Over the years Morne Morkel has been seen to be the supporting actor to Dale Steyn’s star role. In Nagpur, he might finally be able to lead South Africa’s pace attack from the front

Firdose Moonda in Nagpur23-Nov-20152:35

‘No decision on Steyn till Wednesday morning’ – Morkel

To understand how understated Morne Morkel’s role in the South African side is, you only need to think about how many questions he has been made to answer about Dale Steyn.At the start of Morkel’s career – which his records show as December 2006 but which was only actually beginning in February 2008 – Steyn was all the rage. He had only played 18 Tests but with two 10-wicket hauls, was already the top-ranked bowler in the world. Morkel was talked up as an ideal understudy for someone of that skill.Now, as Morkel’s career reaches the same pre-twilight phase as Steyn’s, Steyn is still all the rage. He has played 81 Tests, taken over 400 wickets and is still the top-ranked Test bowler in the world. Morkel is still his understudy, in theory.The reality is that Morkel may have to step into the senior role at the same venue where Steyn stole the spotlight five years ago. Still, two days ahead of the Nagpur Test, Morkel was asked about more Steyn than himself.”We will give him until 9am on Wednesday to decide,” Morkel said, before indicating that South Africa won’t actually cut it that fine. “It will be a medical call. You don’t want to select a bowler if he is not 100% fit, because the last thing you want is for him to break down and he can’t bowl.”Before travelling to Nagpur and after Steyn had already had over a week’s rehabilitation, Russell Domingo said South Africa only had “three fit seamers” and Steyn was not one of them. Steyn has since bowled in both practices in Nagpur but spent more energy in his sparring session with fitness trainer Greg King. The signs are that he won’t be risked, especially with five more Tests to play this season, even though this is a must-win match. With Vernon Philander also out of the series, Nagpur could be Morkel’s moment to defy conditions and make himself the main man.The surface will not suit Morkel at all. Bounce is expected to be low, carry minimal and pace, absent. Morkel may not be able to hit batsmen on the helmet but he should still be able to find the stumps. In fact, as Daryll Cullinan put it in his column in the , holding length back could be the best way to take wickets on these surfaces, and Morkel seems to know it.”We expected no favours. We knew the wickers were going to turn. We need to do well with the reverse-swinging ball. If I can keep the pressure on the batters while the spinners are toiling away and then hope to get one or two myself, that will be ideal,” he said. “With the game plans we are trying to execute it will be important not to bowl wasted deliveries and to make the batsmen play. The margins are quite small in these conditions. But we also need to enjoy ourselves. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity to play in these conditions.”Of South Africa’s bowlers, Steyn has always been the one who relished playing in the subcontinent, perhaps because he got the most reward. But in this match, Morkel has to take it on himself to embrace the challenge, although for different reasons. He is perhaps not going to be able to make use of reverse-swing as Steyn has done but, for the first time, he is going to be able to lead an attack with his own aggression, especially given the composition of the team South Africa may go for.They are contemplating two seamers, as India have used, with two specialist spinners and JP Duminy. That will also allow for the inclusion of an extra batsmen, which could be Temba Bavuma, who practiced at length under Hashim Amla’s guidance on Monday. Morkel will probably be paired with Kyle Abbott, who will offer swing, rather than Kagiso Rabada or Marchant de Lange, both speedsters, and Imran Tahir would find himself alongside either Simon Harmer or Dane Piedt.The inexperience in that likely XI will also put added responsibility on Morkel to form part of the leadership core, which he should already be part of. Morkel is not as much as a supporting actor as he may have been made out to be. Before the Mohali Test, the last time he sat out a game was in March 2009 against Australia. He played 47 Tests after that, watched the likes of Lonwabo Tsotsobe and Wayne Parnell come and go, and carved a niche no one else could fill.Now, he has also started to talk like a man who has reached that rank. “We are the No. 1 Test team in the world and we need to show that, even in tough conditions. Someone needs to put up their hands up and do it.” Someone like the man who spoken those words.

Mohammad Amir opens up about his impending return to the highest level of the game, and what his exile taught him

Interview by Umar Farooq05-Jan-2016How do you feel after being selected for the national side again?
Getting a second chance is unbelievable, and as a Muslim I thank Allah for creating another opportunity for me. I do believe in second chances.The feeling inside me can’t be explained. I know what I have gone through, and it isn’t easy for me ahead. It’s a tough task and I am obviously a different Amir this time since my previous stint. My previous span of cricket is all over. It’s a new start for me. I have to achieve more as a person, let alone the cricketing goals.Did you believe you could return?
To be honest, I almost quit, as there were moments that discouraged me from playing cricket again. I had serious thoughts that I shouldn’t be playing cricket and that I should just part myself from it, but my family and some close friends kept me awake and motivated me. My family never let me down, otherwise I thought that five years being away from cricket are a lot and I wouldn’t be the same as before.What made you believe?
I started to feel rusty and thought my skills as a bowler had faded away after five years. I didn’t know if I would be accepted back or not, and I didn’t want to wait that long. I even considered resuming my studies. For a while I was distracted because I wasn’t playing cricket, so nothing was making sense and I could have lost faith easily, but like I said, my family and my legal team kept me alive and motivated and made me believe in my return.The way I was backed by ICC and PCB – the support was amazing, otherwise I couldn’t have made it. The road map they made for me to become a better person left all negative thoughts behind. Through the rehabilitation programme I managed to reach out to youngsters and share my experiences. That gave me a reason to stay on course.

“Money is important but it is not everything. After all, in the last five years I didn’t die starving”

Do you get the feeling you are being pushed back into cricket hastily and you need more time?
No, I don’t think that. This might be the case if wasn’t playing cricket at all but I have been back in the system for almost a year now. Played club cricket, selected for Grade 2 cricket, played domestic cricket from scratch, played first-class cricket, and then went to the BPL, so I am comfortable with all this. There is plenty of cricket under my belt and I feel ready for international cricket.Do you think you can win back the trust you lost?
I don’t know about the future and nobody knows what will happen next. As a professional sportsman I can only give my best shot to win it back. I know it is a slow process and I will definitely win it back with my performance. I am not saying or even thinking that I will come and just prevail at once within one or two matches, but I surely have to be on top of my game to win everything. I am determined to do this for the fans who stood by me, and I have to do it for them because now it’s all about their pride and I will be the guardian of their trust.Why should people trust you again?
This is tricky. If anyone says you are bad, this means he wants you to be good. I am here to be good and I want to be good. If they say I have done bad then they should also give me a chance to change myself. I need their support and I will prove to them that I am a changed person.I chose cricket and I know people madly in love with cricket got hurt and they now should trust me only because I want to repay them by watching me performing. I want them to trust me because they had something because of me, and I want to give them back with my whole heart and soul.How have you changed?
My vision of life has changed and now I am more positive. Obviously I am five years older, but I am still in my early 20s and I have experienced a lot at such an age. It was a tough time and during this ban I really learned about life in bad times. At times when everything is good, you enjoy your peak, but you are sometimes not able to differentiate between right and wrong – everything seems to be good even if you know it’s bad. So this is what I have learnt. I am more focused now towards my goals.”If I don’t have the courage to face the crowd, then I shouldn’t be coming back. I have to handle the pressure”•AFPWhat thoughts went through your mind while serving your punishment?
Anger, of course. It’s natural, and as a fast bowler it’s in the blood. But yes, they were very frustrating years, though with time I became more positive, and at the end of the day the support from everyone around me kept me focused and never let me be carried away by negative thoughts.How did it feel when Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali stood against your reintegration?
Everyone has their opinion and I respect that. It’s their right to express whatever they felt and I am not hurt at all. You can’t push and force people to do what they don’t want to do. If things need to change it has to be gradual. Whatever they said, it was their opinion and I believe if there are issues, it should be addressed, discussed. But credit should be given to the board as they intervened to unite us all together.In the camp I met everyone and I am happy they all heard me, and I am lucky they understood me, and now the atmosphere is good around me. I think it’s more of a communication gap. Five years are a lot. I think when you mix with them and talk to them, they automatically see that you are a changed person, so I think with time, things will be good to great.How do you feel about being in a team or playing environment where some of your team-mates are against you?
They are not against me and I’d like to believe that. It’s their opinion and what I can say about it is, it’s their right to accept me or not. You might understand that sometimes even in a home, a mother or father might tend to favour one child or the other in the family, so I am not worried about it. With time it will be covered.

“I almost quit, as there were moments that discouraged me from playing cricket again”

Do you think the punishment you went through was fair for what you did?
I never challenged the ICC verdict. This means I accepted my punishment. It is mentioned in Islamic law that you have got to be punished if you commit a mistake. What is important is that I have learnt my lesson. Now I wish no one gets into the sort of trouble that I was in.What is your philosophy about money now?
Money is important but it is not everything. After all, in the last five years I didn’t die starving. We as professionals earn money and obviously I will play cricket for Pakistan and I will earn money because nobody is working for free, but what is more important is the trust of people. Money will come but it’s the lost time that will not come back, and it’s not money that wins you trust.Do you think you are ready for your second chance?
As a professional, you have to adjust in every situation. You become a legend only when you know your goal, role and situations. It will be tough and definitely there will be immense pressure on me when I come out onto the ground again. But I know what the requirements are and I have made up my mind. If I don’t have the courage to face the crowd, then I shouldn’t be coming back. I have to handle the pressure and I know I can do it.So you want to be a legend in cricket?
I don’t set big goals. I believe in setting small goals and achieving them, and then at the end of the day when you collect them, it becomes big. If I manage to play another eight to 10 years of cricket then I might end up in the category.On Mohammad Hafeez and Azhar Ali: “It’s their right to express whatever they felt and I am not hurt at all”•AFPDo you think you were a little arrogant on the field when you dismissed Mohammad Hafeez in the BPL?
My attitude is restricted to the ground. As a fast bowler you’ve got to have aggression, otherwise you don’t deserve to be a fast bowler. In the field you don’t have friends and buddies because you have to give 100% effort.You are being purchased in the leagues, they are giving you respect, and this is all for what? This is for performance. They want your skills and your wholehearted efforts in the field, and regardless of whether you are playing against your own countryman, you’ve got to be serious and keep yourself up in the field. A fast bowler should be like this.Tell us a little about your ongoing development as a fast bowler.
I think I clocked 145kph in the BPL and my average speed was about 142kph. For a fast bowler, rhythm is important, and the more I bowl, the more I will open myself. After five years I have come with a fresh body, and I have played ample cricket to get into tempo before being selected for the New Zealand series. And if I bowled at 144-145kph in Bangladesh this means that will go up in conditions like New Zealand, where pitches are helpful for bowlers. So I am satisfied with my bowling.Did you follow cricket throughout the five years?
I followed cricket throughout. Learnt a lot watching it. In fact, you learn a lot by watching it on TV because you observe it very closely. Cricket obviously has changed in the last five years, become faster in every format. Teams are scoring 350-plus runs in Tests in a day. In ODI cricket, two new balls from both ends is another change fast bowlers have to adjust and adapt to, but to me the basics haven’t changed, they never will, so I have covered my basics and the rest I have to just handle the situation according to the format.Would you understand if some around England cricket do not forgive you?
I think time will tell. But I know when they see me playing they will see good things, and I hope they will accept me. Playing cricket in England is what I am looking forward to in my career ahead, and I would love to bowl at Lord’s again. Fans, no matter where they are, in Pakistan or England or wherever, they were hurt, I know that, and the most important goal is to win them all.

Five great World T20 performances by Associate teams (Netherlands mainly)

Peter Della Penna27-Feb-2016Nepal defeat Hong Kong by 80 runs (2014)
Underpinned by a pair of 40s from the captain, Paras Khadka, and vice-captain Gyanendra Malla, Nepal made 149 for 8 after being sent in on a steamy night in Chittagong. In the end, it was Hong Kong’s line-up that wilted in the heat. The talismanic Khadka struck on the first ball of the chase before the left-arm spin tandem of Shakti Gauchan and Basant Regmi shredded the middle order for five wickets in the space of 13 balls to help secure a famous win for cricket-mad Nepal on World T20 debut.Netherlands defeat England by 45 runs (2014)
After putting a major scare into South Africa before falling short by six runs, the Dutch would not be denied a Full Member scalp in their final match of the tournament. After a typically fiery start from Stephan Myburgh and Wesley Barresi, a middle-order stumble resulted in a modest total of 133. England stuttered in reply after Mudassar Bukhari struck twice in the Powerplay, and a suffocating fielding display produced two run-outs, including a fittingly comical mix-up to end the match.Ireland defeat Bangladesh by six wickets (2009)
Niall O’Brien, who led Ireland’s thrilling chase over Pakistan at the 2007 World Cup, took centre stage here in pursuit of Bangladesh’s 137 at Trent Bridge with 40 off 25 balls. After he fell in the tenth over at 61 for 2, little big brother Kevin gave a preview of the career-defining century he would produce against England two years later, smashing an unbeaten 39 off 17 balls, including a pair of big sixes against Abdur Razzak and Shakib Al Hasan, as Ireland cantered across the line with ten balls to spare.Netherlands defeat England by four wickets (2009)
Despite a roaring start, England failed to hit a boundary off the final 17 balls, ending on 162 to leave the door ajar in the tournament curtain-raiser, at Lord’s. Tom de Grooth pried it open further with an adventurous 49 off 30, and in the end, two were needed off the final delivery to win. Stuart Broad had a chance to deny them after a diving stop in his follow-through, but a hurried shy on his knees from eight yards away summed up a sloppy England fielding display, as the final pair scampered the winning run on an overthrow.Netherlands defeat Ireland by six wickets (2014)
Following their win over Zimbabwe, Ireland’s march into the ten-team main draw seemed assured when they made 189. For Netherlands to qualify ahead of Ireland on net-run-rate tiebreaker, they needed to get to the target in 14.2 overs, an idea so preposterous that Ireland captain William Porterfield wasn’t informed about it until the ambush was nearly complete. Peter Borren promoted himself to open the chase and, along with Stephan Myburgh, initiated a fearless charge, nailing the win with three balls of breathing room.

Plays of the day from the Asia Cup match between India and Sri Lanka in Mirpur

Mohammad Isam01-Mar-2016The snub of technologyThisara Perera charged R Ashwin in the penultimate over but the offspinner slipped one past his bat, and it looked like an easy stumping for MS Dhoni. There wasn’t a big appeal and the leg-umpire Shozab Raza gave it out. At first glance, it seemed that Raza was correct but replays showed that Perera had his bat back inside the crease before Dhoni had broken the stumps. It was a rare decision from an on-field umpire in the query for a stumping or run-out, and ultimately an erroneous one.The quiet wicketWhen Shehan Jayasuriya edged a good length ball in the fourth over, he walked off without any hassle. The umpire had also raised his finger but neither the bowler Jasprit Bumrah, nor the wicketkeeper MS Dhoni appealed instantly. Bumrah ran quite a long way before turning to appeal while Dhoni appealed even later.The hat-trick that wasn’tHardik Pandya took three wickets off three balls, but in different innings’. Pandya took the wickets of Mohammad Sami and Mohammad Amir off consecutive balls to finish the Pakistan innings in India’s previous match. On Tuesday, Pandya bounced out Tillakaratne Dilshan of his first ball, caught at deep fine leg where Ashwin took an easy catch.The teaseIndia needed 69 off the last nine overs when Suresh Raina toe-ended Dasun Shanaka’s first ball towards mid-off where Nuwan Kulasekara settled under the easy catch. He completed the catch in the end but not without three heart-stopping moments. Kulasekara juggled three times to keep Raina interested, but then he ended the tease with a pumped fist.

Consistency across the tournament and performances at key moments were given equal weightage while picking ESPNcricinfo’s 2016 Women’s World T20 XI, which includes four frontline batsmen, two allrounders, a wicketkeeper and four bowlers

Shashank Kishore and Vithushan Ehantirajah04-Apr-2016A new winner emerged at the Women’s World T20 for the first time since 2010. The tournament, billed to be the closest-ever, had the usual suspects making it through to the semi-finals. But few would have expected New Zealand, who pinned opponents down with precision in the group stages, and England, unbeaten for four games, to go out in the manner they did. India, the hosts, and South Africa flattered to deceive, while Sri Lanka seemed to fall two steps back after the highs of 2013. Pakistan were easily the best sub-continental side, bringing to the competition a flair that has not always been associated with them.Hayley Matthews (153 runs from six matches, average 25.50, strike-rate 109.28)All of 18, Matthews came into the tournament with plenty to prove. At the outset, 153 runs in six innings may not elicit excitement. But her brutal takedown of Australia, the three-time champions, in the final was alone worth its weight in gold. She could not have chosen a better occasion to bring up her maiden T20I fifty – a 45-ball 66 – that helped West Indies script the second-highest chase in Women’s World T20 history.Stafanie Taylor (captain) (246 runs from six matches, average 41, strike-rate 93.18)At different stages during West Indies’ campaign, Taylor seamlessly switched from the aggressor that she is, to an accumulator. She accrued scores of 40, 40, 35, 47, 25 and 59 to finish the tournament as the leading run-getter. Eight wickets in addition to her batting exploits also earned her the Player-of-the-Tournament award. Images of her sobbing inconsolably after a one-wicket loss to England could have easily been her defining image of the tournament, but she set the record straight by piloting the chase against Australia expertly with a rookie in the final.Meg Lanning (201 runs from six matches, average 50.25, strike-rate 111.66)Lanning not only shouldered her team’s batting responsibilities, but impressed with leadership skills that came to the fore in Australia’s thrilling semi-final win over England. Even when not at 100%, she bailed the team out of a hole – her unbeaten 19-ball 30 in a low-scoring game against South Africa gave them a winning start. She overcame a rare failure against New Zealand by registering scores of 56, 8, 55 and 52 on the bounce. What those scores do not reveal is her grit, supreme fitness and brute force that have elicited talks of her being the best all-round batter in the women’s game today.Harmanpreet Kaur (Seven wickets from four matches, economy-rate 5.45)A blinder of a cameo and four-wicket haul against Bangladesh Women in the tournament opener increased the weight of expectation on her shoulders. Her batting from there on did not tail off, but it did not take off either as she failed to bring out the big hits on slow and low surfaces. It was her trail of wickets with a mixture of legspin, offspin and deceptive wrong-uns which kept India alive in defenses of 97 and 90 against Pakistan and England.Deandra Dottin (129 runs and nine wickets from six matches, strike-rate 115.17, economy-rate 6.42)Her winning double-act with Taylor in a must-win clash against India showed why she is rated highly in the women’s game. Runs aside, she was regularly summoned to bowl in the death overs, which she did admirably courtesy a mix of her off-cutters and point-precision yorkers. Having to defend 10 off the final over against India, she brought out all those qualities to concede just six to give her team a lifeline. On her rare off day with the ball, in the final, she took her team across the finish line after her captain’s dismissal.Sophie Devine (120 runs and nine wickets from six matches, economy-rate 5.58)Devine’s run-out in the semi-final hurtled New Zealand’s progress, and may have left her ruing a run that was not on. But her impact during the team’s unbeaten run in the group stages cannot be understated. With the scars of 2014, where New Zealand were ousted on net run-rate, still fresh, her best performance came in the final league game against South Africa, where she took three wickets and polished off a modest chase with an unbeaten 27. Always around the periphery, the owner of the fastest T20I fifty in the women’s game often provided the impetus towards the death after Suzie Bates set platforms for strong totals. Devine was also a livewire on the field and her medium pace always had the opposition on their toes.Tammy Beaumont (138 runs from five matches, strike-rate 114.04)Judged on glove work alone, there were several contenders. But as an overall package, Beaumont was the best pick even though Sarah Taylor is England’s regular wicketkeeper. Her aggression upfront lent a new dimension to England’s batting, and took a lot of pressure off Charlotte Edwards, the captain. It came as no surprise then that Beaumont was the team’s second-best batsman. The manner in which she kept her shape on traditionally slow subcontinental surfaces was impressive.Leigh Kasperek’s loopy offspin helped New Zealand dominate the group stages•IDI/Getty ImagesAnam Amin (Seven wickets from four matches, economy-rate 5.45)Amin, who caught the eye of her national captain Sana Mir at an inter-college match in Lahore two years ago, was used mostly as an attacking option. Pakistan’s Player of the Match in their first two matches used the surfaces as an ally to bring all the virtues of a typical left-arm spinner into play – drift, dip and flight. As impressive as her four-wicket haul was against West Indies, it was her spell against India, where she bottled the runs and built pressure, that eventually resulted in a train of wickets. An economy of less than five runs over four games was a testimony to her discipline on tracks where the slow bowlers could have easily gotten carried away.Megan Schutt (Seven wickets from six matches, economy-rate 6.52)Three years ago, Schutt, just two ODIs old then, surprised many with her street-smart variations and subtle changes in length to play a key role in Australia’s World Cup triumph, where she was the highest wicket-taker. Having been a constant since, she has stepped up every time Australia needed her to; her vital scalps of Beaumont and Katherine Brunt subdued England’s challenge in a tense semi-final. While she could not do a repeat in the final, her contribution to help Australia get to the summit clash was not forgotten.Leigh Kasperek (Nine wickets from five matches, average 10.11, economy-rate 4.91)Less than six months after her international debut against India, Kasperek, who travelled to New Zealand from Scotland via Perth, has underlined her value to New Zealand’s bowling group. Nine wickets with her loopy offspin, the majority of which came in the Powerplay overs, played a part in her team’s unbeaten run in the group stages. Her average of 10.11, the ability to beat batsmen in flight and a general control over her craft allowed Bates to exercise control when on the field. Kasperek’s three-wicket hauls against Australia and South Africa helped New Zealand open up an early advantage in the group stages.Anya Shrubsole (Seven wickets from five matches, economy-rate 4.93)England’s Player of the Tournament at the 2014 World T20 was once again Charlotte Edward’s go-to option. Shrubsole’s ability to swing the ball upfront and then return with her variations with a slightly older ball helped England keep the pressure on batting line-ups. Disappointing returns in the semi-final against Australia somewhat took the sheen off her tournament, but her returns of seven wickets in five games under the circumstances were more than creditable.

Stats highlights from Delhi where England recovered to overcome Afghanistan

Bharath Seervi23-Mar-20160 Previous instances of a team winning a T20I after being five down for 50 or fewer runs in the first innings in a full 20-over game. England lost their fifth wicket at score of 50 and still went on to win. Ireland won after being 43 for 7 in a nine-over game against Bermuda though.57* The unbroken stand between Moeen Ali and David Willey for the eighth wicket – the highest in World T20 history. The pair led the team from 85 for 7 to 142 for 7, scoring at run rate of 10.36. Across all T20Is, this is the second-highest for the eighth wicket in the first innings.4 Number of wickets lost by England in the Powerplay – their joint-most in T20Is. The only previous such instance was against Australia in Southampton in 2013 where they were chasing 249. Coincidentally, Eoin Morgan was out for duck in both these matches, his only two ducks in T20Is.16 Consecutive T20Is for England without an opening stand of 50 or more runs. Their last such stand was, in fact, before the last World T20 – 98 between Alex Hales and Michael Lumb against West Indies in Bridgetown in March 2014. In this match, Jason Roy and James Vince added only 16. They average just 21.18 runs per opening stand and about 16 balls per stand in these 16 matches. Since the start of 2014, their average opening stand of 23.27 is the lowest among all Full Member teams.3 Number of times England have been five down for 50 or fewer. The previous two instances were 47 for 5 against New Zealand in Hamilton in 2012-13 and 42 for 5 against Netherlands in Chittagong in the 2014 World T20. They were chasing on both occasions and lost both the matches.6 Number of wickets England lost to spinners, which is the joint-most for them in T20Is. They lost same number of wickets to the slow bowlers against India in Colombo in the 2012 World T20 and against West Indies in Bridgetown in March 2014. This is also the joint-most wickets Afghanistan’s spinners have taken in a T20I.5 Instances of a team’s Nos. 5 to 9 all scoring 10 or more runs in a T20I. Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi, Samiullah Shenwari, Najibullah Zadran and Shafiqullah all scored more than ten runs in this game. The last such instance was in 2012 for New Zealand against South Africa in Port Elizabeth.3.00 Liam Plunkett’s economy in this match, which is the third-best for England in T20Is by a bowler delivering all four overs. This was also the best economy for Plunkett in his four T20Is and also the first time he failed to take a wicket.35* Runs scored by Shafiqullah batting at No. 9 – the highest by a batsman at that position in the World T20. Overall, it is the fourth highest in all T20Is.25 Runs scored by England in the 19th over of the innings – third-highest for them in an over in World T20s. Their highest was also against Afghanistan, again in the 19th over, when Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler and Luke Wright scored 32 runs, including two no-balls, in 2012.

One of the more scholarly cricketers roaming around the Caribbean Premier League, master’s degree candidate Chadwick Walton still has ambitions to represent West Indies in international cricket

Peter Della Penna07-Aug-2016Sitting on the Jamaica Tallawahs team bus in Port-of-Spain heading to Queen’s Park Oval for the 2013 Caribbean Premier League semifinals and finals in Trinidad, then 27-year-old Chadwick Walton was shadowing the team’s newest addition Kumar Sangakkara, who had signed as an overseas replacement player for the playoffs in place of Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad. Walton, a fellow wicketkeeper, was looking to gain insight into what made Sangakkara tick.How did he play those silky drives? How did he pick fellow Tallawahs and Sri Lanka team-mate Murali’s doosra from behind the stumps? Instead, the experience hanging around the pair of Sri Lankans on the way to the Tallawahs title-winning run was memorable to Walton for altogether different reasons.”A little bit of everything is being talked about on the team bus when you’re around athletes,” Walton recalls. “But these two, it was mostly business and family. So that stood out to me because you see these persons on TV and you idolise them and now you sit in a room having dinner with them and listening to the type of conversations. I didn’t know what to expect so it really stood out to me.”I used to hang with Murali a lot and Kumar, just the way they socialised it was a bit different to what I was typically used to. They were talking mostly business, more on a macro-economic scale. They were talking big, the whole country. I mean yes we hear it in the Caribbean from some players but it’s not the norm to hear it from athletes. They’d speak about issues of government, future investments, macro investments. I liked how these fellas how they view stuff. [Kumar] spoke about his restaurant. Murali would talk about manufacturing. I was quite impressed just sitting there and listening.”Walton’s window into Sangakkara’s approach to life also provides a view into the Jamaican’s own outlook. Now 31, he has been an intricate part of this year’s Tallawahs campaign on the road to the final, scoring 276 runs while opening the batting alongside Chris Gayle, but cricket is not the be all and end all for Walton.Influenced in part by Sangakkara’s pursuit of a law degree, Walton enrolled a few months later in a sports science and marketing master’s program jointly run by Canada’s University of New Brunswick and the University of West Indies campus at Cave Hill in Barbados. However, the scholar, who had done his undergraduate bachelor’s degree in accounting and will get his master’s diploma in October, says that despite his mother’s job as a teacher growing up, he wasn’t always so keen to be interested in academics. Rather, his path to cricket began precisely because it helped him to get away from school.”I used to like missing school so cricket was my avenue for missing school,” Walton says. “If you have a cricket game, you miss an entire day of school. Your parents give you more money because you have to travel. So it was a double incentive for me.”At one point, the self-proclaimed “problem child” says he was suspended from high school for his behavior. However, as his approach to academics began to mature, so did his cricket. After spending a few summers in the USA visiting his uncle Uriah Chambers and playing in the Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York leagues in 2005 and 2006, Walton was encouraged by local Jamaican coaches to stay home if he wanted to be serious about becoming a professional. The increased focus in 2007 led to a List A debut later that year for Combined Campuses and Colleges and, early in 2008, to a first-class debut as well.By 2009, Walton was making his Test debut for West Indies, although not in ideal circumstances. A simmering feud between the WICB and the West Indies Players’ Association resulted in a players strike ahead of the two-Test series at home against Bangladesh. Walton was one of the seven debutants in a squad flown in to St Vincent about 24 hours before the first Test, a 95-run loss.”It wasn’t the best of circumstances,” Walton recalls of his international debut. “We didn’t have enough time to prepare but suffice to say we lost. If you lose by an inch or you lose by a mile, it’s still a loss.”His first two ODIs followed later that year in South Africa during the Champions Trophy with the first-choice players still on strike. In the years since, Walton has made several touring squads, including the 2013 tour to India for Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series and the subsequent tour of New Zealand where he played in three ODIs. Despite the limited appearances and his ensuing academic pursuits, Walton still holds out hope that the window on his international career has not come to a close.”I don’t feel that path of my career is gone,” Walton says. “I still feel I can play international cricket. It’s just that the right opportunity hasn’t come to pass. I’ve played only six first-class games in two years. Between doing a master’s and playing sport, it’s challenging. I’m not sure it’s one of the reasons I was overlooked. I cannot really put a finger on it or say that I can’t play international cricket anymore because I still can. Now that the master’s is over, I’m still looking to play international cricket.”Walton, on tour with West Indies in South Africa in December 2014, still hopes to get back into the XI•WICB Media/Philip SpoonerWalton captained the CCC team in this year’s Nagico Super50, finishing second on the team in runs with 170 at 42.50 behind Rovman Powell. This season’s CPL experience has given more evidence that he’s better placed if called upon to represent West Indies again. In particular, his 97 off 54 balls against Barbados Tridents, the fourth-highest individual score in the competition this year, showed his skills with the bat have not eroded while he was hitting the books.Though Sangakkara has taken the gloves throughout the season, Walton has demonstrated his fielding versatility by leading the team in catches with 11, just two behind Jason Mohammed for the CPL lead, and has been a reliable presence patrolling the long-on and midwicket boundary for catches in the slog overs. Being around the overseas players in particular is something Walton feels has enhanced his professionalism.”The Caribbean Premier League has helped and given me a lot of exposure on and off the field,” Walton says. “Yes, on the field you’re on TV and people see what you have to do. Off the field, you have persons like Sanga and world-class bowlers like Murali, Dale [Steyn] and all these sort of persons. You’re learning both ways. You’re learning while you’re playing the game and you’re learning a lot more watching theses fellas and how they generally go about in their preparation.”You have to know yourself. That’s what I picked up from these fellas. You’ll have days that they’ll come and practice very very hard. Then you’ll have days where they’ll come and say, ‘Five balls and that’s it.’ Sometimes you have persons who say, ‘Coach, I’m okay.’ Chris Gayle in particular. He knows his game inside and out. Chris comes and knows what he has to do and that’s Chris. It’s pretty much know yourself and what works for you and what you need to do to perform on the field.”As for how much longer he wants to stick around the field of play before making use of his master’s degree, Walton has an eye for business interests but says he’s now back to being fully focused on cricket for the next few years, health permitting. This season’s CPL has been a chance for him to show selectors that he hasn’t disappeared.”I’ve been thereabouts for selection. I’ve been included in training camps and a few more tours but I’ve just never been included in the final XI,” Walton says. “It’s not that I’ve been out in the wilderness. The selectors are always looking. I’m still there.”

Led by the ever-excellent James Anderson, England wrapped up a comfortable win – but the challenge of this winter’s subcontinental tours looms

George Dobell at Chester-le-Street30-May-2016In terms of the series, it was merely an irritation. But in terms of the long term, the Sri Lanka fightback in Durham should be a warning to England.It is that England could reach No. 1 in the Test rankings by the end of the summer, were they to beat Pakistan convincingly and if Sri Lanka defeat Australia at home later this year (which looks most unlikely).But, even if that happens, if they have any intention of remaining at No. 1 for more than a moment, they are going to have to learn to perform better on these sorts of pitches. Pitches which offer little seam or swing assistance. Pitches which lack pace. Pitches which offer more help for spinners than seamers. Pitches which they will encounter often this winter.By the end of the year, England will have contested Test series in India and Bangladesh. And, as this match wore on, it provided a glimpse of the challenges England will face in conditions where their natural strengths are negated.That India tour, in particular, looks like a huge challenge. Most of the architects of the 2012 success – Graeme Swann, Kevin Pietersen and Monty Panesar – have gone (Panesar has recently returned to first-class cricket but is some way from being considered for England selection) and, at this stage, it is hard to see their replacements having the same impact.Most of all, England have an issue with their spin bowling. We saw in the UAE during England’s 2-0 defeat to Pakistan that good batsmen with great experience of playing in such conditions can put Moeen Ali under pressure. And we saw here that, even on a pitch offering significant turn on the fourth day, batsmen were able to attack him to the extent that he conceded 4.85 runs per over.The sight of Rangana Herath hitting Moeen for 23 runs from the 31 balls he received from him was particularly uncomfortable. Herath, a No. 8 batsman of few pretensions, should have found life difficult in these conditions. With the ball spinning away from his bat – he is a left-hander – and foot marks for Moeen to aim at, the bowler had plenty of weapons.

England could be encouraged by the first-innings bowling of Chris Woakes and by the continued progress of Alex Hales as an opening batsmen

But Moeen was unable to put the ball in right place often enough to create pressure. There were several good balls and some fortune for a batsman prepared to take a chance. But there were also too many release balls and while Herath, in his brief spell later in the day, was able to get the ball to spit and bounce, Moeen gained more predictable turn.He not only rarely threatened but was unable to provide the holding role his side required. He didn’t by any means bowl badly; it was more that in conditions where he might have been expected to flourish, he was instead punished. Life in India, against some of the best batsmen in the world in such conditions, will be even tougher.To be fair to Moeen, he was not helped – he has often not been helped – by the standard of wicketkeepers he has played alongside. Jonny Bairstow is clearly an improving keeper, but his performance standing up to the stumps remains uncomfortably fallible. Given England’s heavy victory, it may soon be forgotten that he missed a stumping opportunity off Angelo Mathews here but it will not have gone unnoticed by the team management.In the series in India, where England’s spinners may struggle to create chances, it is essential that any offered are taken. If Virat Kohli or Cheteshwar Pujara are given an early life, they could make England pay by forcing them to field for an extra five sessions.In Bairstow’s favour is the fact that, as Yorkshire keeper, he has enjoyed plenty of experience of keeping to England’s probable second spinner in India, Adil Rashid. But England are taking a huge chance if they rely upon Bairstow in conditions where he will be expected to stand up to the stumps for much of the day.There are still questions to answer by Stuart Broad in Asia, too. While he is a much improved bowler from the last time England played Tests in India, where he was dropped before the end of the 2012 tour, he does average 39.45 runs per wicket in Asia compared to a career average of 28.37.And there are still some holes in England’s top-order batting. The decision to name the same 12 for Lord’s as soon as this match was over provides one last chance for Nick Compton to demonstrate that he can prosper at this level. It also banishes any speculation and allows him – and Steven Finn, who looked some way off the pace on the fourth day – to prepare without looking over their shoulders or enduring a week of media speculation.It will be a disappointment to the likes of Scott Borthwick, who must be pressing hard by now. But he may console himself with the knowledge that, if and when his chance does come again, he will – like Compton – be given a proper opportunity to prove himself.England were grateful for the continuing excellence of James Anderson in unfavourable conditions•PA PhotosThere was encouragement here, too. Of course there was. In a nine-wicket win that clinches a series success, England could be encouraged by the first-innings bowling of Chris Woakes – though he bowled too short in the second innings – and by the continued progress of Alex Hales as an opening batsmen. In the seam bowling, at least, there looks to be some depth.Most of all, England could take delight in the continuing excellence of James Anderson. Despite a surface offering him nothing and two dropped chances – Bairstow put down an inside edge offered by Chandimal on 69 and James Vince made a horrid mess of a tricky chance offered by Herath on 46 – Anderson claimed his third five-wicket haul of the series. He is now one of just six men to have claimed 450 Test wickets; only two of them have reached the landmark more quickly.That might have been a temptation from some to downplay his 10-wicket haul in Leeds on the basis that conditions favoured him., just as there might be a temptation to downplay his place on the all-time wickets tally due to the increased number of Tests modern cricketers play or a temptation to define him as a green-track bully.But such a conclusion ignores his performance on the 2012 tour of India, when MS Dhoni referred to him as “the difference between the sides”. It ignores his performance in the 2010-11 Ashes and the first innings of each of the 2013-14 Ashes. It ignores his two Test series in the UAE and it ignores his performance here. It ignores the key role he has played in victories home and away and the resilience he has shown on days when his colleagues have gone missing in action.This pitch – low and slow and dusty by the end – was the sort to break a swing bowler’s heart. But Anderson redoubled his efforts, used all his skill and experience, and won yet another game for his team. To concede just 58 runs out of a total of 475 underlines his control and threat. By contrast, Woakes conceded 103 runs and bowled only two more deliveries.Anderson and his captain, at least, continue to provide hope for England when they depart for India. But if they want to be the best team in the world, there is a huge amount of improvement that has to be made.

India’s marks out of ten after they beat West Indies 2-0 on their Caribbean tour

Karthik Krishnaswamy23-Aug-20169R Ashwin (17 wickets at 23.17, 235 runs at 58.75)Only three players had scored two hundreds and taken two five-wicket hauls in the same series before Ashwin, and the last time it happened was in a series that everyone now calls Botham’s Ashes. Ashwin’s West Indies-India Test series doesn’t quite have the same ring to it, but there is no doubting his impact. His bowling, particularly when there was a breeze to aid his drift, was a pleasure to watch, and he showed he is perhaps the best in the world at beating batsmen in the air. He worked hard on his batting in the off-season and he was willing to grind it out for long periods, facing more balls than any other Indian batsman in the series, but it’s still too early to say if he can bat at No. 6 against better bowling sides. His limited footwork got him into a few tangles with swing and seam, but that’s not to say he cannot improve that aspect too.8Mohammed Shami (11 wickets at 25.81)Returning to Test cricket after a year-and-a-half’s gap, Shami showed he wasn’t just back to full fitness but also back to his best rhythm. He was India’s best fast bowler in the first two Tests, bowling with pace, making the batsmen play, and troubling them not just with swing and seam but new-found extra bounce as well. By the end of the series, he had bowled more overs than any of his fast-bowling colleagues, suggesting he had become Virat Kohli’s go-to quick.Wriddhiman Saha (205 runs at 51.25, 9 catches, 2 stumpings)A joy to watch behind the stumps, Saha came into the series with his batting ability under a bit of scrutiny, particularly with India looking to play five bowlers whenever possible. He did the job he was expected to when he scored 40 and 47 in the first two Tests, but the score when he walked in at St Lucia, 126 for 5, demanded more. A maiden Test hundred followed, and during the innings he showed on two separate occasions – late on day one and in the first session of day two – that he could switch instantly from single-minded defence to flurries of boundary-hitting, even on one of the slowest outfields in the world.Ajinkya Rahane (243 runs at 121.50)Rahane faced 522 balls in the series, and was only dismissed twice. With India dominant through most of the series, he ended up becoming something of a declaration specialist. His hundred at Sabina Park set India up perfectly, leaving them 304 runs ahead with just under half the Test match remaining. That they didn’t go on and win had little to do with Rahane’s batting and everything to do with the weather, the pitch, stubborn West Indies batting, and a bowling attack that wasn’t at its best on the final day. The second-innings 78* in St Lucia, full of hard, cheeky running, hurried India to another declaration, and this time, with far less time remaining, they managed to pull off a dramatic win.7Bhuvneshwar Kumar (6 wickets at 9.83)Bhuvneshwar did not play the first two Tests, but delivered exactly what his team wanted from him – accuracy, new-ball swing in both directions, and the smarts to know how to bowl to which batsman – when called upon in St Lucia, and did all this in his first Test since January 2015. He was unlucky not to win the Player-of-the-Match award for his 5 for 33 in St Lucia, which broke West Indies’ batting apart and gave India both the lead and the time they needed to force a win with a day lost to rain, and is perhaps unlucky not to get an extra point in our ratings as well.Virat Kohli (251 runs at 62.75)Arriving at the crease with India moving along at under three an over on the first day of the series, Kohli set the tone with a career-best 200 at a strike rate of over 70. It was the innings of a man in stupendous form, but the remainder of the series only brought him 51 runs in three innings, including scores of 3 and 4 in St Lucia, where he batted at No. 3. It’s too early to say whether he will be as successful in that role as he has been at No. 4, and equally difficult to say how often he will try it. As captain, he was unpredictable with his selections, unafraid to make bold and sometimes unpopular calls, and never dull.KL Rahul (236 runs at 78.66)Rahul gave India a pounding selection headache when he replaced the injured M Vijay in Jamaica and promptly made a career-best 158. It was an innings that showed he had the strokes to punish wayward bowling and get off to a brisk start, as he did on the first evening; that he had the ability to shelve those strokes against disciplined bowling, as he did on the second morning; and that he had the appetite to keep going even after a troublesome bout of cramps. He followed that with a half-century in St Lucia, but it was an innings that showed he can still be a fidgety starter, prone to wafting at balls in the channel. He still has work to do on his catching as well, and put down a couple of chances at third slip in St Lucia.Bhuvneshwar Kumar broke West Indies’ batting in St Lucia, his first Test since January 2015•AFP6Ishant Sharma (8 wickets at 32.12)A typically Ishant-esque series. At times, he attacked the stumps, used the short ball well, and looked like the most dangerous bowler in India’s attack. At other times, he struggled to make batsmen play, his line too wide of off stump to test them. There were some wayward spells too, such as the one he bowled post-lunch on the first day in Kingston, where Marlon Samuels took full toll of his long-hops. In the end, he finished with a typically Ishant-esque average – 32.12 – and strike rate – 63.0 – against an average batting side. With the likelihood that India may only play two seamers – and possibly only one – at most times during the long home season ahead, he may have to do better than that to keep his place.Ravindra Jadeja (3 wickets at 15.66)Like Bhuvneshwar, Jadeja might have finished with a better rating had he played more Tests. He did everything expected of him when he replaced Amit Mishra in St Lucia, getting through his overs in a blink and giving away less than two runs an over. But two of his wickets – Roston Chase in the first innings and Jermaine Blackwood in the second – came about in an unfamiliar manner, with the batsmen reaching out to drive slow, loopy balls outside off stump, suggesting he may have learned new tricks as well.5Shikhar Dhawan (138 runs at 34.50)Started the series brightly, showing plenty of self-control outside off stump while scoring 84 in Antigua, but did little of note in the next two Tests, and was left out in Port of Spain. It looks like he will remain on the bench when India begin their long home season, but as a left-handed opener capable of scoring quickly, he will remain in the team management’s thoughts.Cheteshwar Pujara (62 runs at 31.00)Only batted twice, weathered testing spells in both innings, and got out to soft dismissals after doing all the hard work. India tend not to lose top-order wickets in clusters when Pujara is part of their line-up, and that solidity cannot be underestimated, but he will remain an in-and-out member of the squad unless he makes bigger scores more consistently than he has done in the last two years.Umesh Yadav (5 wickets at 29.80)Five wickets in Antigua, where he swung the ball both ways and looked menacing in short, sharp bursts. None in Jamaica, where his bowling was wayward in both innings, particularly with the second new ball on the final day, which was India’s last chance to get through West Indies’ lower order and force a win. Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s accuracy suddenly looked more enticing than Umesh’s pace, and he lost his place in St Lucia. Given the competition for fast-bowling slots and the potential narrowing of the available slots in home conditions, Umesh will need to do more to remain a first-team regular.4Amit Mishra (6 wickets at 38.66)Sometimes, Mishra’s figures don’t reflect how well he has bowled, and there were times during the first Test and in the first innings of the second – when he bowled a classical spell of drift and turn – when this was the case. But on the final day in Kingston, he actually bowled poorly, sending down a regular allotment of full-tosses and half-volleys, and contributed to India’s worst bowling day of the tour. Having begun the series with his captain’s backing to do a more attacking job than Ravindra Jadeja in less spin-friendly conditions, he ended up losing a place in the pecking order.Rohit Sharma (50 runs at 25.00)There is some truth to Kohli’s assertion that Rohit hasn’t got a long-enough run in the Test side to establish himself properly, but there is also truth to the idea that he hasn’t done enough with the chances he’s got. His selection in St Lucia came out of the blue, and caused all manner of reshuffling in India’s line-up. He has only had two chances to bat since then, so it’s a little too early to say whether or not the move has worked.M Vijay (7 runs at 7.00)Batted once, got out to a snorter, hurt his finger in the process, and did not get to bat again. A strange sort of series for India’s best opener over the last three years. Having been left out in St Lucia despite regaining full fitness, Vijay came back in Port of Spain, at Dhawan’s expense. India look likely to start their home season with a Vijay-Rahul combination at the top of the order.

Stats highlights from the final day of the second Test between Pakistan and West Indies in Abu Dhabi

Bharath Seervi25-Oct-201610 Series wins for Misbah-ul-Haq as captain in Tests – most by an Asian captain. He went past Sourav Ganguly and MS Dhoni, who registered nine series wins. For Pakistan, Javed Miandad won eight series.5-0 Pakistan’s win-loss record after nine Tests in Abu Dhabi, which is also the venue where they have won the most matches without suffering a single loss. Their record at the other UAE grounds is: 6-2 in Dubai and 4-3 in Sharjah.2014 Last time Pakistan won the first two matches of a Test series – against Australia in the UAE. There only two matches in that series. The last time Pakistan won the first two matches in a series of three or more matches was against England in 2011-12.1 The 322 that West Indies made was their highest fourth-innings total against Pakistan – passing their 317 for 2 in Georgetown in 1957-58. It was the fifth-highest by any team against Pakistan, and the second-highest in the UAE, behind Pakistan’s 343 for 3 against South Africa in 2010-11 in Dubai.4 Series in which West Indies have batted 100 or more overs in the fourth innings, twice. West Indies batted 109 overs in the first Test and 108 overs in the second in this series. The last time they accomplished this was during the Frank Worrell Trophy at home in 1998-99.112 Wickets for Yasir Shah in Tests. He joined George Lohmann and Sydney Barnes as the bowlers with the most wickets after their first 18 matches. Yasir also became the second player to take over 50 Test wickets in the UAE, after Saeed Ajmal.7 Pakistan bowlers have taken two ten-wicket hauls in a single year of Test cricket, Yasir the latest. His 10 for 210 in this match followed the 10 for 141 he took at Lord’s against England. Only Abdul Qadir has taken more than two 10-fors in a year for Pakistan – three in 1987.5 for 96 Shannon Gabriel’s figures in the first innings, his his best in Tests, which had previously been 3 for 10.210 Runs conceded by Yasir in this Test – fourth-most by a Pakistan bowler taking 10 wickets. The most expensive 10-wicket haul for Pakistan is Qadir’s 11 for 218 against Australia in Faisalabad in 1982.95 Jermaine Blackwood’s score in the fourth innings of this Test. He is the first West Indies batsman since Darren Ganga, in Auckland in 2005-06, to be dismissed in the 90s in the fourth innings of a match.