Each of India’s four frontline bowlers is good against either right-handed batsmen or left-handed batsmen. Not both.

Karthik Krishnaswamy01-Mar-2014In the eighth over of Sri Lanka’s innings on Friday, Virat Kohli brought R Ashwin into the attack. He replaced Mohammed Shami, who had given away 22 runs in his first three overs. At the other end, Bhuvneshwar Kumar had been much less expensive, conceding just seven runs in four overs.A bit of post-match number-crunching reveals that the situation shouldn’t have come as a surprise. Kusal Perera and Lahiru Thirimanne, Sri Lanka’s openers, are both left-handed, and Shami has a poor record against left-handers, averaging 55.00 and conceding 6.43 runs per over. It was no surprise, either, that Bhuvneshwar had kept them so quiet. He has an economy rate of 4.30 against left-handers, and an average of 26.12.The numbers of India’s new-ball bowlers against right-handers, meanwhile, tell a very different story. Shami has an average of 21.02 and an economy rate of 5.48, which is expensive but still better, by nearly a run every over, than the corresponding figure against left-handers. Bhuvneshwar, against right-handers, averages 46.42 and gives away exactly five runs an over.There was good reason also for Ashwin to come on in Shami’s place. He has an average of 26.45 and an economy rate of 4.65 against left-handers. Against right-handers, he averages 39.70 and concedes 5.09 runs per over.Ashwin was hit for a six in his first over and briefly taken off the attack, but settled into a good rhythm and trapped Thirimanne lbw with a ball that skidded in from around the wicket. At the 20-over mark, Sri Lanka were 93 for 1. Ashwin had bowled six overs and conceded 25 runs. He – and India’s attack – had only bowled to left-handers so far, with Kumar Sangakkara having come in at No. 3.It was here that Ravindra Jadeja came on. Kohli might have waited this long because Jadeja hasn’t tasted too much success against left-handers, averaging 58.43 and giving away 5.50 runs an over. India have also been reluctant to use him against left-handers. They have only faced 21% of all the balls he has bowled in ODIs. It’s likely that other left-arm spinners around the world bowl a similarly small percentage of their overs to left-handed batsmen.Ashwin, however, bowls 65.40% of his deliveries to right-handers; he can’t escape it, since there are so many of them. His break-up between right- and left-handed batsmen is similar to those of Shami (roughly 63-37) and Bhuvneshwar (65-35). Their numbers seem to correspond far better than Jadeja’s to what must be the distribution of right- and left-handed batsmen in international cricket.Back to the match. Jadeja gave away 12 runs in his first two overs, before he was taken off for Ambati Rayudu, an off-spinner, in the 25th over. He came back three overs later, as soon as Ashwin had spun one viciously to have Perera caught behind. The reason for Jadeja’s reintroduction wasn’t too difficult to fathom: Mahela Jayawardene, a right-hander, had just walked in. Against them, Jadeja averages 28.84 and goes for 4.51 runs an over.Real life doesn’t rigidly conform to statistics, of course. Jadeja nearly had Sangakkara in the second over of his new spell, only for Dinesh Karthik to fluff up an easy stumping. In Jadeja’s next over, though, things got back to normal. An exaggerated sort of normal. Jayawardene scooped him straight to extra cover and Chandimal, next ball, was bowled by a ripper that pitched middle and hit off. Two balls, two right-handers, two wickets.Sri Lanka took the batting Powerplay in the 36th over, bowled by Jadeja. For the next over, with a right-left pair at the crease, Kohli could have brought on either of his two seamers, and each of them had four overs left to bowl. He chose Shami. Second ball, he jagged one back to trap the right-handed Mathews in front. In his next over, Sachithra Senanayake, another right-hander, popped him straight to midwicket.Jadeja and Ashwin finished their 10-over quotas by the end of the 45th over. Their numbers told a tale that was in line with the story of their careers. Against Sri Lanka’s right-handers, Jadeja gave away six runs in 26 balls and took two wickets. He bowled 34 balls to their left-handers, conceded 26 runs, and took the wicket of Chathuranga de Silva.Ashwin, for once, was bowling to a team with a large number of left-handed batsmen in its top-order, and India could therefore use him the way they normally use Jadeja. Ashwin bowled 59 of his 60 balls to left-handers, taking two wickets and conceding 43 runs.Sri Lankan teams, historically, have contained a lot of left-handed batsmen, and it’s no surprise Ashwin has an excellent record against them – 26 wickets at an average of 25.73, and an economy rate of 4.52. Jadeja, as you would expect, hasn’t done quite as well in terms of taking wickets, his 23 strikes coming at an average of 38.60, even if his economy rate is a more than decent 4.74.With five overs left, Bhuvneshwar and Shami took over. By now, neither could do anything to stop a rampant Sangakkara, particularly with dew hampering their control. They bowled nine full-tosses in the last five overs, and Sangakkara’s hundred took Sri Lanka home by two wickets.Despite the hammering Sangakkara dished out to him – 26 runs off 12 balls – Bhuvneshwar finished his spell with reasonable figures of 0 for 45 in 9.2 overs. Again, India had the option of using him solely against left-handers if they wished, and they did so. Bhuvneshwar didn’t deliver a single ball to a right-hander.Shami, meanwhile, bowled 10 balls to right-handed batsmen, went for 16 runs, and took two wickets. He bowled 50 balls to left-handers, conceded 66 runs, and took one wicket off a full-toss. His display against Sri Lanka was a microcosm of his career, and so were those of the other three frontline bowlers. Any team planning for a match against India would do well to shuffle their batting order to exploit this quirk in their attack.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the third ODI

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford28-May-2014Extra ball of the dayThe wide call against James Anderson off what would have been the final ball of his second over was borderline, but it proved perfect for England. With the seventh delivery, Anderson nipped one back off the seam to take Tillakaratne Dilshan’s inside edge through to Jos Buttler. The man who had held Sri Lanka together in Durham was out early.Good news of the dayForecasts are to be taken with a pinch of salt, but the one for Manchester on Wednesday looked bad enough to presume chances of play would be slim. It rained heavily overnight and into the morning and the covers were still on shortly before the 1.30pm scheduled toss time. But a few moments later it was confirmed play would begin only 20 minutes late – a credit to the Old Trafford drainage and groundstaff. It still required a multiple layers, a thermos and, for the players, some hand-warmers but at least there was a game to watch.Field setting of the day“Be more aggressive,” has been the call to Alastair Cook from various quarters. Well, here he had an opportunity to show he does have it in him to seize the moment. Sri Lanka were three down and Dinesh Chandimal was walking to the crease. Immediately, Cook signalled for a helmet for a short leg and by the time Chandimal took guard there were also three slips poised. With the ball zipping around and Sri Lanka in trouble it was not the most taxing decision for Cook, but it was still encouraging to see.Frame-it moment of the dayEngland’s fielding has been inconsistent to say the least of late. Catches have gone down and run outs missed. When Anderson missed the chance to run out Mahela Jayawardene it revived the notion that England do not hit the stumps very often, although it is one of cricket’s weaknesses that readily available statistics on such incidents are not easily available. Anyhow, later in the innings Ravi Bopara showed that it can be done when he swooped from mid-on and hit the one-and-a-half stumps he had to aim at to find Ashan Priyanjan comfortably short.

Also, the oldest man to score an ODI century on debut, four innings on the same day, poor double-centurions, and the rugby relative

Steven Lynch25-Mar-2014In the Test in which Jim Laker took 19 wickets, obviously only two bowlers took wickets for England. Are there any other instances of two bowlers sharing all 20 wickets in a match? asked Jonathan Bell from England
The Old Trafford Ashes Test of 1956, in which Jim Laker took 19 for 90 and Tony Lock 1 for 106, was the fourth of only six instances in Tests where two bowlers shared all 20 opposition wickets. The same Australian side was involved in another case less than three months later: on their way home they played a Test in Karachi, in which Fazal Mahmood took 13 for 114 and Khan Mohammad 7 for 112 for Pakistan. The only instance in nearly 1700 matches since then came at Lord’s in 1972, when Bob Massie – making his Test debut for Australia – took 16 for 137, and Dennis Lillee 4 for 140. The first such case was in 1901-02, when Monty Noble (13 for 77) and Hugh Trumble (7 for 87) shared all England’s wickets in the second Test in Melbourne. In the first Test of the 1909 Ashes series, at Edgbaston, Colin Blythe took 11 for 102 and George Hirst 9 for 86 for England, while a few months later in Johannesburg the feat was achieved against England, by the South African legspinners Ernie Vogler (12 for 181) and Aubrey Faulkner (8 for 160).What’s the highest score in a Twenty20 international by the wicketkeeper? asked Jewel Ahmed from India
The only wicketkeeper to score a century in T20 internationals so far is Brendon McCullum, whose 123 for New Zealand against Bangladesh in Pallekele in the 2012 World T20 came in a match in which he also kept wicket. Actually McCullum currently has the three highest T20 scores by a wicketkeeper – he also made 91 against India in Chennai in September 2012, and 81 not out against Zimbabwe in Harare in October 2011. Next comes Kumar Sangakkara, with 78 for Sri Lanka against India in Nagpur in December 2009, just ahead of Mohammad Shahzad’s 77 for Afghanistan v Ireland in Dubai in March 2012. McCullum’s other T20 century – 116 not out in a tie against Australia in Christchurch in February 2010 – came in a match in which Gareth Hopkins kept wicket.Was Michael Lumb the oldest man to score a century in his first one-day international? asked Savo Ceprnich from South Africa
Michael Lumb was 34 years 16 days old when he scored 106 on ODI debut for England against West Indies in Antigua last month. He was only the ninth man ever to score a hundred in his first one-day international, and the second for England after Dennis Amiss, against Australia at Old Trafford in 1972. Amiss was 29 then, which made him the previous-oldest debut centurion. The youngest was 18-year-old Saleem Elahi for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Gujranwala in September 1995. For the full list of batsmen who scored hundreds on ODI debut, click here.Four players were older than Lumb when they made their first one-day hundreds for England (but not on their debut): Clive Radley and Nasser Hussain were also 34, Wayne Larkins 35, and Geoff Boycott 39.The 2011-12 Cape Town Test between South Africa and Australia saw part of all four innings being played on the same day. How often has this happened? asked Harshvardhan from India
That Test at Newlands – in which Australia were rolled for 47 in their second innings, which actually represented quite a recovery from 21 for 9 – was only the third instance of a day’s play in a Test containing part of all four innings. Australia had started the second day on 214 for 8; they made it to 284 before bowling South Africa out for 96. Then came Australia’s sensational collapse, and South Africa had made 81 for 1 by the end of a day in which 23 wickets fell. The first such instance was at Lord’s in 2000, when the second day started with the one ball required to wrap up West Indies’ first innings for 267. After England limped to 134 all out, West Indies were demolished for 54, and there was just time for England to go in again (they were 0 for 0 in their second innings at the close). It happened again on a rain-affected pitch in Hamilton in 2002-03. After the first day was washed out, India reached 92 for 8 after a late start on the second. On the third day they made it to 99, then bowled New Zealand out for 94. India then made 154, and New Zealand had reached 24 for 0 in their second innings by the close.I once heard that Faoud Bacchus has the lowest average of those making a 250 in Tests. Now Brendon McCullum has made a triple-century, is he the man with the lowest average having made 300? asked Andrew Shirley from the UK
The West Indian batsman Faoud Bacchus, who averaged only 26.06 in Tests despite scoring 250 against India in Kanpur in 1978-79, did hold that particular record for a time – but he was beaten, if that’s the right word, by Wasim Akram – his overall Test average was 22.64, notwithstanding an innings of 257 not out against Zimbabwe in Sheikhupura in 1996-97. Brendon McCullum currently averages 38.09 in Tests, fractionally the lowest of any of the 24 triple-centurions, although he does have the chance to slip past England’s Andy Sandham – the only other man in the thirties, with 38.21 – if he continues his current fine form. The lowest average by anyone with a Test double-century is Jason Gillespie’s 18.73.Someone told me Allan Lamb’s brother-in-law captained England at rugby – is this true? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan via Facebook
I don’t think it is true: according to Allan Lamb’s autobiography, his wife Lindsay had one sister and one brother, Richard Bennett, who took over the running of the family farm in South Africa when their father died. I’ve been trying to think of a different combination of relations, without much luck: the best I can do on this particular front is the Old brothers, Chris and Alan, who once played Test cricket and rugby union for England on the same day.(Added March 25): After I wrote this, another ardent Facebooker, Pete Church, reminded me there was another way of acquiring a brother-in-law! Allan Lamb has two sisters – one of whom, Brenda, married Tony Bucknall, who won ten rugby caps for England between 1969 and 1971. He captained them in one but lost, maintaining the family’s 0% success rate in that regard!

Also, a century and a duck in the same Test, Ballance’s hundreds, Ishant’s terrible average, and Lawry’s autobiography

Steven Lynch05-Aug-2014Is it true that Pankaj Singh’s figures were the worst by any bowler on Test debut? asked Mohan Acharya from India
The unfortunate Pankaj Singh conceded 179 runs in the third Test against England in Southampton, the most by any bowler on debut without getting a wicket. The previous record was held by Sohail Khan, who took 0 for 164 in his first Test for Pakistan, against Sri Lanka in Karachi in February 2009. He’s played one further Test (so far) and did manage a wicket in that one. In all, 37 bowlers have conceded 100 or more runs without taking a wicket on Test debut. Pankaj Singh could perhaps take inspiration from one of the other four Indians on that particular list – left-arm spinner Bapu Nadkarni had figures of 0 for 142 in his first Test, against New Zealand in Delhi in 1955-56, but went on to take 88 wickets at less than 30 apiece in a distinguished career. If you missed it, there was a charming article on Pankaj’s plight on ESPNcricinfo during the Southampton Test.Has anyone scored a century and a duck in the same Test more often than Mahela Jayawardene? asked Bipin Mendis from Sri Lanka
Mahela Jayawardene achieved this bittersweet double in the recent Test against South Africa in Colombo, following 165 in the first innings with 0 in the second. This was the 151st time a batsman had made a century and a duck in the same Test. Jayawardene also did it against Australia in Hobart in November 2007 (104 and a golden duck). He’s one of 19 players who have done it twice – a distinguished line-up also including Don Bradman, Viv Richards and Sachin Tendulkar – but two men have achieved the feat on three occasions: Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Andrew Strauss. For the full list, click here.A colleague has pointed out that Gary Ballance had three Test centuries but only 590 runs after his 156 at Southampton. Azharuddin had three hundreds and 385 runs, but has anyone else bettered Ballance? asked Jean-Pierre Desrosnay from England
You’re right to say that Gary Ballance had 590 runs after his first-innings 156 in the third Test against India in Southampton. Mohammad Azharuddin does indeed top this list – his first four innings in Tests were 110; 48, 105; and 122 (385 runs). Rather surprisingly, perhaps, there are no fewer than 21 other players who had fewer than Ballance’s 590 runs at the end of the innings that produced their third century. Next to Azharuddin come Ravi Bopara (397 runs), Arthur Morris (429) and Ian Botham (445), just ahead of George Headley (470). Ballance is only the fifth man to score three centuries in his first six Tests for England, following AC “Jack” Russell, Les Ames, Len Hutton and the aforementioned (and half-forgotten) Bopara. Thirteen batsmen from other countries achieved the feat, including Don Bradman, George Headley and Sunil Gavaskar, who all scored four centuries in their first six Tests.I heard that James Anderson was the second bowler to bowl more than 500 overs in Test cricket in successive years. Who was the first? asked Shubh Aggarwal from India
James Anderson sent down 566.2 overs in 2012, and 531.5 in 2013, so did achieve the feat in successive years. I think what you heard must have been referring to fast bowlers, since three spinners have also done it: Shane Warne in 1993, 1994, 1995 (and seven times in all), Muttiah Muralitharan in 1997, 1998 and also 2000, 2001, and Danish Kaneria in 2006, 2007. But the only other paceman to manage it was Mitchell Johnson, with 585 overs in 2008 and 502.5 the following year. Glenn McGrath delivered more than 500 overs in four different calendar years – but never successive ones.Among specialist bowlers who have played 50 or more Tests, how many have a worse average than Ishant Sharma? asked Makarand Deshpande from Canada
After his career-best 7 for 74 against England at Lord’s last month, Ishant Sharma had 174 wickets to his name in 57 Tests. The only specialist bowlers with a higher average, having played at least 50 Tests, are Ravi Shastri (151 wickets at 40.96 in 80 matches), Ashley Giles (143 at 40.60 in 54), John Emburey (147 at 38.40 in 64) and Fidel Edwards (165 at 37.87 in 55). Carl Hooper is top overall, with 114 wickets at 49.42 from 102 matches, but he wasn’t a specialist bowler (you might argue that Shastri, who often opened the batting, wasn’t really a specialist bowler by the end of his career either). For the full list, click here (qualification: 50 wickets in 50 Tests).Which cricketer’s autobiography was called “Run-Digger”? asked Chris Lee from England
Run-Digger was the early autobiography produced by the Australian batsman Bill Lawry, which came out in 1966. It’s a pretty slim volume – only 128 pages – and covers only about half of Lawry’s eventual 67 Tests, and doesn’t include the fairly stormy period of his captaincy, which started a couple of years after the book was published. So maybe there’s a gap in the market for the updated story of arguably Australia’s most famous pigeon-fancier!

Alastair Cook’s qualities as England captain have been widely debated. England’s five-Test series against India is about to determine his future

George Dobell08-Jul-2014Amid all the advice and criticism heaped towards Alastair Cook in recent weeks, one truism has shone out: he needs to score more runs if he is to be an effective captain of England.Cook may never be a Churchillian orator or a Napoleonic strategist. He may never shock or inspire with his words or his tactics.But leadership comes in many forms. And the Cook who scored back-to-back centuries in Ahmedabad and Mumbai, the Cook who insisted that Kevin Pietersen was recalled at the end of 2012, the Cook who made seven centuries in his first 11 Tests as captain and the Cook who won nine and lost only one of his first 15 Tests as captain, did inspire and lift his team.He might not offer genius, but he does offer hard work, commitment and determination. He led by example.Whether such qualities are enough to succeed at this level remains to be seen. Indeed, the next seven weeks may define Cook’s rein as captain; if England lose, it is hard to see how he can continue in the role.But Cook’s successes as captain seem to have been air-brushed out of history in recent times. To win in India, particularly having been a Test down, is a fine achievement. And, less than a year ago, he led England to a 3-0 Ashes victory. The complacency with which that result was greeted now seems incredible.He has obvious limitations. His inability to find a solution to the Pietersen dilemma has not only weakened his side, but instigated a saga that continues to weigh him down. Equally he has struggled to integrate some characters – the likes of Nick Compton, Simon Kerrigan and Boyd Rankin – into a set-up that, if it were a little more hospitable, might coax the best out of more players.But most of the criticism he has attracted has been for more mundane factors. It has been for his conservative field placings and safety-first declarations. It has been for a continuation of the tactics employed by Andrew Strauss and Andy Flower in taking England to No. 1 in the Test rankings and factors that constitute a relatively small fraction of the role of captain.He knows he has to improve. He knows that his seamers will have to be utilised in shorter spells if they are to remain effective. He knows he has to find a way to cope without Graeme Swann’s control and he knows there may be times when he has to be more inventive in the field.But many of his faults have been exaggerated. While England certainly did not cover themselves in glory at Leeds, Shane Warne’s suggestion that Cook’s leadership was the worst he had seen in 25 years was hyperbole. In that period, we have seen captains urge players to underperform for money and to manipulate games for a leather jacket. In the grand scheme of things, Cook’s decision to persist with a deep extra cover rather than a third slip does not amount to much.Cook does not necessarily have to change his attritional style. It worked for Strauss and, if it comes naturally to Cook, it is better he sticks with it rather than trying to reinvent himself as an aggressive, risk-taker. It is just not his way and, in truth, it has rarely been the England way.Besides, Cook was let down by his senior players as much as his own decision making against Sri Lanka. Many of the tactical failings for which he has been blamed would have been masked if his seamers had bowled fuller and his wicketkeeper taken a couple of chances. The fact that four players have registered centuries in their second Tests in recent months might even suggest that the team environment is improving.It is hard to recall a time when England have had a captain that has not attracted an almost unbearable amount of criticism. Certainly Andrew Strauss, who even with his team at No. 1 in the Test ratings, faced calls to step down, knows how Cook is feeling. So does Mike Gatting, whose side won none of his final 14 Test in charge.Even the best of recent vintage such as Mike Brearley, whose Test batting average of 22.88 would have seen him under immense pressure in the modern era, and Michael Vaughan, who was captain when England lost the 2007 series against India, had to deal with similar issues at one stage or another. Like the manager of the England football team, it is becoming a job in which it is impossible to please.But, in the short term, the fact remains that many of the problems Cook currently faces will fade away if he can only rediscover his form with the bat. Without a century in 24 innings and averaging only 25.04 in that time, Cook knows he is not pulling his weight at a batsman. With little tactical acumen to compensate, that weakness is exacerbated.There is no reason to suspect his dip in form – prolonged though it is – should be terminal. Anyone capable of making 25 Test centuries by the age of 28 has proved they are an exceptional player and, aged 29 now, the best may be ahead of him. The suggestion that bowlers have only just started testing him outside off stump seems naïve; it was always the default angle of attack.”I’m desperately keen to lead from the front,” Cook said on the eve of the Trent Bridge Test. “I know how important it is at the top of the order to do that.”I’m in there because I’m one of the top six batters in the country. My job is to score the runs and set up the game for England. It doesn’t matter whether you’re captain or not.”I haven’t been doing that over the last year or so and no one is keener than me to put that right. I’ve worked very hard over the last 10 days. I’ve just got to make sure my mind is totally clear so that when I go out there I can concentrate on the most important thing, which is that ball coming down.”The India management, to their immense credit, have not sought to capitalise on Cook’s difficulties. After the coach, Duncan Fletcher, backed him to recover his form at the start of tour media conference, their captain, MS Dhoni, utilised his pre-series media conference to urge Cook to ignore the criticism.But other critics will be relentless and Cook admitted that he had required a “thick skin” in recent weeks. But he also reiterated his determination not to step down from the role whatever happens in the next 42 days.”You have to be determined and stick to your guns. We all know you are judged on results and results have not been good enough. If we turn it round and win games of cricket things will be different.”I’m incredibly proud to be England captain. I have thrown everything into it and continue to. Until that day the selectors decide I’m not the right man for the job I will continue to. It is a huge honour to do this and I can go to sleep knowing that I’ve thrown everything I’ve got into it.”Cook’s hard work and determination have never been in doubt. The next seven weeks may well determine whether they are enough.

It is too early to know whether Varun Aaron can bowl with consistent pace but his impact at Old Trafford has been heartening for India fans

Sidharth Monga at Old Trafford08-Aug-2014Rarely does MS Dhoni collect a ball with fingers pointing skywards and the ball thudding into his gloves. Even on this pitch, the quickest this set of India players might have played on, he barely felt the thud. Not from one end, though. Varun Aaron, playing his first Test in two-and-a-half years, only his seventh first-class match since his last Test, having recovered from five stress fractures over his short career, repeatedly kept thudding into those camouflage gloves when not drawing a hurried response from the batsman.It is too early to say anything substantial about Aaron – he has yet to come back for a proper second spell on the day, he has not been the most accurate, this is inherently a quick pitch, and he is not 95mph either – but there is pace, and that should excite India.Raw pace sometimes get underrated. Sometimes you can get away with lack of accuracy if you have that raw pace. All three of his wickets have come through pace, and more satisfactorily two of those have come with the full ball after he had pushed the batsmen back. Watching a batsmen bowled through the gate after having been troubled with a bouncer previous ball is something Indian fans don’t usually get to celebrate. Aaron did that to Moeen Ali after extending, in consent with his captain, his over by one spell.Moeen Ali was set up by Varun Aaron’s bouncer followed by a full, swinging delivery•Getty ImagesAaron’s role in the team is to bowl short and sharp spells, but India don’t have the luxury of sustained pressure from the other end, so as to give Aaron – like Michael Clarke does Mitchell Johnson – four-over spells religiously. “There is no role as such,” Aaron said, asked if he had the liberty to go flat out in short bursts. “Obviously there is a clear message that I have to bowl quick whenever I bowl. I have bowled a six-over spell too, so bowling five or six overs is not a problem. It depends on the situation also. But yeah, shorter spells are always better.”Aaron had bowled flat out on the second morning, for four overs almost consistently over 85mph. Dhoni walked up to him before the next, and asked him if he could bowl another. Both felt they were on to something. Moeen was on strike. He has had problems with the short ball. Aaron said Moeen being on strike didn’t play any part in the decision, but he wanted to bowl that extra over.The first ball was a bouncer at the throat, at around 88mph, and hit Moeen’s glove even as he was halfway into the shot. The next ball was a peach, pitched up, swinging in late, past the inside edge of a high backlift, thudding into the pad, and then into the stumps. He would have had Moeen plumb lbw had he not hit the stumps.Aaron was pretty satisfied with that dismissal without being smug about it. “In the previous match also, he had a problem against the short ball,” Aaron said. “And even at Lord’s. So I was obviously watching from the sidelines, and knew if I got a couple of good bouncers in, he might be in trouble. Good bouncer set-up followed by a good full ball is a good option.”A year and a half ago, bowling quick again was just a dream for Aaron. He was getting operated in London to relieve him of a fifth stress fracture. “When I got operated, one of my targets back then was to come on this tour,” Aaron said. “I am really glad I am here, I am finally playing, and I have had a decent match so far.”There was no question he would hold back, though. “If I held myself back, I wouldn’t be bowling quick at all,” Aaron said. “I have had five stress fractures. If I am not holding myself back now, I don’t see a reason to ever hold myself back.”There will soon be a longer day in the field, followed by a Test with a three-day break. That will provide a more accurate assessment of if Aaron can sustain his pace, and what he can do with it.

ESPNcricinfo marks the Sri Lankan players out of 10 following their series loss against South Africa

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Jul-2014

8

Dilruwan Perera
(16 wickets at 23.12)A break out series, in which he was easily the most menacing Sri Lanka bowler on two spin-friendly tracks. There were occasional poor overs in Galle, but at the SSC, Perera’s lines and lengths were impeccable. The deliveries to dismiss AB de Villiers and Vernon Philander in the first innings would have had virtually any batsman in the world in trouble. Bowled a few unplayable balls on the final day too, but did not quite have the luck. He is a nice fit for this attack’s line-and-length ethos, and will perhaps learn a few more tricks through experience.Angelo Mathews
(242 runs at 121, 1 wicket at 36)He blocks. He bashes. He shares the strike with batsmen, and hogs it in the company of bowlers. Is there a more in-form batsman in the world right now? Sri Lanka fans used to feel the game was never lost until Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene were dismissed, but increasingly, Mathews is becoming that man. At the SSC, he moved up to No. 5, which is where he wishes to bat in the future. His grip on cricket strategy continues to improve. The only criticism you might level is that the declaration at the SSC was maybe half an hour too late.

7

Rangana Herath
(12 wickets at 28.58)A five-wicket haul on the final day of the series seemed to reawaken the matchwinner in Rangana Herath, even if he could not get his side over the line in Colombo. He retains all the control of old, and still works batsmen over, but in Galle, he was not able to deliver the finishing blows fans are used to seeing from him. He bowled 172 overs against South Africa, which is bordering on insane for two back-to-back Tests. Sri Lanka should be wary, or his left arm may soon fall off.

6

Mahela Jayawardene
(178 runs at 44.50)Contributed only 13 runs in three of his innings, but then played the innings of the series to set up Sri Lanka’s push for victory at his home ground. That 165 was like so many other fine Jayawardene innings. No teammate scored even half as many runs. He had come in and played aggressively from 16 for 2, and when he was eventually run out, the rest of the team crumbled after him. Was perhaps unlucky to be given out for a duck in the second innings. He took two good slip catches in the final evening to take his career tally to 200.

5

Kumar Sangakkara
(172 runs at 43)Was out to two short balls and a long hop in the series, but when South Africa tried to bounce him out again in the second innings at SSC, he responded with aggression. He could not extend his string of consecutive fifties at Galle, but the two half-centuries he did score were important knocks. But given his form in the past two years, a series average of 43 will be a personal disappointment.

4

Suranga Lakmal
(4 wickets at 43.75)Toiled away on two decks that did not really suit him. Achieved a little reverse swing at both venues, but the batsmen were largely comfortable with his pace. He desperately missed the support of Shaminda Eranga at the other end, as well. Continues to be consistently economical, if not always penetrative.Upul Tharanga
(138 runs at 34.50)A fine comeback innings of 83, but not much of note after that. He has earned his place after a year of domestic achievement, but is still a long way from proving he can be a long-term opening option for Sri Lanka. The plays and misses outside off stump continue to plague him, as they have done in his ODI career, but once he gets through that gauntlet, the runs flow from his blade. He is still only 29, so if he can minimise the early risks, a decent Test career still beckons.Kaushal Silva
(116 runs at 29)Silva is not the kind of player to throw away his wicket, but he did not make use of three good starts in the series, when big totals seemed on offer. This was his first full series without a fifty, but with Pakistan coming up – against whom he excelled in January – he will hope to begin carving out the kinds of consistent runs that made him a first-class behemoth over several years.Where do we go now? Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal will feel the pressure after Niroshan Dickwella’s debut•AFP

One Test

7

Niroshan Dickwella
(88 at 44, 2 catches, 1 stumping)Off the plane at Colombo around 36 hours before the match began, Dickwella had the kind of debut that had fans buzzing about the possibilities. His first-innings 72 was full of the verve that had defined him as a schoolboy and first-class cricketer, and while his keeping was less than perfect, it was not a terrible effort for a man who has not kept to these bowlers before. The selectors will know they have something to work with here, and perhaps even more importantly, his presence around the national team should light a fire under the likes of Lahiru Thirimanne and Dinesh Chandimal.

4

Lahiru Thirimanne
(50 runs at 25)Dropped more for his lean streak that began in England, rather than for just the Galle performance alone. He has only made one fifty across all formats since becoming vice-captain. The selectors will strongly consider giving him his place back for the Pakistan series, but they have now conveyed to him that he is on thin ice, despite the leadership role.

3

Kithuruwan Vithanage
(20 runs at 10)At times, he looked at sea even against the South Africa spinners at SSC. The aggressive approach has worked for him in the past, but he may have to find the balance that will allow him to express himself against top opposition. He will probably get more opportunities over the next few series. His part-time legspin makes him a more attractive pick, but that could do with some work as well.

2

Dinesh Chandimal
(7 at 3.5, 3 catches)Once the most promising of Sri Lanka’s young batsmen, Chandimal’s cricket has gone through a frustrating lean patch. Getting out playing the hook in single figures three times in a row was the breaking point for the selectors. He will have to win his place back via good A team performances.Ajantha Mendis
(0 wickets, 85 runs conceded)Ineffective in the first innings, and he went missing in the second, when Sri Lanka desperately needed wickets from him. He is still a decent limited-overs operator, but his Test career appears to be at a major crossroads.

Batsmen who didn’t quite light up the tournament

25-Nov-2014Inzamam-ul-Haq
19 runs at 3.16 in 2003
Inzamam made his name with one of the greatest World Cup innings during the 1992 tournament. Famously, he helped Pakistan cane New Zealand’s surprise weapon, offspinner Dipak Patel, for 22 runs in Patel’s last two overs. In 2003, though, Inzamam couldn’t manage 22 runs across the entire tournament. In an effort to prolong his career, he had committed to a diet that helped him lose 17 kg, but the first evidence of its impact was disastrous. He made only 19 runs from six matches in South Africa, and not once could he reach double-figures. Recalling that trial for the , Inzy vowed, “I never do that again”.Allan Border

60 runs at 8.57 in 1992
Border might have turned the 1987 World Cup final Australia’s way with this weaker suit, getting England’s Mike Gatting to mis-hit reverse sweep off his left-arm spin, but just over four years later, as Australia tried to defend their title, Border couldn’t come through with his stronger suit. He averaged 8.57 in the tournament, totalling just 60 runs from seven innings. The captain’s nightmare series was not without consequences for his team, as they were knocked out at the group stage in a tournament they were co-hosting.Nathan Astle

79 runs at 8.77 in 1999
The New Zealand batsman’s World Cup career got off to a roaring start in 1996 as his century helped defeat England. That was not a harbinger of things to come: he had to wait ten more innings before reaching double-digits, and that when it came was a 11 against Scotland in 1999. He had three ducks in 2003 as well, but balanced those out with several important innings. His ’96 campaign was also salvaged a bit by that hundred against England. There was no such solace in ’99 as he ran up a sequence of: 4, 4, 2, 0, 11, 20, 9, 26, 3.Mahela Jayawardene made only 5 in the 2003 World Cup semi-final, but made up for it with a classic century in the semi-final four years later•Nick Laham/Getty ImagesMahela Jayawardene

21 runs at 3.00 in 2003
Jayawardene often finds himself being an example of how calculated strokeplay is always better than slogging. No one would have made that argument from his contributions during the 2003 World Cup though. The extra pace and bounce in South Africa got the better of him, and his best chance to get back in form did not pan out as he was not required to bat against Bangladesh or Canada. Coming away with 21 runs off seven innings in the showpiece event of the ODI calendar is not quite flattering to a man who likes the big occasion. But one thing he did do right was cling on to Ehsanul Haque’s outside edge that ensured Chaminda Vaas became the first and only bowler to claim a hat-trick off the first three balls in an international match.Keith Arthurton
2 runs at 0.40 in 1996
On each of his previous tours to India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, the West Indies batsman had reasonable success with the bat. It was expected that he would be able to cope with the conditions in the subcontinent during the 1996 World Cup. Instead, he had arguably the worst World Cup for a specialist batsman, scoring 2 runs in five innings. That wretched run included ducks in the loss to Kenya, and in the famous meltdown against Australia in the semi-final. It cost him his place in the one-day side for two years.

Youngsters are out in force and when they are not playing video games or doing Mexican waves, some are even watching the cricket

Jarrod Kimber14-Jan-20153:10

Mel Farrell experiences a colourful night at the Big Bash League in Sydney – in more ways than one

“Rock solid. Sideways drift. Whip. Flip.”This is what an excitable man with a microphone is screaming as I walk into the Docklands stadium. It’s a Melbourne Renegades home game against their cross-town rivals Melbourne Stars, from a 45-minute walk away. The roof is closed but the announcer is trying to raise it.The crowd cheer. It’s not often the crowd cheer a game. It’s not often before a game that a massive jump is set up on the outfield for a bunch of dirt bikes to do rock solids on. The Melbourne Renegade Extreme Team are tearing it up. Well, not tearing up the outfield – they drive around the AstroTurf, and then when they get onto the ground they travel very cagily until they are on their boards.Every time the series of jumps is completed, the crowd cheer a little less. The crowd is not clued up in the subtle difference between a back flip and a rock solid. It’s like when a T20 crowd cheers a six over midwicket the same way they cheer one over cover. They need some context to understand that hitting the ball over cover is far harder than hitting over midwicket.But we’re not here for context, we’re here for the Big Bash League.It is my first Big Bash league game. I did go to Big Bash games before it was a league. They had fewer dirt bikes. I have also been to the IPL, the English T20 league and the World T20. I’m pretty solid on T20. I know the gimmicks. I know about the countdown clock. I know about the Spanish horn. I know about the cheerleaders.Kevin Pietersen and Dwayne Bravo take a tumble at Docklands•Cricket AustraliaI scan the ground for the cheerleaders. In the IPL I love it when they forget which team they are supporting. I loved it when Surrey hired a bunch of dancing students who seemed to be on their first lessons. And when the World T20 included men in baggy jumpers. Here there are none. There are smoke machines. But, they have no pom-poms. How will I enjoy this sporting endeavour without fit women gyrating to crap music in a family-friendly sexual way?I’m sitting three rows from the top of the Coventry End. There were times I thought I was at the other end, but that was only because the announcer routinely got the two ends mixed up.The Renegade players were announced on the big screen like it was an NBA game. But other than for James Pattinson, the crowd showed no real interest in the players. Not even for Nick Winter – which, if said in the style of an American ground announcer, does sound quite cool.I spent several minutes trying to work out who had the most fans. My wife often referred to them as the red ones and the green ones. Many in Melbourne do the same. It seemed like there were as many Stars (green) as there were Renegades (red).Next to me was a family of three. The father wore green, the youngest son red and the bigger son green. I wondered if they ever argued about the youngest son’s choice to abandon the family clan.As the Renegades come out, the announcer yells “your Melbourne Renegades”. No one seems to notice.

It is important that you don’t think about the cricket too much. If T20 is the sport that is supposed to bring in a new crowd of fans, those at the ground are presumably learning about it through some sort of cricket osmosis

The first over is better than I could have ever imagined. It starts with a wide. Then an edge that two men should have caught. Then five wides. Then another wide. Then a play and miss. A misfield. Another play and miss. Probably not in that order. And there was also a leave. The leave was the only thing that was booed in an over where both batsmen, the bowler, the keeper, the cover and the slip were embarrassing.Maybe if we rename the leave a “rock solid”, people will cheer it more.The crowd smash together their true-value power sticks, or fun sticks, or thunder sticks. They are big plastic noises-making sticks, and regularly at moments where you might want to think about the ball that has just been bowled you are told to slam them together.It is important that you don’t think about the cricket too much. If T20 is the sport that is supposed to bring in a new crowd of fans, those at the ground are presumably learning about it through some sort of cricket osmosis.They don’t show the speeds of the bowlers. If a ball swings, you have no way of knowing. The same if one keeps lows or if it spins. Bowlers are there to simply knock off the lit-up bails. Which may be a gimmick, but if they actually work, they should be used in all pro cricket.Channel Ten shows every game of the Big Bash on free-to-air coverage. During the Australian summer, prime time TV puts its head in the oven, so the Big Bash is getting around a million viewers against such classics as , and three straight episodes of .The coverage on Channel Ten is very good. The commentators are already more popular than their friends at Channel Nine, who now all resemble embarrassing dads, with Chappelli looking more and more like a professor at a keg party.Luke Wright is pumped up for the Big Bash League•Cricket AustraliaWhen something interesting happens from a tactical standpoint, like Ben Dunk’s unwillingness to score behind him, Ponting, Gilly and Junior are all over it. At the ground it might be cricketainment, but the commentators take it seriously. None of this forgives the fact the producers cut to the commentators more than they show the players on the field.It’s often hard to work out what role certain people are actually doing. Technically, Freddie Flintoff is a player, but if he wasn’t Freddie, and was just Andrew Flintoff, cricketer, why would anyone want him as their overseas player at this point? He barely played for Lancashire. But he is a great commentator of himself running a two. At the ground you don’t get wagon wheels, hitting zones or even celebrity hijinks. You get loud music and kids dancing on the big screen. Much like in the IPL, once the ball has happened, it just disappears into music, smoke and the announcer’s shriek.What is noticeable is that unlike my last Big Bash game, probably in 2007, there are far more kids here. When I used to go, the crowds in Melbourne were much like that for an ODI in the 90s: people looking to get hammered in the sun, and a few kids. We don’t even have a sun at this game because of the roof. And drinking during a T20 is always a very expensive way not to get hammered.The crowd is full of mums, dads, aunts, uncles, and kids, with only a few groups of drinkers scattered in between. It is exactly as it should be: promoting the game to a bunch of newcomers, not draining more cash off cricket fans too drunk to use the toilets correctly.KP comes in and is given a few boos but heaps more cheers, even if this is an away game for his Green Stars. He is the biggest star in the Stars and the stadium. He bats well on the Australian wickets; he is acclimatising well to the Australian conditions. Maybe he’ll get a call up for the World Cup – although it’s more likely that England will have a dynamic new domestic franchise T20 tournament that features Giles Clarke dressed as a cheerleader.A tight over of bowling is given some applause. A well-placed two gets some support as well. A hard-run two even more. There are some cricket moments through the backflips.The ground announcer screams Andre Russell’s name in a way that suggests he’s never seen him bowl before. Russell’s first two balls don’t bounce. One travels for six, the other one a four. But before Renegades fans can wallow there is an air guitar section on the big screen. Kids wobble their hips like guitar heroes, probably their dad or mum’s heroes, rather than their own. It’s cheap and easy, but is it really worse than being forced to watch a bloke change his gloves between overs in a Test match?

A kid in front of us plays a violent video game on his tablet. He doesn’t spend much time looking up at the cricket – until his mum tells him that the Clap O Meter is being used

Aaron Finch comes on to bowl. With David Hussey in, he moves mid-off wider, and the cover sweeper straighter. He knows that Hussey wants to hit him over cover. First ball after the move, Hussey plays a horrible slog towards the leg side that ends up with the keeper. It’s very clever cricket from Finch. The big screen focuses on various people wearing red.Hussey heads off the field shortly after. He’s pretty much off the field before anyone notices. They show a quick replay of him being hit on the glove first ball from Russell. It is, as far as I can remember, the first time that a ball is shown on the screen.The scoreboard takes an age to be updated. It’s pretty much impossible to read from where we are anyway. For a short while my wife thought her eyes were going. But the idea of making the text on the board “Renegade red” makes half of it invisible to human eyes. When you can see it, it states that David Hussey is retired. He’s not, he’s retired hurt. Details.A kid in front of us is presumably so upset by this incorrect scoring, he plays a violent video game on his tablet. He looks eight, and that’s also the number of beheadings he seems to score. He doesn’t spend much time looking up at the cricket – until his mum tells him that the Clap O Meter is being used. My wife corrects the announcer, suggesting it should be clapometer. The kid claps as the obviously fake sound levels are beamed up on the screen. Then he goes back to killing alien kung fu creatures.KP plays and misses at a ripper. Well, it looked a ripper, no replay. The crowd don’t notice, as they are now in full Mexican wave mode. Fawad Ahmed finishes his spell two balls later for only 22 runs. A great effort considering the run rate was around 10 when he came on, and that he bowled quite a bit to KP. There is virtually no applause for this, as people are eagerly waiting for their turn in the Mexican wave.Stars score 20 fewer than they could have. The scoreboard still says that David Hussey is retired. One Direction are playing at the Docklands soon. I bet they’d get their screens correctly updated before their intermission.The entirety of the half-time show is spent watching the dirt-bike jump being assembled again. On the top of the jump there is one of the clapper fun/power/thunder sticks. No one seems to notice as they painstakingly put together this jump piece by piece. This does take some time: I’m sure I’m not the only one to compare it to a Kraigg Brathwaite and Shiv Chandrepaul partnership on a slow wicket.Kevin Pietersen is a name even a Big Bash crowd has heard of•Getty ImagesThe reason they are doing this is so that some dirt-bike jumper guy can attempt to break the world record for a backflip jump. He does it. His jump is 130 feet. Metrics measurements are not given. I’m not sure why he has chosen to break a world record while many spectators are having urination or chips breaks.After the jump, it’s noticeable a few families have left. Moving this tournament later is for TV, but for kids, a game finishing after ten at night is a very late night.The roofed stadium is a great idea for cricket, until you remember that cricket is often played in 40ºC. Melbourne has been hit by one of their horror northerlies all day, and while you can smell the cool change outside, in the stadium all you can smell is the BO of 30,000 slowly roasting. It is actually 33,000, which is impressive for most cricket cities in the world, but in Melbourne, when it’s an all-Melbourne derby, it feels a bit low. Perhaps it is because both teams have been rubbish so far this season or because absentees know how hot 40 degrees is inside a covered stadium.Within a few balls it is clear that Renegades are not going to chase down any total. They hit the ball straight up in the air a bit. They miss a few, edge some others, and I tell my wife we’re leaving if the score gets to 5 for 50. I assume it is going to be one of those matches where it is clear one side can’t win, but two blokes form a tedious partnership to get them through most of their overs.The score actually gets to 9 for 43, because Renegades are just that bad. And it’s really enjoyable to find out what stupid way they will get out next. The karaoke, clapometer and air guitars seemed to fade into the background of the collapse. But they do promote a competition to win a trip to Hong Kong Disneyland.

It’s been overproduced, overhyped, and the cricket has often been overlooked. But it works: kids do look up from their video games. They wear the team colours. They wear the skater-style caps. They come to the cricket

When Fawad Ahmed comes in to bat, there is no chance of anything other than humiliation for Renegades. His Victoria team-mate Scott Boland decides to bounce him. It seems unfair. He hits Ahmed on the left hand. The physio is brought out. Ahmed decides to bat on. Boland hits him again. It’s proper cricket. But people just want to go home. They do show a replay. Boland’s ball must be mega extreme rock solid enough for the big screen. Luckily for himself and the big screen, Fawad Ahmed also doesn’t retire hurt.Renegades make it to 50 and the crowd stand up and give them applause. That is my kind of cricket: angry spectators taking the mickey out of a useless side. Kids and their parents uniting in their cricketing disdain for Renegades. To use the dirt-bike phrasing, Renegades were rag-dolled.I’ve seen a world record, a Big Bash League record low score, KP, good legspin, a proper collapse, and children playing air guitar. It’s been overproduced, overhyped, and the cricket has often been overlooked. But it works: kids do look up from their video games. They wear the team colours. They wear the skater-style caps. They come to the cricket.When I was young, the same thing happened. There always was an audience for domestic cricket. My friends and I were obsessed with it. We wore Bushranger colours and the Vics wore shorts to appeal to a new crowd. But there was no real promotion. It wasn’t aimed at kids. It wasn’t aimed at anyone other than cricket-obsessed middle-aged freaks, from what I could tell. The games that made TV were shown on the weekend, while many were out playing cricket. The original Big Bash was exactly like this, with a new format, actual promotion, and games on at a better time.All the Big Bash League has done is made everything just a little bit better. And it works. The Big Bash League is not perfect, and it probably never will be. But it’s in the prime time of summer, in a prime-time slot, has overseas players, a new channel backing it, and more sixes per game than a season of the Mercantile Mutual Cup. That isn’t bad.My cousin was at the same game. He has three girls, all under seven. They all wanted to come to the game. Both of us spent time watching Victoria play in empty stadiums, entertaining ourselves and finding heroes in now forgotten men like Richard Chee Quee, Darren Berry and Joe Scuderi. Here it’s easier. It’s aimed at the kids. You might have to mine through to find the cricket, but you’re the cricket. And maybe the kids here will go away with a weird fascination for Nick Winter.

His amazing bat speed helps make up for a minor technical quirk

Aakash Chopra25-Feb-2015It was an exhibition match in England against amateur cricketers. As expected, the pitch wasn’t the best, and the bowler didn’t have too much pace either. The thing about these matches is that as a batsman you have to do most of the work: find the gaps in a field that is well spread out from the start, generate pace off the bat, because there won’t be much on offer, and avoid getting carried away.The batsman hit a slightly short ball off the back foot behind point for a four. The bat came down at unbelievable speed to generate pace, the supple wrists opened the face of the bat at the last minute, and the ball sped to the fence. That was the first time I saw Hashim Amla bat, and I was fortunate to have the best seat in the house, about 20 yards away, at the non-striker’s end.I had not seen anyone with such bat speed. Amla was different and it showed.
 In India we talk a lot about Virat Kohli’s enviable record in ODIs but Amla’s numbers are even better. He took 13 fewer innings than Vivian Richards (and Kohli) to get to 5000 runs, and he scores a century every 5.5 innings, which is better than anyone who has played the limited-overs game. Add to that the fact that he opens the batting, while playing most of his cricket on seamer-friendly South African pitches, where even the best players average about ten runs per innings fewer than their career average. Not to mention his phenomenal Test numbers.Amla is indeed one of the modern greats. 
Like most South African batsmen he has a back and across movement followed by a step forward as a trigger movement to set himself up before the ball is bowled. You tend to do this if you practise a lot against the bowling machine while growing up. But playing against the bowling machine also makes you tend to keep your bat in the air while standing in your stance (like Jacques Kallis did), and mostly the bat comes down from the first-slip region (once again, like Kallis).Amla is different in this regard, for his bat comes down from the third- or fourth-slip region, if not from gully. 
To ensure that the bat comes down straight, Amla makes a loop at the top of his backlift, because regardless of where the bat starts its inward trajectory from, it must come down through the first-slip direction to present the full face while playing. Since Amla launches the bat in through gully, it needs to travel a greater distance, which means he needs to do one of two things to ensure that he isn’t late on the ball: one, initiate the downswing a little earlier, or two, bring the bat through quicker than other batsmen do.Initiating the downswing early could make the timing go off completely, and so Amla chooses the second option – of making the downswing quicker – and that momentum results in generating extraordinary bat speed. But if he has to hit through the leg side, he abandons the loop at the top of the backlift, and that allows him to present the full face of the bat while playing through midwicket too. Kohli, Amla and Steve Smith are the three current batsmen who have this ability.Amla’s other strength is that after the set-up, his stability at the crease allows him to play drives on the rise. The extra pace of international fast bowlers doesn’t allow openers the luxury of a long front-foot stride, and so balance and transference of weight become critical while driving off the front foot. Amla is pretty sound in these areas, and his driving on both sides of the pitch is simply exceptional.However, no one is perfect and there are weaknesses and chinks in any armour, which can be exploited if you have the tools as a bowler. The flip side of Amla’s bat starting from gully is that at times the loop at the top isn’t made properly, which leads to the bat coming down at an angle, and that creates an opening for the balls that dart back in after pitching. Amla has been out bowled or lbw in over 30% of his dismissals against pace. Like all top-class batsmen it’s not movement in the air that bothers him but movement off the pitch. Tinashe Panyangara went through Amla’s defence in South Africa’s opening game of the World Cup. It is a pointer for other bowlers to the sort of delivery that is worth trying early on if there’s some movement off the surface on offer.