Pick which players you think Delhi Daredevils should keep, if they are given a limited choice ahead of next year’s reshuffle

ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2017Next year, the IPL will see another reshuffle, with most players going back into the auction. Teams may be allowed to retain a few players – a maximum of four retained players were allowed in 2011 and five in 2014. If Delhi Daredevils can keep some of their players, who should they use their quota on? Swipe right for the players you think should stay and left for those who should go back into the auction.

Coming up to the South Africa Tests in England, we present a quick glossary

Compiled by Firdose Moonda04-Jul-2017First, the basics:Try translating these

Kastaiings uit die vuur krap
Pronounced: Cas-tie-ings eight de fuur krap
Literal translation: Scratch chestnuts out of the fire
In English: Get the team out of a crisis
For example: Hashim Amla
Or: Hashim Amla saved the team after they lost three wickets.

Die bal maak aapstert
Pronounced: Di bal maak aap-start
Literal translation: The ball becomes a monkey’s tail
In English: The ball has looped up, most commonly off bat and pad, to a close-catcher.
For example: JP Duminy
Or: The ball turned a lot. JP Duminy tried to play it deep and the ball looped to the short-leg fielder.

Krieket
Pronounced: Krii-ketKolwer
Pronounced: Coal-ver
Literal Translation: Batter
In English: BatsmanSnelbouler
Pronounced: Snell-bowler
Literal translation: Speed bowler
In English: Fast bowlerDraai-bouler
Pronounced: Dry-bowler
Literal translation: Turn bowler
In English: Spin bowlerPaaltjiewagter
Pronounced paal-kie-wagghh-ter
Literal translation: Small-pole watcher
In English: WicketkeeperSkeidsregter
Pronounced: skates-regghh-ter
Literal translation: Separate judge
In English: UmpireKolfkampie
Pronounced: Colf-kamp-y
Literal translation: Batting camp
In English: CreaseNulletjie
Pronounced: Nil-le-kie
Literal translation: Baby zero or little zero
In English: DuckAnd now a few more specific terms:Nag Uiltjie
Pronounced: Nagghh-eil-kie
Literal translation: Night owl
In English: NightwatchmanWegbreekbouler
Pronounced: Vegghh-breek-bowler
Literal translation: Getaway bowler
In English: OffspinnerGoelbal
Pronounced: Ghoel-bal
Literal translation: Magic or ghost ball
In English: GooglyAnd here’s one we all remember because it was part of incriminating messages sent by a certain Englishman about one of his team-mates:Doos
Literal meaning: Box
Also used as a profanity in the same line as “idiot” (and other, ruder, terms)ESPNcricinfo LtdAnd then there are the fielding positions:Gangetjie
Pronounced: Ghh-ang-e-kie
Literal translation: Small hallway
In English: GullySlagyster Posisie
Pronounced: Slagghh-ayster-po-zees-ee
Literal translation: Slaughter-rron position
In English: Short legVlak weg
Pronounced: Flak-vegghh
Literal translation: Shallow away
In English: Silly mid-off

Stats highlights from the third day of the Pallekele Test between Sri Lanka and India

Bharath Seervi14-Aug-20171 – This is the first time India have whitewashed an away series of three or more Tests. Overall, this is the fifth time India have whitewashed a Test series of three or more matches.2 – Number of times Sri Lanka have been whitewashed at home in a series of three or more matches: by Australia in 2003-04 and by India in this series. Overall, this is the sixth time they have been whitewashed in a series of three or more Tests.35.98 – The difference between India’s batting and bowling averages in this series, which is their second-biggest in any series of three or more Tests. The biggest difference also came against Sri Lanka, 44.43, in 1986. India’s batting average in this series was 60.90 and bowling average 24.92.3 – Bigger innings victories for India than this one, by an innings and 171 runs. In away Tests, this is their second-largest innings win. For Sri Lanka, this is their fifth-biggest innings defeat and second-biggest at home.26 – Average of India’s spin bowlers in this series, compared to Sri Lanka’s 67.38. India’s spinners struck roughly once every 49 balls whereas Sri Lanka spinners required around 102 balls per wicket. India’s fast bowlers averaged 24.35 whereas the home side’s quicks averaged 53.84.

3 – Number of first-innings leads of over 300 runs for India in this series – their most in any series. They had got two such leads against Sri Lanka at home in 2009-10 and in the West Indies last year. India’s first-innings leads in this series: 309, 439 and 352.487 – India’s lowest score in a completed innings in this series – the highest lowest innings total for India in any series of three or more Tests. Sri Lanka’s highest total of the series was 386.5 – Number of India players to scored centuries in this series – Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Hardik Pandya – the joint-most in an away Test series of any number of matches for India. In all ten players made 50-plus scores, which is the joint second-most in any Test series.

For Steven Smith and Darren Lehmann, the challenge has been to find a less risky and more sustainable way of running up totals in Test cricket. And they found what they were looking for this Ashes

Daniel Brettig09-Jan-2018In cricket, as in music, the right tempo can be hard to find. Martin Hannett, the iconoclastic Manchester record producer, is depicted in the film telling the Joy Division drummer, Steven Morris, to play “faster, but slower”. In assessing the way the 2017-18 Ashes series was played, many have noted that it was the slowest in terms of scoring rate since 1994-95.For Australia, that is a seriously promising statistical sign that the team led by Steven Smith and coached by Darren Lehmann is finding the correct tempo for sustained success as a Test team.

Shaun Marsh suffers quad strain

Australia’s middle-order batsman Shaun Marsh is out of the Perth Scorchers’ next Big Bash League match against Sydney Thunder on Wednesday due to a quad strain he carried through the fifth Ashes Test.
Marsh, who was second behind Steven Smith in the series’ leading run-makers, is believed to have suffered the injury during the Melbourne Test but was successfully able to manage it while making his second century in five Tests at the SCG.
Australia’s coach Darren Lehmann has lauded Marsh’s role in providing dependable support for Smith in particular.

Twenty-three years ago, Mark Taylor started his Australian captaincy with a goal to score more rapidly and play more proactively, the better to utilise the burgeoning talents of his team to win Test matches after the relative conservatism of the Allan Border/Bob Simpson years. Taylor wanted his teams to accelerate so as to make around 300 runs a day against quality bowling attacks and, in subsequently becoming the best Test side in the world, they largely did so.For Smith and Lehmann, the challenge has been to do the opposite, throttling back from the frenetic speeds at which Australia have become used to scoring runs in Tests, to find a less risky and more sustainable way of running up the totals that an excellent and now versatile bowling attack can defend. In summing up the way Australia had approached this Ashes series, won 4-0 after a final innings victory in Sydney, Lehmann said it had been critical to bat for long periods, even if not at the optimum rate. Similar maxims will apply for future, overseas assignments in South Africa, the UAE and England again in 2019: boom and bust is out, steady accumulation is in.”Long periods of time with their two senior bowlers in [Stuart] Broad and [James] Anderson we wanted them to bowl a lot of overs,” Lehmann said. “That was certainly a plan in the first innings of every game to make sure we’re batting big in the first innings, and achieved that in all bar Melbourne basically. So for us making sure those older guys were coming back day in, day out to bowl, was important, if we did that we gave our bowlers enough rest and away we go from there.”We’re planning that far ahead, it’s not funny. For us, it’s making sure you’re changing the way you play wherever you play. South Africa you would think very similar to Australian conditions so it’s not so bad. Pakistan is totally different, we’ll have to prepare differently as we did for India. I thought that Test series in India was unbelievable and if we got over the line there it would’ve been an amazing achievement, but you’ve got to chop and change between where you play and who you play.”That’s planning, Under-19s already underway, planning where we’re going to play, how we’re going to prepare, so they’re the things you do well ahead of the game.”

“We’re planning that far ahead, it’s not funny. For us, it’s making sure you’re changing the way you play wherever you play.”

Nothing epitomised the Australian tempo more than the fact Smith scored his runs at 48.51 runs per hundred balls, Shaun Marsh at 45.97, Usman Khawaja at 43.35 and even the hyper-aggressive David Warner at 52.37. Mitchell Marsh, while scoring at a more slippery 57.04, was notably more patient, and only the technical travails of Cameron Bancroft gave cause for concern. The principle underpinning all this crease-occupation was patience, and Lehmann spoke happily of watching Warner happily knock singles into the gaps offered to him by Joe Root as a way of restricting the usual flow of boundaries.”Certainly a bit different for the way they planned, they had deep cover, deep point and two back the whole time,” Lehmann said. “Normally those balls from Davey would go for four, so that was a plan from them to restrict his scoring, but I thought he handled it really well, showed a bit of maturity from Davey, which was great. For him to bat a long period of time is good for him, he knows he can go both ways.”It will be imperative to show defensive and attacking skills at the right times in South Africa, particularly given the way South Africa’s pacemen dismantled India in the opening Test of their current series in Cape Town. Lehmann admitted that the schedule of limited-overs matches between now and March would make the process of adaptation challenging, albeit in conditions not totally dissimilar to those on which Australian batsmen are raised.”We don’t have as much time, that’s the problem with the changeover. We have a [Sheffield] Shield round and a [practice] game in Benoni,” Lehmann said. “They’ll leave early, the Test squad, depending on the T20 squad which is playing at the same time, so we’ll have to work that as best we possibly can. Scheduling we can’t do anything about, but we’ll try and give them the best preparation we can in that regard. They’ve got some quality bowlers South Africa, no doubt about that, they’ll swing it around. It’s been quite dry there so it’ll be interesting to see what sort of wickets we get there, only time will tell.”Preparation is the key for whatever series. You’ve got to get there as early as we can. Broad and Anderson have got 900 Test wickets. And South Africa have got a really good attack. Shaun Marsh made a great hundred last time we were there at Centurion. I expect those guys to be a challenge, as it always is. South Africa are a tough opponent. We’ll have to play well, there’s no doubt about that. We’ll have to bat really well.”Much as Taylor knew that the right tempo for run-making would complement the fact that he had Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and initially Craig McDermott in harness to bowl opponents out, Lehmann and Smith have realised that, provided they stay fit, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon will be able to confound most opponents so long as there are no batting catastrophes to rob them of adequate runs to defend. Lehmann will not yet put the current quartet above Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Lyon from 2013-14, but they are getting close.”They certainly have the potential to be. Harris, Siddle, Johnson and Lyon were pretty good four years ago, but these guys are younger, they’ve got the appetite to be great,” Lehmann said. “Twenty-five days of cricket as well, every day they fronted up for us at crunch times. From a bowling point of view, very pleased we were able to get 80 wickets to win 4-0 and the way they’ve done it.”The last two wickets were a little bit slow and low as such, but Sydney took turn. The first three had some pace and bounce in them, but they adapted to those conditions really well, so, pleased you’ve got those guys playing together all at once.”Lehmann, of course, has flagged for some time that the 2019 Ashes tour will be the end of his time as Australian coach. The 2017-18 Ashes may yet be seen as the pivot point from Australian cavalier to Test-match roundhead, with Cromwellian consequences for the rest of world cricket.

And how many cricketers played 100 Tests but never made a fifty?

Steven Lynch10-Oct-2017Aiden Markram scored a century in his second Test, after being out in the nineties in his first. Has anyone else done this? asked Cameron Bishop from South Africa
Aiden Markram who followed 97 against Bangladesh in Potchefstroom with 143 in Bloemfontein, was actually the fifth batsman to atone for a near-miss ninety in his first Test by making sure of a century in his second. Stanley Jackson made 91 on his debut, for England against Australia at Lord’s in 1893, and 103 in the next Test, at The Oval. Frank Worrell made 97 in his first Test for West Indies, against England in Port-of-Spain in 1947-48, and 131 not out in the next Test, in Georgetown. Another West Indian, John Holt, made 94 on debut against England in Kingston in 1953-54, and 166 in the next match, in Bridgetown. And after Colin Milburn made 94 on debut for England against West Indies at Old Trafford in 1966, he cracked an undefeated 126 in the next Test, at Lord’s.Two players have followed up a dismissal in the nineties by making a century in the second innings of their first Test: England’s Paul Gibb, against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1938-39, and Gordon Greenidge, for West Indies v India in Bangalore in 1974-75.Mehidy Hasan finished with none for 247 in the first Test against South Africa. Has anyone conceded more runs in a Test match without taking a wicket? asked Bilal Hossain from Bangladesh
Offspinner Mehidy Hasan toiled away for figures of 0 for 178 and 0 for 69 in Bangladesh’s first Test against South Africa in Potchefstroom last week. Only two bowlers have conceded more in a Test without the consolation of a wicket: the South African legspinner Imran Tahir went for 260 runs – 0 for 180 and 0 for 80 – against Australia in Adelaide in 2012-13, while seamer Khan Mohammad had figures of 0 for 259 in West Indies’ only innings in Kingston in 1957-58. Poor Khan toiled through 54 overs as a depleted Pakistan attack conceded 790 for 3, with Garry Sobers hammering 365 not out. For the full list of the most runs conceded in a Test, click here.Of the batsmen who have scored 1000 runs before the end of May in an English season, who’s the only left-hander? asked Derek Marchant from England
There have been only nine occasions in which a batsman has passed 1000 first-class runs in an English season before the end of May. And the only left-hander among them is perhaps the least famous of the group: Charlie Hallows, of Lancashire, who achieved the feat in May 1928. He went into the last match, against Sussex at Old Trafford, needing 232 runs to complete the feat – and was out on the second day (May 31) for exactly 232. Wisden reported that his “memorable innings” was “marred only by a chance when 175”. Hallows had had a near-miss the year before, scoring 925 runs in May 1927.Makhaya Ntini: 101 Tests, 390 wickets, no fifties•Getty ImagesThe other batsmen to reach 1000 runs before the end of May in an English season are WG Grace (1895), Tom Hayward (1900), Wally Hammond (1927), Don Bradman (1930 and 1938), Bill Edrich (1938), Glenn Turner (1973) and Graeme Hick (1988). Only three of these – Grace, Hammond and Hallows – actually scored a thousand runs during May; the others had some innings in April. With the season now starting at the end of March, it’s rather a surprise that no one has yet added their name to this famous list.The most runs in any calendar month in England is 1294, by Len Hutton in June 1949. He also made 1050 runs that August, to become the only man ever to score a thousand in two separate months of the same year.Has anyone played more than 100 Tests without ever scoring a hundred, or even a fifty? asked David Dudgeon from Japan
There are currently 66 players who have played in 100 or more Tests. Of these, only six never scored a century: Shane Warne (145 matches, with a highest score of 99), Muttiah Muralitharan (133 matches, HS 67), Courtney Walsh (132, 30 not out), Jimmy Anderson (129 so far, 81), Glenn McGrath (124, 61) and Makhaya Ntini (101, 32 not out). From this you can see that the only ones who never made a fifty were Walsh and Ntini – but they did manage over 900 wickets between them.Turning your query round, 15 of the 66 hundred-cap men never took a Test wicket: Kumar Sangakkara (134 matches), Alec Stewart (133), Brian Lara (131), Inzamam-ul-Haq (120), Ian Healy (119), Dilip Vengsarkar (116), Colin Cowdrey (114), Stephen Fleming (111), Hashim Amla (109 so far), Gordon Greenidge (108), David Boon (107), Justin Langer (105), Matthew Hayden (103), Graham Thorpe (100) and Andrew Strauss (100). Of these, Healy, Fleming and Strauss never even bowled in a Test match.How often has the first-innings score in a Test match been a tie? asked Vikram Tirupati from India
There have now been eight Tests in which the teams were level after the first innings, the most recent coming at Headingley in 2015, when New Zealand and England both totalled 350 first time round. The highest total involved is 593, by West Indies (who declared five down) and England (all out) in St John’s, Antigua, in 1993-94 (the match in which Brian Lara scored 375).The first such instance was at the old Lord’s ground in Durban in 1909-10, when South Africa and England both made 199 in their first innings. And it has happened since in Kanpur in 1958-59 (West Indies and India 222), Auckland in 1972-73 (Pakistan and New Zealand 402), Kingston in 1972-73 (Australia 428 for 7 declared, West Indies 428), Edgbaston in 1986 (England and India 390), and St John’s in 2002-03 (Australia and West Indies 240).

An ageing group of core players leaves them rich on experience, but questions remain about their ability to cope with modern-day T20 cricket

Deivarayan Muthu06-Apr-20181:47

The fallen kings rise again

Big Picture

One of the untold stories in MS Dhoni’s authorised biopic is his stint with Chennai Super Kings and the controversies that culminated in a two-year suspension for the franchise. CSK are back now and enter IPL 2018 with Dhoni, who led them to back-to-back titles in 2010 and 2011, still at the helm. He may no longer be the India captain, but he’s still CSK’s (leader).While Dhoni did not attend the 2018 player auction, lots about the squad has his stamp: several tried-and-tested IPL performers who have played with and against Dhoni, many of whom haven’t been in their national sides for a while.Have CSK been too conservative though? They have 11 players over 30, and by the time this cycle of three-year contracts ends Imran Tahir and Harbhajan Singh will be over 40. They had an average age of 33 after the first day of the auction in January, and then they bought eight uncapped players to complete their quota of 25 on the second. That CSK had INR 6.5 crore left in their purse at the end of the auction indicated that they chose not to go aggressively after a sought after power-hitter or allrounder.M Vijay, in his current avatar, and Faf du Plessis are accumulators at best, and though Shane Watson hit form in the BBL and PSL, a sluggish start could increase pressure on Suresh Raina and Dhoni. They have lots of spin options but the seam attack looks thin. Can Dhoni recreate the old magic with this Jekyll-Hyde side?

The good

If an IPL Hall of Fame was to be instituted, Raina would be among the first entrants. He comes into this season on the back of an India recall. Both in South Africa and Sri Lanka, he showed glimpses of his fierce ball-striking abilities. However, the consensus among many was that he was trying to manufacture too many strokes.That Raina made an India comeback after more than a year was down to his form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy: 314 runs in nine T20 innings at a strike rate of nearly 150. In his most recent IPL stint with Gujarat Lions, Raina struck 311 runs off 219 balls at a strike-rate of 142 in the Powerplay. So if the openers fail, CSK still have an attacking No. 3.The clock may be ticking on Dhoni the T20I finisher, but he still continues to be effective in the end overs. In the past two IPL seasons, Dhoni scored 358 runs off 220 balls for Rising Pune Supergiant at a strike-rate of 163 between overs 16 and 20. It remains to be seen whether he still has those skills this season.Dwayne Bravo: the first man to take 400 T20 wickets. What’s more special is that nearly half of Bravo’s T20 wickets – 203 out of 413 – have come during the last four overs of an innings, a record.These three limited-overs stalwarts will once again have to be CSK’s driving force.PTI

The bad

The absence of an experienced new-ball bowler could prove crucial. Shardul Thakur has become an India international and is skilful, but can he deliver under pressure consistently? The same question can be asked of Rajasthan’s Deepak Chahar too. Then, there is the next layer of uncapped pacers in KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Kshitiz Sharma, and Monu Kumar Singh, none of whom have played an IPL yet. Mark Wood and Lungi Ngidi have pace, but are untested in Indian conditions.To add to their worries, Chahar and Wood are injury-prone, and Mitchell Santner, who was in sparkling form in New Zealand’s ODI series against England, has been ruled out of the entire tournament because of a knee surgery.

Squad

Faf du Plessis, Shane Watson, M Vijay, Suresh Raina, Kedar Jadhav, Ambati Rayudu, Chaitanya Bishnoi, Sam Billings, Dhruv Shorey, MS Dhoni (capt & wk), N Jagadeesan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dwayne Bravo, Monu Kumar Singh, Kshitiz Sharma, Karn Sharma, Imran Tahir, Harbhajan Singh, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, KM Asif, Kanishk Seth, Mark Wood, Lungi Ngidi

The overseas question

With Bravo and Tahir likely to be certainties, CSK might have to choose between Watson and du Plessis to partner Vijay at the top. This could also mean a toss-up between Ngidi and Wood for one seam-bowling slot. They won’t have to worry about Wood’s availability until much later in the competition. There is a possibility of him returning to England during the playoffs should he be picked for the Test series against Pakistan.

The plan

Simple: Prepare turners and let their spinners loose. They have two wristspinners in Tahir and Karn Sharma, two fingerspinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Harbhajan Singh. In addition, Bravo thrives on slower offcutters and legcutters, while Raina and Kedar Jadhav can also pitch in with their offbreaks.Possible starting XI: 1 Shane Watson/Faf du Plessis, 2 M Vijay, 3 Suresh Raina, 4 Kedar Jadhav, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Dwayne Bravo, 8 Harbhajan Singh/Karn Sharma, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Imran Tahir, 11 Lungi Ngidi/Mark Wood

The brains

Stephen Fleming (head coach), Michael Hussey (batting coach), L Balaji (bowling coach), Eric Simmons (bowling consultant), Tommy Simsek (physiotherapist).

Will they make the playoffs?

Expect CSK to make a familiar late dash to the playoffs.

A look at how Rajasthan Royals’ new opening pair made Dhoni change tactics, what lengths were bowled to the CSK captain, and where CSK lost the match

Sidharth Monga11-May-20182:16

Five reasons why Royals outfoxed CSK

The opening gambitWhen Rajasthan royals came out to chase 177, the common feeling was the target was slightly over-par. And then Royals sprung a surprise. Out came Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes to open. All the firepower right at the top. This was the first time Stokes was opening in the IPL. He had a strike rate of 110 in IPL Powerplays and 120 in all Powerplays.Yet, it made sense to go all out at the top. The main reason wasn’t too different to why the target was considered over-par. On this slow pitch, the heavy lifting happened against the new ball and with only two fielders outside the circle. The other reason was the match-up: Stokes had previously scored 28 off 14 David Willey deliveries. The biggest, perhaps, was the impact. MS Dhoni loves to get his quicks through inside the Powerplay and then control the game through spin in the middle overs. Now with two foreign batsmen opening the innings, they were almost obliged to bowl spin. For the first time this season, they bowler four overs of spin inside the Powerplay, for the second time they went up to three.The closing remarksYou could clearly see Dhoni was not happy with what Willey bowled in the 19th over. Royals needed 28 in two overs, hitting off-pace deliveries had proved of late, Buttler had gone from 50 off 26 to scoring just 31 off the next 27 balls he had faced. And then Willey went ahead and bowled seam-up to K Gowtham. However, Dhoni will do well to ask himself why Willey was bowling the 19th over in the first place.You will usually see captains bowling their best bowlers of the night before the last over in an attempt to break the game open before going into the finale. On this night, Dwayne Bravo was Dhoni’s best option. Yes, Bravo did bowl the 18th and thus could not have bowled the 19th, but Dhoni could have calculated this better. There has been a previous to this too. This season, Dhoni has captained a little like Virat Kohli, keeping his best bowler for the last. In the game against Mumbai Indians, with 22 required in the last two, Dhoni bowled Shardul Thakur in the 19th, lost the game there, and then bowled Imran Tahir in the 20th for some desperate magic. With 3-0-21-1, Bravo was left unutilised. And on that occasion, Bravo’s last over had been the 17th unlike here.ESPNcricinfo LtdCumulative numbers don’t lie: Super Kings have the worst economy rate in the 19th over – 16 – when defending totals this season. It is no coincidence the best option has often not been used in the said over.Unadkat is too awareHow many times has it happened in the neighbourhood playground? You run somebody out but the batsman comes up with the rule that tells you that you had to take the whole stump out because the bails had been removed already. That’s how we all learn this rule, and it can be embarrassing to be caught unawares of it at higher levels. Jaydev Unadkat was alert after a straight drive from Dhoni hit the stumps at the bowler’s end. Unadkat collected the ball, ran towards the pitch and used his two hands to pluck a stump to try to complete the run-out. In the process, he lost valuable time, which let Sam Billings get back in. To Unadkat and Rajasthan Royals’ annoyance, it emerged that one of the bails was still on, and that a simple underarm flick would have done the job.Lengths to DhoniWith the form Dhoni has hit this IPL, Royals were looking at a lot of punishment when Dhoni walked out at the fall of the second wicket in the 12th over. However, they managed to keep him quiet in the first half of his innings: it took Dhoni 17 balls to hit his first boundary. Straightaway, the difference here was the lengths bowled to him: six of the 18 balls that Dhoni faced from pacers were short of a length. Dhoni managed just seven runs off those.ESPNcricinfo LtdIt is debatable, though, if Royals’ plan to dig the ball in was a response to Dhoni or to the slow pitch. A look at numbers earlier in the tournament might suggest the latter, for before this match, Dhoni had taken 44 runs off 22 balls pitched short of a length by quick bowlers.

Daniel Vettori has turned his attention from Royal Challengers Bangalore to Middlesex but still success is not coming easily

Arjun Bhardwaj09-Jul-2018Daniel Vettori has been one of the most sought-after coaches in world cricket. As the head coach of Brisbane Heat and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, he is responsible for the fortunes of two of the largest franchises around.Vettori brings that high reputation to Middlesex for a second successive season. But all three Vettori-led teams have been consistently underperforming. With Middlesex only securing one win from their opening three games, his record is bound to come under scrutiny under the coming weeks.The return of the Vitality Blast provides Middlesex with a timely opportunity to bring some stability to their season, and how they need it. Richard Scott, Middlesex’s Championship head coach, resigned a week ago after nine years in charge, leaving Vettori to deal with the after-shocks.Middlesex failed to progress from their group in the T20 Blast last season, winning only five matches in 14 in Vettori’s first in charge, a season in which a general malaise also saw them relegated from the Championship.Three matches into their 2018 campaign and nothing seems to have changed. They failed to win two T20 matches in a row last year and once again they have been unable to string victories together, losing to Essex a day after beating a below-strength Surrey side.Another defeat, at the hands of Gloucestershire, on Sunday night has left Middlesex with one win from three matches and needs the usually calm Vettori to reignite a struggling side.Middlesex fans relish victory in the London derby•Getty ImagesVettori has not had much success in revamping struggling franchises in the past. When he took charge of the Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2014, they had qualified three times from the group stages in six years since the tournament’s inception in 2008. Under Vettori’s supervision, they have progressed twice in five.Bangalore’s moderate IPL record is exceptionally worrying since they boast arguably the best squad on paper. Their batting unit contained a wealth of talent in Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle and Shane Watson for several years. However, Vettori’s side were unable to convert raw talent into results on a consistent basis. This is the same problem he is facing at Middlesex, as his group of big-name players are unable to come together as a team and win.Many observers initially blamed Bangalore’s failure to catch fire on a lack of a balanced side, with their batting being significantly stronger than their bowling. There were investments in high-profile million-dollar batsmen such as Yuvraj Singh and Dinesh Karthik.Vettori hailed Bangalore’s 2018 vintage as their most balanced ever. He was careful to acknowledge the importance of data and placed more emphasis on it in the IPL Auction to ensure that Bangalore were well equipped. Despite their new-look and carefully calculated side, the results were much the same for Bangalore as they finished sixth.Middlesex certainly have a balanced squad on paper but, if anything they have the reputation of being a bowling side. Tim Helm, who took 19 wickets last season, was the sixth highest wicket-taker in the competition while Middlesex’s leading run-scorer Eoin Morgan didn’t even feature in the top 30 leading run scorers in the tournament.With Morgan away on international duty, their overseas players are multi-functional. Hilton Cartwright, initially signed for a Championship stint, has stayed on for a while, Dwayne Bravo’s death bowling will be an asset and his batting ability will increase the depth in their side until he heads to the Caribbean Premier League and Australian Ashton Agar will soon follow.Recruiting the services of Bravo for six matches aimed to give Middlesex a strong start. The charismatic all-rounder is the only bowler to have taken over 400 wickets in T20 cricket and was named in ESPN Cricinfo’s all-time best T20 team. He bowled well at the death in the defeat of Surrey, and top-scored against Gloucestershire in a deflating defeat at Uxbridge but three of his matches have gone and he is running out of time to kick-start the season.As Vettori looks for solutions, perhaps legspinner Nathan Sowter holds the key. Sowter has had a hit and miss start to the season, opening with of 1 for 42 against Surrey but bouncing back with an economical 1 for 24 against Essex as others faltered. There is a growing trend in limited overs cricket of utilising leg-spin, and Sowter could be Middlesex’s answer.Last season, when Middlesex had only recorded two wins from their first seven matches, their season was nearly over at the halfway point. They are in danger of suffering the same fate this year.

India’s best all-format bowler talks about the knuckleball, and why Sunrisers Hyderabad has the best bowling attack in the IPL

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi19-May-20182:11

Sunrisers Hyderabad mentor VVS Laxman talks about Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s workload, investing in good Indian talent, and the benefits of showing faith in youngsters

Would you say this current Sunrisers attack is the most complete T20 bowling unit you’ve been part of?
 
It is a very good bowling attack. What is good about this unit is, whenever anybody has been asked to deliver he has done it – Basil Thampi played a couple of matches and he did whatever the captain asked of him or the team needed.It is an attack that has defended small targets. Like in the away match against Mumbai Indians, where you defended 118. When you defend such a small total, what does the bowler need to focus on?
Everyone knows that when you defend a small target there is not much room to make any mistake. The good thing is, whenever we have defended a low total, we have always taken wickets.I was not in Mumbai, but when I spoke to the guys who played in that match, they said that everyone wanted to focus on bowling the dot ball at the beginning. The batsmen made mistakes or went after the bowlers as the dot balls increased, and that is how we kept taking wickets at regular intervals. So the bowlers were not going after the wickets, they just wanted to bowl dot balls.How difficult is it to defend small targets like those?
It is difficult to defend a low total because there is no pressure on the batting side. One or two good overs and they know then they’ll only need [about] a run a ball. When you are defending a low total, the key is, all bowlers need to be on the same page: either you go for wickets or you contain the run rate. Either option could work. If you go for wickets, you could contain the run rate, or you could get wickets by containing the run rate.Is it good to be attacking while defending a small target?
It totally depends on the bowlers, the team. Like, in the Mumbai match, our bowlers were just defensive. They wanted the batsmen to make mistakes, because sometimes batsmen can relax while chasing a low total, since they know one over can change the whole game. But when you keep bowling dot balls, they come under pressure and commit mistakes, and that is what happened in the Mumbai match.

While chasing a big target, batsmen usually try and hit the first ball of the over for a boundary, to put pressure on the bowler. As a strike bowler what is your mantra for the first ball?
For a bowler it doesn’t matter whether it is a first ball or a last ball. We always want to take a wicket or bowl a dot ball. Yes, when you get hit on the first ball, you are always under pressure because you still have to bowl five more balls and the batsman has got the upper hand. For a bowler all six balls matter. You might bowl five dot balls and then get hit for a boundary off the last delivery.Yesterday, against Daredevils, you were taken for 17 runs off the last over of the innings. You rarely leak so many runs at the death.
Exactly. I have not given so many, but whatever bad balls I bowled, the batsmen converted. When you are going through a good patch, even if you bowl bad balls, batsmen might only convert 50% of those deliveries.You are the only Indian bowler to have a five-for in each of the three international formats. The last time you picked up a five-for was in the T20 series in South Africa. Three of the wickets in that match came off the slower ball. How important is that variation for you?
It is very important, especially in the T20 format, because everyone goes after the bowler straightaway, but when you have a variation, the batsman thinks twice before hitting you. Overseas, most times the ball comes nicely on to the bat and batsmen always want to hit you square of the wicket if they are good at the cut and pull. So if you can take the pace off the delivery, you can contain the strengths of the batsman.Say about five years ago, what percentage of your deliveries were the slower variation?
I do not remember what percentage, but it depends on the situation, ground conditions, and the batsman. A few batsmen are very good against the slower ball, a few are very good against the yorker, so you don’t want to bowl those variations against them. But a slower ball is a necessary variation because when the batsman is in his flow, all he wants is pace on the delivery. So when you bowl the slower ball, it becomes effective.Is the slower ball reactive?
In the T20 format you have to be proactive instead of reacting to things. Yes, it can be a reaction if you get hit for a boundary or a six, then you can bowl a slower one, depending on the conditions. But even if you go for runs, it is better to be proactive.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar in recent IPL seasons

• In the last four IPL seasons (from 2015), Bhuvneshwar is the leading wicket-taker in the last five overs, with 49 wickets at 15.46, and an economy rate of 9.11. The next-highest wicket-taker is Dwayne Bravo with 40

• Only Bravo, with 503 balls, has bowled more deliveries at the death in this period than Bhuvneshwar, who has bowled 499 balls.

• Among the 14 bowlers who have bowled over 35 overs at the death in the last four IPL seasons, Bhuvneshwar’s average is the best, and his ER is fourth best.

• In the current IPL and the 2017 edition, Bhuvneshwar has taken eight (23.5%) of his wickets with knuckle balls and seven (20.6%) with slower balls, which makes it a total of 44.1% from these two variations.

How many types of slower ball do you have?
Offcutter, legcutter and knuckleball.And you bowl them all with same grip?
The grip remains mostly the same – just a slight change for the knuckleball. I bowl the cutters with the upright seam; the only difference is how you roll the fingers. It is not a mystery. The batsmen can see whether it is a legspin or offspin.When it comes to the knuckleball what is different about the grip?
I just try to hold the ball by the tips of my fingers. A few bowlers grip it with the knuckles, but I am not comfortable doing that. The seam is always upright and not scrambled. That is how I started, learned, and have practised since then.Do you remember how it was the first few times the knuckleball left your hand?
I was not comfortable because you are used to holding the ball with both fingers [and thumb] with a good grip, whereas when you are bowling the knuckleball you are gripping with the fingertips. It would slip. In fact, I remember, the first few times I tried the knuckleball, it would pitch near my legs or lob over to the wicketkeeper. It took nearly a week to start pitching it properly.I think it was two years ago when I tried it for the first time on the big stage. It was during the IPL.How do you practise it in the nets?
I do not bowl too many knuckleballs in the nets. I usually bowl that delivery against a single stump in the centre – that is how I get more ideas about the delivery.Former South Africa fast bowler Charl Langveldt was amazed at how easily and how soon you learned to master the knuckleball. He himself took several years.
I think he was the first guy I noticed bowling the knuckleball. He used it bowl it very well. Unfortunately no one picked it up till Zaheer Khan tried it, and now many bowlers  use the knuckleball.Langveldt also thinks your knuckleball almost floats.
I don’t know about that, but the good thing is it goes with the seam and swings.How is the delivery different for you from how others bowl it?
It is difficult to read it because there is no change in my action, no change in my wrist position.”A slower ball can only be deceptive if it is different, if it is floating, swinging”•AFPThe knuckleball is a wicket-taking ball. When you bowl offcutters and legcutters, batsmen can pick them from the wrist, but the knuckleball they have not been able to read. They might pick it in the air or after pitching. That is why a knuckleball is very effective, because it looks like the ball is coming at the same [good] pace, and the batsman gets beaten. So they cannot see anything different in my loading, in my run-up. Only once I release it, they notice the change.In terms of putting doubt in a batsman’s mind, the bowler has to think. It’s not possible to teach that, is it?
You cannot teach that. That is what experience teaches you. You have been in those situations many times before, so you know the possible outcomes if you try something. Also, it is about doing the process right and not thinking what is going to happen. If you do that, then sometimes your body can get tense and you will not be able to deliverA slower ball of any kind basically is deception. How did you teach yourself that?
Anything that a batsman cannot pick from the wrist is deception. Almost every bowler bowls a slower ball, but not many can be deceptive. A slower ball can only be deceptive if it is different, if it is floating, swinging. If you look at [Dwayne] Bravo’s slower ball, it is deceptive because it floats and dips.Ben Laughlin floats his knuckleball and it swings. If you ask me whether I can bowl the way these guys deliver, I cannot, because their actions are different. I might want to bowl the slower ball like Bravo but I can’t.Does the pitch matter?
Of course, it does. If you bowl a slower ball and the pitch is slow, then it will be difficult for the batsman to hit. If it is a flat wicket and nothing is happening, it is easier for the batsman to pick to the slower ball.Any particularly memorable wickets that you’ve taken with the knuckleball?
Upul Tharanga in Sri Lanka. It was a normal outswinger and Tharanga attempted to flick and was beaten by the pace.What do you need in order to be brave as a fast bowler in T20 cricket?
You need wickets to be brave. When you get wickets, you can try anything. But when you don’t, you always hesitate to try a few things because it is not always about giving runs and getting wickets.Azhar Mahmood, the current Pakistan bowling coach, said bowlers win you tournaments. Do you agree?
I agree. You see teams buy a lot of batsmen for a lot of money because they are good batsmen. But you also need good bowlers to get them out or contain the runs. If you bowl first and you can get the opposition out for 130-140 then it is a good total to chase. If your team has made 160, a par score in T20, you can help win the match. In T20 cricket, bowlers win you matches.

A student of Economics, and defender at University College Dublin (UCD) club, legspinner Elena Tice has more than a hundred international caps split across the two sports

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Aug-2018At age 13, she became one of the youngest ever to play international cricket when she took the field for the Ireland women’s team. Two weeks short of 18, she made her senior international debut for the Irish hockey team, in 2016. Now, all of 20, dual international Elena Tice has a Hockey World Cup silver medal to her name.In a breakout run at the recently-concluded Hockey World Cup, where Ireland made their first appearance in 16 years, Tice and her team finished runners-up following a 6-0 hammering from eight-time champions Netherlands in London on Sunday. The unprecedented campaign culminated in a best-ever finish for Ireland at an international event, who are expected to break into the top 10 in the next update to the world rankings.A student of Economics, and defender at University College Dublin (UCD) club, Tice holds the distinction of being among the few elite female cricketers who have represented their country in two sports. Australia allrounder Ellyse Perry (football), New Zealand captain Suzie Bates (basketball) and allrounder Sophie Devine (hockey) are some of the pre-eminent members of the club. A defender at the UCD Club, Tice has more than a hundred international caps split across the two sports – 40 in cricket alone. Having largely played as a legspinner in a currently dormant cricket career, her last international appearance came in 2015, in a T20I against Australia.Born in Basingstoke, Hampshire, Tice moved to Indianapolis in the USA when she was four. There she picked up baseball and, at age six, the family moved to Vienna. During her three years in the Austrian capital, she made her first foray into cricket and went on to play for the Austria Cricket Club later. At nine, she moved back to Ireland where she began playing school cricket for Aravon School while also lining up for the Merrion Cricket Club. The same year marked her initiation into hockey too.Growing up, Tice dabbled in several other sports, including football, rugby and horse-riding, and Evented (an equestrian event) until about age 13. But juggling cricket and hockey became challenging for the widely travelled Tice, especially while representing the Irish Under-16 and Under-18 hockey teams. Extension of the season deep into summer would mean the cricket season had to be compromised with.For Tice, developing an interest in myriad sports has been a natural phenomenon. Youngest of three siblings, one of her brothers, Patrick, represented the Ireland’s Under-19s and Cambridge University as wicketkeeper-batsman. The other, Dalton, played rugby with the Leinster under-19s. A long-time supporter of the English football club Manchester United, she looked up to the legendary Paul Scholes and allrounder Andrew Flintoff for his charisma.With her sights set on the qualifying tournament next year, Tice’s career goal is to play in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. And if her advice to young hockey players, as it reads on her Hockey Ireland profile page, is anything to go by, rest assured Tice is likely to “be the person who works harder than everyone else.”