Only two other Sri Lankan openers have carried their bat in a Test innings

S Rajesh12-Jul-20184 – The number of Sri Lankan openers who have carried their bat in a Test innings. Dimuth Karunaratne joins Sidath Wettimuny (63* v New Zealand, 1983), Marvan Atapattu 216* v Zimbabwe, 1999) and Russel Arnold (104* v Zimbabwe, 1999) in this elite group.ESPNcricinfo Ltd55.05 – Percentage of Sri Lanka’s runs scored by Karunaratne on the opening day of the Galle Test. Only seven others Sri Lankans have scored a higher percentage of runs in a completed Test innings. Asanka Gurusihna’s 63.4% (52 out of 82) against India in Chandigarh in 1990 is the highest.3 – Number of Sri Lankan batsmen to have made a hundred in their 50th Test. Prior to Karunaratne’s 158 not out, Sanath Jayasuriya made scored 188 in his 50th Test, against Pakistan in 2000, while Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a century in each innings 162 and 143 against Bangladesh in 2009.ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 – Number of Test tons for Karunaratne, all as an opener. Among Sri Lankan openers, only Marvan Atapattu (16) and Jayasuriya (13) have scored more hundreds.7 – Number of countries against whom Karunaratne has at least one Test century. . The only ones against whom he hasn’t got one yet are Australia (highest of 85 in 12 innings), and England (highest 50 in 10 innings).3 – Instances of Sri Lanka’s ninth and tenth wickets adding 40-plus runs in a Test innings. The two such previous instances were in 2012 (against England, also in Galle), and in 2007(against Australia in Hobart).43.4 – Overs of spin bowled by South Africa in the Sri Lankan innings. In the first 80 overs of a first innings since 2002, there have been only two instances of South Africa’s spinners bowling more overs than this, and both were in the 2015 series in India: in the Delhi Test, the spinners bowled 46 of the first 80 overs, and in Nagpur they bowled 45.1 overs.

The Test against Ireland has posed some familiar questions for Pakistan which they need to answer before facing England

Melinda Farrell at Malahide14-May-20181:03

‘I’m a human being, not a machine’ – Amir

Amir’s fitness (just get the correct knee)The most scrutinised body part at Malahide from late on the third day was undoubtedly Mohammad Amir’s knee. Once we had established which knee, that is. Originally, the official word was that it was the left knee requiring treatment for a chronic knee problem but, unless there was referred pain, the PCB soon confirmed it was the right. On television commentary it was described as patella tendinitis. Whatever it’s called, it seemed to get worse.Amir looked fine when he bowled, moved the ball dangerously and took wickets (including his 100th Test scalp), but in between overs he flexed his knee, gingerly tested it, left the field for periods and his limp became ever more pronounced. The first Test against England is just ten days away and Pakistan need their precious weapon locked and loaded.There is growing discussion about his workload management and his durability across three formats. Pakistan want him leading the attack in Tests but this tour may be the one that forces a decision, one way or another. Not an easy one either, with a World Cup just one year away for the current Champions Trophy holders. The good news? It’s only a two-Test series. The bad news? At times, Amir walked as though his right – yes, right – knee had been replaced by a meringue.Pace-bowling depthAmir’s fitness is even more crucial when you consider the rest of Pakistan’s fast bowling options. Mohammad Abbas has emerged as a genuine Test strike bowler with a remarkable economy rate. He’s taken more wickets than Amir in the period since he received his cap and his economy rate is also superior. The Mohammads form a formidable new-ball partnership but the third seamer role is not so clear cut. When playing on spin-friendly pitches in the UAE, Pakistan often don’t need three fast bowlers.Other bowlers to have filled that role on tour in the past couple of years – Wahab Riaz, Imran Khan and Sohail Khan – were not wanted. Of the two men in the current squad, Hasan Ali has just two Tests to his name while Rahat Ali has hardly been convincing in Malahide. Perhaps that’s partly to do with rustiness: he hadn’t played a first-class match since December 2016 before this tour, which raises the question of what form – and in which format – was he selected on.Pakistan may give Hasan a run in their warm-up match against Leicester, or rest Amir and set up a bowl-off with an appearance at Lord’s the prize. One thing in Pakistan’s favour is that Faheem Ashraf’s bowling has emerged as an unexpected bonus – even if he can pull off a holding role, the rare presence of a seaming allrounder gives them more flexibility than they have had in quite some time.Rahat Ali toiled•Getty ImagesCatch them if you canIt’s hardly a new or earth-shattering observation that, at times, Pakistan’s fielding leaves much to be desired. After enforcing the follow-on they held open the door and ushered Ireland back into the game by dropping both the openers and in the process denied Amir two wickets, something to which he has become wearily accustomed. While there have been some bright moments – think Faheem’s direct hit to dismiss Ed Joyce – there have also been outfield fumbles that allowed the ball to trickle over the boundary rope, catches put down in the slips, a run-out gone begging and, most drearily, one ball fumbled twice.But perhaps the most worrying aspect has been the three catches put down by Sarfraz Ahmed. One was a difficult chance, diving low to his left, but Pakistan fans won’t want to be reminded of his predecessor, Kamran Akmal, who had a horror tour of England in 2006 and a forgettable one in 2010. Sarfraz’s role as captain and the absence a back-up wicketkeeper in the Pakistan squad means his form with the gloves is of huge importance. It’s worth noting that this will be Steve Rixon’s final tour as Pakistan’s fielding coach. The Australian’s contract is coming to an end and, after successfully overseeing Pakistan’s improvement in fifty-over fielding, he will want to leave the red ball fielding in safe… errr… hands.Top order wobblesOne of the most interesting match ups in the upcoming series against England is the battle of the tottery top orders. England’s well chronicled search for an opening partner for Alastair Cook following Andrew Strauss’ retirement and assorted other departures have led to a carousel of batsmen in recent years. Pakistan no longer have their press-up talismen Misbah-ul-haq and Younis Khan and their quest for an opening partnership that can withstand the Dukes ball on a cloudy English morning almost predates the one for the Holy Grail. Both sides lose their first three wickets before passing 100 approximately 60%of the time.But consider this: the last time Pakistan had an opening partnership of more than one hundred runs in England was in the second Test of the 1996 series, when Aamer Sohail and Saeed Anwar put on 106 for the first wicket at The Oval. In the ensuing 22 years and 32 Test innings in Old Blighty, Pakistan’s opening partnership has passed 35 on just four occasions. With so little experience in the top five, this would be an opportune moment for Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq to lead the way.Running between the wicketsThe first ball of this Test said it all. Bearing in mind the previous point, Pakistan’s opening partnerships are fragile enough without the two batsmen haring off for a, frankly, bonkers single that ended with Imam-ul-Haq flat on his back after he tangled with Tyrone Kane and then slammed his head on Niall O’Brien’s hip. So it’s fair to assume his hip bone bruised Imam almost as much as the inevitable comparisons to Uncle Inzi. You’d think the lesson would have been learned by ball two but there were more hairy moments of misjudgment to come. Ireland were sometimes scrappy in the field which saved a few blushes and meant there were no run out dismissals on Pakistan’s scorecard but a little calm will go a long way when the likes of Ben Stokes are prowling in the circle.

Since being left out of the ODI side last year, he warmed the bench for three Tests in SA and four in England, but didn’t wait to perform as soon as he returned to the 50-overs game

Shashank Kishore in Dubai21-Sep-20181:44

Dasgupta: Jadeja a ‘good headache’ for India

Much before he formally marked his ODI return after more than a year, Ravindra Jadeja was the first to enter the field before play on Friday. He walked up to the pitch, measured his run-up, bowled three imaginary balls, fielded a drive off his own bowling, fired an imaginary throw, looked back and even belted an imaginary appeal. Then he high-fived his team-mates, shared pleasantries with VVS Laxman, engaged in an animated discussion with L Sivaramakrishnan, and then joined the huddle. These were signs of clear delight that he was back, even though he exuded the body language of someone who never left.Only a week ago, Jadeja was in Jamnagar, tending to his two horses, spending time at Rann of Kutch – a barren desert of white sand – to promote Gujarat tourism. He lent finishing touches to his farmhouse titled ‘RJ’, spent time at his restaurant in Rajkot and trained for two days with his Saurashtra team at their pre-season camp in Delhi before the Vijay Hazare Trophy, India’s domestic 50-over competition.On Thursday morning, he was to prepare for Saurashtra’s match against Delhi at Feroz Shah Kotla. Instead, he was asked to board a flight to Dubai for the Asia Cup. He was to replace Axar Patel, who had injured his finger at training. Incidentally, Jadeja had replaced Axar last year too, during the home ODIs against Australia, after initially being told “he was rested.” At the time, Axar had picked up a freak injury while playing football, but Jadeja couldn’t break into the XI, and found himself out of the squad after the series.Time away from the ODI squad was spent soaking in life. He’s now a father, runs businesses in Rajkot, has become a training freak. He also likes to experiment with his facial hair, hairstyles and outfits. What he doesn’t like to experiment with, though, are his bowling methods that have yielded 368 international wickets.He bowls flat, fast and doesn’t give the batsmen any time between deliveries, bowling like a timed machine which is programmed to finish an over in 35 seconds. It’s this no-frills variety of left-arm spin that earned him four wickets upon returning to the side for the first time since the tour of the West Indies in July last year.Jadeja picked four wickets in five matches at an average of 62.25, while conceding 5.92 runs per over at last year’s Champions Trophy. In the West Indies series that followed, he couldn’t pick a wicket in two ODIs. The selectors then left him out, but insisted he was still part of their plans along with R Ashwin. But, when Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav turned into a formidable bowling partnership, Jadeja was jettisoned.Jadeja may have been hurt, but it didn’t show. He was still picking wickets at home in Tests, toured South Africa where he couldn’t get a game, featured in the IPL, played Afghanistan’s inaugural Test and warmed the bench for four Tests in England before returning to salvage a floundering first-innings in the fifth with 86 not out at The Oval. He also picked seven wickets. And so while he was away for a year from the ODI set-up, he was always on the periphery, waiting to jump in at the first available opportunity.Ravindra Jadeja appeals•Associated PressPrior to Friday, Jadeja, incidentally, had last picked an ODI wicket against Bangladesh at the Champions Trophy. That was of Shakib Al Hasan, and he dismissed Shakib again in his very first over on return, brought about by a superb on-field partnership between him, MS Dhoni and captain Rohit Sharma.Jadeja had just been swept by Shakib for a boundary behind square off a full and flat delivery. As Jadeja was about to run in for the next ball, Dhoni stopped him, chatted with Rohit, and Shikhar Dhawan was swiftly moved from midwicket to square leg. Jadeja nodded and slowed it down outside off, allowing the ball to grip and spin in from a length. Shakib wanted to clear the vacant midwicket region but was done in by the bounce and ended up dragging it to Dhawan at square leg. The move worked and Jadeja struck in his first over.The Bangladesh batsmen struggled to pick which deliveries were going to turn and those that were going straight. Loose balls were few and far in between. This was aided by swift work inside the ring. Now, the batsmen had to manufacture shots. Mohammad Mithun failed once looking to reverse paddle. Mushfiqur Rahim tried to teach him a lesson in execution, but the pressure of dot balls and a stalled run rate showed, and he spooned a simple catch to short third man. This was a typical Jadeja choke.A slow turning delivery and a full dart had brought him two wickets. Then he turned to bowl in the rough created by Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s footmarks. His biggest threat on turners are those that skid straight through. Some batsmen try to play him off the pitch and are beaten by the fizz. Mithun learnt his lessons the hard way, prodding forward and playing outside the line for turn, only for the ball to fizz through to beat the inside edge and trap him plumb.From overs 16 to 30, Bangladesh scored just one boundary. Jadeja fired in five match-turning overs out of those, that built pressure and led to a downward spiral at the first sign of attack. This was the mastery of a man who has grown up bowling on (flat) wickets in Rajkot, where accuracy is king, where there’s little or no margin for error. ‘Sir’ Jadeja left a mark immediately upon return.

If crease occupation turns itself into a substantial innings, Khawaja’s method is not a problem, but, so far this series, the tactic hasn’t translated into runs

Andrew McGlashan14-Dec-2018In a batting line-up without Steven Smith and David Warner, Usman Khawaja was billed as Australia’s leading light heading into the series against India.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe outcome of the first three innings in the opening two Tests has been somewhat different, with Khawaja rendered scoreless for long periods. Perhaps his truncated build-up, following a knee injury that required surgery, has played a part in him not being in top form, but the upshot is that Australia’s innings have stalled when he has been at the crease.In Adelaide, he made 28 off 125 balls and 8 off 42, and on the opening day in Perth, he collected only 5 off 38 balls. By the end of the first innings at the Perth Stadium, it felt as though he was playing himself out of nick. India have bowled very well at him, but he has not been able to find a release shot – even to rotate the strike. In the 205 balls faced, he has managed a solitary boundary; to jog your memory, it was a tickle down the leg side against Jasprit Bumrah in Adelaide.The pressure has told in his last two dismissals: in the second innings in Adelaide, he carved a lofted drive to deep cover and, in Perth, edged a cut against a ball that probably wasn’t quite wide enough for the shot.In the first Test, R Ashwin claimed his wicket both times but the pressure has also been created by the quicks in both Tests so far, specifically the around-the-wicket line which he has not been able to counter, at least from a position of scoring runs. His inability to find a way around it also brought his downfall against Umesh Yadav today.It could stem back to the 2017-18 Ashes. While he had a reasonably successful series, England’s quicks employed the around-the-wicket tactic repeatedly, to some success. Of Khawaja’s five dismissals to pace, four came when right-arm quicks were angling it into his body from around the stumps, and he averaged just 25.00 when targeted from that angle.In this series, he has faced 121 deliveries from around the wicket by the quicks and made just 15 runs. Some players, such as Adam Gilchrist when England’s quicks troubled him with the same line in the 2005 Ashes, would try to hit their way out, but Khawaja’s attempts had been largely about survival until he slashed at Umesh. As per ESPNcricinfo’s logs, his shot intent is defensive 78% of the time, as compared to just 65% when faced from over the stumps.There was a stark contrast with how Travis Head played on the opening day in Perth. He took a notably attacking option and scored 34 off 47 balls delivered to him from around the wicket, before slashing to third man attempting another boundary.If crease occupation eventually turns itself into a substantial innings, Khawaja’s method does not have to be a major problem, but so far this series, the tactic hasn’t translated into runs. It will be fascinating to watch what he does through the rest of the matches to try and put the pressure back on the bowlers.

It is not the average score at a venue. It’s not the scoring rate. And it’s not the perfect winning score

Anantha Narayanan15-Mar-2019

– from

The 33-year old England fast bowler produced a #ThrowbackThursday performance to help her team win the final ODI against India

Annesha Ghosh in Mumbai28-Feb-2019It is the second ODI between India and England and Katherine Brunt is fuming. If she kicks at the popping crease one more time, the umpire may have to call for mortar to fill the burgeoning cavity.Brunt is not happy with her run-up. There are too many footholes and they’re upsetting her rhythm. She had already pulled up twice earlier and this is the third time. Three times the anger, and someone’s sure going to bear the of it.”It was kind of unusual – not wet, it’s very dry,” she says, in a low, gentle voice, looking back on that passage of play. “Sometimes, being an angry fast bowler frustrates you. I don’t like to think anything gets the better of me but it just happens at times.”Punam Raut, the India opener, makes matters worse, fishing outside the off stump. Her first edge beats first slip. The second somehow slips by the most menacing presence behind the stumps – Sarah Taylor.England are faced with a tall order: they are 1-0 down and have to defend 161 to stay alive in the series and, based on Brunt’s reactions, it looks like even the ground beneath their feet is working against them.The camera is quick to cut to the exasperated fast bowler shaking her head. Within moments, Anya Shrubsole is by her side, but can anyone really calm Brunt down when she’s in this mood?”We’re still trying to figure that out,” quips coach Mark Robinson, from a corner of the Wankhede Stadium’s press-conference room, where Brunt is holding court after securing the third ODI for England, and denying India a whitewash, with figures of 5 for 28.A day before this match, the MCC announced that Brunt and Shrubsole, along with a few of their team-mates, will finally be up on the Lord’s honours board. Recognition from the home of cricket, where Brunt took the first of her five ODI five-fors. The 33-year old has been playing for 15 years – she has appeared in four 50-over World Cups – and she’s still here. The oldest member of the current squad, and maybe the most important one.Brunt was visiting India after nearly six years. More pertinently, she hadn’t taken a wicket off them in her last five innings and was coming off a back injury that had kept her out of the T20 World Cup. But there she was, running in on a pitch not particularly made for (angry) fast bowlers, and still generating enough movement to keep the opposition under pressure.It didn’t result in wickets during the first two ODIs of the series but on the third, she produced a #ThrowbackThursday performance, an encore of her five-wicket haul against India in 2010 that helped England defend 183 by a nail-biting three runs.On Thursday, in three blistering spells, Brunt simply gobbles up India’s top five. She castles Jemimah Rodrigues in the very first over. Then, in the 29th, when India are 129 for one, she has Smriti Mandhana caught at deep square-leg. India collapse, losing six wickets for 21 runs to finish on 205 for eight.You would think her job on the day is done. But if you have seen her sweat it out in the nets at the Wankhede with a bat in hand through the past week, you would know she’d be up for the chase too, should the need arise. And it does. With 32 runs to get, Brunt walks in at No. 9. No foot-holes now to bother her.She starts with a few copybook blocks and wild swings. There’s an almighty cut in 47th over off her contemporary, Jhulan Goswami. What’s meant to be a four is limited to two runs thanks to Shikha Pandey’s dive at the boundary.Brunt is in no mood to put up with more things going against her. So, three balls later, she launches left-arm spinner Rajeshwari Gayakwad for her solitary four en route to a 20-ball 18.There is one last moment of frustration, though, thanks to Raut again. With England needing only two runs to win, she pulls legspinner Poonam Yadav straight into Raut’s hands at short midwicket.Brunt doesn’t stomp her foot this time. Instead, she shakes her head in silence as her batting partner Georgia Elwiss puts an arm around her. Soon enough, she’s celebrating a pride-salvaging two-wicket win, set up by her own five-wicket haul, proving quite emphatically that though her back has required two surgeries, it’s still strong enough to carry all of England’s hopes.

Nothing has gone right for the Scorchers in a spiral few saw coming for a BBL powerhouse who had never previously missed finals

Tristan Lavalette08-Feb-2019Perth Scorchers’ wretched season is mercifully nearly over. Their final match on Saturday against Adelaide Strikers will decide which of the past two champions receives the wooden spoon.Nothing has gone right for the Scorchers in a spiral few saw coming for a BBL powerhouse who had never previously missed finals. The three-time champions had perennially been the envy of the competition through a strong culture built around a local core of cricketers playing with a hardnosed edge.With a miserable record, recriminations are set to ensue in a bid to find out how things went so wrong. Here’s a breakdown of Scorchers’ problems this season.Michael Klinger’s woesNo one has encapsulated the Scorchers’ plight more than stalwart Klinger. He had been a pillar at the top of the order with his measured batting consistently getting Scorchers off to nerveless starts.Perhaps age caught up with him after he averaged just 14.50 with a dire strike-rate of 85.79 – well down from his average of 32.50 striking at 123 during his previous four seasons with the Scorchers. Klinger’s struggles combined with the absences of Shaun Marsh and Cameron Bancroft, for varying reasons, made the top-order unstable further underlined by seven different opening combinations used.Klinger’s impending retirement from Scorchers signals an end of an era.