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The discipline shown by Sri Lanka’s spin trio squeezed South Africa to the point at which they shut shop. Their approach on day three will determine how the foundation ends up, on a pitch taking turn

Firdose Moonda at the SSC25-Jul-2014All SL spinners offer something different – du Plessis

In a Test career of just 16 matches, Faf du Plessis has already carved a niche for himself as a man for a crisis. He has the patience to pull a team out of trouble and in 128-minute vigil at the crease, in which he only managed 36 runs, he showed why sometimes the clock can be more important than the scoreboard. “Myself and Hash (Amla) needed to steady the ship, no matter how long it took,” du Plessis said.
With South Africa 13 for 2, the match was in danger of sinking beyond South Africa’s grasp, especially against Sri Lanka’s strangling spinners. “The pitch is still nice to bat on but what they do really well is that they have a variety of spinners which don’t give much to hit. They have guys on the boundary and guys protecting one so it’s tough to score against them,” du Plessis said.
“They all offer something different. Herath doesn’t give you a bad ball. Mendis has a lot of variation and Perera bowled really well. He doesn’t look dangerous but he keeps getting wickets. In these conditions spin is the hardest thing to face.
“We knew that SL would prepare a spinning deck. They have to play according to their strengths. This wicket is now probably what Galle was like in the second innings and we know it will spin more. That’s why our first innings is important. We need to get as close as we can and then see how much time there is left in the game.”

Tap. Stand. Watch. Wait. Leave Alone. Repeat.Tap. Stand. Watch. Wait. Block. Repeat.Tap. Stand. Watch. Wait. Push. Run. Repeat.Repeat all of the above. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.If you think watching that kind of cricket is tiring, imagine playing it. Imagine the concentration. Imagine how much of it you need to summon to switch on and off between each repeat. Imagine the restraint required to keep at it for more than four hours without making a mistake.If you’ve managed that then you would have imagined what it was like to be Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers this afternoon.For 43-and-a-half overs, they laid down a layer of what could become a foundation on which a mighty tower will stand. It may also end up like one of the many constructions sites in Dubai – unfinished and abandoned – but that will depend on how South Africa bat both on day three and at the end, when an SSC surface that has been maligned for its lack of life is expected to sizzle for the spinners. At least that’s what Sri Lanka are hoping.That they went into the match with a sole seamer and a slew of spinners should have told South Africa that either they were entering a snake pit or Sri Lanka had spotted something in them to exploit. The former is not true. If the SSC’s surface was a serpent it would be the brown house variety. It can’t do anything to you but in that moment where you are stunned by its sight, you will probably still scream.That’s what Sri Lanka were probably aiming for, especially in South Africa’s top order. They were proved right within two overs. Rangana Herath had immediate success and did not have to rely on the track, his own technique or any great amount of turn to get it. He just needed Alviro Petersen’s tardiness.Petersen barely allowed himself a sighter before he hit Herath in the air, only to offer the bowler a return catch. It was a soft dismissal and may be one too many for the man who has not scored a century in 20 innings and has managed just three half-centuries in that time. However, he is the senior opening partner in South Africa’s current combination, which may otherwise have afforded him some rope.That does not mean Dean Elgar can consider himself safe. He is also on trial and although he made a fine witness in Galle, he will come under more scrutiny on Colombo where the challenges are different. In the first Test, Elgar played spin resolutely but showed there are vulnerabilities in his footwork.Herath exploited that early on when he took pace off the ball and flighted it. Elgar was not sure whether to go forward or backward and ended up pushing awkwardly to short leg. Just as Elgar got some measure of Herath, the offspinner Dilruwan Perera was brought on and he had to readjust. When Perera tossed it up, Elgar’s uncertainty saw him inside-edge to the man under the helmet.That was the reason du Plessis had to play like it was the fifth day in Adelaide even though it was only the ninth over of South Africa’s innings at the SSC. There was still a Test to save, albeit in a different sense. Had any more wickets fallen, South Africa could have been staring at an innings defeat in the face with not even half the match played.Even though this surface is not expected to deteriorate or dust up as much as Galle did, if the spinners had been able to snare South Africa once, the mental scars could have been too much to recover from. After the bowlers had conjured up the commitment to come back strongly after a wicket-less first session and pluck Sri Lanka’s last five for just 36 runs, du Plessis and Amla knew the team deserved more.They shut shop and the scoreboard stayed almost as still as the stifling Colombo air and studied what they were up against. In Herath, they knew it would be the steadiness of a stooge – deliveries on a good length or a touch fuller, on the stumps or just outside off. In Mendis, it was the variation so watching the ball out of the hand was important. And in Perera, there was a hint of bounce and some turn.The threat they offered did not rush like the raging waters of an angry sea but it had the potential to rise steadily like a flood because they offered what South Africa’s spinners did not: discipline. While Sri Lanka could canter along collecting singles fairly easily, South Africa were squeezed. “You have to take a risk to score against them,” du Plessis said. And risks were not what South Africa could afford.In the first ten overs after the two early strikes, only 11 runs came. In the next ten, there were 17 runs. After Elgar’s dismissal, South Africa managed just 58 runs and they lost du Plessis in the process. He was victim to the Midas of the day, Niroshan Dickwella, who flew to his left to collect a fine edge down the leg side.There was the another example of concentration. Dickwella would have been made as drowsy by the South African resistance as anyone else but at the first hint of sound of an alarm, he leapt into life. Others may have hit snooze button.Du Plessis’ dismissal robbed South Africa of the man who batted them to draws in both Adelaide and Johannesburg. He is the one player who does not get worn down by the constant tap, stand, watch, wait, move, repeat sequence or if he does, he knows how to hide it.As soon as AB de Villiers arrived, South Africa began moving a little quicker. De Villiers’ method is to defend through counter-attack and Amla can adapt to anything required of him which means there may be a little more acceleration, especially because they are out of the danger zone for now. The further they can push forward, the greater the chance South Africa will think they have of securing the series.Batting is going to be difficult, as is getting close to Sri Lanka’s 421, but if it gets too much like wading through mud they can always revert to the default: Tap. Stand. Watch. Wait. Leave Alone. Repeat.

England’s upswing has been pleasing for a number of reasons – but there are still ways in which the system could work better

George Dobell at Old Trafford09-Aug-2014Any victory would have been welcome. After the disappointment of Australia and the drubbing at Lord’s, any sign that England had turned a corner was going to be greeted with relief.But for England to win so convincingly, for England to win consecutive Tests for the first time since July 2013, for England to win within three days after losing the toss and with their younger players contributing so significantly, represented a genuine and heartening step forward in the development of this new-look side.We should be cautious about reaching too many conclusions. That India lost nine wickets in 23 overs after tea on a blameless pitch spoke volumes about a side that was mentally broken. That a captain as experienced as MS Dhoni would charge down the pitch and slog to midwicket when he must have known that poor weather was forecast for days four and five was a dereliction of duty that will prove hard to justify.Moeen Ali’s four wickets were another glowing endorsement of England’s new set-up•Getty ImagesNot since 2005 have India scored fewer runs in a Test and not since 1967 have they been defeated by England in three days. Whatever the rights and the wrongs of the Anderson-Jadeja incident, it appears to have distracted India and they have, arguably at least, won only one of the last 21 sessions of cricket between the sides. Suffice to say, England will face far tougher opposition.But it is not long since England were thrashed by this India team at Lord’s. And it not long since England bemoaned their lack of spin options and their lack of keeping options. It is not long since the doubts over Alastair Cook’s future and the remnants of the Kevin Pietersen debacle dominated coverage of the team. So it now seems safe to conclude, albeit with some caveats, that a few pieces of the jigsaw are coming together for England.The most pleasing aspect of this performance is not that Stuart Broad and James Anderson were close to their best with the ball. And it is not that Ian Bell looked something close to his best with the bat. While the contribution of such senior players was welcome, it should also be expected.No, the most pleasing aspect was the contribution of the younger players who continue to deliver under pressure and continue to offer huge promise for the future.The final day of this Test presented a significant challenge for them. The lead was still small at the start of the day and the experienced batsmen had already been dismissed. But Joe Root and Jos Buttler, two 23-year-olds with bright futures, first saw off the bowlers at their freshest and then accelerated against the second new ball and a seam attack lacking experience.After showing his aggression at Southampton, Buttler showed his ability to defend here. It was not faultless – he was dropped on 34 and should have been run-out on 44 – but he has now contributed exactly the sort of innings required for his team in both his Test innings. It will be worth remembering such achievements when he has the inevitable less bright days.Root, too, may face tougher challenges on quicker pitches and against better attacks. But he is fast developing into England’s middle-order rock: capable of defending or accelerating as required and blessed with the change of gear to render him immensely value. He has already enjoyed a golden summer and there seems no reason it should be an aberration.Then, with Broad unavailable, Anderson unwell – he was off the pitch for more than half an hour – and there being little lateral movement available for the bowlers, there was some pressure on the attack. They knew that the weather forecasts were poor and they knew that they might have only two sessions available in which to win this game. And, largely, they delivered.It was not a perfect performance. While Chris Woakes produced a fine delivery to account for M Vijay – those who suggested he could only bowl the outswinger must have been surprised by the one that nipped back – and Chris Jordan ended the game with a nice bouncer-yorker combination, both young seamers struggled for the requisite consistency. England were blessed that Anderson, despite his illness, was able to take two top-order wickets: he has now bowled 30 balls at Virat Kohli in this series and dismissed him four times for a cost of seven runs.But Moeen Ali continues to improve and impress in equal measure. The pace at which he bowls, the drift he achieves and the turn he can generate should render him an asset on any surface. He remains a work in progress – and continues to work on his doosra – but he has now become, in terms of days, the quickest England offspinner in history to 20 Test wickets: it took him 58 days. For a few minutes in mid-afternoon, his bowling average even dropped below that of his friend and mentor, Saeed Ajmal.It is customary to only look for areas in which to improve in times of defeat. But if England really want to improve, if they want to make success the norm and not the exception, there are several areas in which they need to improve to give it the best chance of success. They are: The Championship needs to be trusted and valued. It has, once again, produced a side that has taken to Test cricket quickly. But if the ECB keeps diluting it with Lions games, young player incentives and the like, the production line could be jeopardised. The Championship schedule needs to be amended so that there are games throughout the season, not just at the start and end. This will provide more opportunities for spinners and test batsmen and bowlers in a variety of conditions. Domestic T20 could still be played on Friday nights; domestic List A cricket could still be played on Sundays. County squads need to be deep enough to play Championship cricket from Monday to Thursday. Groundsmen need to be encouraged and trusted to produce pitches that offer pace, bounce or spin at times. At present, with groundsmen facing judgement from assessors every day, they tend to play safe with slow, low surfaces which provide assistance to modest seamers and bear little comparison to international cricket. Unorthodoxy needs to be encouraged. What England still call “mystery” spin is a mystery no longer in most of the Test-playing world and, while a bowler like Lasith Malinga has proved good enough to win global events for Sri Lanka, such a young bowler emerging in England would probably still have the genius coached out of him. The new ball is currently due after 80 overs in Championship cricket. It may well encourage spinners and make seamers work a little harder, if that was pushed back to 90 or even 100 overs. The schedule of individual players needs to be monitored. While it may well be unrealistic to expect a significant cut in the international schedule – the game is dependent on a certain level of income – the current demands on the top players are unsustainable. Those of the squad required in all three formats are expected to spend around 300 days a years in hotels in 2015. There is no way they can be expected to be at their best for that period. In an attempt to encourage young, English-qualified players, the ECB lobbied for tougher work permit criteria for overseas, Kolpak registrations and the like in county cricket. Combined with the incentives brought in to encourage younger players, this has resulted in a dilution in the depth of quality of county cricket. That risks creating a larger gap between domestic and international cricket and may well need changing. As the example of Saeed Ajmal at Worcestershire shows us, there can be great value for England in the appearance of overseas players in county cricket. In the longer-term, the lack of cricket on free-to-air television represents a serious threat to the development of new talent in England. Already, England are uncomfortably reliant on players from the private school system or those brought up, in part at least, abroad. With so many other sports competing to capture the imagination of young people, it is essential cricket finds a way to appeal more widely. A domestic knockout T20 competition, perhaps incorporating the minor counties, might be one method to appeal to areas currently left untouched.The last couple of weeks have been hugely encouraging for England cricket. But the sense remains that, all too often, victory is in spite of part of the system and not because of it.

Playing the long game may not come naturally to Faf du Plessis but he is showing the qualities that can turn him into a key part of South Africa’s spine

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town03-Jan-2015Look at Faf du Plessis and you may not see a man cut out for roughing it. The slick side-path, groomed ‘tache and clear complexion suggests quite the opposite. But look at Faf du Plessis while he is batting and his ruggedness is revealed.There’s the intentional forward defensive, complete with exaggerated stride and firm nod of the head as bat meets ball. There’s the intrepid back and across, which often serves only to gives him a closer look as the delivery passes safely outside off. There’s the introspective walking towards square leg, sometimes after delivery, sometimes less often to let the mind wander away from the importance of the task at hand.Even when he is not trying to save a game, those three things are the foundation of every du Plessis innings. It’s how he gets himself in the right of frame of mind to understand the small margins. Jerome Taylor only had to drop it a touch short and du Plessis had the time to rock back and pull, Sulieman Benn only had to venture a little too close to the leg-stump line for du Plessis to flick it down fine.Du Plessis on the day’s play

Denesh Ramdin’s wicket in the final 15 minutes of play on the first day allowed South Africa to claim an advantage over West Indies overnight and laid the platform for them to build on it with the bat on day two.
“What helped was the wicket we got last night. If they came to the crease with a nice partnership this morning it could have been difficult for us,” Faf du Plessis said.
“Losing six wickets on the first day is two wickets too many. At times, they batted quite nicely but we felt in control of day one. We knew once we got that wicket last night, we could run through them. Now, its a case of making sure we score as many as possible. Hopefully there is a base for us. If we can get to 450-500, we’ll be in a really good position.
Jason Holder conceded that West Indies finished “about 70 runs short”, but said his bowlers could have been a little tighter.
“We let them score a little bit too freely,” he said. On a pitch that remains good for batting, Holder hopes West Indies will not labour for too much longer. “It’s a good pitch for batting. Once you apply yourself, its an easy pitch to bat on but if you get it a little bit fullish, there’s something in it for the bowlers. If we can get early wickets, we can get back into the game.”

Being able to see when the smallest opportunity to score runs presents itself and being able to actually score those runs is what makes du Plessis a good No. 3. Being able to sit tight and wait for those the rest of the time is what will make du Plessis a great No. 3, the kind South Africa got used to thanks to Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis.That position is crucial to sustaining the success of South Africa’s strong top seven, which hinges on No. 3, 4 and 5 more than it sometimes seems to. The No. 6 and 7 positions have been used to blood new batsman and the opening partnership has not performed as consistently or confidently as it should have in the recent past.South Africa’s top two for the last two years has most often been Alviro Petersen and Graeme Smith. They batted together 18 times and averaged 37.70. Since Smith’s retirement, Petersen and Dean Elgar have had nine innings and upped that average to 39.77.Thought about simply, that means South Africa usually find themselves around 40 for 1, which does not paint the picture of stability they seem to stand for. It also goes some way to explain why a conservative approach like du Plessis works so well. It allows him to perform some of the rebuilding he relishes without requiring the full-scale refurbishment that would leave him struggling with the tail. Instead, du Plessis usually finds himself batting with the best of the South African line-up, Hashim Amla or AB de Villiers, who both seem on an upward curve that has no ceiling.Since January 2013, Amla has played 17 matches, scored 1382 runs, including five centuries and and averaged 61.90, higher than his overall numbers of 52.63. All that is in addition to taking over the captaincy. In the same time, de Villiers has played 18 matches, scored 1596 runs with six hundreds at 63.80, also higher than his overall 51.65. For some periods of that, he was also the first-choice gloveman. The pair embrace extra responsibility as though it was a cuddly teddy-bear and that may be why they have responded to the need to make up for a changing lower-middle order and a top two who often have to contend with challenging conditions, especially at home.They have laid the blueprint for South Africa’s line-up, as du Plessis explained. “We always strive to get hundreds and we do it quite consistently. AB and Hashim have been in the top two batsmen in the world so they do it most consistently. We hope one or both of them can go on to get hundreds tomorrow,” du Plessis said. “I was disappointed not to go through and score 100. I felt very good, I moved well and hit the ball nice and late. I did the hard yards. My role at No. 3 is to be as solid as possible for the team. I should have got 100 or been 80 or 90 overnight but a lapse in concentration showed you can get out every time.On 68, du Plessis advanced out of his crease to hack at a ball that was well outside off and was stumped. That left him with just one of his five Test hundreds at No. 3, but his average in that position is noticeably higher there. In six innings at No. 3, du Plessis boasts 427 runs at 61.00, in 14 innings elsewhere, his numbers are still impressive, particularly at No. 6 where he started his career, but it’s clear where he prefers to bat. More importantly, it’s clear how he wants to bat: the way a No. 3 should.

After another blunt display, James Anderson’s form at this World Cup is becoming a significant problem for England

George Dobell in Wellington01-Mar-2015It’s just as well the England bowlers have names on the back of their shirts: it has become pretty much the only way to tell them apart.All four of their seamers are right-arm, quite quick, quite tall and quite good. In conditions where the ball swings or seams, they are dangerous. In conditions where it doesn’t, they take on a homogenised appearance that provides the captain with no options and the batsmen with no surprises.In theory, they offer different weapons. James Anderson, for example, is meant to offer swing and Steven Finn is meant to offer pace.In practice, Anderson hasn’t swung a ball in this tournament and Finn hasn’t been a fast bowler since England remodelled his action a couple of years ago. Stuart Broad bowled one excellent over but appears to lack the strength to sustain the pace required to excel at this level – if he always bowled as he did in his Ashes clinching spell at Durham, he would have developed into a great – and Chris Woakes seems to have an allergy to the yorker.The previous day, the World Cup had seen two left-arm seamers claim 11 wickets between them in 19 overs. It had seen Mitchell Starc, in particular, succeed by delivering fast yorkers.But England had no such option. It would be disingenuous to suggest that Harry Gurney, the last left-arm seamer England utilised, would have made much difference. It would be disingenuous to suggest that Mark Footitt or Tymal Mills – England’s quickest left-arm bowlers – are ready for ODI cricket. It would be disingenuous to suggest there are quick-fix solutions to England’s problems.James Anderson has only two wickets in four matches at this World Cup•Getty ImagesIn retrospect, the inclusion of James Tredwell might have helped. But whether it would have turned this result is debatable. As is the choice over who would have made way for him.The days when Anderson could be excluded from such debates are gone. After four matches in this World Cup, he has taken just two wickets – both against Scotland – at a cost of 91 apiece and he is conceding his runs at a cost of 6.27 an over.It is a mediocre record. And for an England team that were relying on Anderson’s potency with the new ball, it is disastrous.Anderson’s World Cup record is a major stain on a fine international career. In his fourth World Cup, he has claimed 24 wickets in 23 games at a cost of 42.41. Which sounds pretty modest.But when you exclude his first three games – played in 2003 when he was 20 years old – from the statistics, his record is truly gruesome. He has taken 15 wickets in 20 matches at an average of 61.33 and an economy rate of 5.60. And even then, nine of his wickets have come against Bangladesh or Associate nations. He has not claimed a wicket in his last four World Cup games against Test-playing opposition. A young England side require far better from their senior players.It is the lack of swing that is Anderson’s greatest concern. He moved the new ball consistently in the tri-series, often striking early, and forcing the opposition to proceed with caution. Now, sans swing, Anderson – and England – appear toothless.Other bowlers are still managing to make these Kookaburra balls swing. This game took place at the same ground and on the same pitch on which Tim Southee destroyed England with swing a week ago. Even in this game, Angelo Mathews gained some movement off the seam on the way to bowling his first nine overs for just 30 runs. Starc and Trent Boult found swing in Auckland on Saturday.

England’s plan was to take pace off the ball by hitting the pitch hard and forcing the batsmen to generate power. But that mentality accepts that the bowlers are going to be hit

It will not do to blame the conditions. Not only is it disputed that atmospheric conditions make any difference to the movement of a cricket ball but, if it keeps happening, then the player has to look to their own game.It is not the first time in his career when Anderson has struggled to find swing. On the tour of New Zealand in early 2013 he was unable to gain the movement available to the home bowlers. And in India in 2012 – perhaps his finest Test series – he had to rely on excellent control and a tiny amount of assistance off the pitch.So there was a time when Anderson had the tools to compensate for days when the ball did not swing. There was a time when he had the pace or the seam movement or the yorker to keep batsmen honest.But here he maintained an average of 83.4mph, with a top speed of 88.2mph. About half his deliveries to the left-handers failed to reach 80 mph. On flat pitches, without horizontal movement, that is medium-pace.His length was intriguing, too. He attempted only one yorker – it turned into a full toss – and hardly another full delivery. Generally he aimed for a back-of-a-length method that minimised the opportunity to drive him. But bowlers like Anderson are meant to encourage the drive and look for the edge. If he does not have the confidence to pitch the ball up, it is hard to see his worth in the side. Only five out of the 48 deliveries he bowled would have hit the stumps.England’s plan – as much as there was one – was to take pace off the ball by hitting the pitch hard and forcing the batsmen to generate power. But the whole mentality of such a plan is poor. It accepts, for a start, that the bowlers are on the defensive and that they are going to be hit. It just tried to limit the extent of the damage.It is unthinkable that Australia or New Zealand would take such a defeatist and sophistic approach. Instead they would seek wickets. They would look for their swing bowlers to move the ball and their fast bowlers to either unsettle the batsmen with the short ball or defeat them with the full. England’s plans, as much as their skills, remain off the pace at this level. Either way, they do not reflect well on the bowling coach, David Saker. Has any bowler in his charge not deteriorated?Ravi Bopara’s inclusion might have made a difference. Not only did England miss another option – albeit another right-arm seamer – but they missed Bopara’s ability to work on the ball.Bopara has a reputation as a man who can “make the ball talk”. With him in the side, England and Essex have managed to gain extravagant movement. Just as telling, they have often struggled to replicate that movement when Bopara is absent.That is not to suggest that Bopara is doing anything untoward with the ball. With the number of cameras trained on international cricketers these days, it is hard to imagine any player could get away with ball tampering. But it does seem uncanny how much more the ball appears to move when he is in the side.Either way, if the ball does not swing, Anderson appears to have few weapons. And without his bite, England are not so much in the field as out at sea.

A stats analysis of the match between Scotland and Sri Lanka in Hobart

Bishen Jeswant11-Mar-20154 Number of consecutive hundreds scored by Kumar Sangakkara, the first batsman to do so in ODI history. Six batsmen have previously scored hundreds in three successive ODIs.1 Sangakkara is the only batsman to score four hundreds in a single World Cup. Mark Waugh, Matthew Hayden and Sourav Ganguly have scored three hundreds each in the World Cup, while no other batsman has scored more than two.14 Wickets taken by Scotland’s Josh Davey in this World Cup, the most by a bowler so far. Trent Boult and Tim Southee are next on the list, with 13 wickets each.22 Wides bowled by Davey, the most by any bowler in this edition. Mohammed Shami and Tendai Chatara have bowled 16 wides each.195 The second-wicket partnership between Tillakaratne Dilshan and Sangakkara, the third highest for Sri Lanka in World Cups. Sri Lanka’s top three second-wicket stands in World Cups have all come during the 2015 edition, including two partnerships of 200-plus runs each.1025 Runs scored by Sangakkara across all formats in 2015, the most by any batsman. He is the first player to score 1000-plus international runs in 2015. Kane Williamson is in second place with 900 runs.5 Number of World Cup hundreds for Sangakkara. Sachin Tendulkar, with six hundreds, is the only batsman with more World Cup centuries. Ricky Ponting also has five hundreds in the tournament.20 Number of deliveries Angelo Mathews took to reach his fifty – the fastest by a Sri Lanka batsman in World Cups and second-fastest for Sri Lanka in ODIs. Sanath Jayasuriya’s 17-ball fifty against Pakistan in 1996 is the fastest ODI fifty for Sri Lanka.54 Number of dismissals for Sangakkara in World Cup matches, the most for any wicketkeeper. Adam Gilchrist has 52 dismissals while Brendon McCullum has 32.148 Sri Lanka’s margin of victory in this game. This is Sri Lanka’s eighth World Cup win with a margin of 100-plus runs. This is also Scotland’s second-biggest loss in World Cups.2038 Runs scored by Sangakkara in Australia, making him the third overseas batsman to score 2000-plus ODI runs in the country. The two other visiting batsmen to make 2000-plus runs in Australia are Desmond Haynes (3067) and Viv Richards (2769).

South African batsman Colin Ingram on his international career, fishing as a sport, and why he’s called Mop and Bozie

Interview by Jack Wilson08-May-2015What is the best innings you have ever played?
I hit 136 in my first senior school game. We were chasing 200-odd and we got them in about 25 overs. I’d told the coach I was going to do it too. It’s always nice when you do that and it comes off. I don’t think I’ve ever played better than that since.How do you look at your South Africa career?
I started off really well and scored a few hundreds but I lacked consistency. I needed to score more heavily but I really enjoyed it. International cricket was absolutely awesome.You have bowled six balls in your ODI career and went for 17 runs. What happened?
We were playing Pakistan. Misbah-ul-Haq was on strike and I tossed one of my leggies up and he clubbed it for six. I turned round and said, “Let’s see if you can do it again” – and he did.Might have been best not to say that, then?
I don’t regret it! As a leggie you know sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn’t.Which cricketer would you like to be from the past?
I’d love to have been Brian Lara. He spent so much time at the crease and scored so many runs.What is the one thing in your cricket career that you regret?
Not getting a double-hundred – yet.What was the best thing about playing in the IPL?
It was great to mix with a totally different culture. You are out there for a couple of months and get to see people from backgrounds so different to yours. It was an incredible experience.If you could be a professional at any other sport, what would it be?
That’s easy, fishing. It’s a great sport.What has been the worst sledge directed at you?
Dillon du Preez once commented on my hair and said it looked like a mop because it hadn’t been cut for a while. He still calls me Mop now.Tell us something we don’t know about you.
I have a Black Angus cattle stud called Ingram Angus.What do you do in a rain break?
Look for conversation with someone who is light-hearted and up for banter.Ingram looks quite suited for the long hours of stillness required during fishing•Associated PressYour nickname is Bozie – why?
It’s from when I was a kid. I had a walking ring and I used to ram into everything. Bozie comes from bulldozer. My nan said I used to bulldoze around. She worked at my school and kindly passed it on to all my friends.What’s the funniest prank you’ve seen in a dressing room?
A team-mate once put a hamburger patty into someone’s pad. It ended up staying there for three weeks before he told him. The smell was horrific.Which of your team-mates – past or present – has the worst dress sense?
Justin Kreusch is the worst. A lot of us Warriors lads were in our twenties, he was in his thirties, and he dressed like he was in his fifties.Who has the worst taste in music?
Basheer Walters at the Warriors. He listens to one-tone music which goes on for about eight minutes. Awful.And who has the most natural talent?
Graham Wagg seems to be able to do anything. AB de Villiers is a freak too. He can do any sport he wants well – even darts.

Mumbai Indians did not have much to defend, but against a Sunrisers Hyderabad line-up whose middle order struggles to find the big shots, it was more than enough

Amol Karhadkar at the Wankhede Stadium25-Apr-2015Soon after the customary handshakes at the end of the match between both the teams, Mumbai Indians started a lap of honour at the Wankhede Stadium. Not for having won their first home game of the season, but to acknowledge 17,000 school kids who had turned up to celebrate their owners’ ‘Education for All’ initiative and had literally turned the stadium into a sea of blue.At the same time, a dejected orange army was climbing on to what appears to be a never-ending staircase to the Wankhede dressing room. Not that Sunrisers Hyderabad have been in great touch during the season, but they still entered the game as favourites, mainly due to Mumbai’s mediocre offerings so far.Once Sunrisers did a Mumbai in terms of team selection and inexplicable strategy with the bat, it became even easier for the hosts to double their victory count for the season comfortably.Both teams have struggled to find the correct balance as the tournament approaches its midway mark. It reflects in the fact that Mumbai and Sunrisers have hardly ever retained the same team for successive outings. In fact, both these sides have used the most number of players so far this season. At the end of match 24, Chennai Super Kings have used just 11 players in six games. Sunrisers and Mumbai, on the other hand, have used 18 and 19.Even on Saturday, both teams made two changes to their elevens. While Mumbai bolstered their bowling line-up, bringing in R Vinay Kumar and J Suchith, Sunrisers roped in Trent Boult and Hanuma Vihari. It meant Sunrisers were not just a batsman thin, but they also missed a big hitter in the middle and lower order.Sunrisers continued to persist with two of their best batsmen at the top, but as always, carried the risk of struggling in the middle overs if both David Warner and Shikhar Dhawan perished early. That is precisely what happened on Saturday. Despite the quickfire start to the moderate chase of 158 by their openers, once both Dhawan and Warner were dismissed in the last two Powerplay overs, Sunrisers had to make do with a middle order that appeared far from aggressive.If KL Rahul’s place in an IPL XI is hard to justify, Vihari’s inclusion in the side meant Sunrisers’ batting unit had two batsmen who not only struggle for the big shots, but also find it difficult to rotate strike. That put additional pressure on Naman Ojha and Ravi Bopara. Neither of them could show off their hitting prowess against a disciplined Mumbai attack, and a very achievable target became gargantuan and ungettable in no time.The fact that Sunrirsers could manage just five fours and a six in the last 14 overs of their innings summed up the dire straits their batting order appears to be in. The players’ inability to hit boundaries made an otherwise struggling bowling unit pick up their richest haul of the season.It resulted in spectators at the Wankhede, who had been roasted in the first half of the early game, making do with cheering wickets rather than sixes. With the home team being on the right side of a result for a change, they didn’t mind at all.

He started out as a natural talent who lost his way. Now, able to marry venom and control, Steven Finn finally feels back to his best

George Dobell at Edgbaston30-Jul-2015Just over a year ago, Steven Finn sat in the dressing room at Edgbaston and wept. The pace and rhythm were gone. The England place, too. There were no guarantees that any of them would be back.At the time, Finn had been reduced to bowling first change for Middlesex. It wasn’t that he minded; it was that he didn’t understand what had gone wrong. He didn’t understand why the game that had once come so easily had suddenly become so hard. He didn’t understand why all his hard work was getting him nowhere.But as he sits in the same pavilion, he may reflect that the experience has been the making of him. He may reflect that, where once he was a talented kid, he is now an experienced professional. He may reflect that the whole experience, painful though it was, was a necessary process that helped him develop from something raw into something quite special. He’s not a brute hurling a ball now; he’s a fast bowler.And yes, he is fast. Finn has bowled faster than anyone – including Mitchell Johnson – in this Test. His speed, in both innings, has gone above 90mph, with a first-innings high above 93mph. With his height, that presents an uncomfortable challenge for a batsman. Even a batsman as good as Steven Smith, rated No. 1 in the world, who Finn has dismissed twice in this match.Just as importantly, he has gained swing. While the Finn that first represented England swung the occasional ball, the version that has come back into the side appears to have control and regular away shape. The wicket of Mitchell Marsh – bowled by a full delivery – even seemed to tail in just a fraction. It has made him a far more complete package as a bowler.And, most importantly, he has hit the seam and maintained a good length. His spell of 8-1-25-4 either side of tea, in which he dismissed Smith and Michael Clarke, squared up by one that left him slightly off the seam, may well have settled this game. His obvious happiness afterwards – “it feels pretty darn good,” he said in what might have been considered a pretty good Hugh Grant impression – was understandable. There have been some dark days on the journey.In the beginning, fast bowling came easily to Finn. While his school friends were doing their GCSEs, he was making his first-class debut. For a 16-year-old to play professional sport is impressive enough; for a fast bowler to do so is remarkable.Six years later, he was celebrating becoming the youngest man to claim 50 Test wickets for England. He hadn’t had to think about the game; it all came naturally.

Like fixing an engine, Finn was forced to understand how each part of his action worked and how to gain the best from it

But then came the obstacles. His propensity to leak four runs an over made him something of a liability in a four-man attack who prided themselves on attrition and control. Then, after his habit of knocking the stumps in his delivery stride became more than an irritation in 2012, the attempts to alter his action and approach started.The results were, initially at least, wretched. The run-up was shortened, then lengthened again. The pace dropped – Finn continues to deny this, but the statistics brook no argument – the control disappeared and a man who once looked natural and confident then appeared deliberate and diffident.He played his last Test at Trent Bridge in 2013 – he bowled especially poorly in the Lord’s nets ahead of the second Test of that series and was dropped – and, by the time England reached Australia later that year, looked a shell of the bowler he had once been.The image of him alone in the nets at the SCG, bowling delivery after delivery in agonisingly arrhythmic fashion, growing slower the more effort he applied, was one of the sadder sights of the tour. By the time Ashley Giles sent him home suggesting he was “not selectable” – a phrase that had been used throughout the tour by the coaching staff away from the microphones – it was a kindness. He needed a break.What he gained, in reality, was time and space and support. Back at Middlesex, in a more benevolent environment without some of the “banter” that was not always helpful in the England dressing room, Finn worked for hour after hour with the club’s bowling coach, Richard Johnson.There was, for a long time, little sign of improvement. But perhaps at Finchley Cricket Club, where Finn started bowling off two paces, then built it up off three, then four and more, perhaps at Lord’s in May, when Jonathan Trott said Finn was back to his best, or perhaps at Merchant Taylor’s School earlier this month, when Finn and Johnson both came to the same conclusion, Finn started to bowl with the venom of old and the control of new. And, just as importantly, he started to believe in himself again.The process of rebuilding that action will prove priceless. Like fixing an engine, he was forced to understand how each part of his action worked and how to gain the best from it. He was forced – prepared might be a better word; plenty wouldn’t have bothered – to confront technical lapses that his natural talent had, for a while, allowed him to ignore. He was prepared to do the hard work to come again.”Trying to improve hindered me for a while,” he said recently. “But overall it’s been a beneficial experience. I came home and reassessed where I was. I feel good now. I feel I can do myself justice.”That may prove just as well for England. There seems a very strong chance that James Anderson will miss at least the Trent Bridge Test, providing a peek into England’s future. Anderson will surely prove irreplaceable but, at least if Finn is fit and firing, the future does not look quite so worrying.It is not a unique story. The likes of Anderson, Matt Prior and Ian Bell were also selected young only to then struggle and benefit from a spell back in the county game. Gary Ballance will surely prove the same.Bearing in mind the occurrences of players struggling in the England environment, it does provoke reflection on the ECB’s belief in the academy at Loughborough. While millions are spent on a centre that appears to produce little – there are several examples of players who feel their career was detrimentally affected by its coaches – the ECB is drawing up plans to cut the County Championship schedule by 25%. To do so risks weakening the foundations of everything good in the English game.Finn, himself, credits the endless support of Johnson and, to be fair, the ECB’s Kevin Shine. “I’m indebted to those guys,” he said. “They put in hours and hours of early mornings with me bowling through to a mitt, or to a stump and watching and giving feedback. I’m very grateful to the way those guys have given their time so selflessly to me after the last 18 months.”Steven Finn found an irresistible rhythm to rip through Australia’s top order•Getty ImagesBut he also credited a refreshed atmosphere in the England dressing room. More comfortable in the less intense environment, Finn is not thinking so much at the runs he must avoid conceding as the wickets he wants to take. It is a subtle difference, perhaps, but it has helped him relax and produce the cricket that he had shown for Middlesex this summer.”I’m enjoying playing cricket at the moment,” he said. “I used to put myself under a huge amount of pressure. But now we just want to play with smiles on our faces.”We’re playing with a can-do attitude. Before, we were playing some very attritional cricket because it suited the players that we had. Now we’re trying to be a team of people who can showcase our talent. It seems to be working.”It was not as if he had things all his own way. His first over was hit for 14, mainly by David Warner, and he was quickly whipped out of the attack and brought back at the other end.It proved a masterstroke by Alastair Cook. Two ball later Smith, perhaps trying to pile the pressure on to a bowler who has sometimes been suspected of cracking when he is targeted, top edged an attempted pull. Shortly after tea, Finn was on a hat-trick and Australia were the ones under pressure. He had been tested and he had come through.”There have been dark times along the way,” he said. “But it makes those good times all the more satisfying.”Indeed, it will. And, in the long-term, his hard work and increased understanding of his art will serve him and England well.

The fast bowling son of a labourer whose “spark” has been noticed by the likes of Rahul Dravid, Nathu Singh will get his chance on a bigger stage against the touring South Africans in a week’s time

Sidharth Monga in Jaipur23-Oct-2015The day the court appointed an ad hoc committee to run Rajasthan cricket, its convenor, Amrit Mathur, received a call from Rahul Dravid. The gist of the conversation was: “this boy” is good, please keep an eye out for him.After the end of the first match, against Delhi, their coach Vijay Dahiya, who joined only from the second match onwards, called Mathur. He had been told about “this boy” by Gautam Gambhir. The gist of this conversation: “we were talking, Gautam mentioned this boy and said that after a long time he has seen new India material, please make sure he is not ruined by over-bowling.”Chairman of national selectors Sandeep Patil happened to watch this boy. Rajinder Hans, another national selector appointed by the court to make sure the Rajasthan Ranji team was selected fairly, obviously saw this boy. And now, this boy, Nathu Singh, son of a labourer in a wire factory, is going to play for the Board President’s XI against the touring South Africans based on “the spark” Patil and team have seen. He has played only three first-class matches.Sometimes a name can evoke the person. Nathu is almost like you know him. Short, endearing. Not quite the immortal “” from the Hindi movie . His pronunciation is different. It’s Naa-thu. The thu is softer too. Until three years ago he used to bowl with a soft ball in the [neighbourhood]. Then a told him he should try a cricket ball because he was too fast for everybody.The first thing you notice about Nathu is the tattoo on his arm. “Mom dad,” it says. His mother and father gambled it all for him. When he took the advice to actually start playing with the cricket ball, he needed to play at an academy. He went to Surana Academy, where the fees was Rs 10,000 for the year. The father had no savings to spare, but he told Nathu: “Whatever I have I will put in. Let’s see for two months how you go.”

A sign of how sick cricket at grassroots levels is in India is that Nathu couldn’t find a place in the Jaipur district side, and had to play for Sikkar, hardly known for its cricket

Two months later the coaches at the academy and Nathu’s [mother’s brother] suggested he be given time because they saw that “spark”. The academy subsidised the fee looking at his family background, and by the end of that year he was in the Rajasthan Under-19 side. The MRF Pace Academy happened too, where he impressed Glenn McGrath. Boots and spikes? “I used to arrange from the seniors,” Nathu says. “Deepak [Chahar] and Aniket [Choudhury] helped me a lot.” Two years ago, when Nathu drew his first match fee, he gave it all to his parents. He still does.A sign of how sick cricket at grassroots levels is in India is that he couldn’t find a place in the Jaipur district side, and had to go and play for Sikkar, hardly known for its cricket. The rest of the machinery, though, has been remarkable in fast-tracking him into playing against a quality opposition.The word around is that he has pace, but more than pace his speciality is that he bowls quick when he bowls at a length. Every coach has told him that. The explanation is this: when you strive to bowl fast, when the pace is not natural but through extra effort, you tend to drag the ball down. Nathu doesn’t need to. “The coaches have also told me I am god-gifted,” Nathu says. “There is no need to work on me.”Time to watch him then. There is a Munaf Patel-like lumber to his walk and his batting. He is lbw first ball against Maharashtra. He looks a mug. His turn to bowl against Maharashtra comes after the new-ball bowlers, Chahar and Choudhury, have had a go. They are 21 for 1 when Nathu begins to meticulously mark his run-up to begin the ninth over of the innings. Four steps from the crease, toe next to the heel, and he marks a line there. Then a long leap to scratch another mark, audibly enough for those outside the fence. Then he goes to the top of his mark.Nathu walks four steps, then skips – not as extravagantly as Junaid Khan or Mohit Sharma – and then takes 10 brisk but comfortable steps into his delivery stride. The leap is high, the action is easy and smooth, and then he puts a big effort into the ball. There is pace. It repeatedly thuds into the gloves of wicketkeeper Dishant Yagnik. He looks front-on – he calls himself an inswing bowler – and it will need closer analysis to see if he looks over his front arm just before letting the ball go. This puts stress on the back, but also puts action on the ball. Bhuvneshwar Kumar does that.In a week’s time, Nathu Singh will have the chance to meet his hero, Dale Steyn, who always has time for young fast bowlers•Associated PressAs of now, though, despite being green, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium has not provided any lateral movement to the quicks on either side. Nathu gets late-cut for three consecutive boundaries by Maharashtra captain Rohit Motwani. He is not bowling his speciality: quick length balls. Probably because this is not quite a seaming surface and you have to hit the deck hard. He creates an opportunity with the other batsman Harshad Khadiwale, but sees a catch dropped. That has for long been the fate of the other India player from Rajasthan, Pankaj Singh. Ordinary slip catching has been the bane of Rajasthan quicks.Nathu bowls four wicketless overs before lunch and goes for four fours. He comes back after lunch and bowls a six-over spell that lasts until the afternoon drinks. Easy there, captain. Remember what Dahiya said. But then again, Chahar is off the field with an injury, and Nathu has had his man, Motwani. Motwani tries to back-cut again, but this time Nathu has bowled the quick length ball, which bounces to take the edge.It will be harsh to draw verdicts on his general accuracy or ability to work batsmen out based on just one day’s play, but the spark that everybody has seen is there. There is pace, natural pace, pace even at the end of the day when bowling his 18th over with a 70-over-old ball. Yet another cricketer from India has come up despite, and not because of, the system. The way people have rallied around him is heart-warming. In a week’s time in Mumbai he will meet another good Samaritan, his hero, Dale Steyn, who is never stingy with time or advice for young fast bowlers.The spark has somehow been given the fuel. It is up to him now to burn bright.

The Wanderers has a history of producing result-orientated Test cricket and for England there is the tantalising prospect of being able to secure a series victory

Andrew McGlashan10-Jan-2016After their short break following the second Test in Cape Town, England’s players will return to the day job on Monday as they begin preparations for the third Test at the Wanderers with the chance at a second series victory in South Africa since readmission.They will need to spend the three days ahead of the series resumption adjusting to the new challenges posed by cricket on the Highveld, where the thinner atmosphere allows the ball to travel further and faster, while also pushing the physical endurance of the players – especially the bowlers – in the middle.England, who arrived on Sunday, landed into a region in the midst of a drought. Temperatures had soared to record highs on Friday in Johannesburg (38 degrees) and Pretoria (42.5 degrees). After the bowlers’ toil in Newlands – although from England’s point of view some of that was self-inflicted with fielding errors – they will hope that the hot weather does not mean the Wanderers surface loses the characteristics which make it a result-orientated venue.Although perhaps of limited value, the evidence of the two first-class matches played at the ground in the Sunfoil Series this season – both within the last month – suggests that an even contest between bat and ball should still be on offer. Both games have been victories for the side batting first, the highest team total in eight innings has been 316 for 8 and seamers have taken 61 of the 72 wickets to fall.The Wanderers has not staged a Test for more than two years, when India were the visitors, and although it was a draw it was an epic contest where South Africa finished on 450 for 7 having been set 458. Results are the norm at the ground; before that 2013 match the previous drawn encounter against New Zealand in 2000 with three days ruined by rain. The last draw without significant weather intervention was in 1997.England’s Test matches at the Wanderers have produced some famous moments: Michael Atherton’s unbeaten 185 in 1995 when he and Jack Russell achieved one of the game’s great escapes, being 2 for 4 inside three overs in 1999 against a rampant Allan Donald and in 2005 when Matthew Hoggard and Marcus Trescothick combined to earn England one of their finest overseas victories.The most recent meeting between the teams in Johannesburg was a slightly more prosaic affair as South Africa surged to an innings-and-74-run series-levelling victory in 2010. England arrived following the Christmas-New Year period where, like this time, they had achieved victory in Durban and drawn in Cape Town, although the Newlands encounter on that occasion was an emotionally-fraught nine-wicket down survival.Having also saved the first Test of that 2009-10 series by the skin of their teeth at Centurion, England looked drained during the final encounter and could not cope with Dale Steyn – who is battling to be fit for this Test – and Morne Morkel on the opening day. The pair shared eight wickets in the first innings and 14 across the match as only Paul Collingwood with a second-innings 71 passed fifty. If the series is 1-1 after the Wanderers this time it will set up a terrific conclusion at Centurion, but England will not want to take it that far.