Spin accounted for about 47% of the total balls bowled in this tournament, which was a huge increase from previous World Cups

S Rajesh04-Apr-2011Perhaps the most important difference between the 2011 World Cup and all the earlier ones was the role that spin played this time. It was always expected to be a key aspect, but what was surprising was the extent to which it dominated. Almost all the pitches in the tournament were slow – that’s the inherent nature of tracks in the subcontinent – but the fact that the tournament was played at the end of the Indian season, when many pitches had already been used for domestic cricket, probably added to the slowness of the wickets. Teams used spinners liberally to start the bowling and even at the death, while there were instances of teams going in with only one specialist seamer and three spinners.In all, spinners bowled 11,901 deliveries in this World Cup out of 25,425 balls bowled in the entire tournament. In percentage terms, that works out to 46.81, whereas in 2007, spin had contributed 8100 out of 25851 (31.33%). The percentage increase in balls bowled by spinners in 2011 over 2007 is almost 47% too, which is a huge jump too.A look at the spin numbers for the last seven World Cups reveals that this is the most spin-dominant, in terms of number of overs and the wickets taken by them. Not surprisingly, the two previous World Cups played in the subcontinent are the next-best, both in terms of percentage of balls bowled and wickets taken. In 1996, spinners bowled about 38% of the deliveries and took 41% of the wickets; this time, they bowled nearly 47% of all balls but took about 43% of the wickets.In terms of averages and run-rates, the numbers for spin aren’t very different from the overall tournament numbers: the spinners averaged 31.51 runs per wicket at an economy rate of 4.60 per over, while the overall tournament stats were 31.19 and 4.91.

Contribution by spinners in each World Cup

YearSpin – ballsTotal ballsPercentageSpin – wicketsTotal wicketsPercentage201111,90125,42546.8129066843.412007810025,85131.3320165830.552003809925,76331.4419568928.301999454822,72120.028754815.881996747719,55638.2316941141.191992478420,49823.349444721.031987543215,41335.2410632133.02With spin accounting for so many overs in the World Cup, it was hardly surprising that the two teams which made it to the final were the ones who tackled spin better than anyone else. India and Sri Lanka were the only sides to have a 50-plus average and a run-rate of more than five against spin. Among the batsmen who scored most runs against spin, six of the top seven were from these two sides – the only one outside of these teams was England’s Jonathan Trott, who also headed the list.However, India’s spin attack certainly wasn’t the best of the tournament, despite Yuvraj Singh’s superb display with the ball. They averaged more than 36 runs per wicket, and conceded almost five runs per over. Harbhajan Singh averaged more than 43 runs per wicket, while Yusuf Pathan took only one wicket in 35 overs. (Click here for India’s batting and bowling stats.)Pakistan’s spinners were the leading wicket-takers with 37, and they finished with an excellent average and economy rate too. Shahid Afridi was obviously their star spinner – he became the second spinner to lead the wickets tally in a World Cup, after Anil Kumble in 1996 – but he was also supported superbly by Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal.The surprise package, in terms of spin quality, was clearly South Africa. The trio of Imran Tahir, Robin Peterson and Johan Botha was both incisive and economical, and their collective display was the main reason why so many experts had high expectations from this South African team.

Team-wise spin stats in World Cup 2011

TeamBat – runs/ wktsAverageRun-rateBowl – wktsAverageEcon rateIndia1052/ 1858.445.363436.294.91Sri Lanka842/ 1652.625.343421.583.91Pakistan594/ 1833.004.663720.403.76New Zealand743/ 2430.954.241237.504.35Australia689/ 1449.214.77861.004.61South Africa743/ 1646.434.663618.944.19England837/ 2731.004.731833.505.02West Indies538/ 3216.813.871627.374.72The overall numbers
Overall, too, Pakistan and South Africa were among the best bowling units – they were the top two in bowling averages and economy rates. South Africa conceded only one 250-plus score in the entire tournament – to India – while Sri Lanka conceded two and Pakistan three. The only team to concede five such totals were India – against Bangladesh, England, South Africa, Australia and Sri Lanka.However, while India’s bowling attack wasn’t the best in the tournament, their batting was surely the most explosive. They made seven 250-plus scores; Sri Lanka were the only other team to touch five. India’s run-rate of 5.79 was the best too, and they were one of only two sides to score more than 5.50 runs per over.

Team stats in the 2011 World Cup

TeamWin/lossBat aveRun rateBowl aveEcon rateAve diffER diffIndia7/ 139.855.7929.865.199.990.60Sri Lanka6/ 247.975.6723.954.5624.021.11Pakistan6/ 231.245.0121.064.2610.180.75New Zealand5/ 333.235.2823.454.599.780.69South Africa5/ 235.345.2918.364.3316.980.96Australia4/ 242.385.4228.744.6513.640.77England3/ 332.665.3335.435.47-2.77-0.14West Indies3/ 423.914.8423.604.790.310.05Breaching the five per over mark
It was widely expected that this would be the first World Cup where the average runs per over would exceed five, and so it proved: the run-rate for the entire tournament was 5.03, which was a shade above 2007’s mark of 4.95. Despite this, though, it didn’t seem like a batsman-dominated World Cup, probably because there weren’t too many ridiculously high totals. Out of seventeen 300-plus scores this time, only three exceeded 340. In 2007, eight out of sixteen 300-plus scores were in excess of 340. In all, though, there were thirty-seven 250-plus totals in 49 matches in 2011, compared to 25 in 51 matches in 2007.

How each World Cup stacks up

YearMatchesRunsAverageRun-rate20114921,33329.185.0320075121,33329.424.9519872712,52232.524.8720035220,44127.844.7619963615,22532.124.6719994216,96328.414.4719923915,10729.394.4219832712,04629.524.08197515616229.623.91197914516825.583.54Tale of three countries
The overall run-rate of more than five was largely due to the fact that India hosted 60% of the matches. The run-rate in these matches was 5.23, while the matches played in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh had much lower scoring rates. Out of the seventeen 300-plus scores in the tournament, 12 came in India, four in Sri Lanka and only one in Bangladesh.

Stats by host country

HostMatchesRunsAverageRun-rate100s/ 50s4s/ 6sIndia2913,66530.705.2316/ 681245/ 194Sri Lanka12475729.004.856/ 23414/ 43Bangladesh8291123.864.492/ 12243/ 21The DRS numbers
The Decision Review System was used 182 times in 49 games, which works out to an average of 3.71 times per game. The only match in which it wasn’t used at all was in the quarter-final between New Zealand and South Africa. At the other end of the scale was the game between Pakistan and Canada, when there were ten reviews, which was the highest of the tournament. Five of those appeals were upheld, which is also the highest in a single game.Of the 182 reviews, 37 times the on-field umpire’s original decision was changed, which means his call was upheld almost 80% of the time. The batting team used the review 78 times, of which 17 were successful (21.79%), while the corresponding percentage for the fielding team was 19.23 (20 out of 104).The team which used the DRS most effectively was South Africa, with five appeals upheld out of 13. They’re followed by three minnows, and then by Pakistan, who used the system more than any other side. The only side which didn’t get a single review correct was Ireland – all 11 of their appeals were struck down.

Teams which got highest review percentage correct

TeamReviewsAppeal upheldPercentageSouth Africa13538.46Canada14535.71Zimbabwe14535.71Kenya16425.00Pakistan21523.81India18422.22Among the umpires, Aleem Dar was outstanding, with all 14 reviews of his decisions being struck down. Billy Bowden was the only other umpire with a 100% record. Simon Taufel was going well too, till his not-out decision against Thilan Samaraweera in the final was overturned when Yuvraj Singh asked for a review. Taufel finished with ten out of his 12 review appeals being struck down, a percentage of 83.33.The two umpires with the poorest review records were Asoka de Silva (five out of eight appeals upheld), and Daryl Harper (seven out of 14).

Umpires with least % of decisions overturned

UmpireReviewsAppeal rejectedPercentageAleem Dar1414100.00Billy Bowden66100.00Marius Erasmus111090.90Billy Doctrove9888.89Shavir Tarapore9888.89

Not having England at the business end of the tournament would just not be right. The World Cup needs them nearly as much as they need it

Sambit Bal in Chennai17-Mar-2011England are still alive in the World Cup, and just as well.
Schizophrenic and never short of thrills, they have been the life of
this tournament. Fittingly, they produced another flawed performance, yet inspirational and resilient, to ensure that they won’t be
boarding the flight home tomorrow morning. They have spent an eternity on the road so far this winter, but not having them at the business end of the tournament would just not be right. The World Cup needs them nearly as much as they need it.If anything, England have displayed a near-miraculous ability to
calibrate their game to the relative strengths of their opponents. But
today they found an opponent more truant than them, and just as
England had blown their previous match as much as Bangladesh had won it, today the West Indians lost it as much as England snatched it from them.Ottis Gibson, the West Indies coach, and a vital member of the English
troupe not so long ago, spoke almost enviously about the resilience in
the opposition camp which kept them in the quarter-final reckoning. The 18-run margin may look huge in a relatively low-scoring game, but on the field, it was almost as tight as Jonathan’s Trott’s disputed catch on the long-on boundary – a massive moment which was, after inconclusive replays, called a six.That was the sort of moment that could have crushed England. West Indies were less than 40 runs away from their target with Ramnaresh Sarwan and Andre Russell, playing only in his second ODI and batting like a braveheart, having added 54 for the seventh wicket. Russell’s dismissal would have left them 204 for 7 with no more batting to follow. Instead they jumped to 210 for 6. With a catch having gone down in the outfield earlier, England would have been excused for imagining divine injustice.But instead they regrouped. The field closed in. One more man was
brought in to the circle. James Tredwell, a county veteran but World
Cup rookie, who had kept England in the game with three wickets in his first four overs, replaced Graeme Swann and produced a tight over that yielded only a run. Ravi Bopara then chugged through another tidy over that was only ruined by a fortuitous squeeze from Sarwan that ran away to third man for four. But clearly the incident of that catch seemed to have unnerved the West Indians more than the English.Till then, the West Indian batsmen had played boldly and
adventurously; more adventurously perhaps than the occasion demanded. It looked fitful and desperate, but it was working. Nine sixes had been clouted, and Russell alone had hit three, each a clean blow over the straight field. But suddenly, with the knowledge that victory, now in their grasp, could have slipped with that catch on the boundary,
they grew fidgety and edgy. And England had the men to prey on their
nerves.With four balls remaining in his tenth over, Tredwell went round the wicket to pin Russell on the crease. And back for his final over, Swann got a ball kick up to Sarwan and a forward short-leg had been posted to accept the inside-edge. Sulieman Benn survived a close lbw, but Kemar Roach went to a feeble loft to mid-off, and finally, Benn charged down for a desperate second to be run out by a yard.By then England had already recovered from a middle-order collapse of 4 for 40 to post a score that could be defended, before weathering an early blitz from Chris Gayle, who clubbed the quick bowlers so ferociously that England, who opened with Swann, had spin at both ends by the seventh over.But the moves that would prove decisive were made before the toss. In
some ways, England’s hands were forced by circumstance, having lost first Stuart Broad and then Ajmal Shahzad to injury. But instead of trusting the experience of James Anderson and Paul Collingwood
England plumped for Tredwell and Luke Wright. It was a gamble
because as Andrew Strauss admitted, as composed on the field as he is before the cameras, the new players may have come in mentally fresh, but they also did so without match practice, and in Tredwell’s case, not a single wicket at ODI level.But as was the case with Devendra Bishoo, the little Guyanese legspinner whom West Indies chose to blood, this was a match for the outsiders. Wright, who has spent most of his time in this World Cup as a substitute fielder, played perhaps the most important role of his stop-start international career to save the English innings from imploding. The West Indians made it easier for him by switching to their lesser bowlers when England were under the cosh, and by dropping their intensity on the field, but Wright batted intelligently, building gradually and then taking boundaries when opportunities came to swing his arms.England haven’t been the best team in the World Cup. In fact, a
theoretical chance still exists – if Bangladesh beat South Africa and
West Indies bounce back to beat India – that they could still be eliminated before the quarter-finals. But unlike some of the more fancied teams in this tournament, they are yet to lose to a top side, and with Bangladesh and Ireland out of their way, who knows how far they can go.But for the moment, let’s be grateful that they are still there,
keeping the World Cup throbbing and turning. Are they really the new
Pakistan, as Swann suggested immediately after the win? Who would have ever said that about an English side?

It was a day for bewilderment, tut-tutting and plenty of jokes

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Nov-2011″No Test cricket on the weekend for the Capetonians, they will have to head for the beach!”
“I went to bed having watched the first session with South Africa 1 for 49 at lunch. When my phone buzzed it said Australia 7 for 21… By the time I got to the TV to check it all out for myself I just saw Shaun Marsh become [Vernon] Philander’s fifth wicket and all of a sudden they were 21 for nine. I was trying to work out what had happened because for a moment I thought I’d missed a whole day of my life. “
“I feel sorry for the groundsman because of course questions will be asked. Yet people are not being peppered [on the body] and the bounce is not a special problem [from a consistency point of view].”
“Australia Test Team are 9 wickets for 21 runs. Yes, it’s Australia and not Austria v Sth Africa.”
“Batsmen aren’t exposed to quality fast bowling a lot, so their game is not equipped mentally as well as technically to cope with good fast bowling when they see it.”
“The talked-about two-match Test series has just turned into one and half.”
“No pitch in the world is a 21 for 9 pitch.”
Commentator Harsha Bhogle concurs“… given the freakish course of this exciting Test match, the Western Province Cricket Association has decided to allow the loyal cricket supporters … to use tickets for Saturday and Sunday today, or alternatively for the Nashua Mobile Cape Cobras versus Nashua Titans 50 over One-Day Cup match next Friday 18 November.”
Other cricket boards could learn a thing or two from the benevolent Western Province Cricket Association“HOLY MOLY… Is the wicket that bad?”
Kevin Pietersen is shocked

Stats highlights from a riveting Test series between South Africa and Australia

S Rajesh22-Nov-2011Tough on batsmenTo say that it was a difficult series for the batsmen would be a huge understatement. The top orders from both sides struggled in conditions that were superb for fast bowling, and it’s reflected in the series averages: Australia averaged 24.65, and South Africa 29.28. The numbers below also reflect how closely matched the two teams were: they scored exactly the same number runs, and there was hardly any difference in the scoring rates too, though Australia lost six more wickets in doing so. Overall in the series, a wicket fell every 7.2 overs, which means about 12 fell on average in a 90-over day.The averages charts reiterate this: for Australia, Michael Clarke was the only top-order batsman to average more than 40, while Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey both averaged less than 20. Even with Clarke, 151 out of his 166 runs came in one innings, an exceptional effort in the first innings of the first Test. For South Africa, the top batting numbers look a little better: Hashim Amla was the only batsman from either team to score more than 200 runs in the series, while Graeme Smith’s unbeaten century in the first Test run-chase lifted his average to 61.67. Amla’s series average of 59.75 means he has averaged 50 or more in seven of his last 11 series. During this period, only three batsmen have scored 2500-plus runs at a higher average.However, South Africa’s middle-order mainstay of several years, Jacques Kallis, didn’t enjoy as much success, scoring only 58 runs at 19.33. Those 58 runs came in only 70 deliveries, which is the fewest deliveries Kallis has ever faced in a Test series in his entire career. The series strike rate of 82.85 is his second-highest. It’s also a far-cry from his first home series against Australia in 1996-97, when he’d scored all of 49 runs in 238 deliveries at an average of 9.80 and a strike rate of 20.58.In this series, the batting averages for both teams were headed by their leading strike bowlers (though one of them didn’t live up to that tag). Mitchell Johnson averaged 50.50 with the bat, but more importantly, scored runs when his team badly needed them. With the ball, though, he did more harm than good, averaging 85 for each of his three wickets at an economy rate of 4.10. Dale Steyn scored 65 and was dismissed just once in the series, but he did justice to his primary suit too, taking 11 wickets at 21.81.

The overall series stats for South Africa and Australia

TeamRuns scoredDismissalsAverageRun-rate100s/ 50sSouth Africa9373229.283.663/ 4Australia9373824.653.651/ 5The partnership stats are also pretty uneven for both teams. Australia have a higher first-wicket average, though that’s entirely due to the 174-run stand between Shane Watson and Phillip Hughes in the first innings in Johannesburg. The Amla-Smith stand during the run-chase in Cape Town pushes up the overall second-wicket stats for South Africa, while AB de Villiers made a couple of key contributions too in the middle order.

Partnership stats for each wicket

WicketSA – Average100/ 50 standsAus – Average100/ 50 stands1st28.750/ 046.751/ 02nd68.501/ 012.000/ 03rd36.330/ 138.001/ 04th59.001/ 031.501/ 05th41.331/ 013.250/ 06th5.670/ 015.750/ 17th2.000/ 034.000/ 1The head-to-head battlesThough this was only a two-Test series, there were still some interesting head-to-head numbers that emerged. Hughes averaged 29.25 in the series, but clearly won his battle against Dale Steyn, scoring 42 at run-a-ball against him over the entire series. Steyn didn’t dismiss Clarke either, but got rid of Ricky Ponting twice in 57 deliveries.The impressive Vernon Philander, on the other hand, had plenty of success against both Hughes and Clarke, with combined figures of 5 for 60 against them. Michael Hussey’s series, on the other hand, was spoiled by Morne Morkel, who dismissed him twice for only 17 runs.Johnson was supposed to be Australia’s strike bowler, but he didn’t make much of an impression on the South African batsmen. Amla scored 88 from 98 deliveries off him, which is the most runs scored by a batsman off one bowler in the series. Smith enjoyed batting against him too, scoring 52 off 74 balls, while Jacques Rudolph helped himself to 39 off 40.Amla was, quite surprisingly, kept on a tight leash by Peter Siddle, though he couldn’t achieve the same sort of control against Smith. His stats against Kallis, though, are perhaps the quirkiest in a bowler-dominated series: in 14 deliveries, Kallis scored 26 runs off him, but still managed to get out to him once.

Head-to-head contests

BatsmanBowlerRunsBallsDismissalsAverageRun ratePhil HughesDale Steyn42420-6.00Michael ClarkeDale Steyn40620-6.00Ricky PontingDale Steyn2457212.002.52Phil HughesVernon Philander295839.663.00Michael ClarkeVernon Philander3156215.503.32Michael HusseyMorne Morkel173828.502.68Hashim AmlaMitchell Johnson8898244.005.38Hashim AmlaPeter Siddle301310-1.37Graeme SmithPeter Siddle55650-5.07Jacques RudolphMitchell Johnson39400-5.85Jacques KallisPeter Siddle2614126.0011.14

Stats highlights from day three of the first Test in Dubai where Pakistan completed a 10-wicket victory

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan19-Jan-2012

• England’s defeat is their first since the loss in the third Test of the Ashes in Perth in December 2010. Between then and this defeat, they had won seven out of nine Tests. It is also Pakistan’s fifth victory over England in Tests played outside England. Pakistan’s last win against England came in the third Test of the ill-fated 2010 tour at The Oval when they went on to win by four wickets.
• Pakistan’s 10-wicket victory is their third such win against England and their first against them outside England. Overall, England have suffered 10-wicket defeats on 20 different occasions. Their previous such defeat came against South Africa in Headingley in 2008.
• Misbah-ul-Haq led Pakistan to their seventh win in his 13th match as captain. His win-loss ratio of 7.00 is the best among Pakistan captains who have led their team in at least ten matches.
• Saeed Ajmal’s match haul of 10 for 97 is the fourth-best by a Pakistan bowler in Tests against England and the best by a Pakistan bowler at a neutral venue surpassing the 8 for 72 by Shoaib Akhtar against Australia in Colombo in 2002. Ajmal’s ten-wicket haul is only the second by a Pakistan spinner against England after Abdul Qadir’s effort in 1987.
• For the first time since the Perth Test in December 2010, England were bowled out in both innings without aggregating 400 runs in the game. It is also the first time since 2000 that this has occurred against Pakistan and the tenth time overall in the same period.
• It is also the 11th occasion for England since 2000 and their first since the Johannesburg Test in 2010 when there has been just one fifty-plus score in the Test. Matt Prior was their only player to reach fifty in this match.
• The aggregate partnership for the top four wickets in the match for England was just 77. This is the fifth-lowest for England since the end of the World War I.
• Since the end of the Sri Lanka series, Alastair Cook has had a mixed run. In seven completed innings he has failed to go past five on five occasions but in the other two innings against India, he scored 294 and 34.
• Ajmal also became the fifth bowler to pick up seven lbw wickets in a match. Only Mohammad Zahid and Chaminda Vaas have picked up more lbw wickets in a match (8).

The tri-series showed that the format can work, that Virat Kohli is India’s future, and that Mahela Jayawardene is one of the game’s best captains

Daniel Brettig09-Mar-2012The triangular format can work
It may only have been revived for television purposes, but the classic formula of three teams vying for two spots in the finals demonstrated its potential for a far greater array of scenarios and intrigues than a mere bilateral ODI contest. Just as in the 1980s and 1990s, Australia’s invitation to two teams to contest the hosts made for multiple levels of interest, a sense maintained right up until the final qualifying match when Sri Lanka beat Australia to elbow India out of the finals. India’s Hobart pyrotechnics, of course, were sustained in order to claim a bonus point, the kind of stratagem that will never be necessary in a two-headed race. This is not to say that the concept of three teams contesting a series is beyond all suspicion. Like any sporting confrontation, its success requires opponents of well-matched merit and standing, and conditions apt for the joust. Fortunately, this series had both.Virat Kohli is India’s future
Australia’s players may not like him much, but that is precisely the point. Kohli demonstrated across the series the sort of street-fighting attitude and aggression that India’s next generation must possess in order to fight for their country’s place at cricket’s top table. The nation’s financial and political strength in the game will be left hollow if the players are not willing to scrap and battle for results against similarly dogged opposition, and Kohli has the sort of marriage of class, gumption and just a little “mongrel” that Arjuna Ranatunga used so valuably for Sri Lanka. As Sachin Tendulkar’s star fades and the captain MS Dhoni continues to be worn down by the demands of constant cricket, Kohli will be in heavy demand. No-one watching his effort at Bellerive Oval in particular could doubt that they were watching India’s next captain.Australia are getting the hang of succession planning
It was no easy thing to drop Ricky Ponting or Brad Haddin. Both held elevated places in Australia’s dressing room for their leadership qualities and experience. Ponting is one of the game’s undisputed greats. But by the end of the series the wisdom of John Inverarity and his panel could be seen in the progress of those who had replaced them. Peter Forrest played with the composure of a far older batsman when he gained his opportunity, making a century in the Hobart match that might have served as Ponting’s farewell. Matthew Wade showed sound glovework, punchy batting and a combative attitude that Haddin would have approved of. David Warner had a glimpse of leadership, and by series’ end had made himself an ODI player as formidable as his Twenty20 and Test variants. And on his return, Shane Watson slotted into No. 3 in the ODI batting order, the same position he is likely to occupy in the West Indies Tests. While Ponting’s energy and drive were missed, it is now possible to imagine the Australian team without him. A month ago this was a far harder task.Sri Lanka are on the right path
How disorienting for Australia’s players to find Sri Lanka a far sterner opponent down under than they had been in the subcontinent last year? Following a nine-month period of uncertainty, political machinations and changeable selection, the island nation returned to its most capable leader in Mahela Jayawardene and hired a coach, Graham Ford, who has long had his eyes on the job. After some uncertain early steps as the team remembered how to win, Jayawardene took his team on a mostly triumphant path through the qualifying rounds, then found a way to regather his men after they were stunned by Virat Kohli in Hobart. The finals were tightly contested, and though Sri Lanka went home without a trophy, they had announced themselves as a team to once again be reckoned with.Mahela Jayawardene is one of the game’s best captains
Returning to the leadership of his country for reasons of duty, Jayawardene was strong in almost all the areas that his predecessor Tillakaratne Dilshan was weak. Plans were clearly set out and firmly applied, morale was regenerated, and opponents were soon learning to expect a fight. If Jayawardene skirts close to the edge of acceptable on-field behaviour at times, it is only because of his own drive and passion for results. He is a cricketer Sri Lanka’s players are happy to follow, and may now do so for some time. Arguably the best measure of Jayawardene’s strengths was how he managed the use of his predecessor, who entered the series under the clouds of his demotion, but ended it as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, as well as a legitimate new ball option on slow pitches.The summer dragged on too long
Like the triangular series itself, the length of the summer was a by-product of India’s television and scheduling preferences. A home series against the West Indies made an earlier arrival impossible, while the money to be derived from Indian matches made the invitation to Sri Lanka all the more attractive a proposition for Cricket Australia. However the Australian summer’s rhythms have been well established over more than a century of international visits, and it remains a fact that the crowds start thinning out in February and begin to evaporate altogether in March. Compelling as the contest was, there were as many groans as cheers about the need for a third ODI final, and only their most churlish detractors would rejoice in the fact that Australia’s players flew straight from the final match to the Caribbean, without the chance for even one night at home.

Just as on day one, England’s bowlers plugged away until the close to gain an edge in their pursuit of victory

Andrew McGlashan06-Apr-2012England’s cricketers will not know what has hit them when they return home on Sunday. The domestic season has dawned with temperatures requiring multiple layers, while the international players have been sweating buckets trying to regain their reputation in Sri Lanka. Never more so than the fourth day in Colombo, which ended with them sensing a series-levelling victory.That chance, though, did not appear so close just two overs from the close. Graeme Swann was tossed the ball for six deliveries and in the space of three of them changed the complexion of the day. Before Thilan Samaraweera was beaten by sharp turn, bottom edging into leg stump, Sri Lanka had forged a position from where safety was a realistic aim yet a few minutes later England left the field buoyant. Well, as buoyant as they could be after 90 overs of unremitting hard work.It is impossible not admire that trait about the England team. Sure, they have had their problems in recent months but they never shirk from doing the hard yards in the field. It has been a hallmark of their cricket in recent years. Matt Prior reckoned he had lost about 3kg by lunch, let alone what another two sessions had done to him after bending and squatting at least 540 times in the day.”On days like today you have to sit in and be attritional, hope that you get your opportunities and take them, more importantly,” Prior said. “It’s massive, you think you’ve earned it. It doesn’t always happen like that. Sometimes you walk off with them four down and think we put a lot of work in and didn’t get rewards. Thankfully we got them today.”England banked on making something happen with the new ball – although Swann was probably not the expected route – which put the onus on James Anderson and Steven Finn to respond at the end of a long day. Anderson’s final six-over spell (which cost just five runs and could easily have claimed a wicket) was as good as anything he had bowled in the match. That is the hallmark of a supreme athlete and wonderful bowler.Swann is often quick to deprecate himself by highlighting how he skips in off a few steps, but in these situations the pressure is on the spinner. He is meant to be the matchwinner. Time and again Swann has delivered for England. When he was brought on during the afternoon – after Samit Patel had surprisingly been used at the start of the session – he struck first ball, albeit slightly controversially, to remove Tillakaratne Dilshan. That first-over trick is returning, as Samaraweera (and Suraj Randiv) later found out.In between he prized out Kumar Sangakkara who, regardless of his struggle for form, remains a key wicket. To keep him quiet throughout a series, even a short one, is another feather in the bowlers’ caps. It is well known how much Swann enjoys bowling at left-handers (which conventional offspinner has not?) and it was engaging to watch to him tease and tempt Sangakkara.When he is at his best Swann gives Strauss two options – attack and defence. In the first innings, especially on the second morning, he helped ensure the scoring rate did not escape England, so when wickets did fall Sri Lanka had not moved too far. Too his credit, Patel also performed that role – his match economy rate stands at under two an over – but he does not possess the same skill of suddenly snaffling a vital wicket, although could have had Mahela Jayawardene if Tim Bresnan had leapt a little higher at mid-on in the first over after tea.There were moments when the game when flat and you wondered if England were running out of puff. However, as on the first day when they claimed crucial late success which swayed the balance their way they had reserves left in their deep tanks.”In these conditions you have to pick your moments when you go up and go through the gears,” Prior explained. “Not only as bowlers, but as a fielding unit. We used the second new ball really well, we knew it was a good chance to fire in. Led by Jimmy and Finny the whole energy levels raised up and I think that’s why we created those chances.”The job, however, is not quite done. By a quirk of Sri Lanka using two nightwatchmen in the innings – Dhammika Prasad opened the batting last night before Randiv came in at No. 7 – it means Angelo Mathews is at the crease with Prasanna Jayawardene still to come. Both have Test hundreds, while Mahela Jaywardene was still at the crease, defying England again.”We’d be reluctant to think we can just roll them over. It’s still a good wicket and we have four more to get out,” Prior said. “It will be tough work. Hopefully we can roll through them but that’s not what we are expecting. Whatever they set us we’ll back ourselves to get.”The last time England had a realistic fourth-innings run chase it proved way beyond them as they collapsed for 72 in Abu Dhabi trying to reach 145. “Sometimes to have the opportunity again is the best way to exorcise a ghost,” Prior said. “Each individual knows how we got it wrong that time. It was a long time ago now, in cricket terms, and we’ve moved on.”This is the first occasion during the year that England have taken a Test to the fifth day. They will hope it is a short one, but will not be afraid of digging deep again. They really know no other way.

Stats highlights from the opening day of the Galle Test

S Rajesh26-Mar-2012Mahela Jayawardene became the first batsman to score more than 2000 Test runs at two venues•Getty Images Jayawardene became the first batsman in Test cricket to score 2000-plus runs at two grounds. Before the start of this match, he already had 2697 runs in 24 Tests at the SSC in Colombo, and 1932 in Galle; after this innings, his Test tally in Galle is 2100. Together at these two venues, Jayawardene has scored 4797 runs in 43 Tests at an average of 81.30, with 17 of his 30 Test hundreds coming at these grounds. Jacques Kallis (in Cape Town) and Graham Gooch (at Lord’s) are the only other batsmen to score 2000-plus Test runs at a venue. Of Jayawardene’s 30 Test centuries, 21 have come at home in 71 Tests. Only Ricky Ponting (23 in 89 matches), Jacques Kallis and Sachin Tendulkar (22 in 82 for each) have scored more hundreds at home. Jayawardene’s home average is the highest among these batsmen, though, at 64.60. In overseas Tests (including those at neutral venues), his average drops to 37.94. Jayawardene has so far scored 58% of his team’s runs in this innings. Among Sri Lankans, only two batsmen have scored higher percentages: Asanka Gurusinha made 52 an unbeaten out of his team’s 82 against India in 1990, while Kumar Sangakkara has two such dominant performances – 100 not out, out of 170 against New Zealand in Christchurch, and an unbeaten 156 out of 258 against the same opposition in Wellington. (Click here for the full list of highest percentages of team runs scored by a batsman in a completed innings.) Jayawardene’s unbeaten 168 is his seventh 150-plus score as a captain, which is the second-highest in Test cricket. Don Bradman has eight, while Brian Lara is the only other captain with seven such scores. England’s start was among their best against Sri Lanka: they had the home team struggling at 15 for 3, which is the second-lowest total at which Sri Lanka have lost their top three in a Test innings against England. (In the 2001 series, Sri Lanka were 3 for 3 in the second innings in Kandy). James Anderson became the sixth England bowler to take 250-plus Test wickets. Even though he has been in terrific form over the last couple of years, Anderson’s overall Test average remains a touch over 30 (30.32), which makes him the only one among those six with an average of over 30. Anderson’s home average is 27.03, but in overseas and neutral Tests he averages 36.47. He has only taken five wickets in three Tests in Sri Lanka, at 61.60.

Having breezed through the tournament until the final, England failed to produce their best in the field and crumbled chasing under pressure

Jarrod Kimber in Colombo07-Oct-2012England came into the World T20 as the best women’s team around. They’ve barely lost a T20 in a year. They have the best batsmen in the world, the best bowling attack, field very well and are lead by an experienced World Cup and World T20 winning captain. They breezed past Australia at Galle only a few days ago, scoring their last 100 runs in approximately 10 overs to win by seven wickets and 11 balls. They’re the most professional women’s cricket side history. And Australia beat them.It wasn’t that Australia blew them out of the water with an unchaseable total. Australia batted well, but only Jess Cameron ever looked like putting the game beyond England. Australia’s problem in this tournament is that their big hitters haven’t been there at the right times and that no one made a big score. When Cameron went out for 45 off 34, Australia just didn’t have the power or form to get up to 160 and kick England out of the game. The total of 142 was good, but England chased 144 at Galle, and this was a good pitch to bat on.England started slowly, worked their way in, and then would have expected Charlotte Edwards and Sarah Taylor to score the bulk of the runs without worrying too much about losing wickets. Instead Australia just kept taking wickets. Every time England put on any kind of partnership, Australia would strike, and with England never being up with the required rate, they just put so much pressure on themselves.England usually look assured and confident, but they spent their innings looking anxious.
Jodie Fields said that England hadn’t changed her game plan from Galle, so what changed was that the English players weren’t playing in a non-televised event in front of seven people; they were playing a globally televised final in front of a large crowd. The pressure of that, combined with good swing from the Australian pace bowlers and some turn from their spinners seemed to crumble this formally invincible side.Taylor’s job is to bat deep into the innings, but with the run rate slipping away from them, and suspicious clouds forming overhead, Taylor ran at Ellyse Perry with intent. At Galle such a shot would have probably gone for four but at the Premadasa it was edged behind and suddenly England had lost their captain and best batsmen with 83 runs still needed.It was never going to be easy. The run rate continued to get on top of them, as the Australian bowlers seemed to pick up wickets for fun. It looked like Australia was not just going to beat the best team in the world, but annihilate them.Then a cameo from Jenny Gunn changed it all, and the Australians who had handled the pressure of the final with ease, suddenly looked like the side who would buckle. Gunn only made 19, but it was fast and furious, and she left England with a sniff.In the last over England needed 16 runs with no top order players left. Australia gave the ball to Erin Osborne for her offspin. It was perhaps the worst over all day. Osborne delivered a head high full toss, a simple run out chance was missed, a catch was dropped and Australia looked like they were about to lose a match that had been beyond losing for almost an hour.Somehow Australia had let the match get to the last ball, with England needing an unlikely, but possible six to win. Osborne bowled her second full toss of the over, this time a legal delivery, and Hazell could only mistime it out towards midwicket.It was messy, pressurised finals cricket. And Australia had somehow managed to hold on, to the trophy if not always the ball, as the mighty England had to watch Australia pick up back to back titles.Osborne probably didn’t dream of delivering a full toss in her fantasy of bowling Australia to victory, but beating England in a final for your country is what every one of these Australians would have wanted. Underdogs and reigning champions, it’s got a nice ring to it.

Plays of the day for the Champions League match between Auckland and Perth Scorchers in Centurion

Firdose Moonda in Centurion23-Oct-2012Flop of the day
Herschelle Gibbs has had a tournament to forget. Despite starting with an unbeaten 66 in the warm-ups, the rest of his scores did not read very impressively. He managed 19, 0, 6 and 6 in the main draw with his latest failing coming against Auckland. Gibbs was the first wicket to fall today, hitting the ball straight to Colin Munro at mid-on.Chance of the day
Auckland’s anchor Azhar Mahmood offered a rare chance early when he was hurried into playing a bouncer. The ball went high between wicket-keeper, slip and third man and all three called for “catch it,” but none of them made any real effort. The ball may have come off the shoulder and there could have been no reason to risk a dive but the Scorchers’ fielders didn’t even go for the “just-in-case” effort.Number of the day
Cricket is a game for the number crunchers and often there will be something quirky about them. Today’s was fairly straightforward. After ten overs in each innings, both teams had an identical score – 62 for 2.Names of the day
Another one for the eccentrics. How often do you have a man called Beer bowling to someone called Kitchen? Maybe only once, because that’s the number of balls Anaru Kitchen faced from Michael Beer.Wicket of the day
Beer was the man responsible for Auckland’s sometimes punch-drunk batting and he made his best statement when he snuck a yorker under captain Gareth Hopkins’ bat. Hopkins tried to get the bat down in time but couldn’t and off stump was uprooted. With that wicket, Auckland were 90 for 6 and victory was all but out of their grasp.