India should rue fatal first day

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

It’s easy to fall for recency bias and blame a fourth-innings collapse for losing a winnable contest, but India know their bowlers and batsmen really let the Newlands Test slip in the first innings

Sidharth Monga in Cape Town08-Jan-2018If a face told you the story of India’s Test, it was Hardik Pandya’s. When he sprung up after getting hit in the midriff while batting in the first innings, he was defiant even though in pain. When in the field, he was all enthusiasm, telling his “bhai log” [brothers] to finish it off before lunch. When he had ball in hand, he was full of hope every ball. Even when they sent him to deep midwicket, he kept shouting to Mohammed Shami at fine leg.When the camera panned to the India viewing area late on the fourth afternoon, though, it captured heart-breaking pictures of Pandya, sitting for the first time perhaps without any animation on his face. He was crestfallen, almost too shocked at India’s fourth-innings collapse to react. The dream was already over. India had lost six or seven cheap wickets. The look on that face was not just of disappointment; it was of having come close, having smelled it.In his mind, playing outside Asia for the first time, Pandya had done enough to give India a fighting chance at a most glorious Test win. There was real hope as India walked off for lunch, having bowled excellently on the fourth morning, taking the eight remaining South African wickets for 65. There were about two bad balls in the whole session, and even they conceded only one run thanks to good fielding. The bowlers showed tremendous improvement from their first-innings effort when the seamers apart from Bhuvneshwar Kumar were off their mark.”We rectified the errors we made in the first innings by letting them off after having them 12 for 3,” a disappointed Virat Kohli said after the Test. “We plugged that gap pretty nicely in the morning today. Getting them out, 208 felt chaseable, felt very realistic, but again we needed someone to go out there and get 75 or 80 and not 20-25-30 runs. We wanted one big partnership to get the job done, which we failed to do, and again we lost four wickets in four overs.”However, India need to warn themselves against looking at it this as a very close result, and pinning it on the fourth-innings failure. India got the best of the conditions in the match. They bowled – it was South Africa’s choosing – on day one when the pitch was fresh and seamed a lot, and was quicker than typical Newlands pitches, but still let South Africa get a partnership for almost every wicket after having them down at 12 for 3. There were half-volleys and leg-side offerings aplenty, and a dropped sitter in the slips.India then got plum bowling conditions on the fourth morning again after the pitch had remained under covers for a whole day thanks to continuous rain, which resulted in moisture getting trapped. This time the bowlers made great use of the conditions, but for this comeback to be anything more than a moral victory India needed to have batted well in the first innings, for which they got the flattest conditions of the match on day two.However, it was on the first evening that India failed to give themselves a chance. It was always going to be a difficult 50 minutes. The pressure from the four fast bowlers, who didn’t have much to lose and had their home crowd behind them, was going to be immense. India had nothing to gain from those 50 minutes but needed desperately to come out unscathed. The incentive was the next day when everybody expected the pitch to be good for batting.That India lost three wickets can be accepted; you need really high skill and a bit of luck to survive this kind of pressure. How India lost them is what should rankle them. M Vijay played a loose drive, Shikhar Dhawan top-edged a pull that was not on, and Kohli meekly pushed at a short ball outside off. This was ill-disciplined batting. Kohli spoke a lot about intent at the end of it, but if anything there was too much intent in this period.BCCI”You can’t just stand there and take whatever is coming your way and not have intent at all,” Kohli said. “You might get out, but it’s important to keep coming at the bowler and making them feel that if you make an error I am going to score. So I think that message needs to go pretty strongly and you need to do that as a batting unit, collectively. I think Hardik [Pandya] did that really well in the first innings, R Ash[win] was really positive in the second innings, but if five-six of us can have that mindset, starting from the top, it will really create that sort of momentum for us as a batting unit, which I think we lacked in both the innings. A brilliant performance [Pandya’s] with the bat got us back into the game, otherwise we were pretty similar to the situation we were in the second innings. We definitely need batsmen to apply themselves and show more character.”Pandya did show the intent required to put the bowlers off their plans, but we must not forget that he did so when the ball was old and soft. The importance of seeing off the new ball cannot be overstated. Cheteshwar Pujara might be well-advised to recognise his moment better and start showing more intent sooner, but surely it was the lack of the well-renowned Vijay restraint that hurt India more than Pujara’s lack of intent?India’s batsmen usually get roasted when the bowling is at fault in overseas conditions. It is still partly true for this Test but only partly. It is easy to look at the most immediate thing when you are heartbroken, but the fact that India were playing catch-up through Pandya’s innings and then through that unbelievable session of bowling can only be traced back to the first day’s play, and to the selection meetings before that.

Imagine there's a future for Test cricket … it's easy if you try

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Given a fair contest between bat and ball, and the oxygen of publicity, Test cricket can hold its own with Love Island, the Kardashians, or any entertainment in the modern world

George Dobell at Edgbaston03-Aug-20181:51

We’ll go to bed and dream of getting Kohli out – Anderson

In the fury of the moment – with the advantage shifting by the over and every act appearing to have far-reaching ramifications – it can seem that the result of games like this is everything.And it is true, the 90 minutes or so of cricket we are likely to see from Edgbaston on Saturday will have consequences for many of those involved. Lose this Test, in these conditions, and the pressure on England – not just their underperforming batsmen and fielders, but their coaches and administrators – increases markedly.If India lose, meanwhile, Virat Kohli’s valiant attempts to paper over the cracks in his side’s batting line-up will be thwarted. Reputations, egos, careers, perhaps even lives could be altered by the events of Saturday morning. At such moments, it can feel as if defeat is unbearable.But it’s not so. Not for those of us who are spectators, anyway.In the grand scheme of things, it matters most that it matters at all. It matters most that, here we are, 1,000 Tests deep, and this grand old game remains as beguiling, as entertaining, as magnificent as ever.Of course Test cricket has its problems. The ticket sales for this series – for almost every series – tell us that loud and clear. We’re fools if we don’t heed those warnings.But this game has provided a reminder that the Test game – the product, if you like – can still thrive in the modern world. Given decent weather, a decent pitch and two decent sides, Test cricket can remain as compelling as it ever has been. It can hold its own in the age of T20, Love Island and the Kardashians. England could play another 1,000 Tests, given half a chance.Edgbaston has a reputation as something of a party ground. Fancy dress, stag nights, beer snakes and congas: all are regular sights here. And there’s nothing wrong with any of that: it reflects our changing society and the way cricket has had to market itself not just as an entertainment product, but as a backdrop to a different form of entertainment.Over the last few days, though, we’ve seen little of that sort of thing. Instead, we’ve heard that lovely hush that settles over a ground when the action is so riveting that nobody needs a distraction. When James Anderson was running in to Kohli, for example. Or throughout India’s second innings. When every ball seemed to threaten a wicket and every run erode that modest target.Sam Curran steps out during his counter-attacking half-century•Getty ImagesSo you could hear the batsmen tapping their bats on the pitch or the bowlers thumping their front feet down. And, when ball beat bat, you could hear the intake of breath from everyone in the stadium. Even the man in the Kim Jong-Un mask – at one stage he exchanged inflatable missiles with the man in the Donald Trump mask – even the nuns, the Tarzans, the Elvises (what IS the collective for lots of Elvises? A jailhouse? A Tender? A heartbreak hotel?) sat in rapt attention. The cricket demanded it. Nobody needed gimmicks.There are lessons to learn here. Among them is this: the game – at least the first-class game – remains more entertaining when the ball slightly dominates the bat. We don’t want circumstances where batting is a lottery – irregular bounce, in particular, is best avoided – but there is little that’s more damaging to the game than dull surfaces (and dull balls) where teams can amass vast scores and bowlers are reduced to patience and attrition. Even if those games eventually produce a winner, it does not justify it. A rock fall might be dramatic, but the thousand years of attrition that led to it would not make compelling television.Nothing – not match-fixing, not drugs cheats, not ball tampering and certainly not broadcast piracy – threaten the future of the game more than dull pitches. The Ashes Test in Melbourne, for example, or the Trent Bridge Test between these sides in 2014, were far more damaging to the long-term health of the game than players mimicking mic-drops. The ICC really need to focus on the things that matter.Nor is this match the aberration some would have you believe. While there have been relatively few tight Tests involving England over the last few years, there have been compelling series against Pakistan and South Africa, a stirring victory from West Indies in Leeds and a breathless finish in Chittagong.In a different age, several members of this England side might be household names. Joe Root, for example, is surely a better batsman than Mike Gatting or Allan Lamb: but who is better known? Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes, too, probably offer as much excitement as any players England have ever had. Not so long ago, a generation of kids would be in the park tomorrow ‘being’ Sam Curran.

Had this Test been available free-to-air, there is no reason millions would not have immersed themselves. Heck, it’s not so long ago the nation was glued to a few days of curling or a TV show about baking.

But there’s the rub. Not enough people are seeing our great game. And while we continue to hide it behind paywalls, while we continue to meddle with the start times (the third day here should have been a Saturday, allowing more people to follow the action), we risk reducing its relevance and diminishing its audience.It doesn’t need new competitions and another thousand sets of plastic bats and stumps to thrive. It doesn’t need five-ball overs, 12 players a side or any other gimmick.It needs the oxygen of publicity. It needs that more than anything.Cricket remains, whether played over 50 overs, 20 overs or five days, a wonderful sport. If we could just get a few more people to see it, there is no reason each format should not thrive. And had this Test been available free-to-air, there is no reason millions would not have immersed themselves in every twist and drop and edge in the same way millions immersed themselves in every kick of England’s World Cup campaign. Heck, it’s not so long ago the nation was glued to a few days of curling or a TV show about baking.The ECB’s new broadcast deal may be lucrative, but they must reflect that not every cost can be measured in pounds. And if all the money they make from the new broadcast deal has to be reinvested in finding a new audience, isn’t that money just fool’s gold? Even billionaires suffocate without oxygen, after all.Edgbaston reminded us we’ve something special here. It needs nurturing and protecting but it can still thrive.

Homegrown talent: Worcestershire's not-so-secret sauce

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

With a young-but-experienced side – including the competition’s leading wicket-taker in Pat Brown – Worcestershire are hoping to break their Finals Day duck

Paul Edwards24-Aug-2018Cricket is a family affair at Worcestershire. Other counties hope to create a similar atmosphere but few come near to the intimacy achieved at New Road and that closeness will be apparent even in the mayhem of Saturday’s Vitality Blast quarter-final against Gloucestershire. The supporters know the players and the bonds between the two groups remain strong in fair or foul weather.So imagine the trauma at the club when the long-serving Steve Rhodes left abruptly in the close season. Suddenly someone had to be found to take over as head coach and that person would be in charge of some of the most exciting young talents in the country. The club did not advertise the post but still received unsolicited applications from around the world. They appointed the second-team coach, Kevin Sharp. It was so like them.”I wasn’t expecting it,” said Sharp and he chuckles hugely at the vagaries of life’s dice. “My concern was that the club should get the right person because it was a sensitive time. The next thing I knew I was being asked to do the job. I’ve always sat in the middle of a club at Yorkshire or Worcestershire, where I’ve been either second-team coach or batting coach. Many years ago I took the first team at Yorkshire for a while but I hadn’t had the day-in, day-out experiences of managing at first-team level. But Worcestershire asked me to do it and it was a great honour and privilege.”Inevitably, Sharp put his own stamp on the job but continuity was also important. Rhodes was the only coach the vast majority of the Worcestershire players had known and there had been other changes made in the backroom staff, with Alan Richardson taking over from Matt Mason as bowling coach. In the early days, players probably needed reassurance as much as technical advice.Worcestershire are very passionate about developing their own players and giving them opportunities. And they are adept at recruiting from nearby minor counties. For example, the Shropshire-Worcestershire link has resulted in allrounder Ed Barnard and batsman Joe Clarke (345 runs in this year’s Blast) arriving at New Road in addition to the current club captain, Joe Leach, the very promising fast bowler, Dillon Pennington, and the recently retired Jack Shantry. The Salopian ghetto is a powerful influence at the club and will be to the fore on Saturday.”I’ve grown up with these lads and it’s great to be playing professional cricket with them,” Barnard said. “Hopefully, it’ll be ‘Rocket New Road’ against Gloucestershire and we can get to the Finals Day for the first time.”Sharp shares the passion of his young charges but he recognises that the foundations for the county’s successes were laid not just by Rhodes but also Damian D’Oliveira, the late Academy director.”The lads who are in charge now are honouring that legacy,” Sharp said. “We have a fine Academy run by Elliot Wilson. But you also want to be competitive and so recruitment is very important as well in order that we achieve the standards we require. I’m doing it my way and working with the other coaches. We’re evolving every day but as soon as I saw Alan and Alex [Gidman, the second team coach] working together I wanted to give them responsibility for organising the white-ball teams and they have done that. It was a no-brainer to let these lads have more responsibility and they have done a fantastic job. I feel very blessed in the coaching staff we have. And we must have done something right because we were two balls away from Lord’s and we topped both white-ball groups.”Pat Brown has had a prolific Blast season with the ball•Getty ImagesNearly but not quite. It is a phrase guaranteed to irritate the most genial of supporters at Worcestershire, the only county not yet to have appeared at T20 Finals Day. That could soon change, when some of the most experienced young cricketers in the country take on Gloucestershire. For it is no good hanging the “young and talented” tag around the necks of players who know what it is like to win titles and know what relegation tastes like too.”Although the team is relatively young in age, there’s a lot of experience there in people like Ben Cox, Ed Barnard, Brett D’Oliveira and Joe Clarke,” Sharp said. “They’ve played a lot of first-team cricket and they’re ready to take on responsibilities.”And one of the beauties of the Blast is that it gives opportunities to players who are then more confident when given chances in red-ball games. The prime example of this at Worcestershire is 20-year-old Pat Brown, who has taken 27 wickets in this year’s competition, four more than anyone else, and whose subtle variations flummoxed some of the best batsmen in the North Group. Brown is a Peterborough lad who played his cricket at Market Deeping CC and with Huntingdonshire before making his Worcestershire Under-19s debut in 2015.”Pat hasn’t played a massive amount of first-team cricket but injuries have given opportunities to players and he is developing in leaps and bounds,” Sharp said. “He’s a smart bowler. He’s got different deliveries which he disguises very well, he’s very accurate and batters have found him a handful.”Ultimately, though, the sides which prosper in T20 cricket are those in which clarity of role is yoked to skill and a little bit of good fortune. Another defeat in the group stages and Worcestershire would have faced a much less pleasant itinerary after their Championship victory at Scarborough.”I’m so pleased we got a home tie because it would have been a lot of travelling to go from there to Kent for a game on Thursday,” Sharp said. “There’ll be a good crowd on Saturday and we’ll never have a better chance. It would be a wonderful thing for the club if we could get through.”

Go pro – the template to success in Ranji Trophy's Plate Group

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

How much have the professional players impacted fortunes for the nine new teams in the competition?

Saurabh Somani06-Dec-2018During their title run in the 2017-18 Ranji Trophy, Vidarbha’s top seven contributed about 80% of all their runs off the bat. Of the men who batted most often in the top seven, Faiz Fazal was their highest run-getter with 912 runs.Vidarbha’s three highest wicket-takers in the season were Rajneesh Gurbani (39), Akshay Wakhare (34) and Aditya Sarwate (29). They contributed 58% of the wickets taken by the team.You would expect those to be numbers indicative of an overall trend. The top seven scoring 80% of the runs seems good and your top three bowlers accounting for three-fifths of the wickets on offer feels right. And they are, except when you look at the Plate Group of the ongoing Ranji season, comprised of nine new entrants.There is an upending of the natural order here, driven by the professionals – players who move away from home to sign for a different team. Most of the professionals the nine teams have signed have been experienced domestic hands. But even so, some of their returns are staggering. Sikkim’s Milind Kumar has racked up 705 runs in six innings, so is it any wonder that he considers the 61 he made against Uttarakhand last month “a failure”?After four rounds, Milind alone has scored a whopping 52% of his team’s runs. If the top seven have to contribute 80% of the runs, Milind alone is doing the job of four and a half batsmen.Arunachal Pradesh’s Kshitiz Sharma, Meghalaya’s Yogesh Nagar, Manipur’s Yashpal Singh, Mizoram’s Taruwar Kohli and Akhil Rajput and Nagaland’s Abrar Kazi have also been doing some heavy lifting. All of them, except Yashpal, are at around the 30% mark of team runs scored, doing the job of two and a half to three batsmen by themselves. Yashpal has almost 40% of his team’s runs, and he’s equivalent to three and a half batsmen for Manipur.The trend is clear – it’s the professionals who are carrying teams in the Plate Group.

And it’s no different with bowlers. Pankaj Singh has taken 17 wickets for Puducherry, which is 59% of all wickets. He has done what three bowlers might have been expected to. Not too far behind are Bihar’s Ashutosh Aman, Meghalaya’s Gurinder Singh, Sikkim’s Ishwar Chaudhary and Nagaland’s Pawan Suyal.No team is allowed more than three professionals, and not all nine teams in the Plate Group have filled up all three slots.But some have also benefitted from having seasoned Ranji players come back. These players had a domicile in the new teams, but were playing elsewhere because until this season, their ‘home’ states didn’t have a team they could play for. Puducherry’s Fabid Ahmed, formerly of Kerala, has a 24% share of his team’s wickets and 13.7% of the runs. Bihar’s Samar Quadri, who has come over from Jharkhand, has taken 29% of the team’s wickets.

Even if you forget the numbers and look at what has happened in a match, it’s evident that team’s fortunes are made or broken by how their professional players have done. But it would be hasty to judge these teams for that. You only need to look at how other teams that have been established for years – Tripura, Assam, Goa, J&K – still continue to struggle. This despite having access to BCCI’s largesse of funds.Until less than a year ago, the nine new teams didn’t know whether they would actually be competing in the Ranji Trophy. To expect them to have good, home-grown players right from the start would be unrealistic. In fact, expecting anything other than this skew seen would have been naïve. So while there may be the occasional mis-match, and the Plate Group topper might face the prospect of heavy defeat in the quarter-final – ensuring that nine new states have their own cricket teams will benefit, more than harm, cricket in India in the long run.And if anyone needs reminding of just how the Ranji Trophy started, the very first match of the tournament, between Madras and Mysore (as Tamil Nadu and Karnataka were known then), was over in . Legend has it that those buying early morning paper at the railway station on that November 1934 day in Bangalore, to find out how their team had done, got the news from the people around them that the train carrying Mysore was just about pulling into the station.Pankaj Singh bowls•Getty ImagesIf there is a criticism to be levelled at having nine new teams, it’s the distortion they bring to certain traditional benchmarks. Previously, when a player scores 1000 runs or takes 50 wickets in a season, it suggested a readiness for higher honours. Would 1000 runs in the Plate Group carry as much weight? Milind already has 705. Gurinder Singh has 32 wickets. And we are only halfway through the league phase.The BCCI knows that there is a marked skew among the new teams and most of the established ones, which is why it had to be inventive in setting the qualification criteria.Ordinarily, if you have four groups, the top two from each would contest the knockouts. But that works only when all groups were equal in strength. They aren’t in this Ranji Trophy and if the BCCI had tried to make them equal – by putting two new teams in each group – it would have led to a host of mismatches. So the board decided it will combine groups A and B at the end of the league phase and let the top five teams go through to the quarter-finals. Two teams from Group C and one from Plate will join them.It may not be ideal, but if you want to dangle the carrot of qualification for new teams, it is necessary to have a fair, easy-to-understand and logistically sound system. The current method covers all of that as adequately as possible.And who knows, as the erstwhile Mysore and Madras showed, rich legacies can be formed from humble beginnings.

England-opener-in-waiting Rory Burns epitomises Surrey success

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

Rory Burns has led from the front but Surrey’s title is the result of a strong team ethos and contributions from many quarters

George Dobell13-Sep-20181:30

‘I hope my phone rings’ – Burns

Rory Burns says he likes to let his bat do the talking.Lately, though, it’s started to roar and scream.It’s not just that he has scored 345 more runs than anyone else in Division One, it’s that he has led – as captain, opening batsman, slip fielder and prolific scorer – his side to their first Championship title in 16 years. In this match Worcestershire, like so many teams before them, found him harder to remove than the travellers who had invaded their overflow car park in recent days – they were gone by sunset – and, in the next few weeks, he will join the likes of Peter May, Adam Hollioake and John Edrich in having a gate at The Oval named in his honour. That’s what they do with Championship-winning captains at Surrey.Burns Gate sounds like a scandal. And perhaps it is. For if Burns is not selected for the England squad this winter, we may as well abandon any pretence that the County Championship is a breeding ground for players. With just about every other contender having been tried and found wanting, Burns has earned his opportunity. As a batsman, as a fielder, as a character, as a leader he has proved himself.His statistics are compelling. In amassing 1241 runs – 400 more than the next opener in Division One – he has passed 1000 in a Championship season for the fifth year in succession. And, while there have been suggestions that many of his runs have come on flat surfaces at The Oval, he is actually averaging 89 away from home. If we just counted his away runs, Burns’ tally of 801 in six matches would make him the fifth-highest run-scorer in the division.It’s true that Burns does not have an especially prepossessing method. His bottom sticks out as if he is abusing square leg, his neck sticks out as if he has a crick in it and he cranes his head before each delivery as if aghast at something the midwicket fielder just said about him. But the man he might replace, Alastair Cook, was hardly beautiful. And nor was his one-time opening partner at Surrey, Graeme Smith. Most consider they did rather well.Selection doesn’t have to be an art or an expression of genius. Sometimes it’s just really obvious. Ignoring Burns is too clever by half.But maybe it was fitting that Morne Morkel hit the winning runs in match that sealed the Championship title. Morkel was a point of difference player this season. In claiming 50 Championship wickets at a cost of 13.96, he has helped Surrey to victory in all eight of the matches in which he has played. As he proved at Trent Bridge (9 for 120 in the match), Scarborough (5 for 39 in the second innings), against Lancashire (when his second-innings 6 for 57 helped his side to a six-run win) and here, at New Road (when 5 for 24 in the second innings turned the match on its head), he had the quality, the fitness and desire to make a difference when his side most required it.Surrey’s players celebrate winning the Division One title•Getty ImagesAhh, but that just shows Surrey bought the title, some will say. Well, yes, they recruited Morkel. Just as, the previous year, Essex identified the spinner Simon Harmer as the high-quality player who could augment their talented squad. Kolpak registrations get a bad press and sometimes quite rightly. But when the players brought in are of this quality, when they lift the standard of the Championship and commit to a club for a concerted period of time, it is hard to argue against them.Besides, even without Sam Curran, seven of this team were developed through the club’s own academy. Several have already gone on to represent England; others will follow. It really is time to reassess the image of Surrey as the magpies of county cricket: they are an exemplary club who manage to both develop players, win matches and sell a vast numbers of tickets. Yes, they will recruit at times, but there are many clubs producing far fewer and recruiting far poorer.The benefits of a homegrown nucleus are many and obvious. The shared experiences and culture provide a spirit and determination that, on the tough days, can make all the difference. It helps create a sense of team rather than the sense of individuals thrown together and it should, if nurtured, help create a supportive but driven dressing room.Maybe there was a time when Surrey were arrogant and aloof but those days are long gone. Underlining the extent to which the club respects its past and its role in the future, a contingent of 60 staff and officials are shortly to visit the WWI battlefields and graveyards of France where they will lay wreathes to the 48 men of Surrey CCC who lost their lives in the conflict. “Surrey is different to other clubs,” Alec Stewart said. They all say that, of course. But they don’t all demonstrate it.That spirit was demonstrated here by the appearance of Sam Curran, who travelled by train from London, at the ground to support his colleagues. But almost wherever you looked, you found inspiring stories.There was 36-year-old Rikki Clarke, the second highest-wicket taker for the club in this campaign and the man at the other end when Surrey crossed the line, who was a member of the Championship-winning side of 2002 and has returned to fulfil the role of mature senior pro. There was Stewart, who inherited a grieving and dysfunctional club in 2013 and has created something really quite special. There was Jade Dernbach, who played through the pain of bereavement, saw his record suffer for it and has never breathed a word of complaint. And there was Mark Stoneman, one of those recruits, who has had a pretty grim time of things at moments this season but is now back to something approaching his best. A Burns-Stoneman opening partnership for England at some stage in the next year or two would let down nobody.

To see cricket of this quality, to see so many young, England-qualified players engaged in such a close game and in such a setting, was to be restored and replenished and revitalised

But not everyone who contributed was at New Road. Gareth Batty, who led the team through some of the darkest times in its history, was with the 2nd XI, helping the next generation of players on their journey. He relinquished the captaincy after last season and didn’t play a game in this one. But, having given the team stability and direction at a time when many of them were struggling to recover their equilibrium, he was an architect of this success.And maybe Chris Adams was, too. Yes, Adams’ period at Surrey ended badly. But before the Tom Maynard tragedy in June 2012, Adams’ Surrey side was starting to head in the right direction. They had won a Lord’s final and achieved promotion the previous season. The likes of Burns and the Curran brothers had been identified as pillars of a new team and the future looked exciting. But everything changed after that sad night. In trying to add some maturity to the squad, Adams probably over-compensated with too many senior players. The direction was lost.Two of those he brought in were Vikram Solanki, now assistant coach, and Batty, however. And a fair number of the younger players were involved in the youth set-up in those days. So Adams did leave some positive legacy at The Oval upon which Graham Ford, Michael Di Venuto and Stewart were able to build.Even the most ardent Surrey supporter might agree, however, that Worcestershire didn’t deserve to lose this game. Just as they don’t deserve the relegation that is now almost certain. Despite the absence of the club captain, Joe Leach, they fielded a side containing nine homegrown players in this match. And, for long periods, they looked the better team.In Josh Tongue and Dillon Pennington – who looked a gem of a prospect on the final day – they have fast bowlers who can go on to serve them, and perhaps England, for a decade and more. In Joe Clarke, who now looks almost certain to leave, they have produced a batsman who will surely play international cricket. Narrow defeats at the hands of Essex, Lancashire and now Surrey are going to cost them, but they are doing a great deal right as a club.Hopefully, even Worcestershire supporters found this an uplifting day. To see cricket of this quality, to see so many young, England-qualified players engaged in such a close game and in such a setting, to know that our County Championship is working – both in terms of entertainment value and in terms of producing players – was to be restored and replenished and revitalised. The Championship faces many challenges, not least from those charged with protecting it, but, given half a chance, it can still thrive.

Varun Chakravarthy – Seven variations, one million-dollar package

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

He has been mentored by Imran Tahir and talked up by Harbhajan Singh. Now he wants to show how well he can bowl under the IPL’s bright lights

Deivarayan Muthu19-Dec-20182:34

Varun Chakravarthy: Architect, Anil Kumble fan, mystery spinner

A day after earning 42 times his base price of INR 20 lakh and becoming the joint-highest-paid player at the IPL 2019 auction, Varun Chakravarthy visited the famous Brihadeshwara temple in his hometown Thanjavur – in Tamil Nadu – letting everything sink in.On Tuesday, Varun had sat down with his father Vinod, who is employed with the state-owned telecommunications company BSNL and his mother Malini, a homemaker, to watch Delhi Capitals, Rajasthan Royals, Kings XI Punjab, Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings bid furiously for him. Ultimately, Kings XI prevailed, scooping up the Tamil Nadu mystery spinner for for INR 8.4 crore (USD 1.17 million approx). Varun has seven different variations and they now officially cost more than INR 1 crore each.

“My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since yesterday evening,” Varun tells ESPNcricinfo. “I was with my family watching the auction and it was a thrilling experience. The auction and playing the IPL itself is a different experience for me. I did not expect this massive amount and I was just hoping to be picked at my base price of 20 lakh.”Now, I’m at the [big temple] in Thanjavur with my parents. My father and mother have never objected to any of my decisions in life and so I owe them a lot. After taking up architecture at SRM University I gave up cricket, but my parents did not say anything. Then, when I returned to cricket, they supported me. I even edit a few short films when I’m free and they have always supported me in whatever I do. So, they are very happy that I will be playing in the IPL.”Having responded to hundreds of phone calls and text messages, Varun picked out Harbhajan Singh’s tweet, talking him up as a potential India player, as the most memorable compliment.

“It was great to see Harbhajan put up that tweet,” he says. “I had a chance to interact with him in Chennai when I was a CSK net bowler. We did not chat much about spin bowling, but to read that was special.Varun, 27, said he had drawn inspiration from Imran Tahir, whom he had also spent time with at the CSK nets.”I really started believing in me only when Tahir pulled me for a one-on-one and told me that I have the skill to play a higher level of cricket,” Varun says. “He told his own story about how he has worked to get to the top and he’s also a late bloomer, and that inspired me a lot. That helped me bowl well in the TNPL. Tahir also passed me his number and we keep in touch.”

“Yes, the pressure is there but it’s about how to deal with it. Whether you take it in a positive manner or negative manner – that matters.”Varun Chakravarthy

Varun relished the prospect of bowling alongside his Tamil Nadu team-mates R Ashwin, who captains Kings XI, and M Ashwin.”[R] Ashwin [brother] called me up from Australia and wished me after the auction and I thanked him for showing faith in me. He has played cricket for so many years and I have just been a professional cricketer for one or two years. (What can I say about him)?5:15

‘Karthik and Ashwin fought hard for TN boy Chakravarthy’

“I will soon talk to M Ashwin. My phone just hasn’t stopped ringing from yesterday.”Varun was wary of the pressure a hefty IPL price tag can bring, but he hoped to overcome it and replicate his TNPL success on an even bigger platform.”Yes, the pressure is there but it’s about how to deal with it,” he says. “Whether you take it in a positive manner or negative manner – that matters. I hope I can deal with it, work hard on my fitness, and perform for Punjab.”Varun’s entry into the IPL is quite similar to that of the Karnataka mystery spinner KC Cariappa, who was signed by KKR for INR 2.4 crore (USD 400,000), 24 times his base price, in 2015. J Arunkumar, who has coached Varun in the TNPL and worked with Cariappa at Karnataka reckoned Varun could deal with pressure better than Cariappa did in his IPL stint.”Varun’s a fantastic talent. Many batsmen can’t pick him, including me,” Arunkumar quips. “There was a lot of talk about Cariappa when he made it to the IPL, but AB de Villiers took him on in one over and the balance shifted to the other side. Varun, I believe, can hold his nerve. He just has to keep backing himself like he did in TNPL. I’ve hard a word with Varun multiple times about temperament. I believe he has the clarity to do well at the higher level too.”Varun’s first ball to an IPL player – Dwayne Bravo – at the CSK nets was a high full-toss. He says he brushed it off and kept Bravo quiet thereafter. What will happen when Kings XI’s Varun comes up against CSK’s Bravo, once again, in IPL 2019?

'Know when to hit and when to leave' – Jonathan Trott on long-format batting

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

The former England opener believes the patient innings should not be going out of fashion anytime soon but achieving a balance is necessary

Sruthi Ravindranath in Wayanad10-Feb-2019You’ve been working with young batsmen here. A lot of them are free-flowing white-ball strokeplayers, naturally aggressive in their approach. Do you think that sort of approach will help their game in the long run in the longer format?
When I was growing up, it was all about the defence first. Nowadays these younger players play so much white-ball cricket apart from watching so much of it, because of how much it’s available on television and highlight shows. But sometimes you need to practise the basics of defence just as much. I think it’s a little bit of a role-reversal now. Our job as a coach is to remind them of the basics and help them work on the defence because at the younger age they seem to be more expansive. So I think as coaches, it’s just as much our responsibility from the grassroots level to stress on the importance of defence.So is the limited-overs mindset coming in the way of Test batting?
Not at all. These days you see guys being more positive against spin and that comes from playing a lot of one-day cricket where they explore different options on how to hit boundaries and where they can hit spinners. Yes, that’s probably not the traditional way how you play Test cricket. But I think exploring your options of hitting the spinners is just as important as your defence against them – the basics. Especially in subcontinent conditions, it is important. As a Test batsman, it’s crucial to have a balance between both of that.Test cricket hasn’t changed too much, actually, apart from becoming a bit high scoring. But again the scoring is pretty similar to what we saw in the 2000s when the Australian team were pushing the scoring rate up because they had such good players. I think the better players you have the more the scoring rate is. Test cricket is sort of a hard game to predict. Anybody can win on a certain day. If you look all around the world, you see a lot more results in Tests. But you’re also seeing a lot more teams at home dominate now, which is what is changing a little bit. But then again you saw India winning in Australia and England against Sri Lanka, of course. I think Test cricket is very healthy and is indeed in a good state.ALSO READ: ‘Test cricket is dying,’ says Shashank ManoharEveryone these days wants to be an all-format player, don’t they?
Yes. Nowadays it’s very rare that you get guys who play just one format of the game. They’re always going to play T20s and 50-overs. That’s also a case of not realising there’s a huge opportunity for the longer format of the game as well. And that’s also mostly because of the glitz and glamour of international leagues around the world. I still think people would say Test cricket is the pinnacle of international cricket. Yes, it’s a lot tougher than 20 overs. It requires a lot of patience, determination and effort, that’s why it’s the ultimate. You ask anybody. Even Virat Kohli said that on the tour of England.There are players like Sam Billings in the current Lions side who are, in general, perceived as white-ball players. For such batsmen, how does the transition to the longer format work? And how does it work for top-order batsmen?
In England, we first need to find the right balance in county cricket concerning the importance we put on four-day cricket. Now it’s [also] being played around April and September [at the start and end of the English season], which [due to the conditions] is obviously not very helpful for batsmen, especially the ones sitting in the top three. The top three batters got to make it a habit to spend a lot more time at the crease, which would help them set up the innings and all of that. It’s an art and a skill, so we need to get that right.The likes of Sam Billings play more in the shorter format, where the game lasts for about four hours. In Tests, they’re going to be batting for that much time. They might feel like they can bat for four hours in Tests and feel like the wickets are not doing much, because of which they’re eventually going to get out to a delivery they can’t play.I think this is where we need to go back to the basics – to stay longer and practise your defence. It might also help the four-day games go on for four days instead of finishing in two days. It’s about knowing when to hit and when to leave. That puts the confidence in your game in the longer format. And also when they’re with the Lions side, they’re playing the four-day format, and that’s not a lot different from Test cricket. It’s not that big a transition.

“This is where we need to go back to the basics – to stay longer and practise your defence. It might also help the four-day games go on for four days instead of finishing in two”

Isn’t that sort of what happened in the first innings here in Wayanad? A number of England Lions batsmen were not able to convert starts…
Yes, it’s a typical case of them not doing the basics well for longer. That’s what Test cricket is about. It’s about the ability to outplay the opposition or just the ability to grow amidst the grown, like batting a long period of time. Like what an Alastair Cook did and various other players did.So what do you tell these batsmen? Do you look to incorporate anything from your style of Test batting?
Of course, but you can’t teach them how to play. I just stress that they need to know their game when they get the chance. Imagine it’s a high-pressure situation, you’re highly scrutinised now more than ever. You’ve got to have just one game and be confident when you step out when you play for England. That’s all I say.I think as a coach you try not to push players or guide them into the way you’ve played. I think as a coach your responsibility is to work with the talent and technique they have. Of course, you want to work on them, help them develop, make them more consistent run-scorers. But as a coach I still stay on the basics of the game because that’s what works when you’re under pressure. I can’t think of a superstar international batsman who doesn’t do basics really well. I think the guys here can take a leaf out of Kohli or AB de Villiers’ book. These are two extremely good players who do their basics extremely well.Any of the players here who are likely to force the Ed Smith’s selection panel to give them a thought?
All of these guys wouldn’t be here if they weren’t in the thoughts of the selectors already. It’s then about those who excel here. And if they go back to England and excel there as well, with the Ashes and World Cup around the corner they would be making a strong case.Some people here are going to get just one chance and they’ve got to make the most of it. Coming on tours like this to India are invaluable. This is the closest you can get to playing international cricket. A lot of them have had a taste of it, having played in front of big crowds, but this is what would get you to the Test level.There are young players like Ollie Pope and Dom Bess touring with the Lions, players who’ve been left to work hard to find their way back into the Test team after being given a few chances…
It’s a very different case with someone like Dom Bess who’s a spin bowler but Ollie Pope is a very ambitious young guy who seems to have a bright future. But to make sure of that when he does get the opportunity at Test level, the first thing he should do is to be ready and then he has to look to become a permanent fixture. There’s nothing better than batting in the top 4-5 in Tests for England, so that’s what he wants to do by the looks of it. He’s going about it in the right way.

Yasir Shah dropped as career record goes south

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

In Southern Hemisphere countries inhospitable to spin, Yasir Shah has failed to raise his game to the level Pakistan need

Danyal Rasool at the Wanderers11-Jan-2019Do you remember Yasir Shah’s ten-for at Lord’s in 2016? Of course you do. You’re reading an article about Pakistan on the afternoon of a dead Test, an article about a Pakistan player who isn’t even playing. One imagines you are enough of a follower to remember that spellbinding summer in England.There isn’t much time to reminisce, though, because the subject of discussion here isn’t Yasir at his most lively. The point is that Yasir has, throughout his career, been surprisingly ordinary in Test cricket in South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and England.Perhaps this isn’t quite fair, and we are cheating slightly. There isn’t all that much evidence he is as astonishingly ineffective in England as in those other three countries – though anyone who watched him at Manchester and Birmingham in 2016 might beg to differ. He was unlucky to miss the two Tests in England last summer, depriving us of a clearer gauge of where he stood in the country of the game’s origin. So for now, let’s do what the Rugby World Cup tends to do, and set up camp in the Southern Hemisphere.For all that you might rave and rant at Pakistan’s selectors this series, it is hard to take issue with the call they made to drop the legspinner for the Wanderers Test. A statement from the PCB later revealed that Yasir was at a Johannesburg hospital undergoing scans on his knee. But, while the nature of his injury was unclear, it is understood he was not in line to play in any case.Yasir might be the world’s best spinner according to the rankings, but in six Tests in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, he has taken just nine wickets at a staggering 95.11 per dismissal. Much of the blame for these incriminating numbers is owed to the three-Test series in Australia in 2016-17, where he bowled 148.1 of the 194.2 careers overs he has sent down in these three countries, but in the small sample size available for South Africa, there’s little to make you think his performances shape up any differently. At Centurion and Cape Town, he managed a solitary wicket while conceding 123 runs, with an economy of just under four runs per over.ESPNcricinfo LtdAnd that has been the other issue; many bowlers, especially spinners, go through spells of struggling for wickets. Many of them make up for it by holding up one end, building pressure while a more potent bowler makes their mark from the other end. In the Southern Hemisphere, though, Yasir’s economy rate soars to 4.40, as opposed to 3.09 in his career, meaning he is bleeding runs without threatening to make a breakthrough. That is a damaging combination, but to his own team rather than the opposition.The most unfair thing you could do to a spinner is damn him by his statistics in the least-hospitable parts of the world for his art, but for the world’s leading leggie, a man who just recently became the quickest-ever bowler to 200 Test wickets, these are alarming numbers. R Ashwin, who has played ten Tests south of the equator, does see his average suffer too, going to 47.67 against a career average of 25.43. But the drop isn’t as drastic and, moreover, his economy rate takes only the slightest hit (2.97 against 2.84). Ravindra Jadeja is another good example of a player who makes up for lack of wickets in the South with parsimony. While his average drops from a career 23.68 to 38.18 in five matches, his economy rate only rises to 2.54 from 2.37.Those two may be finger spinners, who can expect to containment to be more of a focus than a leggie like Yasir, but when you are not taking wickets, tolerating such a massive jump in the economy rate becomes that little bit harder.In short, across a similar number of Test as some of his leading contemporaries from the subcontinent, Yasir has failed to raise his game to the level Pakistan have required it. One mitigating factor might be him being the victim of less-than-ideal planning. Just as recently as the first Test in South Africa, Mickey Arthur admitted playing Yasir was a mistake, with the bowler used for under 12 overs all match on a pitch really not meant for any spinner.

Of specialist spinners to have played five Tests in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand since 2010, none has an average as high as Yasir’s

Next match, in Cape Town, South Africa opted for an all-pace attack while Pakistan still had Yasir plugging away on a relatively flat day-two wicket. He conceded 79 in 21 overs and went wicketless, and with the game finished within the first hour of day four, it was another Test that was never going to be good for his numbers.By contrast, Ashwin has only played ten of India’s 19 Tests in Australia, South Africa and New Zealand since his debut in 2011, while Jadeja has been involved in five. That suggests the Indian spin duo have only been called upon when the pitch or situation was more likely to be conducive towards their talents, in turn allowing them better numbers (Yasir, meanwhile, played six of seven such Tests for Pakistan up to Johannesburg). But since April 2010, of all specialist spinners to have played at least five Tests in those three countries, none has an average nearly as high as Yasir’s, or close to as generous an economy rate.For Pakistan, that meant Shadab Khan, still very much unproven as a bowler at this level but a “proper allrounder”, according to Mickey Arthur, was always going to be a more attractive option once fit. With Shadab slotting in at No. 7, Faheem Ashraf could also be ushered in without any fear of extending the tail.So Yasir’s dropping may not have too much to do with his inability with the bat. When it comes to the Southern Hemisphere, it is the troubles he has with the ball that are chiefly responsible for him sitting out at Wanderers.

FAQs: All you need to know about the 2019 World Cup

by h716a5.icu Uncategorized

Will we have Super Overs? What about reserve days? We answer all your pesky questions

ESPNcricinfo staff29-May-2019When can I watch the games?
Most games, including the semi-finals and final, begin at 10:30 UK time (15:00 IST). A few group games will begin at 13:30 UK time (18:00 IST). Most days feature only one game, with a few double-headers sprinkled into the mix. The semi-finals are on July 9 and 10, and the final is on July 14. For a full list of fixtures, click here.What is the format?This World Cup follows a round-robin format, which means the ten teams will all play each other once in the league phase. So that’s nine games per team and 45 in total. Every win in the group stage gives a team two points. A tie or a no-result due to a match being abandoned fetch one point. The four teams with most points at the end of the league phase go to the semi-finals.What if teams are tied on points in the league phase?Then, the first thing considered is which team has won more games. So, if, for example, Bangladesh have ten points from four wins and two no-results, and Pakistan have ten points from five wins, Pakistan will go through. If both points and wins are equal, the team with the higher net run-rate qualifies. In the unlikely event that even net run-rates are equal, the winner of the head-to-head between the two teams qualifies.So can there be ties? Are there Super Overs to decide games?
There are Super Overs only in the semi-finals and final. This is a change from the past two World Cups, when a Super Over was available only for the final.What happens if it rains? Are there reserve days
There are reserve days only for the semi-final and final. If the game is interrupted on the scheduled day, it will continue on the reserve day, and not begin afresh. There are no reserve days for the group games, but extra time has been allotted. A match can go on for 75 minutes past the scheduled close of play and, in some circumstances, the match referee can extend play by a further hour beyond that. Both sides need to have batted for at least 20 overs each to constitute a full game. Otherwise, as per usual ODI rules, the match ends in a no-result.What if the reserve days for the knockout games are also rained out
If this happens in the semis, then the team with the better league position advances. If the final cannot be completed even on the reserve day, both finalists share the trophy.Why are there only ten teams at this World Cup?
The International Cricket Council (ICC) had been working on expanding the tournament since 1992, when only nine teams were involved, and the participation peaked in the 2007 edition, which featured 16 teams. However, after the last World Cup in 2015, the ICC decided that some of the weaker teams were not competitive enough to be part of the tournament (Television ratings for games between the weaker teams were also low). So, the tournament was made smaller, with the top eight teams according to the official rankings (as of September 30, 2017) qualifying automatically, and West Indies and Afghanistan coming through a qualifying tournament. Many fans are unhappy with this reduction in teams as they feel more nations need to be involved in order for the tournament to qualify as a Cup.Who are the favourites?
England. They are No.1 in the ICC’s ODI rankings, have not lost a one-day series in more than two years, and are the hosts too. India are ranked No.2 and are considered strong contenders too. Fifth-ranked Australia are the defending champions and have won five World Cups, three more than anyone else. They have also recovered from a lean patch to win their last eight ODIs on the bounce. Pakistan, winners of the last big ODI tournament, the 2017 Champions Trophy, are dark horses along with New Zealand and South Africa.Who are the underdogs everyone is rooting for?
Afghanistan. They did not even have a team until 1995 and are now in their second World Cup, making the cut this time despite the reduction in the number of teams. They have possibly the best spinner in the world, Rashid Khan, as well as other exciting talents.What are the big rivalries?
Australia-England and India-Pakistan are massive historical rivalries. Another budding rivalry is between Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It began because of a celebration called the (snake) dance that both teams have taunted each other with.

Aaron Finch's statement century gives sense of a corner turned

by n8rngtd.top Uncategorized

After his chronic form dip in the Australian summer, captain is back to form … with the bat if not the coin

Melinda Farrell at The Oval15-Jun-2019Aaron Finch has lost again.The toss, that is.It’s something the Australian captain has become accustomed to. Even Brad Haddin’s ten-year-old son, Zac, ribbed him about his losing streak in the pre-match press conference – if you include warm-up matches, it’s currently at nine. “Can you win a toss?” asked Zac. Apparently, the answer is no.It’s not the only losing streak Finch has suffered in the past year. Over the course of the Australian summer he had been dropped from the Test side after five matches and across six ODIs he had managed to eke out just 83 runs.It shouldn’t have been a surprise to anyone who watched him switching formats and locations quicker than a catwalk model swaps outfits: two hemispheres, 15 cities and seven format changes from the time he was called up for a Test series in the UAE in October to the conclusion of the home ODI series against India in January. During a year in which he had married his long-term partner, Amy, he had only spent a handful of nights in his own home. Burnout was closing in.***Toss lost, Finch waited at the non-striker’s end as Warner faced the first over from Lasith Malinga. Warner has been scratchy and sometimes hesitant while still scoring runs since his return; the opening partnership hasn’t quite clicked into the one-two sucker punching of old, but there have been glimpses of its heyday.Finch’s turn came in the second over as Nuwan Pradeep, elbows akimbo, ran in from the Members’ End and bowled a good length ball just outside off stump. The front foot drive was both no-nonsense and imperious, carving its way past mid-off for four. After three dot balls there it was again, this time straight past the bowler.In the seventh over it’s Malinga’s turn. Another pair of glorious drives, another brace of boundaries, again through mid-off and straight down the ground.When Finch drives well at the start of an innings it’s a good sign. In the familiar surroundings of The Oval – Surrey fans must be licking their lips in anticipation of Finch and Jason Roy opening the batting together during the Blast – he displayed confidence in every movement; front foot, back foot, defend, free the arms.***Aaron Finch celebrates after reaching his century•Getty ImagesSix months earlier that confidence was completely shot.Finch’s form drop was but one domino falling in the chain reaction that followed the Newlands ball-tampering scandal. He was shoe-horned into the Test side as David Warner’s replacement as the selectors sought an apparent like-for-like aggressive shot-maker. It was to be a short-lived experiment, with Finch averaging 27.80, but it had the unwelcome knock-on effect of disrupting his white-ball form. He lost his natural rhythm and become tentative in both his thinking and his footwork. Even worse, he was overcome with crippling self-doubt.”I think the time in Dubai, or in the UAE this year against Pakistan was really good,” said Finch, speaking after the match at The Oval. “The end of the Indian series was really good, as well, in the one-dayers. I probably just changed my mind-set a little bit more than anything. I started to doubt my game a lot before that in the Australian summer and there was a lot of times when I was just questioning every single decision that I was making, whether it was technical, mental, physical.”Everything that I could – that I was doing, I was just questioning because you’re looking for an answer that you don’t know what the answer is. So it can be really tough at times, when you don’t know what the end result is, but you’re searching so hard for something you don’t know.”***Finch had to search for a way through a tougher period, as Sri Lanka’s attack countered and squeezed, Warner’s stumps were shattered by Dhananjaya di Silva and Usman Khawaja struggled to get going, But on this day Finch had an answer and it was grounded in patience, as he and Steve Smith weathered the onslaught.Watch on Hotstar (India only): Finch leads the way with match-winning 153 The release came as de Silva began the eighth over of his spell. Forget the earlier punches and drives, this was pure muscular dominance; after turning one fine to the leg-side boundary, Finch heaved back-to-back sixes down the ground. Shackles off, the century followed quickly but was celebrated perfunctorily; a briefly raised bat, then back to business.***It can seem strange that players can spend almost their entire lives immersed in the game – training, watching, playing, listening – and still be on a quest, searching for the Holy Grail that unlocks their talent. Finch has made hundreds – 14 in total – but he has only passed 150 twice, both times this year. The first was an unbeaten 153 in Sharjah against a weakened Pakistan team. This, the highest score by an Australian captain in a World Cup, was something more; a confirmation that Finch is back to the form that deserted him eight months ago.”It was a really great learning for me over the summer,” said Finch. “Obviously it would have been nice to have that at 22 and not 32, but I think overall, what I learned was you can strip it back as much as you want, but it doesn’t change the basics of the game. The basics as an opening batter is to go out there and defend the good ball and score runs.”So for me, I was looking for everything other than just the most basic thing, which is watch the ball and react to it. I mean, you can butter it up any way, but I was just going back to the basics, going back, doing a little bit of mental work on changing my mind-set to just be positive.”And Andrew McDonald always says to me, ‘If you get caught at mid-on or you get caught at first slip, you’re still out, so play your natural game.’Finch wasn’t caught at mid-on or at first slip. He misjudged a slower ball and skied a ball to cover.Toss lost, game won, mission not-quite accomplished. For now, at least, that will do.

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