Much like the similarity in the low scores of India and Australia wicketkeepers in the first unofficial Test in Chennai, there lies a resemblance in their current state too – these are testing times for them

Deivarayan Muthu in Chennai28-Jul-2015The blazing sun beats down on the MA Chidambaram Stadium. Naman Ojha and Matthew Wade, though, are floating on thin ice. These are testing times for Indian as well as Australian wicketkeepers.Brad Haddin, who had been the engine room of the Australian middle order in the 2013-14 Ashes at home, finds himself thrown out of gear this time. He opted out of the Lord’s Test citing personal reasons and was later jettisoned for the inexperienced Peter Nevill on the eve of the third Test.Australia A wicketkeeper Wade, who was chosen for the 2013 Ashes, has slipped down the pecking order too. It was Wade who benefitted from Haddin’s first instance of opting out due to personal reasons when he left the West Indies in 2012 and the Australian selectors opted for Wade for the next 10 Tests. But Nevill has overtaken Wade since then.On the Indian front, when MS Dhoni was rested from the Zimbabwe tour, the selectors picked three back-up wicketkeepers in Robin Uthappa, Kedhar Jadhav and Ambati Rayudu, ahead of specialist wicketkeepers Ojha, Wriddhiman Saha and Sanju Samson.While Saha, who became the first player to score a century in an IPL final, was left wondering what went wrong, Ojha and Samson were given second chances by the selectors. Ojha was picked for the ongoing series against Australia A and Samson was added to the T20 squad in Zimbabwe after Rayudu’s injury.Samson made his international debut in the second T20I in Harare but Uthappa was the man behind the stumps. Coming in at No. 7, Samson managed only 19 off 24 balls as India went down to Zimbabwe by 10 runs.Ojha did not impress much either, in the first unofficial Test against Australia A in Chennai, though India A captain Cheteshwar Pujara praised his wicketkeeping skills. He had ground 10 off 56 balls before getting bogged down and holing out to mid-off. In the second innings he was undone by a Marcus Stoinis offuctter for only 4.”He [Ojha] is keeping well. The ball was turning, the ball was keeping low. So, he did a good job,” Pujara said. “I think the first catch in the first innings was a very good catch. The way they [Ojha and Saha] bat, the way they keep, they are different players. I don’t believe in comparisons. So, ultimately who comes into the side depends on what the selectors want.”Ojha had propelled himself into the radar of the selectors when he produced 835 runs in seven Ranji Trophy matches in 2013-14 and went on to strike 430 runs in three innings, including a double-century and two centuries, against an Australia A attack that included Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh and Nathan Lyon (who played only the first match).Ojha’s prolific form in Australia earned him a maiden call-up to the India squad for the last two Tests in England as cover for back-up wicketkeeper Saha. However, he din’t get a game. Ojha also did well in the last Ranji Trophy season but the selectors feel he isn’t there yet. He needs to blend runs and talent with temperament if he is to get there.And so should Wade. He scored 572 runs in nine Sheffield Shield games at 49.48 last season but it wasn’t good enough; Nevill had racked up 764 runs in 10 matches at 76.40 and had only one dismissal less than Wade. New South Wales wicketkeeper Ryan Carters isn’t too far behind, either. He had a breakout 2013-14 Sheffield season with 861 runs at an average of 53.81 and racked up a 198 against Queensland last season in December.And Wade did not help his own cause, making only 2 and having nothing to show for behind the wicket in the first unofficial Test in Chennai.Ojha was ignored for the Sri Lanka tour as well, though India’s chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil had said: “We have a standby wicketkeeper we have nominated.”  The clock is ticking for Ojha. The clock is ticking for Wade too. The clock is ticking for the other wicketkeepers as well.

The final ODI came down to a battle of experience; while Mashrafe Mortaza calmly marshaled his troops, South Africa were left in the shade whenever they needed a lift

Mohammad Isam in Chittagong15-Jul-2015In the battle of the experienced ODI players, Bangladesh overpowered South Africa in Chittagong. During the high-pressure moments, Mashrafe Mortaza superbly marshaled his resources against a team stunned by the hosts’ resurgence over the last five days.With Morne Morkel picked to replace Chris Morris in the playing XI for the third ODI, South Africa had three players with at least 100 ODI caps. Bangladesh on the other hand had five players with 100-plus caps in their line-up. It may not be much, but both teams are going through a transition phase that is being shepherded by senior cricketers.South Africa were missing their regular ODI captain AB de Villiers and it told on how they reacted when the run-rate slowed down and the team was in need of a lift, especially with wickets falling in regular intervals. Even the slog overs missed de Villiers’ full-throttle attack as the likes of David Miller, JP Duminy and Farhaan Behardien failed to contribute in the same manner or even come close.On Wednesday, much was expected from Duminy, Hashim Amla, Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock. Amla survived a caught-behind that Bangladesh did not really appeal for on 1, and a dropped catch at mid-off when he was on 13, before getting out for a miserable 15 in more than an hour. De Kock’s 2015 has been wretched, and it was underlined when he missed Mustafizur Rahman’s inswinger in the third over.Only Duminy held together South Africa’s innings, which was split by a three-hour rain break. He made 51 off 70 balls with three fours. It was an innings that confirmed survival, but not thrust. Duminy added 63 with David Miller, who forced himself to 44 off 51 balls but he was caught at point after the rain break. Du Plessis was a big disappointment as he holed out to Shakib Al Hasan in the eighth over. He had started off the tour in fine fashion with runs in the T20s, but was not in the thick of it in the second and third ODIs.South Africa’s experience was outdone by Bangladesh’s, in this instant. Mashrafe, sensing a shorter match as the dark clouds approached fast from the western skies, brought Shakib on early and was rewarded with two early wickets – Amla and du Plessis. Shakib was unlucky to have Amla dropped once, but he kept plugging away.He had predicted in the press conference on the eve of the game that batsmen would not go after him, but when the South Africa batsmen did, they found he was not easy to get away from. Shakib later added the wicket of Behardien to cap off a fine 3 for 33 from eight overs, and in the process, completed 200 wickets and 4,000 runs in ODIs, only the seventh player to do so, and the fastest in the list.Tamim Iqbal showed during his fifty that he could play the mature second-fiddle in a partnership•AFPMashrafe’s captaincy in the first 20 overs spoke highly of his cricket sense. He used little of pace despite Mustafizur’s early wicket, and more of Nasir Hossain and Mahmudullah, who got him a wicket too. Among the more experienced players, Mushfiqur had a mixed afternoon; he dropped two catches off Miller’s edge, forget to appeal to the one he took from Amla, but still pouched three catches. Still, it showed he did not flinch when catches were not being held. Experience came into play.In the last 12 months, Bangladesh have been constantly guided by Mashrafe and Mushfiqur at the helm, with broad contributions from Shakib, Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah. Mashrafe took over as limited-overs captain from Mushfiqur Rahim in September, but all five have been contributing more or less regularly. Often in the past, Bangladesh’s seniors failed to contribute and in the process, created a lot pressure on their talented newcomers. This side, though, is a more wholesome set, with both sides of the experience spectrum coming to the fore.When the hosts later went out to bat, Tamim kept his head to complete his team’s grip around South Africa. He added a century stand for the opening wicket with Soumya Sarkar, the leader of Bangladesh’s young brigade.Where Soumya battered the South African bowlers, Tamim played the matured second-fiddle, something that he has not done in a very long time, perhaps never. That is the thing with experience: you can drop two catches, but you will end up taking three. You can be the enforcer for a long time, but when a new enforcer comes, you know how to slow down. When you have four bowlers to rotate, you know when to use the non-regulars.Bangladesh were questioned before when their wealth of experience was disposed of in the early 2000s, and a new group of youngsters were backed to the hilt. It is paying off in droves for them now. South Africa would have also liked to see their own young guns – de Kock, Rossouw, Behardien, Kagiso Rabada and Kyle Abbott – fire in a game that suddenly became too important for them.Bangladesh turned it around and made their experience count, while South Africa failed to do so. It’s not something that is often heard when South Africa play against a lower-ranked side in a bilateral ODI series. They usually win, but Bangladesh took them apart on a Sunday and a Wednesday.

A look back at the best individual performances from the three-Test series between Sri Lanka and India

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2015Chandimal’s counterattack
Sri Lanka had no business winning the Galle Test. They were bundled out for 183 in the first innings, conceded a lead of 192, and soon found themselves floundering at 95 for 5 in the second. With an innings defeat looming, Dinesh Chandimal unleashed his own brand of reverse-sweeping pandemonium to catch India off guard. Chandimal ended with an unbeaten 162, and his knock gave Sri Lanka something to bowl at.Herath spins India out
Despite Chandimal’s blitz, Sri Lanka had only 175 to defend. Rangana Herath ensured that was more than enough. Fighting weak knees and a troublesome back, as well as whispers calling for his retirement, Herath picked up 7 for 48 to bowl India out for 112, sealing a memorable win for the hosts.Rahul’s redemption
After returns of 7 and 5 in Galle, KL Rahul took centre stage at the P Sara Oval. He worked his way to an important 108, helping India compile 393. There was only disappointment for Rahul – that he did not push on for a bigger score: “Personally you do feel like you could have done a lot better.”Rahane makes it count at No. 3
Playing his first Test at one-down, Ajinkya Rahane formed the spine of India’s second innings. Rahane’s patient 126, his fourth Test ton, brought much-needed calmness to the batting order, and carried India to a massive lead of 412.Ashwin enters the record books
R Ashwin’s 5 for 42 in the second innings of the P Sara Test not only capped off a fine victory for India, but broke a host of records. The haul took him to 17 wickets in the series – the most by an Indian in Sri Lanka – and meant Ashwin had 12 five-fors in his first 27 Tests, with nine of those coming in wins.Pujara ends a 20-month drought
Cheteshwar Pujara, who was included in the playing XI at the SSC, had not scored a Test hundred since December 2013, or even played a Test in eight months. But over the course of 289 deliveries, Pujara offered a reminder of his credentials in the longest format, scoring a gritty, unbeaten 145, and became only the fourth Indian opener to carry his bat through the innings.Fiery Ishant takes on Sri Lanka
A pumped-up Ishant Sharma was all over Sri Lanka in the final Test. Consistently hitting the good lengths, Ishant prized out five Sri Lanka wickets in the first innings, running through the hosts’ middle order on his way to 5 for 54. Ishant would pick up three more wickets in the second innings, and he celebrated each of them with a cathartic roar, as India romped to their first away series win since 2011.Mathews fights a lone battle
Angelo Mathews is no stranger to rebuilding Sri Lanka’s collapsed innings, and in the final Test, he was tasked with that job yet again. With his team-mates falling like a pack of cards, Mathews stuck around for a majestic 110, but he could not prevent defeat.

India need fresh ideas to rejuvenate an ODI team that has failed to adapt to new regulations that call for greater batting depth and hitting power

Sidharth Monga27-Oct-20151:48

‘Indian cricket has to look long-term’ – Dhoni

MS Dhoni’s view on India’s ODI issues

On batting order: “You want to have strength in the middle and lower middle order and at the same time have bowlers who can get you wickets at any point of time in the game… We have made changes in the batting order to see what gives more strength to our batting order, what looks like a good composition when we are chasing. You have to study these things.”
On fast bowlers: “If you see any other Test- or ODI-playing nation, the fast bowlers come and in one or two years they graduate to the next level – they become the strike bowlers or they learn what their strength is and bowl according to that. To some extent, we have not been able to do [that].”
On No. 7: “We have tried Stuart Binny, people have criticised that also but if you talk of allrounders in India, your best seaming allrounder is Stuart Binny, your two best spinning allrounders are Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel. Whether you like it or don’t like it, these are the best we have so we have to make the most out of them.”

ODI cricket, more than other formats, has been India’s pride. Before this year’s World Cup, they were the holders of the World Cup and Champions Trophy. At home they have been near invincible. Before this defeat to South Africa, they had lost only two series out of their last 16 at home. On both occasions – after defeats to Australia in 2009-10 and Pakistan in 2012-13 – they recovered quickly and went on to win the World Cup of 2011 and the Champions Trophy of 2013.After the defeat to Australia, India didn’t change their personnel or plans too much. Zaheer Khan was the main addition to the team that lost to Australia. After Pakistan, India changed their ODI cricket’s grammar. Out went Gautam Gambhir and Yuvraj Singh to herald a clean break from the previous era; in came younger legs, naturalised openers, and everything suddenly fell in place. New matchwinners appeared in R Ashwin and Mohammed Shami, in Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan.After this series defeat, those making decisions have to decide what kind of debacle this is: one where you keep calm and carry on or one where new match-winners and new ideas are needed. The utter helplessness during this series might suggest the latter. The return of Ashwin and Shami from injury, for example, won’t address the problems that have existed for a while now.The biggest of these has been the failure to adjust to constant rule changes. Just when India found out that being forced to attack with five bowlers was the best thing to happen for them, the ICC changed the rules. New regulations that have made hitting in the end more difficult call for more batting depth. More than four years after he ceased being a match-winner, India are still looking for a replacement for Yuvraj Singh. In ODIs, Yuvraj was not just a big hitter, he could play long innings too, unlike Suresh Raina, the closest India have got to replicating Yuvraj. Yuvraj could also be counted upon as a bowler, which for some reason MS Dhoni is not doing as regularly with Raina as he used to.That South Africa’s JP Duminy bowled 21 overs in three matches to Raina’s 14 in five was a huge difference between the sides. In five ODIs in England last year, Raina bowled 25. India kept craving that batsman at No. 7 who would free up the minds and muscles of those batting higher up, but they didn’t ask more of their batsmen. Duminy is not that much better a bowler than Raina. Nor is Farhaan Behardien more deceptive than Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma. Sneaking in overs from part-timers used to be MS Dhoni’s forte; with rule changes he seems to lost that touch.It doesn’t help Dhoni that he is not sure of his main bowlers completing their quota. The disturbing trend of their being really good for just one season continues. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has not come back the same bowler after being bowled into the ground in England last year. Who knows what we will get of Shami after he played through pain and injury in the World Cup in Australia? Umesh Yadav has the fitness, but he has not shown he has evolved as a bowler. What Dhoni said of the pace bowlers in Bangladesh might have sounded harsh but is ringing painfully true.The treatment of Ajinkya Rahane, though, is a bit harsh. Rahane would have seen Rohit and Raina get plenty of opportunities before him to cement their places. He, though, is already typecast in a rare case of the captain talking about a player’s limitations in press conferences. This has also brought about a rare instance of the selectors acknowledging the issue. Dhoni is more edgy than ever, criticising pitches and umpires, which he hardly ever did in public. He has never been in such little control of his team or the cricket it plays. And he likes control when he is on the field. During this series his fast bowlers were wayward, Harbhajan Singh and Axar Patel were nothing like Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja at their best, and the batting match-winners didn’t quite complete their jobs.When you walk into a dressing room, you want to look at match-winners. This team only really had two, Rohit and Kohli. Dhawan was out of form, although form hardly applies to him: he just starts scoring runs out of the blue. Bowlers know how to bowl to Dhoni now. They are not scared of him in the one-on-one scenarios of the final overs, where Dhoni has broken down the best of them. He did play what proved to be a match-winning innings, but when he batted India had nothing to lose and with the bat South Africa contributed generously to India’s cause.Rahane still has some way to go before he can be looked at as a reliable match-winner, but he deserves those chances. With current regulations Raina has to be asked to do more with the ball to accommodate someone such as Gurkeerat Singh, a hitter and a bowler of a few overs. ODI cricket might be leaving India behind, in that they don’t have either a jack-in-the-box who can play around with fields or a big hitter they can call upon to hit from ball one. The one man who might be suited for the role wasn’t given a single game in a bumbling line-up.It is rare that an Indian Test team looks more modern than the ODI one, but that is the case now, and it is not all about the captain or the captaincy. It is clear Indian ODI cricket needs regeneration. Their batsmen are too similar, their slow seamers are not fast enough, and their quick seamers are not smart enough. The captain is usually on a hiding to nothing in such scenarios, but this is also when the really good ones pull the side through. Dhoni has done that previously, and he keeps saying whatever he is doing now is with the next World Cup and Champions Trophy in mind, but the regeneration has to start with a question on Dhoni himself: will he be fit and good enough come the next World Cup? It’s a question India didn’t ask with Sachin Tendulkar.

While their performances in India weren’t the most eye-catching, Farhaan Behardien’s all-round competence and coach Russell Domingo’s hours of homework were vital to South Africa’s limited-overs success

Firdose Moonda26-Oct-2015Summertime and the living is easy… at least if you’re South African. Two series, two wins and that’s before you’ve realised where those contests were, who they were against and what they were the precursor to.For the record, it was against India in India in the first three weeks of a ten-week tour. South Africa’s wins included a first-ever T20 series victory in their first-ever T20 series in India and a first-ever bilateral ODI series win in five attempts. So yes, it was pretty damn special and it came with all the frills and fireworks a special occasion merits.There were the three captain’s knocks from AB de Villiers, one a heroic hundred in a losing cause, there was the consistency from the old hand, Faf du Plessis, that eventually blossomed into an innings of craft and cramp, there was the redemption of Quinton de Kock, who announced himself as an international cricketer against India again and there was the revelation of Kagiso Rabada who proved pace is pace and nothing compares. If you had been following the series at all you already know all those things and you also know that while they are the standout reasons South Africa won, they are not the only reasons.South Africa won because around de Villiers, du Plessis, de Kock and Rabada, there were others, chiefly Farhaan Behardien and Russell Domingo. The finisher and the fine-tuner have played silent roles in South Africa’s success and it’s time to make some noise about them.Behardien was South Africa’s fourth-highest run-scorer, ahead of Hashim Amla and JP Duminy (although Duminy missed the last two matches with injury) and has reached a level of consistency expected of a lower-order batsman. He is no Kieron Pollard – he is only about half the size – but he has become the finisher David Miller was supposed to be. In this series, he scored 124 runs and boasted an average of 41.33, thanks to two unbeaten scores and this year, he has played 20 ODIs, batted 15 times and averages 40.00, with a strike rate of 104.16.Add to that the fact that Behardien can bowl some of the fifth bowler’s overs. Although he was not a strike bowler, he had an economy rate of 6.15, marginally better than Duminy’s 6.71, which meant South Africa did not have to force the issue of a seam-bowling allrounder, especially since it seems they don’t have too many options. Including Chris Morris or David Wiese, who missed this series with injury, runs the risk of shortening the batting line-up but South Africa may not have to do that if they can put their trust in Behardien.Like Ryan McLaren, Behardien has had his doubters and in the same way McLaren did, he has benefitted from consistency in selection and silenced them. Behardien understands he may not be the next superstar and has made peace with his limitations. Teams need people like that as much as they do the big names.Someone who knew that all along was Domingo. In fact, he knew it so well that when he saw he was not going to add value as a cricketer – and that was way back when Domingo was still a club player – he decided to become a coach instead. That was 18 years ago, when the concept of the international coach was not as limited to the former player as it is now. These days, the prevailing opinion is that a Gary Kirsten or an Andy Flower can offer more than a Domingo or a Mike Hesson, but both are steadily proving the stereotype wrong.In his two-and-half-years in charge, Domingo has already gone where no other South African coach has gone before. He is the only one to have won a World Cup knockout game. Before this tour, he had been in charge for 14 ODI and nine T20 series and South Africa had won eight of the former and two of the latter. That may not immediately sound impressive but it included victories in Sri Lanka in both formats, in New Zealand, in the UAE and at home. They have done all of that while going through waves of change that have included the retirements of some of the stalwarts.Domingo has overseen the transition by sticking to a simple strategy of trusting the numbers but adjusting the gameplan to suit conditions. He does his homework before South Africa play and although knowing the ground average won’t help a team win a game, it will tell them whether they are on the right track. Knowing that spinners have done better than seamers from a particular end or that slower-ball bouncers are better options than yorkers at the death somewhere is also valuable insight.These days, South Africa speak with authority on those aspects of the game they may previously have simply admitted to not knowing much about. They tell local media that they expect bounce when everyone is gazing at a pancake or that the new playing conditions mean they are more likely to use short balls later on so they can have men caught at deep midwicket. That kind of thinking is Domingo’s and it has become South Africa’s. They enjoy being more informed and take pride in the nerdishness.After all, in a typical South African summer time, the living is often easier for those who got through the end-of-year exams knowing they had passed than for those anxiously awaiting the outcome. And right now, South Africa are top of the class.

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Jan-2016Nathan Lyon bowled only three balls before rain interrupted play again•Getty ImagesAnother 80-minute delay ensued before play resumed at noon•Getty ImagesCarlos Brathwaite and Denesh Ramdin stretched their overnight partnership to 87 before rain played truant again•Getty ImagesCarlos brought up his second half-century off exactly fifty balls•Getty ImagesHe smashed a couple of sixes off James Pattinson…•Getty Images…but the quick roared back to bowl Carlos for 69 off 71 balls. Rain refused to relent and wiped out the final session with West Indies at 7 for 248•Getty Images

Cricket in Western Australia has gone from strength to strength since Justin Langer took over as coach. Now, Perth Scorchers have the chance for a third straight BBL title.

Tristan Lavalette21-Jan-2016Sometime before Friday’s BBL semi-final showdown with Melbourne Stars at the MCG, Perth Scorchers coach Justin Langer will meet with revered Australian Rules football coach Alastair Clarkson. A get-together of two of Australia’s most hardnosed coaches is revealing, though hardly surprising. There are many parallels between the tenacious characters credited with almost single-handedly resurrecting their respective teams.As senior coach of three-time defending Australian Football League (AFL) premiers Hawthorn, Clarkson has transformed a group of misfits into a juggernaut. In 11 seasons with Clarkson at the helm, the Hawks have played in five grand finals – winning four- and stamped themselves as once again the AFL’s undisputed powerhouse after being the trendsetters in the 1970s and ’80s.You feel Langer has used Clarkson’s ascension with the Hawks as a template in his own coaching blueprint with Western Australia and the Scorchers. If they defeat the Stars, the Scorchers will compete in their fifth consecutive BBL final on Sunday.Under Langer, the Scorchers have played in three straight BBL finals, winning the last two. Western Australia have been runner-up in the Sheffield Shield the past two seasons having not previously made a final since 1999. They also won the 2014-15 Matador Cup, Australia’s domestic one-day tournament, having not placed higher than third in the previous decade.It has been a remarkable renaissance for WA cricket after such a barren period this millennium, which hit a nadir in late 2012 when the Marsh brothers, Shaun and Mitchell, were axed from the Scorchers’ Champions League Twenty20 campaign in South Africa.They were dumped after a night of partying to celebrate Mitchell’s 21st birthday; it was highly embarrassing for the brothers, putting their international prospects at the crossroads, but, more worryingly, it reinforced WA’s festering culture marked by ill-discipline. It reduced WA cricket to a punchline, as its halcyon days stretching from the 1970s throughout the 1990s had become a distant memory.Disenchanted by this, some of the state’s greatest ever cricket figures pleaded with then WACA vice-president Sam Gannon for a coaching shake-up. Dennis Lillee, Rod Marsh, John Inverarity and Adam Gilchrist wanted Langer, who was then Australia’s batting coach, in the coach’s hot seat in a desperate bid to arrest the decline.For Langer, taking the reins of his beloved WA was a “no-brainer” but the support he received from the top was crucial in his bid to overhaul the team’s culture. “From day one, I had overwhelming support and lots of rope to make changes,” Langer tells ESPNcricinfo. “The most important thing is we had hit rock bottom. There were lots of issues off-field and performances on-field had become mediocre. We needed to be proud to be West Aussie again, and clearly strong change was needed.”Langer had learnt greatly from his captaincy of WA in 2007, after his international career had ended, which was relatively fruitless due to an apparent resistance of his leadership style. “When I was captain in 2007, I was perceived to be too serious and setting expectation too high. It was a good experience in leadership,” Langer says.Immediately after replacing Lachlan Stevens as WA’s coach in November of 2012, Langer made it his priority to seek out Shaun Marsh, who was languishing in WA’s Second XI after having started the year playing Test cricket. Langer’s stern and frank talk with Shaun is credited as the catalyst for the talented batsman’s revival. “I talked to Shaun, his manager and his parents – who are some of my closest friends,” Langer recalls. “I looked him in the face and I said ‘I will always love you but if you step out of place, you can’t be in the organisation … you can’t afford to make one mistake’. I think he appreciated the honesty and from then Shaun has been outstanding.”There was no ranting or raving from Langer to his new players. He knew the team had talent, as evidenced by them making the inaugural BBL final, but it was clearly not being harnessed properly. Respected coaches Tom Moody and Mickey Arthur had previously tried to rejuvenate WA, leaving Langer to think the problems were deep-seated.Helping the Marsh brothers to progress has been one of Langer’s achievements•Getty ImagesOn arrival, Langer realised discipline had been preached but the message was not getting through. There were so many rules that, in effect, it had become too suffocating and confusing. “I went in with a clear message and imparted values that I had learnt from the great WA and Australian teams,” Langer says. “There had to be a buy-in to the values as we hadn’t earned the right yet. The values were based on working hard, respecting the past, looking after mates and celebrating success.”We had rules they must uphold, such as the players were never allowed to get drunk in public, they needed to be responsible with alcohol. Common sense, keeping things simple and no mobile phones at training were other key rules.”Banning mobile phones in the workplace could appear rather archaic, but Langer is unrelenting in his belief that they stymie communication. “When I was playing county cricket, players were always on their phones and it made us look so unprofessional. We are there to do a job,” Langer says. “If people are on their phones, then there is no communication. They don’t talk to each other. I saw this in the Australian dressing room, where players were texting each other in the same room. I have threatened to throw mobiles from the balcony.”Has he ever gone through with that threat?”It’s a secret,” Langer responds slyly.The collective reverence towards Langer from his players is palpable and genuine. That adoration has manifested on-field, with the team showcasing the inimitable traits that defined Langer’s indefatigable playing career.Notably, the Scorchers haven’t been particularly sleek but a healthy dose of resoluteness and pluck has made them the BBL’s trendsetter. You can never write the Scorchers off, even in the direst of situations. They generally find a way to eke out victories. No matter the result, you can’t question their intent.Smartly, the Scorchers have resisted the temptation of splurging on glossy international players, preferring to build around a local core. Continuity has been a trademark of the team and helps explain their sustained success in cricket’s most volatile format. “Cricket Australia probably wouldn’t like me saying this, but we want to build a sustainable program for WA cricket 12 months a year, not 11 months,” Langer says. “We primarily want to give players from our squad a chance and use this stability as our competitive advantage. We have a really clear strategy with overseas players, they are the cream on top. We do not build a franchise around them like some other teams do.”Langer’s overwhelming success has made him the likely successor to Australia coach Darren Lehmann. Accordingly, Langer will become Australia’s caretaker coach during their tour of the Caribbean mid-year in an effort to give Lehmann a welcome break.While a succession plan is seemingly underway, Langer is reluctant to get too ahead of himself. “Life is about timing, maybe I’ll coach Australia one day,” he says. “I look forward to the Caribbean but it is a caretaker role and is about giving Boof a few weeks off. Being an international coach sounds glamorous but you’re away from home 11 months of the year. It’s incredibly taxing.”In typical Langer fashion, he’s only focusing on the task ahead. Right now, his concentration is centred on the Scorchers’ historic bid for a hat-trick of BBL titles.”I am nervous [ahead of the semi-final]. I am always nervous before games,” Langer says. “It is all about creating great memories. Statistics don’t mean a lot when your career is over. Celebrating wins is what I remember from my playing days.”[The hat-trick of titles] is an unbelievable opportunity. We have a chance to create a great legacy.”

Stats highlights of this season’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Bharath Seervi21-Jan-20162005-06 Last time Uttar Pradesh won a domestic title, before winning this Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. They had won the Ranji Trophy title on that occasion. They ended as a runner-up in the 2007-08 and 2008-09 Ranji seasons, and also in Ranji One-Day Trophy in 2005-06. On this occasion, they beat Baroda by 38 runs in the final at the Wankhede Stadium. Two seasons ago, in 2013-14, against the same oppositions and at the same venue they had lost by three runs in the final.2 Times a team has won the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy without losing a match. Uttar Pradesh won all their nine games. Bengal had done this in 2010-11, winning each of their eight matches.60-31 Win-loss record of teams chasing in this competition; the win-loss ratio of 1.935 for teams fielding first is the highest in any season. This is the third time when teams chasing have won more matches than teams batting first, after the 2010-11 season when the win-loss ratio was 1.093 (32 out of 68) and the 2012-13 season when it was 1.285 (45 out of 81). Incidentally, all of the 16 Super League matches were won by teams fielding first. The final was won by the team batting first though.7.17 Average run rate this series – second-best in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy series after 2009-10, when the scoring-rate was 7.44 an over. Also, the average runs per wicket in this series of 21.03 is the second-best after 2009-10, when it was 21.27.21.46 Average opening stand – the worst for any of the seven seasons played so far. In 2012-13, an average of 21.73 runs were scored per dismissal, which was the previous worst. The highest average by opening stands was in 2009-10, when it was 29.08. There were four century partnerships for the first wicket this season though, second-most after 2009-10 and 2013-14 when there were five.28.9 Balls per six in the tournament – least among all seasons. Last season, a six was hit every 30.4 deliveries and one every 33.9 balls in the season before that. As many as 715 sixes were hit in this series. The previous highest was 595 sixes in 2014-15. Overall, however, a boundary (fours and sixes) was hit every 7.3 balls in 2015-16, only the third least in a Syed Mushtaq Ali series.4 Centuries made in 2015-16, the joint second highest in a Syed Mushtaq Ali series after 2012-13 when there were six hundreds. There were four hundreds made last year as well.377 Runs scored by Baroda’s Hardik Pandya – the most by a batsman in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy season going past Avi Barot’s 369 in 2013-14 for Haryana. Pandya played two consecutive innings of 81* off 51 and 86* off 46. Also, his average of 53.83 is the second highest in a season among the 12 batsmen who made 300 or more runs; Mayank Agarwal’s 61.40 in 2012-13 is the highest (scored 307 runs). Click here for highest run-getters in this season.39 Runs made in one over bowled by Delhi’s Akash Sudan in the last group match – the most expensive in T20 cricket beating the 38-run over by James Fuller for Gloucestershire against Sussex’s Scott Styris in England in 2012. The previous record for most runs in an over in T20s in India was the one bowled by Prasanth Parameswaran to Chris Gayle in 2011 IPL when 37 runs were leaked. Pandya plundered 34 runs off that Sudan over – the second highest by a batsman in a T20 in India after Gayle’s 36 runs off Parameswaran’s over.21 Sixes by Delhi’s Nitish Rana – most by anyone in a season going past Sagun Kamat (2013-14) and Tirumalasetti Suman (2014-15) who had hit 19 sixes. Pandya also hit 19 sixes this season with 14 of them in two consecutive innings.175.88 Rana’s strike rate – the highest by a batsman facing 150 or more balls in a season. He scored 299 runs in 170 balls at an average of 42.71, including three fifties with a highest of 97.3 Number of players who have scored 150-plus runs and taken 15 or more wickets as captain in any T20 series. Irfan Pathan – who captained Baroda – did it in this Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy with 200 runs and 17 wickets in 10 matches. The other captains to do it before him are: Shakib Al Hasan, with 280 runs and 15 wickets in 11 matches in the 2011-12 Bangladesh Premier League and Dwayne Bravo, who made 173 runs and took 28 wickets in 13 matches in the Caribbean Premier League in 2015. Pathan averaged 40 with bat and 15.76 with ball this season.3 Times Cheepurapalli Stephen took four or more wickets in an innings playing for Andhra – most such hauls by anyone this year. Seven others have taken two such hauls in a season, including Ranjit Mali, Nathu Singh and Irfan Pathan.3 Centuries by Unmukt Chand in T20s, including the one he hit this year. He scored 108 playing for Delhi against Gujarat in a Super League match. His previous two centuries came in 2012-13 in consecutive innings. No India batsman has scored more than three T20 centuries; Rohit Sharma and Suresh Raina have three centuries each. Only Gayle (5) and David Warner (4) have scored more centuries in T20 cricket in India than Chand.

The left-arm spinner has been one of India’s most selfless cricketers, which makes his not-out effort during India’s collapse a strange innings

Sidharth Monga20-Jan-20160:36

‘Jadeja should have communicated better’ – Dhoni

These are important words, spoken without provocation or context by MS Dhoni after India lost the third ODI of the series in Melbourne. Under Dhoni, India finally got rid of those not-outers and two cricketers much maligned as his favourites, Suresh Raina and Ravindra Jadeja, have played an important part in purging this syndrome.Jadeja, in particular, was the epitome of the selfless cricketer, never thinking about personal landmarks and always willing to punch above his weight. He has justly been rewarded with the allrounder’s slot in the side, chosen ahead of R Ashwin for his batting and fielding when it comes to limited-overs cricket.Today Jadeja came in to bat in the 40th over, at No. 6 because Ajinkya Rahane was injured, with India needing 71 runs. He didn’t play a shot in anger, didn’t try to farm the strike, didn’t go and talk to Umesh Yadav and the inexperienced Rishi Dhawan when they committed hara kiri moments after hitting a boundary, and even in the last over, he wasn’t backing up at the non-striker’s end. Most pertinently, he stayed not out, on just 24 off 27 balls. Jadeja is a better batsman than the tail, far more experienced than Gurkeerat and Rishi, but never looked like he took charge of the situation.”The main batsman has to communicate, especially with the lower-order batsmen because it’s not easy out here,” Dhoni said at the end. “He’s amongst the most experienced when it comes to the lower-order batsmen, so it’s not totally about your batting. In the end, you have to tell the people who are batting with you what the bowler may be doing and what the batsman should be looking at. A bit more communication will definitely help, but I don’t think he’s somebody who really speaks a lot, so that’s something we will have to take into account.”

This is not to apportion blame or to single somebody out in a terrible collapse or to say Jadeja definitely played for his not-out. This is something the team needs to have a chat about. For if this came out of insecurity, it has potential to do much more harm than anything else in that collapse

That it has happened with Jadeja is shocking. He spent a lot of time out of the team because he went up and batted selflessly in a World T20 game in England. He can bowl for his captain until his shoulder comes off and doesn’t shy away from those dirty overs when getting hit is almost a certainty. On the field, he chases after every ball in his vicinity. This innings is arguably a first with Jadeja and so he must be given the benefit of doubt.Perhaps the team’s instructions were for Jadeja to stay till the end and let others hit out, but if that was the case the team’s instructions were flawed since the others kept hitting the wind or kept holing out. Perhaps, as Dhoni said, Jadeja is not a good communicator. Hopefully it is just that.This is not to apportion blame or to single somebody out in a terrible collapse or to say Jadeja definitely played for his not-out. This is something the team needs to have a chat about. For if this came out of insecurity, it has potential to do much more harm than anything else in that collapse. For there is good reason now for a player to feel insecure about his place in this set-up. Jadeja already feels he was unfairly dropped from the Test side after an ordinary performance in the ODIs last year. As it is, Dhoni is losing his say in selections, and keeps hinting at dissatisfaction with the squads he is given.”The captain and the selectors are there to look at specifically that [the attitude when you are playing down the order],” Dhoni had said. The captain, though, doesn’t have the control he used to in the face of strange selections. After the Brisbane defeat, he was averse to the idea of dropping Ashwin for Rishi, but by the Melbourne ODI, collective minds had been changed. If Ashwin, hailed as the best spinner in the world a week ago, can be dropped after two games, what of Jadeja?Was this a case of lack of clear thinking when under siege of the start of a disturbing trend? The team needs to find out.There is cruel prescience to this Jadeja innings. In an unrelated incident, asked about the dearth of allrounders, team director Ravi Shastri had this to say a day before this ODI: “Jaddu showed in the Test series that he has matured a lot. Whenever he batted he played crucial innings. Why not in Australia? When he gets the opportunity… you have to get the opportunity first. We have batted so well at the top that the opportunity hasn’t been there. If and when there is a situation, like Australia were [in Melbourne], six down or seven down with another 60 to get. That will be his test.”Jadeja came in with six wickets in hand and with 71 runs to get. He started brightly enough, placing the ball well for couples, which was the need of the hour with six wickets in hand. What followed once the wickets began to fall is not the innings India needed. They need to talk about it.

08-May-2016Shikhar Dhawan at the other end made a sedate start and was happy to just rotate the strike•BCCIHarbhajan Singh broke through for Mumbai Indians, getting Warner to skew a drive to Kieron Pollard at long-off•BCCIHarbhajan sent Kane Williamson back in his next over to leave Sunrisers 91 for 2 in 11.3 overs•BCCIYuvraj Singh put behind a forgettable Sunrisers debut and biffed 39 off 23 balls, adding 85 for the third wicket with Dhawan•BCCIThe duo blasted 68 runs between overs 15 and 19 as Mumbai struggled to stem the run flow•BCCIThat was until Yuvraj, stuck deep in his crease, unwittingly chopped his own stumps off Mitchell McClenaghan in the final over•BCCIDhawan, meanwhile, had grown in confidence and unfurled his range of strokes to finish unbeaten on 82 off 57 balls•BCCIMumbai’s fielders were sharp and saved quite a few runs, but Sunrisers raced away to 177 for 3 nonetheless•BCCIMumbai received an early jolt when Bhuvneshwar Kumar trapped Parthiv Patel lbw in the first over of the chase•BCCIAshish Nehra struck off his first ball, getting Rohit Sharma to chop an inswinger onto his stumps•BCCINehra got Ambati Rayudu to hole out to Kane Williamson at backward point, before sending Jos Buttler back two deliveries later to flatten Mumbai•BCCIWhen Kieron Pollard was caught by Barinder Sran at long-on, Mumbai were 49 for 6 in the ninth over•BCCIThe stage was set for Mustafizur Rahman to weave his magic and he sent Hardik Pandya packing with his first ball•BCCIHarbhajan resisted with an unbeaten 21, but it was scant compensation as Mumbai were shot out for 92 and lost by 85 runs•BCCISunrisers’ bowlers hunted in a pack, but it was Nehra who finished as the pick of the lot with 3 for 15 in three overs that earned him the Man-of-the-Match award•BCCI