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Returning to the scene of his record-breaking 311 not out, Hashim Amla had some advice for England’s under-fire batsmen

Firdose Moonda25-Jul-2017If England want some advice on how to approach an innings, they can get it from Hashim Amla. South Africa’s No. 3 spends, on average, 127 minutes at the crease every time he bats (only 15 men in history have more staying power), in a career in which he has spent 380 hours and 34 minutes in the middle. More than 13 of those were occupied batting at The Oval in 2012, when he reached the highest Test score by a South African, and Amla got there by knowing how to balance attack and defence.”Test cricket has an element of grind in it,” Amla said, back at the scene of his 311 not out, ahead of the third Test this time around. “But you can’t be attacking all the time and you can’t grind all the time: it’s finding the right balance.”Amla has first-hand experience of the search for that equilibrium. As his career has progressed, scoring rates in the longest format have quickened and Amla has had to adapt accordingly. He has gone from strike rates below 40 when he first began to almost touching 70 in the series against New Zealand last August and has evolved from purely an anchor to an accelerator, admitting team dynamics dictate which approach he takes.”It takes many years as a team to find the right balance,” he said. “Over the last 10 years I’ve played, we have gone through phases where we haven’t found the balance and then we’ve found it and been successful as a batting unit. Then you lose it and then you find it. It happens. You go through ups and downs as a batting unit.”Since the retirements of Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen, South Africa have struggled to settle on an opening pair and the constant search has caused a structural weakness. Often, they are one down early, leaving it to Amla to do a repair job which typically involves being tentative. But last summer, starting with the Australia series, Amla switched gears and seemed in a hurry in almost every innings. He was unusually rash in his shot selection and went through a slump, especially by his standards.As Amla’s temperament came into focus, it was thought that the influence of shorter formats was affecting his batting but it may actually have been the make-up of the XI. Amla’s lean patch came at a time when South Africa were without AB de Villiers and when inconsistency crept into the line-up, so the responsibility on Amla would have been greater. With that at the back of his mind, his haste was understandable but at Trent Bridge, where South Africa levelled the series against a profligate England, glimpses of the Amla of old peeped out.He showed more patience than in some of his recent stays at the crease and it is probably not a coincidence that the change came after South Africa made a major change to the line-up. Not only did they drop the underperforming JP Duminy but they installed the most in-form batsmen of the last year, Quinton de Kock, in his place at No.4. That seemed to bring the best out of Amla.In the first innings, he shared in a 113-run third-wicket stand with de Kock which changed the tempo of a South Africa innings that started slowly in tough batting conditions. Though de Kock did not come off in the second innings, having him higher up appeared to help Amla find his rhythm. “When Quinton de Kock comes to the crease for us, he plays really freely and gets the scoreboard ticking,” Amla. “That’s what we love and we have no qualms if he nicks off playing an attacking shot because more often than not he comes off and is successful.”Hashim Amla conquered England’s bowlers in 2012•Getty ImagesEngland have players of a similar style in Joe Root and Ben Stokes, who accumulate runs quickly, but in the second Test they lacked staying power, prompting a barrage of criticism from former players. Amla’s advice is not to read too much into it. After all, South Africa were bundled out for 119 at Lord’s and also suffered an embarrassing margin of defeat. “You can’t look too much into it. We lost the first Test and the same questions you are posing to me you probably posed to Alastair Cook – sorry to Joe Root,” Amla said, reminding himself who the England captain actually was.Those questions are about the ability of batting line-ups to build innings, rather than blast their way to a total, and Amla has already proved he has some answers. Especially at The Oval, where he became his country’s only triple-centurion. His unbeaten 311 spanned 790 minutes – the sixth longest in Test history – and he did not change his gloves once in that time. It was an innings that spoke as much to South Africa’s resilience as to his own resoluteness and it ultimately set South Africa up for a series win.That day, Amla’s attitude was simple. “I remember just trying to bat as long as I can and thankfully I did,” he said.So how much will that innings be in Amla’s mind when he walks out to bat in this match? “I think we passed that five years ago,” he said. “A lot of cricket has happened in between. I don’t think there will be any thoughts of that. I find that with things that happened in the past, generally, if you linger on it too long it becomes more of a distraction.”But he habours some hope he can do it again. “I’ve got the same name, I’ve trained as tough as I can train so for me it’s about continuing that.”

England keep repeating the same errors without learning or suffering the consequences

George Dobell in Sydney04-Jan-20181:45

Should Bairstow have called for a nightwatchman?

A day that had promised much for England was suddenly rendered “a massive disappointment,” in the words of their assistant coach, Paul Farbrace.Facing the prospect of reaching stumps with just three wickets down, two set batsmen at the crease and with realistic expectations of a total in excess of 400, England lost two men in the final seven deliveries of the day to leave them facing a battle to reach even 300. And, on a surface on which Dawid Malan reckoned 450 might be around par, that is likely to be deeply insufficient.England’s problem is not just the loss of late wickets. It is not just the sense that they squandered a day of hard work with a loose final few moments.It is the knowledge that, when the second day starts, their diplodocus-length tail – Tom Curran is so high at No. 8 you wonder if he needs the help of oxygen and a Sherpa – is protected only by Malan, who continues to bat with calm and class, and Moeen Ali, who looks horribly short of form and confidence. There is a real danger that 228 for 3 – the score before Joe Root was out – could become 275 all out.There will, no doubt, be talk of Jonny Bairstow’s decision not to utilise a nightwatchman. And it is true that Malan admitted to being “surprised” when Bairstow walked out to bat with nine deliveries left in the day’s play. He had been offered the option of a nightwatchman and Mason Crane, on debut, was padded up and ready to go.”I’d always have a nightwatchman,” Malan said. “Good on Bairstow for backing himself. It takes guts to go against what normal people normally do.”But that decision is a red herring. England’s issue is not the decision to forgo a nightwatchman – that might be considered the responsible, brave and logical thing to do – but the fact that their batsmen continue to make the same errors without either learning or suffering the consequence.Mark Stoneman, for example, was caught as he fenced at one he need not have played. James Vince, who had looked a fine player, was caught behind moments after a drinks’ break and Root failed to turn an excellent start into a match-defining innings. All those descriptions could be prefaced with word “again.” England aren’t learning; they are repeating.Josh Hazlewood removed Jonny Bairstow with the final ball of the day•Getty ImagesSo it wasn’t Bairstow’s decision to bat ahead of Crane that was the problem. After all, Crane has a top first-class score of just 29 and would have been confronted by a high-class, high-speed attack armed with a new ball. It was Bairstow’s decision to attempt to push firmly at a ball – a new ball – in the final over of the day.It was a fine delivery that drew the stroke – Josh Hazlewood went wide of the crease and persuaded the ball to leave the batsman just a fraction – but Test bowlers will bowl fine deliveries. Sometimes they can be defended rather than batsmen feeling they need to demonstrate their positivity.”It sort of sums up where we’ve been on this tour,” Malan said. “We’ve been on top, then we make mistakes and let them back in.”While the England camp have tended to overplay the extent to which they have dominated sessions of play – they could have been asked to follow-on in Adelaide, for example, and they were pulverised in Perth – it is true that there have been moments when they have shown they can compete.But the fact is, England’s top-four have just one century between them in the series. Two of the top three average under 30 in the series and, midway through their 12th and eighth Tests respectively, Vince and Stoneman have averages of 22.94 and 29.33 respectively. Vince has made two half-centuries in 19 innings and Stoneman has a top-score of 56 in 13. They are desperately fortune to be playing in this age of patient selectors.

Nothing that happened on the first day in Sydney should surprise anyone. And that is a damning indictment

It is true that both have, at times, shown glimpses of the class to suggest they can thrive. But glimpses won’t do and nor will half-centuries. Ultimately, players have to be judged by how their performances shape and define games and both Vince and Stoneman are doing just enough to survive but nowhere near enough to help their team win. Like visiting a casino, they offer just enough wins to keep you gambling but nowhere near enough to challenge the truism: the house also wins.Despite that, it seems both men will be selected for the New Zealand Tests. And it is true that continuity of selection is hugely preferable to the panic-driven selections of the 1980s. There aren’t obviously compelling alternatives for the top-order positions, either.But it also seems to be true that, by continuing to select such players with such records, England are accepting mediocrity. Twelve Tests is not a small sample size; an average of 22 is not good enough for a No. 3. England are losing anyway and, in the shape of Haseeb Hameed, Liam Livingstone, Dan Lawrence and Joe Clarke, they have other options.Nothing that happened on the first day in Sydney should surprise anyone. And that is a damning indictment of the lack of improvement and development within this England team. It is increasingly hard to avoid the conclusion that, for all their glimpses of snatches of promise, they’re going nowhere.

Stats highlights from Pakistan’s comprehensive win at Lord’s

S Rajesh27-May-20185 – Test wins for Pakistan at Lord’s, which is joint second-best for any team, after Australia’s 17. Pakistan’s 5-5 win-loss here is also second best, after Australia’s 17-7. South Africa have won five Tests here as well, but have lost eight. Pakistan are the only overseas team to win back-to-back Tests at Lord’s in the last ten years.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 – Defeats for England in the first Test of a home series, since the start of the 2002 season. In 33 first Tests during this period, they have won 18 and drawn 11. The only other defeats were against Pakistan in 2016, South Africa in 2012, and Australia in 2005.8 – Wickets for Mohammad Abbas, at an average of eight runs per wicket, over both innings of the Test (4 for 23 and 4 for 41). Among Pakistan bowlers who have bowled at least 10 overs in a Lord’s Test, only Mudassar Nazar has a better average: he took 6 for 38 (average 6.33) here in 1982.

Bowler Runs Wkts Ave YearMudassar Nazar 38 6 6.33 1982Mohammad Abbas 64 8 8.00 2018Khan Mohammad 61 5 12.20 1954Mohammad Amir 84 6 14.00 2010Yasir Shah 141 10 14.10 20164 – Defeats, in 34 matches, for England in home Tests that have started in May. Two of those defeats have been against Pakistan, who also beat them at Old Trafford in 2001. Apart from those two defeats, England lost to Australia in 1921, and to New Zealand in 2015. They have won 24 and drawn six.10-8 – Pakistan’s win-loss record in London (Lord’s plus The Oval), which is the best among all overseas teams. Australia are next with a 24-23 record, while all other teams have lost more than they have won here.

The India captain prized ‘control’ the most on the final day in Adelaide, and his bowlers delivered that for him

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide10-Dec-20182:06

Key moments: Pujara Starc lesson, Australia’s first-innings fail

Thirty-one is a lot of runs in the fourth innings of a Test. India should know, having failed at what are seen in popular parlance as “tight” chases. And yet such was the drama, and the lack of having experienced such wins, that emotional fans kept believing Australia would somehow pull off a miracle. Even India coach Ravi Shastri, a broadcaster of at least 25 years, forgot the tenets of broadcasting and described his emotions in a totally and utterly beep-able fashion.On the field, though, nothing got near any mouth. Except maybe some gum, some zinc cream, some flies and the sweet taste of a 1-0 series lead. India began the day knowing they had enough on the board despite a slowed-down pitch and only four bowlers to call upon. They knew from their own experience of how difficult it gets in fourth innings that they didn’t need to do anything other than stay disciplined. Australia got partnerships in, but India’s fast bowlers kept bowling accurately and fast, and R Ashwin went at under two an over, which is precisely what Virat Kohli wanted from his bowlers.According to Cricviz data, with an average pace of 141.4kmph and 50.6% deliveries pitched on a good length and line – good line being roughly between third and sixth stump – India’s fast bowlers had their best Test by both measures across games in South Africa, England, New Zealand and Australia over the last 12 years. That gave Kohli what he loves the most as the captain in the field: control. He doesn’t want opposition batsmen to play with positive intent, something that he as a batsman himself understands brings wickets.ALSO READ: Kohli reveals how the no-balls ‘pissed off’ Ishant”If Australia had been 4 for 50, we would have gone with our strike bowlers straightaway and could have afforded to give away a few runs,” Kohli said of his plans. “The fact that we went with Ashwin and Ishant [Sharma] this morning was because we had a template where they were scoring at 1-2 runs an over max. And then we build on that to gain momentum and be positive from ball one. As batsmen you understand that if you are not playing with positive intent, you can nick off at any stage. And that’s exactly what happened with those guys who were not ready.”Maybe Travis Head was not expecting Ishant to suddenly go short on him, and we just wanted to create that zone where our bowlers were in a good rhythm and bowling consistently. And even with the second new ball we gave it to Ashwin, and we thought he will get more bite with it. It is very important to keep an eye on the scoreboard and how many runs you have, where the game is heading and how the batsmen are playing as well. So I keep looking to improve on that because in the past there have been sessions where we have given too many runs in one go, and as captain I have sat down and tried to plug it. In this Test, we were pretty balanced in that regard, we never gave away a session where they got away from us so we just have to remember that and make that balance again according to situation of the game and be more aware. It is awareness that counts in those situations.”Australia batted 23.4 overs more than India did in this Test, but India made it home comfortably in the end, which is what will vindicate Kohli’s tactics. At least within the team group if not to the wider world. There might have been a case for attacking Australia more on the final day, but, on the day, with the Australian batting uncertain and India under no pressure to make the big play, this conservative approach worked for them.Having said that, it did take a lot out of the fast bowlers, who kept coming back for spell after spell even as Ashwin tied up one end. “Especially with the Kookaburra, we have not been able to sustain that pressure long enough in the past,” Kohli admitted. “But the fact that they [the bowlers] are fitter and they have more pace on the ball for longer periods, and their job at certain times is just to contain… I think to pick 20 wickets with four bowlers, away from home, especially with a ball that does not offer you that much is something we can be proud of.”Virat Kohli celebrates with his team-mates•AFPWhat of Ashwin then? The only spinner in the side, he provided India the initial breakthroughs in both the innings, but there might be criticism for him that he didn’t land the knockout blow. He ended up India’s joint-highest wicket-taker – with six, along with Jasprit Bumrah – but there might be comparisons with Nathan Lyon. However, on a pitch that had slowed down, Kohli was satisfied with Ashwin’s work on the final day.”He was given a specific role, yes,” Kohli said. “I think he was very economical and bowled in the right areas, just to create enough chances and keep one end tight, because we didn’t want to go overboard wanting him to attack too much because that would have opened up scoring options as well.”Actually, if you look at the whole day, they were playing with a mindset where they knew they were up against it, and they were just looking for an opening where you get 50-60 runs in an hour and then you start putting the opposition under the pressure. We never wanted that to happen. If this was the case in the first innings, where there was that much assistance or these many spots, Ashwin would have been more aggressive with hitting those spots, but the fact that he controlled the game nicely and kept us in the game, not letting it drift away too much at any stage. I think he did his job perfectly. So I think that’s a good start for him, he hasn’t started that well in Australia before and I think he can build on that. He did his role perfectly in the second innings.”The challenge now for India bowlers is to get ready for Perth in three days’ time, which might include one intense nets session in which to figure out what lengths to bowl there. It is a tough ask on bowlers from either side; they will both be desperate to get an extra day off if their captain can win the toss and choose to bat.

Barring injury, Australia’s bowling attack and wicketkeeper are nailed on for the first Test against India but the same can’t be said about the top order

Alex Malcolm21-Nov-2018The incumbentsAaron FinchAt the end of the Test series in the UAE Finch appeared a lock for the first Test against India but he has hit a significant form slump in ODIs and T20s since. Scores of 1, 0, 3, 1, 5, 41, 11, and 7 have caused alarm and he has spoken of the challenges the change in formats have posed to his technique. He only has three T20s and one Shield match to find some touch. Further complicating matters, his record opening the batting in first-class cricket in Australia is poor. He was well suited to opening on the low slow surfaces in the UAE but Australian conditions are a different beast and very few makeshift openers have succeeded in Australia in Test match cricket. Most of his success in first-class cricket for Victoria has come batting at No.5. He looks certain to play. Where he bats is still to be finalised. Victoria coach Andrew McDonald told radio on Wednesday that he was planning to bat Finch in the middle order against Queesland and had not received any instructions from the selectors over where to bat him.Usman KhawajaFitness is the only question mark for Australia’s best batsman. He had surgery to repair a meniscus tear in his knee on October 23. He is back running and replicated some running between the wickets over the weekend. He was set to face bowlers for the first time this week. The last Shield round before the Test starts on November 27 and he expects to be fit for that. If all goes to plan he will play in Adelaide. He should bat at No.3 but there may be some consideration given to him opening in light of his excellent record at the top of the order.Shaun MarshAny doubts about his Test place have been erased. His form since returning home has been sublime. He made 80 and 98 in Shield match against Tasmania at the WACA where the bowlers dominated. He followed that with a supreme 106 against a high-quality South Africa ODI attack in Hobart. Eight days later Marsh peeled off 163 not out to help Western Australia chase down 313 against South Australia at Adelaide Oval, the venue of the opening Test against India and the scene of a century against England last year. The four failures in the UAE are a world away. Despite his success at No.5 in last summer’s Ashes, on current form he is the best equipped to bat in the pivotal spot while Steven Smith is absent.Travis HeadLike Finch, Head showed promise in the UAE and appeared almost certain to retain his place in Adelaide. But like Finch, his form since has given the selectors pause. He was strategically left out of Australia’s T20 assignments. He missed out in his only Shield innings before a nightmare one-day series against South Africa put his Test place under pressure. That may have eased somewhat with a good Shield performance in Adelaide against WA where made a fluent 87 in the first innings and was unfortunate to be lbw. He was equally unlucky to be strangled down the leg side in the second innings for 0. The lack of runs from the other contenders has helped his cause but conversely the ability of South Africa’s paceman to expose him technically, albeit in short-form cricket, has meant a home Test in Adelaide is not absolutely guaranteed.The bolters

Glenn Maxwell has gone from a contender post the UAE series to a genuine outsider to be picked for Adelaide. The schedule of T20s, ODIs and T20s have done him no favours. But his inability to make some sound situational decisions at the crease saw him slide further down the order in the ODIs and as a result he has slid right out of Test calculations for the time being.
Marcus Stoinis started the season superbly in both 50-over and Shield cricket and his stocks continued to rise during the ODI series against South Africa. But his overall body of work doesn’t stack up against some of the other options with just four first-class hundreds to his name and none in the last two Shield seasons.
Alex Doolan has been a forgotten man. He played four Tests in 2014 and scored 89 on debut at Centurion against an attack of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander but was dumped on the tour of the UAE and never considered again. He is the stand out batsman this season with scores of 115, 10, 76, 6, 53, 90, 0 and 94 putting him in contention.
Tom Cooper would be a surprise selection but he has scored back-to-back Shield centuries this season, including 178, against Queensland. Langer asked for hundreds and Cooper has provided them.

Mitchell MarshAustralia’s new vice-captain remains a divisive figure. After the failures in the UAE the 27-year-old was left out of Australia’s matches against South Africa and the T20 series against India to get valuable time in Shield cricket. It was the clearest indication that he is still a mainstay in Australia’s Test team. He made a statement scoring 151 batting at No.4 against Queensland and he also bowled 30 overs in the match claiming the wicket of Marnus Labuschagne. He followed that a second innings 44 against South Australia which was vital in the context of the game but Daniel Worrall did breach his defence in the same manner Mohammad Abbas had in the UAE. He looks likely to play given the Australian attack will need extra bowling support but unlikely to bat higher than No.6.Marnus LabuschagneDespite some promising performances in the two Tests in the UAE having been picked seemingly on potential, he appears likely to miss out on Adelaide. Like Matt Renshaw, his Shield form has not helped his cause with scores of 3, 28, 10, 11, 52 and 4 perhaps forcing the selectors hands despite the half-century coming against Australia’s Test attack. Given what he showed in the UAE with bat, ball and in the field, a case could be made to stick with him long-term. But Australia’s dire results of recent time may not allow for such long-term thinking.The contendersMatt RenshawAfter his omission in the UAE he appeared almost certain to open the batting in Adelaide but his form has not made his selection a certainty. He made an unbeaten 145 on immediate return from the UAE for his premier cricket team Toombul in Brisbane and made another on November 10 but his Shield form has been far less productive. He was dismissed for 3 and 0 against South Australia in Adelaide by both an inswinger and outswinger from Joe Mennie. He made 89 and 21 against WA on an Allan Border Field surface where two players made scores of 150 plus and six others made half-centuries. He followed that with 21 and 6 against the Test attack, nicking Nathan Lyon in the first innings and being adjudged caught behind attempting to cut Josh Hazlewood in the second.Marcus HarrisThe left-hander has put himself firmly in the mix for Adelaide through not only a great start to the domestic season but solid performances over the previous two years. No man has scored more runs or centuries in Shield cricket since the start of the 2016-17 season than Harris. He announced himself with 250 not out against New South Wales and has backed that up with scores of 65 and 67 in the next two games. He stands up under pressure, with two of his nine first-class hundreds coming in Sheffield Shield finals. The 26-year-old has matured into a very dependable opener for Victoria, and any queries over his ability to bat time and make sound decisions consistently have been quashed this season.Peter HandscombHe remains in the frame after he was omitted from the UAE squad on form. His JLT Cup run was excellent and he produced an impressive Shield century against South Australia at the MCG. But he has left a few starts on the table with scores of just 27, 48 and 23 in conditions where team-mates have made significant scores. The selectors will have taken particular note of his move up to No.3 for Victoria. It has been a wise move to put his technique under pressure against the quicks up front, which has been the question mark against him. Whether he’s done enough for a recall remains to be seen.Joe BurnsAfter mysteriously dropping off the radar for the UAE series he has re-emerged as a contender for Adelaide. In a team crying out for experience, his three Test hundreds opening the batting in Australia and New Zealand certainly count in his favour. He also debuted against India last time they toured, making twin half-centuries in Sydney, and his excellent Shield season last summer should stand for something. His Shield form this season won’t count against him but he hasn’t smashed down the door. He made 64 against South Australia but was one of Lloyd Pope’s seven victims, then made 49 and 80 not out in Brisbane against WA albeit on a road. He copped a poor decision in the first innings against NSW but then did all the hard work on the third evening against Hazlewood, Starc, Cummins and Lyon only to edge a ball first up on the fourth morning to be out for 38.Matthew WadeHe has become a legitimate contender to play in Adelaide as a specialist batsman. England have proven two wicketkeepers can play together in a successful side. He made three centuries last Shield season, the equal most of any player, and has started this summer with four consecutive Shield half-centuries and 137 against the best Shield attack in the country, Victoria. He has two Test hundreds and one came batting at No.6. Tasmania captain George Bailey believes he should be considered given how well he is batting at the moment, particularly his ability to bat with the tail and shift up and down the gears depending on the match situation.

Before hailing stump mics as the cure to a persistent but minor irritant, cricket must pause to consider the side effects

Sambit Bal18-Feb-2019It’s hardly cricket’s gallery of shame – for there’s match-fixing and various forms of cheating and instances of graver misconduct – but in the first two months of this year, cricketers have brought varying levels of embarrassment on themselves and the game through the words they have spoken on and off the field.It has led to bans and suspensions and, crucially and somewhat alarmingly, exposed several levels of prejudices – sexism and misogyny in the case of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul, racial profiling in the case of Sarfaraz Ahmed, and oblique homophobia in the case of Shannon Gabriel – among elite cricketers. On a wider level, it’s a reflection of the gap between expected behaviour and prevalent behaviour.The boundaries of acceptable behaviour and conduct have been redrawn in this more global, connected, but decidedly elite world the cricketers now inhabit. But it is one they are ill-prepared for on account of a combination of factors – background, lack of opportunities to develop societal skills, and the insularity that celebrity brings.Given where and to whom it was addressed, it was staggering that Sarfaraz was unable to grasp the terrible nature of his lapse – even assuming that it was a general venting of frustration, and he hadn’t intended for Andile Phehlukwayo to understand the meaning of .Just as in the case of Pandya – and to a lesser extent, Rahul – who couldn’t have excused his performance on the grounds that it was an extension of boy banter in a casual setting, it would have been no defence for the captain of Pakistan that the term isn’t as pejorative in the subcontinent where the abhorrent practice of coining nicknames from skin colours or other physical attributes isn’t uncommon, and those at the receiving end are resigned to it.

“The keys at the moment are in the hands of the home broadcasters and, in many cases, the live feed is produced by the home board. As it stands, it’s open to manipulation, or at the very least to accusations and perceptions of manipulation.”

It was right for the players to cop the punishment, but the question remains whether the accountability shouldn’t extend to their employers.As society evolves, lines are constantly redrawn. With a contemporary lens, a lot of on-field banter now part of cricket folklore becomes, at the very least, cringe-worthy. Consider this exchange – perhaps apocryphal – between Ian Botham and Rodney Marsh, among cricket’s most celebrated sledges.But who’s going to drum this in to the players, who come from different backgrounds and cultures, and don’t receive the same education or sensitisation, but who must always be judged by a uniform code of behaviour?Cricket treats itself as a corporate entity on most counts and, apart from being heroes and celebrities, cricketers are highly remunerated employees of cricket boards and franchises. Enormous resources are spent – rightfully so – on developing their primary skills, but since they are also the game’s primary ambassadors judged for their conduct both on and off the field, should they not be adequately prepared? Franchise cricket has done its bit in exposing players to different cultures, but how much institutional training do the cricketers receive?Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul were banned for their controversial comments in a TV programme•Getty ImagesTwo of these three instances were brought to light because the stump mics were turned on, and given the nature of the transgressions, it’s difficult to feel sympathy for the players in question. But however tempting it might be to draw obvious conclusions, we must assess these two issues – on-field verbal transgressions and broadcasting of the chatter – separately.The ICC is now an enthusiastic advocate of the idea of keeping the mics on, which has received the unqualified support of Moeen Ali, who claimed in his recent autobiography to have been at the receiving end of a racial taunt that was not caught by mics.It is a persuasive argument. Switched-on stump mics have the potential to cut down personal abuse and bring greater accountability from players. The game needs its tensions and emotions, but once players are aware of repercussions, they are likely to stay within the line.And it can make the game both more accessible and entertaining for fans. MS Dhoni behind the stumps to spinners provides the perfect mix of insight, wisdom and hilarity for the television viewer who can now feel part of the plot. And for a sport in constant pursuit of finding new ways to engage the fans, this is an attractive option.

‘However tempting it might be to draw obvious conclusions, we must assess these two issues – on-field verbal transgressions and broadcasting of the chatter – separately.’

However, cricket must be wary of the potential dangers. To start with, it would only be natural, as FICA articulated, if players were concerned about the inconsistency of its application.The keys at the moment are in the hands of the home broadcasters and, in many cases, the live feed is produced by the home board. As it stands, it’s open to manipulation, or at the very least to accusations and perceptions of manipulation.During their last tour of India, the Australian cricket team complained about the selective airing of an exchange between Mathew Wade and Ravindra Jadeja. The reverse happened in Australia when the home broadcasters clipped out a mild spat between Jadeja and team-mate Ishant Sharma during a drinks break. The Indian team management felt it was mischievous.More interesting was the practice of making the stump mic the primary feed during certain overs. It produced some entertaining exchanges between Rishabh Pant and Tim Paine, which culminated in that photo Paine’s wife posted on Instagram going viral. But the fact remained it was the broadcasters who chose the overs, and a feeling persisted in the Indian camp that Pant, a young player on his first tour to Australia, might have been set up as easy prey.Just as in the cases of ball tampering, which are now invariably unearthed by the broadcasters and almost always expose the touring players, the selective use of stump mics has the potential of attracting accusations of bias.And finally, stump mics have limited surveillance value. They cover only a fraction of the ground, and as demonstrated in the case of Joe Root and Gabriel, the recording can sometimes be partial – it was that which prompted Gabriel to release his part of the conversation. ​Most of these incidents, of course, occur in the vicinity of the stump mics, the stumps being the focus of cricket’s central confrontation. But that doesn’t mean no infractions take place in other parts of the field, and those these mics can’t capture.Those who abuse as a tactic will simply get smarter about it. Already, there are examples of players muttering under their breath, or with their hands covering their mouths. Finding a way around the stump mic is unlikely to be an insurmountable challenge. It could also encourage entrapment of gullible cricketers – not everyone has the wit or the felicity of language to respond in kind to provocations – by those more adept at the art of sledging.Before hailing stump mics as the cure to a persistent but minor irritant, cricket must pause to consider these side effects.

In the summertime, when the weather ain’t fine, people across Ahmedabad organise themselves into leagues to play night cricket

Sharda Ugra18-Jun-2019The final bits of the recent profile of Jasprit Bumrah – who he is and where he comes from – required me to travel to Ahmedabad this summer.Gujarat cricket is in its golden age, with a string of first-time national titles. A number of their most successful players in generations – Bumrah, Parthiv Patel, Axar Patel and monster first-class run scorer Priyank Panchal – all regularly have their names in lights in international and domestic cricket.All year round, dozens of young cricketers turn up morning and evening at the Sardar Patel Stadium in central Ahmedabad to train, where Sumer Singh, whose name frequently pops up in conversations about Gujarat’s modern and forward-thinking coaches, runs the M’Power Academy. Established in July 2010, the academy has about 200 boys across two batches. Before every session, the M’Power kids, between five and 20 years of age, take a pledge about playing fair, taking responsibility, respecting each other and enjoying cricket. Youngest to oldest, they introduce themselves to each other, shaking hands. When the session is done, Singh also gets handshakes, instead of the practice traditional in India of students touching the teacher’s feet.Sumer says the general outlook towards cricket in Gujarat has changed considerably over the last few years. “Because lot of players from Gujarat have moved up to play for India. The IPL has [also] made a big impact – it has helped to connect lot of kids to cricket.” The league, he says, has made kids take a global view of the sport. “In our academy, lots of them follow foreign players also.”Gujarat’s most famous national players have been two Patels, offspinner Jasu, who played seven Tests for India in the 1950s, and wicketkeeper Parthiv, who has played 25 Tests so far, the latest in January last year, but the state has never been a traditional hub of the sport churning out quality talent.The IPL has triggered huge interest in the game among children in Ahmedabad, and academies like M’Power are taking advantage•Sharda Ugra/ESPNcricinfo LtdYet, a new variant of the game, running parallel to and sometimes intersecting with the structures of the more formal game, has caught Ahmedabad’s fancy: summertime night cricket.It is played under floodlights in large spaces across the city with leather or tennis balls, often with prize money on offer. Some tournaments feature only recreational players, others a smattering of full-time pros. These tournaments are now played all over the state, I was told, with higher entry fees and bigger prizes. Temperatures may rise over 40°C – in May 2016, Ahmedabad hit 50°C – but the cricket never stops.

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It is a short drive from Ahmedabad airport on the northern arc of the city’s outer ring road to the beautifully manicured and floodlit SGVP Cricket Ground, where the 2019 edition of the Gurukul Premier League (GPL) is on. This “All India Open Night Cricket” tournament lasts 78 days, an exhausting duration for an event on a single ground.”There is no other event like this in India,” claims Bharat Patel, secretary of the SGVP Surya Sports Academy, which organises the tournament. In its publicity material, the GPL calls itself the state’s biggest cricket event, with “200 teams and 3000 players”; even if that count is halved, the GPL still clocks impressive numbers. Originally hostel rector at the SGVP School, Patel now runs the event with a seven-man team. The league offers a total of Rs 4.5 lakhs (about US$6500) in cash prizes; the team winning the elite division gets Rs 2.5 lakhs and the runner-up Rs 1.25 lakhs ($1800).GPL matches tick every box for a professionally run cricket event: players, umpires, scorers, commentators and sponsors. Its leather-ball elite division has 16 teams, the plate division 24, and the tennis-ball event that follows after the leather-ball one contains a melee of 67 teams. SGVP stands for the Shree Swaminarayan Gurukul Vishwavidya Pratishthanam Surya Sports Academy, a religious trust that runs, among other institutions, a school, a hospital, and a charitable organisation promoting the study of Sanskrit and ancient Indian scripture.Night time is the right time: cricket at Aslali•Sharda Ugra/ESPNcricinfo LtdThe GPL began as a four-team intra-school cricket league during the school term of the SGVP International School, in whose campus the ground is situated. The ground and its facilities would remain unused during summer holidays, until a senior administrative staffer at the school decided to invite the city’s cricket-crazy population to come and play. A 24-club team event was held under temporary lights in 2011. By 2014, permanent floodlights had been installed.The GPL is now in its ninth year, with teams from around Gujarat, two from Delhi (Malik Sports and a team from the Comptroller and Auditor General’s office), and one each from Chennai (Jangid CC) and Visakhapatnam (Indian Navy SSC). The plate league even has a team from Nepal. Teams from out of town are accommodated in the school’s hostel. Former India seamer Sudeep Tyagi and Kerala batsman Sachin Baby played in this year’s event, as did Gujarat’s record-breaking opener Samit Gohel . Jaydev Unadkat, Siddharth Trivedi and Bumrah have also played in the tournament before.Thirty kilometres south, far removed from the grand domes and sweeping staircases of the Gurukul, by the side of National Highway 64, a match is in progress at the public ground in Aslali. Motorcycles and scooters parked are around the venue, and friends and families of players sit around, cheering the game. The rented floodlights are working well, and fluorescent lights illuminate the 30-yard circle. Large container trucks hurtle by on the highway while the Aslali Youth Night Cricket tournament (“super knockout”, 12 overs-a-side tennis ball matches) takes place next to it.Three matches are played every evening in the two-month long tournament, which is open to any team that can pay the Rs 4500 (about $65) entry fee. The winner gets Rs 35,000. The tournament is organised by a local youth group called the Aslali Yuvak Mandal, who say they turned this ground from a patch of scrub and rubble into a cricket ground about seven years ago before the civic body took notice.Bharat Patel, chief organiser of the GPL, says the tournament attracts 200 teams and 3000 players over the course of its 78 days•Sharda Ugra/ESPNcricinfo LtdHere too, there is a commentator and a scorer, sitting on a platform made of bamboo poles and straw mats, calling a match between Bapji XI and Ya Ali Madad XI on the evening I visit. There’s a cold drinks and ice cream stall, and another vendor on hand to churn out omelettes if you’re feeling peckish.I get talking to Nirav Patel, who is a regular spectator here. He reckons that teams turn up from a catchment radius of 40km around Ahmedabad and the town of Anand. While everyone in Aslali knows that there are tournaments that are bigger and richer than theirs (“Khambat’s entry fee itself is Rs 50,000,” says Nirav), there is a quiet pride in what Aslali offers. “People come here to relax, meet friends, have fun, let off some steam. It’s all ages, all backgrounds, from students to 30-year-olds.” On finals day, Nirav says, more than 300 could turn up. (“Check it out on YouTube.”)Even large wedding venues in Ahmedabad host cricket matches. These grounds, “party plots”, are leased out to teams when it’s off-season for the wedding market. It is here that community-based leagues as well as profession-based ones – premier leagues for doctors, lawyers and chartered accountants – hold their games.Former Gujarat Under-23 batsman Meet Shah, who runs a popular scoring and networking app called Cricheroes, catering to all these recreational players, takes me to one such party plot where a Lohana (an affluent merchant community in Gujarat) league pre-practice match is going on. An impressive set of sedans is parked outside, and players mill about spaces marked “For the bride” and “For the groom”, using them as change rooms.In a city where the entrepreneurial is everyday, it’s not surprising that people have managed to conjure up entertainment (and big business) even in the most punishing season of the year.

Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager, cricket, looks back at the World Cup and ahead to the World Test Championship

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi28-Jul-2019The World Test Championships (WTC) begins on August 1, two weeks after the World Cup ended. Geoff Allardice, the ICC’s general manager, cricket, looks back at the World Cup final, one of the greatest matches in the game’s history, and the WTC, which has been designed to help grow Test cricket and build newer audiences.Overall how do you rate the World Cup?
From a cricket point of view we were very happy. The teams were evenly matched and there was a chance that either team could win any game. When you are playing 48 matches that’s good situation to be in. The quality of the cricket, and the drama of the final, ensured it was an exceptional tournament.Record totals were predicted at the outset, but the scores were mostly modest. Did the ICC give the groundsmen any instructions about the pitches?
No special instructions were issued. Our usual instruction at an ICC event is to prepare the best pitch you normally do at that particular venue for the format of the game that is being played. We don’t get involved in the preparation of the pitches.We had first innings ranging from 105 to 397. What the pitches did do was test the skills and tactics of all of the teams, so that they needed to adjust to the conditions that were presented.The ICC received flak for not having rain covers that could cover the grounds fully. Did you factor in full ground covers at any point in the preparation period?
Generally if you have a venue with good drainage then the need for full ground covers is not as great as it might be in some other parts of the world, where either the volume of rain or the drainage characteristics of the outfield don’t allow the water to disperse as quickly. The drainage at the venues that were used in England and Wales was pretty good, and they managed weather interruptions and protecting the ground in the way they normally do when hosting international cricket. On most occasions we were able to get play moving fairly quickly after the rain stopped during this World Cup.There isn’t one solution that will work for every venue that can be applied uniformly across the world. That’s why we rely on the local venues and local boards to deliver our events using the methods they usually employ to cover the ground.The overthrow rule, which came into play in the World Cup final, was much discussed. Could the ICC match officials, including the match referee, have done anything different from what they did in the final?
The on-field umpires had to make a judgement call on the day as to whether the batsmen had crossed when the throw was released. After everything that went on during that delivery, they got together over their comms system and made their decision. They certainly followed the right process when making the decision.What is the regulated time under the playing conditions allotted to umpires to make up their minds in such instances?
No, there is no time limit. They were aware of the law when they made the judgement about whether the batsmen had crossed or not at the time, and the playing conditions don’t allow them to refer such a decision to a third umpire. The match referee cannot intervene either.The ICC’s chief executives’ committee was of the view, before the 2015 World Cup, that the World Cup final needs a winner, and that remained in place for the 2019 tournament, where many thought the title ought to have been shared•Getty ImagesDo you reckon the overthrow rule needs to be reviewed?
The ICC playing conditions mirror the MCC Laws of Cricket on this issue, and I am not aware if the MCC is thinking of reviewing the law that relates to overthrows as a result of what happened in the World Cup final.What about the tiebreaker rule? Kane Williamson said it was a shame New Zealand had to go home as runners-up. Eoin Morgan said it was unfair. Has the ICC asked the cricket committee to review the rule?
The cricket committee will consider any issues arising from the World Cup final when it next meets [in the first quarter of 2020]. A Super Over has been used to determine a winner in a tied match in ICC events since 2009 [replacing the bowl-out], and the tiebreaker after a tied Super Over needed to be derived from something that happened in that particular match. So it has always related to the number of boundaries scored in the match. Almost all the T20 leagues around the world also use boundaries as the tiebreaker in their Super Overs. We wanted to use the same Super Over regulations that are used across all professional cricket and that’s why it was the way it was. Whether it should be different is something that our cricket committee will consider at some point.Did the ICC’s chief executives committee (CEC) deliberate at the ICC annual conference recently on whether sharing the World Cup could be an option in future?
No, that wasn’t discussed. The consistent view has been that the World Cup final needs a winner, and a Super Over was in the playing conditions to decide a tied final in each of the last three World Cups.Kumar Dharmasena, one of the umpires who stood in the final, faced criticism for his decisions, not just in the final but also in earlier matches. Can you explain how umpires are picked for a key match like a final, considering Aleem Dar, a more senior official, was the third umpire?
We have a selection panel which reviews the performances of the umpires and ranks the Elite Panel of 12. Umpires within the Elite Panel will have good days and bad days, so one bad day doesn’t all of a sudden turn a very good umpire into a poor umpire. We do look at the performance of the Elite Panel over an extended period of time.When it comes to the final of a major event like a World Cup, we tend to pick the higher-ranked umpires. We also have to keep in mind the requirement for neutral umpires. At the moment we have four English umpires in the Elite Panel, so they could not have stood in the final when England was involved. As for Kumar Dharmasena, he had an exceptional year and that was reflected in him being voted as the Umpire of the Year for 2018. Over a period of time he has been one of our best decision-makers. He has stood in major matches before and he has been high in our rankings and that’s why he was appointed to the final.Ishita Mazumder/ESPNcricinfo LtdIs there scope and support for additional DRS reviews in ODIs?
Cricket is different to many other sports in that the opportunity to review an umpire’s decision is a scarce resource which needs to be used judiciously by the teams. Initially the DRS was introduced to correct the obvious error, but in recent times we see more speculative reviews, often unsuccessful, leaving teams without a review when they need one. This happened a number of times during the World Cup.We would need to weigh up the benefit of correcting the small number of incorrect decisions made when a team has no reviews left against the delays to the game caused by the additional reviews, some of which will only be requested because the team has reviews left over, not because the players think the original decision was incorrect.The World Test Championship takes off in a week’s time with the first Test of the Ashes. Virat Kohli has said that he has been looking forward to the WTC because it provides context to a contest. The players’ support must help?
Yes, it is very encouraging to hear those comments. I know players love playing Test cricket. For the first time there is a real context to the matches they play that extends beyond a particular series. I know the Test rankings have done a good job over a long period of time in the sense of identifying the best team, but to be able to compete on a points table and play for a spot in the final will add a new element to Test cricket and will make it more interesting to people from the countries not involved in that particular match.Also, for the first time, Test shirts will have numbers and names. How did that idea come about?
One of the discussions at the CEC in the last year was how we could differentiate WTC from bilateral Test series, and we could make it more engaging for newer fans. Hopefully anyone who watched the World Cup in the last two months will have an interest in cricket that extends to the longest form of the game. The way we were brought up watching the game: to know who a Test player is by his height, his build, how he walked, his batting stance – sometimes it is not easy for someone who is not well versed with cricket to work out who is who on the field, and the addition of names, and particularly numbers, will help.We also walk around cricket grounds and we see children wearing team shirts with their favourite player’s number on the back. That happens not just in cricket but in most sports. One thing we don’t see as often is children walking around imitating Test players, so wouldn’t it be great if we started seeing children wearing white shirts with their favourite Test player’s number on the back?A total of 120 points per series is at stake. But series will continue to be of different numbers of matches. Can you explain how the number of matches per series was determined?
When the competition was being put together by the member countries there were some existing series in the previous Future Tours Programme [FTP] which we made every effort to accommodate within the structure of the WTC. We also wanted to make sure that each country played a mix of higher-ranked and lower-ranked opponents.The view of member countries was that they wanted the competition cycle to last no longer than two years. When we went through the scheduling exercise to see how different combinations of the Test championship fit into the FTP, we found that six series over two years was the number that could be accommodated by all teams.Once the opponents had been determined and agreed by all the countries, then the two competing countries in a series, as part of their FTP negotiations, decided how many Test matches they would contest as part of that series, with the competition rules dictating a minimum of two matches and a maximum of five.Allardice: “Umpires within the Elite Panel will have good days and have bad days, so one bad day doesn’t all of a sudden turn a very good umpire into a poor umpire”•IDI/Getty ImagesWith regards to the points system, one general rule of any competition is that teams need to compete for the same number of points in total. With each team playing three series each at home and away, we decided on a consistent number of points for each series. The options were: you either just divide those points by the number of Tests being played in that series, so that every match counts, or you only count the first two Tests of a five-Test series, as an example. The overwhelming view of the member countries was they wanted every match to count.How will the ICC ensure that teams do not unduly exploit home conditions and influence the nature of pitches in the WTC?
The sanctions for venues that produce conditions that are either poor or unfit for international cricket are quite serious.Also, in the WTC playing conditions, if at any time a pitch that is unfit for Test cricket is produced and does not allow the game to proceed, then the points for a win will be awarded to the visiting team. A poor pitch, which is like a final warning, incurs the venue three demerit points. An unfit pitch incurs five demerit points. If a venue gets five demerit points over a five-year period, it loses its international status.So the onus is on the home board to prepare quality pitches for the Test matches played as part of the WTC.Slow over rates have been an issue in cricket for a long time. As a deterrent, the ICC’s cricket committee has now recommended that two points be deducted for every over a team fails to bowl. Can you explain the rule?
At the end of a Test match the umpires will perform an over-rate calculation across both innings. In the past captains were fined for slow over rates, which will continue in the WTC, too. But in the WTC not just the captain but all players in the team will also be fined at the same level. In addition, in the WTC, two points will also be deducted from the competition points won by that particular team for every over they are short of.What we are trying to do is to make sure every member of the team and their coaching staff is focused on making sure of meeting the minimum-over-rate requirement in all matches.The regulations we have in place in Test cricket seem to be working, because over the past few years we have only had three different Test teams fined for slow over rates. We are trying to make sure to improve the pace of play. Hopefully the idea that you will be giving away hard earned championship points if you don’t bowl your overs at an appropriate rate will incentivise teams to pick up their pace of play.What happens with slow over rates in bilateral Tests series outside of the WTC?
The fines system will continue for those Test matches. The cricket committee believed that suspending the captain wasn’t always a proportionate penalty, as there were two instances last year when captains were suspended after their team had won a game within three days, and the committee felt that suspending the captain was unjust, considering those teams had performed well and taken 20 wickets in a relatively short period of time.The other consideration was that suspending the captains from playing in international cricket, including the WTC, would be depriving the matches of some of the best players. We are trying to find different ways to deal with slow over rates in international matches. The points deduction in the WTC is the first of those measures.Will we soon see kids wear shirts with their favourite Test players’ names and numbers on the back?•Getty ImagesThere has been a proposal to use a stop clock to ensure time is not wasted on field. How does that work?
One of the things that we discussed at this cricket committee meeting was having a countdown clock visible during each innings of limited-overs matches. In a T20 innings, the clock would start at 85 minutes, when the first ball is bowled, and count down to zero. The aim is that players, umpires and fans should know that when the clock gets to zero, the bowling team should have started the last over.If there is a delay or interruption in the match due to an injury or a DRS review then the umpire will add time back onto the clock. Today, if there is a DRS review, the third umpire will make a note of the review taking, say, one minute and that will be added as an allowance in the manual over-rate calculation at the end of the match, but with a countdown clock, the third umpire will put that minute back on the clock immediately.Over the next nine months we will be looking to trial the clock in selected venues just to give the third umpires some experience as to how it might work, and to assess how effective it is and how easy it is implement before we consider any in-match over-rate sanctions in limited-overs cricket.The first new playing condition that will come in to play from August 1 is concussion substitutes. Are there any concerns over potential misuse of the rule?
To begin with, most players are going to be reluctant to come off the field in a Test match. When a request is received for a concussion replacement, there will be some judgement required on the part of the match referee to ensure that the nominated replacement player is a like-for-like player as far as possible. But the overriding principle would be that a team shouldn’t receive an excessive advantage by being allowed to replace a concussed player. It should be to allow the game to continue with the same number of players performing the same type of role. There should be a little bit of flexibility shown because touring teams will only have a finite number of potential replacements available within the squad.

They have four opening options but barring Gunathilaka to some extent, nobody else has managed to cement a place at the top

Deivarayan Muthu in Pune09-Jan-2020Sri Lanka have issues in the middle order and their bowling combination, but they seem to have a problem of plenty at the top. They have four opening options – Avishka Fernando, Danushka Gunathilaka, Niroshan Dickwella and Kusal Mendis – but barring Gunathilaka to some extent, nobody else has managed to cement a place at the top. ESPNcricinfo runs the rule over Sri Lanka’s opening options as they prepare for the T20 World Cup qualifier later this year.Danushka Gunathilaka
A bruising batsman, Gunathilaka is strong on both sides of the wicket, something that was on bright display during Sri Lanka’s 3-0 T20I series win in Pakistan last year. Pakistan’s teenaged tearaway Mohammad Hasnain bagged a hat-trick (spread across two overs) in the first T20I in Lahore, but that didn’t impact the game as much as Gunathilaka’s 38-ball 57 did. Forty-three of those runs came in the Powerplay itself and while Gunathilaka’s ball-striking wasn’t as brilliant on the larger grounds in Australia, his power at the top has made his top-order case too hard to ignore.He had initially been ignored for the Champions Trophy in 2017 and then ignored altogether for the World Cup, but Gunathilaka might well be the No.1 opener for Sri Lanka in the T20 World Cup qualifier. He can also pitch in with some part-time offspin.Avishka Fernando
“It looks like he has a lot of time to face the quicker bowlers.” Angelo Mathews delivered a glowing appraisal of Avishka after he had become Sri Lanka’s youngest centurion (21 years, 87 days) in the World Cup. Mathews might have well been talking about Avishka’s front-foot pull for six off left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell.As much as Avishka can thrill you with his style, he can also frustrate you with the lack of substance. He has made 20 at least 12 times in 26 limited-overs innings, but has managed just three fifty-plus scores overall. Avishka is no power-hitter like Gunathilaka, but his T20I strike rate of 98.83 needs some buffing up.In his most recent T20I, in Indore, Avishka played some regal on-the-up drives, but he still wound up playing out nine dots in 16 balls. After Sri Lanka went down by seven wickets at the Holkar stadium, Mickey Arthur, their coach, suggested that rotating the strike is something that their top order needs to work on.Niroshan Dickwella
Dickwella is quite a character in front of the stumps as well as behind it, and even during media conferences. He’s such a freakish talent that he can Dickscoop a 142kph rocket from Kagiso Rababa for six. He made some charming cameos, although in the middle order, in New Zealand, but was rattled by the pace and bounce of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in Australia – the scene of the T20 World Cup later this year.With Danushka Gunathilaka providing the attacking enterprise at the top, Sri Lanka are looking for a failsafe at the other end rather than another big-hitter. Dickwella can’t make it to the XI as a frontline keeper either as Sri Lanka’s management believes Kusal Perera is currently a safer option behind the stumps.Kusal Mendis and Oshada Fernando
On the eve of the third T20I against India in Pune, Arthur suggested that Sri Lanka were considering both Mendis and Oshada as middle-order options with a mere outside chance of being bumped up to the top.”I think Oshada and Kusal Mendis are batsmen that can bat for us through the middle,” Arthur said. “So, that’s going to be their roles going forward.”T20 cricket isn’t Mendis’ strongest suit and although he can’t strike big blows, he is adept at manipulating the gaps by chipping the ball over the infield. Mendis’ strike rate has been significantly higher, in the 140s while opening, but there’s no place at the top for him now.Oshada has never opened in limited-overs cricket so far and the highest position he has batted at is No.3, but this strike rate of just a shade under 50 there isn’t encouraging. Nevertheless, these are still early days yet for the 27-year-old.

CSA has recommitted to transformation targets but the absence of black African players remains glaring

Firdose Moonda04-Jan-2020Temba Bavuma’s ears must be burning. Though he is not involved in the Newlands Test and is not even in Cape Town after being released from the squad, everyone in South African cricket is talking about him.This was the venue where Bavuma scored the only hundred of his 39 Test career to date, against this opposition, so naturally there were going to be throwbacks. But it doesn’t end there.Some use that hundred as evidence Bavuma has what it takes to play at this level, others point to the absence of any others to say that he doesn’t. There are those who believe Bavuma should return to domestic cricket and break down the door with runs and those who believe his presence, regardless of form, is essential for purposes of representation. And then there is CSA.The board’s press release on Saturday, reaffirming their commitment to transformation and denying that the recent ream management overhaul is a whitewash, may not have been intentionally about Bavuma, but it was.

Has nothing to do with form.. you score one 100 in 5 years you question technique and temperament.. some batsman just can’t cut it at the top level. Just another case of it

— Herschelle Gibbs (@hershybru) January 4, 2020

It came two days after Faf du Plessis said the team does not see colour, which sounds like a nice statement but is naive in the South African context. This country has, since 1652 when the Dutch East India Company arrived on its shores, seen colour. It saw colour through slavery, colonialism and Apartheid and sees colour even more in democracy. But the rainbow nation is not without shades of grey.The key takeaway from the statement was the reassurance given to black Africans that they still have a place in the game in South Africa. There is a difference in this country between black and black African and it is both problematic and necessary. While all black people were affected by the evils of the Apartheid regime, the black African population were the most severely marginalised and mistreated. They are also, by far, the biggest majority. Redressing the wrongs committed against them is non-negotiable but where does that leave other black people, those who are coloured, mixed-race or of Indian descent?Recently, here in the Western Cape, the Cape Cobras wilfully missed their transformation target when they went into a fixture with two instead of three black African players but seven players of colour overall. The Cobras communicated their decision to CSA and one of their arguments was that in offering opportunity to players of colour and not discriminating between the different black races, they were doing their bit for transformation. As far as the Cobras were concerned, CSA did not disagree with them, especially since the subject had also been discussed at the coaches’ conference last year.ALSO READ: Bavuma told to find way back through ‘weight of runs’CSA, who were still governed by the Thabang Moroe administration at the time, were due to have an enquiry into the matter but since the crisis and changes in the executive, the whole saga has quietly gone away. Now it seems CSA may not be so lenient.”Transformation targets have been set for all our teams below the international level that have to be implemented on a game-by-game basis,” Chris Nenzani, CSA’s president, said. “This is an obligation to a very important bottom-up approach. The CSA board is mandated to enforce these policies without exception and to take corrective action where non-compliance occurs.”That means the differentiation between players of colour and black African players will remain rigidly in place at domestic level, where teams are required to field a minimum of six players of colour, of which at least three must be black African. The national team also has a target – six players of colour of which at least two must be black African – but theirs is calculated on average over a season, “to give team management the flexibility to select teams based on the unique match-to-match requirements and in line with obtaining objective realities,” according to Nenzani.So South Africa’s new management are not in any trouble . They have gone into the first two Tests against England with only four players of colour (Zubayr Hamza, Vernon Philander, Keshav Maharaj and Kagiso Rabada) of which one (Rabada) is black African, and will need to make up the numbers in other fixtures. Part of the reason South Africa have fallen behind the target is because of injury – Lungi Ngidi would almost certainly have played ahead of Anrich Nortje if he did not have a hamstring injury. The other part is form. Bavuma, who started the summer with a hip niggle, was declared fit for Newlands but dropped. And that’s what people are angry about.

We are just crossing fingers that Rabada doesn’t get injured otherwise there will be no [black players] leftMakhaya Ntini

The Black African Cricket Clubs (BACC), who held a meeting last week during the Centurion Test, make up some of those people. They questioned whether CSA’s acting director of cricket, Graeme Smith, could be trusted with on development, given his background. When they spoke about Bavuma, they referenced the support – financial and otherwise – that he has had in becoming an international batsman, which requires significantly more resources than becoming a bowler. Bavuma is from a middle-class family and went to an elite school, St Davids, essentially walking in similar shoes to a white player. The BACC asked what happens to people who do not have those advantages and at the moment, very few people have the answers.CSA has hubs situated in townships and programmes aimed at nurturing players from diverse backgrounds but very few of those players come through. The bulk of the country’s cricketers (and rugby players) are produced from a handful of Model C – the highest-quality government school formerly reserved for white children only – and private schools. Those who can afford to access the structures that can turn them into professional sportspeople, do and those who can’t, most of whom are black African, are lost. For that to change, CSA and the government have to work together to increase facilities and therefore opportunities for all at grassroots level.The trouble is that there is an impatience, perhaps a justified impatience 29 years post-unification of sports across the racial barrier, for change to happen at all levels, not just the bottom.The country is demanding black African heroes. In 2019, rugby delivered with Siya Kolisi the captain of the World Cup-winning side. At the start of 2020, cricket has regressed, according to some, with only one black African player in the Test XI. “We are just crossing fingers that Rabada doesn’t get injured otherwise there will be none left,” Makhaya Ntini told ESPNcricinfo.Ntini knows what it’s like to be the only black African in the side, the flag-bearer for a nation carrying the weight of expectation on his shoulders alone. It is what turned him into the loudest and most boisterous member of the squad, a persona that could not be criticised. He also knew that as soon as his performance dipped, even a touch, “I would be gone, just like that.”Ntini played his entire career under pressure to perform and fear of being dropped. He survived because success stalked him and because he did not talk about the challenges. Now, nine years since he retired, he is more willing to address the issues that came with being a representative for things much bigger than himself, and he thinks asking Rabada or Bavuma to shoulder the same burden would be “unfair”.Graeme Smith, Enoch Nkwe, Mark Boucher and Linda Zondi at the unveiling of South Africa’s new coaching structure•AFPThe same word could be used to describe the circumstances of players on the other side. Those who are chosen ahead of black African players can become targets for the anger of people who feel underrepresented and disenfranchised. Rassie van der Dussen is an example of such a player. He knows that there is a groundswell of support for Bavuma to return, and he would be forgiven for looking over his shoulder rather than at the next ball. But he isn’t doing that.”Growing up, it [transformation] is something we have been aware of, it’s something that is a reality in South Africa, not only in sport but in all aspects of life,” van der Dussen said. “As a white player, as any player, you are there to do a job, to put in performances and win games for your team. It’s not about thinking about this guy must play or that guy must play. You get an opportunity and you can’t do much if you don’t get the opportunity and you work hard for the opportunity and you’ve got to try do everything in your power to make sure you are ready when it comes.”Simple. Or maybe not.Equality of opportunity for players of colour, and specifically black African players, is what South Africans want, but that can only be achieved if there are enough people to offer that opportunity to. There are currently no black African batsmen in the top 23 run-scorers on the first-class charts (Wandile Makwetu is 24th). Eight of the top ten batsmen are white. There’s more representation in the bowling department where Malusi Siboto sits second, Lutho Sipamla joint-seventh and Tshepo Moreki joint ninth.The real question South Africans need to be asking is why they aren’t more players of colour on the domestic circuit who can provide the national team with options. The answers will lie in the same historical injustices previously mentioned and in the steps that need to be taken to spread the game to various different parts of the country and its people. It has been 29 years, but they are still not close to being fixed. Instead, talk in South African cricket centres on Bavuma, in whom this complicated scenario is encapsulated.