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“If the ball is moving around 140-145 clicks that has to be more challenging than somebody bowling at 85-90” – Ashwin

Matt Roller14-Feb-20213:57

Manjrekar – I don’t think anyone in his right mind will call this a good pitch

Ben Foakes said that conditions in Chennai were “obviously extremely tough, and probably not going to get any easier” after keeping wicket for 113.5 overs and batting for nearly two hours across the first two days of England’s second Test against India.With Jos Buttler at home in the UK as part of the ECB’s rotation policy for multi-format players, Foakes has been backed by England to keep wicket in the final three Tests of this series, and took his chance in India’s first innings with an accomplished display with the gloves: England did not concede a single extra, while Foakes took two catches off Olly Stone’s bowling and completed a stumping off Moeen Ali.Related

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He then performed creditably with the bat, compiling an unbeaten 42 from No. 7 after coming in at 52 for 5 to drag England up to 134 all out, though his keeping was less polished at the start of India’s second innings, as he missed a stumping chance off Moeen’s bowling to dismiss Rohit Sharma and also conceded five byes.”It was extremely difficult,” Foakes told the host broadcaster, Star Sports. “Obviously they [India] are a pretty high-quality spin outfit and the pitch was playing a few tricks, so all in all it was a really tough day. We have just got to try to apply ourselves [in the] second innings.”It’s obviously extremely tough and it’s probably not going to get any easier. Balls are going to spit past us, balls are going to keep low, and so we have to play within our own gameplans, our own limits, and try to put pressure on the bowlers where we can but also back our defence, too.”Foakes highlighted the lack of any moisture in the surface, which he suggested had made the pitch particularly difficult to bat on.Ben Foakes held up his end for a long time for England•BCCI

“I think it’s just spitting so much,” he said. “It’s obviously so dry on the top that a lot of balls are taking the top and really turning, and then you’re getting the odd ball shoot low as well. All in all, it’s quite a difficult pitch to bat on.”I was just trying to play for the ball that wasn’t going to rag, try to play within my limits, and play the ball late, basically – not get too far outside my bubble.”Because the ball is taking the top of the surface, it’s spitting quite a lot, so it was almost [a case of] accepting that if one hit me on the glove or something then it was fair enough. Otherwise, I just tried to stick to my gameplan as if it was a normal sort of wicket and react if possible.”R Ashwin, who took 5 for 43 to help roll through England in their second innings, said that batsmen needed to be “very patient” on the Chepauk surface, but suggested that the pitch was no more challenging than one which would offer bounce and carry for fast bowlers.”I think it’s about being very patient, like when you play on a seaming wicket,” Ashwin said. “You have to dive through the initial phase, and get over it and then put runs on the board. When it comes to spin, unfortunately people don’t expect… they want conditions in their favour, driving, cutting, everything needs to happen. But when it comes to a seaming wicket, you can’t do all those things when you start playing on that kind of a wicket in the morning. The same benchmark needs to be set when you play spin on a challenging wicket as well.”I do not know if they [England] have complaints. If they do, it is quite natural for people to come up against adverse conditions and then feel taken aback by it. In all honesty, the seven days of cricket that they have played so far, they have played really well, competed really well. I haven’t seen any of them complaining or anything like that.”But time and again there are conditions that will challenge, be it spin or seam. The only comparison I can say is if the ball is moving around 140-145 clicks [kph] off the deck, that has to be more challenging than somebody bowling at 85-90. Clearly, the challenges are way greater when you come up against seam. Just the same way when you come up against spin, you have to give it to the bowler, bide your time, and then probably cash in a little later. It is another art. As simple as that.”Graham Thorpe, England’s assistant coach, said that the toss had been an important factor – as it had been in the first Test of the series – and played down any concerns about umpiring. Rohit Sharma survived a review for lbw in the final half-hour after a ball from Moeen struck him outside the line and would have hit middle stump. Umpire Virender Sharma’s ‘not out’ decision was upheld after he had judged that Rohit had attempted to play a shot, despite appearing to hide his bat behind his front pad, which left Joe Root visibly frustrated.”It’s incredibly challenging on that surface on day two,” Thorpe said. “They’re a very skilled spin attack in their own conditions and it was a very good toss to win. Even in the first Test, we believed it was a good toss to win. I think this was just as important. We know that pitches deteriorate here as the game goes on, and this one has gone a little bit quicker.”It’s obviously a canny bit of play by Pujara [Rohit]. The umpire has to make that decision. He has to decide at the time whether he thinks a player has played a shot at the ball and you have to accept it. The on-field umpire has to make that decision and that’s the one he came down on: he thought Pujara [Rohit] was playing a shot.”

A list of players and support staff who tested positive for Covid-19 at various camps ahead of the 2021 edition

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Apr-2021Daniel Sams (Royal Challengers Bangalore allrounder)Sams tested positive for Covid-19 on Wednesday, two days ahead of his team’s opening game against the Mumbai Indians in Chennai. The Australian arrived in Chennai on April 3 and had returned a negative test at that time, according to a statement issued by the franchise. But a second test result on April 7 came out positive. He has since gone into isolation at a designated medical facility and is reportedly asymptomatic.Kiran More (Mumbai Indians wicketkeeping consultant and scout)More, the former India wicketkeeper and chief selector, tested positive on April 6. More has isolated himself in an appropriate facility in Chennai, where the team is based, and is asymptomatic. To ensure maximum safety for everyone around him, the team had cancelled its training session on April 6. Members of the squad, who were in contact with More before his positive test, all underwent tests and returned negative results.Devdutt Padikkal (Royal Challengers Bangalore batsman)Padikkal linked up with the squad on Wednesday in Chennai after recovering from Covid-19. Padikkal had been in home quarantine after testing positive on March 22, and after driving down to Chennai, he trained with the rest of the team on Wednesday, suggesting that he would be available for selection for the team’s opener against the Mumbai Indians on April 9.Members of the groundstaff at Mumbai’s Wankhede StadiumA few members of the groundstaff at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium tested positive for Covid-19 in the first week of April. The Mumbai Cricket Association, though, has expressed confidence that the matches – a total of ten, between April 10 and 25 – would not need to be moved out because they are being played in a biosecure environment. The staff on-site, meanwhile, is being tested every two days. Two of those who tested positive have already returned negative results, according to reports. The entire staff has been housed in the Garware Pavilion clubhouse, which is part of the stadium. Those who tested positive have been sent into isolation, and are expected to return into the bubble only after testing negative.Axar Patel (Delhi Capitals allrounder)Patel, one of the heroes of India’s recent 3-1 Test series win over England at home, tested positive on April 3. He had checked into the team hotel in Mumbai on March 28 with a negative report but things changed after the second test. He is currently in isolation at a designated medical facility. The Capitals take on the Chennai Super Kings in the second match of the tournament, on April 10 in Mumbai.Nitish Rana (Kolkata Knight Riders batsman)Rana tested positive on April 3 after arriving in Mumbai, but has since recovered. Rana joined the Knight Riders camp on March 21 after returning a negative test. However, he tested positive on March 22. Rana’s reports came out negative on April 1 after he was in isolation in accordance with the IPL protocols.

The allrounder, who had been due to play the T20 Blast, is heading home after just one game

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jun-2021Sean Abbott’s spell with Surrey in county cricket has ended after just one match with the allrounder suffering a hamstring injury against Gloucestershire.Abbott scored 40 and took 2 for 5 in his first match for the club but did not take the field on the final day at The Oval last week. A Surrey statement said the hamstring was “badly damaged.”He had been due to take a full part in the T20 Blast which begins next week but will now return home immediately to begin his recovery ahead of Australian season.”Sean’s injury is incredibly unfortunate as he made a great impression during his first game and had already become a popular member of the dressing room,” Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, said.Related

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Abbott, who was part of various Australia squads during last season and played in the T20I and ODI series against India, was not included in the preliminary group named for the tour of West Indies next month.As with anyone returning to Australia he will have to undergo two weeks quarantine and will then have around three months to recover before the beginning of the domestic season with New South Wales.Abbott is the second Australian to have a county deal cut short by injury following Billy Stanlake who suffered a stress fracture of his back after one game for Derbyshire.There is significant representation by Australians in county cricket this season with more due to begin stints during the T20 Blast.However, the influx of marquee names for the Hundred – across the men’s and women’s competitions – is now in doubt. The men’s tours of West Indies and Bangladesh clash with a large part of the tournament while the quarantine requirements on return to Australia are likely to mean more of the female players will follow Rachael Haynes’ lead and withdraw due to the home series against India starting in mid-September.

South Africa enjoyed the type of day teams dream of which ended with England staggering on 102 for 4 after being overwhelmed by the insatiable hunger of two batsmen

The Report by Andrew McGlashan22-Jul-2012
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMorne Morkel added to a wonderful day for South Africa by removing Kevin Pietersen•Getty Images

South Africa enjoyed the type of day teams dream of which ended with England staggering on 102 for 4 after being overwhelmed by the insatiable hunger of two batsmen. Hashim Amla scored the country’s first triple century in Tests, building an overwhelming stand of 377 with Jacques Kallis, as South Africa amassed a lead of 252. The visitors then made major inroads into a dispirited England side who lurched to the close with a huge task ahead to leave The Oval with the series level.The first two sessions of the day were filled with Amla and Kallis earning themselves a place in the record books. Mostly those honours belonged to Amla who, after overtaking AB de Villiers’ 278 as South Africa’s highest innings, reached his triple century with a drive which brushed the fingers of a leaping fielder at cover. He barely put a foot wrong and looked as though he could have gone past Brian Lara’s 400 if the opportunity had presented itself.However, South Africa had a Test match to win. Graeme Smith surprised most people at the ground when he declared at tea, rather than giving England’s footsore bowlers and fielders another half an hour of drip-drip agony. Smith, though, knew his team were in an impregnable position and it was a show of attacking intent from the captain.Apart from a period on the first day, Smith has had a wonderful Test both with the bat and in the field, and his decision soon brought rich rewards. By the close Ian Bell and Ravi Bopara were clinging on, still facing a deficit of 150. An escape here would match anything achieved at Cardiff or Cape Town.With the eighth ball of the innings Vernon Philander – who again shared the new ball with Morne Morkel – found Alastair Cook’s outside edge with ball that nipped away to bring the first wicket of the day. By the 11th over, South Africa had as many wickets as England managed in 188 when Jonathan Trott, for the second time in the match, nibbled outside off stump when he could have left the ball. That gave Dale Steyn his first wicket after he had been brought into the attack much sooner than in the first innings.Kevin Pietersen’s brief stay in the middle was not one of his finest moments. A feature of how South Africa batted was that they were willing to give periods of time to the bowlers, but Pietersen wanted to impose himself from the start. When that method comes off it thrills; when it does not it will invite criticism.Pietersen played two well-timed pulls, one in front and one behind square, but also top-edged another over the keeper. He was then dropped at slip by Kallis when he flapped at a short delivery from Morkel and in his next over Pietersen managed to miss what was basically a straight ball as he was caught on the crease.The early breakthroughs made life much less pressurised for Imran Tahir and he proceeded to work over Andrew Strauss with a classy over from round the wicket. He located the footmarks to make one delivery spit and also skidded one past the outside edge. Then, in a flashback to England’s problems in UAE, Strauss was drawn into sweeping a wide delivery and the resulting top edge looped to square leg. Strauss had turned in disgust before the catch had been taken. This was not the first time an England captain had been humbled by a Smith-led team.This was the same pitch that, a few hours earlier, had produced a scoreboard that read 637 for 2. Amla and Kallis firstly ensured they played themselves in as Smith and Amla had done 24 hours previously. The first hour brought just 36 runs, but each demoralising over England spent in the field meant it was less likely they would be able to quell the onslaught once South Africa decided to switch gear. The second half of the session saw 75 runs added and a further 123 came between lunch and tea even without it feeling the batsmen went quite into top gear.Amla’s innings was a display of unyielding concentration and determination, yet he rarely lost his graceful touch until he became a little tense in the 290s. His driving continued to be the stand-out feature of the innings and even when England packed the off side he would calmly and carefully pierce the gaps with regularity.Kallis, who began the day on 80, batted at his own pace and reached his hundred from 227 deliveries with a glide to third man and immediately pointed to his eye, a clear reference to his team-mate, and close friend, Mark Boucher who was forced to retire early in the tour. The incident shook Kallis badly, but like many of the greatest sportsman he has channelled his emotions to the benefit of his team.It was also, notably, his first Test hundred in England since Old Trafford in 1998. This will be his final Test tour to the country and he appears determined to at least go some way to narrowing the gap between his record here and everywhere else. His partnership with Amla, to follow the 259 for the second wicket, was the highest third-wicket stand against England by anyone and meant it was the first time they had conceded two 250-run stands in the same innings.It was a sobering experience for the England attack. When James Anderson managed to swing a delivery with the third new ball past Amla’s edge the crowd gave him a warm round of applause. Early in the afternoon session all England’s frontline bowers went past their centuries, Stuart Broad completing the set when he was driven for three boundaries by Kallis who took the lead in upping the scoring rate while Amla focussed on his triple hundred.Broad had been off-colour throughout the innings and operated at no more than medium pace on the fourth day. Although that could partly be put down to conditions, England’s policy of a four-man attack means they cannot afford to carry any of their quicks especially with Graeme Swann proving ineffective as he sent down 52 wicketless overs, the most he had bowled in a Test innings. Since the start of the second day’s play they have looked anything but the world’s No. 1 team.

“It’s about going out there as a team and trying to control our emotions and play them on skill”

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Nov-20201:05

Kohli and Rahane are like chalk and cheese – Warner

Last time when India toured Australia, there was a lot of on-field chatter between the players but David Warner says this time Australia may adopt a different approach. Instead of engaging Indian players in verbal volleys, they will try to keep their emotions in check and fight it out on skills.However, he also hinted that once Virat Kohli leaves after the first Test, to be with his wife for the birth of their first child, and Ajinkya Rahane takes over the captaincy, Australia may re-consider their strategy.”For me, personally it’s about getting in the contest, so that’s basically when you’re out there, you’re trying to feel for something,” Warner said. “Last summer, I was coming off the back of the England tour, so I really had to knuckle down and try and concentrate as much as I could, and try and get into a battle out there and contest with the opposition. I managed to find that in a different way and it worked, and for me, it’s about trying to find that balance again when I’m out in the middle.”[It’s] different this year. We start with a white-ball series against India, generally the other way around, which is going to be exciting, and Virat is only playing seven of the ten games, so for us, it’s about going out there as a team and trying to control our emotions and play them on skill.”But how will he react if Indian players have some words to say to him?”I’ll always draw from that, mate. To try and get engaged, that’s the way they like to play as well. We saw that last time when we toured India. They really engaged us like that. We’re learning over time and trying not to engage in that. Probably try and reverse the effect by trying and ignoring it, trying to take it on board and using it against them by using your bat. It’s probably something I’ve learnt over time. And you don’t know the effect it can have on your team-mates as well. You’ve got to be a bit more humble in that respect.”Obviously with Virat missing, and well done to him to go home and be by his partner’s side for the birth of his first child… he’s a great guy, Jinks [Rahane]. He’s calm and very measured in his approach. He’s got a very good cricket brain. When you take Virat out of there, I don’t want to say this the wrong way, but he’s obviously passionate, aggressive, he plays with that fight when you’re out there.Virat Kohli and David Warner exchange words•Getty Images

“Jinks is calm, collected, measured. It’s like chalk and cheese with two of them two and as a player to try and engage him on the field, as we’re talking about engaging, and getting into that contest as players, we obviously got to think about how to do that especially with Ajinkya as captain. The great thing from India’s perspective is that you’ve got three if not four very good players who could captain the team at any time. With him, he’ll bring a calm and measured approach with his nature.”While Kohli will not be available for the last three Tests, India will be without Rohit Sharma for the white-ball leg. Sharma is currently recovering from a hamstring injury he suffered during IPL 2020 and has been included only in the Test squad.Warner believes Sharma’s absence is a big loss for the visitors, but at the same time, he also thinks the visitors have got enough in-form replacements.”He’s a big piece of their team they’re going to be missing, but they’ve got great in-form guys, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Mayank [Agarwal],” Warner said. “These guys played in the IPL, so you’ve got guys in good touch and great talent and depth in Indian cricket to take that position of Rohit. He’s a big hole in their team up the top, but you’ve got guys who can replace him who are in form that will do a good enough job, if not better, as we saw in India.”Warner himself had a successful outing in the IPL despite a slow start to the season. In the first ten games, he scored 335 runs at a strike rate of 124.07. It was then he decided to open up his front leg and give it a whack. The next six matches brought him 213 runs at 155.47.”Yeah, definitely,” he said when asked if he would continue in the same aggressive manner in T20Is. “What do you want to see? 100 off ten overs or something? . In the one-day stuff, I’ll still come out and play the way I normally do. There’s probably going to be no change to that. And the T20 stuff is what people saw there.”To answer the question, of how I played at the backend of that tournament, we had to play that way on those wickets. You couldn’t just play yourself in. You had to take on that first six overs against the new ball. Here in Australia, it’s a bit different in 50-over cricket, you can still play the normal way you do and I think I showed that last year, the way I played against Pakistan and Sri Lanka. I played pretty much the same way as I did during the backend of that IPL. I won’t be changing my game and will go out and tackle it the way I always do.”There’s obviously a risk element but there’s a cricket smarts element to it as well. For myself, it’s about getting off to a good start and taking calculated risks in that middle-overs period if we’re talking about 50-over games. For me, it’s about making sure that I’m batting as much as I can and at a good strike rate as well.”

Beau Casson, the former Australia spin bowler, has spoken for the first time about the heart condition relapse that forced his retirement from cricket

Daniel Brettig03-Apr-2012Beau Casson, the former Australia spin bowler, has spoken for the first time about the heart condition relapse that forced his retirement from cricket.Honoured by New South Wales at the Steve Waugh Medal presentation in Sydney last month, Casson told ESPNcricinfo of his traumatic exit from the game after he was forced from the field during a Sheffield Shield match against South Australia at Adelaide Oval in October 2011.That day Casson had felt distressed on the field and fared little better in the dressing room, before being taken to hospital by the Blues chairman of selectors David Freedman. There were echoes in the case of the footballer Fabrice Muamba, who suffered a cardiac arrest during an FA Cup tie between Bolton and Tottenham and has since fought an almighty battle for his life in hospital.Casson now works as an ambassador for Heart Kids NSW, intent on keeping both sporting participants and their coaches and support staff aware of the many complex permutations surrounding the heart. While not wanting to speak much of the Muamba incident, he said its public nature had provided a reminder of how delicate life can be.”What happened [to Muamba] was absolutely terrible, but it makes people realise you’re not invincible,” Casson said. “When it first happened [to Casson in Adelaide] it was incredibly frightening, quite a traumatic event. Personally I found it really hard because naturally I hadn’t played my part in the game and the boys were one down, so that’s what I struggled a fair bit with.”It wasn’t an ideal time and I’m incredibly happy with the way I’ve got through it. It was incredibly frustrating, frightening, things were pretty chaotic around that sort of event, but New South Wales I much appreciate their support through it all, and for them to make sure I looked after myself. It wasn’t easy that’s for sure.”Casson has managed the condition, which makes it difficult for him to lower his heart-rate after it has risen, since his teens. He battled back from a collapse during a Sydney grade game in the 2010-11 season to earn a recall to the Blues’ team last summer, however the Adelaide episode forced the closure of his playing days at the age of 29.”It’s always been a challenge for me through my whole career with a congenital heart condition. It’s always something I’ve been incredibly diligent about,” Casson said. “I had an episode early last season in club cricket, which once again was incredibly frightening and we sorted out what needed to be.”But it’s an incredibly complex issue and hence the reason why things have happened the way they have. I don’t think anyone could foresee the way things would happen. There’s obviously been a fair bit written of late in the media about certain people in other sports, and it’s just the nature of the condition.”Following his forced absence from the remainder of the Adelaide match, Casson flew home to Sydney where he underwent further tests and spoke with medical experts including his long-time heart specialist. Their decision was for Casson to retire, ending a career that had once shone brightly enough to merit a baggy green cap in 2008.”I left it to the people a lot brighter than me,” Casson said. “I had a series of tests and I was waiting to see what they came back with, and that was that. When you get told both sides of the story when an event like that happens, you have to weigh up exactly where you’re at. Their advice was the best thing for me was to stop playing and that’s the way it happened.”Studying teaching and also doing some coaching in addition to his ambassadorial role, Casson said the whole experience had given him valuable perspective on life as well as cricket, and he valued its lessons even as he came to terms with the sudden end to his days as a cricketer.”It was only the other day I was talking to a few younger cricketers about what this great game offers and you learn so much about yourself,” he said. “You might have some setbacks in cricket, that you can take out into your university degree or whatever it is, employment.”You learn a hell of a lot about yourself and how to deal with certain situations, and I’ve had a few situations I’ve been able to deal with and it’s given me a lot of insight and strength for the future to be even tempered and be able to take the good day with the bad days. Like any cricketer, that’s probably the most challenging aspect of the game.”

Updates, analysis and colour from the 2nd Test

Alan Gardner14-Feb-2021*Most recent entry will appear at the top, please refresh your page for the latest updates. All times are local

4.30pm: Stumps

India took giant strides towards levelling the series in Chennai after running through England and then building steadily on a 195-run lead. Fifteen wickets fell in the day, R Ashwin claiming five of them in an innings for the 29th time in Tests, as England’s hopes of hanging in the contest on a turning pitch were obliterated in two sessions of skittish batting.England were in trouble from the outset of their reply, losing Rory Burns in the opening over and Joe Root, the batting talisman during three consecutive wins in Sri Lanka and India, before he had managed double – let alone triple – figures. They sneaked past the follow-on mark thanks to a nuggety, unbeaten 42 from Ben Foakes, but India were doubtless content to bat again on their commanding lead, and leave England to worry about facing their demons again on days three and four.

4.20pm: Shots fired (or not)