All posts by n8rngtd.top

An intense tournament has produced two deserving title-contenders who promise a gripping finale

David Hopps in Colombo06-Oct-2012Sri Lanka are desperate to reward a decade of quality by winning their first major tournament since they surprised the cricketing world by claiming the World Cup 16 years ago; a West Indies win would bring hope in the Caribbean that Twenty20 can be the catalyst for their revival, just as the 50-over game inspired Sri Lanka to greater glories all those years ago.For the neutral, yearning for a victory that will be good for cricket, there has rarely been a more difficult choice. Mahela Jayawardene, captain of Sri Lanka, deserves his intelligent and empathetic leadership of Sri Lanka to be recognised with a trophy after three near misses; Darren Sammy, a big-hearted captain whose affability has re-educated West Indies about the value of unity, equally deserves some reward for that.Whatever the unpredictability of T20, few of those who have watched this tournament unfold doubt that Sri Lanka and West Indies are the appropriate teams to contest the final at Premadasa on Sunday. Sri Lanka, some seven-over nonsense against South Africa apart (10 overs, not five, should be the minimum length of a match) have been consistent, buzzy and well-drilled. West Indies, more strongly fancied in this tournament than they have been for a generation, have to no-one’s great surprise provided a roller-coaster ride, domineering one minute, all at sea the next.It has all been enormous fun. The malcontents who have seen their side crash out of World Twenty20, and who have lost interest as a consequence, need to recognise the narrowness of their thinking. What is there not to like about World Twenty20? For a few weeks, the best players in the world have been on show in an intense, tightly-scheduled tournament and, for all the unpredictability of the format, it has provided two deserving finalists.The final promises many appealing match-ups but none will be more mouthwatering than Chris Gayle v Lasith Malinga. Gayle’s commitment to batting long against Australia (how quickly our perceptions change that we can talk about “batting long” in T20) contributed to one the matures innings of his career and Australia, who had hoped that Mitchell Starc could expose him early, saw their plans frustrated. Sri Lanka will aim to keep Gayle on strike against Malinga as much as possible, but will want to save two of his overs for the death. It will be a key period.This West Indies side is vulnerable. In their semi-final thumping of Australia, both Denesh Ramdin, at No.6, and Andre Russell, a place lower at No.7, look a place too high. Sammy, at No.8, has little form of note in the tournament. The pace attack amounts to the craft of Ravi Rampaul and little else, about as far away from the heyday of West Indies fast bowling as it is possible to be. But somehow they are in the final, their ability to muscle the ball many a mile leaving them brimful of confidence.Sri Lanka’s side covers more bases. They were not convincing champions at the start of the tournament, not to this observer at any rate. That was partly because no-one was certain that their less-celebrated players would perform as reliably as they have. But it was also because of the way that their achievement in reaching three finals in ICC tournaments in recent years was being represented not as a worthy reward for a side punching above its weight – which is how it should properly be viewed – but as a fatal flaw worthy of criticism. They have not allowed the high expectations to consume them.Now Jayawardene is in his fourth ICC final for Sri Lanka. No current cricketer has graced the game more, nobody is more deserving of leading his side to victory. He has led Sri Lanka through difficult times, countering both the defeatism that could arise in a country that was bedevilled by a long war and the lack of an extensive infrastructure, and the small-minded political struggles that drained them further.Throughout the hard years, Jayawardene and his close confidant, Kumar Sangakkara, have provided a stable environment in which young players could flourish, and have also shown Sri Lankan cricket the value of trust, integrity and sound planning. Jayawardene stood down from the captaincy and then dutifully took it up again when his work was in danger of being wasted.Sri Lanka, because they have been more consistent, deserve to start slight favourites in front of their own fans. But all that could fly out of the window if Gayle and co. begin to launch the ball into orbit. Gayle has told the world that West Indies will win this tournament, and end years of suffering for Caribbean supporters, and it would be a foolish person who dares to tell him in advance that he is misguided.We could be in for a treat. If the October monsoon stays away for just one more day, a successful tournament can have a memorable finale.

Geoff Boycott on Tendulkar’s ODI retirement, the highs and lows of 2012, and Eoin Morgan’s technique

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2012Siddhartha Talya: Hello and welcome to another show of Bowl at Boycs. I’m Siddhartha Talya and speaking to me today from back home in Jersey is Geoffrey Boycott. A satisfactory tour of India for you, Geoffrey, would you say?Geoffrey Boycott: More than satisfactory. I thought India would actually do a lot better than they did because history shows they are pretty tough to beat in their own country. And with England’s past performances in the UAE against Pakistan, I thought it looked like – even with a moderate Indian side – an Indian win but we’re all surprised. Very pleasantly as Englishmen.ST: The big news here in India is that Sachin Tendulkar has announced his retirement from ODI cricket. Related to that is our first question of the day. It comes from Jatin in India. He wants to know: Was Tendulkar’s retirement from ODIs the right call in your opinion? It’ll help him focus on one format, which is Test cricket, and is that where you think India needs him more?GB: I’m not sure it’s about what India needs most, I think it’s about what’s best for Sachin. At this stage of his career, he’s done well for himself and he’s done well for his country. I think he has to do what’s best for him because if he plays better, whatever format of cricket, it’s going to help the team he plays for, which is India. That’s the most important thing.He hasn’t played in the T20s for India for a while. ODI cricket, today, in the modern game, has become so physically demanding on the player’s body, even 50 overs. As much as we all love Sachin, me included, he’s never been an outstanding athlete in the field. He’s never let anybody down, he’s been competent, but nobody could ever call him a top outfielder. So, as he gets older, like all of us, me included, he just can’t run as fast as a youngster, he can’t dive around. Not that he was a great diver but when you do dive around in the modern day – as you are expected to; it’s a modern phenomenon – he’s going to hurt himself a bit more. As you get older, you’re going to fall the wrong way, your body hurts more, it bruises easier – it’s nature taking over.It’s very sad, it’s a fact of life, that more of us, as we get older, we have to accept we just can’t do what we used to do. There’s no fun in accepting that, there’s no fun in believing it. There’s no fun in having to say it gets easier, because it doesn’t get easier. It can’t. So for him, it’s tough, is one-day [cricket]. As wonderful as he’s been, we can’t live on the memories. He’s 39, and so I think giving up is very responsible and sensible.He can now focus on staying fit, playing as much zonal cricket as he can – and that’s important, trying to get some runs in that, which shouldn’t be too difficult. You know [in domestic cricket] they’re not as good as him. Even now, when he’s past his zenith, he’s still better than them. And he needs form. Form means runs, runs means confidence, and then he can play against Australia in March. He desperately needs some runs against Australia in the Test matches in March, because I don’t think any of us want to see him embarrass himself with more failures after failure. If he doesn’t get runs against Australia, I’m reasonably confident that he’ll see the light and call his own retirement. But you cross your fingers and hope he can get some.He obviously still loves the game. I played county cricket till I was 46 and Test cricket till I was 41 and a half. So it is possible. But in the end, your past performances only count for so much. In the end, we all have to get runs or wickets. It’s a runs and wickets-orientated game. You can only go so far living on past performances.ST: Do you think he had a transformative role to play in ODI cricket? He has played more than 400 matches, has a very impressive average, has broken all kinds of records. What’s Tendulkar’s greatest legacy with relation to ODIs?GB: Longevity more than anything. There have been other outstanding one-day cricketers, like there have been outstanding Test players. But it’s the longevity, and playing in all countries and playing well. That’s it. It’s easy to get sucked into believing, when he’s playing in the current day and doing well, that they’re the best player ever. Hang on. That’s being disrespectful to all the eras of cricket and all the players who’ve gone before. Sachin will be up there with the greatest in Test cricket and one-day cricket, but let’s not forget there have been other players. So it’s his longevity and playing exceptionally well all over the world.ST: England managed to square the T20 series here, with Eoin Morgan, their stand-in captain, playing a very significant role in that game at the Wankhede, where he hit the last ball for a six. We have a question from Edwin in the UK about him. He asks: Would you say Eoin Morgan is a gifted limited-overs batsman for the innovativeness and audacity he brings to his batting? And is there a technical reason why he hasn’t really made it yet in Test matches?GB: I would agree with you. He is innovative, audacious, an exceptionally good one-day cricketer. But, look, let’s get real and let’s be honest. T20 cricket is exciting, it’s fun, it’s all the action packed into three hours. It’s wonderful, quickfire entertainment, but really, it’s not cricket’s best form. And because the batsmen have to try and hit every ball for a boundary, all the players deep down know they have a good excuse for getting out. So there’s a psychological thing there where you know nobody’s going to blame you that much if you’re trying to hit the ball out of the park, there are only 20 overs and you’ve all got a hit. So there’s that excuse at the back of your mind.In Test cricket, there are no excuses. There’s a lot of time to play yourself in, go at your own pace, play your own style, do your own thing. Bouncers can be bowled at you in Test match cricket, so courage and technique are involved in playing the short-pitched ball. It comes into it more and more. Bouncers in one-day cricket, they give you a wide for. There’s more technique, there’s more concentration, more patience required to put together a big innings in Test cricket as opposed to a few big hits in one-day cricket. Now I’m not saying T20 cricket doesn’t have some skill involved, but not as much as Test matches. And it doesn’t have the same amount of character involved to do well in Test matches.T20 is a batsman’s game. The bowlers, a lot of the time, are cannon fodder, they just run up and people are going to smack it out of the park. Morgan is one of those players, and there are a few around the world, who are exceptional against many bowlers in T20. And he is very good in ODIs. But in Test matches he’s been dodgy around off stump, that’s the problem. He appears to open the face. It’s not convincing that he knows where his off stump is. And that’s the most vulnerable area in Test match cricket.They bowl on off stump, you have to know what to leave and what to play. When they are bowling it really quick in Test match cricket, you’ve actually got to make six decisions in about a third of a second. You’ve got to decide, “Shall I play it, shall I leave it, shall I play forward, shall I play back, shall I block it, or shall I hit it for runs.” So there are six things you have to do in a third of a second, and you have to get it right technically and you better be matched with the mental toughness to do that.He’s failed at times at pressure moments when he’s had chances in Test cricket. He particularly looks vulnerable around off stump – it’s just a fact of life. I see it, I’ve called it. He’s had chances and he’s not come up with the goods when it matters. Sadly for him, and he won’t like it, Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root have got slightly ahead of him and they’ll continue to move away from him in Test matches. That’s my opinion. I believe they will because they’ve got more mental toughness about them; they’ve got better technique.He will be better than them in T20. I don’t think there is any doubt in my mind that he is the better of the three in T20. He is a terrific player in T20. When there is less pressure to fail, technique around off stump and against quick bowlers is not exposed.ST: Coming now to Geoffrey’s favourite question for this show. It’s from Alan in the UK. Alan wants to know: Geoffrey, if you had to recap 2012 and pick out two highs and lows, what would they be?GB: I can only tell you what I’ve seen in 12 months. I see all the England players, all the England matches. I don’t see every single Test match in the world. I can only tell you of what I’ve seen.Michael Clarke’s performance, two [three] double-hundreds, is unbelievably fantastic.

“I had a great sadness and disappointment watching one of the greatest players of the world of cricket struggle and be a shadow of the iconic batsman he was”

But I have to tell you, because I watch England, the worst low this year was in Abu Dhabi, the fourth innings, England v Pakistan in a Test match. We finally played Monty Panesar with Swann and they bowled beautifully to get us into a position where we needed 144 to win. The ball was turning but it wasn’t jumping or anything and it wasn’t turning alarmingly, but it was turning. And we were all out for 72. The left-arm spinner took 6 for 25, we couldn’t even play a left-arm spinner just bowling normal, turning, spin balls.And when it came to Ajmal, 3 for 22, they couldn’t pick him, they hadn’t a clue, they had more a chance of picking a nose than picking Ajmal. And he was the one who terrified them, because they didn’t know what the hell he was bowling. And when they played the left-arm spinner, they made a pathetic mess of it. They were playing with the pads, playing across the line to the leg side, against the spin, they were sweeping off the stumps because they couldn’t pick the ball. They didn’t know which way to hit Ajmal and they were trying all sorts against the left-arm spinner.ST: Abdur Rehman was the left-arm spinner.GB: Abdur Rehman, that’s him. He was unbelievable. Watching it, it was like in slow motion, like watching a terror movie. You thought, “Somebody’s going to get a 30 or 40 and we’re going to get home.”That was the low point because, remember, they were the best side in the world, supposedly No. 1 in the world. They lost all three Test matches and they deserved to lose all three. But the spinners didn’t. The spinners did well. And the England batsmen let England down in all three Tests so badly that, when we think of that, us English people, we think [about] coming to India, we think, “It’s going to turn, we’re going to struggle here with the bat and it’s not Monty and Swann we’re worried about, and Jimmy Anderson, and we know they’ll do well. But the batting…” And so we were surprised in India and we were surprised in Abu Dhabi when they played so awful.One of the highs, I’d have to say Kevin Pietersen scored a brilliant 149 at Leeds in the first innings this year against South Africa. And the reason for that was the way he constructed his innings. He started the innings in a steady, compact, common-sense, sensible way, and he was playing against the best seam bowling attack in the world, with Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, and Kallis to back them up. No question, Steyn is the No. 1 bowler in the world.You could tell it was going to be spicy and tasty because there was always going to be something, there’s going to be an edge when KP plays South Africa. Remember, South Africa let him go. They said he couldn’t bat and he couldn’t bowl. That’s going to stick with you all your life. That’s going to rankle deep down, isn’t it? So you knew there was going to be a bit of a spiciness there, a keen edge to the contest between him and the South African bowlers. So in the second Test at Leeds, he played with a real mental carefulness. But then suddenly, when he got into about the 80s, he suddenly went berserk. He just decided to attack them, and he just went after them to dominate them and played a fantastic innings, just put them in their place as if they were medium-pacers. I have seen a lot of his innings and the only sadness is that we weren’t able to win the match. It’s always more special if you get a hundred and you win, or when you even save the match rather than you just get a hundred. But it was pretty good, it was a real high.The second most-important high for me… I am a great believer in skill and character at cricket, all ball games. I think character is so important. There is a young man called Jonny Bairstow who I’ve been close to. His father was a good friend of mine and he went and took his own life when the kids were young. He has a sister, does Jonny. So I’ve helped with his mother, my wife has, we’ve been very close to the family as they’ve grown up. We’ve seen him grow and he’s a wonderful cricketer. And he played the summer in the Test matches against West Indies. Through the summer he had a torrid time against Kemar Roach. Roach gave him a real working over, very much so in the Test matches before we get to the one I’m going to talk about.He had a tough time with the bouncers. Roach hit him on the arm. He wasn’t looking at the ball, he was getting himself in a little bit of a mess, and he knew he had to do something about it. He lost his Test place when South Africa came. England picked Bopara. And then at Leeds, they picked James Taylor in place of him, in the Test match where Kevin got this wonderful 149. But at Leeds, you remember, there was all the fuss about Kevin’s texts and so forth, so Kevin was dropped for Lord’s and just luckily, the Pietersen affair gave Bairstow another chance.But there was going to be a huge personal battle for him. You had the best bowlers in the world, with Steyn, Morkel and Philander coming at him. You were going to get the short stuff, and rightly so. Everybody knew you’re going to get more of it – the crowd knew, he knew. There’s never a place to hide against fast bowlers when they’ve seen a chink in your armoury. And they came at him strong, and the time when he went in to bat, England were 54 for 4. They were chasing 309, they were in big trouble, they had two young kids playing, Taylor and Bairstow, no KP, and playing the best seam-bowling side in the world (and Lord’s is a great place to bowl seam). He was up against it personally, and the team was in trouble. And he played out of his skin. He played unbelievable.Jonny Bairstow: Overcoming adversity•Getty ImagesRoach had got him for 16 and 4 and 18 and made a mess of his technique, but that day, he ducked, weaved, looked at the ball, looked a different quality player. And he went on to make 95 and he batted even better in the second innings: he got 54, when England tried to chase down a total and didn’t make it – they actually lost the game by 51 runs.I have a personal interest, I admit that, from seeing the young man grow up in adversity, with his father doing an unfortunate, silly thing. But the kid can play. He’s got a lot to learn about playing in India on slow, turning pitches, but he’s not the only one that has to learn playing in India. But he played fantastic that day [at Lord’s], and that, for me, was a great high, to see a young player in real difficulty against the quicks, and I mean real difficulty… to have the character, skill, the temperament, against the best seamers in the world, your team’s in trouble and you personally are in trouble. And you’ve got to get out of it, and he did. That, for me, was the second high moment of the year.And just to finish with, I have to say this because you asked me about two lows. My second low I haven’t given you and I have saved it till last. It’s about Sachin Tendulkar. I had a great sadness and disappointment watching one of the greatest players of the world of cricket struggle and be a shadow of the iconic batsman he was. To me, Brian Lara and Sachin Tendulkar, two very different styles and two very special talents, have strolled the world of cricket in the last 20 years. They’ve been very special, they’ve achieved many things and been way above other batsmen. Way above many of us other batsmen could even dream about. And he was making mistakes against England that he didn’t make before.Now we the public, that’s you, me, those that love him, we haven’t been used to seeing him fail time after time. We’ve occasionally seen a slight dip in form, everybody’s career has that, but then we’ve seen him return with gorgeous, crafted centuries.He is a lovely man. We’ve known him since he was a lovely boy. He’s always had time for me. I don’t bother him much but if I ever see him, he’ll chat to me. He’ll always come and say hello and we’ll chat about things a little, as if I’ve never been away. If I ask him for anything, he always obliges. I care about him very deeply, like many of you. And his legacy to cricket will be very special. When you care about someone and you can see them struggling, you worry, you hurt for them. Not unlike many other people. I don’t want to see him embarrassed, I don’t want him to embarrass himself. So my New Year’s resolution is: Sachin will play zonal cricket, he’ll make some runs, he’ll get into form, get some confidence and come back and make runs against Australia. I hope so.ST: Let’s hope for the best. That brings us to the end of the last Bowl at Boycs show for 2012. Grand plans for the holidays coming up, Geoffrey?GB: No, just to be home and rest after being in India. Then, on the 8th of January I’ve got a special due in Sheffield, Yorkshire, as President of Yorkshire. We are going to celebrate our 150th anniversary. On the 8th of January, 150 years ago, in 1863, Yorkshire cricket was formed by some Sheffield people – not Leeds – at the Adelphi Hotel. That was knocked down some years ago and a snooker hall was built. So we’re having a function in the snooker place to celebrate that great event 150 years ago. As the president, I shall be there, I should be there, I am going to be there and it’s right I should be there to celebrate this occasion. Then I’m going to South Africa for a month’s holiday.ST: Wish you and all Yorkshiremen many congratulations for that special occasion. Thanks to our listeners for tuning in. Please don’t forget to send us your questions using our feedback form and we’ll join Geoffrey Boycott in the New Year. So, Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, happy holidays. Goodbye Geoffrey.GB: Cheers.

From Daniel Keane, Australia
Sometime on the final morning at Lord’s, the thought must have crossed or re-crossed Ricky Ponting’s mind – more than the Ashes are at stake this series

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013
Sometime on the final morning at Lord’s, the thought must have crossed or re-crossed Ricky Ponting’s mind – more than the Ashes are at stake this series. As if the tiny urn is not enough – is not, indeed, all – circumstances have conspired to add a little extra spice.Flintoff’s impending retirement and Ponting’s desire to avoid losing a second series in England will no doubt spur on their respective sides. More importantly, however, the outcome of this series will retrospectively determine how we regard the previous two. After two tests, the legacies of 2005 and 2006/07 already appear locked in battle. Both series have been invoked, the former rather more than the latter. Flintoff’s bowling at Lord’s was, as Stuart MacGill put it, “straight from the 2005 highlights reel.” The only question about next week’s Edgbaston Test will be whether the memories of ‘last time’ linger quietly or are broadcast loudly.By contrast, viewers of Australia’s first (and only) innings at Cardiff could be forgiven for thinking they were watching the sixth test of 2007, rather than the first of 2009. After two years, it seemed that Australia had merely resumed its winning run against its old foe. Hundreds from Katich, Ponting, North and Haddin helped raise Australia’s highest Ashes total since 1934. Sometimes, the roles were even reversed. Panesar and Anderson’s unbroken last wicket stand was likened to Lee and McGrath’s at Old Trafford four years ago. Collingwood’s match-saving 74 was every bit as important as Ponting’s 156.Despite (or perhaps because of) their contrasting scorelines, the 2005 and 2006/07 series shared several important features. Reputations were tarnished. Ponting’s captaincy – already questioned by some – lost further legitimacy. In Australia, Flintoff proved himself an unsatisfactory leader. Australia’s narrow defeat was every bit as devastating as England’s humiliating loss. Even now, the memories of both must cause the minds of many to darken. For Australians, 2005 upset the natural order. To restore that order, no simple retaliation would suffice. Nothing short of an annihilation would begin to sooth the wounds. And in being thumped five nil, England did not only lose the Ashes – it lost a little of 2005. As Gideon Haigh rightly pointed out, while England can forever claim the Edgbaston Test, Adelaide 2006 belongs to Australia.English aspirations (to the status of an equal and the title of number one Test nation) were revealed as mere pretensions. After its 2007 triumph, another Australian win would further reduce 2005 to a vivid but regrettable stain on Australia’s otherwise unblemished recent Ashes record. An English victory would not only silence Australian talk of an ‘aberration’, but elevate England into a frontier unconquered by Ponting’s men.For the time being at least, the current series has the air of a decider, of a final set following a first set tie break and a second set bagel. Its significance has been inflated by its remarkable predecessors. Perhaps it will help to settle the score of which of the two was the greater victory. And while some of the principle players have gone from the scene, both captains will fight bitterly for the last word.

Angelo Mathews’ career is in transition, and he is steadily coming to terms with his new role with both Sri Lanka and Pune Warriors

Nagraj Gollapudi07-Apr-2013He smiled at the question. After a moment’s consideration, he spoke about Sri Lankan players not being allowed to play in Chennai during the IPL. “There is a bit of a situation in Chennai and we have to refrain from going there. Politics and sport don’t mix. We need to concentrate on our cricket and not worry too much about things happening around. If this was an issue between the two countries we wouldn’t have been playing in the IPL,” the Pune Warriors captain Angelo Mathews said.Mathews’ response wasn’t as thoughtful as what his Sri Lanka team-mate Kumar Sangakkara expressed. But neither was it a casual response to what was a serious question. Had he been just a player, he may have shrugged off the question. But since he is captain, Mathews spoke responsibly.For Mathews, 2013 has been a year of transition as a cricketer. After Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara decided to pass the baton to a younger cricketer, Mathews was picked as the man to replace them as leader. He was a long-term choice, who could provide stability. These were the key factors the selectors had in mind while appointing him ahead of Tillakaratne Dilshan, who had led Sri Lanka briefly a couple of years ago.Mathews led Sri Lanka in the Test and ODI formats during the home series against Bangladesh. He did not disappoint, despite Sri Lanka losing their first-ever game to Bangladesh on home soil in the drawn ODI series.Mathews blamed his bowlers for the defeat, but signs of his inexperience were evident when he showed impatience with bowling changes during the preceding Test series. But Mathews is willing to accept his and his team’s shortcomings, and that’s a good sign. On Friday, after the dispiriting defeat to Sunrisers Hyderabad, Mathews admitted his batsmen had played “too cautiously” and “choked” chasing a small target. So how does he rectify the error? How does he tell the senior trio of Yuvraj Singh, Marlon Samuels, and Ross Taylor that they need to play more responsibly?”You’ve got to stay calm as far as possible. You need to gel with the boys because they are the ones who will make you a good leader. You have to listen to the boys because it is important to get all things on board. And then you take the positive stuff out of what they have said,” Mathews said.Desperate to rise from the bottom of the IPL table, where they finished over the previous two seasons since they became part of the tournament, the management appointed a new coach in Allan Donald, the former South African fast bowler. For Donald, aggression is the . At the same time, he believes in the player understanding his role clearly. In that regard Mathews could be the ideal man to communicate the coach’s message to get the job done.Reading situations correctly, identifying the right go-to men, and keeping back-up plans ready, are what Mathews believes make a good leader. For him, Sangakkara ticks all those parameters, as witnessed on Friday evening, when Sunrisers won by 22 runs despite scoring just 126. His rival captain’s strategy on the field, Mathews agreed, was good homework for him. “He has been a successful captain in the past for Sri Lanka and Deccan and Sunrisers now. He stays calm all the time and the way he handles the guys is amazing. There is a lot to learn from him. The way he carried out the bowling changes, the way he thought through the game, the way he read the situations was really learning stuff for me,” Mathews said.In January this year, Mathews led Sri Lanka successfully to a 2-0 victory in a two-match T20 series in Australia. Sangakkara had returned home due to injury, but Mathews displayed the right temperament to make sure he did not look out of place as a captain.An impact player himself, Mathews recognised the primary priority for a player in Twenty20 was to retain focus at all times. “We need to have the focus right through the 20 overs. We can’t just give in to the situations because we need to play some really good cricket to win against quality teams.”Mathews shows an aggressive spirit, especially evident at times in his batting, and is steadily coming to terms with captaincy. There is a long way to go, but just like Sri Lanka, the Warriors, too, might have chosen the right man to lead the team.

Plays of the day from the third day of the third Test between New Zealand and England in Auckland

Andrew McGlashan in Auckland24-Mar-2013Welcome wicket of the day
It had been a long time since Tim Southee was able to celebrate a wicket, with his last one coming from the third over of the series, when he bowled Nick Compton. Since then he had gone past the bat plenty of times without reward. So no wonder he was insistent on a review against Compton, almost before Paul Reiffel began shaking his head. It was the perfect call, the ball had struck the pad before bat, and was heading straight for middle stump. New Zealand were celebrating before confirmation came, and none more so than Southee.Near-miss of the day
At the height of their problems, with five wickets down, England were struggling to keep the scoreboard ticking over. In a moment of near desperation, Matt Prior pushed the ball towards mid-on and thought there was a single on offer. It was a grave misjudgment. Fortunately for Prior, Doug Bracewell, on the field as a substitute, could not hit direct, and Prior was able to dust himself and carry on.Boundary of the day
There are few players around who adjust their tempo between formats as well as Joe Root. His innings on the third day was a reprisal of Ahmedabad, where he faced 229 balls on debut, with the dead-bat making a regular appearance. He gained his first boundary off his 19th delivery, then had to wait another 107 deliveries to double that tally, when he tickled Bruce Martin through short fine leg.Predictable dismissal of the day
Stuart Broad’s brief innings could not really have gone more to type – a few edges, a driven boundary, a crunching pull over midwicket for six, then a brainless drive next ball that picked out cover. He has become little more than a hit-and-hope batsman, yet he should be so much better than that. A Test No. 8 has to be able to have a decent defence, which appears to have deserted Broad in the last 12 months. Since his unbeaten 58 in the second Test against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in early 2012, his highest score was 37 against South Africa at Lords.Decision of the day
The follow-on is out of fashion nowadays. Alastair Cook would not have enforced it last week if it hadn’t been for the weather forecast in Wellington. This time it was Brendon McCullum’s choice, and he decided to bat again, presumably to rest his bowlers, and allow Bruce Martin the last innings on the pitch. It also meant that a unique occurrence remained. The only time New Zealand have enforced the follow-on against England is the 1983-84 Christchurch Test when they rumbled the visitors for double figures twice. At 8 for 3, McCullum may have been feeling a little less sure of his decision.Review of the day
It was another busy, and good, day for the DRS. However, one occasion where its use was wasted, came when Ross Taylor was given lbw. Broad, as he occasionally does, did not really turn around in his appeal, as he was sure it was out. Initially, too, Taylor looked happy to walk straight off, but eventually asked for a review. He only needed to see it once on the big screen to know he was gone, and had almost reached the boundary by the time he decision was confirmed.

Mushfiqur Rahim regrets his hasty resignation from captaincy, but despite the pressure of the job and the fixing scandal, he is satisfied with the team’s consistency in the last six months

Interview by Mohammad Isam15-Jun-2013The six months between November 2012 and May 2013 have been eventful for Bangladesh. They had major wins against West Indies at home and made significant progress in Sri Lanka. But there was also the disappointment of losing to Zimbabwe, of Mushfiqur Rahim’s impetuous decision to resign as captain, and the match-fixing scandal that followed. Mushfiqur looks back at the highs and lows of the 2012-13 season, and the overall change in Bangladesh cricket, in terms of performance and attitude.How was it captaining Bangladesh in the last six months?
It was a tough period. We started well against West Indies, winning the ODI series. We were without some key players in Sri Lanka, but we still did well in those challenging circumstances.In Zimbabwe, probably their conditions were a huge factor, especially in the first Test. Losing that game had an effect on our confidence. We fought back in the second Test, but we were again up against the conditions in the ODI series. The facilities were not good enough, plus some of our main players were coming back from injury, like Tamim [Iqbal] and Shakib [Al Hasan].We lacked a bit in our application in Zimbabwe, but overall in the last six months, we have played a lot of consistent cricket.Are you a glass-half-full or half-empty sort of person, because there are two ways to look at this season.
We had a lot of positives this season. But there is a lot of talk if we lose one out of ten matches against lower-ranked sides like Ireland and Zimbabwe. Everyone expects us to win. We did fight back in the Test series, won the first ODI, and also fought back in the T20 series. If the finishing was better, we would have felt great, but yes, there have been many positives.Bangladesh’s international season began with you employing offspinner Sohag Gazi as an opening bowler against Chris Gayle. Was it a sign of your changing mentality as captain?
Traditionally, opening batsmen have started off comfortably against our pace bowlers. So we planned to do something different. Obviously they would have expected a left-arm spinner starting off. I was confident about using Gazi, and I will do it again if it brings the result for the team.Was it a victory for you, especially seeing how Gazi troubled Gayle later on?
I don’t know if it is my victory, but any captain will tell you that if their decision pays off, it’s great. The credit goes to the bowler, because Gazi was a huge part of that plan. He got hit for a six off his first ball in his very first international match, and that too by a batsman of Chris Gayle’s calibre. When Gayle was going after him, I kept telling everyone in between overs that Gazi will take his wicket. The way Gayle was going after him was not natural. He was trying to get Gazi out of the attack. I told Gazi, “Let Gayle hit you for four sixes, I have no problem. I know you will get him out if he makes one mistake.”In that first Test, Bangladesh made 500-odd in the first innings but couldn’t win the game. Does the nothing-to-lose mentality help you?
Even if we have nothing to lose, we are playing in front of our home crowd, so there’s pressure. But you look at our Test record – we are not a consistent team. We don’t do well against bigger teams, but we are growing up.Our on-field attitude has changed a lot. Our batsmen are scoring more runs, bowlers are taking five-fors. These are signs that our attitude is turning towards a match-winning one.Bangladesh beat West Indies in the second ODI with 90 minutes to spare. How did it feel? You are always on the wrong end of such a drubbing.
It was a dream game for us. They had just won the World Twenty20, and they had ten batsmen. We never thought that we would beat them so easily, but we had the confidence from the first ODI, which we also won.We can beat anyone in our home territory, in all three formats, if we play to our potential. Everyone has this confidence, and I must give credit to all the young players. They supported us throughout that ODI series. We were without Shakib, so the likes of Anamul Haque, Mominul Haque, Nasir Haque and Gazi really helped us.

“Now when Bangladesh play, nobody can tell what will happen until the last ball is bowled, whether against Australia or Ireland”

How was the Sri Lanka tour in March different from the previous ones there?
From the beginning of this tour, we tried to create a different environment in the dressing room, because Sri Lanka is one team that has been dominant against us. We have lost by an innings, lost inside three days.My message to the team was to change this attitude against them, whether we win or lose. We just wanted to play competitive cricket for five days. It was our minimum goal, and I am happy the players took it that way. We often did well in one session but gave away the next. We reminded the players at every session that our goal is not yet fulfilled. The coach and I kept telling everyone that the team has to do well, not just the individual.What did the double-hundred mean for you as a batsman?
I never actually thought that I would score a double-hundred. [Mahendra Singh] Dhoni had scored 200 against Australia the month before, and I thought that if he can score a double in such a short time, why can’t one of us? If they can score 200s so easily, when will we score these runs? I tried to give this message and fortunately, I made the 200. I was very excited at every landmark I was reaching. There was a session break in which I was waiting on 198. I told [Mohammad] Ashraful said that he slept in his room. If [Ashraful] is guilty, he should be given punishment. Our younger players should know this is a big crime. You cannot betray a nation. It doesn’t matter how big or small a player you are. At the same time, I hope he returns to cricket quickly.What does the immediate future hold for Mushfiqur Rahim, as a batsman and a wicketkeeper?
I have some personal goals but I don’t want to disclose them. I want to stay consistent, and being captain has helped me in that regard. I think I bat better under pressure, I enjoy it. Our next three series are all at home, and hopefully we can play at our best. As an individual player, I want to reach all my goals for this upcoming season.

The fate of the Ashes, and the jobs of numerous senior figures at Cricket Australia, may now hinge on the enigma that is Mitchell Johnson

Daniel Brettig12-Nov-2013Would you bet your house on Mitchell Johnson performing in the Ashes series? Australian cricket just has.It is no overstatement to say that by recalling him to the Test team for the series opener in Brisbane, Cricket Australia have staked the farm on Johnson bowling with more reliable speed, consistency and sustained menace in the forthcoming matches than at any other time in his career. Every spell Johnson bowls may swing not only the fate of the Ashes but also the jobs of the team performance manager Pat Howard, the national selector John Inverarity, the coach Darren Lehmann and perhaps even the captain Michael Clarke.James Sutherland, CA’s chief executive, will not be watching Johnson’s bowling in the Ashes with quite the same level of trepidation, after the chairman Wally Edwards guaranteed his job even in the event of a 5-0 drubbing. But for a series that Australia must win to provide solid evidence of progress on the field two years since the release of the Argus review, an enormous amount now depends on Johnson conjuring his very best.This, of course, is something he has struggled to do consistently throughout a Test career that effectively began with 12th man duty throughout the 2006-07 summer, when he watched the last gleaming of the great sides led by Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting. Johnson’s best stands comparison with the most exhilarating displays of any of those teams, typified by the Perth spell during the last Ashes bout down under when he tore England’s batting limb from limb in the space of little more than an hour. But his worst is risible, and has been glimpsed more often in Ashes contests than those against any other nation.No one was more aware of the Johnson enigma than Ponting, who wrote of the aforementioned Perth spell in his autobiography. It is a telling passage among many. “There were days like this when Mitch was as lethal a bowler as any in my experience; at other times, however, he was so frustratingly erratic and ineffective,” Ponting wrote. “I never questioned his work ethic and commitment, but for someone so talented, such a natural cricketer and so gifted an athlete, I found his lack of self-belief astonishing.”Hence the Barmy Army’s considerable repertoire of Johnson song material, and also his non-selection for the earlier Ashes series in England. At the time, the selectors sought the ability to wear England’s batsmen down with consistency and accuracy – “be prepared to be boring” was a frequent catch-cry among the bowlers at the Brisbane camp that preceded the tour – and also favoured the younger Mitchell Starc. But now Starc is injured, and Australian grounds and pitches are hoped to provide the sort of atmosphere and turf that Johnson can thrive upon.

“I said a couple of days ago if Mitch was selected in this squad, it wouldn’t surprise me if in a couple of months’ time you see Mitch being Man of the Series.”Australia captain Michael Clarke on Mitchell Johnson

Much has been made of the fact that George Bailey’s selection for the Gabba has arrived on the strength of ODI batting form in a different country, against different bowlers, on pitches in no way relevant to the Ashes. Yet the same is true of Johnson, who has convinced Lehmann, Inverarity and Clarke he is in the sort of confident, relaxed frame of mind for five-day battles on the basis of limited-overs form alone. His only first-class appearance since a muted display in the Delhi Test in March took place against South Australia at the WACA ground last week, and while five wickets and sundry other chances were created, he leaked 4.5 runs per over throughout.A similar scoring rate for England against Johnson during the Ashes would release a considerable amount of the pressure imposed by the likes of Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Shane Watson, should he be fit to bowl. It would undo much of the good, diligent work done by those same bowlers in England, causing Clarke to spread his fields and resort to other options more quickly than he should need to. There would be a toll in terms of fatigue as well as runs conceded. In James Faulkner’s retention in the Gabba squad can be seen not only a reward for a smart and feisty young cricketer but also a potential insurance policy for Johnson’s bad days.Mitchell Johnson’s consistency has improved in recent one-day matches, but can he transfer that form into the Ashes?•Getty ImagesClarke and Lehmann have acknowledged that Johnson had been chosen at least partly on faith that he can demonstrate greater control across the series. Lehmann said that while Johnson can be unplayable when swinging the ball at speed and pitching it right, “he knows he needs to do that and do that more often”. When pondering the scenarios that might await him on the field this summer, Clarke admitted that the upward trend of consistency he saw in England and from afar in India needed to continue.”I think he’s bowling a lot more consistent at the moment,” Clarke said. “His pace is certainly high, which is a great start. But it doesn’t matter how fast you bowl, if you don’t know where they’re going it’s always easy to face as a batsman. I think Mitch has that control. He showed that in the one-day format. I said a couple of days ago if Mitch was selected in this squad, it wouldn’t surprise me if in a couple of months’ time you see Mitch being Man of the Series.”It is this thought of Johnson’s capability, of the damage he can inflict at his best, that has ultimately swayed the selectors. Inverarity, Lehmann and Clarke all saw Michael Carberry, Jonathan Trott and others hopping about when faced by Johnson during the ODI series in England, and have not forgotten it. As Inverarity put it, Johnson “really unsettled two or three of their batters”. Harris, not averse to peppering the odd batsman with short stuff himself, spoke with typical frankness about Johnson’s ability to plant fear in the mind of an opponent.”He hasn’t put too much pressure on getting back in there [the Test squad], he’s just wanted to get his game right, get his mind right, work on a few little technical things – he’s gone and done that and come back beautifully,” Harris said. “Watching him bowl in the one-dayers in India and speaking to Brad Haddin who was talking about how quick they were coming through. So he’s back to his best, he’s moving the ball a bit as well, so if he gets it right he’s going to take a lot of wickets. Bowling at that pace, speak to the batters – no one likes to face it. If he gets it right we’re in good shape.”If.

Mitchell McClenaghan’s primary duty is go all out for wickets and, like he showed in Napier, he has the knack of doing the job for his team at key times

Abhishek Purohit in Napier20-Jan-2014India needed 69 more off 46 deliveries to beat New Zealand in the Napier ODI. They had six wickets remaining, and Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni had already put on 95 in just 14 overs. A couple of overs more and the duo could have run away with the game. Brendon Mccullum handed the ball to his strike bowler.Mitchell McClenaghan delivered yet again, getting Dhoni caught behind on the hook with a sharp bouncer. Three balls later, McClenaghan had Ravindra Jadeja edging a lifter to the wicketkeeper. Facing an asking-rate of ten now, Kohli had no choice but to try and attack McClenaghan in the fast bowler’s next over; he ended up placing a full toss straight into the hands of short cover.Dhoni said that was where the game turned, and India lost a match they had seemed like winning at that point. McClenaghan ended with 4 for 68, the sixth time he had taken four or more in an ODI. He has played only 19 one-dayers, which means that almost every third match, he picks up a four-for. McClenaghan, with 47 wickets to his name, is set to become the second-fastest to 50 ODI scalps behind Ajantha Mendis, who got there in 19 matches. This ability to strike, and strike repeatedly, has given him the best strike-rate ever for bowlers who have taken at least as many wickets as he has.McClenaghan strikes at 20.4, which puts him way ahead of number two on the list – Junaid Khan with 27.1. Only 12 bowlers on the list have a strike-rate under 30.It is revealing to see that McClenaghan has the highest economy-rate of 5.80 among those 12. He has already developed a reputation of going all out for wickets without worrying too much about how many he concedes. His first-class average is nearly 40 compared to a List A one of 23.88, which also suggests that he is appreciably more effective with the white ball than with the red.Before the series, Brendon McCullum had said that New Zealand would target wickets rather than trying to contain India and would not hesitate to play both McClenaghan and Adam Milne, who can also be expensive as he strives for extreme pace. While Milne was unfortunate to go off the field with a side strain in Napier, he did work up hostile speeds consistently. But it was McClenaghan who did the job for his captain once more.”He does keep producing at key times for us and I can’t stress the importance of it,” McCullum said. “He is going to travel at times but as long as he is trying to perform in the manner that we have picked him for, then we are happy and he has to ride that wave because he has the handy knack of picking up wickets at key times.”He is not always going to do that but as long as he is always trying to do that, that’s the message we keep telling them. As long as he’s doing the right thing in terms of attacking and trying to take the wickets for us, then we know what we are going to get when he comes in to bowl. He did it again and he is certainly proving to have a pretty good knock out.”With the new fielding restrictions allowing only four men in the deep, containment is increasingly becoming difficult for captains. Bowlers such as McClenaghan, who combine accuracy and good pace, might become even more valuable assets as sides rebuild their strategies to suit the changed regulations. Of course, they will also need more attacking captains such as McCullum to back them.

Also, two fifties and a five-for in a Test, most runs before turning 30, identical scores by openers, and most fifties in an ODI

Steven Lynch13-May-2014Is Jonathan Trott the only player to score more than 3500 Test runs without a six? asked Kayvon Besharatpour from Nigeria

Jonathan Trott has scored 3763 runs in Tests so far, without ever hitting a six. This is a record for a complete career (and, sadly, I suppose it is possible that Trott’s is indeed over). The Indian batsman Vijay Manjrekar scored 3208 runs without a six, and Glenn Turner of New Zealand 2991. However, there is at least one man who scored more runs in Tests before hitting a six: the obdurate Australian batsman Ian Redpath had scored 4460 runs before, in the 65th of his 66 Tests, he lofted the West Indian offspinner Lance Gibbs over the fence in Adelaide. He liked the feeling so much he did it again a few overs later, this time off the fast bowler Van Holder.Has anyone ever got two fifties and two five-fors in the same Test? asked Mark Long from England

No one has quite managed this prodigious all-round feat in a Test yet. The closest was by the New Zealander Daniel Vettori, who did his best to stave off an embarrassing defeat by Bangladesh in Chittagong in October 2008, following 55 not out with 76, and taking 5 for 59 and 4 for 74 in a match New Zealand ended up winning by just three wickets. Twelve other people have managed two half-centuries and one five-for in the same Test, most recently Shakib Al Hasan for Bangladesh against West Indies in Mirpur in October 2011. For the full list, click here.Who scored the most Test runs before his 30th birthday? asked Manek Bhasin from Mumbai

You probably won’t be terribly surprised to discover that Sachin Tendulkar leads the way here – he had scored 8811 Test runs, including 31 centuries, before his 30th birthday. Next comes Alastair Cook with 8047, before a trio of distinguished South Africans: Graeme Smith (7457), Jacques Kallis (7337) and AB de Villiers (6966). Tendulkar also leads the way in one-day internationals, with no fewer than 12,219 runs before turning 30: next come Yuvraj Singh (8051) and Sourav Ganguly (7732), then Kallis with 7703.What is the highest score made by both openers in the same innings? asked Martin Clarke from England

The Test record changed hands relatively recently, in November 2011, when Australia’s openers Shane Watson and Phil Hughes were both out for 88 against South Africa in Johannesburg. Previously the highest was 77, by Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes (who was not out) for West Indies v England at The Oval in 1988. Haynes also has a share in the one-day international record: he made 72 not out and Richie Richardson 72 against India in Sharjah in 1985-86. The highest score for which both openers have been dismissed in ODIs is 64, by Mudassar Nazar and Rameez Raja for Pakistan v West Indies in Sharjah in 1988-89. The current T20 international record is, rather surprisingly, higher than the ODI one: Kamran Akmal and Salman Butt both made 73 for Pakistan against Bangladesh during the World Twenty20 in St Lucia in May 2010.At Kingsmead in 1956-57, Hugh Tayfield bowled 137 consecutive deliveries without a run being scored off him – is this still a record? asked Michael Arnold

The South African offspinner Hugh Tayfield ended the first innings of the third Test against England in Durban in 1956-57 with 119 successive dot balls (he finished with figures of 24-17-21-1) and added 18 more in the second innings before finally conceding another run, making a total of 137 dot balls in succession – that remains the first-class record. (Tayfield took 8 for 69 in that second innings.) Most of Tayfield’s dots were delivered to Trevor Bailey who, according to EW Swanton, “confronted him, almost regardless of length, with the dead-bat forward stab”. Tayfield’s record was threatened but not broken in Madras (now Chennai) in 1963-64, when the Indian slow left-armer Bapu Nadkarni sent down 131 successive dot balls during the course of his remarkable analysis of 32-27-5-0 in the first Test against England. I read recently that Nadkarni remains peeved that the sequence was ended by a misfield!In the famous 872-run match at Johannesburg in March 2006, there were seven individual scores of 50 or more. Is this a record? asked Dale Simpson from South Africa

The seven individual half-centuries in that astonishing match at the Wanderers – in which Australia made a record total of 434, only to be overhauled by South Africa’s 438 for 9 – equalled the record at the time, but it has been beaten since. There were eight half-centuries in the match between Pakistan (five) and Zimbabwe (three) in Karachi in January 2008, and this has happened twice more since – by India (three) and Australia (five) in Jaipur in October 2013, and by Bangladesh and Pakistan (four each) in Mirpur in March this year.

As Mumbai Indians lacked intensity in the field, and the home support equitably flagged, it became all too easy for Chennai Super Kings in the Eliminator on Wednesday night

Devashish Fuloria at the Brabourne Stadium29-May-2014In the last four overs of their innings, Mumbai Indians could add only 33 runs and lost six wickets, finishing the innings around 20 runs short of what they looked good for. Defending a below-par target on a true pitch, in a ground with short boundaries, against tough opponents, in a knockout match and without Lasith Malinga, Mumbai needed their bowlers to step up, along with their 12th man – their band of aggressive supporters in the stands. But around 10 pm, the crowd lost its voice and the bowlers their sting.Both of Mumbai’s grounds are in the posh neighbourhood along the Marine Drive, replete with art-deco buildings and home to the who’s who of Mumbai. Rules like the 10 pm ban on loudspeakers are best implemented in such parts. The rule gets countered to an extent when Mumbai bat second as every four or a six reverberates in the stands, making the home support real. Not when they bat first.On Wednesday night, the sudden dip in energy levels was infectious as Mumbai’s fielders were clumsy early in the second innings – Rohit Sharma dived over one at extra cover to let the ball run to the boundary before Ambati Rayudu and Harbhajan Singh let a skier drop between them. That a very confident and extended lbw appeal – which seemed pretty much out on the replay – from Praveen Kumar and the surrounding fielders didn’t go in Mumbai’s favour further sapped the spirits. By the end of six overs, around 10.20 pm, Chennai Super Kings were already running away with the match at 60 for 0.The first half had been anything but dull. Outside the ground, the street extending from Churchgate station to the Marine Drive was packed on both sides with people waiting to get inside the ground, the regular rush of commuters and hoards of hawkers trying to offload their IPL T-shirt stocks.The din continued inside the ground too. Mumbai batted, and after a slow build-up, Lendl Simmons and Michael Hussey got the innings going. The smoke generators hissed, the music blared, the cheerleaders did their routines, the stands – apart from a few specks of yellow – turned completely blue. Once in a while a bit of yellow mushroomed at the fall of wicket only to be consumed by blue as the home team’s batting giants strolled out one after the other. A young fan, sporting the blue and gold jersey, tirelessly pumped his air-piston horn. At about 9.45 pm, when the first innings ended in an anti-climactic implosion for the home fans, he broke the piston mechanism.Unlike their batting, which had underperformed before making a resounding comeback towards the latter half of the tournament, Mumbai’s bowling had lacked potency even when Lasith Malinga had been around. In their previous match, the bowlers had almost shut the door on their team by giving away 189 to Rajasthan Royals, but that was all overshadowed by an explosive response from their batsmen. The noise at the Wankhede Stadium that night had perhaps played its part in sowing the seeds of doubt in the opposition. On Wednesday night, it was the bowlers’ turn to mutually feed off that energy, but apart from Harbhajan and Praveen, no one posed consistent questions.Harbhajan bowled slower through the air and extracted some bounce from the Brabourne pitch that had also benefitted R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the first innings. The double-strike in his first over – both Dwayne Smith and Faf du Plessis fell lofting the ball to the fielders in the deep – was the injection his team, and the crowd, needed to wake up from their slumber. Apart from Sachin Tendulkar in the past and Lasith Malinga, the Mumbai crowd only really seems to connect with Harbhajan and Kieron Pollard. So Harbhajan striking early created a buzz. He bowled his four overs one after the other and gave away 27 runs. During his spell, the three overs from the other end only went for 22, slowing Super Kings down.Pragyan Ojha had played his part early on by picking up the wicket of Brendon McCullum with a cleverly flighted delivery. His first two overs cost 14 runs and it looked like he was set to play an important role after Harbhajan was done with his quota. Instead, it was Ojha’s third over – the 16th – that ended the contest as he was carted away for three sixes, the over costing Mumbai 20 runs. Suresh Raina and David Hussey, who did the damage, trotted out at the remaining runs with ease.As the ‘C-S-K, C-S-K’ chants grew louder, the counterbalancing ‘Ma-lin-ga, Ma-lin-ga’ would have been missed. So would have been Malinga’s ability to create opportunities and fire hope. With not much inspiration on the field from the home side, the young boy with the horn spent almost the entire innings trying to fix the mechanism. In the 18th over, an over before the finish, he walked out with the broken horn.