Stats highlights from the third day’s play at Chester-le-Street where Sri Lanka showed some resistance after following on.

Shiva Jayaraman and Bharath Seervi29-May-20163 Number of fifty-plus scores by Angelo Mathews in six innings while following-on in Tests – the most by a Sri Lanka batsman. Before this innings, Mathews had got 63 in Cape Town in 2011-12 and 66 in Christchurch in 2014-15. Mathews has made 234 runs at an average of 46.80 in these innings.68 Sri Lanka’s previous highest sixth-wicket stand while following on in Tests, which was by Mahela Jayawardene and Tillakaratne Dilshan at Lord’s in 2006. That match had ended in a draw after Sri Lanka were made to follow on facing a deficit of 359 runs. Dinesh Chandimal and Milinda Siriwardana have added 87 runs in an unbroken partnership in this innings.311 Runs scored by Sri Lanka at an average of 10.37 in their first three innings of this tour. They have already scored 309 runs for the loss of five wickets in this innings.2010 Last time England enforced follow-on twice in a Test series before this, which came against Bangladesh in a two-match series. The last such instance by any team was New Zealand against West Indies in 2013-14. This is only the second time Sri Lanka have been asked to follow on in consecutive Tests; the first was against India in 1993-94.1 Number of lower totals at Chester-le-Street in Tests than Sri Lanka’s 101 in the first innings. Zimbabwe were all out for 94 against the hosts in 2003.128 Balls faced in the partnership between Mathews and Silva – the most by a Sri Lanka pair in this series. Chandimal and Siriwardana have already faced 122 balls in their unbeaten stand of 87 runs. Silva and Dimuth Karunaratne had batted together for 99 balls earlier in the innings which was the previous longest stand in this series by Sri Lanka.16.9 Kaushal Silva’s batting average in his previous ten innings in Tests before his 60 in Sri Lanka’s second innings. He had just one fifty in those innings and had failed to score 20 runs in seven of those ten innings. This was Silva’s tenth fifty in Tests. He has made 1502 runs at an average of 31.29 in Tests including two hundreds.100.00 Angelo Mathews’ strike rate against Moeen Ali in Sri Lanka’s second innings. Mathews carted Moeen for 46 runs including six fours and one six. Mathews finished with a strike rate of 76.19 – his best in an innings of 50 or more runs in Tests.537 for 9 Sri Lanka’s highest total while following on in Tests, which came against England at Lord’s in 2006. Their total of 309 for 5 at the end of the third day’s play is their fifth-highest while following in Tests. This is also only the second instance after the Lord’s Test in 2006 that six of Sri Lanka’s top seven scored at least 20 runs in an innings while following on.0 Number of times Sri Lanka had got all out for less than 125 thrice in a series, before this. This is the first such series for them. Only twice before this they were all out for such a low score two times in a series – against South Africa in 2000-01 and in the home series against Pakistan in 1985-86. In this series, they scored 91 and 119 in the first Test and 101 in the first innings of this second Test.

Increasing numbers of top-level players are considering becoming T20 pros. The weak national economy and CSA’s transformation policy only provide them with added incentive

Firdose Moonda20-Jul-2016It is the year 2020. Kagiso Rabada has played for Sydney Sixers, Delhi Daredevils and Jamaica Tallawahs and is deciding between a return to Kent or making himself available for South Africa for a Test match. Rabada has not played for his country since 2018, in the World T20. He sat out 2019 because he chose the Pakistan Super League instead.You’ve heard these kinds of scenarios before, and perhaps you’ve even started to believe they will come to exist, especially if you are a follower of South African cricket.Why them in particular?With some of the most celebrated names in the game – think AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla, Dale Steyn – and a team that has until recently occupied top spot in Test cricket and hovered around there in ODIs, their players are in demand in T20 leagues and at home, and they increasingly have reasons to favour the former.While T20 leagues offer US dollar income and freedom from politics, playing for South Africa means being paid in declining rands, and a responsibility to nation-building, which involves buying into CSA’s aggressive transformation policy. The word from some former players is that the more valuable currency and the gigs with less baggage are likely to win out, despite the fierce loyalties bred through the South African school system that make players second-guess themselves.One former player told ESPNcricinfo that money will be “80%” to blame for the exodus. International player body FICA’s 2016 report painted a financial picture that showed the disparity that exists between centrally contracted national players and T20 mercenaries everywhere except in England and Australia (and presumably India, but their players do not have a union and so are not included in FICA reviews). A player who is part of three domestic T20 leagues a year takes home an average of $510,000. Cricket South Africa ($346,494), Sri Lanka Cricket ($234,500), New Zealand Cricket ($231,000), the West Indies Cricket Board ($225,625) and the Bangladesh Cricket Board ($67,935) all pay their players much less.For South Africans, whose currency has devalued 30% against the US dollar in the last 12 months, the monetary lure of earning foreign currency is too good to turn down. In a column for magazine in February, former Test opener Alviro Petersen he predicted that South Africa could lose their best players in 18-24 months.

South African cricket could end up being held to ransom by its headliners, and the cricket economy is such that there is little anyone can do to stop that

At the time Petersen used himself as an example. He was denied a no-objection certificate to play in the Masters Champions League because his South African franchise, Lions, wanted him to honour his contract with them. Petersen underlined what that cost him. “I could have earned what the Lions pay me in a year for just two and a half weeks at the MCL,” he wrote. “We might see some players decide to play Big Bash rather than play a Test series in December. This is reality! Watch this space…”As it turns out, several sources have confirmed two of South Africa’s top bowlers are considering exactly that. The Big Bash coincides with South Africa’s home series against Sri Lanka and there is an expectation of high-profile retirements from international cricket ahead of that.Money, though, will not be those players’ only reason for going. It is fast becoming an open secret in South Africa that the implementation of the transformation policy, which CSA is vehemently adhering to in a bid to have its ministerial ban against hosting major tournaments lifted, is causing players to question their commitment. Several players and administrators confirmed that the uncertainty around the application of the policy is causing concern (though none was willing to speak on the record about an issue that is sensitive and controversial and has cost people jobs).CSA maintains that there is no target at national level but has signed a memorandum of understanding with the sports ministry that requires it to field, at domestic level, teams that contain six players of colour, of which at least three must be black African. This has presented franchises and provincial teams with conundrums over the balance of their sides, but many coaches feel they are starting to settle into the new structure. However, at national level it gets more complicated, and a number of centrally contracted players are understood to be looking for options abroad because they feel they are being marginalised by the targets.Even for the rest, playing cricket for the national side is losing its appeal. FICA’s CEO, Tony Irish, told ESPNcricinfo that bilateral international cricket as a product, and as an experience for players, is struggling because players want “big crowds, close contests and matches that have context and sporting narrative”. T20 leagues offer all of those things and in a shorter time frame than international cricket, which is a factor, especially for players who have families, as Irish points out.That is where many of South Africa’s stars find themselves at the moment, with young children and partners who spend months living out of suitcases, and it has taken its toll on their performance. National coach Russell Domingo cited overwork as the main reason the team was unable to qualify for the final of the Caribbean triangular series this June. By the time they got there, some of them had come through their busiest summer season in recent memory, which included eight Tests, a World T20 and an IPL. Others then went straight from the West Indies tour into the CPL, and they will go from that into Tests against New Zealand and ODIs against Australia at home.South Africa’s packed schedule, coupled with a context-less international fixtures programme, is prompting players to consider pulling out of certain series to play T20 franchise cricket instead•Associated PressThe Australia fixtures, in particular, are an example of the kinds of matches that lack context. It is not too difficult to imagine players pulling out of that and other limited-overs series unless they can be persuaded to play on.That has already happened with Morne Morkel, who is understood to have been seriously considering retiring from limited-overs cricket after being left out of the World T20 squad. He was even due to play for Glamorgan over the South African winter. But he was included in the national squad to the West Indies – where he was only included in two out of six starting XIs – and convinced not to call it a day.Morkel is not the only one. Last season was dominated by reports of de Villiers pondering early retirement. De Villiers admitted there was “a little bit of truth” to the talk and spent several press conferences discussing the need for a more flexible schedule. In fact, he only recommitted fully to South African cricket after he was made permanent Test captain at the end of the England Test series.Several other former players saw that as a dangerous sign that some players are becoming too powerful. “These players know the system needs them and they know they can use that to their advantage. They can make threats about wanting to walk away, so in the end they get what they want,” one said.In effect, South African cricket could end up being held to ransom by its headliners, and the cricket economy is such that there is little anyone can do to stop that.The South African Cricketers’ Association remains of the view that “international cricket should still be the pinnacle for players”, but tempers that with a cautionary clause. “This needs to be balanced against also giving players some freedom to participate in vibrant T20 Leagues.”Irish feels that South African players have, up to now, been “pretty loyal to the country cause” but that “one can’t expect the best players in the world – and again this applies in all countries – to blindly commit to the country loyalty when there are more and more games without context and more and more one-sided matches played in half-empty stadia, when in the other market it’s the opposite.” He, along with his FICA colleagues, is pushing for a restructure of bilateral international cricket.Until that happens, South Africa’s administrators will have to continue to find ways to be flexible. They have already showed some signs that they are, at all levels. Dale Steyn was given an NOC to play in the NatWest T20 Blast during South African’s West Indies tour, though the official line was that he was supposed to be resting. In the women’s game Dane van Niekerk, Shabnim Ismail, Marizanne Kapp and Lizelle Lee will miss South Africa’s tour of Ireland because they were given permission to play in England’s Super League T20. CSA has recognised that for players to commit to a low-paying national cause, they have to be allowed to capitalise elsewhere, but they may also be hoping that international cricket realises the need to move towards a more football-like model before the players move it there themselves.

Stats highlights from the final day in St Lucia where India clinched a series victory over West Indies

Bharath Seervi13-Aug-2016237 Margin of victory for India in this Test – their third-largest win, in terms of runs, outside Asia. They had won by 279 runs at Headingley in 1986 and 272 runs in Auckland in 1967-68. The win by an innings & 92 runs in the first Test was India’s biggest innings-win outside Asia.1986 Last time India won two Tests in a series outside Asia excluding Zimbabwe. Before two wins in this series, they had won two matches of the three-match series in England. Including Zimbabwe, this is only the fifth time India have won two or more Tests in a series outside Asia.15.75 Average of India’s fast bowlers in this Test – their best in a Test in West Indies. The fast bowlers took 12 wickets in this Test.0 India captains who won two Tests in West Indies, before Virat Kohli. Bishen Bedi, Ajit Wadekar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and MS Dhoni won one Test each as captain in West Indies.6 Times five India bowlers took at least one wicket each in the fourth-innings of a Test. India have won five of those Tests and the last such instance was also against West Indies in Kingston in 2011.6 Man of the Match awards for Ravichandran Ashwin in Tests – most by any India player since his debut in November 2011. During that stretch, only Rangana Herath has won more Man of the Match awards than Ashwin, with seven. Stuart Broad, Joe Root, Steven Smith and Ross Taylor are all level with Ashwin on six awards since November 2011, though Ashwin has done it in the fewest Tests, 35.1 Lower totals for West Indies against India in Tests than the fourth-innings 108 in St Lucia. They were all out for 103 at Sabina Park in 2006.1999 Last time West Indies were all out for a lesser total than 103 in the fourth innings of a Test. They were all out for 51 against Australia in Port of Spain in 1998-99. The 108 in St Lucia is their fifth-lowest fourth-iinnings total in Tests.67 Runs added by West Indies’ in this Test by the final six partnerships in each innings – their second-lowest in home Tests batting twice. Their last six partnerships added 23 runs in the first innings and 44 runs in the second innings. Prior to this Test, their last six partnerships had never aggregated less than 100 runs across two innings against India.1997 Last time a West Indies fast bowler took a six-wicket haul in Tests against India. Before Miguel Cummins’ 6 for 48 in this Test, Franklyn Rose took 6 for 100 in Kingston in 1996-97.9 Innings without a fifty-plus score for Darren Bravo in Tests at
home, before making 59 in the fourth innings of this Test. He was dismissed between 10 and 30 in seven in those innings. He averages 46.66 in the fourth innings of Tests – his best in any innings.

Our correspondent chows down on local delights on the first leg of his tour

Karthik Krishnaswamy08-Aug-2016July 16
Bangalore airport. I’m halfway through WG Sebald’s , and the eponymous protagonist, an architectural historian, is telling the unnamed narrator about a troubling bout of writer’s block. A portentous note on which to embark on a month-and-a-bit-long tour full of writing.I spend ten hours and 25 minutes on a flight to Paris, two and a half hours in the Paris airport, eight hours and 55 minutes on a flight to Saint Martin, eight hours and five minutes in the airport there, and an hour and 20 minutes on a flight to Antigua. I finish . Here I am, 31 hours, 15 minutes, and 243 pages since leaving Bangalore, if my math is right – and it probably isn’t, for the reasons mentioned above – and it is still July 16.Bernadette, who runs the self-serviced cottage I will be staying at, picks me up at the airport. It is a still night and the sound of cicadas fills the air as we drive out. We pass the remains of the old sugar factory, eerily atmospheric at this time of night, its crooked chimney silhouetted against a mysterious glow in the background. The source of the glow is revealed soon enough: the floodlights of the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The ground staff are at work deep into the night to get everything ready for the Test match that will begin in five days’ time. If my math is right.July 17
I have arrived in Antigua in time for the Seatons Glanvilles Reunion. Every four years, people from the two villages who have emigrated to other lands reassemble for a week of festivities. Tonight, just up the road from where I’m staying, is a seafood festival, and a concert headlined by David “Krokuss” Edwards, vocalist and bass player from the wildly popular – or so I’m told – soca band Burning Flames.Everyone from Seatons and Glanvilles seems to be here, eating, drinking, having a good time. There are far more kids around the stage than at the average soca concert, I imagine with all the wisdom of a man at his first soca concert. At one point the DJ calls the kids up on stage, puts on a dance-friendly tune, and cries out instructions. “Step to the left! Slide to the right! Criss-cross!” In my head I formulate a theory for why West Indian cricketers dance well. It’s the rigorous coaching they’ve had, right from the time they were five or six, at gatherings like this one.Postcard perfect: sunset at Long Bay beach, Antigua•Karthik Krishnaswamy/ESPNcricinfo LtdJuly 18
I’m at the stadium for the first time, still finding my way around, when I’m stopped by a woman in the stands. “Who’s that Indian player who plays with Chris Gayle? I want to meet him.”I assume she’s asking about a Royal Challengers Bangalore team-mate, and I could quite conceivably have asked her if she meant Yuzvendra Chahal or Harshal Patel. Instead, I ask, “Virat Kohli?””Yeah, him. Tell him Tracy’s looking for him. Tracy from Jamaica.”Well, Virat, I should have maybe told you two weeks ago, but I forgot. Tracy from Jamaica is looking for you.July 19
I wake up an hour before my alarm is supposed to ring. I fire up the stove and the toaster and make myself eggs and avocado on toast and a cup of oolong. I eat slowly, sip my tea meditatively, and reflect on all the time that stretches out before me.Then a knock at the door. Two fellow cricket journalists. “Are you ready yet?””What, already?””Yeah, it’s 8.45.””What? It’s only 7.45. I haven’t even showered yet.”I show them my phone. It says 7.45. They show me their phones, which say 8.45.At some point in the middle of the night, my phone clock has decided to lose an hour. Just because it felt like doing so.In the foyer of the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium is the man himself, resplendent in a crisp, half-sleeved yellow shirt and sunglasses. He’s 64 but looks a lot younger. The opposite can be said about the statue of him just outside. It shows him celebrating a batting landmark, presumably a hundred, right hand holding his bat aloft and left hand on his heart. Richards was 38 when he last played for West Indies, so the man in the statue cannot be any older than that, but somehow he looks much, much older, like a Greek philosopher in whites, Plato with an SS Jumbo.July 20
Test-match eve, and the scorers seem to be playing book cricket. The electronic scoreboards behind the two square boundaries show an imaginary West Indies-versus-India match in progress. West Indies are 6 for 0 in 1.4 overs, with K Brathwaite on 6 and D Smith on 0. India’s opening bowlers are straight out of a fantasy of West Indies breaking the 1000 barrier: R Sharma and Y Pathan.For the third time in three days, we have stopped for a snack at Jennifer’s Delights, a concession stall at the stadium. The saltfish cake, the fried chicken, the banana pancakes are all delightful, living up to the name, and they are all prepared by the wisecracking Jennifer.Just as we’re about to head to the pre-match press conference, she calls us over. “Come back for lunch,” she says. “I’m going to fix you up something special.”We duly arrive after the presser, and Jennifer gives us each a personalised styrofoam box. Mine contains fish and fungi. Not fungi as in mushrooms, but an entirely Antiguan staple made from cornmeal, and pronounce foon-jee. Drier than polenta, simply but perfectly seasoned, it tastes like a cornmeal .A roti shop in Kingston displays a bat signed by the West Indies team of the 2000 Lord’s Test, and gloves signed by Brian Lara•Karthik Krishnaswamy/ESPNcricinfo LtdJuly 21
Driving us back from the stadium after the first day’s play, Bernadette takes us to the Seatons football ground, where tonight’s reunion event is taking place, a football game and food festival.When people from India think of conch, they think of the shell, and its distinctive blare, associated most often with the start of the TV show . We do not immediately associate the word with the shell’s rightful occupant, a marine gastropod mollusc (thanks, Wikipedia) that is edible, and, I have been told, delicious.I spot a man in a West Indies ODI jersey and ask him if I can find conch here. He points me to a stall selling conch water. It’s a cliché of food-based travel shows on television to reassure viewers that the unfamiliar and slightly scary-looking morsel in front of them, whether it’s crocodile meat or a pulsing snake heart, tastes “just like chicken”. Conch water, it turns out, does taste a little like chicken soup, but with a gorgeously subtle oceanic undertone.I ask the man in the West Indies jersey if he’s – duh – a cricket fan. “I live for it,” he tells me, and says he used to play for Antigua in the ’80s – “not first-class cricket but the level just below it”. His name is Adrian Adams. He used to be an opening batsman, and he now lives and works in Florida. He says he has played alongside Richie Richardson and Curtly Ambrose, and that, in his day, “if you wore a helmet, you were a punk”.July 22
Viv Richards is everywhere in Antigua. Including on the cover of the hotel-room phone book. But is he inside it? You bet he is. There are three Vivian Richardses, but only one Sir Vivian Richards, with a home on Lwr Vivian Richards Street. Andy Roberts is in the book too, as is Richie Richardson. Curtly Ambrose isn’t. Curtly, as we know, “talk to no man”.July 23
On the way back from the stadium, I look up at the night sky and see stars, more stars in a patch of sky than the sum of all the stars in all the skies draped over my house in Bangalore in a year. It is spectacular and – cliché alert – humbling.At ground level, we pass what is approximately the 9346th donkey we have spotted by the side of the road in our time in Antigua. We are told they are a relic of their time as beasts of burden from the days of the sugar factory, and from a time before farmers drove pick-up trucks. Antigua has now come up with a novel way to deal with its donkey population. The island now has two donkey sanctuaries.In Antigua, Sir Viv’s everywhere•Karthik Krishnaswamy/ESPNcricinfo LtdJuly 24
In a corner of the press box pantry is a transparent juice dispenser. Every day it holds a different juice, delicious but of difficult-to-place origin. Today it’s a pale orange-pink and tastes to me like peach, but with floral notes redolent of the tropics. I ask the man serving us our food, and he says it’s Antiguan cherry.India wrap up the first Test inside four days. In the press-conference room, the sponsor logos on the series backdrop tell a story of Indian dominance as well. Apart from the title sponsor, every other name is Indian – an Indian cement, an Indian weight-gain supplement, an Indian brand of incense stick.July 25
In the land of 365 beaches, I finally step onto sand. Long Bay Beach seems blessedly full of locals having a good time, and we are the only group here that can be remotely classified as tourists. I put my glasses aside and everything is a gloriously hypnotic blur as I make my way into warm tropical waters with waves washing gently over me.We also stop at Devil’s Bridge, a natural arch formed by waves crashing into the limestone-rich rock at the north-eastern edge of Antigua. It’s called what it’s called, Bernadette tells us, because, back in the days before emancipation, slaves would often throw themselves off it.July 27
I am transiting through Port-of-Spain to get to Kingston. The St Lucia Zouks are transiting through Port-of-Spain to get to Lauderhill for the US leg of the Caribbean Premier League. It is another reminder that cricketers are normal people in the West Indies. Grant Elliott hurries past the check-in counters, no minders around him, wheeling two massive bags. Jerome Taylor waits near the back of a long queue at a KFC, looking bored.Kingston, I decide, is a lot like New Delhi. I’m staying in what seems a posh part of the city, near the Canadian embassy. There are lots of nice houses, but the streets get eerily quiet at night, like some South Delhi neighbourhoods I’ve known, with the occasional car speeding past and almost no one walking. I hardly see a corner shop or grocery, but there’s a 24-hour hypermarket that people drive to. People seem extremely concerned about security. Signs advertising KingAlarm Systems are everywhere.July 28
My first trip to Sabina Park turns out to be an adventure. I walk to the nearest main road and try to hail a passing taxi. Barely any taxis pass, and the few that do refuse to slow down. I ask two young men walking towards me where I can find a taxi. They tell me to walk to the bus stand, and are giving me directions when an older man on a motorcycle stops near us. He wears a plaid shirt that looks like some sort of uniform, and perched on his fuel tank is a flask. He offers to give me a lift and I clamber on. First he takes a little detour to drop off the flask and its mysterious contents. Then he drops me off at the stadium, slowing down each time we pass a young woman to catcall. I am deeply embarrassed by the man and grateful to him, all at the same time.Devon House Bakery in Kingston: You want patties? They’ve got ’em•Getty ImagesSabina Park has some of Delhi’s brusqueness too. Near one of its gates is a sign saying “Keep off the grass. No pissing.” Another sign, on the fence surrounding the nets area, says “No weapons allowed.” The pavilion of the Kingston Cricket Club, however, gives the ground some old-world charm. The bar has plaques commemorating every batsman to have scored two hundreds in the same Test match. Members can watch the cricket while they eat lunch sitting on rocking chairs. A group of us gravitate to these chairs, open up our laptops and steal an unsecured Wi-Fi connection. I order oxtail, and red beans and rice. The oxtail is beautifully cooked. The gravy has the insistent heat of Scotch bonnet peppers, but there is avocado on the side, creamy and soothing. It’s a genius combination.July 29
Before heading to the stadium, I decide to make a pit-stop at Devon House. It is, according to the official website, “the architectural dream of Jamaica’s first black millionaire George Stiebel”, and was “declared a national monument in 1990 by the Jamaica National Heritage Trust”.None of that interests me today. I head directly for Devon House Bakery, to pick up their famous patties – one beef, one shrimp – and then next door, to I Scream, for a scoop of soursop ice cream. It sets off a bell in my head – I last tasted this faintly citrus, faintly guava-like flavour before in a glass of juice in the Antigua press box.July 30
After the first day’s play, we hit a Trinidadian roti shop for some curry goat. On its wall is a glass display case that contains a bat signed by the West Indies team that played the 100th Test staged at Lord’s, in 2000. It also contains a pair of gloves, presumably from the same match, signed by Brian Lara. The team must have been anxious to give away all of this: West Indies were famously bowled out for 54 in the second innings of that Test match, and Lara made scores of 6 and 5.July 31
The food stalls at Sabina Park do fantastic patties, but it’s a hot afternoon, and a group of us suddenly crave ice cream. We can’t find any. “You’ll get ice cream if a big match is on,” the lady at one counter tells us.”This isn’t a big match?””Naah. Come back when there’s a T20 on. You’ll definitely get ice cream then.”August 1
A tropical wave is proceeding westwards across the Atlantic, and Jamaica is in its sights. Meteorologists believe it has a good chance of attaining the wind speeds necessary to qualify to be called a tropical storm. They already have a name for it, Earl. It is the third day of the second Test match, and it rains enough to wash out nearly half the day’s play.Bats are allowed, though•Karthik Krishnaswamy/ESPNcricinfo LtdThe rain stops around six in the evening, and the setting sun turns the sky into a breathtaking vision in gold. The taxi driver pulls down his sunshade. It is Emancipation Day and people are out and about. We pass Emancipation Park, with its statue of a nude man and woman gazing – with just as much astonishment as me, I suppose – at the burning sky. The light turns even the most unremarkable buildings into glowing pillars from another planet.Ice-cream cravings are still upon us and we stop once again at Devon House. It is packed with what looks like a holiday crowd, but a woman tells me it’s actually a far smaller crowd than normal. “The lines would stretch out till there,” she says, seemingly pointing to the horizon. “It looks like the rain has kept everyone indoors.”August 2
More rain. Lots of it. The eye of Earl has missed Kingston, but its outer reaches have done enough to wipe out all but 15.5 overs of day four.Having left the stadium early, I visit Bookophilia, which, according to the in-flight magazine I flipped through on my way to Kingston, is the best bookshop in the city. It’s tiny but the selection is well curated, and you can have a cup of coffee or tea while you browse. It’s James Baldwin’s birth anniversary, and I buy a copy of , among other things.August 4
A visit to Melbourne Cricket Club, which has produced Michael Holding, Courtney Walsh and Marlon Samuels among other West Indies players. Randall, who drives me there, asks me if I play cricket, and I say, yeah, a little bit, the occasional tennis-ball game with friends. He says he does the same thing too. In Jamaica, they have a name for it. It’s a lovely name: “curry-goat cricket”.Randall shows me Samuels’ old house, which is just beyond the club wall, and tells me his mother and her sister used to run a tyre-repair shop. Courtney Walsh lived in the neighbourhood too, he says. Then he tells me Samuels owns a videogame arcade, and I ask if he’ll take me there. He does. It’s shut.August 5
Norman Manley airport, and I acquire a nifty little souvenir. A football in red, green and yellow, with “Jamaica” written on it in black letters, with a zipper running along its equator. Open the zipper, and the football expands to become a bag.My flight is delayed by an hour, and as I wait, a family of four settles into the seats next to me. A three-year-old girl, her mother, with a baby strapped to her, and an older woman who I assume is the grandmother of the two kids. The girl spots my football bag, and we begin to play catch. She is endlessly fascinated by the ball. “Leave the gentleman alone,” her grandmother tells her.The girl sulks. “It’s unfair!” she says, and I agree inwardly. I am torn between giving her the ball and listening to the voice in my head that says, “No way, it’s mine!” I stare at my feet. The moment stretches out uncomfortably until the grandmother does what grandmothers do and works her magic. She turns her hand into a claw, wiggles her fingers at the girl, and says, in a falsetto, “The crab is coming!”The child instantly forgets the football and runs circles around her grandmother, giggling.

The Supreme Court ruled in favour of implementing a majority of the Lodha proposals, setting in motion a major revamp of the way cricket is run in India

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Jun-2016On July 18, 2016, the Supreme Court passed its final order on the case involving the BCCI and its implementation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.The Court had appointed the committee in January 2015 to look into the functioning of the Indian board and suggest changes to its constitution.On January 4, 2016, RM Lodha, the former Chief Justice of India, unveiled the three-man committee’s recommendations, which shook the hierarchy of BCCI and its member associations. Consequently, the BCCI and various state associations approached the Supreme Court raising objections to the recommendations.The final order of the two-judge bench comprising TS Thakur, the Chief Justice of India, and Justice Ibrahim Kalifulla, signed off on most of the Lodha proposals, setting in motion a major revamp of the way cricket is run in India.The following is a summary of the case from the time the committee was appointed.Apr 14, 2015 – 82 questions for BCCIThe Lodha panel sends an 82-point questionnaire to the BCCI to understand how it functions and how it runs cricket in India.The questions were split into eight sections and covered an exhaustive set of topics from the role of the BCCI’s stakeholders to the board’s election processes, the basis and formation of its various committees, player welfare, conflict of interest and transparency in the IPL’s functioning.Jan 4, 2016 – Sweeping reforms unveiledThe Lodha committee recommends a complete overhaul of Indian cricket – from the very top down to the grassroots – affecting all its stakeholders.With special focus on BCCI’s governance and administrative structures, rather than its cricketing operations, the most important set of recommendations aims at transforming the board’s power structure. The committee recommends one-state-one-vote, suggests clear and stringent eligibility criteria for the board’s office bearers and sets limits on their tenure in office. Serving ministers and bureaucrats or those above 70 years of age are not allowed to hold positions on the board nor in their state associations.Setting up of a players’ associationTaking cognizance of the fact India are the only country to not have a players’ body, the Lodha committee recommends the formation of a players’ association.A four-member standing committee chaired by former union home secretary GK Pillai and comprising former India cricketers Mohinder Amarnath, Anil Kumble and Diana Edulji, is appointed to “identify and invite all eligible ex-cricketers to be members, to open bank accounts, receive funds from the BCCI, conduct the first elections for office bearers, communicate the names of BCCI player nominees to the board.”Jan 7, 2016 – BCCI takes the first steps to acknowledge Lodha reportThree days after the Lodha committee report became public, Anurag Thakur, BCCI secretary at the time, sends an e-mail to all state associations asking them to study the report, determine how it affects each of them individually and submit their findings to the board by January 31.Feb 4, 2016 – Supreme Court sets deadline for BCCIHaving noticed the BCCI and the state associations delaying their formal response to the Lodha committee recommendations, the Supreme Court sets March 3rd as the deadline for the board to make their stance clear one way or another. “If you have any difficulty in implementing it [the reforms] we will have the Lodha Committee implement it for you,” Justice Thakur tells the BCCI counsel, a view he repeated several times.Anurag Thakur and the BCCI had accepted some of the changes that were recommended, but were adamantly against others like the one-state-one-vote and an age cap on administrators•PTI Feb 5, 2016 – BCCI continues to drag its feetWithout spelling his exact reservations, Thakur says the board is justified in taking time to study the Lodha committee’s report.”We need to understand it is not a one-page report. It is a detailed report, which will have a lot of consequences on the working and the functioning of the BCCI. A committee has taken close to 12 months to come up with it. We are taking close to two months to discuss, debate, and after deliberations come to a consensus to implement that report.”When the report came, I wrote a letter to all the state associations to call their meetings. Many state associations have already held their managing committee or working committee meetings. They are going to have their special general meetings before the BCCI’s special general meeting in the third week of February. So I think it is a due process. We are not slow at all. We are not shying away. We are not looking at any escape route.”Two days later, the BCCI finally calls for an SGM to discuss the Lodha reportFeb 19, 2016 – BCCI points out ‘anomalies’ in Lodha reportMore questions than answers arise when BCCI responds to the Lodha report. Its members cite “anomalies and difficulties” in implementing the recommendations. Thakur is asked to file an affidavit to counter the Lodha report in the Supreme Court.Feb 22, 2016 – Mumbai Cricket Association approaches SCThe state associations prepare to fire salvos against the Lodha commmittee. Mumbai Cricket Association, one of the oldest members of the BCCI, files an intervention stating the one-state-one-vote recommendation hurts the MCA. Mar 2, 2016 – BCCI details reservations against Lodha reportTwo days before the Supreme Court deadline, the BCCI files its affidavit, stating it has implemented some of the recommendations – appointing an ombudsman, addressing the issue of conflict of interest and advertising for a chief executive officer, a chief financial officer and other top management positions – but also lists several it does not agree with – the one-state-one-vote rule, age cap of 70 years for an office-bearer or a board official, limits on an office bearer’s and restriction on advertisements during Tests and ODIs.Mar 3, 2016 – Court takes exception to BCCI viewsAlthough the Court says it will ask the Lodha committee to reconsider some of the suggestions, it does not take pleasantly to the BCCI’s continued reluctance to change.On Thakur saying he was not consulted before the recommendations were finalised, the bench asks: “It was international news that we had formed the Justice Lodha committee to suggest reforms in cricket. The whole world knew it. Now you come to us and say the recommendations were a bolt from the blue for you and you were not consulted… What were you doing? Waiting at the fence for a written invitation?”Responding to the BCCI counsel’s argument that a cap on advertisements during a match would “cripple” the board’s income, Justice Thakur asks: “Do you mean that your commerce should overtake the enjoyment of the game?”Apr 5, 2016 – Court slams BCCI’s method of disbursing fundsHaving asked the BCCI and its state associations for an audited account of their books over the last five years and finding disparities in the distribution of funds between members, the Court slams the Indian board. “You function like ‘show me the face; I will make the payment…’ [The] impression that one gets is that you are practically corrupting the persons by not demanding how the money is spent… [It’s] like the moment you want a vote and their hands will go up,” Justice Thakur says.The BCCI appointed Justice AP Shah as ombudsman in November 2015•Hindustan TimesApr 8, 2016 – ‘Are you refusing to be reformed?’When BCCI counsel KK Venugopal says the board is beyond the purview of the Supreme Court since it is a trust, Justice Thakur counters, “What we understand is that you are suggesting that ‘I am answerable to Registrar of Societies. I will be accountable only to Registrar of the Society. I will be amenable to criminal law but I will not reform. Don’t ask me to reform.'”Is it possible? What have you done? We have seen the allegations of match-fixing and betting. You have no control over these. But you give money in crores. The Lodha committee has said something. It has been said to make the functioning more transparent and visible and the effort is to reform the BCCI.”Apr 19, 2016 – Court rebuffs BCCI take on one-state-one-voteWhen counsel for Baroda Cricket Association says implementing the one-state-one-vote recommendation would lead to “enormous politics” within the board, the bench disagrees. “You are right. Seven votes will come to northeast where there is no cricket that we know [of]. But we don’t know the game of seven votes. Can you elaborate what the politics will be?”Apr 26, 2016 – BCCI ‘running a prohibitory regime’The Court continues to use stern language with regard to BCCI and its state associations. “You are running a prohibitory regime, which is spread across the country,” it says. “You have complete monopoly. If any cricket club or association wants to do anything, we are least bothered. We are not here to reform every cricketing club. But if any institution which is discharging public duty like BCCI, then any organisation or association associated with it will have to reform itself.”Apr 29, 2016 – Court firm on the age cap of 70 for administrators”Why do you want to hold on to the reign for such a long time? Even the Supreme Court judges retire at 65,” Thakur tells Arvind Datar, senior counsel for the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). “You have been given five more years. You had a president [the late Jagmohan Dalmiya] who could not speak, could not communicate. Those who elected him [in 2015] did not see whom they were electing? These days, even in politics people are retiring.”Saying the Lodha committee is competent and can perform the “surgery” to repair Indian cricket administration, the court tells the counsel for Odisha Cricket Association: “After a certain age they [people over 70] must retire and do something else. They cannot head a society managing sports.”May 2, 2016 – ‘State associations will have to fall in line with Lodha reforms’The Court makes it categorically clear that the BCCI and all of its state associations will have to implement the Lodha reforms.”Once the BCCI is reformed it will go down the line and all cricket associations will have to reform themselves if they want to associate with it. The committee constituted in the wake of match-fixing and spot-fixing allegations was a serious exercise and not a futile exercise,” the two-judge bench says in response to an intervention plea filed by the Haryana Cricket Association stating the Lodha Committee’s remit was to only recommend changes.May 3, 2016 – ‘BCCI constitution incapable of achieving transparency’The Court says the BCCI constitution is “highly incapable of achieving the values of transparency, objectivity and accountability [such] that without changing its structure it can’t be done so.”June 30, 2016 – SC decision on Lodha panel report likely in three weeksThe Supreme Court reserves its judgement in the case concerning implementation of the Lodha Committee recommendations by the BCCI. There is to be no further hearing in the case and the two-judge bench will submit the written judgement to the concerned parties before July 22.July 18, 2016 – SC accepts majority of the Lodha recommendationsThe Supreme Court rules in favour of implementing a majority of the Lodha Committee proposals, and gives the BCCI between four and six months to implement them. Lodha, the court says, will oversee the implementation process.July 20, 2016 – CAB, KSCA call off electionsThe Lodha Committee asks the BCCI to direct all state associations to put their annual elections on hold. Consequently, the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) and the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) postpone their elections.The Lodha Committee had written to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri that only routine affairs could be handled at the AGM•Sajjad Hussain/AFPJuly 21, 2016 – Lodha Committee clarifies nine-year cap for state administratorsThe Lodha Committee makes it clear that office bearers, across the BCCI and state associations, who have completed nine years in the job cumulatively stand disqualified and cannot contest for another term.July 24, 2016 – Sharad Pawar announces he will step down as Mumbai Cricket Association presidentSharad Pawar becomes the first high-profile name to say he will step down as MCA president in accordance with the Lodha Committee recommendations.August 2, 2016 – BCCI appoints legal panel to liaise with Lodha CommitteeThe BCCI’s working committee approves a new legal panel as a “single point interface for the BCCI to interact with the Justice Lodha Committee” during the implementation of the report. Former Supreme Court judge Markandey Katju is appointed head the panel, which also includes BCCI’s counsel Abhinav Mukerjee.August 7, 2016 – Katju terms Supreme Court order “illegal”Five days into his new role, Justice Katju calls the July 18 order of Supreme Court “unconstitutional and illegal”. “There has been violation of principles of the [Indian] Constitution. Under our Constitution, we have legislature, executive and judiciary. There is broad separation of functions. It’s the legislature’s prerogative to make laws. If judiciary starts making laws, one is setting a dangerous precedent,” he says. The following day, the BCCI files a review petition in the Supreme Court against the July 18 order.August 9, 2016 – Lodha Committee issues first set of timelinesBCCI secretary Ajay Shirke meets the Lodha Committee and says the board will follow the timelines set by the Committee. He also states that the board has already begun implementing reforms. The deadline for the first phase is September 30.August 22, 2016 – BCCI announces AGM on September 21The BCCI announces it will conduct the annual general meeting on September 21. Lodha Committee says the AGM is “meaningless” unless the BCCI implements the recommendations.August 31, 2016 – Lodha Committee amends IPL Governing Council recommendationThe Lodha Committee withdraws its recommendation to have nominees of two franchises sit on the IPL Governing Council on a rotational basis. The BCCI had earlier pointed out that this move could lead to conflict of interest, which the Court said was “evident”.September 1, 2016 – Final set of deadlines for the BCCIThe Lodha Committee issues a second set of guidelines. The BCCI is directed to hold elections for the Apex Council – to replace the board’s highest-decision making body, the working committee – and conduct its AGM by December 15. The BCCI also has to form a fresh IPL governing council by December 30.September 12, 2016 – ICC refuses to get involved in BCCI-Lodha tussleICC’s chief executive David Richardson says that BCCI president Anurag Thakur had asked the global body to send a letter, asking the world governing body to clarify whether the reforms of the Lodha Committee did not amount to government interference in the running of the Indian board. However ICC chairman Shashank Manohar asks BCCI to “formally” send the request in writing.September 21, 2016 – BCCI defies Lodha Committee, pickes 5-member selection panelThe BCCI conducts its AGM and defies one part of the Lodha Committee’s order by picking a five-member selection pane for the men’s, women’s and junior teams as opposed to a three-member panel recommended by the Committee.September 28, 2016 – Lodha Committee asks Supreme Court to ‘supersede’ BCCI top brass, Court warns the boardThe Lodha Committee’s status report to the Supreme Court says that the BCCI has created “serious impediments” in the implementation of reforms and recommends that all existing office-bearers of the board be replaced by a caretaker panel of administrators.Chief Justice of India TS Thakur warns the board to implement the recommendations. “BCCI thinks it is law unto itself. We know how to get our orders implemented. BCCI thinks it is the lord. You better fall in line or we will make you fall in line,” Thakur says, giving the board a week to respond.The BCCI files a new application, pleading for the Court’s July 18 order to be suspended until the Court hears the board’s review and curative petitions against the mandatory implementation of most of the recommendations.September 30, 2016 – BCCI misses first Lodha deadlineThe BCCI misses the first deadline of September 30, and fails to adopt the Memorandum of Association and Rules and Regulations at its SGM, which would trigger the implementation of the Lodha recommendations. Meanwhile two full members of the board, the Tripura Cricket Association and the Vidarbha Cricket Association, unanimously adopt the reforms. The board SGM is pushed to October 1.October 1, 2016 – BCCI cherry-picks Lodha recommendationsAt the SGM, the BCCI agrees to implement important recommendations, but key reforms – the age restriction of 70 years for board officials, the tenure cap of nine years with cooling-off periods, and the one-state-one-vote policy, among others – are missing from the list.October 3, 2016 – Lodha Committee asks banks to halt two BCCI transactionsThe Lodha Committee asks two Indian banks – Yes Bank and Bank of Maharashtra – not to disburse funds from the BCCI accounts to the state associations with regard to two financial decisions taken at the board’s emergent working committee meeting on September 30.October 6, 2016 – BCCI given a day to fall in lineThe Supreme Court asks the BCCI to submit an undertaking that it will “unconditionally” implement all the court-approved recommendations of the Lodha Committee by October 7. The court indicates that if the board fails to do so, its office bearers could be replaced with a panel of administrators.October 7, 2016 – Defiant state associations face funding cutsIn an interim order, the Supreme Court says no further money should be given to state associations unless they pass a resolution to implement the Lodha committee’s recommendations.The interim order stated BCCI had adopted an “an obstructionist and at times a defiant attitude which the Committee has taken note of and described as an impediment undermining not only the Committee but even the dignity of this Court with several statements and actions which according to the Committee are grossly out of order and may even constitute contempt.”BCCI president Anurag Thakur is also asked by the court to submit a personal affidavit clarifying whether he had sought ICC intervention against implementation of the Lodha Committee’s recommendations.October 15, 2016 – BCCI opposition continuesAt an emergency meeting in Delhi, the board and its members cited “practical difficulties” in implementing the Lodha Committee’s recommendations. It is learnt that neither the BCCI nor its state associations could pass a resolution without a two-third majority.October 17, 2016 – Court reserves order on Lodha Committee status reportThe Supreme Court reserves its order on the Lodha Committee’s status report, which recommended the BCCI office bearers be “superseded” and a panel of administrators appointed to implement the court-approved recommendations. The court calls such a measure “extreme” but does not relent to the BCCI’s request for more time.Anurag Thakur files an affidavit denying he had sought a letter from the ICC saying the Lodha Committee’s recommendations were “tantamount” to government interference in the working of the board.October 18, 2016 – Supreme Court adjourns review petition hearingThe Supreme Court adjourns the hearing of the review petition filed by the BCCI in August challenging the July 18 order that approved the recommendations of the Lodha Committee.October 21, 2016 – Supreme Court limits BCCI’s financial freedomThe Supreme Court passes an order that limits the BCCI’s financial freedom and power until the board and its state associations comply with the Lodha Committee’s recommendations; it directs the BCCI not to distribute funds to its state associations until they submit affidavits stating compliance with the recommendations to the court and the Lodha Committee. It also asks BCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke to meet the Lodha Committee before November 3.November 21, 2016 – Lodha Committee seeks SC nod to remove BCCI office bearersThe Lodha Committee proposes to the Supreme Court that all existing office bearers of the BCCI as well as the state associations who do not satisfy the approved criteria be “disqualified” with immediate effect.December 2, 2016 – BCCI continues to oppose certain reformsNotwithstanding the strong missive sent by the Lodha Committee to the Supreme Court asking it to disqualify all ineligible office bearers with immediate effect, the BCCI and its members reiterate, in a Special General Meeting, that they continue to oppose some of the committee’s recommendations.December 15, 2016 – Anurag Thakur faces possibility of perjury chargeThe Supreme Court of India says there is, on first impression, a charge of perjury that can be laid against BCCI president Anurag Thakur and the board’s general manager of game development Ratnakar Shetty for lying under oath.January 2, 2017 – Supreme Court removes Thakur, Shirke from top BCCI postsBCCI president Anurag Thakur and secretary Ajay Shirke are removed from their posts by the Supreme Court of India at a hearing in Delhi. The court says a committee of administrators would be appointed on January 19 to oversee the business operations of the BCCI. That committee will be finalised by the pair of amicus curiae Gopal Subramanium and Fali S Nariman.January 30, 2017 – Supreme Court names administrators to supervise BCCIThe Supreme Court appoints four eminent personalities from varying backgrounds to oversee the running of the BCCI until the board can hold fresh elections for office bearers as per the Lodha Committee’s recommendations. The panel consists of Ramachandra Guha, the historian and cricket writer, Diana Edulji, the former India women’s captain, Vinod Rai, the former Comptroller and Auditor General of India, and Vikram Lamaye, CEO and managing director of IDFC (Infrastructure Development Finance Corporation).

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Sep-2016Ravindra Jadeja constantly attacked the stumps – and pads – with his wicket-to-wicket line•BCCI9.3 – Yadav to Guptill: Trapped in front! Swing. Inswing. Careens into the pads, slipping Guptill’s defences. He fell over again, the front leg planted on middle and off stump. And from that position it is very hard to handle a very quick, full ball darting back into you51.5 – Ashwin to Latham: Goes straight on! These aren’t tricks, folks. This is pure skill from Ashwin. Putting a lot more body into his action, which helps him drift the ball into the left-hander from around the stumps. And that drift happens late. Latham is prodding forward, defending outside the line and his front pad is ripe for attack52.3 – Jadeja to Taylor: Happens all the time in India. All it takes is one strike. Jadeja sneaks in the slider, the news has not reached Taylor’s front pad. He was defending around it, which is never good. At first, it seemed like it may have slid down leg. Off was visible, so was a slight bit of middle. Umpire Kettleborough is confident enough to give him. Then again, it might end up as umpire’s call if DRS was in playR Ashwin threatened with deliveries that turned, and also with ones that slid on with the arm•Associated Press79.1 – Jadeja to Ronchi: Ooof, that looked bad. I was convinced it had hit Ronchi on the full, while he was sweeping a ball that was in line with the stumps. Misses it completely – his shot selection was poor. Umpire Tucker sends him on his way, but it is later that I, at least, realise the ball was not a full toss hitting him on the front pad. It dipped and turned. Hit Ronchi on the back pad after turning quite a bit. May well have missed off stump94.2 – Jadeja to Craig: Traps him in front of middle and off! Given by umpire Kettleborough and he’s bang on. The ball is quite full, and it may have stayed a touch low as well. Craig was trying to flick, and with a closed face of his bat, he hasn’t given himself a chance. Exemplifies the threat Jadeja poses. With his accuracy, all it takes is one ball to misbehave94.3 – Jadeja to Sodhi: Two in two! Another quicker delivery, strikes Sodhi in front of leg stump, and he wasn’t entirely forward either. It may just have straightened enough.

England’s stand-in captain was starting to think the game had gone from him in Dhaka but there was a dramatic finish in store

Mohammad Isam07-Oct-2016Jos Buttler couldn’t have asked for a better, or worse, experience as he led England in one-day internationals for the first time. His team lost early wickets but made a formidable score with his own contribution telling. Then, as Bangladesh were taking the game away from England with a 118-run stand for the fifth wicket, his bowlers struck when the game looked lost.Amid the cacophony of a 25,000-plus crowd, Buttler dropped a sitter offered by the set batsman, made worse by the fact that he was trying to go up for the appeal. But Jake Ball put in a long shift taking a five-wicket haul on debut, and Adil Rashid serve up an accurate late spell. A noisy stadium was transformed into a quiet corner of a library.It was the stand between Ben Stokes, who made his first ODI century, and Ben Duckett that first roused England.”It was bit of a rollercoaster,” Buttler said. “I thought our first half was fantastic. Ben Duckett was calm and composed, which is a great sign. Ben Stokes again showed that maturity and everything we want to be as a side, to play in that fashion at 60 for 3 and take those aggressive tactics we talk about. We probably got the toss wrong. But we showed that belief.Then came Ball’s intervention. “It was brilliant from Ball, he got us back in the game with those two balls. It was a brilliant five-wicket haul. The conditions had changed and the ball was coming on to the bat very well. I thought we bowled fantastically well. To be 1-0 is fantastic for us.”Buttler said it was Stokes’ rallying cry that stirred them on in the field when the match was slipping away, especially after he dropped Imrul Kayes in the 40th over.”As much as you can, you try and stay calm. We knew we needed wickets to win the game and break the partnership. When I dropped probably the easiest catch you’d see in international cricket I was thinking it was one of those days. But Ben Stokes really brought us back and said ‘let’s not give it to them easy’. I think that belief and hunger to win really came through.”Ball, who was benched for the practice game in Fatullah, said that he knew that to stay in this line-up, he had to do something special. He said that the five-wicket haul, the first by any England bowler on ODI debut, was a dream come true.”It is about staying patient. The team we have is incredible. These players on the sidelines would probably walk in on any other team. Credit to the guys and the strength we have got. It makes you keep performing. There are always people snapping behind you to come into the team.”It was obviously a debut you can’t forget, really. I just wanted to come into the game and show what I can. Hopefully I have shown that I can do it at this level.”

Haseeb Hameed’s tour has been ended prematurely by injury but he has already made a lasting impression on team-mates and opponents

George Dobell in Mohali29-Nov-20162:00

Ganguly: What stands out for Hameed is his age

They say it is best to never meet your heroes, but Haseeb Hameed may well disagree.The night before this series, he spoke with wide-eyed wonder about how “amazing” it would be to meet Virat Kohli. He was one of his cricketing heroes and the thought of playing against him was clearly a thrill.Now he has not just met him, but won his respect. For while the relationship between these teams is not especially good – they came into the series with baggage from 2014, in particular – it was noticeable that Kohli not only applauded Hameed upon reaching his half-century in Mohali, but ran up to shake him by the hand at the end of his innings.He had, to his great credit, recognised not only an innings of class and bravery, but perhaps something of a kindred spirit, too: this was one fine batsmen acknowledging another, albeit one who has achieved little by comparison at this stage of his career. It is a moment that is likely to console Hameed long after he has made the journey home to have surgery on his left hand.”He’s showed great character for a 19-year-old,” Kohli said. “He put his hand up when his team wanted him to do it and the way he played with Anderson showed great maturity. You can sense it as a captain: this guy is intelligent, this guy knows the game.”He’s a great prospect for England. He’s definitely going to be a future star in all forms if he keeps persisting with his skill. I’m really impressed and that’s why I patted him on the back. It was an innings full of character and something that you need to applaud.”It may be relevant that Hameed, unlike some of the other players involved in this match, let his cricket do the talking and therefore hasn’t irked the opposition. He doesn’t feel the need to posture or pose; he doesn’t feel the need to give opposition players a send-off when they’re out or give them abuse when he is fielding.Any thought that such behaviour equates to strong or brave cricket should have been banished years ago. Hameed has reminded us that you can be gutsy and determined without denigrating the opposition. And, both with his batting and his demeanour, he might have reminded one or two how this game could, and should, be played.There were many impressive aspects of this innings. There was the range of strokes – including a delicious late cut, a slog-sweep for six and a front-foot hook – that showed he had been playing within himself in previous innings and hinted at an ability that could well feed into white-ball cricket. There was the sight of Hameed going to meet his new partner – James Anderson, a man with 118 more Tests than him – to offer some advice and encouragement and there was his ability to rotate the strike so effectively that Anderson only faced 11 out of the 40 balls they batted together.But perhaps the most impressive feature of this innings was his ability to adapt to the physical imposition he faced and the bravery to attempt to do so.

“To change the way you play to combat [an injury] … There’s a lot of guys in there in awe of what he’s been through”Trevor Bayliss, England’s coach

Hameed batted three times in the nets on Monday. The first two times were unsuccessful: the pain was such that he could hardly hold the bat, far less control it. It seemed he would bat only in an emergency and perhaps at No. 11. But then he experimented with a different grip where he was able to take his little finger off the bat. And, after some practice in the nets, reported that he was happy with the new technique.So, as a 19-year-old in his third Test, he not only went out to bat with such a badly damaged finger that he knew it required surgery, but he did so with a makeshift grip. And then he played England’s best innings of the match. It was hardly surprising that Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, described the team as “in awe” of their young colleague.”It’s a hell of a skill to have,” Bayliss said. “To change the way you play to combat that. A couple of headache tablets and out he went. It is a lesson for others. There’s a lot of guys in there in awe of what he’s been through. The lack of showing any pain, and guts and determination is a good sign. There’s plenty of other guys who have got hit and make a big song and dance about it. Obviously he’s got a big pain threshold.”They were sentiments echoed by Alastair Cook. He has been searching for an opening partner since July 2012 and the retirement of Andrew Strauss. But the search is over. Hameed is likely to be his regular opening partner for the rest of his career.”He has impressed us all with technique, his talent and now his bravery,” Cook said. “He has shown us he will do anything to get out there. That was a very special knock. We will hold him in huge respect for it.”International cricket is brutal though and, when Hameed does return, he must know he will face a sustained examination of his technique against the short ball. While his bravery is not in question, his habit of playing with low hands might render this the sort of incident that could reoccur.Keen to test him with the bouncer here, India started with a short leg, leg slip and deep-backward square for him in the second innings. But while there were a couple of times he looked hurried by the short ball – and Mohammed Shami has bowled terrifically this series – he managed to get on top of the ball and play it straight down into the ground at his feet. And each time the follow-up full delivery demanded a forward stroke, his feet moved without hesitation and his judgement over which ball to play and leave remained impeccable. He looked, once again, calm and composed.Within a couple of overs the leg slip had gone. An over later, the short leg had gone. Instead of just tucking the ball off his ribs or into the ground, Hameed had started to pull and hook. He is learning and adapting with every innings. It is a shame his series is over.Haseeb Hameed changed his technique to bat with a broken finger in England’s second innings•AFPHe was desperate not to go home. He has loved this experience and pleaded with the medical team to tape up the finger and let him carry on. But sense prevailed. He will leave in the next day or two and have the operation as soon as possible. You can be quite certain, however, that he will be opening the batting for England when their Test schedule resumes in July.”He wants to stay and play the last two Tests,” Bayliss said. “He wouldn’t take no for an answer. He wants to stay. His old man said ‘Just tape it up, he’ll be all right’.”It’s a great sign. It’s the sort of attitude you want. Not only can he play but it’s great to see an attitude like that. We’ll make sure he gets back and gets it done so he’s right to go early next season.”It seems Hameed may have come into the match carrying the injury. He took a blow to the hand in the second innings in Visakhapatnam – his first ball was a sharp bouncer that he played poorly – and was then dismissed in the first innings here by a ball that jumped off a length and hit his glove in exactly the same place.”The medical people think he probably cracked it in the second Test,” Bayliss said. “He’s copped another one in the same spot. It’s a break that is all the way through the finger. The finger’s in two pieces so it’s an injury that the medical people say if he gets another knock on it, especially in the field, it could bend it right back. It’s best to get it done as soon as we can.”Indeed it is. And for all the disappointment England may well have at the end of this series – it is hard to avoid the conclusion it reached tipping point on Monday – they will go home consoled in the knowledge that they have found a batsmen who should serve them well for a decade or more. You suspect Bayliss and Cook thought so after Rajkot. In Mohali, Kohli recognised it, too.

Stats highlights from a rain-curtailed fourth day in Melbourne

Bharath Seervi29-Dec-20163 Consecutive years in which Steven Smith has scored 1000 or more runs, beginning from 2014. He completed 1000 for 2016 in the first innings in Melbourne. Only Matthew Hayden has scored 1000-plus runs in more successive years – five, from 2001 to 2005. Apart from Smith, Brain Lara (2003 to 2005), Marcus Trescothick (2003 to 2005) and Kevin Pietersen (2006 to 2008) have also achieved the feat.3 Centuries for Smith at MCG, in consecutive Tests. He scored 192 against India in 2014 and 130 not out against West Indies last year before notching up another hundred in this year’s Boxing Day Test. Only Don Bradman has had a longer streak of centuries at the MCG – seven (matches in which he batted). Herbert Sutcliffe, Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell and Hayden also scored centuries in three consecutive MCG Tests. Smith hasn’t scored more than two centuries at any other venue.17 Centuries for Smith in Tests, in 90 innings. Only Bradman (50), Sunil Gavaskar (81) and Hayden (82) scored their 17th century in fewer innings than Smith. All his 17 centuries have come since 2013, the most by any batsman. David Warner is next on the list with 14 centuries in this period.5 Australia players to register fifty-plus scores in three or more consecutive Tests from debut. Peter Handscomb is the latest to join the list which is headed by Herbie Collins, who achieved this in his first four Tests. Bill Brown, Frank Iredale and Michael Bevan are the others to do it in their first three Tests. Handscomb scored 54 on debut against South Africa and 105 in his second Test before scoring another 54 in this match.2 Dismissals in the 90s for Usman Khawaja in his Test career, both coming in this Australian summer – 97. He was out for 97 while chasing at the WACA against South Africa. The last Australian players to get out twice in the 90s in an Australian season were Simon Katich and Shane Watson in 2009-10. This was his third fifty-plus score in three innings at the MCG after having made 144 and 56 in last year’s Boxing Day Test against West Indies.2 Bigger first-innings totals toppled to take a lead at the MCG than Pakistan’s 443. The hosts bettered England’s 485 in the 1965-66 Ashes and Pakistan’s 470 in 1983-84. This is the second Boxing Day Test in three years in which both teams posted 400-plus scores in their first innings after no such instance in the previous 20 years.5.00 Wahab Riaz’s economy in this innings, the worst for any bowler at the MCG delivering 25 or more overs. Among Pakistan bowlers, there have been only four spells with more expensive figures than Wahab’s.2 Captains to score more runs in all international matches in a year than Smith, who currently has made 2320 runs in 50 innings. Ricky Ponting scored 2833 in 2005 and Angelo Mathews 2404 in 2014 top the list. Smith went past Michael Clarke’s 2251 in 2012 in this innings.

Mason Crane has already prompted much excited chatter, but the young Hampshire legspinner is putting in the hard yards to take the next step up

Will Macpherson17-Feb-2017Mason Crane is only just 20, yet it is 18 months since he was first touted for a Test call. Ten wickets in his first two Championship games for Hampshire left usually sage pundits weak-kneed and predicting an autumn with England. Crane found it funny, knowing that this was the lot of the legspinner, that rare cricketing fetish item.”It was peculiar,” he laughs. “Legspin is weird like that. A young bloke comes on to the scene and you just instantly get people shouting their name about. It’s nice to hear, but you know stuff like that is a fair way down the line.”Well, it is happening again. “At this rate we will be seeing Mason Crane on the next Ashes tour,” chirped Gordon CC, Crane’s Sydney grade club, on Twitter at the start of February. This followed his third consecutive seven-wicket haul – putting him top of the Sydney first-grade wicket-taking charts in what is proving a very productive first winter down under.The county cricket stripling’s stint in the grades is, of course, a well-worn path. Crane is making the most of it, but he arguably needed it more than most, too. He still lives with his parents in Worthing (although he is quick to say he’s trying to move out) and this is the first time he has spent more than a tour’s length away. “I’ve been doing stuff for myself for the first time,” he says. “You go on tour and it’s great, but that’s with 15 other guys you know and a load of coaches. This has been five times that length, and I didn’t know anyone. It’s been great socially and it’s proved a really good match.”It was Will Smith, his Hampshire team-mate, who set the move up, having played for Gordon himself. Peter Such, the ECB’s lead spin coach (in regular contact via email), put him in touch with Stuart MacGill, with whom Crane has worked plenty. While there have been minor technical tweaks, their work has largely been tactical. MacGill knows Crane – a wicket-taker who gives it a rip, with a very fine googly and solid topspinner – can bowl legspin; what he needs is to understand to bowl legspin. “There can’t be many better blokes to talk about that with,” Crane says.

“Legspin is weird like that. A young bloke comes on to the scene and you just instantly get people shouting their name about”

Crane has enjoyed the bounce in the pitches and the time afforded to work on his game, bowling and batting. He sounds utterly thrilled that, having started the season batting at No. 9 or 10, Gordon now trust him to bat at No. 7. “That’s a big thing for me and I’m pleased my hard work has paid off,” he says. Having been an allrounder growing up, he feels he has not pulled his weight with the bat at professional level.Two summers ago Ollie Rayner memorably wrote for ESPNcricinfo that if he had tips for a young spinner, the first would be “learn to bat”, and while Crane would like to end up as a No. 8, he will not allow that to happen at the expense of his bowling. “Bowling is my main thing, I have to remember that,” he says. “I don’t want to become a bits-and-pieces player. What’s important is that with the bat I can serve the team the way it needs – the kind of guy who can score quickly from the lower order to set up a declaration or dig in to save a draw.” As a result he has worked on his batting with Trevor Chappell, Gordon’s head coach, and the first-grade batsmen at the club. Two fifties in eight two-day games, and an average over 30 suggests it is working.There have been eight hauls of seven wickets or better in first-grade cricket in Sydney this season, and three are Crane’s. No bowler has more than his 37 wickets in two-day games. What he has relished most, though, is the opportunity to plough through overs. “I’ve bowled nearly 500 match overs out here, and there’s really no substitute for that,” he says. “I’ll leave here very cricket-fit, and in great rhythm.”In the second of his seven-fors, he bowled 43 overs straight: “The skipper tried to take me off a few times, but I just kept wanting another. I had all the wickets after 25 overs, but their last pair blocked out as it got slower and flatter, and it was a great challenge in stinking heat.”Crane’s name has been doing the rounds in Hampshire and Sydney cricket circles•Getty ImagesLast July, after Smith bowled Crane for 51 overs as Surrey racked up 637, England veteran Gareth Batty said the young spinner had been “thrown under the car”. But this, it seems, is just how Crane likes it. “I now know I can get through 30 overs, still getting loads on the ball, with ease. I always want the ball in my hand.”Crane was brought over to Southampton by his coach at Lancing College (which he captained for almost three seasons), former Hampshire spinner Raj Maru, after his native Sussex turned him down at Under-14 level, and he was soon a name on the lips of members. His ascent was inevitable, but as that innings against Surrey showed (he ended up with 3 for 210), first-class cricket hasn’t come entirely easily to Crane since he took the first five Warwickshire wickets in his second game. “It’s a seriously tough competition,” Crane says. “Four-day cricket is brutal, especially if you have one long stint in the field. A couple of days’ rest, a bit of travel, and you’re doing it all again.”With 31 wickets at 45 in 12 games in 2016 (only three Hampshire players played more and only Ryan McLaren, with 32, took more wickets), Crane does not immediately look to have been a beneficiary of the adjusted toss regulations that saw the rejuvenation of Rayner and emergence of Jack Leach in a minor spin revival. “I definitely played more games because of the changes,” he says. “But I’m not sure it was actually easier to bowl spin. Apart from at Taunton, where it spun and bounced beautifully, pitches were generally slow and pretty flat.”An interesting season looms for Crane. In the wake of their survival-by-default after the demotion of Durham (the team that had originally relegated them in the final round) and subsequent exploitation of the Kolpak market, it will be easy to cast Hampshire as the Championship’s villains this summer. Despite some brash comments from chairman, Rod Bransgrove, in the wake of the Durham brouhaha, Hampshire are under no illusions as to how fortunate they are. “For a guy my age, it’s enormous, and we are very lucky,” Crane says. “It means I carry on bowling against the best in the country.”

“Bowling is my main thing, I have to remember that. I don’t want to become a bits-and-pieces player”

For all their notable imports, Crane is one of a number of talented homegrown youngsters at Hampshire. They include Tom Alsop (21), a favourite of England Lions, who scored a superb hundred at The Oval in September; Joe Weatherley (20), who has been pulling up trees in Adelaide this off season; and Brad Taylor (19) – looking to follow Liam Dawson and James Vince into the national set-up. The arrivals of Rilee Rossouw and Kyle Abbott will undoubtedly have a knock-on effect but neither is a spin-bowling alternative to Crane, and he will hope pitches continue to be helpful, so that he and Dawson – who bats in the top five and serviceably holds up an end with the ball – can play together.”It’s a difficult one,” he says. “You can look at it two ways. There might be guys around the country who don’t get a game. But on the other hand, guys like Kyle and Rilee will improve the standard massively, so when you do play, facing and playing with guys like that is huge. We will learn loads from them. Mainly it’s just a massive shame they can’t play for South Africa. I don’t fully understand the politics there, but they are here and it’ll be great to play with them.”That can wait, though. From Australia, Crane heads to the UAE, where he has been selected to play in the North v South and Champion County pre-season curtain raisers. There will be opportunities to firm up his county spot but also, perhaps, join Sam Curran, Joe Clarke and Tom Helm as candidates for England’s Ashes bolter, just as Gordon’s Twitter account predicted. Either way, he’s a leggie with nerve and verve – and definitely a name to remember.