He was the first batsman to pass fifty in the match and looked a class above anyone else on a lively pitch that is making for terrific Test cricket

George Dobell at the Wanderers15-Jan-2016Whatever happens in the remainder of this Test – and it is beautifully poised – it surely bodes well for England that, for the second game in succession, one of their young batsmen has produced an innings that might reasonably be defined as great.Whatever holes there may have been in Joe Root’s CV – and for a 25-year-old there are very few – one of them was his ability to flourish against good quality attacks on wickets offering a higher than average degree of bounce. After all, he struggled against an outstanding attack in the Ashes series of 2013-14 and was not entirely convincing as an opening batsman in 2013.But then he was 22. And here, against four fast men who all bowled in excess of 90mph, with the match in the balance and his team in some trouble, he produced a century of the highest class to go a long way to not only answering any reasonable questions about his ability, but to keep his side in the game.No doubt, had Dale Steyn and perhaps Vernon Philander been available, Root would have been more thoroughly tested. But South Africa actually bowled admirably – at least until they were rattled by Root and Ben Stokes’ aggression – and, on a pitch on which nobody else had reached 50 at the time he came to the crease, Root has looked a class above anyone else in the game. And there really are some very fine players involved in this match.Root’s record at No. 4 and No. 5 – a record now set across a not inconsiderable sample size – is deeply impressive. While there are the usual caveats – pitches these days are generally more batsmen friendly and this was only the second of his Test centuries made overseas – he currently averages 68.24 in 43 innings, more than Sachin or Sobers in those positions. There are still bridges to cross – not least, the challenges of Asia and Australia – but it does seem there is something special unfolding in front of us with the blossoming of Root.It is Root’s ability to score from almost any delivery that renders him such a tough proposition for opponents. Bowl back of a length and he will either force you off the back foot from anywhere between mid-off and backward point, or guide you down to third man. Bowl short and he will pull, cut or hook with relish. And so strong and deft are those wrists that every stroke has a vast degree of scope depending on the placement of the fielders.But bowling full to him allows the opportunity to drive on either side of the wicket and while he may always favour the back foot, the stroke that brought up his century – a gorgeous cover drive off Chris Morris that would have made David Gower proud – was played with his right knee touching the ground, his left leg well forward and his nose over the ball.Class above: Joe Root’s ninth Test hundred brought England firmly back into the match•Getty ImagesHe will always be strong off his pads and punish width, too. But perhaps the key to converting this innings into a century – before this game, he had converted only one of his nine most recent Test half-centuries – was his determination to play straighter and leave the ball when appropriate. So while Kagiso Rabada was driven through mid-on and Morris almost straight past the stumps, Root was happy to leave on length and less likely than previously to play across his front pad. As ever in great innings, the shots not played are as important as those that are.It all leaves bowlers with very little margin for error.We saw the effects of that here. An attack who had harnessed the conditions expertly in the first 30 overs of the innings – far better than England’s vastly more experienced seamers – suddenly found themselves unsure where to bowl. As a result, they lost their discipline and were punished. The 100 partnership occupied only 86 balls. There have been few quicker century partnerships in Test history.Root gained enormously from the presence of Stokes at the other end. Stokes, aged just 24, already has the rare ability to intimidate bowlers and, after his brutal innings in Cape Town, reacted to the challenge here the only way he knows how: by counterattacking with ferocious power.There were those – a joyless, sorry bunch who must begrudge sunsets and rainbows their beauty – who dismissed his double-century at Newlands as the plundering of a flat-track bully. But to see him peppered and pummelled by the wonderfully hostile Morne Morkel was to see him tested and tried. The response – impossibly fierce pulls and an ability to hit back of a length deliveries over mid-off – reiterated the impression that England have a gem in Stokes.Indeed, as the partnership became increasingly reminiscent of the stand made between the same paid at Lord’s in May – coming together at 30 for 4, they added 161 in little over 30 overs against New Zealand – the thought occurred: have England had a pair of such exciting young talents – entertainers as well as fine players – since the emergence of Gower and Ian Botham in the late 1970s?In the grand scheme of things, AB de Villiers’ outstanding fielding – such is his pace and athleticism that he came within a whisker of concocting a run-out from a situation where almost everyone else in the world would have accepted a safe single – scarcely warrants a mention. Suffice it to say, he is one of very few cricketers who can stand at mid-off for much of the day and justify the admission price.For this was as compelling a day of cricket as anyone could wish to see. Hostile fast bowling; audacious batting; breathtaking fielding: we had it all. This series – played by two fine, well-matched teams who manage to play hard but appreciate the skills of their opponents – is quietly developing into something of a classic. And days like this belong not to the supporters of one side or the other, but all those who love and value Test cricket.There is another lesson here. If the ICC can find the funding to invest in research into pitch preparation – and it may be that technology has a large part to play – it will surely prove money well spent. If more Test surfaces bore the characteristics of this one, notably pace and bounce, it is likely that we would see far more entertaining games. No-one should begrudge Bethuel Buthelezi, in his first Test as head groundsman, if he wins the Man-of-the-Match award.Nobody is asking for homogenisation of conditions. Variety will always have value. But, over the last few years, we have seen some wretched, lifeless surfaces (Nagpur in 2012, Trent Bridge in 2014 and, sad to say, Lord’s on more than one occasion spring to mind) and nothing is more likely to douse the enthusiasm of a new audience for our great game. Forget the nonsense about appealing to ‘the purists’; Test cricket is embroiled in a fight for survival. It needs to reach out and entertain beyond the confines of the ‘the purists.’ Pitches like this will give it a far better chance of winning that fight.

The Caribbean league wants its brand to remain local but is seeking to attract IPL investment, and Indian players and TV audiences

Peter Miller25-Feb-2016When Ernest Hilaire, the out-going CEO of the West Indies Cricket Board, announced in late 2012 that a “commercial T20″ league would be created, few would have blamed those that witnessed the rise and ignominious fall of Allen Stanford for being a bit nervous.It has been almost seven years since the spectacular collapse of Stanford’s business empire, and with it his groundbreaking Stanford 20/20 tournament, but for many the Texan fraudster’s name is still the first that springs to mind when considering T20 cricket in the Caribbean. The wounds are yet to heal. But Caribbean Premier League CEO Damien O’Donohoe says that Stanford isn’t discussed anymore by those running the CPL.”Like with anything, even if Stanford had never happened it would have taken us time to build trust,” O’Donohoe told ESPNcricinfo. “Of course, in year one, people were bringing up the Stanford name, but, to be honest, it isn’t a name we have heard in over two and a half years now. We have come in and promised a huge amount, and we have delivered over and above what we said we would do.”In recent weeks Stanford’s name has reappeared as a result of a BBC interview in which he claimed, from his prison cell in Florida, that he was not guilty of the crimes for which he has been sentenced to 110 years in jail. Beyond those headline-grabbing assertions, however, it was his comments about the commercial viability of cricket in the Caribbean that were of most interest.”I was trying to grow the Stanford brand globally,” Stanford told the BBC’s Dan Roan. “What nobody understood is that I anticipated this new generation of players that we were going to uncover. When we had our first cricket tournament, we broadcast that and I gave the TV rights away globally. We had over a billion people watch our matches and that was the island-versus-island competition.”

For all of his failings, Stanford “got” T20 cricket and where it belonged in the modern Caribbean culture. In many ways the CPL is the natural progression of his vision

Perhaps the CPL is no less exploitative. It is, after all, a private venture attempting to make money out of West Indies cricket. Digicel are the majority shareholder of the tournament and, just as Stanford did, they see the potential of cricket in the Caribbean to generate income, and the numbers seem to be proving them right.That is not to say that the CPL is not doing its bit for growing the game. Kids are proudly wearing their CPL jerseys, the players have school visits written into their contracts, and the CPL management make it very clear that helping the grassroots game is as much part of their goals as any financial reward. There is plenty of evidence that these are more than just empty promises.O’Donohoe is very proud of the growth that the league has shown over the last three years. TV viewership is up to 92 million and attendances have increased 44% in last year, thanks to a move to more floodlit matches after an experiment with day-time games to better suit a worldwide TV audience. The quality of overseas players has increased. This season Brendon McCullum, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson will all be taking part, which will help raise interest. The issue is how to make that growth continue at the current rate and allow the CPL to hold its own against the likes of the IPL and the Big Bash.The answer, as always where cricket is concerned, is India. The CPL has already made decent strides in this regard. Hero is now the title sponsor and there are two IPL owners with teams in the tournament. Half of that growing TV audience is from India. Finding a way to increase that connection with the Indian market is described by O’Donohoe as the CPL’s biggest challenge.”In year two we played the majority of our games during the day and it had an impact on numbers through the turnstiles. And at the end of the day we realised, this is a Caribbean product for Caribbean people. It is something that they are massively proud of, as are we,” O’Donohoe says. “I think you can’t alter your local product to try and please international markets. What we are trying to do is playing games later at night and building a package for the Indians, which is like a breakfast TV package, so it is, ‘Wake up to the CPL.'”Venky Mysore (right): “Indian viewership is 50% of CPL viewership. There are a few ideas that are being collated and brainstorming taking place on how you get Indian viewership going”•BCCIThis approach has already been successful for NBA basketball in India, and has also worked for the BBL in the UK. The major danger here is that the CPL will lose what makes it special. When people tune in, they do so as much for atmosphere as for the cricket. The need to court the India market puts this at risk. Finding that balance is why O’Donohoe says the challenge is so large.Venky Mysore, CEO of both Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and the newly renamed Trinbago Knight Riders of the CPL, is excited about finding a way to make the CPL a viable live television product in India.”I connected [the CPL management] to Sony, who is the broadcaster in India, because we do a lot of work with Sony. And we are working on some ideas, because the stats that CPL showed me were impressive that last year. Maybe it was a coincidence – with our entry, viewership doubled, and Indian viewership is 50% of CPL viewership. I think it will be fabulous to do something interesting. There are a few ideas that are being collated and brainstorming taking place on how you get Indian viewership going.”Mysore is also keen to point out the advantage of having Indian players taking part in the CPL, although he is aware that this is a long shot. For him the BCCI allowing the up-and-coming Indian players would be a start.”I think it will be great to have Indian players as well, as I said in the past. I think the board has their own reasoning for [restricting involvement], but I hope that they will ease up on that, at least in a limited way to start off with, allowing some of the emerging players, because there is a lot of talent there. It will be great for them to come and have this kind of exposure.”No one is better placed to get the BCCI to rethink its stance on Indian players than IPL franchise owners, and now that there are two very high-profile link-ups between the CPL and the IPL, the Caribbean league is very well placed to argue its case for some Indian involvement. If that does happen, it will be a massive coup for the CPL as the first T20 tournament other than the IPL to have the biggest drawcards in the sport playing for their teams.

“What we are trying to do is playing games later at night and building a package for the Indians, which is like a breakfast TV package, so it is, ‘Wake up to the CPL'”Damian O’Donohoe

While India is a much trodden path, albeit one with potential to grow, the real prize in cricket expansion is the USA. The demise of the United States of America Cricket Association has seen the ICC take over the running of the sport in the country. This has allowed the CPL to gain agreement to host six matches in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. With the CPL promising cheap tickets, they should be well attended, and will serve as an excellent gauge of where cricket in the USA sits in the present climate.The CPL is run in an attempt to generate profits and, O’Donohoe says they are close to breaking even. While Stanford spoke to the BBC about potential profits further down the line, his events always looked to be less about making money and more an exercise in furthering the Texan’s cult of personality. It seems the CPL method is working. Whatever the motivation, this has been the most successful – and soon to be the longest-lived – T20 cricket venture in the Caribbean’s history.That is not to say the CPL has not had its problems. That need to break even has led to some challenges in dealing with the various governments in the region. The CPL estimates it brings some US$56 million into the Caribbean each year. In return they have requested governmental support, both in terms of finance and infrastructure. Last year there was talk of Barbados losing its team, after O’Donohoe and COO Pete Russell accused the government and private sector on the island of failing to support the enterprise.It is telling that Vijay Mallya, the new owner of Barbados Tridents, was keen to stress when speaking at the CPL draft that government support had been vital in his decision to purchase the team. It is also very interesting that the St Lucia-based franchise Zouks have dropped the country’s name from their promotional materials ahead of the 2016 season, the implication being that St Lucia’s failure to offer adequate support to the CPL has cost them the free “advertising” that comes with being associated with the franchise.While it is understandable that the CPL is looking for some support from the governments of the islands it visits, the issue will always be the lack of money in an economically depressed region. This has been a source of conflict for all cricket in the Caribbean, and chances are it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future. To reach an agreement that makes all parties happy will not be easy.What we know for sure is the CPL has gone a long way towards revitalising confidence in cricket in the Caribbean. The games are well attended, the TV viewership is growing and the organisers are arranging those matches in the USA. O’Donohoe even says there is interest from a third IPL owner in purchasing a team. The issues with the national set-up are not going away but the CPL has meant there are at least some positives for cricket in the West Indies. The tournament exists as a separate yet symbiotic entity to the national team and its growth should be celebrated.Outside of the Caribbean, there may be a lingering cynicism about Stanford’s original involvement in cricket, but within the region, his legacy remains mixed. For all of his failings, Stanford “got” T20 cricket and where it belonged in modern Caribbean culture. In many ways the CPL is the natural progression of his vision. Had the Stanford circus continued, it may well have ended up looking much like the current set-up, with its Indian investment and expansion into the USA.The CPL wants to be an integral part of West Indies cricket, not just something that makes money out of it. When speaking of long-term goals, the time frames discussed are decades, not years. In many ways, the need to make money has made the whole thing more streamlined and, as a result, increased its chances of success. If O’Donohoe has his way, the CPL will be part of the landscape for generations to come.

24-Apr-2016AB de Villiers got going with a couple of cover-driven fours•BCCIHis promising innings ended when Pravin Tambe had him caught at short cover•BCCIVirat Kohli continued to pierce the gaps with ease…•BCCI…despite an ankle sprain•BCCIKL Rahul, a last-minute replacement for the injured Mandeep Singh, contributed 51 in an 121-run stand with Kohli•BCCIKohli shifted gears and scored his maiden T20 century off 63 balls. Royal Challengers finished with 180 for 2•AFPDwayne Smith, opening in place of the injured Aaron Finch, got Lions’ chase to a flier•BCCIBrendon McCullum also found his bearings right away•AFPThe 47-run partnership ended when Kane Richardson dismissed Smith for 32. Three overs later, South African chinaman bowler Tabraiz Shamsi removed McCullum for 42•BCCISuresh Raina and Dinesh Karthik kept Lions on course with a third-wicket stand of 53•BCCIRaina fell for 28 in the 16th over, but Dinesh Karthik held his own and brought up his first T20 half-century after 21 innings•BCCIWith three needed off four balls, Dwayne Bravo struck a four to seal Lions’ fourth win. He celebrated the victory with the dance•BCCI

The icy conditions may have had Sri Lanka supporters fearing the worst but this was a glorious day of competence in the field by Angelo Mathews’ side

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Chester-le-Street27-May-2016Before this match Angelo Mathews said he thought Sri Lanka fielded and caught well at Headingley. They dropped at least three catches in their one innings in the field. Yet he was probably correct in suggesting this represented improvement. Often this year, they have fumbled the ball, fallen over in pursuit, fist-bumped it, chest-bumped it, caressed it lovingly over the rope, escorted it gallantly to the fence, and danced flailingly around it like it was the wooden idol in a tribal ritual.So when Mathews said he was hopeful his team would field well in Durham, it was easy to doubt him. It had been the coldest approach to a Test many of his team had experienced. Sri Lanka do not field well in the cold. With their most-athletic seamer – Dushmantha Chameera – now gone, they also had three ungainly quicks whose bodies seem to consist only of limbs. Rangana Herath, is at least 90% torso. Sri Lanka were, in short, primed to have an atrocious day in the field.But there Dimuth Karunaratne was at second slip, diving to his left to hold the ball flying quickly off Alastair Cook’s blade. There Suranga Lakmal was at fine leg, flinging his rangy limbs in supplication to the heavens to soon find the ball lodged in his palms. This had been made all the better by his seeming to dart in several directions at once, after initially misreading the hook off Nick Compton’s bat.Lakmal even held the ball close for a few seconds after he came to a screeching stop just inside the boundary. Was he just enjoying the feeling of leather on skin? Was he happy at how surprisingly well his whole manoeuvre had gone? On another day, he could have easily traveled over the line, into the boundary boards, and on to Sri Lanka, because going by track record, there is no way a Sri Lankan quick can twist his body like that and not be injured for several months. Most fielders didn’t really believe he had caught it at first. Why would they? They are not idiots.Later, Mathews himself led by example when he went aerial to his right to hold a slippery slip catch, close in, off Alex Hales. Lahiru Thirimanne was the next to take flight, climbing in an instant to his right to cling to James Vince’s uppish cover drive. This was the most athletic take, but perhaps the least surprising, as Thirimanne has recently been involved in many wonderful dismissals off expansive drives. Usually he is the batsman. But still, it is one thing to see this kind of catch repeatedly at close quarters; another entirely to emulate it.Towards the end of the day, the fielding slipped a little. Third man running around to deep cover could have dived to stop four, but offered only an unsuccessful boot instead, allowing Jonny Bairstow an undeserved boundary. Dinesh Chandimal let another ball wriggle between his sore wicketkeepers’ fingers to concede a bye in the 86th over. There were unnecessary shies at the stumps, and questionable backing up as well, but who could dwell on such minutiae after the year this team has had? Catches aside, even in the other fielding disciplines, this was Sri Lanka’s sublime day of near-competence; three sessions of glorious adequacy.With their two best quicks of the past 18 months now out of the series, it is just as well the fielders lifted their game to make up for the weakening of the attack.”We have to catch everything that’s possible,” coach Graham Ford said. “If you have a really express bowler or very skillful ones – like perhaps England have – even if you miss one or two catches, there’s still more chance of another one coming fairly soon. For us, it’s very important that we latch on to everything to stay competitive in the series.”The catching was especially heartening, because on Wednesday, Sri Lanka’s fielders had kept their gloves on during drills, so chill was the wind blowing off the North Sea. “Everyone in the team was happy to see those catches as they were really special catches,” Ford said. “Hats off to boys. At training they have worked hard with very cold hands at times. They have really put in the hard efforts and they deserve the rewards.”If just one more wicket had fallen in the day, Sri Lanka might have even left the field on even terms with their hosts. If two marginal lbw calls had gone their way early on, who knows, Sri Lanka could even have been ahead.The temperature is not forecast to climb higher than 13C on day two. If Sri Lanka finish the innings without having spilt a single catch in such conditions, 10,000 kilometres away, their fans may not be able to hold back joyful tears.

Kaushal Silva had always been selected to give Sri Lanka some solidity, but it reached a stage where sometimes he solidified completely. On his return to the side he is striking the ideal balance

Andrew Fidel Fernando at Lord's10-Jun-2016The grip of Kaushal Silva’s bat is orange. It is the colour of road cones, of warning signs, of hi-visibility vests – of proceeding with care. In a domestic system where strike rates are high, and batting averages low, Silva had beaten out more than two dozen first-class hundred before a long run in the team was his. “We have strokemakers,” a team selector said last year. “Kaushal is there to give the innings some substance.”But as you watch Silva repeat through his pre-ball neuroses; when umpires are relentlessly harassed to give him his guard, when the pads are manhandled, gloves furiously adjusted, and vendettas against Velcro carried out, it is easy to be put on edge. In the stands, limbs stiffen and hair stands on end. The air gathers a little tauter around spectators’ throats.In 2015, not long after the selector had lauded Silva’s virtues, this air began to constrict him. Silva had always been a man of checked risks: of shouldered arms, upright elbows to go with the uptight demeanour at the crease. But though it’s said of the best batsmen that they have more time to play the ball, Silva’s batting appeared to bring time to a complete standstill.In his 11 most-recent innings at home, he had hit one half-century but otherwise mired himself in dithering innings, which brought returns like 17 off 49 balls or 5 off 24. At times it seemed like his plan to score runs was to put everyone to sleep, then change the scorecard after the stadium had nodded off. Eventually, the selectors stopped seeing substance in him. A New Zealand series was watched from home, another tough first-class season marking his route back to the Test side.But at Lord’s, in his comeback series, Silva found a little part of himself that had not been there before. Wide balls were still not quite flayed to the square fence – it was more like their travel route had been charted out; the shots put in motion only after a well-lit runway for the ball was established. But in his third-over four through cover, off James Anderson, there was a smack of freedom. In his racing to 18 off 22 balls, a slight peeping out of the carefully-constructed defensive shell.His opening partner made his name as the impetuous part of the pairing, so often flashing his bat like a glinting blade, standing tall on the pitch and speaking boldly off it, yet it was Dimuth Karunaratne who seemed to hold their partnership back in this innings. While he soaked up 50 balls to move from 27 to 32, Silva staved stagnation away, puncturing the ring field to sneak singles, and slapping Steven Finn for two fours behind point in the over before tea.Together the pair put on their team’s first century opening stand since before Sri Lanka won the World T20. The last time the openers made it to triple figures, Kumar Sangakkara was still three double-hundreds shy of his final tally. Karunaratne and Silva had each spoken of sticking together until they made the new ball old, but for a long time, the only thing this partnership seemed to age was the fans looking on. As Silva broke through personal barriers, this stand made important gains as well.”I think it was very important to set that tone early in the team’s innings,” Silva said after stumps. “I wanted to be positive, and when you look to be positive, you leave positively as well. Leaving the new ball is quite important here. But scoring runs off loose balls puts pressure on the bowlers, and having played positively in Durham, I wanted to do that here as well.”Towards the end of the day, as England turned to squeezing tactics, having exhausted the attacking ones, Silva slowed down in the company of Kusal Mendis. In that partnership was an intriguing coming together. Silva has sweated in the nets for his technique, with his cricket-coach father, all his life. So languid and carefree at the crease, Mendis’ technique seems like it met him at the bus stop one day, and followed him home like a lovable dog. Eighteen months since leading Sri Lanka’s Under-19 team, coaches are already raving about Mendis’ batting the way Silva perhaps has wished they would speak about his, all his career.But that is Silva’s place in the world. If he gets the long Test career he is so clearly desperate to have, he will forever find himself in dressing rooms with more talented men, who have not worked so hard to be there. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing to learn from them. And it doesn’t mean Silva is any less valuable to the team. On the second day at Lord’s Sri Lanka held tightly to Silva, as Silva let go of a few hang ups. At times, there was even style to go with his substance.

03-Aug-2016But Sohail Khan, playing his first Test in five years, struck early, inducing an outside edge from Hales to end the opening stand on 36•AFPSohail accounted for Joe Root in his next over, getting him to edge to first slip•Getty ImagesAlastair Cook held firm, however, and struck eight boundaries in a brisk knock•Getty ImagesCook’s resistance ended when Rahat Ali trapped him lbw with one that nipped back in. When he fell, Cook had made 45 of England’s 75 runs•Getty ImagesJames Vince and Gary Ballance then kept Pakistan’s bowlers at bay for 7.4 overs as England went into lunch on 100 for 3•AFPVince continued fluently after the break and played some delightful strokes•Getty Images… until Sohail struck for a third time to end Vince’s 69-run fourth-wicket stand with Ballance•AFPVince departed for an attractive 39, but it was another insubstantial score•AFPSohail then made it four when Jonny Bairstow was caught behind•AFPBallance dug in for a gritty 70•AFP… before becoming Yasir Shah’s first victim of the innings•Getty ImagesMoeen Ali then rallied the tail with an important half-century•Getty Images… and played his strokes to fine effect•Getty ImagesSohail then completed his maiden five-wicket haul as James Anderson unsuccessfully reviewed his lbw•AFP… and celebrated with ten press-ups, with a clap between each•AFP

Having gone two years and 16 innings without a Test hundred, Faf du Plessis turned a corner with an innings of typical stubbornness and defensive skill

Firdose Moonda in Centurion28-Aug-20161:54

I score big runs when I play gritty innings – du Plessis

Faf du Plessis’ style of batting is not for everyone. It is especially not for high-adrenaline, instant-gratification seekers, many of whom watch Test cricket and wonder why it does not play out more like T20.It was one of those days – Southee

New Zealand felt aggrieved by their fortunes after they created several chances that did not result in wickets and found themselves three down at the end of day two. Apart from beating the bat several times, they dropped centurion Faf du Plessis on 18 and their opener Tom Latham was given out caught behind on review, despite replays not seeming to show conclusive evidence to overturn the on-field not-out decision.
“Test cricket is never easy. It was pretty tough for the bowlers. We’re not in an ideal position and we’ve got three tough days to go,” Tim Southee said. “We didn’t feel we bowled badly. As a group, we felt we passed the bat a fair bit and the ones that did a bit, did too much. You get days like that, when a guy 80 or 90 is still missing balls. It just did a little bit too much at times and didn’t catch the edge.”
Southee did not want to elaborate too much on the team’s feelings after Latham was dismissed except to say that “Richard [Illingworth, the third umpire] must have seen something there,” and instead focused on the one man who did have a day worth celebrating, Neil Wagner. “Neil has been outstanding for a long period of time and is reaping the rewards for the tough overs he has bowled for the majority of his career. He makes something happen from nothing,” Southee said. “He keeps running in and as the day goes on, its almost as though he gets quicker. It just sums him up as a person – he just never gives up.”

Those were some of the comments that came into ESPNcricinfo’s very own commentary feedback. Du Plessis never looked as though he was batting freely, his strike rate only stuttered into life in the 15 balls he faced between 60 and 80 and finished on 47, and he had the biggest crowd of the series to entertain at his home ground but he could explain why he approached his innings with caution.”When I score big runs in Test cricket, it’s when I play those gritty innings and mentally tire the opposition out,” du Plessis said. “I had to make sure I knuckle down to my gameplan and wait for the bowlers to bowl in my area.”The pressure to post a decent score lay squarely at du Plessis’ door for a handful of reasons. He had gone two years and 16 innings without a century. He had been dropped because of that lack of form. He had been recalled as a stand-in captain for this series and was expected to lead from the front. He had underperformed in the first Test in Durban. And he said he knew that all South Africa needed was for someone to convert a start into a hundred to take control. As it turned out, he had to be that person.”We needed one guy to anchor the innings and keep them out there for as long as possible,” he said. “The plan was to get to 400.”After the start Stephen Cook and Quinton de Kock provided and the support from Hashim Amla, it was up to du Plessis to stretch the innings out as far as he could. In conditions where the ball moved and against bowlers who sprinkled their spells with unplayable deliveries, the only way for du Plessis to do that was to play within himself.In the same way as Dale Steyn does not want to go from zero to 200kph, du Plessis did not want to play all his shots. Not until the time was right. When du Plessis temporarily accelerated, it was when his former primary school-mate Neil Wagner was hurling down a succession of short balls. “He got me going because he is aggressive,” du Plessis said, while admitting that the history between them may also have played a role in the authority he wanted to assert.”I didn’t want to get out to anyone but I read last night that he was determined to get me out so maybe that made me determined not to get out to him,” he said. “I was just really focused on trying to value my wicket. I was trying to put a huge price on it.”That is something du Plessis has become known for since he made his Test debut. In Adelaide in November 2012, he had a match to save, and in doing so showed a stickability he has revealed plenty of times since. As long as he has someone else to spice things up, it is not a bad quality to have.Usually, that person would be AB de Villiers, but that person could become JP Duminy. He was promoted to No.4 for the series and after he also answered his critics, he may be given more license to bat aggressively in future. “We are trying to be more positive in our thinking and that’s why we told JP he is batting four,” du Plessis said. “I see JP as a hugely talented batsman and we wanted to give him that confidence as a coach and captain that we back you and believe in you.”Duminy fell 12 short of a century and du Plessis believes there is more to come from both of them in future. “You can see when a guy is in good touch and he is playing positively and JP will be the first guy to say that’s something he has changed. Hopefully this will be the start if a new JP. And for me, it’s important that I score hundreds so it was nice to get those runs and prove to my critics that I still belong here.”Not everyone will like it but maybe not everyone has to.

From spin surprises to tail-end onslaughts, ESPNcricinfo rounds up the memorable moments from the 2016 County Championship, from No.20 to 11 …

David Hopps23-Sep-201620 The return of the spinners

The County Championship season began in historic fashion with new regulations which allowed the visiting captain to bowl first if he wanted to, or toss if he didn’t. Never has the first toss (or non-toss) of the season drawn so much interest. By no means universally welcomed in April, by September there was evidence to suggest that the chief aim – to bring spinners back into the game – had been achieved.19 Tino’s relegation prediction

Tino Best inspired a Hampshire win against Nottinghamshire in late May and pronounced that they could escape relegation in inimitable style. One of the brighter voice grabs of the season. “We got a guy call Tino Best. We got a guy called Mason Crane. We got a guy called Michael Carberry. We got a brilliant allrounder named Sean Ervine. We got a smashing captain called Mr Vince. We got a grafter by the name of Will Smith – he’s got the same name as my favourite actor. I think our chances are brilliant.”18 Rob Jones’ maiden century celebration

It was mid-September, Middlesex were gunning for the title and Lancashire’s season was turning sour. Step forward Rob Jones, a 20-year-old makeshift opener from Warrington who not only made his maiden Championship hundred, but brought it up with a six over long-on off Ollie Rayner and went on to bat through the innings: the first Lancastrian to do that since Cyril Washbrook in the 1930s. His emotional celebration at reaching his hundred was reason enough for him to enter the Top 20.17 Jack Shantry’s astounding century

The international summer had just begun, leaving this Division Two encounter between Worcestershire and Gloucestershire at New Road one of those Championship matches that gains little attention. But Jack Shantry’s hundred from No. 10 delighted those who saw it, his second fifty coming in 14 balls, a load of fun for one of the characters of the county circuit.16 Ben Stokes keeps Durham up

Ben Stokes doesn’t get many opportunities to play for Durham these days but his pride in his county remains unstinting. Durham’s fear of relegation was apparent in their penultimate game when Surrey began the final session at Chester-le-Street with victory in their sights. Stokes, at that point, had scored 24 and 0 and was wicketless, but he stirred himself to take 4 for 54 in 21 second-innings overs as Surrey fell 21 runs short.

‘We got a grafter by the name of Will Smith – he’s got the same name as my favourite actor. I think our chances are brilliant’Tino Best on Hampshire’s survival prospects

15 Rob Keogh’s nine-for

Bringing spinners back into the game was a priority for the Championship in 2016, but Rob Keogh – with 36 victims in 44 first-class appearances – would be the first to admit that nobody had him in mind. However, his 9 for 52 was the sixth-best return in Northamptonshire’s history – “three-for was my best before so it wasn’t expected,” he said – and an entertaining hundred by Ben Duckett, the player of the season, rounded the day off in style. As their NatWest Blast success also proved, Northants had a penchant for the unexpected.14 Gareth Batty’s road rage

Gareth Batty sensed Surrey’s season was on the turn after they won a gruelling match against Hampshire on an Ageas Bowl road late on the final day. But Batty also offered some tart – and apt – observations about Hampshire’s treatment of their young legspinner, Mason Crane, who bowled a record 51 overs in Surrey’s first innings. “I thought he bowled really, really well. But you hear Warney talk a lot about how spinners are used and I thought he was thrown under the car, to be honest,” Batty said. “For a young fella to be bowling 50-odd overs and senior bowlers only bowling 20… that wouldn’t be happening under my watch. “13 Roland-Jones and Murtagh make Yorkshire seasick

The final-day Championship shootout between Middlesex and Yorkshire can all be tracked back to a remarkable Middlesex win against Yorkshire by the seaside in July. Middlesex led by 64 at the start of the final day in Scarborough with only two wickets remaining … whereupon Toby Roland-Jones and Tim Murtagh thrashed 107 in 9.4 overs to change the game as Yorkshire lost by an innings for the first time at North Marine Road. Middlesex went top, and remained there to the final day of the season …12 Marcus Trescothick equals Harold Gimblett’s record

Marcus Trescothick took his place alongside Harold Gimblett as Somerset’s most prolific century-maker in first-class cricket when he struck a hundred against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in July. The West Country celebrated a batsman who, at the age of 40 and after 24 seasons at Somerset, had come to symbolise staunchness and goodness in the shires.11 17 minutes, five wickets, Somerset win

That Somerset’s season was changing became apparent in 17 minutes at Taunton in early August when they took Durham’s last five wickets to win by 39 runs in a match where all four innings fell below 200. From that point, Taunton pitches turned and Jack Leach, a one-time rounder-up of supermarket trolleys, began to collect wickets instead.The top ten moments will follow at the completion of the season …

How do you explain exchanging a big-hitting, big-impact player for a man with little experience and unproven potential – even if the latter is a local lad?

Jarrod Kimber02-Jan-2017T20 is about resources. You have probably heard that already. It is one of cricket’s buzzwords, along with units and data.The resources that are available to you on the field first have to be obtained off it. That brings us to a Big Bash League game from last season where Hamish Kingston took 1 for 23 in two overs at Adelaide Oval, playing for the Strikers. You probably don’t remember him, or haven’t heard of him, or are wondering why on earth he would even be mentioned right now. Kingston is now a Hobart Hurricanes player. The player he was traded for is Ben Dunk. It was only the second trade ever in the Big Bash.Kingston is a 26-year-old journeyman cricketer, who, before this season, had played 23 top-level matches – nine first-class, 13 List A and that one T20 where he only got two overs. In the world of professional cricket, he is yet to make his mark, although his death bowling has been impressive at times.In Dunk’s first game for the Adelaide Strikers, he made 85 from 43 balls in a chase of 207. There were eight fours, five sixes, and, by the time he was out, the required run rate had dropped from 10.6 to 8.6. It should have been enough to win the match, but a horrid innings from Travis Head and good cricket from the Brisbane Heat meant that the Strikers conceded the game.But that is what Dunk can do – destroy. And no one knows that more than the home crowd in Hobart. In 12 BBL innings before tonight at Bellerive Oval, he had 368 runs and a highest score of 96. My taxi driver was talking about Dunk; there was a kid in the crowd with a hand-made Dunk shirt, and Channel 10 made Roz Kelly trot out to the middle and “interview” Dunk as he walked onto the ground. It was quite clear that Dunk had made quite the impression on the local fans, and that his trade left them perplexed.And you can see why, when Dunk gets in, his name is basically an onomatopoeia warning for what he does. His shoulders have a Wally Hammond cricket masculinity about them. He doesn’t hit the ball, he whacks and bashes. It isn’t about fine margins; it’s about tremendous impact. The Hobart fans know it well; they see it when he gets a short ball and crushes it through extra cover to start his attack.The crowd makes a noise that seems to be the sound of 16,000 people saying what my taxi driver said: “Why’d they get rid of him?” And that before Simon Milenko enters his vision and he mis-hits a small six, properly hits a massive six, eases one through the offside and then bashes one through the offside. Six, six, dot, four, four, before Milenko recovers and clean bowls him. Dunk’s first trip back to Hobart has 31 runs come from 17 balls.Kingston never bowled to Dunk. In fact, he never bowled to anyone; he was dropped for this match.This season, Kingston has played three matches for Hobart. His first game was handy – he made 12 off six and took 2 for 20 off three overs, including the wicket of Brad Haddin. In his second match, he was taken for 37 off three overs. And in his third, he made 17 off 10, but went for 22 off his one over after running into Chris Lynn and Brendon McCullum. Kingston is a change-up bowler, you can tell he is a smart cricketer, and his batting makes him handy.But the reason given for his trade with Dunk was to bolster Hurricanes’ death bowling. Andrew Dykes, Hurricanes’ cricket manager, told Cricket Australia’s website: “Hamish is a wonderful death bowler who performed really well at the most recent Matador Cup.” In three games, Kingston has not bowled a single over in the last four of the innings. He might have against the Melbourne Stars, but only two death overs were required in that match, and he was going at over 12, so they might not have used him.Ben Dunk largely wasn’t used as a wicketkeeper in his previous season with Hurricanes•Cricket AustraliaSo there are other reasons this trade happened. One is that Dunk and Hobart were perhaps a bit over each other. Dunk had a poor season last year. He only made 113 runs, and did so at a poor strike rate; both parties might have wanted to move on. He also didn’t keep wicket in most matches for the Hurricanes – last season, he kept in only two matches, including his final match for them – so he isn’t an allrounder there, making him more valuable to other teams. Hurricanes were probably looking for more space in their salary cap; Stuart Broad wouldn’t be a cheap signing. And, importantly, Kingston is a local Tassie boy.So the trade was made, a straight swap, Dunk for Kingston. This is how the Strikers general manager Bronwyn Klei described it to Cricket Australia’s website: “To sign a previous Australian T20 representative and a former player of the tournament is really exciting for our fans, and gives our squad great depth and an injection of experience.” It must have been hard for her to say at all even as she was so clearly doing cartwheels.Anyone who has ever followed a sport involving trades knows that there is rarely a perfect trade where both teams win. But Hobart have traded away a player who in 2013-14 was the best Big Bash player, an Australian representative, a fan favourite, a power hitter, and an allrounder. And they’ve traded him for a bloke with no experience at this level at all, a bloke who has been floating around cricket for years and is only three years younger than Dunk. With all due respect to what Kingston may be able to do, his death-bowling potential, his handiness with the bat, and what the Hurricanes may be able to get out of him that the Strikers never were able to, this is a stinker.There are reasons: the trade system of the Big Bash doesn’t have draft picks to trade with, nor are there other options for sweetening a deal when a player is just clearly better than another player. The player lists aren’t huge, and this is largely an exhibition tournament in the way it is run, rather than the more professional versions of T20 sport or how most major sports operate. But that doesn’t excuse the Hurricanes, as almost nothing can.You don’t trade an automatic starter, a power player, an impact player, a game-winner, a tournament boss, for some bloke because he’s a local lad. Even if your salary cap is a bit jammed or you think the bigger-named player has been worked out. You get three Hamish Kingstons, a year’s worth of gold class cinema tickets for the entire team and a year’s supply of sports drinks, at least, before you trade. You ask for a young kid who the Strikers are not sure about, but you think may do well in the Hurricanes. Or first dip at their rookie list. You ask for a veteran benchwarmer who can do a job if injuries deplete your fast bowlers. You try and orchestrate a three-way trade, a four-way trade, an entire league trade if need be. You do anything to make the trade one where you haven’t just given up a match-winner for nothing more than the potential of a 26-year-old with one game under his belt.Roz Kelly reported that Hurricanes coach Damien Wright had said that part of the reason they traded Dunk was that they wanted a “less predictable” opening partnership. Today, their opening partnership won the game, after Dunk had threatened to do the same. And it was because of the Dunk trade and salary cap shuffle that allowed for D’Arcy Short to play for Tasmania. Also Dunk’s keeping in this game was weak, he gave up seven byes in one over, and helped the Hurricanes scoot away early. Despite the fact that he outscored his meagre total from last year in only three games, you can argue that the Hurricanes were right to trade Dunk based on his last two years, and the fact that they already have a better keeper. But you cannot argue, in any way, that they made a good trade for Dunk.You get the most resources you can for Dunk, because T20 is about resources. And even if it wasn’t, you are trying to build the best team you can, and he can help you do that. You want to sell your resources for what they are worth, not for a single locally sourced magic bean. Today, the Hurricanes won because they used their resources on the field much better as a team. If they want to continue to do that, they have to be smarter off the field.

Tamil Nadu’s successes this season have been, in no small part, down to their pre-season preparations and fitness, and the coaching trio of Hrishikesh Kanitkar, L Balaji and Ramji Srinivasan have all played their part

Deivarayan Muthu31-Dec-2016During a Ranji Trophy match between Maharashtra and Punjab in December 2006, Hrishikesh Kanitkar twisted his knee on a bad outfield in Kolhapur, braved the pain and led Maharashtra’s response to Punjab’s 550 with a century that spanned 389 minutes, without using a runner.That fierce determination stood out during Kanitkar’s stints with Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. He then merged it with man-management skills to lead Rajasthan, who finished at the bottom of the lower division of the Ranji Trophy in 2009-10, to championship glory in the next season. He then helped the team defend the title in 2011-12. Rajasthan’s opposition in the 2011-12 final was Tamil Nadu, captained by L Balaji.From plotting against each other, the two have now combined to spark Tamil Nadu’s resurgence in the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season as the head coach and bowling coach. Ramji Srinivasan, the former India fitness trainer who now works with Tamil Nadu, is the other “spoke” in the wheel that has rolled towards the semi-finals.”Hrishi [Hrishikesh Kanitkar] is an amazing man. Very intelligent. His inputs are very sharp and valuable,” Ramji told ESPNcricinfo. “No man is an island. The coach is the key. We are all like spokes. He wants excellence and we strive for it.”There are a few similarities between Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu’s successes. The three-pronged seam attack of Pankaj Singh, Rituraj Singh, and Sumit Mathur did the job for Rajasthan in 2011-12. The three-pronged seam attack of K Vignesh, T Natarajan, and Aswin Crist is doing the job for Tamil Nadu. Ashok Menaria was coming back from injury for Rajasthan then, like Vijay Shankar is for Tamil Nadu. Several players were ready to perform vital roles, however unglamorous they may have seemed.Vineet Saxena batted for 15 hours to grind out 257 and frustrate Tamil Nadu in the 2011-12 final. Kaushik Gandhi has taken up the role of boring the opposition now. He has soaked up 1825 balls for 726 runs; his career-best 202 against Gujarat lasted nearly 13 hours. But the most striking similarity is the happy space in the dressing room.The Kanitkar mantra of players celebrating each other’s success is evident in the Tamil Nadu dressing room, as it was in Rajasthan. On an action-packed second day in Visakhapatnam, Tamil Nadu’s reserve players cheered almost every run scored by the team. Ramji, whose first role with the state team was in 1996, believed the current bunch is the “happiest and fittest” he has seen.Much of the groundwork was laid in the pre-season camp in Dehradun. Ramji and Balaji developed the muscle memory of bowlers by making them bowl for long durations like they would have to in a match. The bowlers, who came into the camp after participating in the local league in Chennai and the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), were given individual schedules to strengthen their core, lower body, and the shoulders, and tune them up for the long season.Kanitkar was impressed with Vignesh’s smooth action and attitude in that camp. “I saw him in the pre-season camp in Dehradun,” Kanitkar says. “His rhythm, his action, the ease with which he could generate certain amount of pace. And where he bowls the ball. It’s a very natural area for him where he pitches the ball. He doesn’t do anything extra. That’s what I liked about him.”Abhinav Mukund, the captain, too echoed those views. “As a batsman and as a captain of the team I have always looked at other players like [Ashok] Dinda and Vinay Kumar and Pankaj Singh running in hard and bowling 12-over and 13-over spells,” Abhinav said of Vignesh’s marathon spell of 12-1-43-4 in the quarter-final. “Today, when I see a young bowler from my team doing that I don’t want to tell him and make him go over the top of the stadium. But it is really heartening to see from my team. I have always hoped something like this would happen after Balaji. Touchwood! Hope this continues.”Before the season, L Balaji and Ramji Srinivasan helped Tamil Nadu bowlers develop their muscle memory by getting them to bowl long spells•K SivaramanOverall, Vignesh, Natarajan, and Crist have bowled 784.4 overs between them for 94 wickets this season. “For domestic cricket, especially Ranji Trophy, you need to have a minimum of two or three good fast bowlers to go to the next level,” Balaji says. “To reach the last stage of the tournament you need have good fast bowlers. Once it crosses a certain phase you need to have the fast bowlers coming in and doing the job again and again for 120 overs.”The introduction of neutral venues has put additional pressure on the seamers, but they have coped with it. “Sometimes we had to board two-three flights to go to one place,” Ramji says. “From Lahli to Bilaspur – about nine-and-a-half or ten hours on road. From Bilaspur to Dharamsala, again six hours. They have to practice, rest, and bowl. Planning becomes important and there have been no major injuries.”During two matches I had to go home, but schedules had been arranged individually and these young boys embraced it. We have a log system to record, and we know who has done what. They have to get minimum points; they don’t know, but I keep track. They have got more points in the end and frankly I did not expect it.”That the management is also building a solid pool of players with an eye on the future bodes well for the set-up. When Dinesh Karthik suffered a hairline fracture on his right hand, N Jagadeesan took the wicket-keeping gloves and also struck a century on debut. L Vignesh, who made his Ranji debut last season, and M Mohammed, who led the seam attack in the 50-over Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2015-16, are also in the mix.”Jaggi [Jagadeesan] played because Dinesh was injured and was not keeping wicket,” Kanitkar explained. “After his century, he did not score in a few innings. We need just what the team needs. He got a very good hundred and we are still working on his batting. It’s not that we don’t need him again. You never know when the need arises. Similarly, L Vignesh is always trying to do what the team needs even when he is not playing. That 100% attitude helps the whole team. Mohammed was there initially, but then went to the academy to sort himself out. Now he is back and bowling much better.”I believe you need to have a core set. [It’s the] Same thing we had in Rajasthan. We had a set, and a very few came from outside. I believe in having a fair selection and sticking to those guys, so that they get a fair chance.”Tamil Nadu still need to clear two more hurdles to end a 28-season drought. Mumbai are probably the stiffest hurdle. They have won 41 out of 82 Ranji Trophies, and Tamil Nadu have managed to beat them in eight attempts in the Ranji Trophy in the last ten years. On current form, however, putting it past the defending champions can’t be ruled out.