The 2015 World Cup saw plenty of one-sided contests, and one of the reasons was the way teams batting first exploited the last 15 overs

S Rajesh03-Apr-2015The 2015 World Cup lasted 48 matches, and was spread over six weeks. Over this period of relentless action, one of the aspects that stood out – unfortunately – was the number of one-sided contests. Match after match went by where the result was often a foregone conclusion even before the first innings had ended. Given the way the tournament progressed, it was quite fitting that the final was similarly lopsided too, with Australia’s seven-wicket victory with 101 balls to spare being one of the easiest wins in World Cup finals.There were a few tight games – the New Zealand-South Africa semi-final was easily one of the most memorable ODIs ever, while the low-scoring thriller between New Zealand and Australia was intense and action-packed from the first ball to the last. There were a few others as well, but those were exceptions in what was largely a tournament filled with one-sided games: out of 48 matches, 20 were decided by more than 50 runs, and 12 by a margin of five or more wickets with two or more overs to spare. That means two-thirds of the total matches were pretty one-sided (though there may have been passages of play within those matches which suggested a close contest). Thirteen games were decided by margins of more than 100 runs, and nine by more than five wickets ten overs to spare.These numbers were pretty similar to the numbers from the 2011 World Cup (see table below), but the difference this time was the lack of competitive games even when the top sides played each other. In matches between the top ten teams in the 2015 World Cup, only three out of 26 matches met the criteria for a close game defined here – a margin of less than 20 runs, or less than three wickets or six balls to spare: the Bangladesh-England game (15 runs), New Zealand versus Australia (one wicket), and the New Zealand-South Africa (one ball to spare). That’s one close encounter every nine matches. In the 2011 World Cup, there were six such close matches out of 26 – that’s twice as many as in this World Cup – including a tie between India and England.The New Zealand-England game in Wellington was just one example when a match between two of the top ten teams turned out to be a complete no-contest, as England were bundled out for 123 and New Zealand chased the target down in less than 13 overs. In 2015, about 70% of the matches between the top ten sides ultimately turned out to be one-sided (18 out of 26), a slight increase from 2011 (16 out of 26). (This includes games like the one between Australia and Pakistan, which promised much but turned on a dropped catch and ultimately resulted in a comfortable win for the hosts.)

The difference in 2015 was also the number of matches where the teams batting first racked up huge scores and won comfortably even in games between two top ten teams. In matches between the top ten teams, there were 13 such instances, compared to just seven in 2011. India beat Pakistan and South Africa in this manner, as did West Indies against Pakistan, and South Africa against West Indies. The run rates in the first 35 and last 15 overs for the teams batting first and teams chasing in this World Cup offer an insight into what has made the difference this time: in the last 15 overs, teams batting first scored at 8.82 runs per over, which was 40% more than the run rate during the same overs for the teams chasing.In the 2011 World Cup, the corresponding percentage was only 15%. The pressures of a chase invariably means teams chasing don’t score as many runs at the back end of their innings as teams batting first – instead they look to make up by scoring more in the earlier part of their innings – but usually the difference is about 15-20%; in the 2015 World Cup, the teams batting first scored 40% more in the last 15, and that differential was a bridge too far for the chasing teams to make up in the earlier overs. The new rules, which allow only four fielders outside the circle in the non-Powerplay overs, have helped teams bat with far greater freedom especially in the last ten overs, and while these rules are obviously the same for both sides, the pressures of chasing have clearly hampered teams batting second, preventing them from exploiting the rule change to the same extent.

The New Zealand innings in the final followed an unusual scoring pattern, where they collapsed from 150 for 3 after 35 overs to 183 all out, but through most of the tournament, the template for winning a match for the team batting first was to keep wickets in hand through the first 35 overs, build a solid foundation, and then pile it on in the last 15.In matches between the top ten teams, of the 20 times that teams had five or more wickets in hand after 35 overs, they won 16 – that’s four out of five matches. Apart from the final, the only instances of teams losing from these positions were England (161 for 4 after 35) against Sri Lanka, Bangladesh against New Zealand (161 for 4 after 35), and Zimbabwe against India (158 for 3 after 35). All of these games were in New Zealand, where chasing targets seemed to be a lot easier than in Australia.Teams batting first obviously utilised the fielding restrictions superbly in the last 15, but since the rule change in November 2012 and before the World Cup, this fielding restriction hadn’t resulted in similar success for teams batting first keeping wickets in hand: the win percentage for teams with five or more wickets in hand was around 50-55% in the earlier periods. In the World Cup, though, it suddenly spiked to 80%.

With so many runs being scored in the last 15, this was also a tournament where doubling the 30-over score was achieved very frequently – 61% of the time, compared to less than 40% in the earlier periods. The 35-over score was doubled at a 15% frequency, when it hadn’t gone past 5% in the earlier periods.The new rule of four fielders within the circle had been in existence for a couple of years before this World Cup, but never before did batting teams exploit it like they did in the tournament. Some of the batting during the last 15 was so brutal – and the bowlers so helpless – that it could well lead to a rule change later this year. For the bowlers and fielding captains who struggled through the slog overs in the World Cup, that wouldn’t be a moment too soon.

As a six-year-old, he watched Wasim Akram at the 1992 World Cup and decided that he would be a left-arm fast bowler. As a man, he put on a show very nearly as memorable as Wasim’s 23 years before

Daniel Brettig22-Mar-2015It is 11am the morning after Pakistan’s elimination, and Wahab Riaz is watching his spell to Shane Watson on television in his room at the Intercontinental Hotel. Was that really him? Bleary-eyed and unfailingly courteous, this Wahab seems totally at odds with the warlike Wahab who charged through David Warner, Michael Clarke and so nearly Watson.The room is scattered with the detritus of the cricketer overseas, a half-packed equipment bag at its centre. Hours before, he was running through to the batsman’s end of the pitch, clapping exhortations to his team-mates, eyeballing Watson and blowing the odd crazed kiss. Now Wahab is articulate and calm.Barring three things, last night could have been a dream and Wahab any man. They are his phone, buzzing incessantly; the television, confirming it all happened; and his eyes, which are still a little red. In the minutes after Australia completed Pakistan’s elimination, Wahab shed tears of pain, and the traces of hurt are still there. “I’m not feeling good,” he says softly. “We lost the game, so it’s heartbreaking.”But once the pain of defeat subsides, the memories of his bowling will remain. Not only was it a performance that instantly made him one of the game’s most distinctive figures, it was a suggestion he has it in him to be a worthy figure in Pakistan’s rich pace bowling lineage. As a six-year-old, Wahab watched Wasim Akram at the 1992 World Cup and decided that he would be a left-arm fast bowler. As a man, he is watching himself put on a show very nearly as memorable as Wasim’s 23 years before.”We have a lot of legends,” Wahab says. “Imran Khan, Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, these guys were the greats. Shoaib Akhtar was one of the best bowlers as well in the world.”The guy who really inspired me was Wasim Akram. I was a very young boy when I watched the 1992 World Cup, and when I saw him bowling I loved to copy because I was left-handed too. I want to be someone like Wasim Akram in my life and he really inspired me.”Wasim got angry occasionally, and batsmen felt the force of his fiery bouncers almost as often as the crunch of swinging toe-crushers. Other fast men of his vintage were stung into action by slights, real or perceived. Curtly Ambrose found an extra yard when Dean Jones asked for his white wristband to be removed during a World Series final in 1993. A year later Devon Malcolm was floored by a bouncer from Fanie de Villiers, who then mouthed the words “You guys are history.” Wahab was similarly stirred, by exchanges that were mild enough to be recounted but edgy enough to get him going.Pakistan’s innings was not going well after a series of poor decisions by their batsmen. By the time Wahab was scrounging 16 runs in an effort to scrape to a defendable score, three of his team-mates had picked out Aaron Finch at deep midwicket. If that wasn’t frustrating enough, the Australians could not help pointing out how difficult he was finding it to connect bat with ball. Mitchell Starc spoke first.”Starc said something to me. He was bowling well and it was difficult for me to play him,” Wahab says. “But in the end he exchanged a few words and I got really angry. I tried to answer him back, and then Shane Watson said to me, ‘You don’t have the bat in your hand.’ They were trying to put pressure on me by their words, but once Watson said that, I said, ‘It’s time to pay back now.’ When I am bowling I will try to bowl something which really frustrates them and puts them under pressure.”This was always the plan anyway, for under Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan’s bowlers were better at being aggressors rather than defenders. For one, they seldom had many runs in the bank. For two, the Cup’s playing conditions made containment about as manageable as putting toothpaste back into a tube. Wahab had struggled at times in the past with a support bowling commission, while a ledger of only eight Test matches in five years indicates he is best at full tilt or not at all.

“When I started I was really, really a medium-pace bowler, very slow”

“For bowlers it is quite difficult because of the rules and regulations nowadays,” Wahab says. “But Misbah was quite keen that with the kind of pace battery he has got, he should be attacking all the teams. When the captain is asking you to attack, it’s a very supportive thing for you because then you can give everything whether you go for runs or the batsman defends you. When the captain says, ‘Just go and attack’, that’s what every bowler wants.”We had a chat in the lunch break. Because we had the belief after we got South Africa out for 202, we bowled out Zimbabwe chasing 235 as well. We had confidence in our bowling attack, so it was all just go out. The plan was to attack them. Give 100%, play bravely and just try your level best.”Wahab’s best had not always been quite so eye-catching. The son of one of Lahore’s wealthier families, his early efforts as a fast bowler were anything but deserving of the name. Where the likes of Waqar, Aqib Javed and Mohammad Amir excelled even as teenagers, Wahab was initially the very model of the modest medium-pacer. He can remember being logged as bowling around 110kph as a 17-year-old. Pace came gradually, as it did for Ryan Harris.”When I started I was really, really a medium-pace bowler, very slow,” Wahab says. “But Aqib Javed worked on me. He always said, ‘If you don’t bowl fast, you can’t be a fast bowler.’ So he really pushed me, made me work hard for six, seven years and then I started to bowl fast. You start enjoying it when you bowl fast, and suddenly when I was bowling fast, I always tried to bowl fast.”I didn’t know where I was bowling, but I just tried to bowl fast. That’s how I developed my pace. I might have been like 110-112kph when I started my career in Under-17 and Under-19. Aqib knew what I was and he had a big role to play in my career; to make me play for Pakistan because he worked a lot on me. At times he took his hand off and said, ‘I cannot work with you’, but he never gave up on me.”Heads turned when Wahab made his Test debut against England in 2010, plucking five wickets and generating decent speed. But his place in the team wasn’t certain, with numerous others jockeying for position as pacemen. Then there was the fact that Pakistan, through Saeed Ajmal, relied more on spin for success, most notably in the UAE.”I have been playing for Pakistan for a long time and we have a lot of competition between us. There are a lot of good bowlers, so it’s really a very healthy competition and it really pushes you up to show what you are and what you have in you,” Wahab says. “Coming to this World Cup and finding your form at the right time, you always feel the presence of the bowlers who lead from the front.”The loss of Junaid Khan to injury firmed up Wahab’s place in the plans for 2015. This helped, as did the prevailing pitch conditions. It is no surprise that his most striking displays arrived via Brisbane’s bounce, Auckland’s seam and Adelaide’s combination of both. “I have worked hard, but this World Cup it really worked very well. It might be the wickets, it might be the conditions.”The management has worked hard with me, particularly Mushtaq Ahmed and Waqar, they have really worked hard and backed me up. They had belief in me and my skills, they made me work hard and supported me. This is something different for me as well, because I think you need that support from the management and the captain. Because of working hard is how I’ve got what I have right now.”Clearly didn’t work: Micahel Clarke attempts to smooth things over after Wahab Riaz was chirped at•Getty ImagesSo it was that Wahab walked out to bowl, in his customary first-change position, with the full backing of his team. They had faced him at home and in the nets. They knew how quick he could be.Warner found that out in Wahab’s first over, unable to ride the bounce of a short ball that flew into the hands of Rahat Ali at third man. In his second, a flinching Clarke deflected to short leg. Watson walked to the crease expecting pressure, but nothing quite like the assault that followed.Wahab had been waiting for this all innings.”What he [Watson] said was in my mind and when he came to bat I was just thinking I’m going to give him something really special, and then I went up to him saying that ‘I think you forgot your bat back in the dressing room too.'”In the following overs, Watson used his bat as much for self-preservation as attack, and when he did uncoil a pull shot it was a hurried top edge that swirled towards fine leg. So cool when he had pouched Warner, Rahat’s hands suddenly became glaringly and damagingly porous. As the chance went down and the crowd gasped, Wahab spun around in the most intense burst of anger. Instinctively, it felt like the exhilaration he had generated would be remembered without the accompanying ecstasy of victory.”It was just the heat of the moment,” he says of that painful instant. “I was working hard. No one drops catches on purpose, but that was a crucial time because they might be 80 for 4 and then Glenn Maxwell coming in under pressure… You don’t know, we might have won. But regardless, he tried his level best and it’s all right.”After six overs, Wahab was spelled by Misbah. Some observers suggested he was tiring, but Wahab responds he is used to longer stints, and could have continued. Either way, by the time he returned, the game had been swung staunchly towards Australia. Watson, previously implacable in the face of Wahab’s histrionics, found his voice again when he found the strokes to back it up. It seems ludicrous to think the Cup’s most memorable confrontation would result in a fine for the two combatants.”He was just looking at me, he didn’t answer me at all,” Wahab says of Watson’s initial reaction. “In the last over, when he hit me for a four and a six, then he said something. I told him, ‘It’s too late, buddy.'”Too late indeed. Too late to change the fact that the earlier spell will not be forgotten, and too late to stop Wahab from making an indelible mark on this tournament and the game.”It’s a game of confidence, a game of boosting yourself,” he says of the future. “I always trusted my ability and I think it’s a very good opportunity for me now to grab this for a long time. I’m trying to get more and more, and I want to do that every other game now.”With that, it is time to leave the room. The television has moved on to other highlights, and Wahab must move back to the tedious task of packing that cricket bag. One last question, though. Do you think anyone will dare sledge you again when you’re batting? Wahab smiles.”I don’t know if someone will say stuff. But if they do, they will get the same as what I gave yesterday. As simple as that.”

ESPNcricinfo staff25-May-2015Trent Boult mopped up the England tail to finish with 5 for 85 as New Zealand were set 345 to win in 77 overs•Getty ImagesEngland had to use the new ball well and James Anderson struck with just the second ball of the innings•Getty ImagesStuart Broad was also right on the mark and reduced the Kiwis to 12 for 3•Getty ImagesDesperately in need of a partnership New Zealand sent in BJ Watling and he ground away for 143 balls of stout resistance•Getty ImagesWatling survived for 27 overs with Corey Anderson but Ben Stokes returned to make the breakthrough…•Getty Images…and then bowled Brendon McCullum first ball as England sensed victory once again•Getty ImagesCorey Anderson came out counterpunching and frustrated England with a 44-ball half-century•Getty ImagesBut Joe Root’s golden arm removed Anderson and then Stokes returned to bowl Mark Craig•Getty ImagesThe tenth wicket hung around for a while before a chance was created at third man…•Getty Images…and Moeen Ali held a superb catch over his left shoulder to complete victory•Getty Images

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Jun-2015Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne then stitched together a 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket•Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty ImagesThe Pakistan bowlers found some reverse-swing and Wahab Riaz got the breakthrough before lunch, dismissing Thirimanne for 44•Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty ImagesYasir Shah began the turnaround for Pakistan with the wicket of Karunaratne who was stumped for 79•Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty ImagesThe legspinner then wrapped up the rest of the innings, finishing with 7 for 76 to leave Pakistan a target of 90 for a win.•Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty ImagesPakistan’s openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad chased down the target inside 12 overs, capping an emphatic win in four days•Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty ImagesPakistan’s 10-wicket win was their first victory in Sri Lanka since April, 2006. Sarfraz Ahmed was named the Man of the Match for his game-turning 86-ball 96 in the first innings•Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images

Too often have England been three down for not many and this time Joe Root was unable to provide the safety net

George Dobell at Lord's17-Jul-2015Like a trapeze artist learning to live without a safety net, England found at Lord’s that Joe Root will not always be able to conceal the cracks in their top order.There will be days – maybe quite a few days – when England get away with a poor start. With Root looking as if he may develop into a top player and Moeen Ali batting as low as No. 8, there will be times when the middle order are able to help the team rebuild from the loss of three early wickets. There will be times when they get away with it. Times when they have a safety net.But not always. No team, however deep the batting and however able the middle-order, can afford to find themselves three down as often as England have in recent times. No team can afford to have such a fragile opening partnership and no team can be overly reliant on one man.Root’s form in the last year or so has been exceptional: 1,513 runs at an average of 79.63 since June 2014. His stroke here – a waft that spoke of a mind scrambled by five sessions in the field, a huge deficit and a bowler of unusual pace – was unworthy of him, but he is human and he is 24. These things happen.England’s real issue is that so few of his colleagues seem able to fill the void when Root fails. England’s real issue is that he cannot mask all their flaws.Only three times in 13 innings since the start of the Caribbean tour have England gone past 75 two wickets down or less. On six occasions, the score had not even reached 50 before the third wicket fell. Only three times have England put on more than 17 for the first wicket.

If a somnambulant Lord’s was still half asleep when the innings began, it was wide awake after Lyth wafted at a wide delivery. Suddenly there was a hint of the Gabba about the place

All too often, England are starting their innings from the fragile foundation of 10 for 1 and 50 for 3. All too often, England’s middle order are exposed to the new ball. All too often, they are obliged to do the job of the top order. They will not always be able to shoulder such a burden. If England are to win the Investec Ashes, they will need the entire team to contribute.And remember, had Brad Haddin caught Root at Cardiff before he had scored, England would have been 43 for 4 and the weakness would have been exposed even more visibly. They got away with it on that occasion. It is foolish to think such fortune will continue to flow.This was an unsettling evening from an England perspective. The apparent air of resignation that hung around Lord’s as England bowled for five sessions was suddenly transformed into something urgent and desperate when Australia bowled. Perhaps it was superior skill, perhaps it was superior belief, perhaps it was a combination of physical weariness and scoreboard pressure, but whereas Australia had accumulated with calm assurance, England looked rattled and hurried when they began their reply.Reasoning that they had one opportunity to seize this match, Australia went hard at England with the new ball. And if a somnambulant Lord’s was still half asleep when the innings began, it was wide awake after Adam Lyth, looking shaken by the sudden increase in intensity, was drawn into a waft at a wide delivery. Suddenly England looked tense and Australia scented blood. Suddenly there was just a hint of the Gabba about Lord’s.While it would be premature to drop Lyth – it is only five Test innings since he made a century against a strong New Zealand attack – this was not the stroke of a Test opening batsman. He will face far more hostile environments, far less docile pitches. One score above 37 in seven Test innings – and four below 13 – does not bode well.England have not had a really effective opening partnership since Andrew Strauss retired. Or some time before that, really, as Strauss made only three centuries in the final three years of his career and did not make a half-century in his final eight innings. Nick Compton (with an average 31.93 from nine Tests) came closest to making the role his own but he was deemed not to be the sort of character some in the management wanted and was afforded little patience after three successive poor Tests. There are few better defenders of fast bowling in the county game, though.Sam Robson could come again but he appears to be a player in development. And decent batsmen though the likes of Varun Chopra, Mark Stoneman and Alex Lees are, to throw them in against this attack would be a asking a great deal of them. It is at such times, then, that England need their senior players to deliver.England’s top order found life far harder than Australia on a seemingly docile pitch•Getty ImagesIan Bell looked aghast the pitch when he was bowled, but he would have been better served looking at his technique. While Bell was undoubtedly the victim of a lovely piece of bowling – a full ball swung wonderfully late – he will reflect from the replays that his attempt to whip it through midwicket hardly gave him the best chance of negating the movement. The game may have changed in many ways, but the old adage about playing with the full face of the bat and into the V remains as relevant now as ever.Bell is often talked of as having the best technique in the England side. But it is a basic tenet of the game that the new ball is better played straight than with an angled bat. For an experienced player who had just seen his side’s No. 3 bowled by a late-swinging ball, his was a poor stroke. He has now reached 30 once in 11 innings and, on seven of those occasions, failed to pass 1. Of equal concern is the fact that, in those 11 innings, he has now been bowled four times. Coming during a game when he dropped a tricky but vital chance in the slips, the pressure on him is growing.And then there is Gary Ballance. His dismissal here, deep in the crease and unable to negate late swing that hit his off stump, was somewhat familiar. While the facile answer to his issues would be to convince him to play further forward, such an apparent solution would create several other technical problems. In short, it would weaken one of his strengths: the ability to minimise his dismissals edging to the slip cordon by remaining admirably compact and not pushing at the ball.In mitigation, he really did receive a very fine ball. Full and quick to take this docile pitch out of the equation, it swung late enough to beat Ballance’s tentative prod.But his problem may be more basic. If he studies replays of his dismissal, he may conclude that he is not watching the ball on to the bat as closely as he thinks. He need only study Chris Rogers’ method – and Lord knows he has had plenty of opportunity in recent days – to understand how top-order batsmen watch the ball right on to their bat.One option would be to promote Root to No. 3. He did open in the last Ashes series in England, after all. That would, at least, allow him to prevent such collapses rather than rebuild after them. England could also bring in another batsman – the likes of Jonny Bairstow or James Taylor – for the middle-order role. But it would also weaken a considerable strength in this England side. Root averages 33.53 batting in the top three and 65.50 from positions four to seven.Whatever happens over the next three days at Lord’s, England can no longer ignore the mountain of evidence that is building about the top order. They cannot ask for slower wickets. They cannot squeeze any more batsmen into their XI. There have been too many failures to dismiss it as an aberration.

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jul-2015Sachith Pathirana brought Sri Lanka back into the game with two wickets on debut. Milinda Siriwardana got the wicket of Babar Azam as Pakistan fell to 96 for 3•AFPAzhar Ali and Shoaib Malik resurrected Pakistan’s innings with an 83-run stand, both making half-centuries•AFPShoaib Malik was dismissed in the 37th over for 51 and two more quick wickets followed as Pakistan were soon 217 for 6 in the 43rd over.•AFPMohammad Rizwan made the third half-century of the innings as Pakistan surged to 287 for 8 – scoring 88 runs off the last 10 overs•AFPKusal Perera blitzed the Pakistan attack from the outset, smashing a 17-ball half-century – the second-fastest in ODIs and joint-fastest for Sri Lanka•AFPThe opening stand was 92 in just 50 balls before Kusal was caught for 68, but Tillakaratne Dilshan carried the chase for a while with a measured innings•AFPDilshan and Upul Tharanga added 48 for the second wicket before Tharanga was bowled for 28 in the 19th over•AFPSri Lanka lost a clump of wickets, including that of Dilshan, as 155 for 2 soon turned to 159 for 5•AFPHowever, the hosts’ lower middle-order contributed with handy cameos as Sri Lanka completed a tough chase with two wickets and 11 balls remaining•AFP

Stats highlights from the third day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Galle where Rangana Herath got another five-for

Shiva Jayaraman16-Oct-20151:29

By the numbers – Herath’s sixth six-wicket haul in Galle

8 Number of five-wicket hauls Rangana Herath has taken in Galle. Only one other bowler has taken more five-fors at a venue: Muttiah Muralitharan took 14 such hauls at the SSC and 11 each in Kandy and Galle. Ian Botham also took eight five-wicket hauls at Lord’s. Herath has taken 75 wickets in Galle at an average of 24.46. Overall, this was Herath’s 23rd five-wicket haul in Tests.6 Number of times Herath has taken six or more wickets in an innings in Galle including his 6 for 68 in West Indies’ first innings in this Test. Only Muralitharan has taken more at a single venue in Tests. Muralitharan took six-plus wickets seven times out the 11 five-fors he took in Kandy. Overall, Herath has taken 11 such hauls in his Test career.21.93 Herath’s bowling average in Tests in Galle this year. He has taken 15 wickets in three Tests here including two five-fors. In the four other Tests he has played this year, Herath has taken 10 wickets at an average of 60.00.5 Number of times West Indies have been asked to follow-on in Tests since 2010 including this match. No other team has had to follow-on more often during this period. Bangladesh and New Zealand have been asked to follow-on four times since 2010.5 Number of times Sri Lanka have now asked their opposition to follow-on in Tests in Galle. This equals the highest number of times any team has enforced the follow-on at a venue in the sub-continent. India too have enforced follow-on five times at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi.4 Number of fifties Darren Bravo has made against Sri Lanka in Tests in just six innings including his 50 in the first innings of this match. Bravo has played four Tests against Sri Lanka – all away – and has a fifty in each one of them. Bravo has 276 runs against them at an average of 69.00.251 West Indies’ total in their first innings – the fifth-lowest by any team in Test innings in which at least ten batsmen have reached double-figures. Pakistan had made 221 in their first innings against New Zealand in the Lahore Test in 1984-85 which is the lowest. Overall this was the 11th time that at least ten West Indies batsmen had scored 10 or more in an innings. The last such instance for West Indies had come against Australia in Barbados.10.61 Marlon Samuels’ batting average against Sri Lanka – the lowest he averages against any team in Tests. Samuels has played eight Tests against them and has made only 138 runs in 14 innings. Among West Indies batsmen, only Learie Constantine averaged lower against an opposition from ten or more innings batting in the top-order.80 Deliveries Kemar Roach faced in his innings of 22 in West Indies’ first innings. This equals the second-highest number of balls he has faced in an innings in Tests. Roach had batted for 55 balls in the company of Jason Holder to help save the Antigua Test against England earlier this year.2008 The last time before this Test each of West Indies’ No. 8, 9 and 10 made at least 20 runs in an innings. On that occasion too, Sri Lanka was the opposition. Overall, there have been only eight such instances for West Indies in Tests.

Stats highlights from a frenetic final day in Abu Dhabi, when 15 wickets fell for 276 runs

S Rajesh17-Oct-20151:46

By The Numbers: Wicket fest on final day

18.40 The average runs per wicket on the last day of the Test (15 wickets fell for 276); on the first four days, the average was 68.25 (16 wickets for 1092 runs).49.36 The average runs per wicket in this Test, which is the third-highest among all Tests in the UAE. After the first four days, the average was a whopping 68.25, but it dropped dramatically thanks to Pakistan’s second-innings collapse. Had one more wicket fallen today, it would have been only the second instance in Test history of the last day producing at least as many wickets as the first four put together (among all Tests in which at least 100 overs were bowled on the first four days). The only other such instance was in the last Test of the 2013 Ashes, when 13 wickets fell on the first four days (the fourth day was completely washed out), and 17 fell on the final day.1 Adil Rashid’s was the first instance of a bowler taking a five-for in the second innings after going wicketless for 100-plus runs in the first innings on Test debut. The closest any bowler had come previously was also from England: in Brisbane in 1970, Ken Shuttleworth, a right-arm fast bowler, took 5 for 47 in Australia’s second innings after finishing with figures of 0 for 81 in the first.9 Total instances of debutant bowlers taking a five-for in the second innings after going wicketless in the first. The last such instance was in 1996 by Lance Klusener, who had figures of 0 for 75 in the first innings and then returned with 8 for 64 in the second, against India in Kolkata.4 The number of England spinners who have taken a five-for on Test debut in the last 60 years – Rashid, Peter Such, Nick Cook and Phil Edmonds. Overall, he is the 13th England spinner to take a five-for on Test debut.56 The number of years since an England legspinner returned better figures in a Test. That achievement rests with Tommy Greenhough, a Lancastrian who played only four Tests but who took 5 for 35 against India in 1959.14 Runs added by Pakistan’s last four wickets in their second innings – they lost their sixth wicket at 159, and were bowled out for 173. Only three times have their lost their last four for fewer runs in a Test against England, with the lowest being nine, at Lord’s in 1978.34 Instances of both teams scoring 500-plus runs in the first innings of a Test; only 4 have gone on to produce a decisive result, while 30 have been drawn.Adil Rashid became the first Test debutant to take a five-for in the second innings after going wicketless for more than 100 runs in the first•Getty Images206 Overs bowled by Pakistan in England’s first innings, which is their seventh-highest in Test history. The last time they bowled more overs was in 1980 in Faisalabad against Australia, when they bowled 211 overs in Australia’s total of 617.6 Instances of a batsman scoring a double-century and a duck in the same Test. Shoaib Malik is the second Pakistan batsman in the list, after Imtiaz Ahmed, who scored 209 and 0 v NZ in Lahore in 1955. The last time this happened was in 2003, when Ricky Ponting scored 242 and 0 versus India in Adelaide. Malik’s 245 is also the highest score by a batsman who got a duck in the other innings of the same Test.

The story of how a Kuwait-born Canadian cricketer of Indian origin made heads turn after scything through Kevin Pietersen’s defense in the CPL

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong28-Nov-2015The distance young Nikhil Dutta has travelled both literally – from Canada to Bangladesh via the Caribbean – and figuratively is reason enough to believe that while globalisation in cricket may be a dying concept, the spread of the game remains far and wide.Barisal Bulls picking him in their squad for the 2015 Bangladesh Premier League is an advertisement for the T20 too, as the format is now becoming an accepted medium for talented players in cricketing backwaters to dream big.Dutta, who considers Sunil Narine a hero, has an action that is similar to the Trinidadian. He comes from a longish run-up and points the ball up in the air with his right hand before quickly getting into the pivot and tossing up deliveries that are manipulated with his supple fingers. See his action from mid-off and the similarities to Narine are unmistakable.”I really like Sunil Narine’s bowling,” Dutta told ESPNcricinfo. “He has a lot of variation, and is someone who gives away 20 runs in four overs in T20 cricket, so he should be considered a great bowler. It is very tough to do that, but he does it consistently. I have met him at the CPL. He has been really helpful by giving me tips. He is a really nice guy and very generous and humble.”I picked up his bowling from TV actually and found that his action helps him as a bowler. He can deceive with his variation. It is tough for batsmen to pick, though he has played for a long time. People say you should copy the good things out of every player. I watch Youtube clips of lot of offspin bowlers and I try to pick up all the good things from them.”So far, he hasn’t shot to limelight or set fields on fire. He turned 21 in October, and is still learning his craft. Even within the tumultuous BPL, he is picking up pointers from his Barisal teammates. To his credit, he has remained unflustered by the lack of opportunity. But with seven matches still remaining, there is still a chance of him featuring at some stage.”I was picked after the draft by Barisal Bulls,” Dutta said. “It is a great experience for me to play alongside some big cricketers, practicing with them and learning from them. It is a good opportunity for Canada in general by getting experience in the BPL. “[Not playing yet] is not frustrating at all. Just being with these players and practicing with them is a plus point for me. I want to gain a lot of experience and be ready for any situation.”Born in Kuwait City and raised in Toronto, Dutta, whose parents are from Kolkata, is of Bengali origin. His cricket-loving father Mihir, a software graduate who played league cricket in the city before moving to the Middle East in 1989, saw the nine-year-old Nikhil get excited watching the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Mihir would also move to Kenya before finally settling in Canada in 1999.Mihir enrolled his cricket-loving son at indoor facilities in Toronto. Within five years, he saw him graduate to America’s Under-15 team in the CLICOS International Under-15 Cricket Championships in Barbados. Dutta rose through the age-levels and in 2013, Dutta made his ODI debut for Canada.So how did Barisal get wind of him?In June this year, Dutta scythed one big-spinning off-break through Kevin Pietersen’s driving bat and pad, on his CPL debut for the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots. He could play only three games but it was enough to attract attention of those who are in the loop to connect such talent to the T20 leagues.”It was a great feeling to get Kevin Pietersen out,” Dutta reminisced. “It was a great opportunity given to me by my CPL team St Kitts & Nevis Patriots. I feel my bowling is better for T20. I would like to expand to the longer format, which we don’t have in Canada. We play 50-over and T20s there.”I have variations which is very important in T20s. In longer format it is important to bowl with line and length. You never want the batsmen to be settled in T20s, so you always want the batsmen to think so it is good to have more option as a bowler,” said Dutta.Dutta has played almost all his cricket so far for the Ontario Cricket Academy where he first learned his trade. He said that the weekend leagues are competitive enough, especially due to the induction of overseas players. He feels that by being in the BPL, he is letting others back home dream of a future in cricket.If he does play in the BPL, he won’t be the first Canada player to do so. In the 2012 edition, Rizwan Cheema played one game for Duronto Rajshahi. But there will be a feeling of nostalgia among Bangladeshis to see someone who has similar roots take a big step in his bourgeoning career through the BPL. “I can’t speak but I understand Bengali. My parents are from Calcutta,” he said, before switching to Kolkata later in the interview.Since the BPL is still exclusively for the professionals from Bangladesh’s domestic scene and devoid of unfamiliar faces, the Bengali kid from Canada will now be looked upon to provide the tournament with the romance of the unknown talent.

Stats highlights from the first day’s play of the first Test in Dunedin between New Zealand and Sri Lanka.

Bharath Seervi10-Dec-20152 Number of instances of New Zealand making 400 or more on the opening day of a Test, before their 409 for 8 today. They scored 452 for 9 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 2005-06 and 429 for 7 against Sri Lanka in Christchurch in 2014-15. Also the run rate of 4.54 the end of the day is their fifth-highest in the first innings of a Test.40 Consecutive Test innings Martin Guptill went without a century, before his knock today. His last hundred was 109 against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo in 2011-12. Between these two centuries, he made eight fifties with a best of 97 against West Indies in North Sound in 2012. In the same period he made seven hundreds in 64 ODI innings.1997 The last time a New Zealand opener made 150 or more in the first innings of a Test, before Guptill’s 156 in this match. Bryan Young scored 267 not out against the same opposition in the same city, but at a different ground, Carisbrook. Overall, it is the fifth instance for New Zealand, and all have been against Asian teams – three against India and two against Sri Lanka.5 Number of New Zealand players who have taken more innings to reach 2000 Test runs than Guptill’s 70 – Daniel Vettori (96), Richard Hadlee (91), Adam Parore (83), Ken Rutherford (79) and Chris Cairns (73). Guptill became the 26th New Zealand player to reach this milestone and the joint sixth-slowest with John R Reid. His average of 30.37 is the fifth-lowest among all the New Zealand players with 2000 or more runs.173 The partnership between Kane Williamson and Guptill, New Zealand’s highest for the second wicket against Sri Lanka in Tests. It bettered the one between Stephen Fleming and Mark Richardson at the P Sara Oval in Colombo in 2003-04 by one run.13 Number of scores of 85 or more for Williamson in international matches this year, which is the joint-most by a batsman in a calendar year with Aravinda de Silva (1997), Sachin Tendulkar (1998), Tillakaratne Dilshan (2009) and Hashim Amla (2010). It was Williamson’s 19th score of 50 or more in international matches this year in 42 innings, the second-most behind Joe Root who has 20 such scores in 45 innings. Williamson is already the leading run-getter in international matches this year.15 Consecutive Tests in New Zealand in which the team winning the toss opted to field first, including Sri Lanka in this Test. The last time any team batted first here was New Zealand against Pakistan in Wellington in 2010-11.98 Tests played by Brendon McCullum, without missing any since his debut. He equals AB de Villiers’ record of playing the most consecutive Tests from debut.19 Number of sixes hit by McCullum in Tests against Sri Lanka, the most by a batsman against them, bettering Navjot Sidhu’s 18 sixes. Sri Lanka is also the opposition against whom McCullum has hit the most sixes: he has 18 against England. His Test strike rate of 78.67 against Sri Lanka is the second-highest among all batsmen who have faced 500 or more balls against them.