cricket, but the team management isn’t rushing him

Mohammad Isam08-Oct-2015The Bangladesh team for the two-Test series against Australia was named a day after Sabbir Rahman made an unbeaten 122 against India A. It is very likely that he will remain with the Bangladesh A side on their Africa tour that starts this month, instead of breaking into the senior team for the two Tests against Zimbabwe in November; there is no hurry to include him in the Test setup, which already includes a number of players who are not yet established in the longest format.Chief selector Faruque Ahmed believes that Sabbir is among a group of players who are being moulded for the longer format with an eye on the future. “We are trying him and others in the A team,” Faruque said. “If you look at that team you will see many of the players are still not established in the Test team. These A team matches are important for the players and from a selection perspective. We want them to do well in all formats.”The century for Bangladesh A is not the only thing that is bringing the focus on Sabbir, who is among a group of exciting batsman now playing in the senior side. His approach to batting could be the next path, or a change of gear, for a Bangladesh Test batting line-up that often struggles to score in a sustained manner. Sabbir has shown that he can be aggressive while at the same time melt into the vastness of a first-class innings. His improvement in the last seven years as a first-class batsman, a limited-overs player and an excellent fielder, has suggested that he has the qualities that could make him successful in Test cricket too.Sabbir’s knock in Bangalore stood out amid Bangladesh A’s first-innings batting shambles which included six ducks. It was described as “sublime” – he batted with ease against spin and pace, short-pitched and even fuller deliveries.There is already much appreciation for his ability and skills among the Bangladesh team management, one of whom said that he “would love” to see Sabbir make it to the Test team.In the 20 ODIs and eight T20s since his debut in November last year, Sabbir has been a handy bat in end-over accelerations and chases. His hand-eye coordination is a major strength and has only improved with time. While he has always maintained that he is happy to play any format he is chosen for, Sabbir wouldn’t like to be tagged as a limited-overs specialist; a format specialist in Bangladesh cricket suffers typecasting which ultimately has been seen to hurt the individual’s skills and credentials.Strong examples are Mominul Haque, Enamul Haque jnr and Robiul Islam, who have found it hard to make it to limited-overs sides as they are perceived to be only good enough to play Tests. Sabbir came into the scene as a short-burst batsmen but it is hard to ignore his work for Rajshahi Division in the National Cricket League since his first-class debut in 2008. As a lower-middle order batsman, he has a number of innings where he has batted for more than three hours.Mal Loye, the High Performance coach who worked with Sabbir for a few months this year, is confident that when the time arrives, he can manage the changes between the shorter and longer formats. “I think all players with natural ability can adjust to all formats of the game. I have spoken with Sabbir about potentially doing that, I don’t see a reason why he can’t adjust to that format,” Loye said.Loye has directed him to bat up the order for his first-class team Rajshahi Division so that his batting skills are developed for the longest format. He has also asked Sabbir to work on his back-foot game as the front-foot movement seems to come to Bangladesh batsmen naturally.”I have spoken to Sabbir about possibly going up the order when he is playing for his division in the first-class competition, give himself time to bat long periods. There’s no better way about than scoring hundreds. To bat all day is a difficult skill. I have no doubt he can do that.”I try to encourage every player here to be as comfortable off the back foot as they are off the front foot. Obviously conditions in Bangladesh favour the front foot. I have spoken to him about expanding his game on the back foot. It prepares you to play against better, faster and taller bowlers, and gives you more scoring options against medium-pacers as well.”Barring late injuries and if Rubel Hossain doesn’t recover in time from his calf muscle strain, the national selectors are likely to retain the Bangladesh team that played against South Africa in July-August and the one that was announced for the deferred Australia series. One may argue that going down the same, known alley is better than trying something different but then the selectors and fans would not want the Bangladesh Test team to stagnate while the ODI and T20 team find new ways to win games, and Sabbir will continue to be an option to ponder.

Seven wickets stand between India and a rare overseas series win. They may be close, but they must remember the job is not yet done. To get there, they must put head over heart

Sharda Ugra at the SSC31-Aug-2015And so here we are. After three whirlwind weeks of the bowlers having dictated play even as the batsmen have tried to tap into their inner technicians, India are seven wickets away from a series victory in Sri Lanka. Yes, yes, after 22 years. The last time India won a series in Sri Lanka, Amit Mishra was in primary school and KL Rahul still wore diapers. Never mind the time span, if the Indians pull it off at the SSC it could, keeping in mind the Colombo temperatures, serve as a soothing ice pack to the heated anxiety over India’s abilities on foreign soil. Their last away series victory was four years ago in the West Indies, after which their reputation as travellers has been repeatedly either dented, battered or bruised. To Indian cricket, this normal Colombo Tuesday offers almost too big an occasion.The very idea of it made Rohit Sharma smile through his rather combative and lively media interaction. “Yeah one more job and we are through.” The seven wickets will have to be treated as a job, a task, in a manner that is more methodical and clinical rather than being an emotional surge. India will have to play it like they did the first two sessions on day four, rather than the last. These first two sessions at the SSC on Monday were highly disciplined and calculatedly paced. The last wound down into a slightly unhinged final 90 minutes which had India’s most experienced cricketer in the XI lose his rag and strike himself over the head. It made their captain go into crazy-eyes mode every time a wicket fell and the close-in fielders crowd the batsmen as if they were auditioning for a skit titled “How to give match referees twitchy fingers”.Good thing that cups of tea were had by both teams and everyone went home to separate hotel rooms. This is not the time for emotion. Emotion must be put on hold until after the seven wickets – if all things go to plan, that is – are taken on Tuesday. After that Virat Kohli and his team are allowed flash floods of tears. The Indians have taught themselves how to play the control game – that is controlling both themselves and the play – and have some experience in it. At the P Sara, pushing for a series-levelling win, India needed eight wickets on the final day with the hosts chasing a rather impossible 413. Rohit remembered it well. “I guess we will just have to come out tomorrow and have to, you know, do what we did in P Sara. In the same situation they were three down [72 for 2 going into the final day] and we had very similar target there as well.”In hindsight, Monday could possibly serve as the day that sealed the series for India. What they did through a clutch of partnerships was to push the Sri Lankans to a position where it would require the most inspiring batsmanship from the home team – currently in a deep batting funk – to turn the Test around. “Batting on the fifth day and having a target of 380-plus is never easy for any opposition,” Rohit said.Rohit Sharma acknowledged the value of the lower-order contributions from Amit Mishra and R Ashwin•AFPIt is the manner in which India batted on the fourth day that helped them claw back from a nervy 21 for 3 to a lead which grew from sizeable to what, at stumps, looked monstrously impossible. That it came once again with the prized top order already lopped off, and that it was steered at first to safety and then to strength by a batsman as edgy and incendiary as Rohit, was delicious irony in itself. Rohit’s dissection of the Indian innings was as careful as his batting appears carefree. The idea, he said, was to be cautious in the first half an hour of the day and then make a move later. The seamers, who have picked up most of the wickets in this Test, had to bear most of work load. “I’m sure they were also tired, they bowled so many overs,” Rohit said. “So the first 20-25 minutes, we didn’t get much runs but once we got enough time in the middle we started playing our shots.”After the Indians had come into the day with a lead of 132, the plan, according to Rohit, revolved around micro partnerships, “Every small little partnership on this wicket is crucial. There is something for the bowlers throughout the day. If you put the ball in the right areas, something is happening. We were not looking at getting too far ahead, like a 100-run stand or 200-run stand… It’s not a high scoring ground.”India’s lead stretched with the early efforts – Rohit and Kohli’s 57 for the fourth wicket scored at three and a half an over was followed by Stuart Binny walking in and munching into the bowling with 49 off 62. He was the main man, scoring 36 of the 54 runs in his fifth-wicket partnership with Rohit, those runs coming at 5.14 per over. Binny displayed his intentions early, slashing Nuwan Pradeep over the slips and punching Dhammika Prasad over point. That show of aggression was important, Rohit said. “It was really important at that point of time and we wanted to capitalise as the bowlers were tired. We did that really well and once I got out, Naman [Ojha] and Stuart carried on for a bit and Ashwin and Mishra then did. Lower-order contribution are really important in Test cricket. We’ve always spoken about it and I’m glad that eventually it’s happening now.”Going into Tuesday, it is a pitch that still has much life, it is a situation where India have the upper hand. When the bowlers walk out onto the field, they will be best served by the advice most coaches would give them. Think about what they want to do with every ball they are about to bowl. Without emotion, with a clear mind. Head not heart. Head for as many hours as needed. Heart for later. And if all goes well, it will be one for the ages.