England will interview for a new head coach in April, and by then Ashley Giles could have cemented his position as favourite or be struggling to keep his head above water

George Dobell in Antigua27-Feb-20140:00

England and West Indies desperate for momentum

Is this a job interview? Ashley Giles chats with Paul Downton, the managing director of England cricket•Getty ImagesLike arriving for a job interview with blood on your suit and stains on your CV, Ashley Giles knows that England’s recent form can hardly have helped his case to be the team’s next head coach.Giles, England’s limited-overs coach since the start of 2013, has made it clear he would like to be in charge in all formats of the game, but goes into the ODI series against West Indies, starting in Antigua on Friday, knowing his side have lost six of their last eight ODIs and five of their last six T20 internationals. It is not a record that does his case any favours.The final of the Champions Trophy seems long ago. Then, in June, England appeared to be pretty much on track for the World Cup in 2015 as a team missing the injured Kevin Pietersen and Graeme Swann went within an ace of winning their first global ODI tournament.But instead of building for the World Cup, the foundations appear to have crumbled. Swann and Pietersen have gone, Jonathan Trott is absent and the results in Australia – England won one and lost seven limited-overs matches – inspire little confidence.Perhaps it is unfair to judge Giles on such statistics. He had, after all, something close to a B team with which to work in Australia and, with Andy Flower hardly the sort to release the reins, has never enjoyed the opportunity to select or coach a side exactly the way he would have liked.That has not changed entirely even now. With their eye, reasonably enough, on the larger prize – the World T20 starts in Bangladesh in just over two weeks – England have arrived in Antigua with a team of T20 specialists, missing several of their key ODI players. As a result, Giles is risking going into the business stages of the application for the England role with a record that could make it hard for the ECB to give him the job.Underlining the inexperience of this England team is the fact that Tuesday’s warm-up match represented Stuart Broad’s first experience of captaincy in 50-over cricket at any level in his entire career. If Eoin Morgan is forced to miss Friday’s game with a knee injury sustained in the field on Tuesday, England may have two debutants (Moeen Ali and Alex Hales) in the top five as well, with Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan little more experienced. Ravi Bopara, going into his 100th ODI, has suddenly emerged as a senior player.

Broad lauds Bopara’s contribution

Ravi Bopara has finally found his perfect role in the side, according to England captain, Stuart Broad. Bopara will become just the 18th man to play 100 ODIs for England if he appears in Antigua on Friday and, batting at No. 7, has demonstrated the experience, the freedom and the range of strokes to emerge as a key figure in this side.

“Playing 100 ODIs is a fantastic achievement,” Broad said. “He’s put in some really strong performances throughout those but now he’s at the stage where he has experience of both winning games for England but also being on the wrong side of games that can help him in the future.

“He’s found a good role for himself in the middle order. He is our finisher and, in the Champions Trophy, he played a couple of innings, such as one against Sri Lanka at the Oval where he took 25 or 30 off the last over, where he can really go.

“Things like that can take the pressure off the top four a bit. At seven he can come out and play his way. We know he’s got the big shots but he can also work it around. It’s obviously a huge achievement but he’s hungry for a lot more success.”

There are a couple of areas for optimism for England. For a start, West Indies’ own form is little better. They have won just three of their last nine ODIs against Test-playing opposition and they are missing several of their best players – notably Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Kemar Roach – through injury.England also possess, especially if Morgan is fit, an exciting middle order. The Morgan-Buttler-Bopara spine has proved an effective accelerator in recent times, building on foundations laid by the likes of Ian Bell, Alastair Cook and Trott.That has always been a controversial tactic. While some believe England’s policy of accumulation has been their greatest strength, others feel it has held them back. So in this series, England will explore the possibilities of a more aggressive approach at the start of their innings.Instead of Cook and Bell, England will have Luke Wright and Hales to face the new ball. And instead of Trott, they will have Stokes at No. 3. It could give them the fast start they require to take pressure off the middle-order. Or it could see them 30 for 3 and expose the middle-order.”There will be a bit of a shift on how we play in England,” Broad revealed. “You look at that Champions Trophy when we had a lot of success through, not being defensive, but stacking it up at the back end.”But when you play abroad, as was evident in Australia, you can’t be 130 after 30, you’ve got to look to be more like 160 so you’re not as reliant on people like Morgs and Buttler to get us up towards 300.”So I think there’s a bit of change in mind set to push our score a bit beyond 130 after the first 30 to take a bit of pressure off the guys at the end. We’ve got world-class players there but you can’t expect them to do it every time. The players are pretty excited about executing that.”Death bowling is another area requiring improvement. With Broad sometimes making the somewhat surprising decision to bowl his full allocation of overs before the end and James Anderson missing, England were sometimes badly exposed in Australia with a surfeit of slower balls failing to mask the lack of yorkers.”We’ve got strong areas we need to improve on in ODI cricket,” Broad said. “I think our death bowling is somewhere where we need our skills to improve. Of course that comes with yorkers and our change-ups and that will also help us in Bangladesh. The pitches there can be pretty good to bat on so getting up in the hole is important. The bowlers have been having a good focus on their yorker bowling.”England’s training session was again hit by rain on Thursday, but without causing any meaningful disruption. While the change from Flower’s influence to Giles’ is not always obvious, it has become apparent that, at long last, the England coaches are ensuring that bowlers are not allowed to bowl no-balls in the nets or training sessions.In a professional sport where attention to detail is advocated in all things, it has long been an absurdity that England’s bowlers over-stepped in training but then expected to hit exact lengths and avoid no-balls in match situations. It is a small detail, but an important one and may yet make the difference between a win and a loss over the next few weeks.

Chennai Super Kings finished in bronze position for their joint-worst showing in seven seasons. Once again, it was primarily their pacers who came up short

Nikita Bastian31-May-2014

Where they finished

Third overall, having won the eliminator before losing the second qualifier. They had also finished the league stage in third place, with nine wins in 14 games.

What went right

For the seventh time in seven seasons, Chennai Super Kings made it to the last four. Unlike in a few previous seasons – 2010 and 2012 in particular – Super Kings never looked like they might not make the playoffs this year. After losing their first game despite posting 200+ against Kings XI Punjab, they won six in a row. That meant their place in the top four was not in danger despite a patchy showing towards the end of the league phase.The driving force behind their success, yet again, was their powerhouse batting. Suresh Raina was at his dependable – and explosive – best, MS Dhoni delivered a couple of his signature last-over finishes, Faf du Plessis moved up and down the order as required without much fuss. Those were the old hands. The batting additions, as has often been the case with Super Kings’ overseas signings, also fired. David Hussey slotted right in when he was signed up late in the season, averaging 58 in the four opportunities he got. But the biggest pluses came at the top of the order, in the shape of Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum.There was a question mark over this area at the start of the season, with Super Kings’ long-term, successful opening stand of Michael Hussey and M Vijay having been disbanded at the auction. Smith and McCullum quickly dispelled any such worries. Prior to the final, they were the only pair to score more than 500 runs in partnership in the tournament, their quickfire 513 runs coming at 42.75.Their fielding – and outfield catching in particular – was, once again, above par for the most part. The team will also be relieved that there were no off-field controversies directly disrupting its campaign this season.

What went wrong

For the first time in five years, Super Kings did not make it to the final. The run of three losses towards the end of the league phase ultimately cost them – it’s always much harder for a team finishing third or fourth to take the title, needing to win three knockout games in a row.That McCullum was out of sorts when shifted down the order will be something the team management would have noted. Another factor to mull on the batting front would be whether Dhoni batted too low down, too much of the time. But given the batsmen’s overall showing, these are but little details.The real devil for Super Kings, once again lay in the bowling. It said it all that the usually unruffled Dhoni quipped after his team exited, having conceded over 200 to Kings XI three times in three games: “I had belief in my bowling that they will definitely let them score 200 runs.”While fast bowling continued to be their weakest link, this season even the spinners could not stifle the opposition as much as Dhoni would have liked. Even R Ashwin’s defensive, leg-stump line hardly helped. The biggest issue, though, was finding an able new-ball partner for Mohit Sharma, who held the purple cap when Super Kings were knocked out. Mohit, who had been bought back after showing promise last season, finished with 23 wickets at 19.65; he tested batsmen with movement early on, and was consistently entrusted with bowling the death bowlers – which accounts for his higher economy rate of 8.39. None of the others seamers could manage more than eight wickets, and the experienced Ben Hilfenhaus and Ashish Nehra were even more expensive, constantly erring in both line and length. Ishwar Pandey fell away once the tournament moved to the more batsmen-friendly Indian tracks.

Key stat

One. That’s the number of matches Dwayne Bravo, who was last season’s top wicket-taker and one of five players retained by Chennai Super Kings this year, played for the team before being sidelined by a shoulder injury. Had the big-hitting, pace-bowling allrounder – and his effective slower ones – been available, he would have lent the XI much better balance than it had all season.

Best player

It would not be an exaggeration to say Suresh Raina is the IPL’s best batsman. He has scored over 400 runs in each of the seven seasons, and he has been fit enough to not miss a single game for Super Kings till now. This time he churned out 523 runs at 40.23, with five fifties, at a strike rate of 145.68. Most importantly, he saved his best for the knockouts. Against Mumbai Indians in the eliminator, with Super Kings chasing a manageable 174, Raina scored a smart, unbeaten 54 off 33, dotted with well-placed singles and twos to keep the asking rate in check. In the second qualifier, Raina went into overdrive from the outset and made the unmanageable look manageable. His 87 off 25 came with 12 fours and six sixes – most of them good-looking, proper cricket shots. Super Kings were a mind-boggling 100 after the Powerplay, and on course for the biggest chase in Twenty20 history. What more could his team ask for?

Poor performer

Ben Hilfenhaus was one of the key components of Super Kings’ 2012 campaign. He took 14 wickets in nine games and conceded 6.85 to the over then. Perhaps that is why the franchise bought him at this year’s auction for a sizeable Rs 1 crore (US$ 166,000 approx). The other specialist overseas quicks were the lower-profile John Hastings and the green Matt Henry. Add to that Bravo’s early exit, the relative inexperience of Mohit and Pandey, and that Nehra has been past his prime for a while now, and you see Super Kings considered Hilfenhaus their primary pacer. Eight wickets at over 30 while conceding over 8.7 an over, though, are hardly the stats you’d expect of a spearhead.

Surprise package

Prior to the final, Dwayne Smith was second on the tournament’s runs charts, with 566 runs. While it was no surprise that he was able to brutalise attacks every now and then, what was a surprise was the consistency with which he got Super Kings off to starts, even if he was not at his attacking best; his T20 international average is 19.37, his overall T20 average is 26.01. Here, he scored at 35.37 to the game.

Memorable moment

Suresh Raina was in the middle of arguably the best IPL innings across seasons. Super Kings were on track to pull off an incredible, record chase of 227, to make their sixth IPL final in seven editions. There was the buzz of expectation with Kings XI’s legspinners and left-arm spinners set to come on, against the marauding, left-handed Raina. Then Brendon McCullum, facing his first ball, poked towards cover and after a bit of hesitancy, Raina decided to go through for the single. George Bailey, with a direct hit from square on, caught him short at the keeper’s end. He was out for a stunning 87 off 25, his team-mates produced some ordinary cricket thereafter, and all too soon Super Kings’ season was over.

Unused players

Pacers Matt Henry and Ronit More, and batsman B Aparajith.

Plays of the day from the match between Delhi Daredevils and Chennai Super Kings at the Kotla

Karthik Krishnaswamy05-May-2014The three-man relay throw
Quinton de Kock was flying. He had smashed two sixes in the fourth over to move to 24 off 16, and Delhi Daredevils had reached 34 for 0. M Vijay dabbed the first ball of the fifth behind point, and the two fielders in the circle gave chase. Suresh Raina slid, stopped the ball well short of the boundary and passed it to Ravindra Jadeja.The batsmen completed two. De Kock, no doubt desperate to get back on strike, wanted a third; Vijay did not. With both batsmen at handshaking distance near the wicketkeeper’s end, Jadeja threw to the bowler Mohit Sharma, who was a good five yards from the stumps and had to aim a strong overarm throw at the stumps to complete the run-out. Mohit made a direct hit; if he wanted, he could have lobbed it to Faf du Plessis, who had backed up behind him, to complete what would have been a unique run-out involving four fielders.The switch-hit
Dinesh Karthik entered in the fifth over and exited in the 13th, after scoring 51 off 36 deliveries. Vijay, who had been batting since the start of Delhi’s innings, was on 26 off 25 at that point. He had not really got going, and R Ashwin was niggling away with his round-the-wicket, wide-outside-leg angle.Third ball of the over, Vijay decided he would not let Ashwin keep dictating terms. Opening his body up, he quickly switched his hands around, gripped the bat like a left-hander, and swatted it high over the cover-point boundary.The dummy
After a big partnership between Karthik and Vijay, Super Kings had taken three wickets in nine balls. JP Duminy, having just walked in, tickled Ravindra Jadeja to short fine leg and set off for a single. Realising he had hit it straight to the fielder, Dwayne Smith, Duminy quickly turned back. Smith threw, low and flat.MS Dhoni, realising he was standing between the stumps and the throw, moved his gloves as if he was collecting it, before withdrawing them and letting the ball slip between his legs. The ball hit the stumps but Duminy had made his ground.The scrabbling outfielder
With fine leg inside the circle, Duminy was eyeing the scoop over that fielder. Mohit Sharma knew this, and bowled it wide outside off. Duminy went all the way across his stumps, and didn’t quite time his shot. The short fine-leg fielder, Mithun Manhas, turned around and chased desperately to try and take the catch as it dropped over his shoulder, but let it fall through his hands. The momentum brought Manhas to his knees, and he scrabbled desperately to stop the ball as it bounced towards the boundary. He got on his feet for an instant, but the balance wasn’t quite right and he fell down again, and was reduced to a desperate crawl as the ball rolled over the boundary.Swinging Suresh
Super Kings had just lost Brendon McCullum, and Laxmi Shukla was in the middle of an unexpectedly tight spell, having given away just eight runs in 2.2 overs. In walked Suresh Raina. He hit the first ball straight back to Shukla, who did well to bend low and field it on his follow-through, before unleashing a shot that Shukla did even better to not get in the way of.It was a straight, length ball. Raina moved his front foot out of the way and swung meatily through the line. Shukla jumped out of the way, so did the umpire. Replays showed that the ball swung in the air just as it approached the umpire, as if it were a tennis ball struck by a topspin-imparting racquet.

Steven Finn has told of the gradual rebuilding of his cricketing career in his first interview for the written media since his traumatic tour of Australia

Tim Wigmore12-Jul-2014On February 24, 2010, England Lions played a one-day match against Pakistan A in Dubai. Not many people noticed. One cannot even imagine anyone who played or watched the game harking back to it: except for Steven Finn.The game contained what he regards as his perfect delivery; a simple distillation of the virtues – bounce, pace and a sliver of away movement – that make him a bowler of rare potential. It is a clip he has since watched avidly.To the casual observer, Finn recognises, it might not merit a second look. “It’s just a front-on of me bowling at the big stadium in Dubai Sports City and getting Mohammad Hafeez caught at first slip.”To Finn himself, searching for the memory of when he was regarded as one of the finest young fast bowlers in the world, it is more than that. “It was just easy flowing – a bouncy, flowing run-up to the crease – there was a slight delay when I got to the crease and then everything moved. All my energy came through towards the batsman down the wicket and it just left him from off stump and he nicked it to first slip.”So that’s the image.”Finn would be the first to concede that it is not an image that England fans have been well acquainted with recently. Ordinarily, his lack of involvement in the calamity of an Ashes whitewash would have guaranteed him the chance of an England recall. Instead, his bowling had regressed by the end of the series to the point where he was deemed unselectable, culminating in the ignominy of being sent home early from that tour of Australia.His first interview with the written media since that low point in his career is another small step in his recovery. “Standing at the back of my mark thinking ‘where the hell is this going to go?’ you lose all sensation of that feeling on the end of your fingertips,” Finn admitted. “You lose it and you can’t find it.”The Australian winter was not kind to England’s other two beanpole quick bowlers. Chris Tremlett played the first Test, a ghost of the bowler who harassed Australia in 2010-11; and Boyd Rankin had so ignominious a debut, riddled by injury and nerves, that he admitted to entertaining the notion of abandoning cricket for good.Yet neither tale was as dispiriting – or as important to the future of England cricket – as Finn’s. Three years earlier he had taken 13 wickets in three Ashes Tests at the age of 21. His 2013/14 tour was almost wholly comprised of spirit-sapping net bowling. All the while his best form – or any semblance of it – only became more elusive.”You can overthink things and get away from the things that make you a good bowler,” Finn said. “That’s what I did from the beginning of 2013 to the beginning of 2014. I was working on things or doing things that were detrimental to me becoming a better bowler.”Every session it’d be: ‘Do I turn more side on? Do I lengthen my delivery stride? Do I come a bit wider of the crease? Do I finish my action off more?”There were lots of things that I was trying. It’s not like I was over there just saying ‘this is rubbish, I give up’. Until the day I left Australia, I went to the nets and tried to unlock it but it was like banging my head against a brick wall.”Admirably, Finn is not the sort to blame other people, and described his difficulties as “no-one else’s fault but my own”. He praised David Saker – a sensible career move – but admitted that he “probably needed technical help” during England’s Ashes tour.

There were lots of things that I was trying. It’s not like I was over there just saying ‘this is rubbish, I give up’. Until the day I left Australia, I went to the nets and tried to unlock it but it was like banging my head against a brick wallSteven Finn on his traumas down under

“Saker is very much a tactical sort of coach, and he tried his hardest to try and unlock the things that were going wrong in my action. But we weren’t able to do it.”Tactical coaches are normally exactly what international players need. Not so Finn in Australia.Finn can pinpoint the start of his problems. During the Test series against South Africa in 2012, he discovered a penchant for dislodging a bail with a bent back leg as he was running in to bowl, causing umpires to call a dead ball after he dismissed Graeme Smith.Removing a bail in a delivery stride subsequently became a no-ball offence: the so-called ‘Finn law’. He has been called for it “a few times” this county season.”People have been doing that for years, so to have a law made up just for me when people like Shaun Pollock had done it for years did seem a bit strange,” Finn said.”It made me completely rethink how I approached the crease. I started bowling wide of the crease and had to change my run-up. I’ve now had to rethink how I approach the crease, coming straighter in.”You can overthink things and get away from the things that make you a good bowler. That’s what I did from the beginning of 2013 to the beginning of 2014. I was working on things that were detrimental to me becoming a better bowler.”Finn underwent significant remedial work on his action with Saker. But it is clear that the copious tinkering only resulted in a diminished Finn. He is adamant that the shortened run that he worked on, in co-ordination with Saker, “made everything forced”. His natural gifts became submerged.”A lot of what happened knocked on from that shortened run,” he said. “I grew bad habits and got away from the way I had bowled when I was young. I was the one who made those decisions at a stage in my career where I had to make decisions. I made the wrong ones and it knocked me off track.”So low was Finn that, when he returned from Australia, he was reduced to bowling off a standing start, and then from three yards, in pursuit of rhythm.”When we came back and compared footage there was such a stark contrast between 2010 and 2014.”It took months of early mornings in the Lord’s nets with Middlesex bowling coach Richard Johnson to revive his confidence.”When you’ve not done it for so long it feels so alien,” Finn said. “Jono was there behind me saying it looks really natural and looks really good. I was there going ‘it doesn’t feel natural, it feels terrible, it feels that I can’t get the ball to go where I want it to go.’Steven Finn’s last Test was against Australia, at Trent Bridge, in 2013•Getty ImagesAs I practiced more, the muscles remember it and think ‘ok, this is starting to feel more natural’. It probably took two months or six weeks of just doing that and walking through and feeling my arms moving more naturally before we went back any further than that.””I’m very lucky that Jono knows me and my action very well so I can go to him any time and say ‘what do you think?’ Finn said. “It’s probably a system that I’ve underused in the past. Now that I’ve actually been able to spend six months quality time with just Jono working with me it’s helped me move in the right direction much quicker than I have done over the last few years.””It was basically technical things that were stopping me getting the ball down the other end at a decent pace and in the right spot as regularly as I’d have liked to. It was about stripping it back to basics and getting back to what I did when I was 18, 19 and 20 years old which got me playing for England in the first place.”It was really going back to those basics, looking at them, trying to copy them and spending hours and hours getting basics back into my body that I’d forgotten over the last 12-18 months.”Those qualities were worth remembering. Finn’s qualities were so palpable that he was fast-tracked at every turn. He made his Middlesex debut at 16, making him the club’s youngest player since 1949; and his first England Test, three weeks after that ball to Hafeez, was delivered at the age of 20.A year later, he became the youngest ever Englishman to 50 Test wickets. He was hailed as one of the finest young fast bowlers in the world, part of a new crop who it was hoped would breath new fire into fast bowling in Test cricket.Few would have anticipated the problems that befell him since them. “It would disappoint me and frustrate me greatly if my best years were when I was 20, 21 and 22,” Finn said.Squad call-ups without actually playing did not help. He has found being selected in the England squad, and then released, often midway into a Championship game, a “spinning cycle” not conducive to his bowling rhythm.And he did not appreciate the media’s glare in Australia: “The amount of people commenting on the game that don’t know what’s going on behind closed doors frustrated me and made me angry at the time.”Yet there is now the definite sense that Finn is back on track. He has taken 40 Division One wickets at an average of 28 apiece so far this season, and both Nick Compton and Marcus Trescothick spoke glowingly of him after Somerset’s draw with Middlesex at Uxbridge. By his own estimation, he is now “85%” back to his best.”I’m starting to get back to bowling naturally and how it was when I was younger. It feels that I can run up and bowl again, whereas for 12 months previously it didn’t feel that I could do that.”For all his difficulties, Finn is a 25-year-old with 90 Test and 377 first-class wickets to his name and capable of generating 90mph pace from his hulking 6ft 7in frame.In the opinion of Johnson – and no one knows his bowling better – Finn has “got nowhere near his full potential so far” and these days he has gained the ability to move the ball both ways.The sight of Finn trudging forlornly around Australia was dispiriting to all enthusiasts of hostile quick bowling. But he is adamant it will not be his last involvement with England.”I think that I’d be ready if I was to get the call to play in a one-day international or a Test match,” he said.Should he be recalled, Finn’s preparations might start by rewatching a trusty old clip – a clip that, if things go well, might one day take a surprising place in cricket history.”All we ever do is go back to that one clip and say this is you now, this is you at your best – do they marry up?” Johnson said.”I’ve watched it a few times – you can probably tell,” Finn laughed. His smile is back. England can draw strength from that.

India’s recent track of record of lower-order runs is poor, but they began correcting that with a mammoth 10th wicket stand which showed the application and mindset that has often been lacking

Sidharth Monga at Trent Bridge10-Jul-20143:18

Agarkar: Last stand reduced India’s chances of losing

The key for Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar was that they did not just throw their bats•Getty ImagesYou would need a bad memory – not always a bad thing – to have not thought of Durban just after lunch. Back then, in the last week of the last year, India had been given a flat slow pitch, they had won the toss, had got a good start to the innings, but their tail showed no fight whatsoever when they could have batted South Africa out of the game, made sure they would not lose the series and gone after the South Africa batsman with a free mind. The last five wickets went for 14, India lost the series, and nothing summed the situation up better than Zaheer Khan’s second-ball duck ending through a slash after moving away from the stumps.It showed poor team culture. These were the same bowlers who had given India valuable runs when the team was playing at its best; they were now either running away or not taking their batting seriously. In an era when every tailender, armoured and spoiled by pitches going flatter by the day, makes bowlers get him out, India’s tail was non-existent in away matches. Between July 2011 and July 2014, before the start of this match, India have averaged 16.62 for the last three wickets. Only West Indies, Pakistan and Zimbabwe have fared worse. Until today India did not feature in any of the big last-three wicket partnerships over that period.Going by that track record, this game was going away, and going away fast. And this was an innings where you would have expected extra responsibility from the lower middle order given the bold move of playing only five batsmen. MS Dhoni showed that responsibility, although he was aided by some good fortune. Ravindra Jadeja did not, and got out to a loose shot, although it did seem that Jadeja going for his shots was part of a plan. Debutant Stuart Binny played a horrible nothing shot, and Ishant Sharma misjudged a leave. This was Durban all over again: India had lost four wickets for four runs, they were going to get bowled out for a sub-par score on a flat pitch, and hand over all the momentum to the hosts.Tail-end runs are as much about attitude as they are about skill and luck. Sometimes you enjoy some good fortune and have a bit of a lark. Sometimes your No. 9 has the skills of a batsman. Mostly, though, they start with a bit of application, an attitude that says ‘I am not getting myself out’, and you enjoy the luck, the bowlers get tired, and it gets difficult to get you out because most of bowlers’ training is in getting proper batsmen out. Everything worked out for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohammed Shami here, and they ended up scoring their maiden Test fifties, posted India’s longest last-wicket partnership outside Asia, and all but made sure India cannot lose this Test now.This pitch was similar to Durban. And although there was no Dale Steyn, India still needed some application from somewhere because this match was slipping out of their hands. A calm head needed to arrest that momentum. Bhuvneshwar provided that calm head. He once scored a Duleep Trophy century, which featured a 127-run stand with a No. 11, out of which the No. 11 made only 39. He began similarly here, protecting Shami for a period before letting him become an equal partner, once assured that he could fend for himself on this benign track.”We just wanted to bat for as long as possible,” Bhuvneshwar later said.Bhuvneshwar batted almost like a proper batsman while Shami had a bit of fun. Most important was that they were not playing soft shots, at least not at the start of the innings. Good fortune followed. A half chance flew wide of short mid-on, the position that had claimed Cheteshwar Pujara on the opening day. Another edge was missed by umpire Bruce Oxenford, who had another shocker with ruling M Vijay out incorrectly.Dhoni has often spoken of the value of the lower-order runs, not just as pure runs but also as a nuisance for the other team, especially their openers. With the whole team coming out to the balcony to applaud the duo’s milestones, you could sense the importance they attached to this partnership, especially after more than a couple of them had been naughty with their batting.You usually associate entertainment and hilarity with partnerships between two tailenders, but there was not much here, thanks largely to an unresponsive pitch. Bhuvneshwar acknowledged this was more like an Indian surface than an English one. Not many might have been entertained by this particular stand, but the value of it in that Indian dressing room is immense. For starters, they will not be thinking of Durban too much.

Marlon Samuels talks about his disagreement with Dwayne Bravo over West Indies’ pullout from their India tour and holds WIPA president Wavell Hinds responsible for the payment dispute with the board

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Oct-2014Why are you not part of the West Indies Players’ Association?
Why I am not part of WIPA? My reason is I was a part of WIPA. Since I got the two-year ban I was left in the cold, on my own. I have to get my own lawyer. I have to do everything on my own. WIPA wasn’t there for me. So I come back into cricket and choose not to be a part of WIPA because WIPA did not help me. So I do not feel like I should do anything for WIPA.So you don’t mind being on your own, fighting your own battle while Dwayne Bravo and others battle as one unit against the WIPA?
If you look at the situation, the real, real person here to be blamed is WIPA. Wavell Hinds, the (WIPA) president, basically messed up everything. If you look at the situation you can’t really blame the board for accepting what Wavell has done. Wavell is the main problem here. But remember I am not part of WIPA.How many players’ meetings did you attend in India?
I went to a couple of meetings.How do you react to Bravo’s letter in response to your making your feelings public in an interview last week?
Nothing in this lifetime surprise me when it comes down to mankind. Expect the unexpected.What were the main questions you raised with Bravo?
One of the questions I asked was the public don’t really know what is happening. The public are being misled. They need to know the truth behind this (pullout). They need to go out there and explain what is really happening. He wasn’t willing to go and do that. That is why I say that if you are not up to doing what I want to go there and do, which is the right thing, then you are not going to get my full support. Otherwise everything is going to continue to go back and forth, back and forth and there is going to be a lot of discussions and nobody really knows what’s really going on.If he knows what is really going on go out there and speak. He came back to the Caribbean and until now he hasn’t spoken. All he is doing is sending letters to this place. If he had gone and listened to my interview he wouldn’t have sent a letter. My interview is saying that situation is handled badly. Wavell is wrong.The (WICB) president (Dave Cameron) should have taken a flight down to India and come and have a talk. To sit in the Caribbean and not come and speak to the players cannot be the right way to deal with things. So right across the board it is wrong.All these youngsters don’t know where their future lies. They have to be getting lawyers and that is a serious matter. You need to reach out to those youngsters because these youngsters in the team do not know where their future lies. And that is more important than sending a letter to my interview. My interview was straightforward.

“This has nothing to do with India. This is our problem. So finish the tour and then go back to the Caribbean and sort out the problem. India is the most important team that West Indies play against. India is the greatest team that West Indies play against in every way possible. The relationship with India is too great. It is a wonderful relationship. You would never see an Indian player and a West Indian player having words against each other or cursing the other. It is not like against Australia or South Africa. There are a lot of Indians in the Caribbean. It is like a family.”

Reacting to the interview you gave to a radio station last week, Bravo said that you contributed “vigorously” to the players meetings and said you would stand by any decisions made. Do you agree?
No. I did not say that I am going to stand by any decision. Because nobody asked me questions like that. It is up to the individual to say okay I am with you. You had people in the room that didn’t even open their mouth or say anything. At the end of the day I went there and asked my questions and I wasn’t satisfied (by the response). If I was satisfied then I will be the first person to come out because I am an outspoken person. Then I will be the first person to come out and defend everything with him.Would it be better if Bravo had called you directly to sort out the difference in opinion?
That is the thing to do if he wants to be in this position because this is a very serious matter. He didn’t even listen to my interview because in his letter he is not even sure of what I did. What he should have done, if you are a true leader, is to go out and call the player and ask him did you say things like this?I am not basically swinging with nobody in this matter. If you cannot go out and talk it as it is then I am not up to it.Have you spoken to any regional players and how do they look at this situation?
I am in Jamaica and saw Jason Holder yesterday (Sunday). We have a long discussion. My words to him was his future is bright. This should not affect him… whenever he goes back to Barbados and focus and put in some hard work. He didn’t get the opportunity that he wanted on the tour. The first game he get on the tour he was trying to do well. So he was putting in too much effort basically. So he wasn’t getting it right and going for lot of runs. So I tell him next time in a situation like that do not pressure on yourself. Whenever you get the opportunity just go out there and try to be relaxed. You need to perform but without adding pressure on yourself. So we had a long conversation. These guys listen to what I have to say.That is why I said, I was in that room. And I go and ask my questions. And I am not satisfied with the answers I get. And so you cannot expect to go and fight a war if you are not willing to go out and speak.Do you think this situation can be resolved?
It has to be resolved because the most important thing is cricket. All I am saying is that we are already there in India. Right. Finish the tour. This has nothing to do with India. This is our problem. So finish the tour and then go back to the Caribbean and sort out the problem. India is the most important team that West Indies play against. India is the greatest team that West Indies play against in every way possible. The relationship with India is too great. It is a wonderful relationship. You would never see an Indian player and a West Indian player having words against each other or cursing the other. It is not like against Australia or South Africa. There are a lot of Indians in the Caribbean. It is like a family.So you reckon West Indies will tour South Africa and play the World Cup, the immediate assignments in the near future?
It has to be open. The matter needs to be resolved as soon as possible because as I said the most important thing is cricket. Remember for the young players this is their job. So administrators need to do something very fast so we can get back and try to put the best team possible back on the park. That is the main thing because West Indies cricket is falling behind. We cannot afford this situation to destroy everyone for much longer. So the sooner we can deal with this situation and the faster we can get back into the groove and start focusing on cricket again that would be the best thing for West Indian people.Would you like to be part of the WIPA?
I am willing and ready to be part of WIPA but a lot of changes need to be made.

AB de Villiers is one of the politest cricketers anyone could wish to meet, but as he set more one-day batting records, this time against West Indies, he made the rudest of interventions

Firdose Moonda at the SCG27-Feb-2015AB de Villiers is hardly ever rude. If he sees someone he recognises he will say hello, smile and share a few words. If he sees someone he doesn’t, he will do all that too. But for a moment, when confronted with Andre Russell, de Villiers was downright rude.He stepped so far forward and outside offstump he was halfway to point, took one-hand off the bat and swept Russell to the square leg boundary.Read that again.Close your eyes to visualise it.What you will see is something audacious, ballsy, devilishly good and, in all the right ways, really, really rude.You can’t blame de Villiers for foregoing his impeccable manners and throwing a cricketing tantrum of sorts as South Africa looked to send a message about their suitability as successful candidates at this tournament.He had something to address after what he termed an “embarrassing,” defeat at the MCG. It always felt as if it was his job.De Villiers holds himself more accountable than many other captains. If a defeat is caused by batting lapses, de Villiers picks out his own wicket as the one that should not have fallen first. If the defeat is caused by bowling lapses, de Villiers identifies his own management of the pack as the reason.His understanding of leadership is based on selflessness. If the team underperforms, it is his fault. If they succeed, it the credit is shared. He will cite this innings as another example of that.When de Villiers arrived at the crease, the situation was tailor-made for him. South Africa had a solid base, but one created by circumspection, not speed. Their innings was in a tense period. It needed someone with courage, confidence and a dash of chutzpah. De Villiers has all three and a lot more.He was able to use the first 18 balls to suss out the situation because Rilee Rossouw played what could become a defining innings in his fledgling career. Rossouw was brought in for this match to add batting depth in JP Duminy’s absence on the back of a patchy introduction to ODI cricket which started with from four ducks in six innings and has since blossomed to include two centuries. A World Cup half-century under pressure will go some way to helping him establish himself.After holding himself accountable for South Africa’s “embarrassing” defeat at the MCG, de Villiers had a lot to prove•Associated PressAlready the captain has endorsed Rossouw as a player he “likes the look of,” because of his competitive streak, which de Villiers’ said injected energy into today’s knock. Rossouw was the one pushing the singles and piercing the gaps at the start of de Villiers’ innings. De Villiers allowed himself to be led until he could take the lead.A slow, overpitched delivery from Jerome Taylor was his cue – the ball threaded straight down the ground. It opened de Villiers up. The shot should have told West Indies to starve de Villiers of the fuller length he is so fond of, but they fed it to him. He dismissed three full tosses in the next three overs to allow South Africa to enter the final 10 overs like a car about to embark on a journey down a long straight road.The next time straight road you encounter – and you are not driving – press your nose to the window and keep your eyes open. Don’t blink for as long as you can as the vehicle picks up speed and you will see scenery whooshing past so quickly that everything looks wider and taller and bigger than it really is. The trees take on the shape of each other until they begin to look like a forest. The other cars on the road morph into a never-ending limousine. The people become a marching crowd. That was how de Villiers scored runs in those lost 10 overs.Russell bowled short, bowled full, bowled length, Benn flighted it and flirted with the leg side and Holder found himself on the receiving end of a demolition job. But what stood out about de Villiers’ assault was the number of times he walked outside off, took the ball from there and forced it onto the leg side. His team-mates have referred to that stroke as a Spiderman shot, because only someone with a superpower can do.To do it over and over and over again, each time achieving the same results, takes someone whose superpower is part of their DNA and de Villiers has always been that person.Not only did he once juggle being the key batsman with keeping wicket and captaining but he has broken records while doing all that too.De Villiers was the designated gloveman and skipper the day he scored the fastest fifty and fastest hundred in ODI cricket. Today, he designated himself to get South Africa’s World Cup campaign on track and scored the fastest 150. It was the rudest, and most wonderful, of interventions.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from a high-scoring affair at the Wanderers

Firdose Moonda11-Jan-2015Swap of the day

In the opening over, Sulieman Benn offered Morne van Wyk a short, wide delivery – the kind that is too tempting not to hit. Van Wyk responded with a disdainful slap past point where Darren Sammy did not make much of an effort to save any runs. The West Indies captain then moved himself out of that position and put Kieron Pollard in his place. Benn dished up the same delivery, van Wyk responded in the same way but Pollard was the man he played the ball to. With significantly more man in the way, van Wyk did not manage to stay on top of his shot and Pollard gobbled up the catch.Shot of the day
Pushed up the order to No. 4, David Miller was given the freedom to both start and finish an innings and showed his intent when he dispatched the ball into the next sporting facility. Dwayne Bravo had bowled a tidy over until he pitched one up, Miller got underneath it and lifted it above the Memorial Stand and into the golf course next door. “If it’s in the arc…” You know the rest.Other sporting skills of the day
While Miller had his golf swing out, Andre Russell had his football boots laced up. He bowled the first yorker of the innings, in the 11th over, which Faf du Plessis dug out. The South African captain wanted a quick single and called Miller through but Russell was ready to play striker. He stuck a boot out, aimed his kick at the stumps and was on target. Miller put the dive in and made his ground but his bat was in the air so he had to keep going back to the change-room and Russell could celebrate, soccer-style.Double reprieve of the day
Twice in an over from Russell, West Indies should have added to the tally of run-outs. First, du Plessis, coming back for a desperate second to deep midwicket, was well out of his ground when the throw came in but the ball skipped between Denesh Ramdin’s legs. Then, when du Plessis slapped a drive which was parried by the bowler, Justin Ontong had to regain his ground and then respond to the call for a suicidal run – he was nowhere to be seen when Russell fired a wild throw that again Ramdin could not take, allowing the batsman to get home.Frustration of the day
With wickets tumbling and the asking rate beginning to rise again, West Indies were in danger of subsiding. They needed 44 from 23 balls when Kyle Abbott bowled one in the slot for Russell to hammer over deep midwicket for six. The next delivery was sliced expertly over gully with an open bat face: 34 from 21. But when Abbott followed that up with a full toss, Russell could only toe-end it down the throat of long-off. He showcased his footwork again, this time in kicking the turf in anger.

How the top eight teams stack up ahead of the World Cup, plus predictions for the knockouts

Martin Crowe29-Jan-2015Having digested New Zealand’s World Cup chances, I will focus on the rest.Firstly, I can’t see past the eight major nations qualifying for the quarter-finals. The minnows are still way off the pace, although it would be romantic to see an upset or two in the opening few weeks. Could Ireland snare West Indies in Nelson?The first of my gut feelings has to do with South Africa. They were dead unlucky in 1992 with crazy rain rules, and especially unlucky again in 1999. They had their chance to grab that tournament by knocking out Australia in Leeds in a Super Six match, but Herschelle Gibbs tried a circus act and “dropped the World Cup”. Then they had another terrific chance to grab it again only days later, at Edgbaston, same opposition, only to feel it all evaporate in a hurry as they needed one run with four balls remaining. Allan Donald dropped his bat, was run out and that was that.Four years later at home, they did the unthinkable, and not much has changed since. Yet now that AB de Villiers has become the world’s most outrageous strokemaker there is reason to believe again. He stands on a pedestal as a man who can change a game in the blink of an eye. Along with Brendon McCullum, de Villiers is timing his run immaculately. These two leaders are the men I would love to see at the toss in Melbourne come March 29, if the draw will allow it.South Africa also have Hashim Amla, a modern-day great player with a beautiful attitude to the game. He’s the sort of guy you want to see succeed, oozing class from beard to toe. Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, JP Duminy and David Miller are outstanding lieutenants with the bat. And who can go past the skill, experience and balance of Dale Steyn, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel and Imran Tahir? It’s an impressive line-up. The only question remaining is the actual execution of managing the pressure moments. I don’t see de Villiers gasping for air this time around, for he has shown often lately that he completes all transactions on the field. His new-found maturity will rub off, and that’s why I rate them as favourites to go to Melbourne.Dark horses? England are capable of pulling off a few surprises•Getty ImagesCo-hosts Australia should be highly competitive, yet I see a few critical holes in their line-up. It has come as a surprise that Michael Clarke has been given so few matches in which to resume his place in the side, and importantly, his position as captain. Frankly I can’t see Australia winning the high-pressure matches without Clarke at the helm tactically. If I was Rod Marsh, I would be happy if Clarke played the last two round-robin games, another two weeks after the ultimatum already in place. There appears a strange cooling by Cricket Australia towards Clarke, potentially a major mistake in their hour of need.Australia also have no genuine spinner and so their over rate will always be under threat and a nuisance to deal with. For teams to progress they must take wickets in the middle period and this is where Australia look vulnerable. Balance is everything, and without a top-class spinner, they look exposed. Overall, they have enough distractions around them to upset their focus when it matters.All the subcontinent teams lack the fielding and bowling firepower to win it outright in foreign conditions. India will have their moments with the bat, but they are an average, inexperienced bowling side at present, and a well-grooved defence is of vital importance under pressure.Sri Lanka have experience yet they too lack the skill in the seam bowling department, with real concerns over Lasith Malinga’s fitness. After a wonderful year, Sri Lanka seem to be imploding with political influences playing a part in some of their selections. It is inexplicable that they haven’t found some worthy supporting acts to support their big three in their final outing. Without Upul Tharanga, they must open with Mahela Jayawardene so he can use the pace of the ball for the outset.Pakistan simply lack the X-factor and will ebb and flow as per usual, but they do have a developing side, with plenty of fearless youth to support their three ageing veterans. They will entertain; I’m just not sure they can galvanise and unify when under the pump.This leaves England and West Indies. Of the top eight, these two come in with little backing. Yet that can be a great position from which to surprise. Hovering under the radar in a format like this one will allow for more expression and fearlessness. Or things could go drastically pear-shaped as predicted.Australia’s chances will suffer if Michael Clarke is absent for the high-pressure matches•Getty ImagesEngland are one-dimensional with their bowling but they have in James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Steven Finn genuine wicket-takers on their day. Not picking Ben Stokes looks to be an error, as he has a way more all-round game than Ravi Bopara in the No. 7 spot. For some odd reason, I think England will play well. Perhaps it’s because my heart wants them to do well without the tattooed one.Young Jason Holder has been thrown a shocking hospital pass only weeks out. How Clive Lloyd thought a 23-year-old would manage his first hours as a new captain in the intense cauldron of a World Cup is beyond me. It makes no sense to have left out Dwayne Bravo, let alone as captain. All this upheaval makes it hard to think they have any hope, but funnier things have happened. If Chris Gayle or Marlon Samuels get in the right mood, they will be a cause for concern for any opponent. A massive if.In summary, these are my top four:South Africa have the best collection of players and only need a run of luck and unrelenting belief and they should go far. New Zealand have a wonderful spirit and respect for the game, and home advantage will benefit their well-balanced squad. Australia will have their gander up and will aggressively fight tooth and nail for fresh winds, but if they lose Clarke, they lose a mainsail. England are not to be underestimated: they have capable cricketers and there is always a silver lining, though their stitching hangs by a thread. Often after a rough storm, the clearing skies provide a new lease of life. Beware the hungry lion coming from behind.At a rough guess, assuming that both hosts get to play at home no matter where they finish in pool play, the quarters may read: New Zealand (A1) to beat West Indies (B4) in Wellington, Australia (A2) to beat Pakistan (B3) in Melbourne, England (A3) to beat India (B2) in Adelaide, Sri Lanka (A4) to lose to South Africa (B1) in Sydney. Semis to be: New Zealand beating England in Auckland, Australia losing to South Africa in Sydney.So I’m picking a new champion to be crowned. My heart says the Black Caps, my head suggests the Proteas.

Everything came together for India’s fast bowlers against West Indies

Abhishek Purohit in Perth06-Mar-20153:43

‘Our bowlers are hunting in a pack’ – Dhoni

“Back at home we talk about pace and bounce. We get bowlers who can bowl quick but they end up giving more runs without even bowling at the slog… If the batsman is playing good shots, you accept it but it is important that we bowl according to what the plan is and not go off it.”These were MS Dhoni’s sharp words after India had lost the ODI series in New Zealand early last year, their bowlers unable to defend 278 in Hamilton.India as a country gets so excited when the rare genuinely quick bowler turns up that he is fast-tracked into the national side. There, more often than not, he realises there is so much more to international cricket than just pure pace. That speed without direction means punishment. It is something Dhoni stresses about always: yes, you may be quick, but you are part of the plan. Don’t get too worked up, especially on seeing a helpful pitch, and stick to your lines and lengths.On the day that everything comes together for their fast bowlers, it is a rare sight for Indian fans. Like it was at the WACA against West Indies. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav. Fast and fast. Bounding in. Bouncing batsmen. Beating them for pace. Beating them with seam movement. Hardly giving anything to hit. Relentless attack from both ends. Not letting the pressure break from either end, something they have done so infuriatingly often during away Tests.”If you’re leaking runs from one end, it’s difficult to get wickets and contain batsmen from the other end,” Dhoni said. “That’s something that was happening quite regularly when it came to our bowling outside the subcontinent, but what the bowlers are doing really well right now is they are hunting in packs. We are backing one good over followed by another good over. That actually increases the pressure, and finally you get a wicket out of it.”The pitch was not easy to bat on, particularly early in the afternoon, as Dhoni said later. There was some variable bounce, he felt. There was also plenty of zip and carry. The ball thudding into the gloves of the keeper standing far back excites the crowd. It excites the Indian fast bowler more, who does not get to bowl on such pitches back home. ‘I’ll show them what I can do with some assistance.’ Soon the ego comes in, and he can start banging it in short and wide looking for that one brute lifter. Or giving half volleys looking for that magic outswinger. Soon the batsmen are driving and pulling and cutting, and you are out of the attack.That danger lurked at both ends for India in the form of Dwayne Smith and Chris Gayle, two opening batsmen who swat boundaries for fun. Shami and Yadav had the speed, the pitch had help; the discipline had to be there.MS Dhoni believes the importance of discipline over variety has started to seep into the minds of the Indian pace attack•Associated PressShami’s third ball of the game was short and wide. Smith slammed it past point for four. For the next seven overs, that was the only boundary West Indies were getting. In that time, they lost Smith and Marlon Samuels. Gayle lashed out with two fours and a six after those wickets, but holed out immediately after.Shami’s first delivery to Gayle had kicked from short of a length and squared him up, bringing an unsuccessful appeal for caught behind, although Snicko registered something.It was a nagging in-between length that the Indians hit consistently. Gayle and Smith were stuck on the crease. They could not take a step forward and drive. Nor could they rock back and pull with certainty, with balls shooting up and past furiously.West Indies do not believe much in the single and that allowed Shami and Yadav to work on their targets better. Smith and Gayle were reduced to the desperation of charging down the track so early in the game and having futile swipes.There was just no space or release available. Neither Shami nor Yadav attempted anything too cute and the lack of cute never fails to impress Dhoni. “You have that tendency at times, ‘Let me bowl slightly up, maybe I’ll get a wicket.’ But what we did really nicely was they kept hitting the back of a length area, and they made it slightly uncomfortable for the batsmen,” Dhoni said. “They used the variable bounce in the first 10 really well, and Chris went for the big shots, and ultimately one of them didn’t pay off. The good thing was they didn’t try too many different things.”The current group of bowlers have travelled on a few tours now. They won nothing in South Africa and New Zealand. They won nothing in Australia coming into the World Cup. But through all those experiences, Dhoni believed that the importance of discipline over variety had started to seep in for his attack.”It is something that you have to taste as a fast bowler, as a fast bowling unit, to start believing in that. When you come from the subcontinent you don’t bowl a lot of overs, so whenever you get an opportunity to bowl, you look for wickets. You want to bowl six different deliveries. But when you start coming outside the subcontinent to places where the Kookaburra ball is used and if it stops swinging, you have to stick to the right length.”I felt they learnt that and they have started believing in that as a unit, and that’s why we see them not trying too many different things, keep hitting the same areas, and that’s something that’s really paying off.”