ESPNcricinfo staff27-Mar-2015Umar Akmal appears to have same hairdresser as Cristiano Ronaldo•ICCRavindra Jadeja certainly caught the many cameras and eyeballs•Associated PressSolomon Mire surely intimidated a few opponents with his dreadlocks•Getty ImagesAndre Russell never fails to bring something new to the field•Getty Images

In the last seven years, Sri Lanka are the only team to have won more games than they have lost when playing Australia at their own backyard

Bishen Jeswant07-Mar-20159-6 Sri Lanka’s win-loss record against Australia, in Australia, in their last 15 completed ODIs. They are the only team to have won more than they have lost when playing against Australia, in Australia, during this period.6-1Australia’s win-loss record against Sri Lanka in World Cups. The only time Sri Lanka have beaten Australia in a World Cup game was in the final of 1996 edition. Earlier in that tournament, Australia had forfeited a league game against them because they chose not to travel to Sri Lanka for safety reasons.9-12 Australia’s win-loss record in their last 23 ODIs against Sri Lanka, since February 2008. South Africa and Sri Lanka are the only two teams against whom Australia have lost more ODIs than they have won in this period.21 Ducks made by Australia’s top-order batsmen (Nos. 1 to 7) since 2013, the fewest for any team. Sri Lanka’s top-order batsmen have made 33 ducks, the second-most after West Indies (36 ducks).29.5 Strike-rate of Australia’s pacers in Australia and New Zealand since 2013, the best for any top-eight team. Sri Lanka’s pacers average 36.6 in these conditions during the same period, the second-worst among these teams.2.6 Australia’s win-loss ratio in home ODIs in the last ten years, the best for any team. They have 74 wins and 28 losses. South Africa and India are the only other teams to have won twice as many home-ODIs as they have lost in this period.31 The average age of the Sri Lankan squad, highest among the Test nations, with only UAE averaging more among other teams (32.5). Four players in the Sri Lankan squad are over 35: Rangana Herath (36), Kumar Sangakkara (37), Mahela Jayawardene (37) and Tillakaratne Dilshan (38).4.63 Economy rate of Sri Lanka’s spinners in ODIs outside Asia since 2013, the second-best for any Test nation. Their average of 32.2 is also the second-best, after India’s spinners (30.3).10 Number of times in the last 10 ODIs that the captain winning the toss has chosen to bat in Sydney. However, the team batting first has only won three of those games.147 Number of ODIs that have been played in Sydney, the second-most at any venue in the world. The only venue to host more ODIs is Sharjah (218).

The most disturbing breakdown in trust is not between Kevin Pietersen and the ECB, but between the ECB and the cricket-loving public after one of the most traumatic 18 months in England cricket history

Andrew Miller12-May-2015They came to offer clarity on Kevin Pietersen, not to praise him. But they left without achieving either.To be fair to Andrew Strauss and Tom Harrison, the incoming ECB director and chief executive, they tried so hard to be upfront. They did the media rounds with great diligence – upstairs, downstairs, inside and out – tirelessly traversing the Lord’s pavilion to repeat themselves to TV, radio, digital and written press ad nauseam.They presaged their words with woolly preambles about how sorry they were that Peter Moores had been shafted, and how excited they were about their organisation’s new beginnings, and how now was the time to build a better future for English cricket.But no matter how passionately they expressed their platitudes, or how multi-layered they made their appeals for a reassessment of the team’s priorities, the white noise of corporate bullshit was precisely the last thing that we, the working media, and by extension, them, the disenfranchised masses so odiously dismissed by the previous regime as being “outside cricket”, needed to hear.Strauss and Harrison tried so desperately to move the issue along, but they might as well have been Ben Raine and Jigar Naik for all the plausible resistance they offered in the face of Pietersen’s onslaught. And the net result was that today’s grand unveiling was a desperate and troubling disappointment.Fifteen months ago, a culture of silence enveloped the ECB after Paul Downton’s catastrophic decision to sack Pietersen, accompanied by a cryptic press release, the contents of which could not be expanded upon because of an accompanying confidentiality agreement:”We have decided the time is right to look to the future and start to rebuild not only the team but also team ethic and philosophy.”Leaving aside the energetic posturing and magnanimous looking-in-the-eye that Strauss and Harrison managed in the ECB’s second attempt to set the record straight, today’s utterances could feel every bit as cold, flat and insulting to many cricket followers when laid out for digestion in tomorrow’s papers.”We’ve offered clarity today on the ECB position with respect to KP in the short- to medium-term,” said Harrison. “We are drawing a line under it to say this is where we’re going.”Really? Pietersen has not been sacked, but he won’t be selected, and Alastair Cook, incidentally, has the full and unequivocal backing of the board. He probably deserves it after a year in which the old regime used him as a human shield, but that doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of the issues that demand to be addressed.The ECB continue to believe that the primary issue at stake is a breakdown in trust between themselves and Pietersen. They could not be more wrong.The more frightening breakdown is the one between the ECB and its once-devoted public, a hardy and by-and-large educated breed, who stuck with the team through thin and thinner in the 1980s and 90s but whose faith has been eroded by every wrong decision imaginable.On Monday afternoon, cricket stood still as a Division Two County Championship fixture involving a team that has not won a match for two years became the most talked-about live event in the country.Andrew Strauss smiles through a media interrogation•Getty ImagesBy Tuesday morning, the new director of England cricket was telling the public to move along, there’s nothing to see here.
Such a stance is an outrage. Leaving aside the characters involved – and that, clearly, has not been possible to do – what sort of a perverse world does English cricket inhabit if the hyper-promotion of a match involving its most endangered county is suddenly deemed a bad thing?Pietersen’s decision to turn his back on the IPL’s group stages was, admittedly, made easier by the less-than-favourable terms he had been offered by Sunrisers Hyderabad. But he was merely responding to the apparent olive branch he had been offered by the incoming ECB chairman, Colin Graves.Pietersen has fulfilled his side of the bargain, sometimes thrillingly, and as a by-product he has dragged stupendous levels of interest to every ground he has visited, not least a crowd of 2,000 for a non-first-class warm-up in The Parks. As Alec Stewart, his director of cricket at Surrey, stated in very sanguine fashion on Surrey TV, “Kevin is very entitled to feel let down.”And so is the rest of England’s cricket family, for want of a better catch-all term. Harrison, to be fair, recognises the urgent need for the ECB to re-engage with its drifting public, to enhance participation and, tellingly, to stop “patronising” those who expect better from their sport.But there are better ways to go about rebuilding those bridges than estranging the one man about whom everyone in the sport (and even those outside it) holds an opinion.

It would help if the new management team could avoid coating their explanations in precisely the sort of boardroom jargon that most white-collar sports lovers seek to escape when attending a cricket match

It would also help if the new management team could avoid coating their explanations in precisely the sort of boardroom jargon that most white-collar sports lovers seek to escape when attending a cricket match.”It’s important to have a successful team to address participation issues but there are numerous ways participation can be affected,” Harrison said. “One of the reasons we’ve taken this decision is to bring clarity and stability to the England set-up.”Of course, it’s not impossible that the ECB are right, that – much like the Conservative Party’s attitude to the economy – steering a firm course through the choppy waters is the only way to reach that long-promised new beginning.Strauss’s insistence that Joe Root was ready to take on greater responsibility chimed with a sense that, even in defeat, there’s a hardcore of campaigners being forged within this new England team. If, by some miracle, they can extend their 14-year unbeaten run in home Ashes series this summer, then all sins will be forgiven.And Strauss, let’s not forget, picked up the pieces after the first KP-Moores debacle in 2009 and returned the urn by the end of that summer.But the invisibility of, and the indifference to, the current England team is frightening. Moeen Ali, the break-out star of last year’s Test series win against India, failed even to receive a BBC Sports Personality of the Year nomination, when Lizzy Yarnold (with the greatest respect to the skeleton bob fraternity) did.And that’s the other great sadness of the treatment of KP. With the exception of Ian Bell, who played a walk-on role in the greatest Ashes summer of them all, Pietersen is the last of the free-to-air heroes of 2005.Harrison insisted it was important not to link his box-office marketability with that fact, but who could have witnessed Pietersen’s 355 not out at The Oval this week without winding the mind back to that ludicrous assault on Brett Lee ten years ago? The ECB are expecting England’s fans to unmake their memories for the betterment of the here-and-now. History, unfortunately, doesn’t work like that.It is, of course, possible that the furious masses railing on Twitter against the ECB’s actions are not as representative of the national mood as they might like to think – last week’s General Election set a precedent in that respect, a point that one or two members of the media have picked up on this week.But if they are not representative, then why not? There is plenty to be furious about in English cricket at present, from the paucity of recent results, to the over-coaching of fast bowlers, to the decline in the recreational game, to the lack of transparency in the sport’s global governance.The ECB say they want to set out a five-year plan for the reinvigoration of the sport. But has anyone stopped to ask for whom is it making these plans? The general public have yet to be invited back into the fold. Or if they have, the message has been lost in the doublespeak.

A businesslike public celebration at the end of the match spoke for the fact that the Australian players and staff know that more and better can be achieved

Daniel Brettig in Roseau06-Jun-2015Before this match, Michael Clarke spoke of ways in which Australia had to learn from last year’s humbling at Pakistani hands in the UAE. Among the most obvious of these was the way their opponents “cashed in” on batting starts by going on to big scores, especially given the tendency of batting to get exponentially easier on slow, low pitches with every hour spent in the middle.Equally, though, Clarke was eager to see his team show an instinct for the kill in the field, knowing how to impede the progression of a partnership but also how to shift up a gear or three to exploit a breakthrough and make life intolerable for incoming batsmen. “With the ball,” he said, “you’ve got to attack early to a new batter and when you get one try to get two, get three, get that roll on.”The roll on which Australia found themselves on what became the final day of the Dominica Test went beyond even Clarke’s expectations, as the breaking of a stubborn union between Marlon Samuels and the debutant Shane Dowrich ushered the surrender of the West Indies’ last seven wickets for 35 runs. When that was followed by the reeling in of a derisory 47-run target in the space of five overs, Clarke’s men had completed one of the more brutal victories of recent Test match memory. It was of the kind commonly achieved by the intimidatory teams of Steve Waugh, during a phase in which he made a habit of sending the opposition in to bat.This is not to say that it was overall a performance to sit with some of those summoned at home over the past two summers. Australia relied upon the unlikely source of a 10th wicket partnership for the runs that gave them a decisive advantage, and also the innings of a debutant in Adam Voges. The fact that no other Australian batsman passed 50 in the match will be the source of some concern, as will the continuing trend of the team to rely enormously on the lower order for adequate runs. A businesslike public celebration at the end of the match spoke for the fact that the players and staff know that more and better can be achieved.Of course the poverty of the West Indies’ cricket was plain. Shorn of Shivnarine Chanderpaul in addition to the talent hoovered up by the IPL and other Twenty20 japes, this is a young ensemble wrestling with its limitations. There were moments in the match that will linger pleasingly in the memory of their supporters, not least the canny legspin of Devendra Bishoo and the sure-footed debut of Dowrich. However they will also gnash their teeth at the shabby way the match began and ended, and how Voges and Josh Hazlewood were allowed to change its course in the middle.Clarke acknowledged that while his men were frustrated at parts of day three, as they pondered the possibility of a fourth innings chase large enough to trouble them, they knew that one wicket could be capitalised upon so long as it was found. The many combinations and variations Clarke tried were typical of his imaginative captaincy ways, even if they included the comical sight of a series of theatrical field changes for Voges’ left-arm spin being followed up the next ball by the most inviting of full tosses and a simple boundary.”It was about finding a way to get that breakthrough and then we had confidence on that wicket it was always going to be hard to start,” Clarke said. “I think that’s a good example of playing against teams in their own backyard – they know conditions really well and once they get in they’re really hard to get out. So we had to be really patient and disciplined. I thought Lyono bowled without much luck, a lot of balls just missed the inside edge or bobbled over bat pad’s head or whatever it was. It was being really patient through that period.”I think individuals will look at their own games and see where they can improve and obviously shot selection is an area where we can be more disciplined and selective with. Our first innings I think Vogesy showed the attitude, the composure, the time you’ve got to spend in the middle to make big runs in these conditions and the hunger as well. Being his first Test he was obviously extremely hungry to perform well, so I think we can learn from that.”And I guess our execution with the brand new ball, especially in the first innings, the first hour we probably weren’t as disciplined as we would have liked. But again credit to the bowlers to be able to turn that around in the second innings. We won a Test match in three days so we should be really happy. It doesn’t matter where you play in the world against what team, if you can win a Test match in three days you’re doing a lot of things right so the boys deserve a lot of credit.”The wicket, when it came, was a combination of ingenuity and skill. Hazlewood’s knack for finding reverse swing was allowing him to shape the shots of Dowrich, and Clarke posted a very short mid on to collect any drives or pushes that sailed in the air from one such late adjustment. Often this position is seen as a luxury item, and initially Shane Watson could have been forgiven for thinking he was there mainly to make conversation with Samuels. But the chance came, Watson clasped it low to the ground and an end was opened. What that humble wicket led to was dramatic, emphatic and defining, as all the bowlers swarmed over the hosts.In the same way, a win over West Indies in Dominica has the potential to mark the moment when Australia began to get the thread of overseas success, to be the first of multiple wins over the next six months. The last time Australia won a Test match in near-subcontinental conditions was on this very ground in 2012, something Clarke can remember.”It’s a good start,” he said. “It’s obviously very pleasing but it’s a start. Let’s not get carried away.” Wise words.

Considering the ECB had appointed Trevor Bayliss as Peter Moores’ successor in barely two weeks, ESPNcricinfo tries to dissect the delay in the appointment of India’s new coach

Amol Karhadkar and Nagraj Gollapudi26-May-20154:16

Ugra: Ganguly keen on team director job

Duncan Fletcher’s chequered term as India’s head coach ended with their World Cup semi-final loss to Australia almost two months ago. His authority diminished towards the end of his stint with Ravi Shastri’s appointment as team director.With another grueling season awaiting India, starting with a tour to Bangladesh next month and culminating with the World Twenty20 in 2016, there has been no official word on Fletcher’s successor.While it is understood that the BCCI is trying to rejig the structure of the team’s support staff, there has been no official word. After discussing the vacant coach position in detail with BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya, secretary Anurag Thakur said that the support staff for the Bangladesh tour “will be announced before June 6”.Considering the ECB appointed Trevor Bayliss as Peter Moores’ successor in barely two weeks, ESPNcricinfo tries to dissect the delay in the appointment of India’s new coach.Why is there a delay in appointing a head coach?
The change of administration in the BCCI is a key factor, since the previous regime under the deposed president N Srinivasan had set the ball rolling to find a replacement for Fletcher.Are they looking for a head coach and a team director as well?
It is still not clear whether the BCCI wants to fill both positions, or just one of them. The popular perception in the board is that a team director aided by three assistant coaches would serve the purpose. The position of team director was created for the first time when former India allrounder Ravi Shastri was appointed after India’s defeat in the England Tests. Shastri had agreed to continue in the role as an interim arrangement till the end of the World Cup.How are the two roles different?
In the six-month period when they functioned together, head coach Fletcher was in charge of preparing the team for matches. Team director Shastri was more of a facilitator between the players, the coach, the selectors and the BCCI. Most of his work was in the background, but he was responsible for the overall performance of the team.The popular perception in the BCCI is that a team director, with three assistant coaches, would work best for the Indian team•Getty ImagesWho are the contenders for the team director’s role?
Sourav Ganguly and Ravi Shastri are definitely in the fray, along with a few undisclosed overseas candidates.It is understood Shastri has the confidence of the players, who were happy with his open approach. There is no clarity on whether the BCCI has approached him or whether Shastri himself wants to carry on in the long term at the cost of his media assignments.
It is understood that Ganguly has the backing of the BCCI, but the man himself said in Kolkata he would talk about it “once we get to it”.One hurdle facing BCCI and Ganguly is he is also secretary of Cricket Association of Bengal and heavily involved in its day-to-day administration. Ganguly also has lucrative contracts with various media houses and if he does pick up the team director’s role, would he have to forsake his other commitments is a question BCCI needs to workout.And the candidates for the head coach?
Since it is still not clear if the BCCI would prefer a head coach along with team director, no names have emerged so far.Has the BCCI set a deadline for the appointment(s)?
Not really. The BCCI is prepared to wait until it finds the most suitable people. That India’s next two assignments – a tour to Bangladesh in June to be followed by a limited-overs series in Zimbabwe in July – are low key gives them time to scan for the best candidate. If the new coach/ team director is not finalised before the team’s departure to Dhaka on June 7, then the BCCI may well send a support staff consisting of three assistant coaches without a chief. Or they might request Shastri to continue in the team director’s role for another series.Who are involved in selecting the head coach?
BCCI president Jagmohan Dalmiya and secretary Anurag Thakur are the two main decision-makers. They are understood to have sought inputs from some former India captains including Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar and Shastri himself to help them shortlist the candidates. The two captains – Dhoni (ODI and Twenty20 captain) and Virat Kohli (Test) – would suggest some names as well and are expected to play prominent roles in the process.What happens to the current support staff?
The pair of assistant coaches Sanjay Bangar and B Arun and fielding coach R Sridhar await message from the BCCI about their future.

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2015After Sunrisers chose to bat, Shikhar Dhawan was the first to depart after miscuing one to Ashok Dinda at midwicket after making 8•BCCIMoises Henriques and David Warner then went berserk, putting on 103 in 7.1 overs at a rate of 14.37, taking Sunrisers past 120•BCCIWarner brought out a couple of switch hits to get to his seventh fifty of the season, off just 30 balls•BCCIHenriques was out for 57 from 22 balls, edging David Wiese to the wicketkeeper in the penultimate over•BCCIFurther rain caused Royal Challengers to be set a revised target of 81 from six overs. Chris Gayle got to work from the word go, smashing 35 off 10 balls•BCCIAB de Villiers was dismissed for a golden duck as he handed Dale Steyn a simple catch off Henriques, who had removed Gayle off the previous ball. This left Royal Challengers 39 to get from 20 balls•BCCIRoyal Challengers lost two more wickets but Virat Kohli kept them in the game, bringing out some smart and unorthodox shots•BCCINeeding 13 off the final over, Kohli hit two fours and a six of the penultimate ball to lift Royal Challengers to a six-wicket win•BCCI

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2015Steven Finn took a fine catch to remove McCullum and fellow opener Martin Guptill went no further than 53•Getty ImagesOnce again it was Kane Williamson who was the cornerstone of the Blackcaps innings but he fell 10 short of a century•PA PhotosNew Zealand were just beginning to flatline before Grant Elliott hit the go button in the last 10 overs…•Getty Images…and Mitchell Santner biffed 28 in one over to lift New Zealand to 349•Getty ImagesEngland needed a good start and Alex Hales blasted them out of the blocks•Getty ImagesBut Matt Henry removed both openers•Getty ImagesOut strode the England captain in fine touch once again•Getty ImagesJoe Root also picked up his superb form. He and Morgan put England well on course•Getty ImagesEoin Morgan was unstoppable, belting the ball to all parts, striking 12 fours and five sixes•Getty ImagesMorgan made a scintillating century from 73 balls as England closed in on their highest ODI chase•Getty ImagesRoot went to his own ton, off 94 balls, as England waltzed home with six overs to spare•Getty Images

Bishen Jeswant17-Jul-20151 Instances where three out of England’s top five batsmen have been dismissed for one run or less in 160 Ashes Tests at home. This happened for the first time during England’s first innings when Adam Lyth, Ian Bell and Joe Root were dismissed for 0, 1 and 1 respectively.77 Number of years since an Australia batsman has made a double-century at Lord’s. The last batsman to do this before Smith’s 215 in the first innings was Bill Brown, who scored 206 not-out in 1938. Don Bradman is the only other Australian double centurion at Lord’s.5 Number of Test hundreds scored by Chris Rogers, the most for any Australian opener after the age of 35, going past Mathew Hayden (4). Overall, Geoff Boycott and Graham Gooch have the most such hundreds, ten each.2 Number of Australian batsmen who faced 300-plus balls each this innings – Rogers and Smith. There was only one other instance of this happening since 2001. In the 15 years before that, between 1985 and 2000, there were seven instances of two Australian batsmen facing 300-plus each in the same innings.46 Number of consecutive away Tests that Australia have played without a batsman making a double-century. The last Australian to do this before Smith was Jason Gillespie, against Bangladesh in 2006.18 Number of years since any batsman has scored a double-century in an Ashes Test in England. The last batsman to do this was Nasser Hussain in Edgbaston in 1997. Since then, there have been four Ashes double-hundreds in Australia, three of those by England batsmen.1 Number of Australian keepers who have made a 50-plus score on debut in the last 108 years – Adam Gilchrist against Pakistan in 1999. Peter Nevill almost became the second, but was dismissed after scoring 45 runs in the first innings.1 Runs scored by Bell. He has been dismissed after scoring one run in five of his last 10 innings. This is the 11th time that Bell has been dismissed after scoring one run, the joint-most for any top-seven batsman along with Sachin Tendulkar and Rod Marsh.0 Number of 50-plus scores for Michael Clarke in his last 10 Ashes innings. He averages 16.70 in this period with a top score of 38.284 The second-wicket partnership between Rogers and Smith, the highest for any wicket by an Australian pair at Lord’s. The previous highest was 260 between Michael Slater and Mark Taylor for the first wicket in 1993.9 Number of times two out of Australia’s top-three batsmen have made 150-plus scores in the same innings, as Rogers and Smith did. There were seven such instances between 1930 and 1968, but only two since then (including this Test).

Brian Close was a player whose physical bravery was second to none

Bill Ricquier16-Sep-2015Brian Close, who died on September 14, at the age of 84, was one of England’s most remarkable cricketers. He was England’s youngest ever Test cricketer, making his debut against New Zealand at Old Trafford in 1949, aged 18 years and 149 days. He also became their 11th oldest player, and their oldest since World War II, when he appeared against the West Indies at Old Trafford in 1976, aged 45 years and 140 days.Between those two Tests, 27 years apart, Close played in only 20 others. He didn’t make a Test century, his highest score was 70 against West Indies at Lord’s in 1963. He never took five wickets in an innings, he bowled right-arm medium or offbreaks as the mood took him, his best was 4 for 35 against India at Headingley in 1959. But although his first-class numbers – almost 35,000 runs, 1171 wickets and 813 catches in 786 matches – give more than a hint of Close’s quality as a player, it was never the statistics that counted.As a player it was his batting that Close will be remembered for. Tall, left-handed and extremely strong, he could defend with immense determination and a sound technique when the situation demanded but he was also capable of displays of startling, deranged-like aggression. In his younger days his judgement occasionally let him down. In the famous game at Old Trafford between England and Australia in 1961, Close was the subject of fierce criticism for his tactics which essentially involved trying to sweep every ball. As it turned out, with England seemingly bound to win, Richie Benaud bowled Australia to victory on a dramatic final day. Benaud said that Close was the one England batsman, apart from Ted Dexter, that he was really worried about because if his tactics had come off he could have turned the course of the match in a few moments. But it gave Close a reputation for unreliability at the top level.Two years later, he played his most influential Test innings, that 70 against West Indies at Lord’s. This was another dramatic final day, which ended with Colin Cowdrey walking to the non-striker’s end with six runs to win off two balls and West Indies needing one wicket. The match ended in a draw but Close had played a pivotal role in setting up this climactic denouement. Coming in at 72 for 3, he presented grim defiance initially against the extreme pace of Wes Hall and Charlie Griffith. He took many blows on his upper body. But he gradually became more expansive, often sweeping and pulling. By the end he was advancing down the track to Hall and Griffith as they ran in. He batted for three hours and fifty minutes and almost won it for England. Almost, but not quite – England still needed 15 runs when he was the eighth man to fall.That was the only five-match series in which Close played every game. Upon its conclusion, he was discarded until, in 1966, he was recalled to play the West Indies once again, this time as captain. Garry Sobers’ side had been far too strong for England, winning three of the first four Tests, with Sobers himself making three centuries and taking 17 wickets. Mike Smith and then Cowdrey had led England but neither could turn the tide.England looked a different side at The Oval, beating West Indies by an innings and 34 runs, with Tom Graveney and wicketkeeper John Murray making centuries, John Snow and Ken Higgs adding 128 for the last wicket and Snow dismissing Sobers off the first ball he faced in West Indies’ second innings. Captaining England seemed a bit of a diddle.By this time Close had emerged as an outstanding captain. Appointed to lead Yorkshire in 1963, they won the County Championship that year and were to do so again three years running from 1966. Close was tactically astute and instinctively aggressive. He had a great side but having personalities as powerful and diverse as Fred Trueman, Ray Illingworth and Geoffrey Boycott in the team would have been a challenge. No one ever doubted who was in charge.Close continued to captain England in the 1967 season when England beat India 3-0 and Pakistan 2-0 in three-match series. Close seemed set to lead the MCC side to West Indies that winter but after he was accused of time-wasting during a county match between Yorkshire and Warwickshire, the selectors turned to Cowdrey to lead the side.Close’s dogged determination was visible in the field too where he stood absurdly close to the batsman at short leg without protective gear•PA PhotosClose must have thought his international career was over but in 1972 he was brought back to lead England in the first ODI series, against Australia where England won 2-1.By this time Close had left his beloved Yorkshire – sacked as captain after the 1970 season – and was enjoying a somewhat improbable career in bucolic Somerset. He scored plenty of runs and as captain exerted a real and lasting influence on a group of young players, including Ian Botham, Viv Richards, Peter Roebuck and Vic Marks, who were to lead the county to unprecedented success in the late ’70s and early ’80s.Meanwhile, what do the England selectors do if the national side is facing a difficult time against West Indies? Send for Close, of course. This is what happened in the hot, dry summer of 1976 when Clive Lloyd’s side arrived, still in shock from their drubbing at the hands of Jeff Thomson and Dennis Lillee in Australia. Lloyd unleashed Andy Roberts, Michael Holding and Wayne Daniel on the English batting line-up. Close was called up for the first Test and by the third he was opening the batting with 39-year-old John Edrich.On the third evening, England were beginning their second innings in an utterly hopeless position, having been set 552 to win. Close and Erdrich faced an unedifying barrage from West Indies’ quicks, which was described as “disquieting cricket” by . Neither batsman played for England again.It did demonstrate, though, the characteristic which everyone agrees was Close’s predominant trait – his courage. Like Peter Willey, he was an exceptionally tough man.Close’s physical bravery was demonstrated in his fielding as much as in his batting. He loved standing very, almost absurdly, close at short leg. No helmet in those days of course, just ” the old bald blighter”, as Alan Gibson memorably dubbed him, staring at the batsman.Mike Brearley, among others, tells the story of the batsman who thumped a ball straight into Close’s forehead whence it bounced off to be caught at slip. “My God,” one of his teammates said, ” what would have happened if it had hit you a couple of inches lower?””‘He’d have been caught at gully,” came Close’s reply.

Plays of the day from the third ODI between England and Australia

George Dobell at Old Trafford08-Sep-2015Delivery of the day
This game was billed, in part at least, as a peek into the future for Australian cricket. The three young fast bowlers, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson, had never played an international game together and should have provided some encouragement. All three bowled in excess of 90mph at times and suggested that, if they do feature in the next Ashes series, England’s batsmen could face a torrid time. Perhaps the highlight came when Cummins, bowling as quickly as 96mph, tested Eoin Morgan with a series of short balls that had the England captain looking extremely uncomfortable. Perhaps the best of them, a 91mph delivery reaching Morgan at about chin height, resulted in an involuntary flinch from the batsman who, having taken his eyes off the ball, was fortune that it hit his gloves and went safely to ground.Shot of the day
Aaron Finch is not, supposedly, in the best of form. After an injury-aborted IPL, he has struggled for form and fitness in an injury-interrupted spell with Yorkshire. But here, with little lateral movement to concern him, he looked a high-class player. The highlight of his half-century was a back-foot force off a good-length delivery from Liam Plunkett that sped back past the bowler to the boundary.Miss of the day
Matthew Wade enjoyed a good return to the side in the first game of the series in Southampton. But there were never too many doubts about his batting; it was more his keeping that caused concerns. Here they resurfaced when, presented with a regulation stumping – by the high standards of international cricket – he was unable to cling on to the ball and Morgan, on 15 at the time, survived. Not only was it a reminder that Wade’s keeping remains a work in progress but it was scant reward for a fine piece of bowling by Ashton Agar. Morgan went on to make 62.Reprieve of the day
James Taylor was on 41 when he missed an attempt to turn a delivery from Glenn Maxwell into the leg side. The bowler appealed but his captain, Steven Smith, did not call for a review and Taylor survived. Replays subsequently suggested that, had Smith done so, Taylor would have been given out leg before. Taylor went on to top score and record his maiden international century.Catch of the day
Long gone is the time when fast bowlers would be sent to graze in the outfield, with the likes of Trent Boult, Chris Jordan and Mitchell Johnson making a habit of taking great catches. Here it was Steven Finn, fielding at a fairly short midwicket, who dived at full stretch to his right to cling on to a ball clipped off the toes by Smith off Adil Rashid’s bowling. It was a brilliant catch and an important moment in a game England had to win to keep the series alive.Obstruction of the day
With memories of Stokesgate – as nobody is calling it – at Lord’s fresh in the mind, it didn’t take the crowd long to remind the Australia side of their feelings on the matter. After Taylor called Morgan for a quick single, Maxwell’s throw from backward point quite accidently hit Morgan as he scurried home the other side of the stumps. It saw sections of the crowd howling ironic appeals for obstructing the field but, with Maxwell quickly apologising, there were smiles all round on the pitch.