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ESPNcricinfo previews Hampshire’s prospects for the 2017 season

George Dobell30-Mar-2017Last season:

In: Kyle Abbott (Kolpak), Rilee Rossouw (Kolpak), Asher Hart (Durham), Fraser Hay
Out: Adam Wheater (Essex), James Tomlinson, Andy Carter, Gareth Andrew (all retired), Tino Best, Yasir Arafat, Joe Weatherley (Kent, season’s loan), Ryan McLaren (Lancashire)
Overseas: George Bailey2016 in a nutshell
Desperately disappointing. Unable to progress beyond the group stages in either white ball competition (only Somerset won fewer T20 games in either division; a huge disappointment for a team which had made Finals Day every year since 2010). Hampshire were also only reprieved from Championship relegation by Durham’s financial troubles and their consequent demotion; an ironic lifeline for a club which have cost their benefactor, Rod Bransgrove, £10m he knows will never see again. They were hindered by events beyond their control: Michael Carberry (eight Championship matches) was ill; Reece Topley (one Championship match in which he wasn’t able to bowl) was injured, as were Fidel Edwards, Chris Wood and Ryan Stevenson, while James Vince (eight Championship matches) was required by England. Bowling sides out was desperately tough. Ryan McLaren took the most wickets, a modest 32, but they cost him 38.81 a time. And, while the batsmen found form as the season progressed, only Sean Ervine made 1,000 Championship runs.2017 prospects
A combination of recruitments and returns means Hampshire go into the season with realistic hopes of a sharp improvement in fortunes. Whatever the rights and wrongs of Kolpak registrations, the addition of Kyle Abbott and Rilee Rossouw strengthens Hampshire considerably. The return of Topley, Carberry, Edwards and Vince, alongside the addition of Bailey, effectively provides a new spine to the team. They should prove especially competitive in white ball cricket, where Rossouw and Topley may prove especially valuable, but with much greater strength in depth, improvement in the Championship is also well within their grasp. There have been departures, though, with McLaren’s all-round contributions a substantial loss and Adam Wheater’s return to Essex potentially having some knock-on effects. His replacement, Lewis McManus is not, at this stage, as good a batsman, though he has potential. With depth in batting and variety in bowling, though, Hampshire could be the surprise package of this season.In charge
While Giles White remains as director of cricket, it is perhaps the appointment of Craig White as head coach that is most relevant. While White took over from Dale Benkenstein midway through the 2016 season, this is the first time he has had the opportunity to shape the team or control the environment at the club and it does seem his more relaxed approach marks a noticeable difference with that of his predecessor. Vince, somewhat jaded by the disappointments of 2016, remains as captain of the white ball teams, but Bailey will lead in the Championship when he is available. Given a bit of luck with fitness, Vince’s job should be considerably easier than it was last year.Key player
Liam Dawson batted at No. 4 for much of the time and delivered more than 300 Championship overs last year. While he may move two or three places down the order this season, his all-round skills will become, in the absence of McLaren, even more vital. He may well be the side’s only spinner on early-season wickets and, as a batsman, he has the versatility to defend for hours in red ball cricket and thrash with the best of them in white ball cricket. England may come calling but, when he’s available, he will be an important player.Bright young thing
Mason Crane’s development will continue to be watched with great interest. A decent English legspinner is a rarity in itself, but one good enough to earn a game for New South Wales is pretty extraordinary. He endured a tough season in 2016, but such things are probably to be expected for a teenage legspinner and he recently enjoyed a starring performance for The South on the pre-season trip to the UAE. His most immediate worry may simply be finding a place in the side. With Dawson likely to cope with the spin demands in the opening weeks and the reduced Championship schedule cramming a disproportionate number of games into the early weeks of the season (Hampshire play five Championship matches before the end of May), Crane may not always have the opportunity he requires. Tom Alsop is another worth keeping an eye upon.ESPNcricinfo verdict
The bookies consider Hampshire one of the favourites to suffer relegation but, with what amounts to half a new team available to them, they should fare considerably better. Life in Division One is likely to continue to prove competitive and Hampshire have a tough start, playing the champions, Middlesex, and Yorkshire twice within their first three games, but if they can get off to a decent start and build confidence, they have the talent to compete towards the top of the table. They should be competing in the white ball formats, too. It should be a much-improved season.Bet365 odds: Specsavers Championship: 12-1; NatWest Blast 10-1; Royal London Cup 9-1

Younis Khan was also the oldest man to reach the landmark, as well as the sixth fastest

Bharath Seervi23-Apr-20170 Number of players to reach the milestone of 10,000 Test runs at an older age than Younis Khan, who got there at 39 years and 145 days. The previous oldest was Shivnarine Chanderpaul who got there at 37 years and 254 days. Sunil Gavaskar, Allan Border and Steve Waugh also got there after their 37th birthdays.116 Tests played by Younis to reach the landmark. Only Brian Lara (111) took fewer matches, while Kumar Sangakkara also played 115. In terms of innings, Younis comes sixth. The fastest in terms of innings were Lara, Sangakkara and Tendulkar (195 innings each). For Pakistan, Javed Miandad and Inzamam-ul-Haq played more Tests than Younis, but scored over 1000 runs fewer than him.

34 Centuries scored by Younis, the joint second-most by any batsman at the time of reaching this feat. Only Ricky Ponting scored more, 35, whereas Tendulkar and Gavaskar also scored 34. However, Younis’ 32 fifties at the point are way lower than any other player, which also highlights his special ability to convert a high percentage of fifties into hundreds. The next lowest are Ponting and Mahela Jayawardene with 40 fifties. He is also the only player to have more centuries than fifties when achieving this feat.60.41 Younis’ average in a 11-year period between 2005 and 2015 – the second best among 64 batsmen who scored 2000 or more runs. Only Sangakkara was marginally better with 61.22. Younis scored 25 centuries and 20 fifties in that period.1 Player who took longer from their debut to complete 10,000 runs than Younis, who reached the mark in 17 years and 54 days. Chanderpaul took the longest, 18 years, 37 days, while Waugh took 17 years and seven days. Alastair Cook is the youngest and quickest in terms of time to the milestone.

3 Batsmen to have scored a triple-century by the time they reached the 10,000-run club – Lara, Jayawardene and Younis. Sangakkara got one after he reached the milestone.53.09 Younis’ average after he was dismissed for 58, the sixth-best when completing 10,000 runs (at the end of the match). Ricky Ponting had the highest average after the Test in which he reached the landmark – 58.72. Younis’ average is the highest among all Pakistan players to play more than 10 Test innings.11 Countries in which Younis has scored Test centuries, including UAE – the only batsman to do so. He completed the set with his maiden century in Australia at SCG.88.06 Younis’ average against India – his best against any opposition. He scored 1321 runs in 17 innings with five hundreds and four fifties, all between 2005 and 2007. Against all four subcontinent teams, he has a combined average of 63.25 – second only to Sangakkara (72.36) among batsmen with 3000-plus runs.3 Bowlers off whom Younis has scored 300 or more runs – the joint-most by a batsman since 2001. Younis has 300-plus runs against Rangana Herath (334), Harbhajan Singh (332) and Anil Kumble (331). Hashim Amla is the other batsman to score those many against three different bowlers: James Anderson, Mitchell Johnson and Stuart Broad.70 Sixes hit by Younis – the most among all batsmen at completion of 10,000 runs (at end of the match). Lara hit 69. Cook had hit only 10, the least. Younis is second on the all-time sixes list for Pakistan, behind Misbah’s 73.5 Centuries in the fourth-innings for Younis – the most among all players. He scored 1454 runs when chasing at an average of 53.85. Only Geoff Boycott (58.76) and Gavaskar (58.25) had a better average in the fourth innings among the 27 batsmen who scored 1000-plus runs.77.30 Younis’ average in the Tests than Pakistan won, is the third-highest among the 22 batsmen who scored over 4000 runs in wins. Only Don Bradman (130.88) and Inzamam-ul-Haq (78.16) are ahead of Younis. He averages 33.60 in lost matches and 57.35 in drawn Tests.

About to become the first indigenous woman to represent Australia in a World Cup, the 20-year-old has already shown maturity and confidence beyond her years

Aishwarya Kumar21-Jun-2017Ashleigh Gardner was walking into Melbourne Cricket Ground in February when it hit her: she was finally making her international debut for Australia Women. In 59 years, no one like her had done what she was about to do.The 19-year-old pressed her palms together to soothe her nerves and watched as former Australia fast bowler Jason Gillespie walked toward her. In his hand was a bright yellow Australia cap. He handed it to her and said, “Great work on becoming an Australian cricketer.”Gardner flashed a broad smile as she took the cap from the most popular indigenous Australian to play the game.”I made it,” she thought to herself.

“Ash is a really proud indigenous Australian, and that’s really important to her”Team-mate Rachael Haynes

The yellow cap represented more than just Gardner’s arrival to the national team. She also became the first indigenous woman to play for Australia since 1958. There are so few because of low exposure to the sport, the high costs of playing, and other difficulties that come with being an indigenous sportswoman. Before Gardner – whose heritage is Muruwari, an Aboriginal tribe from northern New South Wales – only one other indigenous woman, Faith Thomas, had played for the national team in its 83-year history.Gardner will now represent her country in the Women’s World Cup as the first female indigenous Australian to play in a World Cup.When Gardner was six years old, she started playing cricket in her backyard with her older brother, Aaron. Noticing her talent, Gardner’s father, Jim, signed her up to play for Riversby Workers Cricket Club, a local boys’ team in New South Wales. She played for the club for seven years before getting picked for the Under-12, Under-15 and Under-18 girls’ teams, and eventually represented her state team, New South Wales Breakers, with whom she still plays. She is also with Sydney Sixers in the Women’s Big Bash League.Gardner receives her Australia cap from Jason Gillespie•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesA few years ago Gardner was a shy teenager trying to learn as much about the sport as she could from the sidelines. Today, with help from mentors and fellow Australian cricketers, including Rachael Haynes, Ellyse Perry and Alyssa Healy, she has matured into a strong and confident adult. She now gives presentations in front of hundreds of children about team-building and leadership skills in schools across Australia, and she is the inspiration for numerous athletes – particularly females – in her community to take up sport on a more competitive level.”Ash is a really proud indigenous Australian,” Haynes said, “and that’s really important to her, and it’s great to have that diversity within a team, but also within a sport as well.”The 2016-17 season has been memorable for Gardner. After her T20 debut for Australia in February, she earned her ODI cap against New Zealand. Her performances in the Women’s Big Bash League – she scored 414 runs and took ten wickets – earned her the Rebel Young Gun award. In the process, she helped Sixers win the second season of the tournament. She also led NSW to first place in the domestic Australian tournament.

“Cricket’s a funny game where you can get five ducks and you need to be ready for the sixth game to hopefully not do that again”Ashleigh Gardner

Even with the frenzy of league and domestic competition, she hasn’t strayed from her roots. She captained the first Australian Aboriginal women’s team to tour India, and also played in the annual Imparja Cup – the National Indigenous Cricket Championships.Still, something had to give in Gardner’s life. Out of high school, the New South Wales cricket programme set her up with a gardening apprenticeship, as a curator. But in October last, when demands for cricket ramped up, she found it difficult to do both, work and train. She ultimately decided to focus on cricket full-time, which has worked out perfectly for her, Breakers coach Joanne Broadbent said. Not long after, the Australian selectors noticed Gardner’s breakthrough season and added her name to the World Cup roster.Gardner credits her resilience for helping her survive the year – and perform well under pressure. “Cricket’s a funny game where you can get five ducks and you need to be ready for the sixth game to hopefully not do that again,” she said. “Especially being an allrounder, I need to be bowling and batting in most games, so if I am having a bad day with one, I need to be ready to bounce back and hopefully do the other skill really well. That’s the key thing I’ve tried to do over the past year.”Gardner in action for New South Wales in the National Indigenous Cricket Championships•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesA solid batsman at No. 3, Gardner also evolved into a useful spin bowler, which has made her an asset for all of her teams. Broadbent called her “a player with a great gut instinct”. When she was on tour in Sri Lanka, the opposition needed three runs off the last over, and instead of choosing a front-line bowler to bowl the over, Gardner decided to bowl herself. Her team pulled off a victory.Gardner’s coaches and team-mates also applaud her dedication to improving. Once, during a Breakers training session, she was trying to mix things up with her bowling. Broadbent saw her struggle for a while and then watched her walk away with a determined look. Gardner continued running in to bowl by herself. She then noticed her mistake when she happened to look at her action in a mirror perched at the side of the field.”A player being able to help coach themselves is pretty much the best thing that you can see,” Broadbent said.

Gardner has matured into a strong and confident adult. She now gives presentations in front of hundreds of children about team-building and leadership skills in schools across Australia

Playing for different teams has also helped Gardner evolve: She knows when she has to lead – and follow. With Australia, she follows in the footsteps of Healy and Perry, but during the Imparja Cup, she gives directions to her team-mates.Come the World Cup, she is ready to take on the responsibility that comes with playing for the defending world champions. Her aim for this World Cup is to play in as many matches as possible and contribute with both bat and ball.”To win the World Cup,” she said, “would be incredible.”

Stats highlights from Day 1 of the fourth Test between Australia and England

Gaurav Sundararaman26-Dec-2017 Centurion Warner129 Innings taken by David Warner to reach 6000 Test runs – the joint-fourth fastest Australian batsman to achieve this feat. Don Bradman (68), Ricky Ponting (125), Mathew Hayden (126) and Greg Chappell (129) are the others on the list. Warner also scored his 21st century in Tests, 15 of which have come at home. Warner now has consecutive centuries at the MCG, having scored just one fifty from nine innings from 2011 to 2015.ESPNcricinfo Ltd 2 Instances this year of Warner centuries contributing more than 75% of the team’s total runs to that point. Warner started off 2017 with a century before lunch against Pakistan at Sydney, and has finished the year with another century against England. Since 2001, his centuries feature twice in the top five of highest percentages of a team’s total.

ESPNcricinfo Ltd England bowlers strike back 415 Balls taken by Stuart Broad to add to his wicket tally, after picking up Mitchell Starc in the first innings of the Adelaide Test. Broad was wicketless in the second innings at Adelaide and for the entire third Test at Perth. He finally dismissed Usman Khawaja for 17.100 Ashes wickets for James Anderson. He becomes the 37th bowler to take hundred or more wickets against a single opposition. Anderson is also the eighth cricketer and fifth pacer from England to achieve this in Ashes Tests. Ian Botham leads the pack for England with 128 wickets from 32 Ashes Tests while Shane Warne is the highest for Australia with 195 wickets from 36 matches.ESPNcricinfo Ltd43 Runs from 26 overs in the second session of the Test. Australia lost David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in this session. Australia managed only four boundaries and faced 134 dots in this period. It was a stark contrast to the first session, in which Australia scored 102 runs, and 13 boundaries, without losing a wicket.39 Runs from 221 balls faced on a good length for Australia from the England pace bowlers. Australia also lost all the three wickets to the good-length deliveries and struggled to score from them. In the first session, Australia scored 73 runs from 79 balls that were not in the good length. However, post lunch with the older ball, even those runs dried up, as Australia managed only 75 from 157 balls from deliveries that were not in the good-length area. Warner, who had scored 59 from 46 non-good-length deliveries before lunch, managed only 17 from 34 such balls after the break.

Smith’s hunting ground 624 Balls since Steven Smith has been dismissed at the MCG. Smith now has scored 434 runs without being dismissed. By the close of play he averaged 140.60 with three centuries and two fifties from nine innings at this venue.

Ball-tampering happens in cricket, so why has what Australia did in Cape Town been decried so vehemently at home? The answer lies in the role sport plays in the identity of the nation

Brydon Coverdale26-Mar-2018″It’s tampering, it happens. Move on. Calls for Smith to be sacked – how many captains would’ve been sacked over the years if everyone did that?”A cricket-writing colleague, not from Australia, asked me that question on Sunday. It was a valid query. Ball-tampering does happen in cricket, probably a lot more than anyone outside the game realises. Players have been sanctioned for it before. In the ICC’s Code of Conduct it is ranked at the same level as making a seriously obscene gesture, and is less grave than intimidating an umpire. The maximum penalty is a fine and suspension for one Test, which Steven Smith received and Cameron Bancroft did not.So, why is that not the end of the story? Why was there such widespread national outrage over an incident that cricket’s governing body views as only of moderate severity?To answer a question with another question, what do they know of Australia who only Australian cricket know?To understand the public response, and why the incident touched such a nerve, you need to understand the role sport has always played in Australia’s national identity. Indeed, since before we even a nation with which to identify.This is a young country – Australia’s states did not join together in federation until 1901. But Dave Gregory had taken office as Australia’s first Test captain in 1877, 24 years before Edmund Barton became our first prime minister.Edwin Flack won Australia two Olympic gold medals before Australia existed as a nation, and Australia has prided itself on punching far above its weight in Olympic competition ever since.

What sort of leaders not only hatch a plan like this, but have the team’s most junior member take all the risk? That is not leadership, it is cowardice.

The first Australian to win a world championship in any sport, rower Ned Trickett, was welcomed home by a crowd of 25,000 people when he returned to Sydney after winning the World Sculling Championship in England in 1876.More sportspeople have been named Australian of the Year than individuals from any other broad field of endeavour.It is written into national legislation that no company can name itself after Don Bradman without government permission. The only other person with such name protection is Australia’s first Catholic saint, Mary MacKillop.When Cadel Evans became Australia’s first Tour de France winner in 2011, he was a national hero, not least because he was clean in a sport rife with cheating.This is the context in which the country’s response to the ball-tampering incident must be viewed. Rightly or wrongly, our sportspeople have historically stood on pedestals far greater than any other members of our society. And the primary obligation the public asks in return is simple: don’t cheat. Don’t abuse our trust.Sometimes our sporting stars behave detestably, and are rightly castigated. Our cricketers are no exception. They say they do not cross “the line”, while the rest of us wonder where the hell it is. Of course, like any line in the sand, it washes away with the tide, to be redrawn wherever it suits at the time.The Australian public has a line, too. And with their culture of sledging, whingeing, hypocrisy and arrogance, our cricketers have been head-butting it for so long that they have become an insufferable national migraine.So when Bancroft was seen cheating, by rubbing the ball with a shred of yellow tape, and then hiding the offending item in his jocks like a naughty schoolboy, there was no sympathy. An already frustrated nation was now also losing its trust in the team, and that trust irretrievably shattered when Smith admitted that this was a premeditated act, cooked up by the team leadership group at the lunch break.3:54

Brettig: It’s about more than just ball-tampering

The public response in Australia was swift and overwhelming, and came from the Prime Minister down. Opportunistic politicians joined the pile-on, but there was already an enormous bandwagon on which to leap. The Australian public feels ownership of the cricket team that represents their country, and Sunday was like a nationwide fire-sale. Condemnation is to be expected of a national side caught cheating, but the widespread nature of the reactions, and the lack of dissenting voices, tells a story about how this team is viewed.A sprinkling of ex-players have said that ball-tampering is rife at all levels of the game, and that nobody can plead ignorance. That might be true of professional cricketers, and even of many club players. But this is not about them. It is about representing 25 million people and thus being held to higher standards. It is about the fans who trusted the wrong people.There is no sight in cricket quite like reverse swing, that late tail in, the stumps cartwheeling. But like a steak-lover who turns vegetarian after a visit to the abattoir, the average Australian cricket fan would be happy never to see reverse swing again, now that they have witnessed for themselves what goes into it. The challenge for Australian cricket is to stop fans abstaining from the team entirely.To hear the doyen of Australian cricket commentators, the ABC’s Jim Maxwell, becoming emotional on radio while saying that he could not remember ever feeling as disappointed in an Australian team as now, told of the gravity of the situation. The players involved should be forced to listen to that audio as part of their punishment.And nobody in the Australian squad who knew about the plan beforehand can play in the next Test in Johannesburg. It would be utterly unconscionable. What sort of leaders not only hatch a plan like this, but have the team’s most junior member take all the risk? That is not leadership, it is cowardice. Even if Bancroft was not asked to tamper, but simply overheard the discussion and took it upon himself, responsibility is still on the captain. It was cricket’s equivalent of loudly asking: “Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?”And that is why Smith’s position as captain is now untenable. Captaining Australia is not a right, it is a privilege, and a responsibility, and one that cannot be given to anyone who was part of this. As for the coach Darren Lehmann, even if he didn’t know about the plan – and that is hard to believe – he has fostered whatever sorry culture brought the dressing room to this point. He cannot realistically stay on either.History tells us that the outcry will eventually die down, but it will take time. Smith will lose the captaincy and serve a ban, probably a short one, but he will return to the side, and will, hopefully, over time earn the nation’s forgiveness. So too the other players involved. The stain will never fully disappear, but it will fade.Shane Warne was suspended for a year for taking a banned diuretic. Warne and Mark Waugh were the subjects of public shame for providing pitch and weather information to a bookmaker. These incidents were dubiously explained away by naivete. Greg Chappell ordered his brother Trevor to bowl underarm, which was within the laws of the game, and in later years admitted that at the back end of a stressful and demanding season, he had not been mentally fit to be captain. The incidents are remembered with distaste, but the men involved are not outcasts.Outcasts certainly emerged from the biggest recent controversy in Australian sport, an AFL scandal involving the Essendon club and their practice of injecting their players with banned peptides. Players served bans and the coach, James Hird, previously considered of unimpeachable character, eventually lost his job and was effectively shunned by the sport. In 2017, four years after the scandal emerged, he was hospitalised for a suspected drug overdose.That is in part a reflection of how premeditated cheating is viewed in Australia, but also the way social media and the 24-hour news cycle magnifies events. Jon Ronson’s excellent 2015 book, , examines how social media has led to a return of the days of public shaming. Twitter pile-ons bring out the worst kind of mob mentality, and can lead to a loss of all sense of proportion. Suggestions of life bans fall firmly in that category. There will be official sanctions, but the unofficial punishments – shame and humiliation – will hurt the most.It is worth noting that in the lead-up to the Cape Town Test, Smith actually admitted that his mind was not in a good place. His comments were in specific relation to his batting struggles, but with hindsight, it is hard not to wonder if the words had a wider meaning: “I didn’t feel I was hitting the ball that well [during the summer] but my mind was in a good place. Maybe now my mind is not in as good a space as it was.”It will hardly be in a better space after the past two days. While Cricket Australia has a responsibility to punish the players involved, it also has some responsibility for their welfare while doing so. These are young men who made a stupid mistake and must pay the price, but in the process they cannot be left without support.Still, in the here and now, this scandal is bigger than just cricket. It goes to the heart of Australian national identity. Australia’s cricket team is older than the country itself and historically, cricket has been the team sport with the greatest nationwide support in Australia. The public response reflects this affection. Short bans and a loss of leadership positions are the appropriate response. The written Laws of Cricket might tolerate Smith and Lehmann staying on as captain and coach, but the unwritten rules of Australia will not.

Will Moeen Ali earn a recall at the Ageas Bowl and can Sam Curran find a place in the XI?

Andrew McGlashan25-Aug-20182:08

‘Cook would do better at No. 3’ – Compton

Re-orderingThe injury to Jonny Bairstow may prevent him from keeping wicket in Southampton but he could play as a batsman. That would mean a likely move up to No. 4 and could be a harbinger of a future set-up for England’s top order alongside a shift of the gloves to Jos Buttler. Trevor Bayliss has admitted it could be a tricky decision and it might need some careful management, but England need to do everything they can to get the most out of an era of underwhelming top-order resources. The reshuffle would also allow Ollie Pope, if he is retained, to drop down a spot to No. 5 which would be a fairer position for a young batsman to try and settle into. There are other debates to have about the order as well, not least Joe Root’s position at No. 3, but England are unlikely to want a complete game of musical chairs before a crucial Test.Should Vince play anyway?When England named their squad, it was indicated that James Vince’s recall was purely as cover for Bairstow. However, Vince has been considered good enough to be brought back so should he be considered for a batting spot regardless? Pope is hugely talented but there is a feeling he may have been promoted too soon – although making a judgement on two Tests is, in itself, harsh – so one option would be for Vince to come in for Pope. A left-field option could be to have him open alongside Alastair Cook in place of Keaton Jennings. It would break up an all-left-hand opening combination which India’s bowlers have exploited. But while Vince opens in white-ball cricket, it is a very different ask to do so in a Test.Getty ImagesIn-form MoeenMoeen Ali has had a prolific few weeks with bat and ball. England aren’t short on allrounders, but Moeen has surely done enough to make the selectors think of finding a spot for him. Depending on what his main role is viewed as, it could just be a straight swap for Adil Rashid, although Rashid has done little wrong in this series. Moeen could also return as a batting-first option in place of Pope – and be part of a twin-spin attack – or if there are doubts over Ben Stokes’ bowling fitness as an allrounder (Bayliss has previously indicated he would consider Stokes as a batsman).Can Curran get back in?Sam Curran was unfortunate to lose his place for Trent Bridge and, though Stokes impressed with the bat on the fourth day, there’s a strong argument to say England got the selection wrong. But now that Curran is out, it’s tricky to see how he slots back in. The talk of rotating pace bowlers in this series has quietened (that could come in the winter) particularly with India’s fightback, so Curran may need an injury to create a gap. However, if Pope was replaced by Moeen and England only wanted one spinner, then Curran could replace Rashid. This may be an option if there is uncertainty about Stokes’ workload but otherwise five seamers would seem like overkill.Ageas a good omen for England?Four years ago, England came to the Ageas Bowl under huge pressure. On that occasion they were 1-0 down after a defeat at Lord’s and Cook was on the brink of quitting. This time England, for all the criticism of the past week, are still leading 2-1 but there are some similarities. Cook, for one, is in desperate need of a score. Four years ago he was dropped at slip on 15 and went onto a battling 95. This time there is no captaincy on the line for Cook, but it has reached the stage where it feels as though he needs a good score in the final two Tests to prolong his magnificent career. Another point to note from the 2014 Test is that Moeen was the second-innings match-winner with 6 for 67.

Both batsmen have brought their IPL forms to the UK. But who is best suited to be part of the Indian ODI middle order?

Nagraj Gollapudi in Malahide29-Jun-20182:09

Rahul makes strong case for inclusion in all formats – Chopra

The picnic is over. Virat Kohli’s men have had a wonderful first week. They had a smooth and easy ride in idyllic environs here in Malahide, the sun has been shining hard since their arrival, and India have not complained. If there have been any headaches, surely it has to do with figuring who should comprise the Indian middle order during the limited-over series in England, especially in the ODI leg which follows the three-match T20I series.KL Rahul might have won the Man-of-the-Match award after his strokeful half-century against Ireland on Friday. But there was an equally robust performance that matched Rahul’s, and that came from the various bats of Suresh Raina, who made 69, one less than his teammate. At the presentation, Kohli said that he was spoilt for choices now that everyone was batting well.In the first T20I, on Wednesday, Rohit Sharma fell three runs short of becoming only the second batsman to have the three centuries in T20I. The other Indian opener, Shikar Dhawan, hit a cracking fifty himself. Hardik Pandya joined the fun with a powerful cameo while Manish Pandey played watchfully to get 21. Incidentally, only Kohli has failed to get a proper look – scoring 9 runs off 10 balls this week , including a duck.But the big question confronting India is who to pick between Raina and Rahul once the England ODIs begin on July 12. With Rohit, Dhawan and Kohli occupying the top order in the ODIs, the next two batsmen will play a critical role in either maintaining the momentum or setting the tempo.You can hardly separate Rahul and Raina on current form. This year in the IPL, Rahul was the third highest run-scorer, with a strike rate of 158 and blasted the fastest half-century in the tournament’s history, besides looking good for a century every time he got a start. Raina was among the top-15 run-scorers and integral to Chennai Super Kings winning the IPL.On focusing the lens deeper, Rahul appears better equipped to deal with various bowling plans. One area where Raina has consistently struggled is countering the short balls. In the IPL this year, Raina scored 31 runs off 19 balls that were short-pitched, with a strike rate of 163.15 and was dismissed twice. Ten of those 19 were dot balls (52.63%). In contrast Rahul scored 127 off 38 short deliveries with a strike rate of 334.21, and played only 6 dot balls (15.78%). Rahul hit 13 sixes off short balls, Raina couldn’t hit even one.On Wednesday Malahide local Peter Chase had Raina playing awkwardly against a rib-high ball, to top-edge an easy catch. On Friday, Chase welcomed Raina with a short ball and the left-hander barely managed to fend it away.On the other hand, Rahul who was playing his first match on Friday, was always in good positions. Against the short ball, too, he showed quick reflexes, quick feet, and strong wrists to hook the likes Boyd Rankin. Rahul hit two sixes off short balls on Friday, Raina hit none.England would be keenly observing the Indian batsmen. Not that they don’t have any prior knowledge. But form and confidence play a big role in countering the opposition. Rahul admitted the IPL form had played a big role in him adapting quickly to the spongy bounce. On his first trip to the UK, Rahul surely is keen to make an impression.”It was important for me to make the most of the opportunity that I get,” he said after the match. “I enjoyed myself in the middle, it was a good wicket. Bit of spongy bounce and back of a length balls were holding up a little bit. But if you spent some time, you could get used to it. I’ve been in good form and just got into good positions to strike the ball. It’s important to use time off to work on technique, try to get stronger and remain in the right mindspace. With the type of team we have these days, it’s difficult to get in. So Whenever I have off time, I try to get stronger.”I’ve never played in the UK before,” Rahul said, “Only seen on TV. We’re all looking forward to it and take the challenge. It’s what we’ve been doing, the last 3-4 years, whatever challenge is thrown at us. This series will also test our characters and we’re looking forward to it.”Kohli said that India would treat England as any other opposition. However, he knows, unlike Ireland, England would ruthlessly expose any small weak point. For now he is unruffled.”I am having a headache right now who to pick because everybody is batting well,” Kohli said about the form of his batsmen in the post-match presentation. “But it is a good problem to have. Anyone who has been given chances they have grabbed the chance with both hands.”

A memorable finish in Abu Dhabi got many talking about the longest format on Twitter

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-2018Pakistan were 130 for 3 chasing 176. Then came the incredible collapse. New Zealand turned the tables after conceding a first-innings lead to clinch a four-run win. The memorable Test got many talking about the longest format on Twitter.

Holy scccchmoly!!!! What a test match!! #testcricketalivenkicking congrats to @BLACKCAPS & @TheRealPCB Fabulous entertainment Well done Mr Patel… on debut…. you little rippa!!! #golden

— Danny Morrison (@SteelyDan66) November 19, 2018

Who said that test cricket is boring. What a match it was but unfortunately Pakistan lost.
Congratulations @BLACKCAPS #pakvsnz #unpredictablegame

— Junaid khan 83 (@JunaidkhanREAL) November 19, 2018

Well done @BLACKCAPS . What a great fightback and a memorable Test match. Test is Best ! #PAKvNZ

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) November 19, 2018

Great game of cricket. Test match cricket is a fascinating format. Congratulations New Zealand on a remarkable win! Well fought Pakistan, IA the team will bounce back from here.
Well done hassan ali and Yasir Shah, great bowling!

— Shahid Afridi (@SAfridiOfficial) November 19, 2018

A test match to remember for a long time. An outstanding effort from New Zealand to win this after being out of the game for so long. Their never-say- die attitude is so wonderful and Test Cricket is well and truly alive #PakvNZ

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) November 19, 2018

Fabulous game @BLACKCAPS Well done on hanging in there right through #PakvNZ Oh dear Pakistan !!!

— Russel Arnold (@RusselArnold69) November 19, 2018

Congratulations @BLACKCAPS sensational fighting effort. #PakvNZ

— Brendan Taylor (@BrendanTaylor86) November 19, 2018

Pakistan kept their supporters on the edge, but they’re used to that, aren’t they?

Don’t you just love Pakistan Cricket .. so so unpredictable .. 130 for 3 needing a further 45 to win the Test & lose by 4 .. Test cricket is alive & kicking .. We have witnessed some great games over the last few months .. Pitches are the key ..

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) November 19, 2018

From 147/4 to lose chasing 176 required a special effort not just from NZ but from Pakistan. Only Pak can provide such thrillers out of easy victories. Well done to NZ and bad luck Pak #PakvNZ

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) November 19, 2018

Spare a thought for their coach Mickey Arthur.

Pakistan taught him love
Pakistan taught him patience
Pakistan taught him pain #PakvNZ pic.twitter.com/FUoxZpa5Is

— Vithushan Ehantharajah (@Vitu_E) November 19, 2018

Many fans in New Zealand would’ve stayed up late.

How do you sleep after that?! #PAKvNZ @BLACKCAPS

— Sean Hogan (@SeanHoganNZ) November 19, 2018

Unfortunately, there were hardly any to witness the match at the ground in Abu Dhabi.

Imagine the hundreds of thousands of people who will tell their grandkids "I was there in Abu Dhabi when New Zealand beat Pakistan by 4 runs"

— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) November 19, 2018

Does that explain the result?

Pakistan and New Zealand putting the 'Oye Hoye!' in the #oyehoyecup #PAKvsNZ

— Jamie Alter (@alter_jamie) November 19, 2018

England have a long way to go before they can claim to be the best Test side in the world. For starters, they need their batsmen to step up

George Dobell in Bridgetown27-Jan-2019Imagine how it felt to be James Anderson on Saturday afternoon.He mentioned, after the first day of the game on Wednesday, how weary he was, having claimed four wickets as England fought back with the ball. But little more than two-and-a-half hours after West Indies’ first innings had ended on day two, he was forced to pull on his boots once more. He gave his all and looked, at times, close to exhaustion on an unresponsive pitch, under a hot sun and against a batting line-up that put a high price on their wickets. He didn’t take a wicket but he couldn’t have tried harder. Nobody can ask for more than that.But imagine how he felt as he watched his team-mates in their second innings. Imagine how he felt as he saw them squander their wickets as if this were a benefit match. Imagine how he felt, having being blunted by a batting line-up who gave him nothing, seeing his batsmen show all the fight of a pacifist kitten in the fourth innings.”There were a few very soft dismissals in there,” Joe Root admitted afterwards. “There wasn’t a huge amount on offer for West Indies and it was disappointing to see some of the dismissals.”England have suffered several batting collapses in recent years. Three times – in Dhaka, Auckland and Nottingham – they have lost 10 wickets in a session. You only have to go back to Thursday for an example of an occasion when they lost nine. It’s hard to deny the conclusion they are brittle.On each of those occasions, however, there was a degree of mitigation. On each occasion, they were faced with either outstanding bowling, demanding conditions or a combination of both.It would be hard to claim that was the case here. Roston Chase bowled nicely enough. He has excellent control, he bowled in good areas and he gave England no ‘release’ deliveries. But the pitch offered him little and, before this game, he had a Test average of 47.61. To lose eight wickets to him – eight: more than Malcolm Marshall or Joel Garner ever claimed in Test cricket – spoke of an alarming lack of application from England’s batsmen.It was, in its own way, as poor a display of batting as England have produced in Trevor Bayliss’ reign as coach.ALSO READ: ‘Holder a legend’, says Chase after mammoth winChase’s bowling was, to some extent, simply the straw that broke the camel’s back. He was the beneficiary of a performance that had seen Kemar Roach and co. dismantle England for 77 on day two and a double-century from Jason Holder that both exhausted and dispirited England in the field on day three. They had been set 628, for goodness sake. They might as well have been set a unicorn.But it was alarming how they capitulated. It’s all very well to talk of aggression and positivity, but teams need discipline and fight, too. England didn’t show enough of either here, losing their last six wickets for 31 in a sequence that included a catch on the midwicket boundary, a stumping, two slashes to slip and two forces into the leg side.We should retain some perspective. Going into this match, England had won eight of their nine previous Tests including an away series cleansweep in Sri Lanka and a home series victory over the No. 1-rated team, India. They can still win this series. “We’re better than this,” as Root insisted. “We’re still a good side.”But this was a reminder, if any were needed it, that they have a long way to go before they can claim to be the best side in the world. To see West Indies’ seamers gain life from a surface that appeared dead to England’s and to see England’s spinners thumped out of the game while West Indies’ bamboozled batsmen were reminders of perennial problems within the English game. It is not producing enough fast bowlers or spinners. Focusing on white-ball cricket – and the heart of the season now belongs to the white-ball game – dilutes the skills required for Test cricket. The Championship hasn’t produced an indisputably top-class Test opening batsman since Alastair Cook a decade-and-a-half ago.In the immediate aftermath of this defeat, attention will fall on England’s selection. And it is true, Sam Curran and Adil Rashid had disappointing games. The latter may even have played his last Test. Stuart Broad may well have offered more with the ball than Curran, who endured his first poor game, and Jack Leach would have offered more control. The selectors almost certainly got it wrong.Ben Foakes may also feel pressure in the coming days. With England having other keeping options within the squad, there will be talk of dropping him and asking Bairstow to keep in order to make way for another bowler.But it should not be forgotten: England were bowled out for 77 in the first innings and lost eight wickets against gentle offspin in the second. It is the batsmen who failed. No one is suggesting the likes of Ben Stokes or Jos Buttler be dropped, but their career averages are 33.33 and 35.77 respectively. England need more from their Nos. 5 and 6. Equally, Keaton Jennings averages 25.86 after 16 Tests and Moeen Ali is averaging 17.56 since the start of the Ashes, in November 2017, and 9.75 since the start of the Sri Lanka tour a year later. More is required of all of them if England are to achieve greater consistency.Anderson, as is fitting, was the undefeated batsman on Saturday afternoon. Some of his team-mates would do well to reflect on his commitment, discipline and desire.

England’s list of walking wounded increases after narrow defeat against Australia

George Dobell in Southampton25-May-2019It wasn’t so much the result that will concern England, as the fact they left the Ageas Bowl a little the way Napoleon and his men left Moscow.True, there was less frostbite. But as the casualty list mounted, an image occurred of a triage station inside the England dressing room where exhausted nurses moved from patient to patient offering encouraging words and blankets; like most A&E departments on a Saturday night.At the nadir against Australia, England were forced to press their assistant coach Paul Collingwood into service. Collingwood only ended his playing career last September but celebrates – perhaps ‘marks’ would be a better word – his 43rd birthday on Sunday and had surgery on one of his eyes earlier in the week. It was hard to avoid the conclusion that England might have been wise to ensure they had more resources ahead of the game.They are not allowed such luxuries once the World Cup starts; playing regulations stipulate that any substitute fielder must come from within the 15-man squad. But more leniency is allowed in these (luke)warm-up games so perhaps it would have made sense to protect their assets a little more? It would surely be remiss not to ensure they have greater back-up ahead of Monday’s game at The Oval.ALSO READ: Crowd abuse water off centurion Smith’s backAt one stage, it appeared as if England might have lost both their fast bowlers within a few minutes of one another. With Mark Wood leaving the pitch reporting pain in his left foot, Jofra Archer – who had originally been rested – was brought on as a substitute fielder. Two balls later, he slipped as he pulled up a ball near the midwicket boundary and also left the field for assessment. Within an hour or so, Liam Dawson was forced off with a cut finger.By then, Joe Root was on the pitch. He had been hoping for an afternoon off following the death of a grandparent on Thursday, but England had no other options. Adil Rashid was absent with a long-standing shoulder injury, while Eoin Morgan is nursing a finger injury. Chris Woakes, meanwhile, was playing as a specialist batsman as the England camp look to protect his troublesome knee. The match ended with Rashid and Archer, who weren’t supposed to be playing, batting together in the absence of Wood and Dawson.It wasn’t so much that it all felt a bit chaotic. It was more it felt as if England weren’t so much arriving at the World Cup fit and thriving as limping and lame.In truth, it is probably only the injury to Wood that can be considered serious. Dawson may require a stitch or two, Morgan may need to avoid another blow to the hand and both Rashid and Woakes may need some management to get through the tournament. But all of them should be available for that first game against South Africa on Thursday.Mark Wood had to leave the field part way through an over•Associated PressOnly Wood is different. That left ankle and foot have dogged him throughout his career in much the same way that Simon Jones was tortured by knee and ankle trouble. At moments, notably in the Caribbean, he has looked a wonderful fast bowler. But he has played just one full game since and the there is clearly some trepidation in the England camp over what the scan on his foot may reveal.The results are expected on Sunday and, suffice to say, the mood music is not especially encouraging. His withdrawal would be a major blow to England and a sickening personal disappointment.Without Root or Morgan, England’s batting looked overly reliant upon Jos Buttler. While he was at the crease, victory looked probable but this was not the perfect batting strip to which England have become accustomed. Their batsmen could not simply hit through the line of the ball and the Australia bowlers received a bit more value for their excellent variations and spin. On such surfaces – and as tournaments wear on, this may become more relevant – England are not quite as daunting. It was on used or dry pitches that their Champions Trophy campaigns came to a halt in 2013 and 2017.Perhaps it also suggested that Australia’s somewhat old-fashioned approach to ODI batting – set a foundation, keep wickets in hand and go hard in the final 10 overs – is not quite so anachronistic as is sometimes suggested. Here they took 98 off the final 10 overs of their innings, which probably proved the difference between the sides. Even without Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins, Australia also had a bowling attack that adapted well to the conditions.To be fair, though, they played 12 men; it pays not to take the results in these games too seriously.Had this been an actual World Cup game, it would have been something of a thriller. Right up until Marcus Stoinis conceded just three off the 48th over of the innings the result was in doubt. And with a crowd of close to 12,000 enjoying a perfect summer’s day, it was a match that whetted the appetite nicely for the feast ahead.