Samaraweera’s Test career is best defined by his successful return from injury, capped by his brilliant performance in South Africa in 2011-12

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan07-Mar-2013Although Thilan Samaraweera ended his career as one of Sri Lanka’s most prolific batsmen in home Tests and one of their more consistent players away, he is likely to be remembered for two very contrasting episodes. The first was the unfortunate injury he suffered on the ill-fated tour of Pakistan in 2009 when the Sri Lankan team bus was fired upon. The second, however, was his brilliant performance in the series in South Africa in 2010-11 where he scored two centuries in the second and third Tests in Durban and Cape Town.In a team filled with batting stars like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene, Samaraweera was the ideal foil and quite often proved to be a tough batsman to dislodge in the middle order. Like most Sri Lankan batsmen, he was most comfortable in home Tests and struggled to hit top form most times when Sri Lanka toured outside the subcontinent. Only three of his 14 centuries came outside Asia but the two he scored against South Africa stand out because they came against the most potent pace attack in bowler-friendly conditions.Samaraweera played a total of 81 Tests scoring 5462 runs at an average of 48.76 (14 centuries). In 45 home Tests, he was very prolific scoring over 3000 runs at an average of 53.84 (eight hundreds). Of his six away centuries, only three were scored outside the subcontinent (average 35.96). He tasted a lot of success against Bangladesh (600 runs at 66.66) and Zimbabwe (254 runs at 84.66). However, his record was very good against top teams (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) too; in 68 Tests, he scored 4608 runs at an average of 46.08 with 12 centuries and 23 fifties. He is one of only six Sri Lankan batsmen to score over 2000 runs in Test wins. His average (58.59) and tally of centuries (9) in wins are third behind the corresponding numbers of Sangakkara and Jayawardene.

Thilan Samaraweera’s record in Tests

	Matches	Runs	Average	100/50
Overall	81	5462	48.76	14/30
Home	45	3123	53.84	8/18
Away	36	2339	43.31	6/12
In Subcontinent	60	4275	54.11	11/24
Outside Subcontinent	21	1187	35.96	3/6
Top teams	68	4608	46.08	12/23
Wins	35	2461	58.59	9/11

Samaraweera made his debut against India at the SSC and scored a century in Sri Lanka’s innings victory. Between his debut and the end of 2005, he had a modest run, scoring 1329 runs against the top teams at an average of 39.08 with three centuries. Each of his first three hundreds (one against Zimbabwe) was scored at the SSC before he broke the sequence with a century in Faislabad in 2004. In the second phase (2006-2009) of his career, he was far more prolific. In 20 Tests (against top teams), Samaraweera scored six centuries and averaged 56.61. He also scored the first of his three centuries outside the subcontinent during the same phase (against West Indies in Trinidad). He started the Pakistan tour in 2009 with a bang, scoring double-centuries in Karachi and Lahore, before being injured in the gunmen’s attack. He added two more centuries against New Zealand in the home series later that year.Samaraweera started the home series against India in 2010 with a duck in Galle but proceeded to score 76, 137 and 83 in the next two Tests. His 83 in the second innings in Colombo helped Sri Lanka recover from 125 for 8 and post a competitive target of 257 (India won by five wickets). On the tour of South Africa in 2011-12, Samaraweera produced what is arguably his best series performance when he scored consecutive centuries, in the process enabling Sri Lanka achieve their first ever win (Durban) in South Africa. His career graph, however, plummeted after the high of South Africa. In the next ten Tests, he managed to aggregate only 440 runs at an average of 24.44 with three fifties.

Samaraweera’s career in phases (against top teams)

	Matches	Runs	Average	100/50
Phase 1: 2001-2005	24	1329	39.08	3/7
Phase 2: 2006-2009	20	1755	56.61	6/7
Phase 3: 2010: 2013	24	1524	43.54	3/9
Overall	68	4608	46.08	12/23

Throughout his career, Samaraweera never quite managed to get on top of the Australian attack. In home Tests, he had moderate success (231 runs at 33.00) but struggled to find form in Australia (215 runs at 17.91). In ten matches against Australia, he managed to score just two half-centuries. Against England, he did much better in home Tests (average 46.37 with one century) but was less successful away. Samaraweera had an excellent run against both New Zealand and West Indies both home and away, scoring three centuries and nine fifties in 17 matches (both teams combined). His record against South Africa was boosted by his run in the 2011-12 away series (339 runs at 67.80).Samaraweera boasts terrific numbers against India in home Tests (652 runs at 130.40 with three centuries) but has ordinary batting stats in India (193 runs at 24.12 with no century). Against Pakistan, however, the numbers are reversed. In home Tests, he averages just 29.42 (no century) but in Pakistan, he scored 633 runs at an average of 90.42 with three centuries. Samaraweera’s average of 90.42 is the third-highest among batsmen who have scored 500 or more runs in Pakistan.

Samaraweera against top teams home and away

	Home (Matches/Runs)	Home (Average/100s)	Away (matches/runs)	Away (average/100s)	Overall (matches/runs)	Overall (average/100s)
Australia	4/231	33.00/0	6/215	17.91/0	10/446	23.47/0
England	5/371	46.37/1	5/219	27.37/0	10/590	36.87/1
India	7/652	130.40/3	6/193	24.12/0	13/845	65.00/3
New Zealand	4/447	63.85/2	2/178	59.33/0	6/625	62.50/2
Pakistan	8/412	29.42/0	5/633	90.42/3	13/1045	49.76/3
South Africa	2/74	24.66/0	3/339	67.80/2	5/413	51.62/2
West Indies	8/446	49.55/0	3/198	49.50/1	11/644	49.53/1
Overall	38/2633	49.67/6	30/1975	42.02/6	68/4608	46.08/12

Against top teams, Samaraweera enjoyed a much better run of scores in the team’s first innings. While he averaged just over 50 in the first innings (ten centuries), his average dropped below 40 in the second innings (two centuries).In the match’s first innings, he averaged 57.88 with eight centuries and six fifties. In the next three match innings, he averaged 40.46, 43.15 and 32.08 respectively. His association with Jayawardene yielded 3247 runs at an average of 61.26 with 11 century stands. The partnership average (61.26) is the best ever for Sri Lanka and the ninth-best overall among pairs with 3000-plus partnership runs.Since gaining Test status, Sri Lanka have always been plagued by the inability of the batsmen to perform consistently outside the subcontinent. Till the Boxing Day Test in Durban in 2011, Sri Lanka had failed to win a single Test in Australia, South Africa and India. Samaraweera, who had failed to convert on starts in both innings in the first-Test defeat in Centurion, scored 102, 43 and 115 in three of his next four innings as Sri Lanka managed to clinch the game in Durban and take the series to a decider in Cape Town. Samaraweera’s run-aggregate in the series (339 runs) is the third-highest by a Sri Lankan batsman in a series outside the subcontinent (three-Test series). Although Aravinda de Silva and Asanka Gurusinha have managed higher series aggregates, Samaraweera’s effort stands out because of the nature of the bowling attack and the conditions. His aggregate is also the highest ever by a subcontinent batsman in South Africa and the sixth-highest by a visiting batsman in a three-Test series in South Africa since South Africa’s readmission in 1991. There have been only two other series (against top teams) when Samaraweera has managed a higher aggregate.

Top series performances outside Asia by Sri Lankan batsmen (against top teams): three-match series

Batsman	Opposition (year)	Matches	Runs	Average	100/50
Aravinda de Silva	New Zealand (1991)	3	493	98.60	2/1
Asanka Gurusinha	New Zealand (1991)	3	370	74.00	2/2
Thilan Samaraweera	South Africa (2010-11)	3	339	67.80	2/0
Marvan Atapattu	England (2002)	3	277	55.40	1/1
Mahela Jayawardene	England (2002)	3	272	54.40	1/1

Like most subcontinent batsmen, Samaraweera played spinners far more comfortably than pace bowlers. He was dismissed only 34 times by spinners and averaged 72.55 against them. In contrast, he was dismissed 66 times by fast bowlers and managed an average of 40.75. His record against Saeed Ajmal, however, is very ordinary. Ajmal dismissed Samaraweera five times at an average of just 7.62 (27.71 balls per dismissal). Samaraweera was also dismissed four times each by Harbhajan Singh and Shahadat Hossain (averages of 43 and 26.25 respectively). Mitchell Johnson and Jermaine Lawson, who dismissed Samaraweera three times each, had excellent averages of 12.00 and 5.66 against him.

Samaraweera against top bowlers

Bowler	Runs	Balls faced	Dismissals	Average	Balls per dismissal
Saeed Ajmal	61	194	7	7.62	27.71
Harbhajan Singh	172	371	4	43.00	92.75
Shahadat Hossain	105	197	4	26.25	49.25
Mitchell Johnson	36	102	3	12.00	34
Zaheer Khan	78	129	3	26.00	43
Jermaine Lawson	17	30	3	5.66	10

The method of ranking teams which are level on points through NRR was designed to reward comprehensive wins, but it surely isn’t working at the Champions Trophy

S Rajesh10-Jun-2013Over the last few of days, there have been a couple of close, low-scoring games in the Champions Trophy. Both have been won by the team chasing with plenty of overs to spare, but they’ve been nail-biters because in both instances the winning teams had to rely on their last couple of wickets to do the job. West Indies squeezed past Pakistan’s 170 with 56 balls to spare but only two wickets in hand, while New Zealand were very nearly unsuccessful in their quest for 139 against Sri Lanka, winning only by one wicket even though they had 13.3 overs in hand. The other two results in each of the two groups – India beating South Africa in group B and England trouncing Australia in A – were clearly more convincing wins.However, you wouldn’t know that if you looked at the points table, for New Zealand are on top in group A and West Indies in B. That’s because of the net run rates, which is the method used to break the deadlock if teams are level on points in multi-team tournaments. The NRR takes into account only the run rates of teams, and is calculated as the difference between the batting run rate of a team and the bowling economy rate over the entire tournament. A team which is all out is considered to have faced the full quota overs. However, in non-all-out situations, wickets lost isn’t factored in at all. Thus, New Zealand benefit because the method considers the fact that they won with 81 balls to spare, but ignores the fact that they were nine down when they did so. Hence, their NRR of 1.048 is superior to England’s 0.960. Even their most ardent supporter would admit, though, that England’s win was far more convincing. Group B’s scenario with West Indies and India is exactly the same. This method of ranking teams which are level on points was designed to reward comprehensive wins, but that surely isn’t working here.Limited-overs cricket is clearly a game where teams need to juggle with two sets of resources – overs and wickets in hand. Depletion of either of those resources, with respect to the target before the team, is a sign that the team’s in trouble. Any method which is used to differentiate between teams on equal points should therefore consider both these factors when judging how comprehensive the victory was. The NRR method fails to do that. There have been other debates and arguments on the shortcomings of the NRR, but this is clearly the greatest one.A possible solution here is to use the rain rule to decide the margin. In the case of the New Zealand-Sri Lanka match, the par score for New Zealand when nine down in 36.3 overs is 132. Since they won the match at this stage, they were seven runs ahead of the par score, which thus becomes the margin of victory. Since England’s margin of victory over Australia was 48 runs, they would clearly be the group leaders. However, if New Zealand had won in the same number of overs for the loss of four wickets, then the margin by the D-L method would have been 52 runs.Similarly, the margin of victory for West Indies over Pakistan would have been 20 runs by this method. Since India beat South Africa by 28, they’d have been the group B table-toppers at this stage. The victory margins in games which are won by the team batting first are anyway in terms of runs, so this option allows all match results to be expressed in terms of runs. It can be further argued that these margins should further take into account the target, so that a ten-run margin in a low-scoring game counts for more than the same margin in a high-scoring one.As things stand in this tournament, there could be a scenario – however unlikely it seems at the moment – in which New Zealand and England finish with the same number of points, and are fighting for second place in the group. If New Zealand stay ahead of England on NRR based on their one-wicket victory in Cardiff, it’ll surely be a travesty.

A small town is infected by cricket fever and lives to tell the tale

Nikhil Jha13-May-2013Choice of game
In January 2013, Ranchi hosted its first international cricket match and praises were heaped from all over on the amazing new stadium and its state-of-the-art facilities. I watched on TV and felt extremely happy that finally Jharkhand, my state, could boast of a facility that could put it on the world map, and could complement MS Dhoni’s status as the sporting ambassador of the region.I had made a mental note to try to make a trip home whenever Ranchi hosted its next match. I was fortunate to get a few tickets for this game, courtesy my generous friends. The excitement level in the city for this game was huge.Taking into account the form of the two teams coming into this match, I backed Royal Challengers Bangalore to win easily. I was as wrong to predict the result as Virat Kohli was to judge the pitch!Team supported
A tough question. The IPL is still a long way away from forging dedicated, passionate fan bases a la its global cousins, say the NBA or EPL. It becomes increasingly difficult for people like me, who have confused regional identities (schooling in Jamshedpur, college in Mumbai, working in Delhi, in my case). To complicate matters further, cricket icons of a particular region play for franchises in other cities.My head starts to spin when I have to pick a team to support in the IPL. Over the years I have developed a couple of thumb rules. First, support teams of your favourite players – so Chennai Super Kings for Dhoni and Rajasthan Royals for Rahul Dravid become my choices (which seems like a good line-up to back this season). Considering Dhoni has won a lot of trophies over the years, I would love Dravid to lift one this season.Second, support the one team that matters, your fantasy team. After all, they are ones getting you points.Key performer
On a slow pitch, Kolkata Knight Riders captain Gautam Gambhir read the conditions perfectly, getting in an extra spinner, Sachithra Senanayake, at the cost of in-form Eoin Morgan.You can trust one man to make the most of such conditions – Sunil Narine came to the party, taking four wickets for just 22 runs in his spell. Some credit must go to the other bowlers who choked the stellar Royal Challengers batting line-up for runs.One thing you’d have changed about the day
The occasional light drizzle had made the weather perfect to watch the match. Unfortunately the action in the middle didn’t live up to the expectations. We had hoped for a high-scoring encounter, a Chris Gayle blitz or an AB de Villiers special, followed by a tight chase by Gambhir & Co. All we got was three sixes in the entire match – two from a team that had earlier hit a record number of sixes. I would most definitely have wanted a high-scoring encounter, or a Super Over, to make up for the low-scoring game.Face-off I relished
I was eagerly waiting to see how Gayle would approach his Windies team-mate Narine. It was an anti-climax, to say the least, as Narine dismissed Gayle in his second over. Gayle’s innings was a letdown since he took 36 balls to score 33, which was 1/3rd of what he usually notches up in a stay that long.Shot of the day
On a day when the boundaries were hard to come by, there was hardly a shot that stuck in memory. One that did matter though, was the last boundary of the match – a dead straight four that Ryan ten Doeschate hit over bowler Vinay Kumar to finish a tricky chase.Crowd meter
The town was infected by an anticipatory buzz for a week. There was a mad scramble for tickets – local papers had pictures of people camping overnight to get tickets, which reminded me of Wimbledon queues. It was refreshing to see since cricket matches hardly registers a blip on a metro’s event radar.
So considering all this, I expected a jam-packed stadium, but even at its peak, the stands were no more than 80% full. The guilty parties were mainly the VIP stands, where, I assume, the ease of getting tickets fails to motivate people to turn up and watch the game. It’s a shame.Although technically this was a Knight Riders’ home game, you wouldn’t know it if you had watched it on TV. People, especially the younger lot, were on the Gayle bandwagon, some even painting their faces with his name. Royal Challengers’ flags could be seen aplenty in spite complimentary Knight Rider’s flags being handed out by the organisers. Chants of “RCB… RCB” echoed through the stadium even when they were up against it. Only towards the end of the match, and that too on the prompting by the stadium emcee, did the crowd start shouting “KKR… KKR”. I suspect that had something to do with people backing the team that was winning.The (non)-hardship factor
The experience was near-perfect. We walked in without any hassles or long lines. The stadium infrastructure, including the seating arrangement, was really good and we chose seats with a good view. It was heartening to see such spectator-friendly arrangements in my backyard. The ghosts of my horrifying experience in Jamshedpur in 2002, when the crowd threw bottles to express unhappiness at West Indies’ win, were finally exorcised.The only letdown was the food. Expensive food stalls at stadiums is understandable, but below-par quality is unpardonable, that too from a reputed coffee chain that ran that stall. We were not the only ones who had to throw away the visibly stale sandwiches.Entertainment
I know expecting the Allman Brothers Band to be played over the PA system is unlikely and wishful since it’s the modern pop numbers that get the crowd on its feet. Still, I was horrified to hear Yo Yo Honey Singh numbers being blared here in Ranchi, an experience I thought would not haunt me outside Delhi. That’s pop-culture for you.The early entertainment was provided by a light Cessna aircraft – which I suspect was the same one used in the match in January – that performed low fly-bys across the stadium to cheers from the crowd.Twenty20 v ODIs
The age for instant gratification make Twenty20s a perfect fit – exciting, entertaining and brief.TV v stadium
I love watching Test matches from the stands, and was there to savour the 4-0 whitewash against the Aussies at Kotla.T20s are a fifty-fifty case since I have had more indifferent experiences than good ones. That said, the experience of this excellent new facility in my own hometown really tilted the balance in favour of watching at the stadium.Overall
The cricket was a departure from the usual T20 matches. The bowlers looked in control throughout, keeping the run rate in check. The Knight Riders’ slow bowlers spun a web around the Royal Challengers’ batsmen and the Royal Challengers’ bowlers gave little away when they bowled, except in a couple of overs when Jacques Kallis and Irfan Pathan broke the shackles. Since we end up judging a T20 solely by its entertainment value, I would say this one wasn’t fun to watch, though the close finish did manage to keep the crowd on its feet till the last over.The atmosphere was great since this match was the highlight of the season for Ranchi. People were really excited to see and root for their heroes – most of them for their first time. That enthusiasm showed in the vocal support they extended throughout.Marks on 10
7. 5 for the facilities and 2 for the match.

Vernon Philander stresses the importance of working on your skills, but he’s not a big fan of being called the new McGrath

Interview by Jack Wilson17-Aug-2013The start of your Test career was immense. You took 50 wickets in your first seven matches – the second-fastest ever. That’s some record, isn’t it?
It came down to the hard work prior to that. In the end the hard work pays off. You go through a lot in the years leading up to playing for your country. If you put it in, you get your rewards. Success isn’t guaranteed. Put in the hard yards and that’s what comes.Is that the secret – hard work?
Yes, hard work pays off. You have to spend time getting your skills up to standard. Hard work makes me appreciate things I achieve a lot more. The more and more I achieve the better it makes me feel. I want to keep making things happen, going forward too.Are you someone who’s into their stats?
I’m not into stats, no.So if I asked you how many Test wickets you’d taken, would you know?
I just take each game at a time. I play each time to try and take the team across the line – that’s what I’m worried about.What’s the strangest game you’ve ever played in?
We bowled New Zealand out for 45 on the first day of a Test, which was crazy, but my debut – the win over Australia – was the most bizarre. To bowl them out for 47 in the second innings and then knock off the runs was a good game to be a part of.Last year Allan Donald said the bowling attack – with you in it – was the best ever. How did that make you feel?
(Laughs) It was great to hear that, especially coming from him. As far as we’re concerned, as a bowling unit we just try and take 20 wickets a game. The more we do it, the more people may rave about us. Getting teams out is our job and we take pride in doing so.You’ve been dubbed “the new Glenn McGrath” by some. That’s high praise.

I’ve heard some people say that, but I’m not too concerned what people call me. I just focus on my game, and as long as I go out and produce the goods, I’m happy. Personally I don’t like it but it’s not a bad compliment.If you could go back in time and bowl at one batsman from the past, who would it be?
Jeez, that’s tough. I’d say my school mates. A few were highly rated at school level and for me it’s important to be humble and remember where you came from.Who’s the messiest player in the South Africa dressing room?
The boys are generally pretty good. The bowlers – me, Dale Steyn and Morne [Morkel] – tend to unpack all our kit. It’s not untidy, though. It’s all together.And the funniest?
Morne Morkel tells lots of old-time stories and jokes, I’ll give it to him.Who hits the ball the furthest?
There are a few strikers in that team, huh? I’d say, from the Test side, it’s AB [de Villiers]. He can hit it pretty clean and pretty far.If I gave you a ball and you had six balls to bowl at one stump, how many times would you hit?
Probably none! (Laughs) Seriously, well, it depends on the conditions. I’ve got to back myself. I’d say I’d hit it two out of six times.How do you spend your time away from cricket?
I’ll be on the golf course most of the time. That’s where I like to go. The golf course or a wildlife park.What’s your handicap?
I play off a horrible five.Where’s the best place to play cricket in the world?
There’s only one place, isn’t there? Cape Town. There’s no better setting than that. Although I enjoy it wherever I go. It’s always a different experience playing against different players and seeing people from different cultures. It’s special to travel the world.What’s the first piece of advice you’d give to a young fast bowler?
I’d say to the young guns out there: try and enhance your skills to a level in which you understand them. Once you understand your action and once you understand what you are trying to do with the ball, you can showcase it to the world. Go out there and put in the hard yards.Favourite shot?
Pull shot.Does cricket ever pop up in your dreams?
No, not really, although I had one prior to my debut.

India’s top-order batting has been the biggest success story of the tournament, but on Sunday they’ll be up against an incisive fast-bowling attack

S Rajesh22-Jun-2013Whichever way you look at it, India and England have been the two best teams in the 2013 Champions Trophy. India have won all four of their matches; England have won three and lost one – these two are the only sides in the tournament who’ve won more games than they’ve lost. India’s average of 65.46 runs per wicket is by far the best of all teams in the tournament, while England’s 35 is comfortably the second-best; ditto with the run rates of 5.93 (India) and 5.65 (England). As a bowling unit, India have taken the most wickets in the tournament – 37 – followed by England’s 30. The difference between the run rate and the economy rate is 1.27 for India, the highest, and next-best for England (0.32). It’s only fair that these two teams will compete for the right to be called the champions of the last edition of the Champions Trophy.India’s top-order batting has been the biggest success story of the tournament. Shikhar Dhawan has already amassed 332 runs in four innings – the third-highest by any batsman in any edition of the Champions Trophy – and has scored two out of three centuries in this tournament. India’s batsmen have also accounted for three of the seven century stands in the tournament so far – two by the openers Dhawan and Rohit Sharma, and one by Dhawan and Dinesh Karthik.England’s top three haven’t been as prolific, but they’ve also all been among the runs. Jonathan Trott has scored 209 runs – the third-highest in the tournament – at a strike rate of amost 90, which aren’t bad stats for a batsman who supposedly can’t score his runs quickly, while Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, the openers, have three fifties between them. England’s middle order is in form too, with Joe Root looking impressive almost every time he has come out to bat in scoring 166 in four innings, while Ravi Bopara has been explosive at the finish, scoring 88 runs off only 61 balls in the tournament.The flip side of the smashing form for India’s top three is the fact that the rest of their batsmen have hardly had a bat. Karthik has faced 84 balls in the entire tournament, Ravindra Jadeja 29, MS Dhoni 26, and Suresh Raina 10. India’s top three have accounted for 78% of the bat runs for India; the corresponding percentage for England is 59. It’s fair to say that India’s middle order hasn’t been tested yet, and Sunday could well be an occasion for them to prove their worth.

England and India in Champions Trophy 2013

TeamWon/ lostBat aveRun rateBowl aveEcon rate100s/ 50s100/ 50 p’shipsIndia4/ 065.465.9323.894.662/ 53/ 4England3/ 135.005.6528.405.330/ 62/ 5

England and Indian batsmen in the Champions Trophy

BatsmanInningsRunsAverageStrike rate100s/ 50sShikhar Dhawan4332110.6799.402/ 1Jonathan Trott420969.6789.690/ 2Rohit Sharma416842.0076.710/ 2Joe Root416641.5090.710/ 1Alastair Cook415939.7581.530/ 2Ian Bell414135.2574.210/ 1Virat Kohli413366.5088.660/ 1Ravi Bopara38888.00144.260/ 0

Nos.1-3 for India and England in the Champions Trophy

TeamInningsRunsAverageStrike rate100s/ 50s% of team runs*India1263370.3390.042/ 478.24England1250946.2782.360/ 558.98The bowling comparison
As a bowling unit, there isn’t much to choose between the two sides. England’s bowlers had one poor game, when they completely dominated by Kumar Sangakkara, while India conceded more than 300 against South Africa (though they won that one). India’s bowlers have taken more wickets at a better average and economy rate, thanks largely to their spinners. Led by Jadeja, India’s spin attack has taken 16 wickets at an average of 20.75 and an economy rate of 4.15, figures which even the most optimistic Indian fan wouldn’t have bargained for in June in England.England’s star in the bowling department has been James Anderson. He has taken twice as many wickets as the next-best for England, while his economy rate has been outstanding as well. India’s most consistent seamer has been Bhuvneshwar Kumar: his 32 overs have gone at only 3.68 per over, though Ishant Sharma is the leading wicket-taker with eight. The disappointment for India has been Umesh Yadav, who has leaked plenty of runs after taking a five-for against Australia in one of the warm-up games. Similarly, Tim Bresnan has been the most expensive among the regular bowlers for England, going at almost a run a ball.

Pace and spin bowling stats for India and England in the Champions Trophy

PaceSpinOverallTeamWktsAveEconWktsAveEconWktsAveEconIndia1731.884.941620.754.153326.484.60England2326.525.17636.005.142928.485.16

Indian and England bowlers in the tournament so far

BowlerOversWicketsAverageEcon rateJames Anderson331012.703.84Ravindra Jadeja371013.003.51Ishant Sharma34822.755.35R Ashwin37627.674.48Bhuvneshwar Kumar32619.673.68Stuart Broad31.5535.405.56The Powerplay factor
India’s openers have been so strong that the team hasn’t yet lost a wicket in the mandatory Powerplays, making scores of 66, 53, 45 and 40 – all without loss – at the ten-over mark in their four matches so far. England’s top order has done pretty well too, but it’s their bowling at the start which has stood out: they’ve taken six wickets in the mandatory Powerplay overs, and have conceded only 4.14 runs per over. On Sunday, they’ll be up against the best top order of the tournament, and how that mini-battle turns out could well determine the outcome of the final.In the batting Powerplay, India have the better numbers with both bat and ball. Most teams have lost plenty of wickets during this period, which has impacted their ability to score quickly, but India aren’t one of those sides: they’ve lost only two wickets, and their run rate is the second-best (after New Zealand) among all teams during this period. England, on the other hand, have lost five wickets in 87 balls during the batting Powerplay.

England and India in the mandatory Powerplay, with bat and ball

BattingBowlingTeamRuns/ BallsAverageRun rateRuns/ ballsAverageEcon rateIndia204/ 228-5.36201/ 24040.205.02England164/ 21054.674.68145/ 21024.164.14

England and India in the batting Powerplay, with bat and ball

BattingBowlingTeamRuns/ BallsAverageRun rateRuns/ BallsAverageEcon rateIndia69/ 5534.507.5290/ 10222.505.29England98/ 8719.606.75112/ 10228.006.58England’s strong home record
England’s one advantage, though, is their head-to-head record against India at home in the last nine years. In their last 15 such games – going back to 2004 – they have a 9-4 win-loss record, including three wins in the 2011 bilateral series.India have had a few setbacks against England in their recent encounters, but in the only tournament final played between these two teams in ODIs, India came out on top in a memorable match, when they chased down 326 at Lord’s in 2002. Come Sunday, and England will want to set that record straight.

England v India in ODIs

MatchesInd wonEng wonTie/ NROverall8646352/ 3In England3311181/ 3Since 2004 in England15491/ 1Tournament final1100

It may not matter hugely in Bangalore or Bridgetown, but in England and Australia, in cricket at least, nothing matters more than what is about to begin

George Dobell at Trent Bridge09-Jul-2013It says much about the enduring appeal of the Ashes that, at a time of economic pressures, at a time when Test cricket’s popularity is waning in many parts of the world and at time when neither team can claim to be the best in the world, just about every day of this series will be played in front of full houses and to vast audiences on TV, on the radio and on the internet.Whatever the economic importance of series against India and the ranking importance of series against South Africa, the vast majority of players on both sides will have grown up dreaming of playing in the Ashes. Rightly or wrongly, it is performances in such series that continue to disproportionately define the careers of players and coaches. The UK government reacted to England’s Ashes success in 2005 by bestowing MBEs on the whole team; no other series would have generated such rewards.The ICC rankings were designed to provide context and interest to Test series that were struggling to capture the public imagination. The Ashes doesn’t need such marketing strategies. Like Christmas and the NHS, familiarity may have bred a parasitical side-industry, but it has not bred contempt.Conventional wisdom suggests that Australia, unburdened by expectation, go into the series without pressure. It is nonsense. The sacking of Mickey Arthur and Robbie Deans – the Australia cricket and rugby coaches – within the last few weeks suggests Australia are not so sanguine about sporting failure as some might like to suggest.Darren Lehmann might survive an early failure, but some of the players will not. England supporters, by contrast, were weaned on unrealistic expectations and put to bed by disillusionment. They are familiar in dealing with the sting of disappointment.Besides, England possess significant advantages. While two of their batsmen, Kevin Pietersen and Alastair Cook, will surely go down in history among the greatest players to have represented England, it is two of the bowlers that provide the real edge.In James Anderson England have a supreme athlete at the peak of his career with an ability to swing, reverse swing and seam the ball allied to a control very few can match. MS Dhoni credited him as “the difference between the teams” in the series in India. If he can prove so valuable on Indian wickets and armed – or disarmed – with an SG or a Kookaburra ball, then he can be devastating in conditions offering him even a little assistance in England and with a Dukes ball.But perhaps more relevant is the presence of Graeme Swann. It is Swann, arguably the best finger spinner either of these nations has produced since Jim Laker, who represents the key difference between these sides. Both teams have talented batsmen; both have dangerous seamers: only England have a champion spinner who has shown, against all opposition and in all conditions, that he is a match-winner at this level.It is generally unwise to try to predict England’s plans. Under Andy Flower they are guarded with a level of security that even Edward Snowden could not unpick. But the evidence has mounted in recent days that they see spin and reverse swing as their key weapons.Looking to the future

Ben Foakes was a noticeable addition to England’s training squad at Trent Bridge. The 20-year-old Essex and England Lions wicketkeeper will remain with England throughout the first Investec Test and act as 12th man.

Identified for some time as an England player of the future – he was picked as the Lions wicketkeeper for their limited-overs tour of Australia before he had played a List A game – Foakes will also have early morning batting sessions with Graham Gooch and wicketkeeping sessions with Bruce French. Foakes is one of four young players – Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Gary Ballance are the others – who has been identified to benefit from specialist attention from Gooch over the coming months.

Foakes’ Essex team-mate, 19-year-old left-arm seamer Reece Topley, also spent time bowling at the England squad while they trained at Loughborough over the weekend as they sought to replicate the left-arm angle of attack anticipated from Mitchell Starc, in particular. Topley has now returned to county duty.

For a start, Swann was rested in the crucial stages of the Champions Trophy despite his willingness to play. England, however, prioritised the Ashes over the final of the global ODI tournament they have never won and refused to take any chances with Swann’s strained calf.It was interesting to note, too, that the pitch at Trent Bridge has, despite unbroken sunshine and no chance to rain, remained under covers in the two days ahead of the Test. In the current hot weather, it is unthinkable that there would be any attempt to keep the pitch green and appears more likely that a surface, already unusually dry, is being preserved to ensure it does not deteriorate too early.While the ball rarely spins on the ground, England are acutely aware of the likelihood that the Australia side will contain five or six left-handed batsmen and at least one left-arm bowler. The combination of footholes, the off-break turning away from the bat and the fact that, on a green pitch, Australia have the bowling weapons to hurt England, is likely to see this series played in conditions more like India than any previous series in England.There is an obvious contrast between the approach of the two camps ahead of the series. Australia, reflecting the new laid back approach that Lehmann has instilled, had an optional net session on Tuesday, while England trained as normal.The sense is that, while Australia’s mood has been lifted by recent events, the England dressing room remains just a little intense; an environment where every action and reaction is noted and analysed. It is professional, certainly, but whether it is relaxing or conducive to fearless cricket is another matter.Not that many in this England team play fearless cricket. With the exception of Pietersen and, to a lesser extent, Swann, England’s strength is consistency. They will attempt, in this series as in so many others, to grind Australia out of the game; to build up pressure until their opposition snaps; to make fewer mistakes.In Jonathan Trott, Cook and Anderson, they have supremely talented attritional cricketers. Lehmann and co. might be the more engaging company in a bar but, just as is the case when picking a surgeon or a pilot, substance often takes precedence over style.The careers of England and Australia players are often bookended by Ashes series and it just might prove that way with Flower. While Flower’s reputation is unquestionable – success in India might yet be remembered as the greatest achievement of the finest coach England have ever had – there seems of late, just a hint of a suspicion that he is tiring of the baggage that accompanies his high-profile position. Perhaps the players, subconsciously at least, are also yearning for a little more freedom and joy.There is only so often any leader can repeat the same wisdom without his words blurring in the ears of his followers and there was an impression that, under Ashley Giles, the limited-overs team appeared more relaxed and less intense. Flower has earned the right to go when he feels the time is due, but nearly everything has an expiry date and Flower may feel, after the Ashes tour of Australia ends in January, that he has reached his.Such issues can wait. There has been much talk of legacy in England cricket over the last few years and, over the next seven or so weeks, the players of both sides have the chance to build their own. It may not matter hugely in Bangalore or Bridgetown, but in England and Australia, in cricket at least, nothing matters more.

Stats highlights from the second of the Trent Bridge Test, which was dominated by Australia’s latest No. 11, Ashton Agar

Shiva Jayaraman and S Rajesh11-Jul-2013

• Ashton Agar’s 98 is the highest by a No. 11 batsman in Test history. The previous highest was 95 by Tino Best of West Indies, also against England, at Edgbaston in 2012. The previous-best for Australia was by Glenn McGrath, who handed Agar his Baggy Green on Wednesday; McGrath scored 61 against New Zealand at the Gabba in 2004. Agar’s 98 was also only the second half-century by a No.11 batsman in an Ashes Test – the previous one was by Frederick Spofforth in this match, way back in 1885.
• When Agar drove James Anderson through midwicket and picked up three runs to move from 43 to 46, he broke the record for the highest score by a No. 11 batsman on debut. That was previously held by Warwick Armstrong, who scored an unbeaten 45 against England in 1902. Click here for a list of highest scores by No. 11 batsmen on debut.
• The 163-run partnership between Phil Hughes and Agar was the highest ever for the tenth wicket in Tests. This was also only the fifth hundred partnership for the tenth wicket in an Ashes Test, and the 23rd tenth-wicket century partnership in all Tests.
• This was only the ninth instance of a No.11 batsman top-scoring in an innings. Four of these nine instances have been by Australia batsmen, the most by a team, and four of these have come against England, the most against a team. The previous instance of a No. 11 top-scoring was by Nathan Lyon, the player who Agar replaced in the XI – Lyon scored 14 out of a total of 47 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2011. The previous such instance in an Ashes Test was way back in 1896, when Tom McKibbin scored 16 out of 44 at The Oval.
• A break-up of Agar’s runs against each bowler indicates just how proficient he was against both pace and spin. Against Graeme Swann’s offspin, he scored at a run a ball, taking 36 off 36, including four fours and two sixes. Against the three quick bowlers, he scored 62 off 65, including eight fours. And as his wagon-wheel shows, he scored on both sides of the wicket, scoring 42 runs on the off side, and 56 on the leg side.While Agar was dominant against both pace and spin, Hughes scored his runs almost entirely against the fast bowlers. Against Anderson, Finn and Broad, he scored 74 off 89 balls. Against Swann, though, he only managed 7 off 52 balls.
  

  Ashton Agar v each England bowler

  Bowler	Runs	Balls	Strike rate	4s/6s	Dots
  James Anderson	21	27	77.77	2/ 0	16
  Steven Finn	23	16	143.75	4/ 0	8
  Graeme Swann	36	36	100.00	4/ 2	25
  Stuart Broad	18	22	81.81	2/ 0	13

• Hughes’ unbeaten 81 was easily his highest in ten Test innings against England – his previous-best was 36 in Cardiff in 2009.
• Agar was clearly the star of the day, but England had their heroes too. James Anderson picked up his 14th five-for in Tests, his second against Australia and his fifth at Trent Bridge; at no other venue has he taken as many five-fors. He ended the day with 44 wickets at Trent Bridge, the highest by any bowler at this ground.
• For the first time in his 44-Test career, Jonathan Trott was dismissed for a first-ball duck. This was also his first duck in England; his three previous ones were in Sydney, Ahmedabad and Mumbai. With Ed Cowan also being dismissed without scoring, this was the 11th instance of two zeroes by No.3 batsmen in an Ashes Test – the previous such instance was in 1995.

Mike Hussey’s autobiography traces Australia’s 2006-07 peak and the decline that followed with candour and insight

Daniel Brettig13-Oct-2013No matter what he achieved, how brilliantly he batted, or how much respect he gathered among team-mates, opponents and spectators, Michael Hussey always thought of himself as an underdeveloped nicker and nudger, to whom power and puberty arrived embarrassingly late. Like William Miller in , Hussey was the kid who looked as though he’d been skipped a grade or two, shorter, skinnier and less hairy than it was socially acceptable to be in his teenage years. Batting was an unrelenting struggle against inner voices telling him he wasn’t good enough.But also like Miller, and his real-life inspiration, Cameron Crowe, on the rock ‘n roll road of the early 1970s, Hussey learned valuable lessons from those awkward days. He was always respectful, thoughtful and keen to do the right things by those around him, while the self-doubt born of being smaller and less capable of muscling the ball ensured that as a batsman he never took anything for granted. Hussey was intense but personable, earnest and enthusiastic, and far, far more talented a batsman than he ever gave himself credit for.At times, the lack of assurance made his life less enjoyable than it might have been, and it probably scuppered his leadership ambitions after a belated but spectacular entry into international cricket. Nevertheless, he developed into arguably the most complete batsman the game has yet seen, as much at home in the hustle and bustle of a T20 contest as in the cut and thrust of a Test, and anything in between. Seldom has a cricketer known better how to operate in a partnership than Hussey. He enjoyed the thrill of victory as much as any Australian cricketer ever has, becoming much more gregarious and entertaining company in those moments, and rightly being granted the privilege of leading the team song when Justin Langer retired.The title of the song, “Underneath the Southern Cross”, has become the title of Hussey’s autobiography, a valuable account of a late-blooming career but also an admirably frank survey of Australian cricket over that time. Like the team around him, Hussey’s account peaks during the 2006-07 Ashes series before slipping down into more regretful, even mournful, territory, as success gave way to defeats, introspection, unrelenting media speculation about his place, and finally the emergence of an insular team culture Hussey does not pretend to say he enjoyed.Starting with a bruising duel against Dale Steyn in Durban in 2009, an encounter he viewed dimly as a failure while team-mates marvelled, Hussey retraces his life. With the help of an accomplished ghostwriter in Malcolm Knox – also the penner of Adam Gilchrist’s – what emerges is a detailed picture of life as a cricket-crazed child, a battling first-class cricketer, then finally an international batsman of rare versatility. Key moments are discussed candidly and at times revealingly, from the SCG dressing-room confrontation between Simon Katich and Michael Clarke over Hussey’s singing of the team song, to the confused circumstances of his final night in that same dressing room earlier this year and the hurtful email rumour that resulted from it.

At times Hussey’s lack of assurance made his life less enjoyable than it might have been, and it probably scuppered his leadership ambitions. Nevertheless, he developed into arguably the most complete batsman the game has yet seen

As valuable, however, are insights into other cricketers great and small. At the DLF Cup in Malaysia in 2006 for instance, a sequence of 6, 4, 4, 4, 4 by Brian Lara against the South Australian spinner Dan Cullen had its catalyst in the young bowler calling his opponent a “cocky p***k”. Then there is a curious interaction between Michael Clarke and Sachin Tendulkar during the fractious 2007-08 summer. After an ODI win in Sydney, Michael Clarke called out Tendulkar on his habit of not shaking hands after a match, trekking into the visitors’ rooms and startling India’s maestro, who said that he’d forgotten. “You don’t forget to shake hands after an international match,” Hussey notes. “Perhaps Sachin wasn’t a god, just another human like the rest of us.”Hussey’s portraits of Clarke and his predecessor, Ponting, are two of the more fascinating passages of his tale. He struggles to find strong enough words to convey his admiration for Ponting as a batsman, a leader and a man, while speaking warmly of Clarke as a batting partner and a nimble captain stepping into enormous shoes. The contrast is summed up by observations of how his slow medium pace was used. Under Ponting, a tidy over against a rampant Tendulkar in Hyderabad has Hussey earning another, more expensive over. Hussey is convinced the experiment is complete, but Ponting chances a third, which promptly goes for 14 runs. Clarke, by contrast, uses Hussey as a surprise weapon, striking it lucky by grabbing wickets in Sri Lanka and the West Indies then immediately taking him off.Hussey’s own brief flirtation with the Australian captaincy is also unpacked. A demoralising visit to New Zealand with an under-strength team before the 2007 World Cup ended his chances of pursuing the role any further. He admits to not having the conviction to impose his ideas on the rest of the team, particularly the bowlers, as New Zealand twice ran down scores of well over 300. “I tried to be very consultative, supporting the bowlers individually, but I went too far,” he writes. “If the bowler thought differently from me, I let him have his way.”Aware that many have assumed they did not get along, Hussey goes out of his way to depict a strong relationship with Clarke, demonstrated by a string of partnerships that humbugged Sri Lanka, India and South Africa in 2011 and 2012. Over that time, Hussey’s own enthusiasm for the task was waning as the Argus review took the team in different directions to those he preferred, removing a coach he admired in Tim Nielsen and replacing him with one he was unsure about in Mickey Arthur. There was success for a time, but Hussey saw signs of decay in the West Indies. His concerns were relayed to Arthur but went no further.At the same time the wages of constant travel were draining both Hussey and his wife Amy, a steadfast presence in his life since they met and courted endearingly as teaching students at Curtin University in the early 1990s. Eventually he decided that, as with Miller on the Stillwater tour bus, he had to leave the circus. It had changed into something he felt less warmth about than previously, and there is something elegiac about the comparisons made between the Australian team he walked into and the one he was to leave.By keeping his retirement plans a secret, Hussey found himself following the insular lines he had seen set around him. He was self-effacing to the last, only allowing himself the indulgence of walking first on to the field of his final Test after Clarke refused to take the field until he did. Now Hussey’s career account is on the shelves, and he is preparing to take on a role in the Nine commentary box. It is a worthwhile reminder of how great players can be made as well as born, and how the influence of formative years can shape a cricketer for the term of his career.Underneath the Southern Cross
By Michael Hussey
Hardie Grant
400 pages, A$49.95

With Steve Harmison’s retirement, English cricket has broken its last link with the bowling quartet of 2005

Tim Wigmore12-Oct-2013And then there were none. With Steve Harmison’s retirement, English cricket has broken its last link with the Fab Four of 2005. Andrew Flintoff left the game four years ago; and now none of Harmison, Matthew Hoggard or Simon Jones will ever play first-class cricket again.Their shared departures are a reminder that, as much as anything, the triumph of 2005 was one of timing. The entire pace attack was born within two years of each other and had the happy coincidence of sharing their peak years. If sporting teams are said to work best when there is a right blend of youth and experience, the fortune of England’s 2005 attack – really, the entire outfit save for Ian Bell – was that each player seemed to bring just the right amount of both qualities.It was a quartet of contrasting qualities, lacking only a left-armer. Harmison’s brawn and pace, Flintoff’s relentless back-of-a-length hostility, Jones’ reverse swing. And then there was Hoggard. The least glamorous, by some distance, of the four, but he didn’t mind. He famously once described his job as being to “brush up the debris of the shop floor”.England had bigger bowlers, faster bowlers and scarier bowlers. Hoggard embraced his role as a shaggy-haired shop steward. The image did not do justice to his considerable talents – not only the prodigious new-ball swing and nagging accuracy but also the ability to cut the ball, which allowed him to rise above the limitations of flat surfaces.The image of Hoggard is of the ever-willing supporter, but he could be the leader of the attack too. The 12 wickets he took in England’s win in Johannesburg – especially given the frailties of the rest of that attack – remains arguably the finest Test display by any English bowler in the 21st century. The suspicion has to be that we would remember it much more had it come from another member of the quartet, the perfect outswinger that snared Jacques Kallis first ball especially. Hoggard wouldn’t care.His new-ball partner Harmison, the self-described shy lad from Ashington, took a similar view to the limelight. In a way, Harmison was a victim of his natural gifts. While Hoggard could slip by – just a solid English-style quick, as the popular portrayal had it – Harmison was not so easily ignored. His physique and pace ensured as much; from the moment he broke through with 7 for 12 at Sabina Park and 61 wickets in a 11-Test run in 2004, Harmison attracted media attention of the sort that Hoggard could almost invariably avoid.The white Curtly Ambrose, they started called him. It didn’t seem ridiculous either, watching Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and even Brian Lara floundering against his combination of pace, steepling bounce and surprise yorkers. The paradox was that if Hoggard envied Harmison’s greater natural gifts, Harmison must have been jealous of Hoggard’s relative unobtrusiveness.The relationship of England’s fans to Harmison was often one of exasperation. Why could he be Grievous Bodily Harmison one day and a 6′ 4″ mouse the next? From England’s tour to South Africa in 2004-05 – when he arrived as the world’s top-ranked bowler and left with nine wickets at 73 apiece – Harmison often had to contend with theories that if he wasn’t fulfilling his potential, it was in part because he didn’t want to. Playing for England was all a bit of a chore.Of course the perception was deeply unfair. As England collapsed in the final Test in Lahore in 2005, completing their ignominious post-Ashes hangover, Harmison certainly didn’t shirk. He bowled more overs, and better ones, than any of his team-mates. Few bowling analyses have ever been less fitting than his 43-3-154-1.Simon Jones may outlast the other members of the 2005 bowling attack, albeit only on the T20 circuit•Getty ImagesShivnarine Chanderpaul has cited Harmison as a model of toughness, contrasting today’s young bowlers, who “get a little hit or a niggle and they stay off the field”, with the Harmison who won Durham the Championship with “socks full of blood” and “a broken hand”. But none of this seemed to matter. Because Harmison could be so spectacular – the destruction he wrought in the Caribbean, the carnage of the first morning of the 2005 Ashes, that slower ball to Michael Clarke ­- it followed that when he was not, it was because he wasn’t trying or didn’t care.We now know that his dislike of touring was linked to his battles with depression. There were persistent injuries, too, particularly to his shins. But perhaps the greatest issue of all was of biomechanics. As beautiful as Harmison’s action could look when all was in sync, there was a lot that could go wrong. It was little wonder that, sometimes – think of the start of the 2006-07 Ashes – it did.Unfortunately a lot could go wrong with Jones too. Seldom has a bowler’s run-up been more deceptive: Jones gave the impression of ambling in with little more threat than seen in Sunday afternoon club cricket, but from a brief explosion onto the crease he was able to hit 90mph. The cocktail of jagging reverse swing and zest for high-octane moments made Jones an intoxicating cricketer. The mesmerising spell to Michael Clarke on the final afternoon at Old Trafford – darting the ball both ways and then decimating his off stump – almost evoked Wasim and Waqar.The shame is that, like his father Jeff, Jones’ dalliance with Test cricket was so fleeting. After his horrific injury in Brisbane in 2002, it took him until 2005 to become a truly established member of the side. After two five-fors in three innings, Jones became England’s wizard of reverse swing. The age-old conundrum of the England side had been how to harass good batsmen on flat wickets, especially in Asia. The two supreme reverse swingers, Jones and Flintoff, seemed to offer a compelling answer.Alas, he has spent much of the last eight years as he ended the 2005 Ashes. Only in one of the past seven seasons has he managed more than four first-class wickets; many people would assume that he has already retired. It is testament to Jones’ resilience that he has kept going amid it all. Just last month, Jones dismissed James Taylor in the CB40 final with a delivery that seamed late and kissed the outside edge. Of course, there was a sadness to the ball, a reminder of the shame in such a talent being consigned to 58 Test wickets. But the hope is that with luck – and Jones is certainly overdue some – he will outlast the other members of the quartet, albeit only on the T20 circuit.So now the sight of Jones in pyjamas is all that’s left of the Fab Four. The irony is that it was the least heralded man -­ the new fans cricket discovered in 2005 swiftly forget Hoggard’s name if it had ever registered – who departs with the most Test wickets and the greatest sense of promise fulfilled. We may have hoped for more from the quartet after 2005. But we will always have that, and after 16 years of evisceration by Australia, it was quite a sight.

David Warner and Michael Clarke produced arguably two of their finest knocks to lift Australia into a commanding position in Cape Town

Daniel Brettig in Cape Town01-Mar-2014When pondering how David Warner might respond to a raft of South African sledging expected to come his way in this match due to his howled down allegation of ball tampering, Michael Clarke offered his opening batsman the inelegant but appropriate sobriquet of “tough bugger”.On the critically important opening day of the Newlands Test, Warner lived up to Clarke’s choice of words with arguably his finest Test hundred, but no more so than the captain himself, who carved out an innings of enormous courage and presence.There had been many reasons entering into this match for both Warner and Clarke to be distracted, even agitated. Warner had earned the rebukes of teammates, opponents and officials alike for his broadcast suggestion of sharp practice on the part of AB de Villiers.It was certainly provocative and formally deemed disrespectful, drawing an ICC sanction and the sorts of headlines that have followed his career a little too often. The South Africans had plenty of reason to pour on the vitriol once Warner strode to the wicket.Clarke’s problems were of a different and deeper nature. In order to overcome his immediate difficulty – a lack of runs over his past 11 innings – Clarke had to surmount a longer term foible, namely the spectre of short-pitched bowling and its capacity to expose the lack of flexibility in his back.The man to deliver such bowling was Morne Morkel, a man with no rival as the fastest and tallest exponent of the bouncer in world cricket. Add to this the chance to defeat top-ranked South Africa at home, and the occasion weighed heavily.Fortunately for Clarke and Warner, the captain performed ably in his first duty of the day, winning one of the more important tosses of his life. Centurion and Port Elizabeth had well and truly established Australia’s preference for making the running by batting first, particularly on a pitch not given to early life. Taking first strike in Cape Town on another late-season surface promising little in the way of sideways movement allowed the fast-scoring method preached by the coach Darren Lehmann to place pressure on South Africa, even as they carried plenty of momentum from St George’s Park.Irrespective of the prevailing conditions, the runs still had to be scored, and in the early overs Warner once again too the initiative from the hosts with some help from Chris Rogers. They raised a half-century stand inside 10 overs, prompting Graeme Smith to disperse his catching men and post sweepers to the boundary in search of greater control over the scoring rate. To some degree he achieved this, but he also allowed Warner the room to feel more or less impervious to dismissal, given so many options for turning over the strike.Across the series, Warner has repeatedly forced Smith’s fielders back, to the point that his latter phases of centuries at Centurion and Newlands have been played out in the manner of mid-innings ODI batting. Very little onus has been placed on Warner to split the field or avoid the clutches of slips or gully, allowing him to throttle back into a gear of comfort while still scoring rapidly. Ten boundaries in Warner’s century were the minimum to be expected from a powerful opener on a fast outfield, but a strike rate of near enough to a run-a-ball showed how Warner had hemmed in Smith, rather than the other way round.”He puts pressure on the opposition so quickly,” Shane Warne said of Warner. “Duminy was bowling in the 10th over so very early you’ve got a part-time spinner bowling. It just puts pressure on the opposition captain by how fast he scores and the way he scores. I saw maturity in his batting when Graeme Smith had point back and he got a couple of singles, Smith brought point up and he hit two fours past him. It wasn’t like he was just about smashing the ball, he was quite clever about it.”One of the hardest things as a bowler is if you go through all your plans and say ‘we’ve just got to stop this guy scoring for a while’ and when he manipulates the field it is a really tough spot to be in as captain. Someone like a Darren Lehmann when you used to bowl against him he’d manipulate the field very well. Smithy ended up just being defensive about stopping runs, then Davey can just knock it around. He can do that to a captain because he’s such a good player.”If Warner was in command of his game, then Clarke was on bended knee beseeching his to comply with his fervent wishes for a score. His early play was scratchy, and when Morkel chose to go around the wicket, Clarke found himself with no escape. Not limber enough to duck or sway easily, nor swivel to hook in the manner of Ian Chappell, Clarke was instead battered after the fashion of Steve Waugh. Neck, jaw, body and fingers all took fearsome blows, the icepacks piling high in Australia’s dressing room to greet Clarke whenever he returned.But Morkel was unable to follow up these raining blows by coaxing an outside edge or a miscue, Clarke’s determination underlined by the perfunctory wave he offered the physio Alex Kountouris and doctor Peter Brukner when they jogged onto the field at the end of the over when Morkel felled him. Warne called it batting in the “over my dead body” category, and there was scarcely a better way to describe it. Clarke stood firm, untroubled by how ugly he looked, and with Dale Steyn absent due to a hamstring complaint he was able to endure.By stumps Clarke was on the outskirts of a century to rank with any in his career, his unbeaten status a fitting capstone on one of the best Australian first innings, first day performances of Ricky Ponting’s prime period. Every partnership had been worth at least 50, meaning even the likes of Rogers and Alex Doolan had played some part. But it was Clarke and Warner who deserved the chief plaudits, two “tough buggers” setting aside their earlier travails to set Australia on the path towards the sort of victory that would echo down the years.