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The biggest impact of Australia’s decision to postpone their tour to Bangladesh will be felt by the young home side, but the BCB will also be left with financial and perception challenges

Mohammad Isam02-Oct-2015Australia are not coming to Bangladesh to play the two Tests so the excitement has quite easily drained out of the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Bangladesh’s home of cricket. Where there were supposed to be training sessions of two exciting young teams in the eastern and northwestern wings of the stadium, there is silence.Bangladesh cricket has not dealt with such a long silence from international cricket for more than 13 years and this will leave the average fans – millions of them – disappointed. The BCB, too, will suffer some form of a financial blow although it is unlikely to ask Cricket Australia for any compensation lest the chances of a future tour are ruined. In any case, when security is grounds for postponing a tour there aren’t many precedents of home boards claiming reimbursement. It also doesn’t help when you’re not the strongest voice among the Test-playing nations.More worryingly, the BCB has to deal with the awkwardness of a foreign team refusing to tour despite the assurances given in meetings it had arranged with the highest level of intelligence and security agencies in the country.Still, the most significant and immediate impact will be on the Bangladesh team that misses out on two very significant international matches. Test matches against Australia are rare for this team and none of the current squad has ever played one. The last Test between the two sides was held more than nine years ago.The start of the 2015-16 international season in Bangladesh was supposed to be an interesting contest between two teams facing wide-ranging challenges. One that has gone through many recent retirements and is standing at a critical juncture, and another that has a lot to prove as a Test team but was being helped along by its ODI credentials.The World Cup campaign, the continued success in the aftermath at home and the discovery of talented young players has made Bangladesh cricket a happy place in 2015. There was hope that they could crown the year with a strong performance against Australia in a format where they have shown signs of improvement. To be without international cricket for more than six months following the team’s most successful period – October 2014 to August 2015 – could set them back several steps.While the likes of Mushfiqur Rahim, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan have had to adjust to breaks in international cricket, it will be a new challenge for players like Mustafizur Rahman, Soumya Sarkar and Sabbir Rahman, who are just starting out with their international careers.All the squad members will be playing in the National Cricket League first-class competition for their respective divisions from October 3. But a break this long from international cricket is bound to hurt a team that has finally become consistent in ODIs and is looking to extend that into Tests. Zimbabwe aren’t schedule to arrive before mid-January when they are supposed to play two Tests, three ODIs and three T20s. Bangladesh’s last such break was a day short of six months back in 2002, between January and July.For the BCB, the impact is multiple, too. Their media rights holders, Gazi TV, are sure to query the BCB about the financial implications of missing out on two Test matches. The BCB has also sold their in-stadia and other commercial rights to a company, which now sells those to third parties that get to buy the naming rights to each series. BCB is unlikely to be touched by those parties but it will nonetheless incur some financial losses.Their plan to host the Bangladesh Premier League from November and the scheduled Under-19 World Cup would now have to go through more security reviews, assurances and clearances. While the tournaments will not be of similar importance to the Australia series, foreign players will be involved and teams could ask the same questions about security. In a relatively peaceful period in the country, a foreign team’s refusal to travel due to security concerns could be a bigger problem for the BCB.Getting VVIP-level security assurances for every team that is scheduled to visit Bangladesh in the future will be a big worry for the board, which could end up in a position of having to restore confidence in the country’s security to visiting teams when its real job is to run cricket.While a successfully run BPL may bring back smiles to fans and the Bangladesh players may recover with a good performance against Zimbabwe in January, the impact of this postponed tour could be a long-standing headache for the BCB.

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-2015Angelo Mathews showed why the P Sara Oval was one of his favourite grounds as he started to settle in•AFPMilinda Siriwardana added 67 for the fifth wicket with Mathews to stabilise the Sri Lankan innings, but was dismissed by Kraigg Brathwaite in the 56th over•AFPBrathwaite started to get more out of the pitch and quickly ran through Sri Lanka’s middle order and tail, completing his first Test five-wicket haul•AFPBlackwood took his fifth catch of the innings and Brathwaite his sixth wicket when Nuwan Pradeep was dismissed for a first-ball duck. It set West Indies a target of 244 to level the series•AFPDhammika Prasad struck early to send Brathwaite back in the ninth over before rain forced an early end to the day•AFP

Five talking points from the India squads named for the upcoming limited-overs tour to Australia

Sidharth Monga20-Dec-2015

The ODI squad

Shikhar Dhawan has been shown immense faith. Not in that he has been picked in the squad – the argument against picking him would be only one fifty in his last 13 international innings – but in the fact that there are only five established specialist batsmen in the ODI squad. Already we are looking at either Gurkeerat Mann or Manish Pandey getting a decent run at No. 6, but what if Dhawan continues to fail? There is no back-up. On all of his last three tours outside Asia, Dhawan had to be dropped. He was left out in the ODIs in New Zealand, and Tests in England and Australia. To be fair to him, though, Dhawan came back with runs in Tests in New Zealand, the ODIs in England and the World Cup in Australia.Suresh Raina has been served notice. What should disturb Raina more is that this is not a form issue. That there are still question marks over his quality after 223 ODIs and two World Cups. There is a certain ruthlessness to this move. As if the selectors are saying, “We know you are great in the field, we know you chip in with the ball, we know you are selfless when it comes to your batting order, but where are the runs? Consistent runs. Against a relatively bigger pool of opposition in relatively varied conditions.” Raina responded well to such an ultimatum, when he came back from his axe last year with a century in England, but will he keep getting that second chance again and again?From the selectors’ point of view, the decision would have been made easier by the fact that the big ODI events – Champions Trophy and World Cup – are not around the corner. It gives time to a newcomer to bed in, and also for Raina to scream out for another chance by scoring runs elsewhere.The presence of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja gives India a bowling comfort zone and some depth in batting•AFP

The T20 squad

The kind of selection where you want to be proved wrong. He is 34 years old. When he was 30, he was the face of India’s World Cup win. At 26, he did it for them in the T20 format. Those are the memories you want to remember Yuvraj Singh by. Not the cruel rotten last international he played, a struggling match-losing 11 off 21 in the World T20 final in Dhaka last year. You don’t want him exposed to any more of that. Ironically the only plausible reason to get him back is to play the role he failed to do in Dhaka: hit big from ball one, a game the other established batsmen in that order struggle to play.Yuvraj has been picked ahead of Shreyas Iyer, who is young and has seemed a cut above the other batsmen in domestic cricket this season. Then again, there is still a lot of time and matches to go before the World T20, which is the ultimate focus of these selections. And there is a youngster in the squad – Hardik Pandya – who can be asked to play a similar role.The selectors seem to recognise there is no long-term in T20 cricket. Take your punts. If the guy is the right-shaped plug for the hole right now, hammer it in. Ashish Nehra is not going to be around for too long, that much is known, but in a four-over game he has shown in the IPL that he can do a job with his experience and yorkers. He gives India the left-arm option that they lack. This is a gamble, but this is a gamble with little to lose. For what were the young Indian quicks doing before Nehra? They can get back to doing the same should Nehra fail in Australia. Not many will have missed that.

Overall selection

India’s bowling comfort zone is back. R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Mohammed Shami give India a comfort zone. Since the start of the tri-series in Australia last year, India have been without their bowling comfort zone in limited-overs cricket. Jadeja was injured and then dropped; Shami was spectacular in the World Cup but injured and hence out ever since. At their best, Shami, Jadeja and Ashwin provide India 30 overs of control and incision. The presence of Jadeja and Ashwin at nos 7 and 8 gives MS Dhoni the freedom to play his shots and pull the trigger suitably early. The three are part of the same squad again; if they are at their best, India could revive their limited-overs fortunes dramatically.

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2016Mohammad Nabi helped Afghanistan claw back by dismissing Campbell and Babar Hayat in the space of two deliveries•Christopher Lee-IDI/IDIWith two experienced batsmen gone, Mark Chapman had the responsibility to guide Hong Kong, but he was bowled off a superb yorker by Gulbadin Naib•Christopher Lee-IDI/IDIAnshuman Rath’s industry, an unbeaten 31-ball 28 helped Hong Kong squeeze past 100. They finished with 116 for 8•AFP/Getty ImagesMohammad Nabi and Noor Ali Zadran wiped out 43 in six overs as Afghanistan were in cruise control•Getty ImagesBut Afghanistan gave away a series of wickets to take the gloss off their chase, before Gulbadin Naib steered them home with two overs to spare•Getty ImagesMohammad Nabi, who returned best figures by an Afghanistan bowler in T20Is (4 for 20) was named Man of the Match•Getty Images

Plays of the day from the IPL match between Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils in Mohali

Shashank Kishore07-May-2016Morris’ recovery
Chris Morris started poorly, with his first two deliveries straying down leg and going to the fine-leg boundary. He corrected his line and length in his second over by bowling full and straight to M Vijay, who was trying to heave all the deliveries that came his way. Off the second ball off his second over, Morris got one to tail back in slightly and Vijay could only get a thick inside-edge off an attempted pick-up shot. A ball later, Vijay got another inside edge, this time lobbing towards Carlos Brathwaite, who threw himself to his right at midwicket to pluck a one-handed catch. And Morris had made up for his early lapses.The miscommunication(s)
Hashim Amla’s first ball on IPL debut was farcical. He pushed a short ball towards cover, and took a couple of steps outside the crease. That was enough for Marcus Stoinis to be convinced that there was a run. He was more than halfway down the pitch when Amla sent him back. A direct hit from Morris, who sprinted to his left to collect the ball, would have made it two in two for Daredevils. That seemed to set the tone for the rest of Amla’s brief innings. Stoinis swiped the first ball of the next over, bowled by Shahbaz Nadeem, to deep square leg and there was drama again. Stoinis was firm on a second, but Amla didn’t respond. A sharp throw at the bowler’s end followed, but Nadeem failed to collect the ball in his eagerness to break the bails. Stoinis wasn’t even in the frame. Off the next delivery, Amla punched the ball towards mid-on, but Nadeem swiftly moved to his right to produce a diving save. Amla was nearly at the bowler’s end when he was sent back by Stoinis, who was ball-watching. Nadeem had done everything right except collect the ball, though, and another run-out opportunity was missed.Third time unlucky
Four balls later, Amla had clearly exhausted his lives as he was run out by a sharp throw from Zaheer Khan at backward point. Searching for a single, he was once again sent back and had to stretch back into the crease, by which time Quinton de Kock had collected the ball and whipped the bails off in a single motion to leave his South Africa team-mate short by a couple of inches.Stoinis’ cross-court forehand
Stoinis, well set on 42, gave Carlos Brathewaite the charge, but was cramped for room as the bowler shortened his length to angle a bouncer on middle. The ball was getting big on Stoinis, but he went through with a one-legged flat-batted pull that sped off the blade to the boundary. The beauty of the shot was as much in his late adjustment as it was about the placement – he bisected deep midwicket and long-on perfectly.Miller makes amends
Karun Nair was batting quite comfortably, until he swiped Mohit Sharma’s slower delivery towards wide long-on in the 15th over. David Miller, running to his right from long-on, was perhaps distracted by Glenn Maxwell running to his left from deep midwicket. Maxwell backed away as soon as he heard the call of “mine”, but Miller ended up getting too close to the ball. The momentum took him forward when the ball lodged in his hands, but less than a second later it bobbled out. At that stage, Daredevils needed 51 off 31 balls.Fortunately for Kings XI, Miller redeemed himself four balls later as Nair sliced a lofted hit towards long-off. Once again, Miller sprinted in and nearly made the mistake of overrunning and was extremely close to the ball. But the height gave him an extra second to arch back and find some room as he twisted his body sideways to take that catch. A key batsman was dismissed, and Kings XI pushed ahead.

The contrasting careers of Imran Tahir and Mansoor Amjad, and the fewest wickets lost in an ODI series

Steven Lynch21-Jun-2016Zimbabwe took only three Indian wickets during the recent ODIs. Was this a record for a three-match series? asked Haresh Sukhraj from Canada

India lost only three wickets in the recent series – one in the first match, two in the second and none in the third – as they walloped Zimbabwe 3-0 in Harare. This is indeed a record low for a completed three-match series: the previous fewest wickets lost was seven, by South Africa in Bangladesh in March 2008, when they won the first game by nine wickets and the other two by seven. Zimbabwe lost just six wickets in three matches against Kenya at home in December 2002, but the third of those games was washed out with Zimbabwe 17 for 1. Australia lost only eight wickets – six in one game – in winning 3-0 in Zimbabwe in October 1999.Zimbabwe upset India in a T20I the other day. Have they beaten all the major countries in the format now? asked Khaya Winston from Zimbabwe

Well, Zimbabwe had already beaten India in a T20I – to square the series in Harare last year. But Zimbabwe are still awaiting their first T20 victories over England (who they have met only once), New Zealand (six matches), Pakistan (nine), South Africa (three), Sri Lanka (three) … and Afghanistan (five). But Zimbabwe do boast a 100% record against Australia, having won their only encounter, in Cape Town during the inaugural World T20 in 2007. In all Zimbabwe have won 13 of their 52 T20Is: the other victories have come against Bangladesh (four), Canada, Hong Kong, Netherlands, Scotland, UAE and West Indies. They also played out a tie against Canada in King City in October 2008, but won the bowl-out.Jonny Bairstow completed 50 dismissals in his tenth Test as the designated wicketkeeper. Has anyone got there quicker? asked Bob Rothwell from Australia

The only other man to reach 50 dismissals in his tenth Test behind the stumps is another who faced criticism over his glovework early in his career: Mark Boucher also reached the landmark in his tenth match, but kept in one fewer innings – 17 to Bairstow’s 18. Adam Gilchrist took 11 Tests (21 innings) to reach his half-century, while Courtney Browne and Dave Richardson both took 12 (and 20). Gilchrist edged the race to three figures, reaching 100 dismissals in his 22nd Test to Boucher’s 23, and was also fastest to 200 (47 Tests, with Brad Haddin next on 50).Mansoor Amjad took three wickets in his only over in T20Is but was never picked by Pakistan for the format ever again•AFPWas Imran Tahir the first South African bowler to take seven wickets in a one-day international? asked Jamie Stewart from Canada

Imran Tahir’s 7 for 45 against West Indies in St Kitts last week were the best ODI figures for South Africa, beating Kagiso Rabada’s 6 for 16 on debut against Bangladesh in Mirpur last July. There have been only eight other seven-wicket hauls in ODIs – plus Chaminda Vaas’s format-best 8 for 19 for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe in Colombo in December 2001. For the full list, click here.Imran Tahir is the fastest South African bowler to take 100 wickets in one-day internationals. But who was the fastest of all to reach that milestone? asked David Ferrier from Belgium

Legspinner Imran Tahir (born in Pakistan) passed 100 wickets in ODIs during his 7 for 45 against West Indies in St Kitts last week. It was his 58th match, so he just pipped Morne Morkel’s previous South African record of 59. Three bowlers have reached three figures in fewer matches: Brett Lee of Australia got there in 55 games, and New Zealander Shane Bond in 54 – but the quickest of all was the Pakistan offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq, who took his 100th wicket in his 53rd ODI. Saqlain is also the quickest in terms of time – he took 592 days to reach three figures, the best part of a year quicker than Irfan Pathan (832 days). Tahir took more than five years to reach 100, well down the overall list in 44th place: the fastest South African by time remains Shaun Pollock, in just over three years (1173 days, seventh overall), but 68 matches.Who took three wickets in his only over of a T20I – and never played again? asked Arjun Krishna Murthy from India

This unfortunate bowler was the Sialkot legspinner Mansoor Amjad, who played in Pakistan’s one-off T20I against Bangladesh in Karachi in April 2008. Brought on for the 16th over, he dismissed Mahmudullah with his second ball, Mashrafe Mortaza with his fifth, and Shahadat Hossain with his sixth. That wrapped up the match – and poor Amjad was never selected again, despite finishing with the eye-catching figures of 1-0-3-3. He did make a solitary one-day international appearance a couple of months later, taking 1 for 44 in his ten overs against Sri Lanka in Karachi, but never appeared in a Test. He had also played for Leicestershire in 2006 and 2007.Send in your questions using our feedback form.

Plays of the day from the third T20I between India and Zimbabwe in Harare

Nikhil Kalro22-Jun-2016Eyes on the bailWith India limping through the middle overs of their innings, MS Dhoni took it on himself to push the scoring rate. In the quest for a boundary, he shimmied down to a full delivery from Donald Tiripano in the 17th over, but the lack of pace and slight inward movement to deceived the batsman, deflected off the inside edge and rattled the stumps. The bails went flying, one of which found a way through Dhoni’s helmet and strike him near his right eye.The costly errorWith India’s innings faltering, a length delivery from Chamu Chibhabha in the 10th over seemed too good to pass up on. Kedar Jadhav went for a flat-batted scythe but picked out extra cover. Zimbabwe’s plans were about to bear fruit, India’s hopes were about to take a hit and Hamilton Masakadza was set to take a good catch. He stayed low, reverse cupped his hands… but the ball burst through them. Jadhav got the reprieve, and made it count with a match-winning half-century.Sran loses it, but finds it in timeBarinder Sran was given the final over of India’s tour with the series on the line. Zimbabwe had somehow scrambled to 118 for 5, and required 21 to complete their first series win of two or more T20 matches.His first ball, from around the wicket to Timycen Maruma, was on a length. Slogged over midwicket for six. He switched to over the wicket, and pushed one so wide outside off that it just clipped the edge of the pitch. Wide. He followed that with a misdirected yorker, a high full toss that was slapped over cover for four. Zimbabwe needed nine off five, and Sran was starting to feel the pressure.How did he respond? Five wide yorkers, executed close to perfection, that helped India to a 2-1 series win.Slippery startFast bowler Tendai Chatara, returning to Zimbabwe’s XI, uses his pace variations – legcutters, offcutters and his natural pace – in the early 120 kph range – to flummox batsmen. And he dished them out early on Wednesday. KL Rahul was set up to smash the second ball of the match over midwicket, but the only thing that went flying was his own bat. A legcutter had kept low and Rahul, who was too early into his shot, could not get anything on it.

Many Indian fans in the USA had not imagined they would watch India play a series in the country. Now that it is happening, they are eager to take in as much of the action as they can

Aishwarya Kumar in Florida27-Aug-2016’Fine Indian cuisine’ read a catering van parked outside the Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida on Friday. The American flag was pitched right behind the van. It was the perfect scene – India officially touring the USA for the first time, with the venue set to host two T20Is between India and West Indies on August 27 and 28. And wherever the cricket goes, the fans seem to follow, be it Chennai or Florida.The match will not start until 10 am local time on Saturday, but that hasn’t stopped fans from arriving at the ground to cheer for their team. Indian cricket fans poured in to catch their team’s practice session on the eve of the match, hoping to get autographs from Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Chris Gayle. “Dwayne Bravo,” yelled one such fan, on seeing Bravo walk back after practice. The West Indies allrounder waved back to loud cheers. On a walk around the stadium, you could hear catch phrases in Tamil, Hindi, Telugu and English. It almost felt like the tournament was being played in India.Fans flew in from across the country – Chicago, Louisiana, Washington DC, and Los Angeles – directly to the stadium, keen to catch the action. For most, this is a first chance to watch an international cricket match in person. Indian students in the USA especially were seen boarding flights in Washington DC, eager to get to Lauderhill. The Indians and Indian-Americans gathered at the Reagan National Airport said the series felt “surreal” because when they left India, they never imagined they would watch an international series in person in the country, let alone one featuring India.Cricket is more than just a sport for these Indian immigrants and second-generation Indian-Americans. It is their “mother sport,” said Mike Singh, an Indian immigrant from California. It brings them together, it makes them who they are.Krish Patel, a 10-year-old second-generation Indian-American, grew up watching and worshipping players like Kohli and Dhoni. To be able to talk to them and get their autographs felt surreal, he said. Krish and his father, Mayank, are part of the Bolingbrook Cricket League in Illinois.”This is a big deal for Krish. For him to see legends and future legends that he grew up watching is a big deal,” Mayank said.For the millions of Indian immigrants in the USA, this is also something of a family reunion. Flags were waved, samosas passed around and new Bollywood dance moves exchanged. It is home away from home.Fans were on the lookout for tickets as soon as they heard the BCCI was looking to host the series in the USA. Some even skipped work on the first day of sales to grab a few tickets. Sankar Renganathan, an IT engineer from Alabama, joked that he was the reason the server crashed.”We had to call the phone number on the website to get the tickets,” added his friends.What do the supporters hope to accomplish out of their weekend in Florida?”We want to see a tough game. But we want India to win,” said Udayakumar Karnam, also an IT engineer from Alabama, who flew down with his friends.Some want to see India win, but for others it’s a chance to be part of history, a part of India’s first official series in the USA. That, said Mayank Patel, has made all the travelling worth it.There were West Indies fans at the stadium too, cheering for their during a practice session on Friday, with banter about who would be the best batsman and bowler from the team.James Johnson, an immigrant from Trinidad & Tobago who was in Florida for the Caribbean Premier League, said that to be able to watch West Indies play in the US in person was everything he wanted.”Of course I want West Indies to win, but if not, I am here to watch good cricket like everybody else,” Johnson said.

The newest member of the England squad takes after his father, Ray Jennings, a man he got used to calling coach, not dad, early

Luke Alfred05-Dec-20162:27

Can’t remember when I last called him dad – Keaton Jennings

There’s a history of illustrious father-and-son combinations in South African cricket reaching back decades. The latest turn, however, between Ray Jennings and his son Keaton, comes with a twist. Having been called up by England as cover for their last two Tests in India, Keaton will inevitably play cricket not for the country of his birth.It adds a layer of feeling to the story that Ray never played officially for South Africa, turning out 14 times for his country during the years of isolation.Although these two facts are only distantly related, they might be more important than they at first appear.Despite coaching the national side and being the Under-19 coach for many years, Ray has always stood at an angle to administrative aristocracy. His relationship with hierarchies and politicians has never been entirely comfortable, partly because his cricket was hardened in Transvaal’s “Mean Machine” foundry and partly because he’s a man of his time. Coaching by consensus is alien to him. He doesn’t tweet and doesn’t do Netflix. Until recently he unwound by riding his beloved Harley-Davidson. Now he walks the dogs and punishes golf balls.When Keaton was five years old, Ray had him in the nets at Dainfern, the luxury walled golf estate in northern Johannesburg where he and his older brother, Dylan, grew up. Both brothers were naturally right-handers, but given the placement of hands on the bat handle, Ray insisted they become lefties.He insisted, furthermore, that they had to call him “coach” rather than Dad, a habit that for Keaton persists up until this day. “I refused to buy Keaton keeping gloves when he was about that age,” says Ray, talking from his holiday home in Mauritius. “I just didn’t need three keepers in the family. When Dylan was about 13, he started telling me how to keep and how to react. We started to knock heads. With Keaton, I was always encouraging him to bowl a bit more.”Ray Jennings’ playing and coaching style are distinctly old school•Getty ImagesNot only was Keaton prepared to call his father “Coach”, he was prepared to knuckle down in Dainfern’s almost startlingly opulent confines, becoming a model individual from a young age. At 16 he spent a month with Andrew Hall at Northants, Hall having played for coach-cum-dad at Easterns and in the national side. Keaton came back and told his parents that there was nothing more he wanted to do than to play professional cricket.Halfway through his first year out of school at King Edward VII in Johannesburg, Keaton captained a South Africa U-19 side to England. When his team-matesreturned home, he bolted to the Durham Academy. “There were some communication issues and a bit of a blockage here in South Africa, so we made our decision early,” says Ray. “It wasn’t easy, but in those years you had some serious talent up ahead. We always felt that Keaton might stand a better chance in what is a very good English system.”Lawrence Mahatlane, who took over from Ray as the national U-19 coach and coached Keaton for a year at Pirates, a Jo’burg club, agrees with his predecessor’s assessment.”Keaton was one of the hardest-working young cricketers I’ve ever come across,” Mahatlane says. “He played a major part for us in that season, where we came second behind a strong Old Edwardians side in the Premier League here in Johannesburg. Looking back on it, there was some serious talent up ahead. Jean Symes, Vaughn van Jaarsveld and Temba Bavuma were playing for the Strikers, not the Lions, and you had batsmen like Neil McKenzie and Zander de Bruyn still playing for the Lions. There were only so many places up for grabs.”Jennings captained South Africa Under-19 before committing to a career in England•Getty ImagesWhile Dylan played no representative cricket after 2003-04, Keaton was prepared to grind it out. He knuckled down at the academy and played for the Durham 2nd XI. In 2012 he was chosen by Durham to play in a tour game against Australia, but the fact that he’d captained South Africa U-19 got in the way. He was summoned to Lord’s. “They sorted that out and it was then that he pledged his future to England,” says Ray.One of England’s opponents at home next summer are South Africa. If the unthinkable comes to pass, Keaton might play against Stephen Cook, who was ten years ahead of him at the illustrious King Edward VII school. Cook and his dad, Jimmy, are the most recent example of a father and son turning out for their country, but there are many more for South Africa, ranging from Peter and Shaun Pollock, to Kevin and Neil McKenzie, and the late Hylton (who didn’t play for South Africa but did turn out for a Rest of the World XI v Australia) and HD Ackerman.Watching Stephen’s busy mannerisms, it is impossible not to see his dad, particularly as he runs between wickets and twists his pad so it protects his knee more squarely. Parallels between Keaton and Ray Jennings will be more difficult to spot, more opaque. The gutsiness will be there, however, and the neatness and the penchant for hard work. Wicketkeeping gloves, though, will be absent, that link in the generational chain having been broken.

Our countdown to the tenth IPL takes a look at the ten most economical bowlers in the tournament’s history

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Mar-20171. Sunil Narine – 66 matches, 85 wickets at 6.17 per overA mystery spinner who was barely known when Knight Riders bought him in 2012, Narine’s impact was instant, going on to win the Man-of-the-Series award in his first season in the IPL. The true value of Narine’s overs are evident when you consider that teams have scored at 8.02 runs per over in the time he’s been around, and the astonishing fact that 97 of his overs have come between overs 16 and 20.2. R Ashwin – 111 matches, 100 wickets at 6.55 per overAshwin sprang onto the scene in the third edition of the IPL, with match-winning spells en route to Super Kings maiden title, which earned him a spot in the Indian side for the 2011 World Cup. Over the years, he has gone on to become his captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s go-to weapon, be it with the new ball or in the death overs. In 2015, he finished an entire IPL season going at less than a run-a-ball, a rare achievement in the tournament’s history.3. Anil Kumble – 42 matches, 45 wickets at 6.57 per overAfter their disastrous start in 2008, The current India coach took over as Royal Challengers captain mid-way through the 2009 season and led from the front to take them to the final, with 21 wickets at just 5.86 runs per over, including a magical 5 for 5 spell on a difficult Cape Town track against Rajasthan Royals. Kumble went on to have yet another impressive season in 2010, before hanging up his boots before the 2011 auction.4. Glenn McGrath– 14 matches, 14 wickets at 6.61 per overA year after retiring from international cricket after winning his third World Cup title, and in the middle of his wife’s terminal illness, McGrath had one of the best seasons for a fast bowler in IPL history, picking up 12 wickets, including a match-winning 4 for 29 against Royal Challengers Bangalore. Despite being his side’s most economical bowler in the first season, McGrath was on the bench for much of the next season, before retiring from all competitive cricket.Lasith Malinga’s slinging toe-crushers have been invaluable to Mumbai Indians over the years•BCCI5. Lasith Malinga – 98 matches, 143 wickets at 6.67 per overThe IPL’s highest wicket-taker has also been among its most economical over nine seasons. Malinga’s wickets and tight bowling in the death overs have taken Mumbai Indians to two IPL titles, apart from two Champions League T20 trophies. His importance to the Mumbai side is exemplified by the fact that he remains one of the IPL’s few single-franchise players, alongside team-mates Harbhajan Singh and Keiron Pollard, retained by Mumbai every time so far.6. Muttiah Muralitharan – 66 matches, 63 wickets at 6.67 per overMuralitharan was purchased for a relatively cheap $600,000 in the inaugural auction, and never failed to live up to his reputation through his first three seasons for Chennai Super Kings, putting in crucial performances en route to their 2010 IPL title. His miserly bowling performances were a feature of his subsequent seasons with Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Royal Challengers Bangalore, before he retired in 2014.7. Dale Steyn– 90 matches, 92 wickets at 6.72 per overWhile Steyn’s performances have dipped of late, forcing him to warm the bench last season, his overall economy rate of 6.72 is only testament to his value in his first six seasons. In 2013, his performances led Sunrisers to the playoffs in their maiden season, with 19 wickets at a sub-six economy rate, a rare feat for a fast bowler in the IPL.8. Roelof van der Merwe – 21 matches, 21 wickets at 6.74 per overVan der Merwe’s is perhaps the most surprising name on this list, considering he never found a place in the starting XI regularly for both his franchises. While his batting never took off, his left-arm orthodox kept things tight at one end. It is to his credit that, despite bowling most of his overs on South African wickets in the 2009 season, he has managed an economy rate below 7.Daniel Vettori’s spells led RCB to one of their most successful IPL seasons in 2011•AFP9. Daniel Vettori – 34 matches, 28 wickets at 6.78 per overVettori’s IPL career did not get off to the best of starts, often being forced to sit out at Delhi Daredevils. However, he came into his own for Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011, picking up 12 wickets at 6.01 per over, captaining them to the final. He continues to be involved with the franchise as their coach, after retiring following a relatively average 2012 season.10. Mustafizur Rahman– 16 matches, 17 wickets at 6.90 per overAfter just one season, where he was often chosen ahead of the likes of Dale Steyn and Trent Boult, Mustafizur finds himself among the 10 most economical bowlers in IPL history. He was named the tournament’s Emerging Player of the Season, as his bowling performances led Sunrisers to their first IPL title.