A look at the batting records Babar Azam achieved during the three-match series against West Indies in UAE

Bharath Seervi05-Oct-20162 Batsmen to score centuries in each match of a three-match ODI series. Babar Azam became the second cricketer to achieve this after South Africa’s Quinton De Kock achieved the feat against India in 2013-14. Azam also surpassed de Kock’s record of most runs in a three-match bilateral series.8 Batsmen who have scored three or more centuries in consecutive ODI innings. Azam became the eighth batsman overall and third from from Pakistan, after Zaheer Abbas and Saeed Anwar, to achieve this feat. Kumar Sangakkara is the only player to hit four consecutive ODI centuries.2 Number of times Pakistan have whitewashed a series of three or more matches in UAE – both against West Indies. Before this, they had done the same in 2008-09.0 Players to have made their career’s first three hundreds in successive innings before Azam. For Pakistan, Inzamam-ul-Haq is the only other player to bring up his first two centuries in consecutive innings.349 Previous highest run-aggregate by a Pakistan batsman in any three consecutive ODI innings, by Saeed Anwar in 1993-94. He made 107, 131 and 111 in successive innings. Azam overtook his tally by scoring 360 runs in three innings – 120, 123 and 117. The record for most runs by a batsman in three consecutive innings is 411, by Rohit Sharma (264, 9, 138).3 Centuries by Azhar Ali – most by a Pakistan captain in ODIs. He went past Inzamam and Shahid Afridi, who made two centuries as captains in 77 and 34 innings respectively as compared to Azhar, who has batted in 28 innings so far.2013 Last time Pakistan put up two 300-plus totals in any ODI series or tournament, against Sri Lanka in UAE in a five-match series. In this series, they’ve made scores of 284, 337 and 308. This was only the ninth such series for Pakistan.6.23 Pakistan’s run rate in this series – their fourth-highest in any bilateral series consisting of three or more matches. Their previous highest run-rate in a series against West Indies was 5.37.21 Number of innings taken by a Pakistan batsman to score three ODI centuries prior to this. That record was set by Nasir Jamshed. Azam has now scored as many centuries in just 18 innings. He now has 886 runs, needing another 114 runs in next two innings to become the quickest player to 1000 ODI runs.2 Pakistan left-arm bowlers who have taken 100 or more ODI wickets. Wahab Riaz became the second to reach the milestone in this match. Wasim Akram (502 wickets) was the first to do so.

Three years after breaking India’s schoolboy record, Prithvi Shaw, still only 17, has piloted Mumbai into the Ranji Trophy final with an astonishingly mature debut hundred

Arun Venugopal05-Jan-2017Ahead of the semi-final clash against Tamil Nadu, Mumbai’s chairman of selectors Milind Rege was “at his wits’ end” after his committee’s latest attempt at finding an opener had failed. Following Akhil Herwadkar’s injury midway through the season, Mumbai gave Kaustubh Pawar and Jay Bista a decent run, but neither of them did enough to hold down a spot. Now, with Kevin Almeida failing in the quarter-final against Hyderabad, they were back to the drawing board again.Rege wanted to punt on Prithvi Shaw, who first hit headlines in 2013 for smashing 546 runs in a Harris Shield match in Mumbai, then the highest score by an Indian batsman in minor cricket. Two things made Rege gravitate towards Shaw – firstly, he was running out of options, and secondly, Shaw played with a vertical bat. But Rege was in two minds; after all, it was a huge step to play a 17-year-old in a knockout game. Rege decided to ring up a man who had seen a lot of Shaw, and indeed several young cricketers, in recent times – Rahul Dravid.Shaw was under Dravid’s tutelage at the Under-19 Asia Cup in Sri Lanka last month, and had contributed scores of 89, 5, 36, 22 and 39 in India’s title victory. According to Rege, Dravid’s first impression of Shaw was he played fairly straight and had a “good punch.” And then came the words Rege based his decision on: “Of course, you should consider him. He is not a bad choice.” “If Rahul Dravid endorses something, then it is the gospel truth as far as I am concerned,” Rege tells ESPNcricinfo. “Had Dravid said Shaw wasn’t ready, then maybe we would have not [picked him].”And thus began Shaw’s first-class journey. His first day as Mumbai cricketer was spent chasing leather, but his turn to bat came before lunch the following day. Shaw’s first runs came off the third ball he faced – a crunching whip to the midwicket fence. But his innings ended two balls later as he edged a loose drive outside off. The on-drive, though, had done the trick for Rege -“he was right behind the ball” – who announced Shaw was going to score a hundred in his next innings.

****

The fifth day’s play in Rajkot wasn’t turning out to be the thriller it promised to be after Tamil Nadu set Mumbai a target of 251. With the pitch not playing any tricks, Mumbai were cruising. Then, about an hour into the second session, there arrived the kind of moment television loves to milk. Shaw pushed at Vijay Shankar’s delivery outside off stump, and B Indrajith, at gully, completed a simple catch. Shankar let out a yelp of delight, Shaw was devastated. He was on 99.Shaw looked up, and then down, in despair; he had taken off his helmet, but didn’t want to leave the crease. He turned around reluctantly and trudged back before the umpires asked him to hang on. They were checking for a no-ball, but with the benefit of doubt going to the bowlers, you can never be too hopeful. Suryakumar Yadav, the non-striker, had by now walked down the pitch to calm Shaw’s nerves.Suddenly, there was clapping and cheering from the Mumbai dressing room, which had remained a tranquil place for most of the match. The noisy Tamil Nadu camp, on the other hand, looked dejected. Both dressing rooms had seen the replays; Shankar had overstepped. Shaw was going to have another crack at a maiden hundred. Should he get there he would become the first Mumbai batsman since 1993-94 to score a hundred on Ranji Trophy debut.Four balls later, Shaw once again bunted the ball to gully, but played it along the ground, and Suryakumar had already hared towards the striker’s end. Shaw completed the run and the helmet came off again, this time in relief and jubilation. What nobody knew then was that Shaw was blissfully unaware of being on 99 when he was caught off the no-ball. Had he known his score, he would have not attempted the shot. (I didn’t know I was on 99),” he said after the match. “Surya came and said I need three runs more to get to the hundred, and I wanted to take only a single with that shot. That was what I was trying. I absolutely had no clue I was on 99, otherwise I wouldn’t have played that shot.”Suryakumar then gave him a piece of advice to settle him down: “He told me you have worked hard all day from last evening, so take it right till the end.”At 14, Shaw made what was then the highest score by an Indian in any form of cricket – 546•ESPNcricinfo LtdAfter Shaw had got out early in the first innings, he spent the better part of the second and third days sitting with coach Chandrakant Pandit in the dressing room. Pandit handed him a notepad and pen, and asked Shaw to record his observations of how senior batsmen like Abhishek Nayar, Aditya Tare, Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav played in different situations. Shaw says he wrote a lot – “I haven’t counted how many pages” – and observed several things. “I learnt a lot about how to react to tough, pressure situations. It’s a higher level and it is my first match, so that’s what I was learning.”One of the things he learnt was to not throw it away when he was within striking distance of the finishing line. When Shaw was dismissed miscuing a slog, Mumbai needed only 10 runs to win.This was also the first time Shaw had to contend with sledging, especially in a language he couldn’t understand. He is aware, however, that it comes with the territory of playing for Mumbai. “The first time I couldn’t understand what they were saying [in Tamil],” he said with a chuckle. “Then, they said something about bouncers, but it didn’t make a difference to me.”Shaw celebrated his hundred by pointing to the lion’s emblem on the chest of his jersey. He said the sheer pride of playing for Mumbai gave him confidence. (when you have the lion on your chest, you are inspired by positive thoughts). A hundred for Mumbai feels good, and it doesn’t get bigger than MCA for me because they are the people who have helped me get to where I have. It’s been a long journey from school cricket to here.”

****

When you meet Shaw, you notice that his appearance has changed considerably from the time he made the quintuple hundred four years ago. And yet, the tenderness of his age is unmistakable: there is the faintest sign of fuzz above his lip and a couple of strands of hair that have sprouted on his chin. At five feet, four inches, he is the shortest player in the team. Despite everything, there is something adult-like about him, be it his decisive thinking on the field – it came through in the calculated use of the sweep to unsettle Tamil Nadu’s spinners – or his measured responses off it.Shaw lost his mother when he was three and has barely any recollections of her. His father, Pankaj Shaw, used to run a garment business, but not anymore. Pankaj has been his son’s co-passenger in every step of his cricketing journey. For years, both the Shaws would make the 65km long trip from Virar, a Mumbai suburb, to central Bandra to practice at the MIG club. Luckily for them, a local politician’s support meant the two could stay in Santa Cruz East, which is closer to the club.Shaw is understandably tight with his father, but says he didn’t think about their shared struggles during the time he was at the crease. (If I get emotional I wouldn’t be able to concentrate),” he said. “So I had to keep my emotions aside at that point. But, of course, I am happy and I am sure my father is too. My gratitude also goes to all my coaches who have taught me something.”Shaw does betray emotion when asked who he would dedicate his hundred to. Mumbai realtor Abis Rizvi, who was instrumental in promoting sports activities in Rizvi Springfield, the school Prithvi went to, was a mentor of sorts. On New Year’s day, Rizvi was killed during the attack on an Istanbul nightclub. “He cared for me a lot, and gave me plenty of things which I didn’t have.”The mention of Rizvi Springfield lights up Shaw’s face. He was part of the school’s famed troika – Armaan Jaffer and Sarfaraz Khan being the other two – that smashed records in schools cricket. “I have played for Rizvi since childhood,” he said. “I have led Rizvi myself for six years, and we continuously won the Harris Shield and Giles Shield. It’s a lot of fun to play for your school with friends. Now, I definitely will have to give them a treat.”Does he aspire to play in the IPL like his seniors, Jaffer and Sarfaraz? “I think Ranji Trophy [multiple] days cricket is bigger than IPL, so I will keep focusing on it and the other things will take care of themselves.”Despite his remarkable beginning in Rajkot, Shaw has one minor quibble: there wasn’t any non-vegetarian food he could gorge on at the hotel. “I will celebrate with my team-mates and have a nice dinner, but (I am upset I don’t get non-veg here),” he says in mock annoyance. (I will manage with vegetarian food today).”

Also: collapsing after big opening stands, and most first-class catches

Steven Lynch08-Nov-2016Three men were out for 110 in Sri Lanka’s Test last week. Was this some sort of record? asked Tushar Trivedi from India (and many others)

Those 110s by Kusal Perera, Upul Tharanga and Dimuth Karunaratne for Sri Lanka against Zimbabwe in Harare last week did set a new mark for the highest score made three times in the same Test match. The previous-highest three-peat was 99, by Dennis Amiss, Majid Khan and Mushtaq Mohammad in the match between Pakistan and England in Karachi in 1972-73. The previous-highest scored three times by the same team was 78, by Desmond Haynes, Viv Richards and Richie Richardson for West Indies against New Zealand in Port-of-Spain in 1984-85.South Africa have won their last three Tests at Perth. Has anyone else managed this against Australia? asked Mikkel de Vries from South Africa

You’re right in thinking that Australia have a good record at the WACA ground in Perth – they have won 24 of the 43 matches there, and have drawn eight. Of their 11 defeats, South Africa have been responsible for the last three, in 2008-09, 2012-13 and 2016-17; the Proteas drew their only other Test there (in 2005-06), so are undefeated in Perth. England have won there only once, against an under-strength Aussie team during the World Series Cricket era in 1978-79; New Zealand pulled off their one and only victory in 1985-86, when Richard Hadlee took 11 wickets; and India won in 2007-08. But West Indies won their first five Tests at the WACA – in 1975-76, 1984-85, 1988-89, 1992-93 and 1996-97 – before coming down to earth with an innings defeat in 2000-01, and suffered another reverse in 2009-10.Apparently the Aussie collapse at Perth was the third-worst for a team whose openers put on 150 or more. What are the two entries above this? asked Stuart from South Africa

In the first Test against South Africa in Perth, Australia lost all ten wickets for 86 after David Warner and Shaun Marsh put on 158 for the first wicket. The only two lower totals after an opening stand of 150-plus were both by Zimbabwe: in their second innings against West Indies in Bulawayo in July 2001 they collapsed from 164 for 0 to 228 all out, then six months later in January 2002 they reached 153 for 0 in their first innings against Sri Lanka in Galle, only to subside to 236 all out, with five wickets apiece for Muttiah Muralitharan and Sanath Jayasuriya. The lowest completed innings to include a 150 partnership for any wicket is Sri Lanka’s 216 against South Africa in Durban in 2000-01 – Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene added 168 for the third wicket, but the other nine batsmen managed just 35 runs between them.Geoff Boycott was over 40 years old when he played his 100th Test, at Lord’s in 1981•Getty ImagesHow many players have scored more than 200 runs in a Test over two innings without being dismissed, as Kraigg Brathwaite did for West Indies against Pakistan? asked Savo Ceprnich from South Africa

It was a slight surprise to discover that Kraigg Brathwaite, who made 142 and 61 – both not out – for West Indies against Pakistan in Sharjah last week, comes in only 17th on this particular list. It’s headed by the New Zealander Stephen Fleming, with 343 runs in undefeated innings of 274 and 69 against Sri Lanka in Colombo in April 2003; Sachin Tendulkar also made more than 300 runs over two innings in a Test without getting out, with 241 and 60 for India v Australia in Sydney in 2003-04. The most runs in a Test without getting out is, of course, Brian Lara’s 400 not out in just one innings for West Indies against England at St John’s in 2003-04. I was even more surprised, however, to realise that Brathwaite was the first opener ever to remain undefeated in both innings of a Test match.Who are the youngest and oldest players to appear in 100 Test matches? asked Timothy Rankin from England

The youngest man at the time of his 100th Test cap was England’s Alastair Cook, who was 28 years 353 years old when he reached three figures, in Perth in 2013-14 (he undoubtedly hoped for a better result: Australia won by 150 runs). Cook beat Sachin Tendulkar’s previous mark – he was 29 years 134 days old when he played his 100th Test, for India against England at The Oval in 2002. All the other 62 players to date who have won 100 or more caps were over 30 when they reached their century; the oldest remains Geoff Boycott, 40 years 254 days old against Australia at Lord’s in 1981. Clive Lloyd (in 1983-84) and Graham Gooch (1992-93) were both 39 at the time of their 100th caps.Former England keeper Bob Taylor took a record 1473 catches in first-class cricket•PA PhotosWho has taken the most catches in his first-class career? asked Sivaraman Narayanaan from India

There are nine men – eight of them wicketkeepers – who have taken more than 1000 catches in their first-class careers. All of them had long county careers in England, and top of the pile is Bob Taylor, who started with Derbyshire in 1960 and played on for them to 1988, when he was 47. Taylor, who also appeared in 57 Tests, finished with 1473 catches; 176 stumpings gave him 1649 dismissals all told, another record. The only outfielder on the list is Frank Woolley, with 1018 for Kent and England during a career that stretched from 1906 to 1938, by which time he was 51. The next man to join the list ought to be Nottinghamshire’s Chris Read, who ended the 2016 English season with 995 catches. It’s not too fanciful to suggest that Read will be the last man ever to reach four figures – the next current player on the list is the 36-year-old Essex keeper James Foster, with 775.Post your questions in the comments below

After years of uncertainty over their openers, New Zealand have found one they will want to keep in Tom Latham

Mohammad Isam at Basin Reserve14-Jan-2017Minutes after Tom Latham ran three to complete his sixth Test century, half the crowd exited Basin Reserve. They had been cheering for him all this time, and when he raised his bat the applause was louder than anything heard over the last three days of the Test. They walked away cheerfully too, assured that New Zealand were in a secure position.There is safety in Latham’s defence, as he shifts his weight back to block with the middle of his bat. The stroke is effortless, belying the delivery hurtling towards him. There’s also a bit of Kumar Sangakkara in his forward press, and especially when he drives through the off side. While such a comparison may be daunting for a young batsman, the resemblance doesn’t go much further. They are both left-hand batsmen, so some of their shots look similar.

Taylor returns from surgery

Ross Taylor was playing his first international innings since having eye surgery. He made 40 off 51 balls before pulling a catch to midwicket.
“It’s too early to say I noticed the difference [after the eye surgery]. It was nice to get out there and I felt good and confident. If you can feel confident when you’re batting, you get the right results. First game back it was nice to get a 40 but disappointed I didn’t go on.”

Latham’s quality – in how he finds boundaries despite there being little width – along with the quantity of deliveries he tackles with precision, makes him the complete package, especially for an opener who plies his trade in New Zealand’s seaming conditions.He also has the numbers when compared to other New Zealand batsmen who opened, having made his sixth Test century in his 28th Test, in response to Bangladesh’s first-innings score of 595. Former captain Glenn Turner had six hundreds in his first 31 Tests, while John Wright’s first six took 50 matches. Latham was also only the second opener, after Wright, to score a Test hundred at Basin Reserve in 87 years.Ross Taylor said Latham was the first New Zealand opener since the mid-2000s to make his place in the XI a permanent one, adding to the solidity provided by Kane Williamson in their top order.”For a while, apart from Mark Richardson, we’ve been to-ing and fro-ing with a lot of openers,” Taylor said. “Tom put his hand up and he’s one of the first picked. In our conditions, an opener and a No. 3 are very important.”We have a world-class No. 3 in Kane Williamson and we’ve got a consistent opener in Tom Latham. He’s still young but he’s earning his stripes in the team and he batted outstandingly well. It isn’t an easy place to open, and for him to come out and bat as positively as he did, took lot pressure off the incoming batsmen.”Latham ended the third day at Basin Reserve on 119, with New Zealand on 292 for 3, trailing by 303 runs. “We need him to carry on again and get a big score,” Taylor said. “I’m not sure what his personal best is, but it’d be good to get that and carry on.”It’s a pretty good batting wicket. At best, maybe day five is a better gauge on whether it’s breaking up a little bit. At the moment it’s still pretty good and we’ll take that confidence into tomorrow that we can still bat a period of time.”

After years of uncertainty over their openers, New Zealand have found one they will want to keep in Tom Latham

Mohammad Isam at Basin Reserve14-Jan-2017Minutes after Tom Latham ran three to complete his sixth Test century, half the crowd exited Basin Reserve. They had been cheering for him all this time, and when he raised his bat the applause was louder than anything heard over the last three days of the Test. They walked away cheerfully too, assured that New Zealand were in a secure position.There is safety in Latham’s defence, as he shifts his weight back to block with the middle of his bat. The stroke is effortless, belying the delivery hurtling towards him. There’s also a bit of Kumar Sangakkara in his forward press, and especially when he drives through the off side. While such a comparison may be daunting for a young batsman, the resemblance doesn’t go much further. They are both left-hand batsmen, so some of their shots look similar.Taylor returns from surgery

Ross Taylor was playing his first international innings since having eye surgery. He made 40 off 51 balls before pulling a catch to midwicket.
“It’s too early to say I noticed the difference [after the eye surgery]. It was nice to get out there and I felt good and confident. If you can feel confident when you’re batting, you get the right results. First game back it was nice to get a 40 but disappointed I didn’t go on.”

Latham’s quality – in how he finds boundaries despite there being little width – along with the quantity of deliveries he tackles with precision, makes him the complete package, especially for an opener who plies his trade in New Zealand’s seaming conditions.He also has the numbers when compared to other New Zealand batsmen who opened, having made his sixth Test century in his 28th Test, in response to Bangladesh’s first-innings score of 595. Former captain Glenn Turner had six hundreds in his first 31 Tests, while John Wright’s first six took 50 matches. Latham was also only the second opener, after Wright, to score a Test hundred at Basin Reserve in 87 years.Ross Taylor said Latham was the first New Zealand opener since the mid-2000s to make his place in the XI a permanent one, adding to the solidity provided by Kane Williamson in their top order.”For a while, apart from Mark Richardson, we’ve been to-ing and fro-ing with a lot of openers,” Taylor said. “Tom put his hand up and he’s one of the first picked. In our conditions, an opener and a No. 3 are very important.”We have a world-class No. 3 in Kane Williamson and we’ve got a consistent opener in Tom Latham. He’s still young but he’s earning his stripes in the team and he batted outstandingly well. It isn’t an easy place to open, and for him to come out and bat as positively as he did, took lot pressure off the incoming batsmen.”Latham ended the third day at Basin Reserve on 119, with New Zealand on 292 for 3, trailing by 303 runs. “We need him to carry on again and get a big score,” Taylor said. “I’m not sure what his personal best is, but it’d be good to get that and carry on.”It’s a pretty good batting wicket. At best, maybe day five is a better gauge on whether it’s breaking up a little bit. At the moment it’s still pretty good and we’ll take that confidence into tomorrow that we can still bat a period of time.”

There were rumours about Rising Pune being a bickering and uninterested unit because of off-field decisions, but amid the noise, the think-tank addressed the underlying issue of how to win games

Arun Venugopal in Hyderabad20-May-20174:06

Tait: Dhoni is spiritual leader of Pune

On the morning of Rising Pune Supergiant’s game against Delhi Daredevils on April 11, Manoj Tiwary received a phone call that informed him that his father had died. Tiwary planned to spend time with his father after the IPL, but cancer had ruined them. His family urged him to play that night but Tiwary did not want to stay in Pune when his mind was in Kolkata.He did not watch much of the game, but was touched by a gesture from his Rising Pune team-mates. “I want to thank the team and all the players because they showed respect by wearing black armbands in the match,” Tiwary told ESPNcricinfo. “Everybody came up to me and made sure I was okay. The team members make sure they engage you in different ways so that you don’t keep thinking about it.”When Tiwary returned to the team, for the game against Gujarat Lions, there was gloom on the field as well. Rising Pune lost their third successive game by a significant margin, and their victory over Mumbai Indians in their first game seemed an aberration. They had finished seventh last season and jokes about their no-hoper status resurfaced.There were rumours about Rising Pune being a bickering and uninterested unit, as a result of decisions the franchise had taken before the start of the season. MS Dhoni had been removed from captaincy and replaced by Steven Smith, and provocative tweets from the team owner’s brother on the leadership issue did not improve public perception.Amid the noise, Rising Pune’s think-tank was trying to address the underlying issue – how to win games. Before their match against Royal Challengers Bangalore, their coach Stephen Fleming drew something like a flowchart that listed traits of successful and unsuccessful teams. Tiwary was so impressed by the illustration that he took a photograph of it, so that he could revisit the lesson when needed.”Fleming mentioned that three things come into the mindset of the players when we go through bad performances: lack of confidence, lack of belief, and lack of fun,” Tiwary said. “There are selection issues as well, with a lot of chopping and changing happening in the first XI. There are more meetings and inconsistency in behaviour. All this results in us spending too much energy on things we don’t need at that point of time.”When we sat together ahead of this IPL, there were a lot of expectations and hope. Fleming wanted us to have a similar thought process even after we lost three games. That gave us a clear message about how to go about things, rather than sulking and panicking over the losses. After that game, we didn’t look back.”Tiwary was referring to the fixture at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, where Rising Pune defended 161. It set the formula for the team’s combination.Rahul Tripathi has played a key role at the top of the order•BCCIRising Pune went on a hot streak, as old and new heroes played a part in winning nine out of their next 11 games. In Rahul Tripathi, the team’s second highest run-scorer, they found a robust opener to make up for Ajinkya Rahane’s off-colour season. In Jaydev Unadkat, who had played only two IPL games, for Kolkata Knight Riders and Delhi Daredevils, in the last two years, they found a contender for the Purple cap. He has 22 wickets at present. In 17-year old Washington Sundar, signed as replacement for R Ashwin, they found a bowler for the tough overs; he was Man of the Match in the first qualifier. Dan Christian and Lockie Ferguson stepped up as well.Rising Pune’s story is not only about surprise packages, though. Their big guns boomed too, and they don’t come much bigger than Ben Stokes and Imran Tahir, who was signed as a replacement for Mitchell Marsh and finished with 18 wickets.When Stokes was bought for INR 14.5 crore at the auction in February, a Rising Pune official said the franchise wouldn’t have minded paying a crore more for him. His rationale was that Stokes would have earned his wages if he won seven league games on his own. He was ultimately not far off that fanciful mark.Stokes finished with 316 runs from 11 innings, including a hundred and a fifty, at a strike-rate of nearly 143 and claimed 12 wickets. He was Man of the Match thrice and had an important role in at least two other wins. That Rising Pune did not suffer for his and Tahir’s absence in the first Qualifier wasn’t a surprise either. The result was indicative of the team’s depth and the strong leadership of Fleming, Smith and Dhoni.While Fleming runs team meetings, Smith, along with Dhoni, has made sure there were few communication gaps on the field. The equation between captain and predecessor – frosty? indifferent? – had been a major talking point in the lead up to the season. In reality, Smith and Dhoni’s working relationship has appeared professional and dignified. Smith backed Dhoni to overcome his patchy batting form, and hasn’t been averse to hearing a suggestion or two from the former captain.Baba Aparajith, a young batsman in his second season with Rising Pune, said there was no change in the way Dhoni conducted himself. “Some may think I am saying this for the sake of political correctness, but that’s not the case,” Aparajith, who was with the Dhoni-led Chennai Super Kings in the past, said. “To tell you the truth, he’s a wonderful human being and he provides the same inputs and makes the same contributions.”Tiwary said the way Dhoni and Smith had handled a potentially awkward situation was a lesson for youngsters. “I know whatever he [Dhoni] has been asked to do, he has done that,” Tiwary said. “It’s something we have to learn from him, because as youngsters we all get so emotional. When things don’t go our way – there is so much written on social media – you just get your frustrations out immediately.”After captaining for so many years, it’s not an easy thing to just hang back. It’s a natural instinct of a born leader and also he is a wicketkeeper who has very good ideas from behind the stumps. So whenever he sees something, he goes up to Smith or makes a personal adjustment on the field. It’s something Smith has handled really well too. He is open to all the suggestions.”In the Kings XI Punjab game, after Shardul [Thakur] bowled three overs, Smith was giving the ball to Sundar. I went up to Smith and said Shardul was in good rhythm and asked him to ensure he bowls four overs [on the trot] because he had anyway not bowled in the slog in the previous game. Steve gave the ball to Shardul and it nearly paid off because the first ball went past MS and Dan Christian”.Jaydev Unadkat believes team spirit has been key to their resurgence this season•BCCIUnadkat said he had been a beneficiary of Smith’s leadership as well. In the away game against Mumbai Indians, Unadkat was trusted with the final over to defend 17, and was undecided between bowling cutters – his strength – or deliveries like wide yorkers. Smith told him to back his cutters. Unadkat dismissed Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma and Rising Pune won by three runs.”At times it has happened that Smithy has wanted me to do something, and I told him ‘No, I will do what I am good at’ and he has backed me for that. It has been a two-way communication,” Unadkat said. “At times he felt something but I felt differently and vice-versa, but we have always been on the same page.”It was also important to have the backing from Mahi as well. He has been critical at times, even when I got those wickets in the Sunrisers match. When I got hit for a six in between he came and said you cannot get hit by this batsman, you are [too] good for that. Those points keep you tight in the situation and the team has been lucky to have such leaders in the team.”The key traits that players attribute the turnaround to are professionalism and care. Aparajith said Rising Pune had started looking ahead at 2017 during the final stages of their failed campaign last year. New players were tried and at the end of the 2016 season the players were given a fitness programme to follow. “That showed their professionalism and clarity of purpose,” Aparajith said. “They knew the direction they were heading towards and they had the hunger to win.”Unadkat said Rising Pune was one of the better franchises he’s played for in terms of camaraderie. Stokes nicknamed him the “mango-shake man” for supplying drinks for the team while in Rajkot. Small gestures like these, according to Unadkat, went a long way towards bringing the players closer.”We have some good banter in the team and he [Stokes] is one guy who keeps the atmosphere light,” Unadkat said. “We became close during this period of five-six weeks when he was here. He has been very supportive and he liked what I did on the field. He still keeps wishing us well on our team chat groups and eggs us on to do better. It feels nice to know someone like him at a closer level. Same with someone like Dan [Christian], who I have known for some time.”Such a bond develops only if you have a connection with the guy, or if you feel that you are a part of the team. If you do some gestures like this [making milkshakes] – not for the sake of doing it, but from the heart – it is always heart-warming for them as well to see someone is caring for them. You give love, you get love.”Despite their qualification for the final, Rising Pune won’t exist next year. Their contract with the IPL was for two years only, but that isn’t on the players’ mind. Neither is the weight of playing in the final.”The talk has been to remain calm and composed rather than be too aggressive and get carried away,” Unadkat said. “Doing more than what we need to at times is also not good. That has been the talk in the team – to keep things simple not to worry too much about it being a Qualifier or an Eliminator. I think it has worked for us”.

AB de Villiers’ troubling lack of form has been compounded by a terse manner off the field, and confused messages on it. Something seems amiss

Firdose Moonda at Edgbaston07-Jun-20170:35

‘No concerns about de Villiers’ – Domingo

Something seems off with AB de Villiers. No, it’s not just that he hasn’t cracked a smile since the tournament began, but he hasn’t cracked on with bat in hand either.Apart from terse pre-match media engagements, which have lacked the usual joie de vivre of a de Villiers interaction, he’s also battled through brief stints at the crease and come out bloodied. De Villiers has scored just four runs in the first two matches and does not seem to have found his rhythm.Against Sri Lanka, de Villiers was early on the pull against Seekkuge Prasanna and through the shot by the time the ball reached him. He could only lob it to cover. That stroke came four balls into his innings, so he had barely given himself time to assess conditions before going for glory. Here, at Edgbaston, de Villiers did not even wait that long. He went after the first ball he faced, a wide one from Imad Wasim, a spinner he has never seen, and scooped it to point to depart for his first golden duck in 212 ODI innings. It had to happen some day, that it came today tells a wider story.Despite his protestations to the contrary, de Villiers’ recent form is worrying. He only made two scores over 40 in nine IPL appearances and has crossed fifty once in five ODIs since. He has scored ten or less in half of those 14 innings and has been dismissed by a spinner seven times, a left-arm spinner three.When Kevin Pietersen had a similar problem during his career, one of the theories was that he was playing more rash strokes against left-arm spinners because he did not trust his defenses enough. The trajectory of the ball meant that, if ever he was hit on the pad, he would be in danger of an lbw, so he had to go hard at everything. De Villiers seems to be doing something similar and has saved his blocking for the press conferences.In the week since this event began, de Villiers has taken a noticeably cooler approach to questions, especially those about the opposition and how they may threaten South Africa. Asked whether he was wary of Lasith Malinga’s comeback ahead of the opening game, de Villiers said he had “played thousands of games against him”, and expected Malinga to be “the same kind of bowler who does the same things”. Ahead of this game, referring to Pakistan’s spin quartet, de Villiers dismissed half of them as “part-time”, and said South Africa felt under “no pressure”.AB de Villiers walks off in disappointment as rain interrupts play•Getty ImagesVery quickly, that was disproved. One of the ‘part-timers’, Mohammad Hafeez, bowled a full quota of 10 overs and removed Quinton de Kock. Immediately after that, South Africa lost de Villiers and then three more wickets for 27 runs, to leave themselves 118 for 6 with more than 20 overs remaining in their innings. They dragged themselves to a reasonably respectable total but many of the old wounds were reopened.There was the lack of footwork from JP Duminy, the lack of muscle from the main men, and the lack of proper support for the one player who can hold his head high. David Miller has had the opposite run in England to de Villiers and has already made two scores of significance that suggest a coming of age for player who is converting precocious talent into something more. His 71 not out against England in Southampton came in a losing cause, chasing 331 and should have got South Africa over the line, but they choked.His unbeaten 75 here was the difference between leaving the bowlers 150 to defend and giving them 220. Without Miller, South Africa would have been embarrassed; with him they were just inadequate.And whatever the target may have been, de Villiers still has his problems in strategising the defence. His tactics still leave much to be desired, especially whenever South Africa are under pressure. After Morne Morkel’s twin dents had checked Pakistan’s runaway start, Imran Tahir and Chris Morris were pulling things back. The run-rate was under four and pressure was building.But then de Villiers brought back Wayne Parnell, whose first two overs had cost 16 runs. With rain imminent, and given Morkel’s success in his first spell, when he had struck twice in his second over, bringing back Parnell was at best hopeful, at worst an error. The fact that Morkel then struck with the second ball of his comeback over, to remove the well-set Mohammad Hafeez, rather underlined the point.After six years as ODI captain, de Villiers still does not look entirely sure of himself. While there’s nothing wrong with consultation, de Villiers’ discussions with his bowlers are lengthy and can happen after every ball, when the heat is on. At the same time, Faf du Plessis, the Test and T20 skipper, can often be seen giving instructions of his own, independent of de Villiers, which raises questions about who is really calling the shots out there, not to mention who should be.Public and expert opinion has swung towards du Plessis, who has shown himself to be the more adept decision maker but, in this format, de Villiers still carries the baton.It remains de Villiers’ dream to win a major trophy but, this time, it looks as though the stars are fading from his eyes.

Stats highlights from the second day’s play at the SSC in Colombo, where India amassed a huge total and passed milestones along the way

Bharath Seervi04-Aug-201751 – The number of Tests R Ashwin took to complete 2000 runs and 250 wickets; no one has got there quicker. Richard Hadlee took 54 Tests. Ashwin is the fourth Indian and the 15th player overall to achieve this double.6 – Number of batsmen to make 50-plus scores in India’s innings, only the second instance for India in an away Test – the other being at The Oval in 2007 – and the seventh overall.2 – Instances of six batsmen making 50-plus scores in an innings against Sri Lanka, and both times it was India.6 – Totals of 600 or more by India in Tests since December 2016. All the other teams combined have made only one such total: Australia against Pakistan in the Boxing Day Test at the MCG.3 – Instances of India making 600-plus totals in successive Tests. They had 642 and 726 for 9 against Sri Lanka in the home series in 2009-10, 631 and 759 for 7 against England in 2016-17, and 600 and 622 for 9 in this series. India’s total in this match is also the third highest by a visiting side in Sri Lanka.3 – Instances of a team’s ten partnerships adding 20 or more runs each in a Test innings. Before India at the SSC, England did it against Australia at the SCG in 1928-29, and West Indies against England in Antigua in 1985-86.516 – Runs conceded by Sri Lanka’s spinners in the first innings, the fifth highest aggregate conceded by spinners in an innings. It’s the second-highest in an innings in Sri Lanka, after the 700 runs taken off India’s spinners when Sri Lanka scored 952 at the Premadasa in 1997.

Test your knowledge on all things Women’s World Cup 2017 with our quiz

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jul-2017

Former England batsman Claire Taylor on her batting philosophy and how she brings the same commitment to playing the violin

Peter Della Penna10-Jul-20173:02

‘More proud of my pressure innings’

On the balcony of the stately Merion Cricket Club pavilion sits one of the shortest players in the MCC touring squad but one with a towering presence. She is friendly but fierce, ingratiating yet intimidating, a yin and yang fighting for spiritual balance.A short while earlier, Claire Taylor had been at the crease for the winning runs to secure another T20 victory for the MCC tourists on their way through Philadelphia last September.Her glittering international career with England ended just as the sport was on the cusp of professionalisation. Now with increasing numbers of women’s T20 leagues starting up, is she tempted into resuming a more active playing career once again?”I went down to the Surrey Stars and had a talk with them at one of their training sessions,” Taylor says. “Then I went outside with them for their training session and talked about batting and this, that and the other. Then they said Meg Lanning wasn’t coming over, and they were saying, ‘Why aren’t you playing Kia Super League? You could come and replace Meg Lanning.’ And I said, ‘Well, nobody asked me!'”Taylor is joking – sort of. Despite being on the wrong side of 40, she looks as fit and skilled as anyone in the MCC travelling party. However, she quickly finds a spike of reality to burst the fantasy thought bubble before it fully forms in her mind.”When I stopped playing cricket in 2011, that was when I wanted to stop playing,” Taylor says. “I was also struggling with injury for that last six months. So part of me doesn’t ever want to go back to that kind of pressure, where you’re having to do so much rehab work just to get yourself on the park that the cricket itself isn’t quite so enjoyable.”There was a lot for Taylor to enjoy in her 13-year international career, from 1998 to 2011. She is one of only ten female cricketers to have scored 1000 runs in Tests, and sits fifth all-time for ODI runs, behind Charlotte Edwards, Mithali Raj, Belinda Clark and Karen Rolton. She holds the England record for most ODI runs in a calendar year, ending with 807 at 42.47 in 2005.What stands out in particular was the golden year of 2009: twin World Cup and World T20 wins – with Taylor claiming Player-of-the-Tournament honours at both events – and being named ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year and the first woman to be named one of Wisden’s Five Cricketers of the Year. All of that contributed to her receiving an MBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours list for 2010.

“At The Oval, having to score at ten runs an over for 12 overs against some of the best bowlers in the world, with the best captain in the world setting fields – that doesn’t happen all that often”

Some might marvel that Taylor was able to do all of that as essentially a part-time cricketer. Earlier in her career, she was essentially a full-time cricketer – in terms of time spent training, if not monetary compensation – in an effort to achieve the best results possible, but struggled for consistency. It was only after she got back to working a “day job” alongside her cricket that she realised a single-minded pursuit had actually been doing more harm than good.”I played cricket and played for England at a time where cricket was my No. 1 priority, but I still needed to do something else because I still needed to earn some money, and I needed a challenge as well outside of cricket,” Taylor says. “I didn’t want my whole life to be consumed just by one thing. So I was in some ways looking back. I don’t know if I would have wanted to have a professional cricketing contract that meant my entire life was dependent upon cricket.”Everyone has to find their own different balance. For me, when I was at my best in 2009, I was working three to four days a week as a management consultant, and I was training three to four days a week and playing cricket, and I found that balance worked quite well. For others, that balance would be different.”Taylor’s experience goes against the notion that one must live and breathe the sport to be an all-conquering menace at the crease. India captain Mithali Raj raised a few eyebrows on the opening day of the ongoing 2017 Women’s World Cup when TV cameras caught her reading a book while waiting to bat. Taylor says she resorted to playing the violin to achieve a spiritual medium on tour. It was part of the secret recipe that helped the England women match the men to achieve a historic Ashes win in 2005, their first in the rivalry since 1963.”In 2005, I knew I had an audition for the Reading Symphony Orchestra when I got back from the tour,” Taylor says. “So we go off on tour against Australia in 2005 when the guys won the Ashes for the first time in 18 years and the women won it for the first time in 42 years. I’ve got my violin on tour with me and I’m practising and asking in the hotels if there’s a room I can use. I’m practising because I’ve got this audition in September and the tour was in July.Taylor on her way to a match-winning 76 not out against Australia in the 2009 World T20 semi-final•PA Photos/Getty Images”It was so nerve-wracking because I said to the team management, ‘I’ve got this audition. I haven’t had to audition for anything in ages. Can I take 15 minutes in a team meeting and I’ll play in front of the girls? Because I absolutely wanted to scare the life out of myself for this thing.’ So the poor England team in 2005 had to listen to me play the violin in a team meeting so I could be well prepared for this audition. They helped me out.”Getting the nerves out of her system that way may have helped her relax at the crease. In the five-match limited-overs series that followed the England Women’s 1-0 Test series win, Taylor made 82 in a two-run win and 116 in a four-wicket win chasing a target of 216.Like for any English cricketer, victories over an Australian side were especially sweet for Taylor, which is why she rates her knock in the semi-final of the 2009 Women’s World T20 as one of the best in her career. Taylor arrived in the middle in the third over, and after seven, England were 43 for 2, needing another 121.The highest successful chase in women’s T20I cricket entering that game had been by Australia against England: 152 in the second women’s T20I in 2005. England had never chased more than 118, against New Zealand in 2007. To say that the odds were stacked against Taylor and England is putting it mildly, but she describes the thrill of “challenging the unknown” as the thing she enjoyed most about cricket, and that quality propelled her that day, through what still remains the highest ever successful chase in women’s T20Is.”I enjoyed meeting the challenge,” Taylor says. She finished unbeaten on 76 off 53 balls, hitting the winning boundary with three balls to spare.”On odd occasions, you would get into a game situation where the challenge set by the opposition and the way that everyone is playing around you is just on the edge of what you think you can achieve. People talk about going out of your comfort zone. I’m not really talking about that. I’m talking about the very boundary of your skills and meeting a challenge like that.

“I get that same kind of performance buzz from my music and, in some cases, from my work that I used to get from cricket”

“So at The Oval, having to score at ten runs an over for 12 overs against some of the best bowlers in the world with the best captain in the world setting fields – that doesn’t happen all that often.”The pressure was almost freeing. All that practice I had done, hours in the nets at Guildford, chasing eight, nine, ten, 12 an over in a T20 match, and suddenly you get into that situation and you have freedom to do it, so you do it. And then for Beth [Morgan] and I, neither of us to lose our wickets and put Australia out of the World Cup, that’s a good feeling.”Many players and coaches try to simulate every possible game scenario as part of match preparation. The intensely cerebral Taylor, who graduated with a degree in mathematics from Oxford, instead focused her preparation on what she describes as an interchangeable set of parts for moments within a chase.”Yes, you do want to practise as many scenarios as you think you can get hold of, but you can never practise every scenario,” Taylor says.”So it becomes like little building blocks, and when you get into a game, it’s which bits do I need? If this is the risk profile that’s going to get me to score ten runs an over against Ellyse Perry or a spinner or whatever with this field setting, I can change that to a different bowler, different field settings, I can get the captain to change the field just by the way I play.”I think the innings at The Oval is important for a couple of reasons: my philosophy about batting, thinking about where I need to strike the ball, about moving the field around, about being really busy between the wickets. The Oval boundaries were massive. It was set up for the men’s T20 that was to follow in the afternoon. It was all about running twos, threes, but there was also the odd boundary because the pitch was brilliant. But it all comes together – how you’re going to play with the person who is at the other end, what are their strengths, what are your strengths, and how do you mix those two things.”That intoxicating feeling of scaling peaks can be hard to find in day-to-day life now that international cricket is behind Taylor. However, she sometimes gets that high through her continued pursuit of excellence with a violin in hand.Taylor shakes hands with USA’s Shebani Bhaskar•Peter Della Penna”I play in a couple of orchestras now,” she says. “I’ve replaced some of the performance anxiety and preparation and so forth that I used to have from cricket, and very much the challenge aspect, with music.”The ones I enjoy most are the ones that I have to practise hard. I get that same kind of performance buzz from my music, and in some cases from my work that I used to get from cricket.”Taylor isn’t entirely lost to cricket, though. In recent years she has served as a mentor with the England academy, and she also partakes in the odd tour with the MCC, offering advice to players in places as near as Loughborough or as far-flung as the ICC’s final frontiers: China and the USA. After captaining the MCC to the USA on their maiden women’s tour of North America last September, Taylor returned in May to captain the CanAm Women’s Team, the first all-women’s club to compete at the 25th Annual Philadelphia International Cricket Festival.Both in her international career and beyond, Taylor has modelled herself on achieving a comfortable stasis on the field and off. It’s a message she’s looking to convey to others.”If we can help them understand how they get the best out of themselves by talking to them about their cricket and putting them into different situations in the game, giving them slightly different challenges, making them think about the way they are playing or whatever, then that’s really important to me. I think then that translates outside of cricket.”I talked about a challenge, because I know that if I can find a challenge in a situation, I will perform to my best and I will learn things along the way. But other people are different. If they can start to build that framework and if it’s through cricket, great, and they make some improvements in cricket, but it’s also relevant outside of that.”