ESPNcricinfo staff30-Oct-2016Moeen Ali made England’s first breakthrough by trapping Imrul Kayes for 78•Associated PressShakib Al Hasan batted with intent to make 41•Associated PressBut his departure gave England a boost before lunch•Associated PressIn the next over, Ben Stokes had Mushfiqur Rahim caught at slip for 9•Associated PressTensions rose as umpire Ravi had a word with Joe Root•Getty ImagesShuvagata Hom played his shots to rally Bangladesh’s tail•Associated PressBangladesh’s fans were in fine fettle as the lead grew•Getty ImagesAdil Rashid finished with four wickets as Bangladesh were all out for 296•Associated PressBen Duckett used the reverse sweep to excellent effect in England’s chase•Getty ImagesAlastair Cook bedded in for his longest stay of the tour so far•Getty ImagesBut Duckett’s impetus took a big bite out of England’s requirement•Getty ImagesHe brought up his half-century as England went to tea on 100 for 0•AFPBut then, Duckett was bowled by the first ball after the break …•Getty Images… before Shakib nailed the ailing Joe Root for 1•Getty ImagesGary Ballance fell to a horrible heave to mid-off•Getty ImagesMehedi, at the age of 19, stormed to his third five-wicket haul in four innings•Associated PressCook survived a huge appeal for lbw before poking to silly point for 59•Getty ImagesMehedi had left England in an utter tailspin•Getty ImagesJonny Bairstow couldn’t stem the tide as he was caught at leg slip for 3•Getty ImagesBen Stokes resisted for a while before being bowled by Shakib Al Hasan•Getty ImagesShakib ripped out three wickets in a single over, including Zafar Ansari for a duck•Getty ImagesFittingly, Mehedi wrapped up the victory with the scalp of Steven Finn•Getty ImagesBangladesh’s first victory over a maiden Test nation was gleefully celebrated•Getty Images

The ending of a long wait for Odisha and the record-breaking run of Gujarat’s Priyank Panchal feature in the stats highlights after the ninth round of the Ranji Trophy 2016-17

Bharath Seervi12-Dec-2016119 Unbroken runs put on by the tenth-wicket partnership between Shreevats Goswami and Sayan Ghosh – the highest for Bengal in first-class cricket. They beat the 115 added by Basil Malcolm and Tara Bhattacharjee against Madras in 1938-39. Goswami stayed unbeaten on 225, which was also the highest by a No. 6 batsman for Bengal, going past Saba Karim’s 199 against Bihar in 1995-96.1 Priyank Panchal became the first Gujarat batsman to 1000 runs in a Ranji Trophy season. He got to the mark with his fourth century of 2016-17, against Tamil Nadu. He has 1137 runs in seven matches; 715 of them have come from his last four innings. In seven matches this season, only once has Panchal failed to cross fifty. The previous-highest season aggregate by Gujarat player was 895 by Parthiv Patel in 2012-13.945 Runs for Services’ Rahul Singh in his debut season. Only Jiwanjot Singh has made a better first impression in the history of Ranji Trophy cricket with a tally of 995 in 2012-13. Rahul finished with nine 50-plus scores – the most by any player this year – and also took the record for most runs by a Services batsman in a Ranji season, eclipsing Yashpal Singh’s 790 in 2012-13.2011 The last time Mumbai were asked to follow on in the Ranji Trophy, by Saurashtra in Rajkot. Punjab emulated them last week, having earned a lead of 283. This did not hamper Mumbai’s chances of defending their title, though, as they had already qualified for the knockouts.978 Runs for Prashant Chopra this season – the most by a Himachal Pradesh batsman, bettering the 813 Paras Dogra made in 2014-15. Chopra made 194 last week and 237 before that to finish as the second-highest run-getter in the 2016-17 league phase, behind Panchal.10 Years Odisha had to wait to qualify for the Ranji Trophy knockouts. They were runners-up in the Plate League in 2006-07 and with Delhi and Maharashtra’s defeats in the ninth round last week, made it to the final four again. And they still have a match in hand.250 Unbeaten runs for Sachin Baby last week – the best by a Kerala batsman at No. 5. He was involved in a 187-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Jalaj Saxena and an unbroken 257-run stand for the sixth wicket with Akshay Chandan. Both were records for Kerala.3 Players to score a century and take a five-wicket haul in this Ranji season – Jammu Kashmir’s Samiullah Beigh, Hyderabad’s Chama Milind and Uttar Pradesh’s Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep is UPs highest run-getter (466) and highest wicket-taker (35). Parvez Rasool (629 runs and 38 wickets) is the only other player with 450-plus runs and 30-plus wickets this season.

Be it selections, not settling for less from his bowlers or all out aggression – Kohli has been ruthless as captain. But he will be challenged when the side is outside Asia and losing against a side good in its own conditions

Sidharth Monga in Chennai13-Dec-20162:10

Captain Kohli’s winning streak continues

After India sealed the series against England in Mumbai, Virat Kohli – yet to lose a series as a full-time Test captain – was asked what trepidation or doubts he took up the job with, and how he had fared against them. Was it communication or strategy, or anything else, and whether he felt he had nailed it by now, with five series wins in a row and a 17-match undefeated streak to his name? Kohli’s answer left you wondering.Kohli said one of his priorities when he started out in the job was to get rid of the quest for personal performances, which can come in the way of the team’s success. That, at times, when you are in a position to dominate an opposition, a batsman can choose not to do so lest he gets out. Kohli said these are the things “we have gotten out of our system completely”.One of the more obvious conclusions – and dangerous if you start thinking in terms of names – is that the selfish attitude detrimental to the team’s cause existed in the side when Kohli took over. It was a battered side that had won one Test in its last 19 attempts in England, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Or perhaps when the side had chances to obliterate the visiting opposition, they chose rather to stack up their own numbers? That a ruthless winning culture perhaps missing in the side has been inculcated by Kohli.Why else would Kohli say eliminating selfishness – there cannot be another term for “not willing to go for it because you are close to your milestone or things like that” – was one of his main priorities as Test captain? Whether Kohli saw selfishness in MS Dhoni’s side – Glenn Maxwell saw it, for example, during the ODIs in Australia earlier this year – and whether a move to a team-first philosophy has been the most important change under Kohli is hazardous for those on the outside to decide.There must be a good reason for Kohli to consider this vital, but to an outsider he has made more tangible difference through two decisions: demanding high levels of fitness from his bowlers and going into the first Test of a series thinking victory first.We all knew that Dhoni didn’t have great bowlers to work with – even Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan were towards the end of their careers for a majority of Dhoni’s captaincy – but the big difference between Dhoni and Kohli so far has been that Dhoni tended to make peace with what he had. He expected professionals at international level to know their responsibilities, just like he himself did. After a while you could see Dhoni would give up on his bowlers. Kohli places more premium on them. On the evidence of Kohli’s captaincy so far, good luck to you if you are a bowler and are looking to just go through your motions.Kohli considers India’s players eliminating their hunger for personal milestones as a major highlight in his captaincy tenure•Associated PressTraditionally the problem with Indian bowlers has been the lack of ability to persevere for a wicket, and releasing pressure through loose balls. Kohli has realised one big reason behind it was ordinary fitness. In Australia in 2014-15, when he captained in two Tests in Dhoni’s absence, Kohli asked his bowlers to learn from Josh Hazlewood, who he said didn’t give away loose balls even in his last spell of the day.Kohli made it a point to say Hazlewood was only in his second series. Kohli said he wanted his bowlers – more experienced all – to be willing to and, crucially, able to give him their best at the fag end of a long day. In a recent interview with Michael Vaughan, Kohli said that Duncan Fletcher made him realise how unprofessional cricket was when it came to fitness; Kohli now leads his team by example.The other thing Kohli might have noticed as a member of Dhoni’s Test team was that when faced with a choice between going for a draw and taking a risk going for a win, there was only one answer. Sitting on leads – setting New Zealand 600-plus in Wellington in 2008-09 and bailing out of an impossible-to-lose chase in Dominica in 2011 – was the done thing. And because India hardly ever played enough warm-up games, there was a culture of going into the first Test subconsciously thinking of safety and looking to get into a series unscarred.In Adelaide in 2014-15 – you can argue he didn’t have much to lose because it was a one-off Test as captain – Kohli picked a legspinner, which in his mind was a more attacking option than the fingerspinner R Ashwin. Between chasing 364 and batting out a day to go 0-0 into Brisbane, Kohli chose the former.More crucially Kohli is unlikely to do what India did in Southampton earlier that year or Durban in 2013-14. They had taken a 1-0 lead after the second Test at Lord’s, but the cost of that victory was an injury to Ishant Sharma going into the third Test. Their response was to drop their fifth bowler, strengthen the batting and bowl defensively from the first morning of the Test. From the outset, India gave the impression they just wanted to leave Southampton with the lead intact; they couldn’t.Kohli himself admitted recently that they started looking at the rain and lost focus of the Test, collapsing from a good position. Having pushed South Africa to bat out a draw in the first, India now just looked to leave with a drawn series, which would have been a big achievement. They stopped looking for wickets, and had to be forced to take the new ball, in the 147th over. India lost with time to spare.Since the time he took over, Kohli has expected nothing but supreme fitness from his players•Associated PressFrom all the indications so far – be it selections, be it the willingness to play with five bowlers, be it not settling for less from his bowlers – Kohli has seemed like a more ruthless captain. A word of caution, though: as Sourav Ganguly has said on this website, the real test will come when the side is outside Asia and losing against a side good in its own conditions. For example, all the hallmarks of this series win were present in the 4-0 whitewash of Australia led by Dhoni in 2012-13 too: all tosses were lost, fair pitches, five bowlers played, comebacks from behind, lower-order runs, captain leading by example.The real test awaits but the wins so far are not to be scoffed at. They hold a promise for better when India travel again. Most importantly through the combination of the captain and the coach. Along the way it can be argued Kohli has let himself make mistakes through his aggression. Examples of it are the dropping of Cheteshwar Pujara and M Vijay in the West Indies, leaving out Ashwin in Adelaide, picking the threat of Umesh Yadav ahead of the control of Bhuvneshwar Kumar in conditions that are not going to aid the latter’s seam.Fortunately he has in his corner the experienced Anil Kumble, who has the stature to remind him of the importance of Pujara and Vijay while also respecting the intent of Kohli. That is why the eagerness of Kohli and the pragmatism of Kumble make such a good team.

Jimmy Adams, West Indies’ new director of cricket, hopes the lessons from both sides of the player-board divide can help to heal the Caribbean’s wounds

Interview by George Dobell in Antigua28-Feb-2017You’ve taken on a tough role. Can you turn things around?

I’m pretty realistic about where we’re at. That’s the starting point: to be very clear about where we are. I don’t know if I see my role as turning things around. There are a lot of processes that need tidying up in our cricket. It’s not an overnight job and I may not live to see the promised land. But I can certainly take the first steps.Where is West Indies cricket now?

Our standards aren’t good enough across the board, and it’s reflected in the cricket that we play. But we have the raw materials; we have good young players. What we need is a system that can take this raw talent and convert it into an international product that’s world-class.We saw when they won the World T20 that, when all the players are available, West Indies is still a top side. But the previous regime’s stance on considering for selection only those who play in the regional domestic competitions means that has rarely been the case. Now we hear that policy is being reviewed. What is your position?

I’m not the only person who is going to be involved in the decision. But I’m certainly of the view that it needs reviewing. There’s a process behind that, which means it probably won’t happen overnight. The review is ongoing and has started, but if a change of direction is to happen, it won’t be overnight, as there is a process that backs that up. But it is being reviewed. A lot of stakeholders in our cricket appreciate now that it does have to be looked at.Is the standard of T20 cricket in the Caribbean satisfactory?

I’ve only watched CPL from a distance in the last five years. I think, based on the quality of cricketers that we have here, and the quality of cricketers that have come in for CPL cricket, I think we can get better. But I also think that a lot of our international players – the Chris Gayle generation – will have started under Stanford, but will have developed and become battle-hardened in leagues outside the Caribbean. And if I’m waving a magic wand, I’d like to have the standard in the Caribbean, where, if they do play overseas, that’s fine – certainly from a financial point of view – but in terms of developing our own T20 to an international standard, then we want our cricket in the Caribbean to be a lot stronger.You want them back?

I’d like to have the best players available. I’m not going to stick my neck on the block. It’s a selection panel decision as to who the best players are, but ideally you always want the best players available for selection.There will have to be give and take on both sides?

I think so, yes.Are you encouraged by what you saw in the Super 50 competition?

I watched half of it. I saw the Antigua leg. I saw the semis and the final. I saw bits and bobs from Barbados. I was very encouraged. The first thing was, the players had an opportunity to play a long tournament. The finalists played ten games, the losing semi-finalists played nine, and everyone else eight.

“At the highest level talent is irrelevant. Everybody has the talent and it’s the other issues that become more and more important”

The facilities, for the most part, were adequate or good. We can eventually get even better wickets, but given where the Coolidge ground was three months ago, I’m quite happy with what we had there.Seeing batsmen produce three-figures performances was good, too. Going back a few years, that was a rarity. And players were starting to appreciate what sort of standard is expected from them if they are trying to make it to the next level. Communicating that clearly helps. And that’s going to be a challenge because we know we had a period in our cricket where we are trying to move our territorial boards from an amateur system to a professional one. There are tensions – you’d expect that – because mindsets won’t change overnight. But we do have one thing in common across the board: everyone wants to see stronger cricket. And let’s move away from the excuses that we have heard in the past.Any areas that needed improvement?

Generally speaking we could lift standards across the board in every area – batting, bowling, outfielding. Fitness as well.You’ve had many roles in cricket. But having spent a fair bit of time in a players’ union role, is it fair to expect you to be sympathetic to the players by inclination?

I’ve spent time in different roles. I represented the players’ association for a few years as secretary and actually worked as director of cricket – or technical director – with Jamaica, so I’ve already stood on both sides of the fence. So I can quite appreciate a lot of the issues that face both the board and the players. I think that we have the potential to achieve a lot more if we can get people singing off the same hymn book going forwards.The outstanding issue now is player eligibility: I’m encouraged by the fact that most, if not all, parties are in agreement that what is in place now is not sustainable and might not be helping our cricket in the short or long term. But I don’t see my former role with WIPA as being of detriment to me being able to carry on this role. I actually think it helps to give me a better understanding of some of the issues that are actually being faced at the moment.Can we expect you to utilise the knowledge and experience of former players? The likes of Lara, Sarwan and Chanderpaul?

I don’t see why not. I do think… this is more a philosophy than empirical evidence, but I think we all need it as a guiding light for what we do: I think the West Indies has more resources than we think we have. I think what we haven’t been good at is how efficiently we engage and use those resources. The names you’ve called – and I could mention many more – could potentially offer quite a lot to us. To me, they stand as potential resources going forward. It might not be one size fits all, but all those names have achieved so much by doing things well for a long time. Again, philosophically, we’re talking about finding consistency across the board: they have lived a life of consistency to achieve what they have on a cricket field. In any way possible that we can engage them in our cricket going forward, the key challenge is finding the right fit. Not square pegs in round holes. But I do think there are roles for these people if they are willing to get into West Indies cricket.Marlon Samuels helped win the World T20 but was not selected for the ODIs due to his non-appearance in domestic cricket•Getty ImagesDid you appoint Stuart Law?

No, I wasn’t involved. We were both appointed around about the same time. But we’ve come across each other going back many years. We both played in the first Youth World Cup in 1988 in Australia. The relationship started from there. We played against each other at international level as well, so there is a history. It might not be a big one, but we’ve both had conversations over the years. What little I know of him, I think he’s a fairly honest bloke. At the end of the day, that’s a huge starting point for me: let’s just be honest. He’s very down to earth in his views on the game, and if the early signs are an indication, he’s on his way to building a pretty strong relationship with the lads, which I think is critical.Is cricket as important to people in the Caribbean as it used to be?

I’d ask for empirical evidence. Without empirical evidence, my gut feeling is that far more important are the standards within the pyramid than the numbers at the base of the pyramid. I’m not saying we can’t do with more numbers – we always can. I think there will always be a challenge if you go back ten to 15 years with what is available for young people. I don’t think the West Indies are the only entity that have that challenge.But I do think there’s a big call to raise our standards within that pyramid. If I can loosely use New Zealand rugby as an example, or New Zealand cricket, I’m not sure their base has got significantly bigger in 30 years, but I do know that they’ve maintained standards or maybe even moved the bar a bit higher over that course of time. I would be probably a little bit more interested in making sure that happens [here] than necessarily growing the base by another 20%, or 15%.I’d take an increase in numbers playing junior cricket. I can speak for Jamaica: when I was there five years ago, we had more kids playing primary school cricket than when I was there [as a youngster]. But there was beginning to be a gap in the 13-to-17 age group. I think that’s pretty common across the world, for what 13- to 17-year-olds have available to them.But even as I was thinking, I was more interested in: could I raise the standards, could I provide better coaches for the players that we had, could I make sure competitions were the highest possible standard, that the facilities were better than when I played? I saw those as more immediate challenges.I put a high value on the face of our cricket, which is the international team. But ideally you’ve got to get right down to where it starts. So we need to ensure the Under-15s, which is the time we start with players, have the right lifestyle instilled by the time they get to 19. It’s about coaches, lifestyle managers and development people. It’s not just cricket but life development as well.

“It’s a challenging situation. I think what encourages me is, I think, we have some very good people involved in our cricket”

West Indies tend to perform well at that level.

Yes, but let me make the distinction. A very crude example is that, at that young level, it’s about 90% talent and 10% thinking and lifestyle. But at the highest level it is the other way around. Talent is irrelevant. Or 10%, anyway. Everybody has the talent and it’s the other issues that become more and more important. If they aren’t ingrained by the time they are in their early 20s, it becomes very, very difficult.Rahkeem Cornwall is clearly a talented cricketer but with fitness issues. Could he play international cricket?
At the end of the day you’re talking about performances. I’m not duty-bound to support anything other than people performing on the field. I’m speaking personally, I don’t speak for the selection panel. We discuss a lot of things but he’s here playing for a representative team, which tells you a story itself. If he performs, I’m sure he’ll be in line for selection. I’m not a selector. There’s a close relationship between myself and the selectors, but I’m not a selector.You were one of the players involved in the standoff with the board at Heathrow airport many years ago. What did you learn from such situations?

I don’t know if we have enough time. I’m not trying to evade the question. I literally could go on until tomorrow morning… It’s a challenging situation. I think what encourages me is, I think, we have some very good people involved in our cricket. I keep saying again, you’re moving out of an amateur system into a professional one, and maybe, without speaking out of turn, maybe a lot of the drivers that have driven our cricket for a long time need to change. You’re talking about mindsets that have existed for a long time, except that changing mindsets is not an overnight thing. Also, processes that have been in place that I think in this day and age are outdated, they are tied into constitutional areas. You’re talking about changing the constitution of any entity that’s something that can drag on for a long time. Do we change our constitution or do we try and work around it?These are issues that have been going around for a while. Now, at the end of the day – I think, maybe, I’m saying this only being in the job for a month and a week – I think you can either put your hands up in the air and say, “It’s not worth it” or put your hand up and say, “Let me try and be an agent of change.”If I’m still here in two or three years’ time and I’m still looking fairly healthy, then it means we are getting somewhere. But these things have to happen. I sense more and more that more stakeholders appreciate that and are getting to the point where maybe, as an entity, we are all be more willing to give a little bit to make that happen. I think that has to happen. I don’t think everybody can keep holding on to their territories for much longer given where we are. I want to encourage that. I want to be an agent for that change to happen.

Plays of the day from the deciding T20I between South Africa and Sri Lanka

Firdose Moonda at Newlands25-Jan-2017The wicket everyone wanted that wasn’t With AB de Villiers pencilled in at No.3, even the home crowd wanted the opening partnership to end as soon as possible but it started off strongly. Jon-Jon Smuts and Reeza Hendricks took 22 runs off the first two overs before Isuru Udana did is best to separate them. Smuts went after a slower ball and hit it high with the intention to clear long-on. In gusty conditions, the ball could not make the distance and Thikshila de Silva at mid-on was in position to take the catch. He steadied himself and had the ball in his hands but at the least second, it burst through and the Newlands faithful were denied an early sighting of de Villiers.The welcome Ten balls after Smuts was dropped, he was given out lbw off Seekkuge Prasanna and the moment de Villiers’ fans have spent the last six months waiting for arrived. A sell-out stadium roared as he skipped onto the turf, hands cradling his bat in both hands as he stretched his arms up and down. De Villiers did a few customary swings of the arm and a few leg lifts on his way to the crease before taking guard to face his first international delivery since June 24, 2016.The moment it ended With de Villiers’ striking at close to 150 it was not unthinkable that a century on comeback was on the cards and it seemed to be on de Villiers’ mind too. He lashed out at a low full toss from Nuwan Kulasekara off the first ball of the 18th over, intending to thread it past point, but found the fielder. Upul Tharanga seemed surprised at how quickly the ball came his way and initially palmed it up in what looked like self-defence but quickly recovered to take the catch on the second attempt. De Villiers watched the juggle and was furious at the result. He smacked his bat on the pitch in frustration, as if to say, “Why did it all have to be over so soon?”The confusion A final over nightmare for Udana, who had been hit for three sixes off his first four balls by Mangaliso Mosehle, became even worse when his team-mates botched a catch that three of them could have taken. Mosehle heaved the penultimate ball of the over into the air. Dinesh Chandimal and two fielders closed in on it and Kulasekara had the best chance of getting to it but poor calling left all of them looking at each other and the ball fell in the middle.The hat-trick If Sri Lanka thought they had squandered chances, they may take solace in South Africa’s fielding performance. The hosts put down five catches in total – with another sailing over Imran Tahir’s head at third man – including three in three balls in Wayne Parnell’s second over. First, Paterson grassed one at fine leg when Dhananjaya de Silva got a top-edge off pull and then Mosehle could not hold on when Dickwella gloved a bouncer just over him. Parnell was furious but then had only himself to blame when Dickwella top-edged back to him and he mistimed his jump in his follow through and the ball went over his head instead of into his hand.The early celebrationPrasanna swung the match Sri Lanka’s way, firstly by taking on Wayne Parnell, but it was Asela Gunaratne who was the hero in the final. He scooped Dane Paterson for a first-ball boundary to give Sri Lanka some breathing space then found the boundary again when he top edge over the keeper. It levelled the score, but Gunaratne thought it was the winning hit and he immediately grabbed a stump. Somewhat sheepishly he had to replace it, apologise to South Africa – who appeared to question the legaility of the Gunaratne’s move – and next ball drove through cover. That really was the win

England’s one-day pitches have become distinctly more batsman-friendly over the past few seasons, and that has played a vital part in the national team’s new approach

George Dobell26-May-2017″If England win the ICC Champions Trophy – and they really could; they’re that good – I’d like to think the groundstaff around the country will have played a small part in their success.”That’s the view of Gary Barwell, the head groundsman at Edgbaston, the scene of the tournament’s final in 2013 and one of the semi-finals this time. He feels that over recent years the List A surfaces in England have become “the best in the world”. Especially once you take into context the volume of cricket required of surfaces in England and the challenging weather conditions in which they are prepared.While you might expect Barwell to fight the corner of his colleagues, he may have a point. Certainly there is evidence to suggest that England’s limited-overs resurgence has been at least partially enabled by the improved surfaces on which they are playing.Take what now appears to have been the watershed 2015 series against New Zealand. Within a few days in June, England established their first 400-plus ODI score, their highest ODI chase and the highest match aggregate of an ODI in which they had been involved. Whether it was Trent Bridge, The Oval or Edgbaston, England were given the surfaces that suited their new-found aggressive approach with the bat.

Domestic batsmen in England are increasingly becoming accustomed to surfaces that enable them to hit through the ball. It’s not just the England side that has changed; it’s whole of English cricket

Nor was it a one-off. They broke one of the records set that series – their highest ODI total, 408 for 9 at Edgbaston – in August 2016 when they thrashed 444 for 3 against Pakistan at Trent Bridge. It is, at the time of writing, the highest ODI score ever made, though there seems a decent chance that by the end of the tournament it may have been surpassed.It’s not just England, either. Opposition teams are also scoring heavily in England and Wales, meaning that since the 2015 World Cup, nowhere in the world has seen ODIs with such a high run rate (an average 6.15 runs per over). That compares to the two years up to the World Cup, which saw ODIs in England (and Wales) rank only sixth in the global table of highest average run rates (at 5.21 runs per over). India led the way at the time with an average run rate of 6.05 runs per over. While run rates have increased pretty much everywhere, nowhere have they risen as dramatically as in England. There have been 19 totals of 300 or more in just 22 matches since the World Cup (up to the start of the series against South Africa); by comparison, there had been only five such totals in England (and Wales) in 43 ODIs up to the last Champions Trophy in 2013.It was a change mirrored in domestic cricket. On June 6, 2016, Nottinghamshire and Northamptonshire plundered 870 runs in a List A game at Trent Bridge; only two fewer than the record for the format established in Johannesburg by Australia and South Africa a decade earlier. Two days later, Nottinghamshire shared another 794 runs with Warwickshire. Pitch marks – the marks given by umpires at the end of each match – have improved to such an extent that Trent Bridge averaged 5.96 last year. Six is rated very good (the highest mark), five is good and four is above average. “I can foresee a day when a groundsman getting a mark of 5.9 is rated only 18th in the country,” Barwell says. “We’re all getting better and there is more expectation of what we can provide.”English domestic one-day cricket has witnessed ever higher scores over the last few seasons•Getty ImagesThis year the domestic 50-over competition has been played earlier in the season. While the aim was largely to create something of a window for the T20 tournament, it has also allowed the competition to be played on fresher surfaces. So while last year’s winners, Warwickshire, played the quarter-final, semi-final and final on used surfaces – a factor that may well have helped a side that included the spin of Jeetan Patel and the accumulative Jonathan Trott – this year’s surfaces have tended to offer a little more pace and a little less assistance to spinners. The result? Domestic batsmen in England are increasingly becoming accustomed to surfaces that enable them to hit through the ball. It’s not just the England side that has changed; it’s whole of English cricket.Why? Well, the ECB has targeted success at the 2019 World Cup as crucial for the growth of the game. So, while 50-over cricket was once the poor relation to the other formats – T20 was seen as more glamorous (and lucrative) and first-class cricket more noble – it has now been given far greater priority.It’s not just the pitches, of course. It’s no secret that after their humiliation at the 2015 World Cup, there was a realisation that the mindset of the England side had to change. So out went the safety-first, accumulative style and in came younger players, developed in the age of T20 and better prepared to adopt the aggressive approach of the age. It was a change that most other international sides had made years previously and one that continues to develop in all formats of the game.

While 50-over cricket was once the poor relation to the other formats – T20 was seen as more glamorous (and lucrative) and first-class cricket more noble – it has now been given far greater priority

That mindset change, combined with better (and often bigger) bats, improved strength and conditioning, better drainage which has resulted in pitches retaining less moisture, smaller boundary sizes and the adoption of two new Kookaburra balls in ODI and English domestic cricket – they hardly swing and tend not to get too soft later in the innings – has created a situation where run-rates are increasing fast. It’s a global trend, but nowhere is it more pronounced.But for that approach to work, you need surfaces to suit. You need to allow the likes of Jason Roy and Alex Hales pitches where they won’t be punished for poking at deliveries that could leave them; where you don’t need the likes of Alastair Cook and Trott to negate the moving ball and set a platform.Barwell expects his Champions Trophy pitches to be similar to those seen at Edgbaston in this year’s domestic 50-over competition: high scoring with little seam or spin and minimal swing. As he puts it: “We don’t get the interference or instruction people seem to think, but one-day pitches in England right now are the best in the world. Well, if you’re a batsman.”It is intriguing to hear Barwell say he anticipates little spin. The 2013 Champions Trophy final was notable for the amount of turn India gained in the second innings. While Barwell disputes the suggestion the surface was simply too dry – “It only turned in the second innings after the surface became damp; we were trying to get that game played in wet conditions as there was no reserve day” – he does admit he has learned lessons from the experience.England’s bold approach has been at the heart of their ODI reinvention, but batting-friendly pitches have also played their part•Getty Images”I was in my second year of the job here,” he explains. “And yes, it was a big event for me.”Early on in the tournament – in one of the warm-up games – an umpire warned me that I’d watered one of the neighbouring pitches too much and that, for an ODI, they would have thought of delaying or even abandoning play.”That really surprised me and the thought of having 24,000 people here and disappointed because I’d screwed up was at the back of my mind. So I did everything by the book. I was cautious with my watering and yes, by the time we got to the final, the pitch was dry.”Would I do the same thing again? No. I’d do what I know has to be done to create good pitches and I wouldn’t listen to anyone who told me to do anything differently.”There are other challenges for these groundsmen. With broadcasters insisting on stadiums using pitches in the middle of the square for all televised games – and there could be around 20 days of televised cricket from Edgbaston this year – the amount of use on those few strips right in the middle is exhaustive.

“We don’t get the interference or instruction people seem to think, but one-day pitches in England right now are the best in the world. Well, if you’re a batsman”Gary Barwell, head groundsman at Edgbaston

As a result, they have increased the number of international-quality surfaces at Edgbaston. There are now nine pitches that can accommodate international, televised games, which gives Barwell the luxury of watering surfaces required for later in the tournament even the day before major matches. While there will be some reuse of pitches, Barwell is confident the standard will remain consistently high.”And they’re the same everywhere,” he says. “All 18 groundsmen around the county circuit are as good as one another and I think, in terms of pitches, you could play these games at any ground, from Chester-le-Street to Hove, and get great wickets. We share knowledge and experience and, on a basic level, we have good equipment.”So, yes. We’re ready. And yes, I think you’re going to see some pretty similar scores to the domestic 50-over matches earlier in the season. Only once did a team fail to score 300 in the first innings and even then, it was only by 19. It’s a really exciting England side and I think we’ve given them the surfaces to show the world how good they are.”

Harbhajan Singh talks comebacks, fatherhood, and how his comment about spin-friendly Indian pitches was misunderstood

Interview by Arun Venugopal25-May-2017Do things become harder as a cricketer once you cross 35?
I don’t think age is a factor. As you grow older, you obviously become more experienced. I have not tried anything fancy – just kept things really simple, checking the batsman, the situation, understanding my own game and what is he [the batsman] looking to do, what is the best option I should be looking to bowl, what angles. If you bowl what you know, you will get results.Things may not always fall in place, but you know this is the best thing rather than trying something which is not even in your game, and you have just learnt that because you feel that the batsman will go after you. Over the years, muscles develop by bowling in a certain way. To suddenly change it, I don’t think is the right approach.Have you tried doing something different and then had to revert to your original methods?
Yeah, several times. We try different things. We think if it’s a right-hand batsman, I should not bowl an offbreak to him. Why do we decide that? In Test cricket, you bowl offspin to a right-hand batsman with midwicket and mid-on inside the ring. It’s not as if the batsman can’t hit from the first ball there. It’s all about the mindset you are in.In T20s, the batsman looks to take chances, so as a bowler, be ready for it rather than getting on to the back foot right from the start. If the batsman is that good, let him hit your best deliveries and not because you are making mistakes. format player side [You need to keep the big player in you aside]. Whatever you have done is history. Do what you need to do now. The wickets are good and the players are good against spin bowling. You get disappointed, but then you pick yourself up and say, “Okay, let’s come back stronger next day and do it again.” Be it IPL or domestic cricket or international cricket, the approach is always the same: to take wickets.It’s not like it happens only with me. If you talk to anyone, they will say the same thing. Even an Anil Kumble has to go through it.When you feel this way, who do you discuss your frustrations with?

You can’t tell everyone. There are people within the cricket fraternity and outside. When we meet and talk to people, such discussions often happen. The only way to make a comeback is to play and enjoy the game. Why did we start playing this game? Because we used to enjoy it. Suddenly, enjoyment game [The enjoyment shouldn’t become a headache]. But it does happen that way, whether you do it deliberately or not. Circumstances lead to that kind of a mindset.Whatever level you are playing, you should look to enjoy. That’s what I have been looking to do over the last year and a half. I will just enjoy no matter where I am playing and what level I am playing at. If I am not enjoying, I will not take part.I didn’t play the last season [of first-class cricket] because I was enjoying with my family. I thought there’s no need for me to be travelling from one place to another every four days because this time won’t come back again. This is a beautiful time and I want to be there each and every day.Do you record all your daughter’s activities?
My camera is full of my daughter’s videos and photos. Obviously your priorities change when you have kids. That’s what happened to me and she brought a lot of changes in me. Playing for India is not used to slip this delivery between offbreaks. I asked him to teach me the delivery, and I have used it to dismiss several left-hand batsmen. With a slightly newer ball, it will swing back into the batsman and get him out lbw or bowled.[Even when I play with another offspinner in the side], I don’t think he is a rival. Both of us are playing together. It doesn’t matter [if he is a junior]. He is there to play because he is good. I am there because I am good too. Our motive is to win the game for India. Whenever Ashwin is doing well, I congratulate him. It’s okay if people have made a big controversy on Twitter; it’s their job. Only we know what relationship we share as players.You can’t have the [same rapport] with everyone, but when you are playing in the same team, I think it’s important to have a good rapport with everyone. A player is like a brother. If he is doing well, good. If he is not, then something is missing and if I think I should go and talk to him, then I do.You have stayed with the same franchise for a decade now. What has the role of Mumbai Indians been in your career?
It has been my second family. I have given my heart and soul for them and they have also been really good to me. See, the IPL is a very demanding world. You have to keep producing results. Obviously, a rapport is created only when you do something good for someone. You do well, you stay with the franchise. If you don’t, they will let you go. It’s fun and a matter of great pride to be part of the same team because there is a sense of belonging, that MI is my team.

Adam Voges talks about peaking after 30, his Test average, and his post-retirement future

Interview by Brydon Coverdale02-Apr-2017You started the summer in the Test team and have finished it retired from both international and state cricket. At the back of your mind, did you have any inkling this could be your last season?
All through my international career I knew that I had to continue to play very well to keep my spot, at my age. I knew there was always a possibility of one or two bad Test matches and that could have been it, which is the way it ended up panning out. But I guess at the start of the summer I thought that if I was able to make it through the entirety of the Australian summer I would look at things then. Unfortunately it didn’t quite work out that way.Why the decision to also retire from state cricket?
I just think it was time. Sometimes you just know. Not having that carrot of playing international cricket anymore was one factor. The fact that I probably didn’t finish the season in the best of form was another factor. Sometimes you just know it’s time to move on and give an opportunity to others.Now that your international career is over, how do you reflect on what you achieved? You must have thought that, getting to 35 without a baggy green, it realistically wasn’t going to happen?
One hundred per cent. Well, maybe not 100%. Maybe there was a brief hope fluttering at the back of my mind somewhere after seeing Chris Rogers get picked at a later age, and Mike Hussey before him. So maybe all hope wasn’t gone, but the older you get, that hope fades away a little bit. The thing I’m most proud about is that I really had to earn that opportunity through a heavy weight of runs in Shield cricket. I was able to have a big domestic season, and Western Australia and the Scorchers had success in that season as well. To earn that opportunity to get a baggy green at 35, and then to have three terrific years of international cricket – sure, there were a couple of downtimes during that period – I certainly loved every minute of it.You’ve retired with a Test batting average of 61.87. Surely that sort of record was beyond your wildest dreams?

Exactly. If you’d told me a few years ago I’d get the chance to play 20 Tests and end up with an average of 61, I would have taken it every day of the week. I had a terrific time playing international cricket. I got picked at the right time, and sometimes that timing is everything. I was in good form, I was really confident, I knew my game really well. And I was in a purple patch that lasted for a fair time. I certainly enjoyed every bit of it.

“The thing I’m most proud about is that I really had to earn the opportunity through a heavy weight of runs in Shield cricket”

That 2014-15 Shield season you mentioned – it was 1358 runs, which is the fourth highest Shield tally ever. You were 35 but were you only just peaking?
I think everyone peaks at different ages, and mine just happened to come a little bit later. I’ve got no doubt that the influence of Justin Langer coming back and coaching Western Australia coincided with a change in my form and fortunes. But thinking back on that season when I scored the 1300 runs, I was just confident. I just felt that every time I went out to bat, I was ready to make runs. I guess I stayed really hungry, so that if I did get to 50 or 60, I went on to 100. And if I got to 100, I made sure I went on and got a big hundred. It was that hunger for runs that drove me to have such a good year.You mention the influence of Justin Langer, but at 35 you must have known your own game extremely well. What could someone like JL have done to help lift you to an even higher level?
He came in and took me back out of my comfort zone. Maybe I’d slipped into that a little bit in previous years. Having played cricket for a long time, maybe I wasn’t working as hard. The way I worked and the effort that I put in certainly went up a couple of notches under JL. We changed a couple of technical things, and he just worked me incredibly hard – and our whole squad incredibly hard. He’s had a huge impact in the cultural change that’s happened in Western Australia over his time. I’ve got no doubt he was able to take my game to another level.And a hundred on debut – and being the oldest man ever to score a hundred on Test debut – is that your best memory of international cricket?
Yeah, I think so. All my hundreds are special and unique in their own way. The situation of the game was that we were in a little bit of trouble, so to be able to bat with the tail and put on a few handy partnerships, which ultimately gave us a pretty handy lead and helped us win the Test match – that’s one of the biggest highlights.You finished up averaging 542.00 against West Indies. What was it about their attack that you liked so much?
I think it was just timing. We played on some really good batting wickets. I was playing as well as I could play at the time. Often I was coming it at 3 for 300 or something, so I was getting to face some pretty tired bowlers. It was a period of time where everything seemed to click. I’d like to think that if it was against any other opposition, hopefully the results would have been pretty similar.”Justin Langer came in and took me back out of my comfort zone. I’ve got no doubt he was able to take my game to another level”•Getty ImagesWhat about the Wellington Test last year? You were bowled for 7 off a Doug Bracewell no-ball that proved to be an umpiring error, and then went on to make 239.
For all the times I thought I’d got a bit of bad luck, I think it all got made up for in that one moment! I still had to come out and score the runs the next day. But that one moment of luck – and that’s exactly what it was – changed the whole course of my innings and ended up changing the course of that game. I still remember Tim Southee talking to the umpire at the time and saying, “Well, as long he doesn’t go on and get a double-hundred, I’ll forgive you.”After such success in the 2015-16 summer, can you pinpoint what went wrong for you on the tour of Sri Lanka last year?
The Sri Lankan one was a really disappointing one. I went into that series really confident about my plans and how I was going to approach batting in the subcontinent. I’d toured a few times with Australia A squads and Centre of Excellence squads, so I’d had some experience in the conditions. I had a really good plan about looking to sweep spin and had worked incredibly hard on it prior to that series, and I was basing a lot of my game around that. But my first practice game I got out sweeping both times, and I just started to second-guess myself a little bit. I know that’s where I went wrong. If I had my time again, I would have just stuck to my guns and stuck to my plan. Whether it would have changed how I would have played, I don’t know, but that was one thing that on reflection I was disappointed that I started to second-guess my game plan a little bit. As soon as I did that, things became harder.From watching the recent series in India, what did you sense made Australia more competitive than in Sri Lanka last year?
You could just see the guys were a lot more well equipped. They were better organised, they knew how they were going about their plans. It was markedly different. I know they didn’t get the series win, but I thought the team played exceptionally well – sitting at home on my couch watching it. The team has certainly taken some big strides forward.Your international career finished in an unusual way – unavailable for the Adelaide Test after being concussed in a Sheffield Shield game. How do you reflect on that ending now, a few months later?
That was a pretty tough time, to be honest. The scrutiny going into the Hobart Test, then the performance in the Hobart Test and the backlash that came out of it, was an incredibly tough time. Then to be on a plane and batting two days later and cop one in the head, all in the space of a week or so, it took a fair bit out of me – probably a bit more than I was willing to admit at the time. I had a little bit of time off after that; maybe I should have had a little bit more time off. But I was always keen to get back out there and get playing as soon as possible. I’ve got no doubt that played a big part in my thoughts about retirement. That’s where they first started.

“I had a really good plan about looking to sweep spin and had worked incredibly hard on it. But my first practice game [in Sri Lanka] I got out sweeping both times, and I just started to second-guess myself a little bit. I know that’s where I went wrong”

What are your memories of the concussion against Tasmania?
It got me well, and I’d copped one in the back of the head fielding for Middlesex a couple of months previous. It’s amazing, I went through a whole career without having any dramas and then suffered two pretty significant concussions within six months of each other. It was one of those things, it just takes you a little bit of time to recover from. Physically, you’ll always recover, but mentally getting back out there and getting back into facing short balls – I had to do a lot of work around that before I felt ready to go out and play my next game. To go through that process and make sure you’re confident enough to go out and face the next ball that gets delivered to you, takes a little bit of courage.Should concussion subs be part of the game in all formats?
Yeah, 100%. I’m a big believer in concussion subs. That game against Tasmania when I did get hit, I rocked up to the ground on day four and thought, if I get a chance to bat in the second innings I’ll put my hand up. But I’d already been ruled out by medicos, who ultimately take the decision out of your hands. And I think once that happens, where as a player the decision gets taken out of your hands, I do believe that a substitute is the right way to go.You played in a couple of Sheffield Shield finals but never won a title. Is that the one achievement you really wish you’d managed but didn’t?
Yeah it is. I would have loved to have won a Sheffield Shield. For me, it’s still the pinnacle of Australian domestic cricket. I was lucky enough to have played in a couple of Shield finals and we got a couple of away draws, which wasn’t enough. I’m incredibly lucky and proud to have achieved what I have achieved, but if I could have chucked a Sheffield Shield title in there, it would have probably completed it.Voges finished his Test career with a stratospheric batting average•Getty ImagesHow does the Shield compare now to when you started? Is the competition as tough?
It’s an interesting one. I see it through different eyes now to 15 years ago, when I was first starting. Everything seemed a lot tougher back then. But I’m not sure that the standard has dropped at all. Maybe you don’t see young guys pumping out 1000-run plus seasons, like I saw when I first started in the game. And maybe guys are getting opportunities without having to score an absolute mountain of runs, but I think it’s very cyclical in that way. I still think the Shield is a strong competition. I think the advent of T20 cricket has certainly increased the pace the game is played at these days. You don’t see too many draws anymore in Shield games. There are often results, and those results often come on day three. We even had a two-day game this year against Victoria. That’s been one of the biggest changes that I’ve seen, but I don’t think the standard has dropped in any considerable way.The national selectors always have the challenge of balancing youth and experience – do you think the way your career panned out is a reminder that players over 30 shouldn’t be forgotten about and often have a lot to offer?
No doubt. You’d like to think that everyone who’s playing Shield cricket, regardless of their age, if they’re playing well enough should be given the opportunity to play for Australia. Because that’s what keeps driving a lot of people, it’s what keeps motivating people. It’s important to have those experienced heads in and around Shield cricket. I remember when I debuted, I was a youngster amongst a lot of senior heads. Maybe the dynamic of a lot of teams has changed these days, where there are probably a lot more younger guys with a handful of older guys around them. But they’re incredibly important for the development of the young players, to help them learn about their own game and help fast-track their development. But these guys need that carrot as well, that if they are playing well enough, hopefully international opportunity is there. And I think it is. You look at Michael Klinger getting an opportunity to play for Australia in the T20 format this year. I think it would have been a crime if he’d gone through his whole career, with the amount of runs he’s scored, and not represented Australia in any format. I was extremely pleased to see him get picked this summer.You have finished your career second only to Don Bradman on the list of Test averages (with a 20-Test minimum). How does it feel to see your name in that sort of company?
I’ve always felt uncomfortable with any of the comparisons. I’ve been flattered by them, but it’s never sat comfortably with me. Donald Bradman and these sort of guys were absolute legends of the game. Numbers-wise, I’m really happy what I finished with, but I certainly don’t put myself in that category.What does the cricket future hold for you now?
I have retired from Western Australian cricket, but it’s certainly not the end of all cricket for me. I’m heading over to England in a week’s time to join up with Middlesex, which is something I’m really looking forward to. And hopefully I can go around with the Scorchers again. We’ve had some terrific success over the past five or six seasons. The idea of playing with the Scorchers, perhaps at the new stadium in Perth, is something I’m quite excited about doing.

Faisal Hasnain, Zimbabwe Cricket’s incoming managing director, wants to make the game a good-news story for the country

Firdose Moonda12-May-2017Let’s be honest: if Zimbabwe fail to turn up at the next global cricket event, they will not be missed. They didn’t make it to the main draw of either of the last two World T20s and it barely made the news. Instead, they are known for financial crisis, on and off the field, and largely considered a lost cause. Except to one man.Faisal Hasnain, the former ICC chief financial officer, will begin work as Zimbabwe Cricket’s new managing director on Monday, after being offered the job following Wilfred Mukondiwa’s resignation. Hasnain’s aim is to turn the country’s cricketing fortunes around – a tough task, but one he understands the magnitude of better than most.In his role at the ICC, Hasnain combed ZC’s financials and has a clear understanding of their situation. He also sat with several of their executives and told ESPNcricinfo he can see a “sincere willingness to push towards change”. So, where does one start?At the very top, according to Hasnain. “I would like to open a line of communication with government to help Zimbabwe Cricket go to the next level,” he said.

“It’s important that we have the right amount of cricket and a balance between formats”

That’s a brave suggestion considering that cricket probably lies quite low on State House’s list of priorities, especially with elections due next year and a continuing cash shortage crippling the economy. But that may also be why Zimbabwe will look to attract attention to other areas.”Cricket is one of the areas where Zimbabwe can get international publicity on the world stage,” Hasnain said. “We don’t see that with many other things in the country and if the government can back that, things could become easier for cricket to thrive.”Exactly what that means is not for Hasnain to spell out just yet, but it’s the germ of an idea that could be crucial to his success in what is set to be a three-year term at the helm. Ultimately, though, Hasnain knows ZC cannot rely on handouts of any description to ensure their continued survival.The organisation is dependent on two main sources for income – the ICC and India – and Hasnain wants that to change, even as revenue from the ICC increases. Under the new revenue-sharing model. Zimbabwe is earmarked to receive US$94 million in the 2016-2023 cycle, $19 million more than they were initially allocated, but Hasnain has cautioned against resting on that. “It will be critical for us to generate revenue outside of the ICC and India tours. We need to do a commercial audit of our assets and look at how to monetise them,” he said.Hasnain will leave the job of improving Zimbabwe’s away record to coach Heath Streak (centre), who “knows much more about cricket than I ever will”•AFPAmong those will be television rights deals, such as the current one with Ten Sports, but Hasnain also hopes to look at digital and social media as opportunities for the future. “Maybe at first it will only give us a trickle but eventually it will amount to something. And the only way that will happen is if results improve.”Zimbabwe have not won a series since October 2015, when they triumphed over Ireland, and have not won one against a fellow Full Member in four years. In that time they have also lost three ODI series to Afghanistan. The cumulative effect of that downturn in the rankings is the distinct possibility Zimbabwe will not appear at the next 50-over World Cup, and though they may not be missed, they will miss out on substantial financial gains and much-needed exposure.Given the lack of cricket on Zimbabwe’s calendar, global events are their only chance to play among some of the big boys, and they will provide them with the platform to obtain increased sponsorship. “Qualification for the 2019 World Cup is the most important thing on the table,” Hasnain confirmed.Zimbabwe have put in a bid to host the qualifiers for the event, which were originally scheduled for Bangladesh but will be moved in the likely event of Bangladesh’s automatic entrance to the tournament. Though Zimbabwe’s interest in staging the qualifiers came a little late, it was with support from Cricket South Africa, who Hasnain hopes to engage more in future and who have even offered some of their own venues in case of need. An ICC group is also set to travel to Zimbabwe to assess its readiness for what would be its first multi-team event since the 2003 World Cup, and will then make a decision between Africa and a venue in Europe such as Scotland or Ireland.

“Cricket is one of the areas where Zimbabwe can get international publicity on the world stage. We don’t see that with many other things in the country”

If the decision to host the qualifiers goes Zimbabwe’s way, it should substantially increase their chances of making it through to the tournament proper. History shows Zimbabwe are far more likely to succeed at home than anywhere else – they have only won 33 out of 162 ODIs on the road, the last one in Guyana against West Indies in 2010.Improving the away record is something Hasnain will leave to the cricketing brains in the organisation – he playfully recognised that coach Heath Streak “knows much more about cricket than I ever will” – but he is interested in improving Zimbabwe’s overall profile in the game. “It’s important that we have the right amount of cricket and a balance between formats,” he said.Test cricket is high on Hasnain’s agenda and even though he admitted he cannot see Zimbabwe “regularly playing three-match series” at this stage, he is hopeful they will simply play more. If new Full Members are anointed, Hasnain believes that will increase Zimbabwe’s chances of more Tests and more tours. And if that happens, Zimbabwe will need to mine its talent pool, which has appeared worryingly shallow in recent times.The domestic game has shrunk from a franchise competition to a provincial set-up and the most recent season was marred by several delays over unpaid player wages. Hasnain has promised to “scrutinise the compensation structure” to make sure players are being paid what they are worth.Zimbabwe’s last series win against a Full Member came against Bangladesh in 2013•AFPAll those things, coming from someone with a solid foundation in finance and banking like Hasnain, who has worked at Chase Manhattan and Citibank, make for convincing reading. Other things aside, they would form the foundation of a functioning cricketing structure.But in Zimbabwe the other things, like the politics, the economics and the hidden agendas, cannot be put aside. They are too overwhelming and they have suffocated everything, including sport, for the entire 2000s. So what makes Hasnain think he can make this work?”Someone from the outside comes with no baggage and can look at things objectively and to a large extent at face value,” he said. “My main job is to provide an environment for our athletes to perform on the domestic and international stage at an elite and optimum level.”Anyone who cares about cricket can only wish him the best of luck.

Under Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan rarely wavered in fielding a spin-heavy attack in the UAE. The Test series against Sri Lanka could see a shift in that strategy, leaning towards a greater use of pace

Osman Samiuddin27-Sep-2017How open are we really to change? The entire human endeavour seems accented to carefully curating each day so that it mirrors yesterday and tomorrow. Sleep at the same time, wake up at the same time, go to more or less the same places, eat more or less the same food, listen to more or less the same music, be more or less with the same people. Routine is the real opium of the masses, that which keeps humans from destroying each other and the planet (and one day, we must continue to believe, this great theorem will be proven true).On Thursday, Pakistan will walk into the Sheikh Zayed stadium and it will feel much as it has the last nine times they have walked into this venue for a Test. It is now home, now fortress. The stands will be empty and the immediate surrounds barren, and that sense of solitude, of diligently beavering towards a goal away from the eyes of the world – a sense that has helped them no end, by the way – will remain. Even the last few days of practice have progressed, more or less, as they always did, as if it’s no big deal that they are elite athletes preparing for elite battle – no team’s humanness, that they are not all that different to you and I, is as visible as Pakistan’s.Except, way out there somewhere, there’s this low rumble gathering, maybe ominous, maybe not. It’s the sound of change. The two men, in whose opposing personalities a pure essence of Pakistan was accidentally distilled – the unmoved ice of Misbah-ul-Haq meeting the moving lava of Younis Khan – are no longer here. Expect that rumble to grow louder. Eventually for sure, not right now necessarily.For now, one might even be moved to argue, on the evidence of the last three days of training, that they just don’t make Pakistani transitions like they used to. Time was when you could trust a transition for a real hoot. Legends booted out in disgrace, captains picked on the roll of a dice, newcomers turning into has-beens like butterflies reversing into caterpillars, hellish results, all underpinned by the gut-kicking punchline – this isn’t a period fool, it’s a state of being. Those were the days.Can Sarfraz Ahmed nudge along Hasan Ali’s growth as a bowler across formats?•AFPRight now? Pfft. No veins are known to have burst over the ascension of Sarfraz Ahmed to the captaincy. No team-mates are dropping truth bombs about their own leadership credentials. His unofficial deputy Asad Shafiq is an old mate, sans captaincy ambitions. If one looks hard enough, one might even argue that it was the slickest, best-laid succession plan the Pakistan Cricket Board has ever assembled – Sarfraz has led pretty much every side he’s played for, at every level. And over the last two years, without rancor or opposition and in order, he’s led his Pakistan Super League side, become T20 captain, taken over the ODI side, and now the Test team. He comes with credit in the bank already, with the Champions Trophy.The oldies have left the team on their own terms. Blessing of all blessings, they’re intent on not coming back either. Sort-of-seniors, like Mohammad Hafeez, have been quietly nudged aside. Forget the coach, not even a member of his staff has gone.The only safe space for the anguish and rage, confusions and contradictions of a transition is the middle order. There we must stand united – #JusticeforFawadAlam. Foam at the mouth, find forums to vent your outrage, heckle the PCB: Fawad Alam, averager of 60 in first-class cricket over the last three years vs Haris Sohail, of no known average BECAUSE HE HASN’T PLAYED A SINGLE FIRST-CLASS GAME IN THREE YEARS. No social media platform should be sturdy enough to manage the weight of this outrage. Still, it’s Fawad Alam, not the rise of the far-right across the world, so calamity is relative.There are other reasons the batting order has attracted attention in the build-up, all of which are valid and given the direct impact Younis and Misbah made there. But it is doubtful whether Pakistan will find long-term answers in a two-Test series at home against an opponent in some disarray. And they don’t play another Test till next May, so don’t expect definitive answers there.Instead, where real change can be sensed is in the bowling, not so much in the personnel as the deployment of it. For Misbah, two spinners and two fast bowlers in the UAE was an article of faith, inscribed in stone. If it could ever be considered decent, he’d play eleven spinners. On only six occasions in 24 Tests in the UAE did he play three fast bowlers and in all, he had, in Mohammad Hafeez, an allrounder on paper but a near-enough specialist offspinner in actuality. In 2015, when he was forced to play three fast bowlers against England because of an injury to Yasir Shah, he was so livid and despondent that it filtered into Pakistan contriving to almost lose the TestEven now, there are days when it feels counterintuitive that such a successful era of Pakistan cricket could have leaned so heavily on spin. You could argue, and be thought to remain of sane mind, that Misbah never quite got his head around pacers as well as tradition and history demands a Pakistani captain ought to. They weren’t his thing.These are very early days but chatter from the team’s leadership suggests that the three-pacemen-and-one-spinner combination they are likely to play in Abu Dhabi could be a shift in policy rather than a one-off. Sarfraz is nothing if not a pragmatist though and so, for now, the decision could be based as much on not having a readymade second spinner to utilise as Misbah did. Mohammad Asghar has excited a lot of people, but he’s not Abdur Rehman or Zulfiqar Babar and he won’t be for some time.But it would be nice – and the clearest illustration of change – to imagine that Sarfraz looks at Mohammad Amir and sees the high-quality spearhead, the match-winner Pakistanis wish him to be; that he sees Mohammad Abbas and sees a willing and more than able straight-man foil to Amir’s gifts; that he doesn’t box Hasan Ali as a white-ball specialist but encourages and enables his growth across formats; that he continues to trust in Wahab Riaz as an enforcer for when the occasion demands.Those might be the kind of changes Pakistanis could get used to.