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New Zealand’s first tour of South Africa after readmission was a sharp, hard-fought one, featuring a dodgy pitch, much Castle-chugging, and eyebrows raised over umpiring

Luke Alfred01-Mar-2017Before Ken Rutherford’s 1994-95 New Zealanders officially arrived in South Africa, Martin Crowe jetted in as a kind of one-man advance guard. Crowe, New Zealand’s best batsman, had never played a Test against South Africa, and he wanted all the net time he could get. His dickey right knee was bothering him and he wanted the full flush of hundreds against all the Test-playing nations before he hobbled off into the sunset. Assiduous preparation on the quick Highveld decks was the thing.”He practised with us at Transvaal for a couple of weeks before the rest of the team got here, and passed on a couple of tips about my batting,” says Steven Jack, the South Africa fast bowler, who was to be locked in full-blown combat with Crowe later that summer. “He even fed balls into the bowling machine for me a couple of times. He couldn’t have been nicer.”Rutherford and his jaunty band of semi-professionals were “hugely excited” tourists. He had read about South Africa and always wanted to play there, noting the epic backstory “of battles on the rugby field offering stories of legend”. With the exception of Danny Morrison’s injury – and a deeply inconvenient injury to Dion Nash while on tour – they were a settled side.They had played five ODIs in India immediately prior to flying in to Johannesburg, and like Crowe, they arrived reasonably early. “We were in South Africa for about a week prior to our opening fixture at Randjesfontein,” says Rutherford. “New Zealand cricket has always suffered from periods where there’s a slight lack of depth. It’s fair to say that we were in one such period. I don’t think there was anyone we left back home who deserved to play.”Having acclimatised sufficiently with matches against Northern Transvaal, Griquas, and the Orange Free State, Rutherford and the coach, Geoff Howarth, took stock. Hansie Cronje would be in his first home Test as captain in the Wanderers opener and Cronje’s relationship with South Africa’s coach, Bob Woolmer, was still in the “getting to know you” phase. Rutherford walked down the infamous Wanderers walkway in his blazer for the toss convinced he’d bowl if he called correctly. The South Africans were without the injured Allan Donald and it looked muggy, with the sun just poking through the clouds.

“My first scoring shot was a Chinese cut for four. ‘This isn’t the f****** Soweto Oval now, mate,’ pipes up Rutherford, and I go on to score 107 in 75 balls. I remind him about it all the time”South African fast bowler Steven Jack

Although Rutherford remembers being concerned about the early cracks in the pitch, he changed his mind literally as Cronje’s spinning coin was coming to rest. “I went back into our dressing room and the bowlers were putting their boots on, preparing to hit the field. The batsmen got one helluva shock when told we were batting first. We got through to lunch, I think, two-down. Could easily have been five-down. We played and missed more than we middled the ball.”New Zealand looked slightly worse for wear at 92 for 3 but Rutherford, joining Crowe, held things together. Rutherford brought up an aggressive fifty with a Trumper-like dart down the wicket to hit left-arm spinner Clive Eksteen for six, but was caught out by a running Cronje attempting a repeat of the shot later.Shane Thomson, batting at six, eased the innings to the first-day close with the not-out Crowe 19 runs shy of that elusive Test century. An entire dressing room was relieved that Rutherford’s spontaneity at the toss hadn’t backfired.Ten wickets were lost on day two, the Test gaining rhythm. Crowe could only add two on the second morning (leg-before to Richard Snell for 83 after labouring in the first half-hour), while Thomson rode his luck for 84. Simon Doull and Richard de Groen, on 31 not out and 26, respectively, made a merry nuisance of themselves at the end.New Zealand’s 411 looked even more impressive when the home side finished day two on 109 for 4. Not only was the match running through Cronje’s hands but the pitch was misbehaving. “Simon Doull bowled one to Jonty [Rhodes] that pitched on a length around off stump – it disappeared over Jonty’s shoulder, past our wicketkeeper, down leg side for four byes,” says Rutherford. “As with such pitches, the mind games that are created are significant and a batsman often gets out to a delivery that does very little. It’s the thought of the crack that counts.”With Doull accounting for Cullinan and Rhodes in consecutive overs on the third morning, it was left to Dave Richardson to right the ship. He scored 93, the South Africans spluttering to 279, a deficit of 132. Chris Scott, the Wanderers groundsman, remembers feeling just slightly embarrassed. “It got so bad by the end of the match that you could literally wedge a bat into one of the cracks. I can’t remember why that was exactly, if it had been very dry beforehand, but it wasn’t one of my best, that I have to say.”It was early days for Hansie Cronje and Bob Woolmer as a leadership team•Getty ImagesNew Zealand lost four second-innings wickets in getting from 32 to 34, including Crowe, Rutherford and their young prodigy, Stephen Fleming. Thomson, Adam Parore, Matthew Hart and Nash shored things up but could only patch and bandage. They hobbled to 194; Craig Matthews and Fanie de Villiers shared nine wickets.Needing 327 to win on a wicket of consistently inconsistent bounce, Cronje led the way with a fighting 62; Brian McMillan, batting at three, chiselled out a patient 42 in just under three hours, but from then on it was a rabble. With a gambler’s outside chance at 150 for 5, South Africa tumbled to 189 all out. Hart, the left-arm spinner, “bowled beautifully” according to his captain, who adds diplomatically that “a fair amount of Castle” was consumed afterwards. He rather spoils the impression when he clarifies matters, saying: “The party lasted for days – we were thirsty.”Jack remembers being in Port Elizabeth a couple of weeks later as part of the ODI side locked in a quadrangular with New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Pakistan. After the Wanderers loss to New Zealand, the tournament had started badly for Cronje and Woolmer, and nerves were beginning to fray.At St George’s Park, Jack was summoned by Kevin McKenzie, then a national selector. McKenzie told him that he’d be making his Test debut in the Boxing Day Test against Rutherford’s men at Kingsmead. Donald still wasn’t fit and in all likelihood they’d dispense with Eksteen, the spinner. Richard Snell was also surplus to requirements, after having tried to heave Hart to kingdom come in the second innings at the Wanderers and being caught by Doull for 1.”Richard was pretty good about it,” remembers Jack. “We’d come up from Durban to Wits [University of the Witwatersrand] together – originally he’d wanted to do physiotherapy at UCT [the University of Cape Town], but his grades weren’t quite good enough – and we’d played together at Wits and Transvaal.”I also partly got my chance because Peter Pollock, the convener, always felt that Allan and I were similar. I’m not comparing myself to Allan. I’m just saying that Peter liked variation, and with Allan out of the picture, there was an opportunity.”

“New Zealand cricket has always suffered from periods where there’s a slight lack of depth. I don’t think there was anyone we left back home who deserved to play”Ken Rutherford

Jack had started the summer in a quandary, not knowing how to elbow his way into the national side. Brett Schultz had jumped the queue; then Matthews homed in from left-field. De Villiers had bowled mesmerisingly in England earlier that year, bending the Dukes ball like a boomerang.
What did Jack need to do?”Clive Rice [the Transvaal captain] was hugely influential and always very good to me, and I remember asking him what I needed to do during a round of golf with him and Sir Richard Hadlee at Royal Johannesburg earlier that summer. Clive said: ‘If you want to be picked, get their attention.'”I was picked for a Transvaal Invitation XI against Ken’s side after the first Test and scored a quick fifty, and we got close [New Zealand won by nine runs]. Mark Rushmere wanted me to do it again, a couple of days later, in a 50-over game against them at the Wanderers. But Jimmy [Cook, our coach] was against it. He said, ‘This is a proper game now’, but Mark persisted and eventually we reached a consensus. The decision was that if we were chasing, I would open.”Anyway, they batted first. I opened with Mark and was feeling pretty good, although my first scoring shot was a Chinese cut for four. ‘This isn’t the f****** Soweto Oval now, mate,’ pipes up Rutherford, and I go on to score 107 in 75 balls. I remind him about it all the time.”The decision to opt for Jack’s snarl at Kingsmead worked wonders. He had Bryan Young out, played on, off his 14th delivery and soon accounted for Crowe, the man who had fed balls into the Wanderers bowling machine for Jack. “I had a mandate to unsettle and bowl short, and I knew he liked to pull,” remembers Jack. “After lunch I whacked it in, high and wide, the perfect spot, and he went for it without controlling the shot, and Fanie [De Villiers] gobbled him at fine leg. Hey, I might have had a word or two and asked him to have a go. It was great – he obliged.”New Zealand’s first-innings 185 v South Africa’s 226 – game on. Rutherford remembers a good Kingsmead deck with some “tennis-ball” bounce, well exploited by Morrison, who was back in the side and bowled as quickly at Kingsmead as anyone on either side in the series. “With Charger [Jack’s nickname] we knew they would come hard at us. He was a great guy to have in your team because he added a real competitive zest to the contest. He was in your face. Full of shit, for want of a better expression.”Cronje’s 112 in the final Test helped South Africa win the series•PA PhotosIn their second innings it took the visitors 100.2 overs to eke out 192, leaving South Africa 152 to win. This they imperiously did, Gary Kirsten taking charge with 66 not out.The series was now poised at 1-1 and the Castle-quaffing revelry of the Wanderers change room seemed some way off. Three younger New Zealanders – Fleming, Nash and Hart – admitted to smoking reefer at an informal function in the Boland before the second Test and the balance seemed to be tilting in South Africa’s favour, though Rutherford doesn’t necessarily agree. “We were just keen to play at Newlands,” he says. “What a setting. There was even a section of the crowd that barracked for us. Felt like home. And that considerable hoppy whiff from the brewery next door – just tremendous.”The Test was umpired by KT Francis from Sri Lanka and Barry Lambson, a local. By his own admission Lambson wasn’t feeling particularly confident about his game, which was strange, he says, given that he’d umpired in England versus New Zealand Test at Old Trafford earlier that year (for which Rutherford had given him “an outstanding mark”) and had umpired in the Austral-Asia Cup in Sharjah the previous April.Things really began to sour on the fourth afternoon, when Lambson gave Rutherford out leg-before to McMillan for 26, half an hour before the close. Neither Rutherford nor Jack believes it was out, but Lambson is adamant the decision was the right one. Railing at the perceived injustice, Rutherford either smashed his bat against the closed door of the umpire’s room (Lambson’s version) or damaged a vending machine (Jack’s version). He was asked to appear before match referee Peter Burge after play.Matters got worse on the fifth morning, when Lambson called back Fleming after giving him out caught behind. “I’d done a couple of matches in the [ODI] quadrangular series in East London where I wasn’t particularly good,” he admits. “The thing was that when Burge called Ken in, Brian Basson [the cricket affairs manager at CSA] said he was 100% behind me. But Brian was never really behind you. He just wasn’t that kind of guy.”

“He was a great guy to have in your team because he added a real competitive zest to the contest. He was in your face. Full of shit, for want of a better expression”Rutherford on Jack

The New Zealanders were bristling because on day three they believed Lambson had got things wrong when he rejected a caught-behind appeal against Cronje off Morrison early on in the captain’s innings. Rutherford remembers a sotto voce apology at the end of the over, while Lambson remembers an institutional lack of support.As it was, the South Africans’ first-innings lead of 152 – built on the back of Cronje’s 112 – proved decisive. New Zealand’s second-dig 239 meant the hosts only needed to score 89 to win the Test and the series. This they did at a canter, wrapping up with seven wickets.Rutherford only played five more Tests for New Zealand, while Jack’s run at Newlands was the last of his two Tests, a hurt that smarted for years. Rutherford made friends and influenced people while in South Africa, his penchant for attacking cricket, dry humour, and sometimes antic hunches always keeping the game alive.Things soured in New Zealand when he and his team returned and, having been offered the overseas-professional gig at Transvaal for the coming season, he returned to captain the side, initiating a happy and successful period for the province.”I thought he was an absolute prick,” remembers Jack. “But I always noticed that his players loved him. They couldn’t do enough for him. After training one night just after he arrived, we had a long chat over a couple of beers and he said to me that when I was an opponent things were different but now we were in the same side together, he needed ten mates. We became such great mates that I was master of ceremonies at his wedding.”

Rangana Herath became the second Sri Lanka bowler – and the 12th from the subcontinent -to take 1000 first-class wickets.

Shiva Jayaraman17-Mar-2017Rangana Herath became the second player from Sri Lanka to take 1000 first-class wickets when he dismissed Mustafizur Rahman in Bangladesh’s first innings in the Colombo Test. Muttiah Muralitharan, with 1374 wickets from 232 Tests, is the only other bowler from Sri Lanka with 1000 first-class wickets.

Herath is the 12th bowler from the subcontinent to take 1000 first-class wickets and the first to the milestone since Danish Kaneria, who had taken his 1000th wicket in 2011-12. Apart from Herath and Kaneria, seven other spinners from the subcontinent have taken at least 1000 first-class wickets. Imran Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz and Wasim Akram – all from Pakistan – are the only fast bowlers. Overall, Pakistan legspinner Intikhab Alam leads the wickets list for the subcontinent bowlers with 1571 from 489 matches. India’s Bishen Bedi is the only other bowler from the subcontinent to take 1500 wickets.

Herath joins Bedi as the second left-arm orthodox spinner from the subcontinent to collect 1000 first-class victims. Overall, 30 left-arm orthodox spinners have taken 1000 first-class wickets. Wilfred Rhodes leads the list of left-arm orthodox spinners, and also the all-time wicket-takers’ list in first-class cricket, with 4204 victims.Another Sri Lanka bowler, Dinuka Hettiarachchi, is the closest among active players to achieving the milestone. Hettiarachchi has taken 929 wickets at an average of 23.36 from 222 matches. He is followed by another Sri Lankan Sajeewa Weerakoon, who has 802 wickets from 188 matches.

Dean Elgar has steadily worked himself into form in an early-season stint at Somerset, and he is itching to extend South Africa’s record in Test series in England

Firdose Moonda28-Jun-2017Never mind the bilateral white-ball series that no-one will even remember took place; never mind another major tournament failure that no-one will forget, the real stuff in South Africa’s tour to England starts now. At least if you ask Dean Elgar.”What’s happened throughout the summer with the one-dayers and the Champions Trophy and the T20s is in the past,” Elgar said in Worcester, where he will lead South Africa against England Lions in a three-day tour match ahead of the four-Test series next month. “It’s time to crack on with the proper format of Test cricket now.”Many will agree. Given South Africa’s record in multi-team tournaments compared to their reputation in whites, Test cricket is where they have built their reputation in the recent past. Since beating England in 2008, South Africa have gone on to win in Australia three times, in New Zealand twice, in West Indies, Sri Lanka and the UAE and, though they were blitzed 3-0 in India at the end of 2015, they rose five places on the Test rankings last summer to sit at No.2.The last time they came to England in 2012, they were in the same position. Though they cannot claim the Test mace with a series win on this occasion, this tour could set the tone for a showdown against India in the home summer, and Elgar expects the squad to be up for it. “It’s a different energy that’s within the Test side. Irrespective of how things have gone in the past, the energy is always in a good place for Test cricket,” he said.Mood is going to be an important factor for South Africa because they have seemed to be in a bad one since arriving in the UK a month ago. Amid uncertainty over AB de Villiers’ future, angst over Faf du Plessis’ availability for the first Test as he awaits the birth of his child, and an emergency in Russell Domingo’s family which will result in the tour match, and perhaps even the start of the Test series, taking place without the presence of their coach, South Africa have been unsettled. Add to that the hefty defeats the A team suffered in two of three four-day games and England might think they hold the advantage. Elgar, however, sees an opportunity to exploit some recent movements in the opposition’s set-up, not least the appointment of Joe Root as Alastair Cook’s successor.”England also seem to be a team that is going through a bit of a change with a new captain. I’m sure he has got his own things he wants to implement and I’m sure they are not 100% sure of their final XI,” Elgar said.The identity of Cook’s opening partner is still being debated, and a decision will only be made at the weekend. Some of their Lions’ players have returned to their counties for a round of pink-ball matches – a format Elgar of which seems far from convinced after calling himself an “old-school traditionalist” who believes Tests are played “with a red ball and white clothes” – others are pre-occupied with the one-day cup final between Nottinghamshire and Surrey, and the rest are facing South Africa in the practice match so there’s a lot for the selectors to think about.South Africa, on the other hand, have made their pick. Heino Kuhn will accompany Elgar at the top after Stephen Cook was axed. Elgar is pleased with his new partner, who is also a domestic team-mate. “Heino is a highly experienced player back home,” Elgar said. “He has played a lot of seasons of cricket and he is quite familiar with his game-plans at the moment. It’s great to see him finally get an opportunity.”Heino and I are best of mates. We’ve been that for many years back home and we open the batting together back home. He is not unfamiliar to me. I’m sure our chemistry will go out onto the field.”Other new names include another opening batsman in Aiden Markram, who is the squad as cover in case du Plessis is not back in time, and allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo, but more of the focus will be on the absentees. Local media asked Elgar how the South Africans will cope without AB de Villiers – on a sabbatical from the longest format – and Dale Steyn – who is recovering from a shoulder injury. His answer? “We’ve missed AB and Steyn for the last two series and we’ve had guys who’ve put up their hands and put in massive performances. Having them the side is great but in my opinion we’ve got guys who have come in now and are really trying to make the position their own. In terms of selection now, they have definitely earned their right within the team. The game carries on which is quite important.”Even without their two heavyweights, South Africa have beaten Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, while their Test unit has solidified. Those results will give them confidence, especially if they have to start the series minus du Plessis. If that happens, Elgar will take over the leadership and he will have a practice run at it over the next three days. Elgar’s captaincy experience includes six matches at first-class level and the Under-19 World Cup in 2006, and he has a strategy in place for the role at this level. “You’ve got to put your pride away and think of yourself as someone that can influence an environment,” he said. “The leadership qualities that you possess have to come out.”As someone with a forthright personality and an obvious fighting spirit, Elgar can also be expected to lead by example, with form on his side. In six County Championship matches for Somerset, Elgar scored 517 runs at 47.00 including two centuries and is nicely familiarised with English conditions and players. He knows what South Africa will come up against and he knows they need to treat everything, including the warm-up in Worcester, as the real thing.”We’ve got to hit the ground running. The series starts tomorrow and it’s going to be vitally important for us to have some prep,” he said. “We’ve got to compete against a very good England Lions side. To get that competitive edge is a big thing for us. Naturally the guys will have that instinct in them. It’s a very big three days of cricket we have ahead.”

ESPNcricinfo joins up with our team of supporters to preview the South Group in the NatWest T20 Blast

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Jul-2017South Group

Essex Eagles
Captain: Ryan ten Doeschate
Overseas: Mohammad Amir (Pak)
One to Watch: Amir, fresh from his Champions Trophy triumph with Pakistan, will give the Eagles real star quality.
Last Finals Day appearance: 2013 (Semi-finals)
bet365: 14

Supporters Zone: Essex will get to Finals day. The lower order hitting often led by Ryan ten Doeschate and Azhar Zaidi along with Varun Chopra, Dan Lawrence and Tom Westley at the top will see the batting prosper. Simon Harmer is in red hot form, Zaidi will add some spice to the bowling with Jamie Porter and Paul Walter keeping it tight. Mohammad Amir will be influential under lights but the key man is all-rounder Bopara who can script a fairy tale on Finals day. Watch out for Adam Wheater playing as a batsman and youngster Kishen Velani as a pinch hitter.
Chanaka Wirasinha

Glamorgan
Captain: Jacques Rudolph
Overseas: Rudolph (SA) – plus fellow South Africans Colin Ingram and Marchant de Lange as Kolpaks.
One to Watch: Ingram hit a record-equalling 29 sixes in last year’s competition to lead Glamorgan to a home quarter final.
Last Finals Day appearance: 2004 (Semi-finals)
bet365: 25

Supporters Zone: Glamorgan’s surfeit of allrounders suit the short form. Ingram was dominant in the Royal London Cup and should expect to be so here, backed up by big hitting from Aneurin Donald, David Lloyd, and Chris Cooke. The pace bowling is also strong, but a lack of spin quality and tendency to collapse probably means a quarter-final place would be a success.
Matt Yano

Gloucestershire
Captain: Michael Klinger
Overseas: Klinger (Aus), Thisara Perera (SL)
One to Watch: Has to be Klinger – a run machine for the last four seasons.
Last Finals Day appearance: 2007 (Runners-up)
bet365: 16

Supporters Zone: Every time the cricket journalists make Gloucestershire favourites for a game they lose. The Glosters need to be underdogs to succeed and so this season looks set to be a winning one. Thisan Perera will find he plays like a Chris Gayle at Bristol, just like Michael Klinger does, and Benny Howell and Jack Taylor’s performances will once again embarrass the England selectors.

James Young

Hampshire
Captain: James Vince
Overseas: George Bailey (Aus), Shahid Afridi (Pak)
One to Watch: Mason Crane, the 20-year-old leg-spinner, showed his star potential in two T20 international appearances for England last month.
Last Finals Day appearance: 2015 (Semi-finals)
bet365: 11

Supporters Zone: Prediction? Finals day, I think. We have a good record at getting that far and we have been playing well recently. Spin twins of Mason Crane and Shahid Afridi make us worth watching, to go with some elegant stroke makers. Our ability to collapse with the bat will let us down though.

Matt Warwick

Kent Spitfires
Captain: Sam Northeast
Overseas: Adam Milne (NZ), Jimmy Neesham (NZ)
One to Watch: Sam Billings – after travelling the world as a T20 specialist this winter, would love to lead Kent to an overdue Finals Day return.
Last Finals Day appearance: 2009 (Semi-finals)
bet365: 16

Supporters Zone: Kent will look to harvest the fruits of the kiwi with bowling relying heavily on Adam Milne’s pace. Jimmy Neesham provides batting fire power to support Darren Stevens and Sam Billings; expect Kent to chase as often as possible. Sam Northeast’s captaincy of his bowlers could be pivotal to a successful campaign.
Chris Smith

Dan Vettori and Brendon McCullum make up a formidable brains trust at Middlesex•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesMiddlesex
Captain: Brendon McCullum / Dawid Malan
Overseas: McCullum (NZ), Tim Southee (NZ)
One to Watch: Malan, a clean hitter, has had international recognition and could be reaching his peak. He can only be helped by the involvement of Dan Vettori, who has been appointed as a specialist T20 coach.
bet365: 11

Supporters Zone: Middlesex made their first quarter-final in nine years last year, and will fancy their chances once again. In Brendon McCullum, Eoin Morgan, and now Malan, there is international quality with the bat, and expect contributions from Paul Stirling and Nick Gubbins too. The bowling is much improved too, though may lack a little nous at the death – long Middlesex’s Achilles heel. Middlesex are a very streaky side – if they get off to a good start they can fly, but if they lose their first few, things could fall apart pretty quickly (see every T20 season bar 2008). Lord’s isn’t your ‘traditional’ ground for T20 with fireworks and loud music, but there’ll be plenty of full houses, and the atmosphere for the London derby next Surrey will be electric.
Will Atkins, @willatkins92

Somerset
Captain: Jim Allenby
Overseas: Corey Anderson (NZ)
One to Watch: Roelof ven der Merwe – easily overlooked, but his combination of powerful hitting and off-spin is crucial to Somerset’s balance.
Last Finals Day appearance: 2012 (Semi-finals)
bet365: 12

Supporters Zone: How will we do? Hopefully better than a tame 3-10 last year. A second straight year of being good at 50-over cricket will hopefully translate into the shorter stuff. Johann Myburgh will open and he tries to hit every ball he sees for four. Check his recent (50 over!) innings against Notts and Essex for examples. It’s great fun. Fast bowling may let us down. Bowling at Taunton is not always rewarding, and the Overton twins and Lewis Gregory struggle to put their four-day talents to work in the 20-over game.
Will Colwell

Surrey
Captain: Gareth Batty
Overseas: Aaron Finch (Aus), Kumar Sangakkara (SL), Moises Henriques (Aus)
One to Watch: Kevin Pietersen – making a welcome return to the domestic scene after a two-year absence.
Last Finals Day appearance: 2014 (Semi-finals)
bet365: 8

Supporters Zone: Surrey will inevitably reach Finals Day in a high-scoring blaze of glory before capitulating on a rainy Saturday. We are worth watching for Jason Roy playing with the carefree brilliance we know him for and Kevin Pietersen’s somewhat surprise return to the Oval. What will let us down? Jade Dernbach’s death bowling.
Santokie Nakulendran

Sussex Sharks
Captain: Ross Taylor
Overseas: Taylor (NZ)

One to Watch: Tymal Mills – desperate to get back on the field after suffering back problems following his lucrative IPL stint, and could form a mouthwatering pace combination with Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer and George Garton.

Last Finals Day appearance: 2012 (Semi-finals)
bet365: 16

Supporters Zone: At Sussex we have ‘the fiz’ but worry about our (Will) Beer being flat and past its best-before date. At least we didn’t have to pay a million pounds for Tymal Mills. At least I hope not. If Arundel is any guide, watch out for Jofra Archer threatening a fastest ever 50 before being denied by Ben Brown urging an innovative declaration from Ross Taylor. Effectively out before August.
Geoff Chapman

That is the the third-highest tally ever recorded in a calendar year, behind only Kumar Sangakkara and Ricky Ponting

Bharath Seervi05-Dec-2017610- Runs scored by Virat Kohli in this Test series, the most by an Indian in a three-match Test series and the fourth-highest overall. The record for this is held by Graham Gooch, who made 752 runs against India in 1990. Against Sri Lanka, only Brian Lara, with 688 runs in 2001-02, has done better than Kohli.3- Players who have scored more than 600 runs in a series batting five or fewer innings. They are Kohli, Don Bradman (806 against South Africa in 1931-32) and Mohammad Yousuf (665 against West Indies in 2006-07) The previous highest tally for an India batsman in a series playing five or fewer innings is 526 by Vinoo Mankad against New Zealand in 1955-56.293- Runs for Kohli in this Test – 243 in first innings and 50 in the second. This is the most made by an India captain in a Test match. He eclipsed Gavaskar’s 289 (107 & 182*) against West Indies at Eden Gardens in 1978-79. Kohli is the seventh captain to score a double-century and a fifty in the same Test and the first since Ricky Ponting, against Pakistan in Hobart in 2009-10.

3- Times that Kohli has aggregated 600-plus runs a Test series, which is a new record for India as he went past Sunil Gavaskar and Rahul Dravid, who have done it twice each. Kohli scored 692 runs in Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2014-15 (four Tests) and 655 against England last season (five Tests) before doing it again in this three-match series against Sri Lanka. Bradman, having scored 600-plus in six series, is the only player ahead of Kohli in this regard, whereas Neil Harvey, Garry Sobers and Lara have also had three such series.2- Batsmen to aggregate more than Kohli’s 610 runs in a series after starting off with a duck. They are Jacques Kallis 625 runs against England in 2004-05 and Michael Vaughan 615 runs against India in 2002. Kohli bagged a duck in the first innings of this series and followed it up with scores of 104*, 213, 243 and 50.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2818- Runs for Kohli across all formats in international cricket in 2017 – the third-highest tally ever recorded in a calendar year. The list is topped by Kumar Sangakkara with 2868 in 2014 and Ponting’s 2833 in 2005. With Kohli being rested from ODIs and T20Is against Sri Lanka, this is his final match of 2017.

Another defeat would condemn England to No.7 in the Test rankings, and surely spell the end of Trevor Bayliss’s tenure as Test coach

George Dobell at Headingley31-May-2018It might be hard to remember right now but, just five years ago, England were chastised for winning a Test in Leeds too slowly.It only took them four days – the first day of that match against New Zealand was lost to rain – but, such were expectations of England at the time, winning wasn’t enough. They had to win with style; they had to “show intent” and “aggression” and “positivity”. Later that summer, England won the Ashes 3-0 and were criticised for a lack of joie de vivre. Joni Mitchell almost certainly wasn’t thinking about cricket when she wrote “you don’t know what you have til it’s gone” … but still.How England must hanker for those days. They come into this game having won none of their last eight Tests – and lost six of them – and in danger of slipping to not only a third-successive series loss but, if they are defeated, No. 7 in the ICC’s Test rankings. For a nation with their financial advantages – the investment they are able to put into development programs, overseas tours, coaching (remember, two of their coaches were working for another nation when they were recruited) and player salaries – that should be a national embarrassment. England won’t care how ugly the performance is, they just want and need a win.As they have won just two of their last eight Tests in Leeds – and lost 16 of their last 30 Tests everywhere – it is hard to be wildly optimistic. To make matters worse, Ben Stokes was reduced to a peripheral role in training – he did not bowl at all – due to his hamstring strain, while Jonny Bairstow had his left knee heavily strapped after appearing to hurt himself in a pre-training football match. Bairstow is certain to play but Stokes will have a scan on Thursday and a fitness test on Friday morning. He is a significant doubt.There is also some doubt about the new recruits. Keaton Jennings averages 26.18 in first-class cricket since he was dropped from the Test team in August – which hardly makes a compelling case for a return, though he has made centuries in his two most recent first-class innings – while Jos Buttler is still without a first-class century since January 2014. Dom Bess, meanwhile, for all his class with the bat, was less convincing with the ball. When Ed Smith was appointed as the new selector, there was speculation that he may apply a data-heavy analysis to the role. It currently appears he is going far more by instinct than evidence.Joe Root and Trevor Bayliss•Getty ImagesThere may well be consequences if England lose this one. And not just in terms of adverse media reaction or the slide down the global rankings. It seems that, as Alastair Cook hinted on Wednesday, people may lose their jobs.Most at risk would appear to be Trevor Bayliss. Despite having done the job he was employed to do – improve England’s white-ball cricket and ensure a relaxed dressing-room – there is little evidence to suggest any players are improving in the team environment. Quite the opposite, actually: several have started well and fallen away. And while it seems there is little chance of his being asked to step down from the white-ball element of the role in which he has excelled, the possibility of the coaching job being split is very real. Gary Kirsten might be a viable candidate for the Test role.Even with Andrew Strauss absent on compassionate leave, even with Andy Flower only back in an interim role and even if there is a risk that, one year away from the World Cup for which they have been planning for three years, a coaching change could destabilise the dressing room, there seems little way another loss could be tolerated. Questions are starting to be asked of those much higher up the organisation. This really is make or break for Bayliss.The good news for the seasick sailors who make up England’s batting order is that the pitch – which is straw-coloured – looks full of runs. As a result, the option of dropping Bess, the only specialist spinner in the squad, is likely to be resisted. The width of the square in Leeds – it stretches across almost the entire playing area – might also encourage the seamers of both sides in achieving some reverse swing. Tickets for the first couple of days have all but sold out (capacity is just under 13,000 due to redevelopment work at the ground) but there are still many available on days three (currently 8,500 have been sold) and four (3,300).The other good news for England is that they remain, at full strength, a talented side which is capable of far better than they have achieved of late. They need to take their chances (their new fielding coach, Carl Hopkinson, has already earned the somewhat harsh nickname Carl Dropkinson after five catches went begging at Lord’s) and their bowlers must utilise helpful conditions when they arise. As for their batsmen, they need to be a bit more greedy, a bit more demanding and a bit more patient. If all of those conditions are met, their results can improve, and improve quite quickly. It really is ridiculous that a batsman as good as Bairstow is averaging under 40 in Test cricket and that Joe Root has 10 half-centuries but no centuries in his last 10 Tests.Either way, England’s current predicament underlines how underappreciated the 2013 side were. It reminds us, too, that their style of play – routinely criticised for its lack of positivity at the time – had many virtues. Attitude and positivity aren’t enough. Success at Test level also has to be earned through denial and determination and discipline. They might not be the most sexy of skills, but they still matter. The current side – all their coaches and some of the pundits who have urged England to be more positive for years – could do worse than reflect on that.

Joe Root’s men are in sight of a memorable series whitewash in Sri Lanka, but can their recent failings be forgotten that quickly?

George Dobell22-Nov-2018England have the chance to complete their first overseas whitewash – in a series of three matches or more – since 1963 in Colombo over the next few days.Whatever happens in the Test, England will rise to No. 2 in the world rankings. But, if they win, it will be their first whitewash since the 2011 victory over India that took them to No. 1 and only the third ever inflicted against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka. On top of that, England have already achieved their first series win in Asia since 2012 and their first in Sri Lanka since 2001.All of which sounds excellent.And it is true that, over the last few weeks, England have found a way to win in conditions which have nearly always troubled them. In developing an attack that can take wickets in Asia and a batting line-up that can score runs against the turning ball, they have developed nicely since the tour of India two years ago. Their allrounders give them remarkable depth in both departments, while the emergence of Jack Leach has helped bring the best out of a spin attack that previously lacked the control required to build pressure. On the basis that Sri Lanka’s record is pretty good and that England will take confidence from this victory, it does seem fair to conclude they have made admirable progress.But this week’s talk of England reaching No. 1 in the Test rankings was just a little uncomfortable. While it is an admirable aim and it could, if results go their way, be achieved with victory in the Ashes, it could also seduce England into thinking they have made a little more progress than is really the case.To be fair to Joe Root, he has always maintained that England are “not the finished article” and he is quite right to celebrate success. But talk of England rising to No. 1 seems premature.For a start, England have won only two of their last 15 games away from home. They were thrashed in Australia and India – both 4-0 – beaten in New Zealand and the UAE (by Pakistan) and held to draws in Bangladesh and the Caribbean. Until several of those results can be corrected, any No. 1 ranking – while welcome – is going to feel just a little hollow.It has to be acknowledged that Sri Lanka are not the team they once were, either. While their recent record is decent – they beat Pakistan in the UAE and had not been defeated at home by a non-Asian side since 2014 – they have been hit by a succession of retirements in recent years (Rangana Herath being the latest) and are struggling to develop replacements of a similar standard.Joe Root sweeps in the nets at Colombo•Getty ImagesEngland might accept they have had some fortune, too. Root has – remarkably – won the toss in England’s last seven Tests. While there are times that matters little, there have been other times – not least in Kandy, Galle and at Lord’s against India – when that has been a substantial advantage.That’s not to detract from England’s success. They won the toss a few times in India, too: it made little difference. A team still has to be good enough to take advantage. But it is a factor that has to be acknowledged.The enduring issues remain, too. In picking Jonny Bairstow as their fourth No. 3 of the series, England have underlined their inability to fill the role since the loss of form of Gary Ballance or, before him, Jonathan Trott, while their newest pair of openers still have lots of questions to answer. Impressive as Rory Burns and Keaton Jennings have been this series, it is premature to view the former as a settled member of the side, while Jennings’ long-term Test record – he averages 28.20 after 14 Tests – remains modest. It shouldn’t be forgotten England were 103 for 5 in Galle and 139 for 5 in Kandy, either. That top-order batting remains fragile.Meanwhile, England are no closer to finding a replacement pair of seamers for James Anderson and Stuart Broad. They still don’t have a proven fast bowler who could give them a realistic chance of success in Australia and they were saved in Kandy – up to a point, anyway – by a couple of outrageously good pieces of fielding and final-wicket stands that added 101 runs across the game.So England deserve great credit for their success and the progress they have made. They are developing into a highly-entertaining side with a very exciting future. But at the risk of bringing some early humbug to Christmas, let’s go easy on talk of No. 1 for a while. There are substantially more difficult challenges to come.

Alastair Cook marked his farewell Test innings with a hundred at The Oval. The cricket world and beyond shared their tributes on Twitter

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-2018

That was a very very special moment … All of us who are privileged to be here today will remember that forever … #Cook #100 … If any person deserves that send off it’s Alastair … Fairytales do happen …

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) September 10, 2018

Crying like a baby here at the oval and not afraid to admit it #hero

— Niall John O Brien (@niallnobiobrien) September 10, 2018

Bloody hell! Cook 100!

Script written!

Fairytale ending!

Richly deserved having had to face a brand new Duke’s ball for 12yrs!

BRAVO

— Kevin Pietersen (@KP24) September 10, 2018

Congratulations Alastair Cook #Champion Innings

— Saqlain Mushtaq (@Saqlain_Mushtaq) September 10, 2018

Longest standing applause I’ve ever seen! Well done Oval crowd, brilliant Alastair Cook. #FirstAndLast

— Mel 'MJ' Jones (@meljones_33) September 10, 2018

Just seen has got the 100 lad is just quality…good things happen to good people in the end #legend

— Alex Tudor (@alextudorcoach) September 10, 2018

I am part of this piece of history..dropped cookie in his 90s on his debut…now here he is.. what a LEGEND pic.twitter.com/DkhITPocAR

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 10, 2018

Thanks for the memories Cookie @englandcricket
A class act !
It certainly was a pleasure to play against you#farmer #greatbloke

— Brett Lee (@BrettLee_58) September 10, 2018

What a way to say goodbye…test No 33 for Alastair Cook, richly deserved! #topclass #Congratulations

— Tom Moody (@TomMoodyCricket) September 10, 2018

Alongside all his achievements as a player and captain – including this, his 33rd Test century – Alastair has inspired thousands of cricket players and fans across our country. He leaves a lasting legacy to British sport and I wish him all the best for the future. #ENGvIND

— Theresa May (@theresa_may) September 10, 2018

Goodbye, Alastair Cook.
We've had our differences, but it would be churlish not to acknowledge your enormous contribution to English cricket.
You made the very best of your abilities, worked ferociously hard, scored a barrel-load of runs & ended on a high. Congratulations. pic.twitter.com/qJpMJKOQRc

— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) September 10, 2018

What an innings Alastair Cook, the only way it could be more fairytale is if with the final delivery he clobbers a six and the ball lands on @piersmorgan

— Jack Whitehall (@jackwhitehall) September 10, 2018

A century in your last innings. And an ovation that looked like it would never end. It was, as Joe Root said, "written in the stars". What a moment for the mighty Alastair Cook.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) September 10, 2018

Brilliant ton from Alistair Cook! What a way to go out!! #ENGvsIND

— Jamie Carragher (@Carra23) September 10, 2018

Fairytales do exist….what a farewell. Well played, Cook. Well played. #EngvInd #Respect #Legend

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) September 10, 2018

YES Chef!!! What an incredible fairytale last innings for one of worlds greatest batsman! He’s been an inspiration and an example to so many! Nobody deserves it more #ThankYouChef

— James Taylor (@jamestaylor20) September 10, 2018

Well done Cooky ..!!
Absolutely Brilliant …..@englandcricket

— Paras Khadka (@paras77) September 10, 2018

Fitting final innings for Alastair Cook. 100 in his last test innings must be a very fulfilling feeling, along the way also becoming the 5th highest run scorer in test history .

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) September 10, 2018

Alastair Cook – talented, mentally strong, modest and a team player. Bravo.

— Brian Moore (@brianmoore666) September 10, 2018

A day after Delhi Capitals’ remarkable collapse from 144 for 3 to 152 all out against Kings XI Punjab, we take a look at five other dramatic slumps in the tournament

Bharath Seervi and Deivarayan Muthu02-Apr-20197 wickets for 12 runs – Deccan Chargers v Delhi Daredevils, Durban, IPL 2009Adam Gilchrist shellacked four fours off Ashish Nehra in the first over and rattled off a 24-ball fifty in Deccan Chargers’ chase of 174. Andrew Symonds then teed off to reduce the equation to 25 off three overs with six wickets in hand. Enter Rajat Bhatia. He bowled Symonds and Dwayne Smith with his loopy cutters to trigger a terminal slide. All told, he took four wickets for a mere four runs in the 18th and 20th overs. Just like that, Deccan lost their last seven wickets for 12 runs to hand the game on a platter to Daredevils.6 wickets for 7 runs – Rajasthan Royals v Royal Challengers Bangalore, Bengaluru, IPL 2010Dale Steyn, Jacques Kallis, and R Vinay Kumar bashed a hard length and kept cramping the Royals top order for room. But it was Praveen Kumar who sparked a collapse of 6 for 7 with a pair of yorkers and bouncers in a rare hat-trick. From 85 for 4 in 16.2 overs, Royals careened to 92 all out with one ball unused in their innings. Royal Challengers then knocked off the target with all ten wickets and nearly ten overs to spare.”My son’s Under-12 side would be tough at the moment” – that was how then Royals captain Shane Warne summed up his side’s horror show.6 wickets for 7 runs – Pune Warriors India v Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pune, IPL 2013Remember Pune Warriors, the whipping boys of the IPL back in the day? They were 101 for 4 in pursuit of 120, but they lost their last six wickets for seven runs. Another 6 for 7 capitulation, another hat-trick, this time from Amit Mishra. But, the collapse was largely down to hare-brained swinging from the middle and lower order, including captain Angelo Mathews. Even Mishra said that he didn’t try any tricks. That sort of sums up how bad Pune were that day.8 wickets for 29 runs – Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians, Mumbai, IPL 2008It was the season of Rajasthan Royals and they were sitting pretty on a five-match winning streak, but this wasn’t their night. After being inserted, they had a strong start thanks to their MVP Shane Watson and opener Swapnil Asnodkar, who cracked 53 together in 34 balls. But a bouncer here and a slower one there on a two-paced DY Patil track, and Ashish Nehra and co. knocked over Royals for 103 in 16.2 overs from a well-placed 74 for 2 in the ninth over. Eight for 29. Game over for Royals.5 wickets for 1 run – Deccan Chargers v Royal Challengers Bangalore, Hyderabad, IPL 2008Deccan provided a lesson on how not to finish an innings: two run-outs and some wild hoicks saw them lose five wickets for just one run in the last eight balls of their innings. Believe it or not, Gilchrist and Herschelle Gibbs had struck up a rousing century opening stand, but the middle and lower order crashed and burned. From 101 for no loss and then 164 for 5, Deccan were rolled over for 165. This was the Royal Challengers side with a surfeit of Test specialists, but they still managed to mow down the target.

The Sri Lanka women batter recounts a harrowing drive back to Colombo and messages of support in the aftermath of the Easter Sunday attacks

Annesha Ghosh in Jaipur11-May-2019A week-long vacation in April could have turned “highly dangerous” for Sri Lanka women’s captain Chamari Atapattu had it not been for a last-minute change to her holiday plan she made for her visa arrangements to fly to India for the Women’s T20 Challenge.The only Sri Lankan in a pool of 12 overseas players in the competition, Atapattu had set out on her holiday on April 16, a day after receiving an invite for participation from the BCCI. She had planned to round it out with a return to Colombo on Easter Sunday (April 21), the same day multiple bombings killed more than 250 people and left several hundreds injured in Colombo, Negombo and Batticaloa.”My plan was to the visit the visa centre [in Colombo] on April 22,” Atapattu tells ESPNcricinfo of her original itinerary. She originally wanted to complete the road-trip leg of the vacation, “from Colombo to potentially Batticaloa, before returning to Colombo on Easter Sunday”. However, as they approached Trincomalee on Saturday, she decided to leave out Batticaloa from the itinerary as she was “fussed about getting the visa sorted on Monday,” which meant they avoided coming into the vicinity of areas affected.”We checked into a hotel at Trincomalee late in the night, and next morning, when we turned on the TV at breakfast, we couldn’t believe the attacks in Batticaloa took place roughly around the same time we would have reached there had we stuck to the [original] plan.”It takes nearly seven hours to drive from Trinco to Colombo by car, but that Sunday I hit speeds north of 80kmph – something I’ve never done before, nor do I imagine myself doing again under any circumstances – and covered that [260-odd-kilometre] stretch in under five hours.”I was just so scared. Nobody knew who was doing this, why they were doing this, whether there were suicide bombers all across the country… all we knew was the death toll had been going up every 10 minutes. It was a harrowing drive.” As she recounts the day, she points to goosebumps on her right forearm. All through, cricket has kept her going.Here in India with the Supernovas, Atapattu has been a key member of Harmanpreet Kaur’s playing XI in both round-robin matches. Beyond the joy of opening the batting and showcasing her skills in a foreign country, Atapattu has been overwhelmed with affection and the comforting words of her mates.”Jhulan [Goswami] was narrating the other day how they [the Indian team] loved their stay in Galle and Dambulla last September (when they toured Sri Lanka for eight limited-overs matches).”As she looks around her own dressing room, Atapattu points to the feeling of unity in the team. She considers herself and Lasith Malinga, the only other Sri Lankan in the mix at the IPL, as ambassadors of their country here in India.”In this competition, I’m playing with Hindu girls, Catholic girls, Muslim girls, Tamil girls,” Atapattu said. “And, some time ago, the Sri Lankan men’s team had Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan], Russel Arnold, and [Tilakratane] Dilshan, all from different faiths. Why can’t we live like that in Sri Lanka then?”It breaks your heart when something that horrendous happens to a peaceful country like ours. With Malinga and me playing here, many Sri Lankans may be watching the IPL and Women’s T20 Challenge only because of us. If we are able to bring a smile on their face with our cricket, I think our coming here to India will gain more meaning.”