In this week’s round-up, our readers pay their tributes to Martin Crowe

05-Mar-2016Mark Nicholas: Marty goes to rest
Reader: gmsjgmsj
A humble poetic tribute to Martin Crowe:Oh! whither have you departed Martin?
The skimming sparrow immaculate.
Pure with willow, strong in temper
As you danced down the yards
Striking sweetly and poignantly.
Yonder flies heavenward, beloved Martin
From whence comes another?Reader: bruce.hickey
The first NZ test match I saw was the first one they ever won,against the West Indies at Auckland in 1956. For the next 25 years I saw ever test played at Eden Park. But I always wondered why NZ could not produce great batsmen of the calibre that countries like England, India, Pakistan, Australia (when they finally sent their A team), South Africa did. Then Martin arrived & my prayers were answered. Thank you Martin for your amazing contributions to cricket on & off the field.Your strokeplay was thing of beauty & will live in my memory forever.Thank you also Mark for delivering us one helluva masterpiece of writing. I heard your interview on Radio Sport on Friday when you mentioned you had written 3000 words for the article. You did Martin proud. It brought tears to my eyes. Saved it for perpetuity in My Favourites.Martin Crowe dies aged 53
Reader: Ananth Narayanan
It is indeed with a heavy heart that I write this. I started writing for Cricinfo about 8 years back. Martin mailed me directly on an article about 5 years back. I paraphrased his wonderful comment for the readers. He was an outstanding student of the game and one of the most erudite and knowledgeable amongst all players. The last I wrote to him was after the 2015 Final. He replied in his own inimitable manner. His words were clear. He did not expect to live to see the 2019 WC. I replied to him that all the prayers of his fans, followers and friends would allow him to see New Zealand defeat South Africa in the 2019 WC Lord’s Final. There was a short Thank You note. That was all. After that I did not hear from him. His loss would be a great one for New Zealand cricket and his absence would be felt equally by the cricketing fraternity around the world. A player/man like Crowe is a once-a-hundred year phenomenon. May his soul rest in peace. May God be with his family. Ananth Narayan.Reader: sportofpain
Very saddened to hear this. Martin – what can I say. As a life long cricket buff I have followed cricket and cricketers, admiring some, adoring a few and always feeling great positive energy towards the game and its personalities. You were a special one – I remember the BBC commentary of the 1983 world cup when one of the commentators talked about your blond curly haired good looks to go with your tremendous talent – I think you scored a 90 in that game – might have been against England. To me that was when you emerged and then you were a constant presence in the cricketing spotlight. The 1992 WC is well documented. Pakistan won but you and the kiwis were really the people’s favorite to win. YOUR inventiveness transformed the game. I sometimes think that when I retire I would travel to different parts of the cricket world swap stories with others and even meet and chat with the famous ones. You were high on that list. Not to be. Gone too young, too soon. Already missing you friend.”A player/man like Crowe is a once-a-hundred year phenomenon”•Getty ImagesReader: jg2704
I met Martin just once , while playing for Somerset vs Derbyshire (a JPL game). He had much to deal with as he joined on the back of Somerset releasing Joel and Viv when the rules reduced the allocation of overseas players per CC game from 2 to 1. I seemed to remember he acquitted himself pretty well as a player. However my memory was of trying to get his autograph after the game when he was rushing in to watch the end of another JPL game on BBC2. I caught up with him, sat with John Wright who played for Derbyshire and they were so kind and accommodating to this irritating/demanding kid in his early teens. It was in the days where cricketers mixed with public more and I guess these days I’d get nowhere near the players/members lounge. I took a photo but unfortunately it didn’t come out – Maybe it was too dark and also the shutter was so stiff on this camera that you needed as a kid to do weight training to keep the camera steady. Anyway the image will always remain. RIP top man.Reader: Donovan Bolton
My first memory of Martin Crowe is the 1992 World Cup. I had not yet seen a batsman who could climb into bowlers with the kind of aggression he did. I was scared SA would face NZ because I felt Martin Crowe alone would destroy us. I read his letter to AB de Villiers during the recent World Cup (It is sublime). He wrote to AB the way a father would write to his son. A man who can be devastating on the ‘field of battle’ and then freely share wisdom in a caring way has reached something many of us search for – the equilibrium between the warrior and the gentleman / poet. New Zealand, you gave birth to yet another truly great person. My sincere condolences that you lost him too early. God speed Martin!‘The best I ever bowled against’ – Akram
Reader: hlangl
Others may overtake his tally of runs, the number of hundreds, the highest score/s, etc., but Martin Crowe would always remain as the best & certainly the most elegant batsman produced by New Zealand by some distance. Had the injuries been not so cruel to eventually cut short his international career at a relatively young age with many gaps as well due to the injuries in between not allowing him to have a well-continued run even when he was at his peak as a player, he would have surely go down in the history as one of the genuine greats in the game. Batsmen of such a sublime elegance are a rare breed these days….RIP.A fantasy come true
Reader: tushmath
My earliest memories of cricket are of watching Martin Crowe wearing a neck cooler while batting and taking THAT catch to dismiss Houghton in the 1987 WC. He was my first cricketing hero and I followed his exploits very closely. When I think of him I remember how the camera had focussed on him as he sat in the dressing room in 1992 Semi Final against Pak and the match was slipping away from Kiwis. The anguish on his face was felt was felt by all cricket followers around the world. He has almost single handedly with his batting and captaincy, even with an amazing innings in the semi final had taken Kiwis to the cusp of a World Cup Final. It was heartbreaking to see him sit on the sidelines and be unable to captain his team into the final. In his later interviews, he confessed how Wright had ignored his plan to contain Pakistan. It was a very depressing sight indeed.

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2016Tamim Iqbal though was able to push on…•ICC/Getty ImagesSabbir Rahman provided great support during a partnership of 97 runs in 55 balls•AFPOman’s bowlers lost their sting and Bangladesh capitalised. They went from 29 for 0 in six overs to 139 for w in 16.•ICC/Getty ImagesTamim reached his century off 60 balls – it was the first hit by a Bangladesh batsman in T20Is – and helped set a target of 181•Associated PressTaskin Ahmed provided a breakthrough in the first of the chase, Al-Amin Hossain struck soon after and Oman were 14 for 2•Associated PressRain came calling in Dharamsala again, repeatedly, and the match was reduced to 12 overs. Oman’s revised target was 120•Associated PressBut only Jatinder Singh and Adnan Illyas were able to post double-figure scores•Associated PressShakib Al Hasan picked up 4 for 15 as Oman crumbled to 69 for 9 and were knocked out of the World T20•AFP

Three contentious issues that could come under scrutiny when Shashank Manohar takes over as the ICC’s first independent chairman

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2016Distribution of ICC revenues
The Big Three revamp brought in a graded revenue distribution model based on a calculation of relative contribution to ICC’s income, and the largest share went to the BCCI, followed by the ECB and CA. It was argued in absolute terms all the boards would receive bigger amounts than the earlier cycle because of a bigger TV rights deal, but in reality the percentages of all the boards went down. Further, all the boards apart from the Big Three were promised a sum of $10 million each over eight years from a Test Cricket Fund.Governance structure
The Big Three distributed top three chairs among themselves; BCCI got the chairman’s post, the ECB nominee headed the Finance and Commercial Affairs committee, and the CA nominee headed a newly-formed Executive Committee. These bodies were vested with critical decision-making powers. Future heads of the Executive Committee were to be picked from the Big Three representatives on a rotational basis. After resistance from other members the Executive Committee was expanded to accommodate CSA.Though under the old system the ICC chairman’s post could be contested by any Full Member representative after 2016, moves were being made for the ECB’s Giles Clarke to take over from the BCCI’s N Srinivasan. While the ICC’s new system of having an independent chairman has redressed one part of the issue, the Big Three influence in the the Finance and Commercial Affairs committee and Executive Committee remains.Future Tours Programme
The previous method of having an FTP to determine the international calendar was ended and a new one, where countries would sign legally binding contracts for bilateral series, was put in place. In practice this caused an imbalance and led to a proliferation of fixtures and increased lobbying between boards to secure the tours they wanted.

A win for Kolkata Knight Riders will mean they finish in the top four, leaving the final league match to decide the fourth team in the playoffs

Shiva Jayaraman16-May-2016If the first of the double-headers on Sunday in Kolkata is washed out – heavy rain is forecast – Kolkata Knight Riders will go through to the playoffs and Sunrisers will end the league phase at No. 2. Also, Mumbai Indians will be out of the race, and the match between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore will be a knockout match.With their win against Mumbai Indians, Gujarat Lions have confirmed a spot in the top two. They will finish as the top team should Sunrisers Hyderabad lose to Knight Riders. Sunrisers Hyderabad are also through to the playoffs since now only two other teams can finish on 16 points.Sunrisers HyderabadSunrisers will finish as the top team if they win against Kolkata Knight Riders. They could finish as the second team on NRR even if they lose, but only if by a margin of 40 or less while Daredevils beat Royal Challengers but not by a big margin (not more than 71 runs).
Team left to play: Kolkata Knight RidersKolkata Knight RidersThey will qualify for the last four if they beat Sunrisers in the last game. Even if they lose to Sunrisers, they could go through with 14 points on NRR if Royal Challengers beat Daredevils. Knight Riders could finish in the top two if they beat Sunrisers by a margin of over 40 runs and Daredevils beat Royal Challengers, but not by a big margin.
Team left to play: Sunrisers HyderabadMumbai IndiansMumbai can make it to the playoffs only if Sunrisers beat Knight Riders by a margin of 43 or more runs or chase down their target in 15 overs or earlier, and Royal Challengers win against Daredevils by 14 or more runs or complete the chase in 18.2 overs or earlier.

Result Margin batting first Margin chasingSRH beat KKR, target ranges: 140-180 min 43 runs min 30 balls to spareRCB beat DD, target ranges 140-180 min 14 runs min 10 balls to spareDelhi DaredevilsDelhi Daredevils will make it to the playoffs if they beat Royal Challengers Bangalore. If Knight Riders lose to Sunrisers, even if Daredevils lose they could qualify on NRR ahead of Knight Riders. For that to happen, though, Daredevils first need to finish ahead of Mumbai on NRR – for this, they should not lose by 14 or more runs or with ten or more balls to spare.
Team left to play: Royal Challengers BangaloreRoyal Challengers BangaloreA win against Daredevils will confirm a spot in the playoffs for Royal Challengers. They could also go through with 14 points if Knight Riders lose to Sunrisers.
Team left to play: Delhi Daredevils

Stats highlights from the first T20I between Zimbabwe and India in Harare

Bharath Seervi18-Jun-20162 Number of T20Is won by Zimbabwe against India. Before this two-run victory, they had defended 145 at this same venue in the second game of the two-match series last year. Zimbabwe have now achieved two consecutive T20I wins against India, after having lost their first three matches. This is their narrowest win in T20Is in terms of runs and the second narrowest loss for India.170 Zimbabwe’s total in this match – their highest against India in T20Is. In the four T20Is between the two teams before this game, Zimbabwe had never scored more than 150; their highest was 145 for 7 in Harare last year. The total of 170 is their second highest in a T20I at home. This was their tenth total of 170 or more in T20Is, of which eight have come outside Zimbabwe.36 Runs scored by Zimbabwe in the last two overs of the innings – 21 in 19th over and 15 in the 20th – is the most they have scored in those overs of a T20I. Zimbabwe scored 59 runs in the last five overs – their third most in T20Is.0 Number of times India had lost a wicket off the first ball of their innings, before this match. On Saturday, KL Rahul, making his debut, was bowled by Donald Tiripano off the first ball. Rahul became only the second Indian player to fall for a duck on T20I debut; the first being MS Dhoni in India’sinaugural T20I against South Africa in 2006.5 Number of Zimbabwe batsmen who scored 20 or more in their innings – their joint most in a T20I and their third such instance in 52 matches. This was only the second such occasion against India; the first came in the 2007 World T20 in Durban when five England batsmen notched up 20-plus scores.3 Number of quicker half-centuries by Zimbabwe batsmen in T20Is than Elton Chigumbura’s 25-ball effort in this match. The fastest T20I fifty for Zimbabwe was recorded by Malcolm Waller in 20 balls against Bangladesh in Mirpur in 2015. There have been two fifties off 21 balls – by Chigumbura against UAE and Sean Williams against Afghanistan.7 Sixes hit by Chigumbura during his unbeaten 26-ball 54, the most by a Zimbabwe batsman in a T20I. His seven sixes are also the joint most against India in T20Is. He was adjudged Man of the Match for his knock, his second such award in T20Is.54* Chigumbura’s score, which is the highest by a player batting at No. 7 or lower against India in T20Is. The previous highest was 36 by Albie Morkel in Durban in the 2007 World T20. Overall, this is the eighth time a batsman made a fifty at No. 7 or lower in T20Is.4 Instances of both Indian opening bowlers conceding 40 or more runs in a T20I. Jaydev Unadkat and Rishi Dhawan, making their T20I debuts, conceded 43 and 42 runs respectively. Against Zimbabwe, there was only one such instance before this.

Zimbabwe’s series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka will be as much about figuring out their best candidates for the Test level as it will be about getting enough game time

Firdose Moonda21-Jul-2016The national selectors are picking a squad. Who is the first name that goes on their list? If they’re Indian, Virat Kohli; if they’re South African, AB de Villiers; if they’re Australian, David Warner. And if they’re Zimbabwean? Don’t feel bad if you drew a blank.Until last year’s fifty-over World Cup, Brendan Taylor might have been the obvious choice, but he has since retired. Hamilton Masakadza springs to mind as the next shoe-in, but even he has had it rough recently and was stripped of the captaincy after just one series in charge. His replacement, Graeme Cremer, has never been the first name on a Zimbabwean team sheet with a stuttering international career that has seen him quit for golf at least once, but now, he finds himself in the unlikely position of leading his country in all three formats.Cremer’s confirmation as Test captain, after taking over the reins for the limited-overs series against India, would have surprised even the man himself. He was taken aback when promoted to the role in the shorter formats and admitted he had not thought of leading before. But now, he has been tasked with taking Zimbabwe through their toughest tests of the last two years, specifically because they are Tests.Zimbabwe have not played in the longest format in 20 months, since touring Bangladesh in October-November 2014, a series they lost 3-0. They have not played Test cricket at home in almost two years since hosting South Africa in August 2014 for a one-off game, and they have not played Test cricket in Bulawayo in five years. Even if they wanted to look back at recent performances when deciding how to pick a squad for this, it would be futile.Instead, they have had two A games against South Africa A and two seasons of Logan Cup statistics to base their choices on, but even those could only have helped to some extent. The A games did not include all the Zimbabwean players in national contention and the Logan Cup finished well over four months ago, so selecting the men who will play against New Zealand has not been easy.For a start, it has involved axing veteran opener Vusi Sibanda, who finished third and fifth on the first-class run charts in the last two seasons respectively, but who, justifiably, seems to have run out of rope to try and translate that onto the international stage. Sixteen years into his international career, Sibanda has a Test average of 21.10, and although the scarcity of the game time he gets in the longest format – Sibanda has played just 14 Tests in that time – is a mitigating factor, his numbers are simply not good enough.Instead, Zimbabwe are turning to Tino Mawoyo, who has not played international cricket in more than two years, but scored a century in a Test in Bulawayo against Pakistan in 2011, and has been playing for the A side. Mawoyo did not cash in as much as some of his team-mates in the A series, but scored an unbeaten 79 to suggest form is not far away. Either uncapped Prince Masvaure, who scored a century in the A series, or Brian Chari, who made 98, is likely to partner him, with Masakadza set to come in at No. 3.But it is the No. 4 position which will be the most crucial for Zimbabwe’s line-up because it used to be Taylor’s. It is there that most teams’ batting either prospers or perishes, and it needs someone with experience and a solid temperament to occupy it. Craig Ervine, Sikandar Raza and Peter Moore are all in contention. Ervine topped last season’s Logan Cup run charts and has shown the ability to bat in tough situations and push Raza, who brings feistiness but not much recent form, or Moor, who has been in good nick domestically but is yet to play a Test, a bit further down. Whatever Zimbabwe decide, it remains an area of vulnerability for them.Their lower-middle order will need to be held together by Sean Williams, who will also provide a slower bowling option, and whoever is tasked with keeping wicket. Richmond Mutumbami is the incumbent and Regis Chakabva did the job during the A series, but Moor could also fit the role. In essence, what Zimbabwe have done is give themselves options for every position, perhaps too many options, in a bid to cover all their bases.The only thing that is certain is that they will go into both Tests with a legspinner, Cremer, which gives them a ready-made attacking option. On what is expected to be a slow, low Queens surface, that means some of the seamers will have to be prepared to do a holding job, which may be why Shingi Masakadza, who was the leading wicket-taker in last season’s Logan Cup, was overlooked.With Tinashe Panyangara out injured, Masakadza may have been a useful new-ball partner to Tendai Chatara. It will be left to Njabulo Ncube, Taurai Muzarabani and Donald Tiripano to tussle for that task. Ncube has returned to Zimbabwe after a two-year coaching stint at a South African school, and last played domestic cricket in the country three years ago. He has not played an international since 2011, when he was part of the Test XI that lost marginally to New Zealand in Bulawayo, and has only added a single ODI cap to his name since. Ncube played one of the A games against South Africa A, where he went wicketless, and was included in the Test squad on that basis, which may leave Brian Vitori, who made his comeback during the A series after six months on the sidelines, feeling a little hard done by.Although Vitori was expensive and is clearly lacking game time, something common to most of Zimbabwe’s players at the moment, his left-arm action would have offered something different. Instead, Zimbabwe have gone for more of the same with Chatara, Ncube, Muzarabani and Tiripano, all of whom are right-arm seamers. Perhaps variation is not on top of their priority list at the moment, but getting value certainly is.With Zimbabwe not even playing enough Tests to have a ranking yet, they need as many games as possible. They need a lot of other things too – like certainty around the coaching structures, with Makhaya Ntini still occupying the head coach berth although the length of his tenure remains undecided – but matches, especially Test matches, are the most important. With talk of a two-tier Test league growing, Zimbabwe will want to make sure they are competitive enough to play in the second tier, which is inevitably where they will end up if the new structure takes hold soon.To test themselves, they have two matches against New Zealand now, and are due for two more against Sri Lanka later this year. In between that, they will play domestic competitions and aim to attract more offers from other countries to visit. It’s not much, but it’s a start to finding out which names to put on the team sheet first.

Mushfiqur Rahim has been a chastened character since Bangladesh’s traumatic defeat against India at the WT20. What next for one of his country’s most vital cricketers?

Mohammad Isam03-Oct-2016Even in November last year, Mushfiqur Rahim made runs for fun. But within months, the runs dried up and then one mistake on the field, and another off it, turned him into a different Mushfiqur. He is in dire need of a big one against England, which would put his doubters to rest. But the change in his persona has been remarkable, and some believe that his changed attitude is having an effect on his form on the field.The straight-shooter who took on the powerful even two years ago has slowly turned into a man who needs runs and to sharpen his wicketkeeping. There is very little chance of a question being raised about his commitment or place in the team, but Bangladesh rely on him for providing the push from the middle-order, and as a strong character in the middle who can take on the best bowling attacks in the world.Mushfiqur made only 56 runs in the three innings against Afghanistan, falling to the slog-sweep twice and before being dropped from the same shot at deep square-leg in the third game. Only he would know what’s best for him, and sticking to one’s strength is commendable, but sticking to a shot that is consistently letting him down could also be described as stubbornness.Behind the stumps, Mushfiqur had an even worse time against Afghanistan. He missed three catches in different times and a stumping that probably cost Bangladesh the second ODI. The lapses have led to renewed questions about his dual role in the team, an issue that dogged him throughout 2015.During the Afghanistan series however, Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza backed Mushfiqur even after his missed stumping in the second game. He said that as long as Mushfiqur was professional in his on-field duties, there could be no complaints. But there is a growing concern within the Bangladesh dressing-room about the air of distraction that he has produced over the last few months.

Mushfiqur usually arrives hours before his team-mates for training in Mirpur, and bats as long as possible. Even during match days

Some say that Mushfiqur’s excessive training is weighing him down, and it is a popular sentiment now that he hasn’t scored many runs. He usually arrives hours before his team-mates for training in Mirpur, and bats as long as possible. Even during match days, he has been known to arrive at the ground with an advance party, rather than his team-mates.In the past, Mushfiqur has gone through purple patches while training as much as he does now. But even great batsmen, such as Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar, at different times of their illustrious careers, cut down on their training to sharpen their focus for the actual match. Waugh wrote about this phenomenon in his autobiography while Tendulkar opted out of net sessions for the entire 2003 World Cup.It is unknown whether he has been told to reduce his intensity in training, in keeping with many details of Mushfiqur’s life these days. But when Shakib Al Hasan recently said that doing the job in the middle is more important than the hours spent in training, there was naturally some comparison between the two players who went to the same sports institute in their teens and who made their ODI debuts in the same match at Harare in 2006. But Shakib and Mushfiqur are vastly different people, so it is also natural for them to have varied approaches to training.It is not hard to notice how Mushfiqur’s persona changed after this year’s World T20, particularly following the match against India in which he celebrated before the win was sealed. He got out the next ball, and Bangladesh went on to lose by one run. The public reaction veered from numbness to outrage but there were very few in Bangladesh’s mainstream media who blamed him directly. Mushfiqur however made the mistake of tweeting his happiness when India exited the tournament in the semi-final. He quickly deleted the tweets but it was bound to become viral and remain in the search engines as screenshots. The direct abuse he took was brutal, and some weeks later he was reportedly reprimanded by the BCB.For a long time, Mushfiqur had maintained his distance from the media, and more so now. It is natural for him to feel hard done by, although he has had to answer public questions about the India match just the once, and none about the tweets. But Bangladesh cricketers have often mistaken social media reaction with that of the mainstream media’s.Recent poor form, off-field distraction and trouble with the media has made life quite complicated for a man who was, for a long time, regarded as a straightforward person who wasn’t afraid of consequences, whether it was about a faltering teammate, a disorganized league or the ICC. Mushfiqur remains the only international captain to speak against the Big Three for proposing the two-tier Test system in January 2014. With the BCB eventually siding with the powerful, his message wouldn’t have gone down well with his bosses.When Mohammad Ashraful was suspended by the BCB in mid-2013 after admitting involvement with match-fixing in the 2013 BPL, Mushfiqur blasted him, calling it a “betrayal of the nation”. He was the first Bangladeshi player to talk about non-payments in the first edition of the BPL. He nearly lost his captaincy as the board wasn’t happy with his comments.If things aren’t up to his standards, he will speak out. He can be emotional too, and has quit the captaincy at least three times in the last three years. He first did so minutes after Bangladesh had lost an ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2013, only to be coaxed back a few weeks later. He also gave away the role during the 2015 BPL and in this year’s Dhaka Premier League. Mushfiqur has every right to take such decisions, but misinterpretation becomes a natural reaction when he doesn’t send the message across to the public domain.Even then, it is his choice whether he wants to talk to the media or not. But he should also understand that when there are so many questions about his decisions and actions, some level of culpability falls on him. It clears perceptions and gives him a more objective outlook. When he looked angry at the Big Three’s proposal two years ago, journalists asked him how he felt about Bangladesh being threatened with the loss of their Test status. His reply was objective, and he didn’t hold back.There’s no doubt that he is the same Mushfiqur but the indignation that began after losing his ODI and T20 captaincy in 2014 was thought to have disappeared through his run-making in 2015. But another spate of incidents, and his distance from the public, culminated in him becoming a batsman seeking runs desperately. Only Mushfiqur himself would know how to get out of this rut – whether that is through a lot more batting in the nets, by creating more distance between himself and the media, or by changing tack completely and starting afresh.

Also: the highest unbeaten individual aggregate in a five-match series, and a mystery Sobers duck

Steven Lynch13-Sep-2016I have a memory of being at an Essex game when my Dad said, “Son, this is the greatest batsman in the world coming in to bat!” Result: Sobers c Smith b Boyce 0 – and me wondering what the fuss was about. Did I imagine this? asked Will Elsom from England

I’ve looked back at all Garry Sobers’ appearances against Essex, and they include two ducks – both at Chelmsford in the Sunday League, in 1969 (on the first day of its first season) and in 1971. But I’m afraid Sobers was run out both times, in 1971 from the first ball he faced. Keith Boyce played in both matches – he also made a duck in the first one – but Neil Smith wasn’t with Essex then (his first games for them were in 1973), and the only time he faced Sobers for Essex was in 1974 … he didn’t catch him then either. I suppose it’s possible that you went to some sort of benefit match, in which case we wouldn’t have the scores on record – but I think it would have been a disappointment to the crowd (and the beneficiary!) if Sir Garry had got out for a duck in such a game!I noticed that Ken Higgs, who died recently, had a very good Test bowling average. Where does he stand among England players? asked Chris Budgett from England

The former Lancashire and Leicestershire seamer Ken Higgs, who died last week aged 79, took 71 wickets in his 15 Tests, at an average of 20.74. Of bowlers who have taken 70 or more wickets for England, only two who played after the First World War have better averages: express bowler Frank Tyson took 76 wickets at 18.56, and slow left-armer Johnny Wardle 102 at 20.39. The overall list, on which Higgs is eighth, is headed by the Surrey fast-medium bowler George Lohmann, who took 122 wickets at just 10.75 runs apiece in 18 Tests between 1886 and 1896. Higgs was remembered by David Hopps in this affectionate tribute after his death.How many batsmen have been part of two Test hat-tricks? asked James Cooper from England

The most notable name on this particular list is that of the South African wicketkeeper Tommy Ward, who completed a king pair by being the third victim in both of the Australian legspinner Jimmy Matthews’ hat-tricks at Old Trafford during the 1912 Triangular Tournament. Oddly, those were Matthews’ only six wickets in the match! Two other people have been part of two separate Test hat-tricks. Stuart MacGill was the middle victim of both Darren Gough’s for England in Sydney in 1998-99, and Jermaine Lawson’s for West Indies in Bridgetown in 2002-03. And the Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Romesh Kaluwitharana was the first to fall in Wasim Akram’s hat-trick in Karachi in 1998-99, and in Abdul Razzaq’s in Galle, also for Pakistan, a year later. I recently read about a double near-miss on this front: in Auckland in 1954-55, in the match in which New Zealand were all out for 26 – the lowest total in all Tests – their legspinner Alex Moir came in on a hat-trick in both innings, after Bob Appleyard had inflicted a king pair on Ian Colquhoun. Moir survived both, so Appleyard never did perform the feat. For the full list of Test hat-tricks, complete with the victims, click here.MS Dhoni scored 212 runs without being dismissed in an ODI series in 2011 – a record for a series involving five or more games•Associated PressImad Wasim scored 153 runs without being dismissed in Pakistan’s recent one-day series against England – was this a record? asked Shaon from Bangladesh

Imad Wasim, who missed one of the matches through injury, did indeed score 153 runs in four not-out innings in Pakistan’s recent one-day series against England. The record for a series involving five or more matches, though, is 212 runs – by MS Dhoni for India at home to England in October 2011, when his scores were 87, 35, 15 and 75, all not out (he did not bat in one match). The Australian batsman Damien Martyn scored 158 runs in five not-out innings – rounding it off with 116 not out in Auckland – in a six-match series in New Zealand in 1999-2000. Aravinda de Silva scored 334 runs without being dismissed in Sri Lanka’s four matches of a quadrangular series at home in 1996, while Javed Miandad made 234 without getting out – including two centuries – in Pakistan’s four-match home series against India in 1982-83.Virender Sehwag scored 55 in both innings in a match against West Indies in November 2011. Is this the highest such double? asked Dineshwaran from India

Virender Sehwag’s double in that match in Delhi in 2011-12, while quite unusual, is not the highest in a Test – it’s actually 13th on the list. On top is Duleep Mendis, who made 105 in each innings for Sri Lanka against India in Madras (now Chennai) in 1982-83, while Misbah-ul-Haq followed 101 with a very rapid 101 not out for Pakistan against Australia in Abu Dhabi in 2014-15. Alvin Kallicharran comes next, with twin 80s for West Indies against England at The Oval in 1973. One of the most famous such doubles was performed by the West Indian captain Frank Worrell in the Tied Test against Australia in Brisbane in 1960-61: he was caught by Wally Grout off Alan Davidson for 65 in both innings. In all there have been 22 instances of a batsman making two identical scores of 50 or above in a Test. Sehwag’s is the highest such double for India, though: next comes Sachin Tendulkar’s brace of 52s against Pakistan in Kolkata in 2004-05. Sehwag also made 47 in both innings against Australia at Adelaide in 2003-04.I remember Inzamam-ul-Haq getting out for obstructing the field against India. How many such instances have there been? asked Vinod from India

The instance you’re referring to occurred in Peshawar in February 2006. “He blocked a return from Raina with his bat while standing a couple of yards out of his crease,” reported Wisden, which added: “Afterwards Inzamam wrote indignantly: ‘Such not very common laws need to be explained properly and in detail,’ but after more than 100 Tests and 350 one-day internationals, he might have known about this one.” At the time Inzamam was the third batsman to be given out obstructing the field in a one-day international; there have been three more since, most recently Ben Stokes, for England against Australia at Lord’s last year. There was also one such dismissal in a Test – by England’s Len Hutton against South Africa at The Oval in 1951. For the full list of unusual dismissals in Tests, click here, and for a similar list for one-day internationals, click here.Send in your questions using our feedback form.

Chris Donaldson, New Zealand’s strength and conditioning coach, talks about his Olympic career and working in cricket

Arun Venugopal22-Oct-2016When Chris Donaldson speaks, words bolt out of his mouth. He doesn’t so much speak as sprint through syllables. Quite like how he did on the track as an Olympic athlete.He was once called the “fastest man in New Zealand” and holds the national record in the 200m. He took part in two Olympics, Atlanta and Sydney, set his personal best in 100m at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, and at 32 became the oldest athlete to clinch the New Zealand 100m title.In Sydney in 2000, a 25-year-old Donaldson was at the prime of his career when he suffered an Achilles injury that required surgery. He still has a deep scar on his calf from it. “I kept going but it wasn’t the same after that,” he says.But the many injuries he faced through his athletics career brought him to his current job, in cricket, as New Zealand’s strength and conditioning coach.”[The injuries] really helped me understand athletes from both sides – from being an athlete as well as dealing with the athletes now,” Donaldson says.”And, the mental side of training – you know what it takes. You also know what it feels like to train. You experience doing all the things that go with the sprinting, so it was really a good learning experience for me. I had some great mentors.”In a season when New Zealand have toured Zimbabwe, South Africa, now India, and then head home to face Pakistan, Australia, Bangladesh and South Africa, the work Donaldson puts in with the players is crucial.”We really load them and then they taper off effectively when they are playing,” he says. “They are reliving [the conditions] now which we have created there. And we come over early sometimes to try and cope with the heat [in India].”Donaldson explains the process behind rehabilitating Corey Anderson, who played his first international game in the Dharamsala ODI earlier this month after being sidelined with a back injury for more than six months.Donaldson (right) runs the 200m race at the 1998 Commonwealth Games•Getty Images”This started four-five months ago and he has worked incredibly hard. He has worked in conjunction with the high performance group [staff]. There has been overall work in progress and building him. He has really been brilliant to come back to this level.”Donaldson’s theories involve invoking the Usain Bolt example of applying force as quickly as possible in the shortest possible time. It’s all about movement, he says.”Sprinting and running and all that stuff is about movement and efficiency of how you generate a lot of force and go forward. It is also about being able to handle that [the speed at which you apply force at the ground]. If you can apply [the force] you have to be able to handle that.”He believes it’s the force that breaks cricketers, which is why they need to manage the body, make it resilient and adaptable to cope with the workload.”Cricket is now full noise, all year around. There are amazing athletes in all the teams. You can’t control [how] the ball bounces and all that, but athleticism and training, you can control that.”He is not a big data person, he says, but tries to marry it with instinct when it comes to calibrating workloads for different cricketers. “I can actually show them, ‘Look, you started from here, now you are here. You are stronger, you are faster. You were here when we did speed test and now you are here.’ Just the basic stuff in understanding this is why we train, this is what the training will help in and that’s the outcome we have had. If you don’t understand or don’t have goals or reasons to do it then it becomes really tiring.”It was his athletics coach, Brent Ward, who got Donaldson interested in training sportspersons. Before coming to cricket, Donaldson had worked as a strength and conditioning consultant with the New Zealand Winter Olympic team and Otago Rowing and found the experiences enjoyable and fulfilling.”I had some wonderful people that helped me significantly in my life, working hard behind the scenes,” Donaldson says. “You realise I have been lucky enough since I have become strength and conditioning [coach]. You can see why coaches do it. It’s such a satisfying feeling to see [other] players and athletes do well.”Donaldson chats with coach Mike Hesson ahead of an ODI in Wellington, 2015•Getty ImagesBorn in Auckland, Donaldson grew up in Dunedin, and knows Mike Hesson, the Blackcaps coach, right from the days when Hesson was working with Otago Cricket. “Mike Hesson was the coach, and he was very kind to ask if I wanted to help out a bit [with Otago Cricket] and it developed from there.” In July 2011, Donaldson signed with the national side in a full-time role.He says the friendships he shares with the coaching staff – Hesson and bowling coach Shane Jurgensen – and physio Tommy Simsek have helped create a comfortable working environment.”I think it’s an open and honest kind of conversation that we had and we are trying to help each other. We are genuinely really good friends and we enjoy each other’s company. We just try to keep each other up to date.”While Donaldson had a normal New Zealand childhood playing many sports, he had an “interesting lifestyle” back at home. His father, Roger, is a film director with many successful ventures, like the Kevin Costner-Gene Hackman starrer and to his credit.”I grew up in New Zealand and Dad spent a lot of time in the US for his work. Dad still lives there. It’s just a job that happens to be well-known with regards to the movies that he makes.”Donaldson credits the “New Zealand system” that makes it easy to access different sporting facilities at school. Sprinting, though, was a passion aroused by the Olympic dream. “That was sort of my goal and then it just happened to be that I found it in sprinting.”Asked if he ever shows footage of himself or other elite athletes to motivate the New Zealand players, he laughs. “No, no, I think they seen enough. They love sports, all sports. They loved the Olympics recently and followed the New Zealand athletes. It’s better I am in the background.”

Jasprit Bumrah knows his unusual slingy action will lose its novelty soon, so he’s focusing on adding to his repertoire while not losing accuracy

Nagraj Gollapudi27-Aug-2016Jasprit Bumrah had a plan for Chris Gayle in the World T20 semi-final. It would arrive unexpected.Bumrah’s first ball of the match, Gayle lined up to what he thought was a fuller-length delivery moving outside the off stump. Instead, the ball was yorker length, swung in late at 139kph, beat Gayle’s bat, and bent back his off stump, a luminescent red bail falling at the batsman’s heel like a dying ember. Sanjay Manjrekar, usually a man who keeps his emotions in check on air, raised his voice in excitement: “Jasprit Bumrah has bowled the ball of the tournament for India.”Bharat Arun, India’s bowling coach at the time, recounts the origins of the Gayle dismissal. “We were talking about bowling yorkers with the new ball and he [Bumrah] said he was pretty confident about doing that. He said he wants to bowl one today. That is one time when batsmen don’t expect a yorker. And he did that.”It was a combination of practice and bowling intelligence that helped Bumrah earn the prized wicket, Arun says. That confidence in his ability in high-pressure situations is what has made him a standout, catapulting him, still only months into his international career, from a fringe bowler into one of India’s strike weapons in limited-overs cricket.Bumrah even forced genuine praise out of Dhoni, usually parsimonious with compliments, after his debut series. After India whitewashed Australia 3-0 in the T20s down under in January this year, Dhoni called Bumrah the find of the limited-overs leg of the tour.For Dhoni, the most striking thing was how Bumrah pitched his yorkers in the slot consistently, the signature of a good death bowler. His unusual bowling action, fast arm, nippy pace, ability to swing and seam the ball, smart changes of pace, and a killer yorker add up to make Bumrah a valuable short-form fast bowler. He made his IPL debut in 2013 for Mumbai Indians and has since grown to be key for the franchise in the absence of the injured Lasith Malinga.

“He has an enormous amount of self-confidence because of the fact that he can execute the yorker, a pretty good bouncer, and the slower ball”Bowling coach Bharat Arun on Bumrah

“I try to do what I know,” Bumrah says. “I stick to my strengths. I have been doing that for Gujarat as well.”I see my videos before a match. See what I have done before, so I can replicate if such situations come up.”So I back myself. Self-belief is very important. Execution under pressure can be very difficult sometimes, but I talk to myself that I can execute and stick to my plans.”See, some days the plan won’t work. Sometimes you will go for runs. But more often than not, if you have a clear head while bowling at the death, you will be successful.”One of the days the plan worked and where Bumrah’s mindset was tested to the full was the evening of March 23 this year. India were playing Bangladesh in a crucial match of the World T20. The loser would virtually be shunted out of the tournament.Bangladesh got off to an edgy start. R Ashwin removed Mohammad Mithun in his first over, and would have had a second in his next over but for Bumrah. Playing across the line, Tamim Iqbal attempted a sweep and the top edge looped over to Bumrah at short fine leg, who lined up nicely for the catch but spilled it.In the next over, delivered by Bumrah, Tamim powered four fours and got himself and Bangladesh back on the rails. “He was just stepping out all the balls and hitting,” Bumrah remembers. “He was not fully in control, but the mishits went to the boundary. The pressure came to us.”Dhoni had asked Bumrah to be ready to deliver the important overs at the death. In the 19th over, with Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur Rahim at the crease, 17 needed and four wickets in hand, Bangladesh were eyeing an upset. India’s senior players walked up to Bumrah to motivate him. He did not need to be told much. He knew his plan: execute the yorkers and don’t vary things too much.Bumrah (left) with his mentor and co-slinger Lasith Malinga•BCCI”I did something I usually don’t do – stick to one delivery because you can become predictable,” he says. “But that day, because the room for error was very less, I did not try the slower balls. I was just trying to focus on the yorkers. One or two balls here and there, even one boundary if you concede, then the equation becomes run a ball, which becomes very easy.”Only six runs came off that over. The pressure was back on Bangladesh, who had to get 11 from the final over, delivered by Hardik Pandya. Nine runs came off the first three deliveries, but Bangladesh lost three wickets off the last three balls of the match, falling short by two runs.

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Ashish Nehra has watched Bumrah over the last few years, not just in the IPL but also in the Ranji Trophy. “It is very easy to say he is bowling yorker, yorker, yorker,” Nehra says. “But it is not that easy.”I have played with him and in 50-over cricket he would be successful because he has a good length delivery also. He is somebody who has variety and control. On top of that, he has decent pace: he is 137-138, at times 140kph, bowler.”For Arun, clarity of thought is a big reason Bumrah stands out from the rest. “He knows what he can execute efficiently,” Arun says. “He has an enormous amount of self-confidence because of the fact that he can execute the yorker, a pretty good bouncer, and the slower ball. These are three important variations any bowler should possess in the limited-overs format.”Bumrah learned much of his trade in T20, but he has made a smooth transition into 50-overs cricket and adjusted to the demands of the longer game comfortably. “He is one bowler who can bowl with new ball as well as old ball,” Nehra points out.

“Some days the plan won’t work. Sometimes you will go for runs. But more often than not, if you have a clear head while bowling at the death, you will be successful”

Adding new skills to his repertoire is a challenge that engages Bumrah. “Because now people know what you do. How to be successful even if people know what you are doing is what I am trying to learn,” he says.Getting to grips with failure is an important part of that. “What I have learned more is from getting hit,” he says. “Those matches are more helpful than the successful matches. Then you come to know what kind of mistakes you commit. So next time when you play against the same opponent, you don’t repeat the mistakes.”He watches other Indian fast bowlers in action and makes notes. “I try to watch even when someone else is bowling, so you come to know what is working and what is not working. If the ball is wet, you are not able to bowl the yorker, so what is the other bowler doing? Why is he successful, why is he not giving runs? He is bowling length, so I can also bowl length and use the bouncer, which is a difficult ball to score from. I try and observe and copy other bowlers when it works for them.”This weekend Bumrah begins his new season in Florida, where India play West Indies in two T20Is. After about eight months on the road, he says he enjoyed a good off season, which he started with a short vacation followed by focusing mostly on strength and conditioning work.Nehra reckons Bumrah ought be ready for Test action in a couple of years if he continues to play for India in limited-overs cricket. Given India play all their Tests at home this season, the squad is not likely to be too full of fast bowlers, keeping the spin-friendly pitches in mind.In any case, as Arun says, the selectors will not want to rush Bumrah into the longer format. “If there is one area he needs to improve, it is his fitness, because his bowling takes a huge toll on his body. For the longer format of the game he needs to get a lot more stronger.Bumrah himself is not in a rush. “I don’t think too far ahead. I don’t think about coming into this team, that team. Whatever is meant to be, everything will happen on its own. I just focus on my preparation and my process. I want to develop overall so I can do well in all three formats.”