All posts by h716a5.icu

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Mar-2015Trent Boult struck in the sixth over to get rid of Imrul Kayes and leave Bangladeh at 4 for 1•Getty ImagesBut Mahmudullah rescued Bangladesh again, adding 90 runs for the third wicket with Soumya Sarkar, who struck his first ODI fifty•Getty ImagesDaniel Vettori struck in the 28th over to remove Sarkar and Bangladesh were 117 for 3•Getty ImagesShakib Al Hasan was caught behind for 23 in the first over of batting Powerplay•Getty ImagesMahmudullah, though, kept the runs coming for Bangladesh and brought up his second successive ODI and World Cup ton•Getty ImagesSabbir Rahman hammered 40 off 23 balls, as Bangladesh scored 104 in the last 10 overs and finished on 288•Getty ImagesBangladesh started with spin and Shakib Al Hasan dismissed Brendon McCullum and Kane Williamson in quick succession•Getty ImagesFrom 33 for 2, Ross Taylor and Martin Guptill scripted a recovery with a 131-run stand for the third wicket•AFPGuptill brought up his first century in over a year despite suffering from cramps. He was dismissed for 105 off 100 balls•Getty ImagesGrant Elliott made 39 off 34 balls but was dismissed in the 39th over•Getty ImagesBangladesh used the opening and dismissed Taylor for a 97-ball 56 in the 42nd over, the target was still 70 runs away•Getty ImagesCorey Anderson thumped 39 from 26 to defuse a tense situation•Getty ImagesTim Southee and Daniel Vettori struck crucial boundaries at the end to give New Zealand a three-wicket win•Getty Images

Five takeaways from a day when Mumbai’s emerging young batting star teamed with a reliable West Indian allrounder to trump Yusuf and Kolkata in the end

Devashish Fuloria in Mumbai14-May-2015The returnees ball
Gautam Gambhir pulled out a nifty move at the toss, announcing the return of Morne Morkel and Shakib Al Hasan to the XI. Both had been first-choice players at the start of the tournament but had missed out on some games for different reasons: Morkel was rested as Kolkata Knight Riders went in with a variety of spinners and Shakib made a trip home for the Pakistan series.The selections made sense on two counts. First, the race for a playoff spot had too many contenders and Knight Riders were still a win away from confirming their berth. Second, and more importantly, Lendl Simmons had to be countered early. Mumbai Indians had been a different team since the return of Simmons, who had provided them with strong starts and had totalled four half-centuries in nine innings.Morkel, unleashed on the Mumbai Indians openers, tested Simmons with a variety of deliveries but it was the bounce that made the batsman uncomfortable. Shakib, too, was brought in as early as the third over. A run of seven overs between the two not only brought three top-order wickets, they also pushed Mumbai Indians into defensive mode. Mumbai Indians were 50 for 3 after eight overs. Knight Riders 1, Mumbai Indians 0.Hardik who?
Despite the cacophony from the speakers, a quiet prevailed the moment Sunil Narine bowled Rohit Sharma with his best slow-motion impression of a Dale Steyn delivery – the ball angling in, then turning away past the outside edge to hit the top of off. Mumbai Indians were struggling on 79 for 4 in the 12th over.A few spectators, who possibly missed Hardik Pandya’s match-winning hitting in Chennai, were pinning their hopes on a Kieron Pollard fightback while wondering why Pandya was sent ahead of Harbhajan Singh.Pollard, after a slow build, hit the first ball of the 16th over over long-on. A blitz seemed imminent. It came, but not from Pollard, who played just six balls in the last four overs. Pandya dug into Umesh Yadav, hitting the bowler for four consecutive boundaries. The best of the lot was the last one, a back-foot steer behind point off a short and rising delivery that had a stamp of Rohit Sharma’s languidness. In the next over, he effortlessly flicked Narine over cow corner for a huge hit.Lean and tall, quick, visible and energetic on the field, a stud in one ear, an expressive persona that attracts the camera to him, Pandya has the makings of another IPL star if he can keep that long handle going.Pathan Power
The giant screen inside the Wankhede Stadium flashed ‘Pathan Power’ as Yusuf Pathan smashed a half-volley from Lasith Malinga over midwicket with a brutal hit in the 19th over. That shot brought up Yusuf’s first half-century this season and only his third for Knight Riders. Fair to say those are poor numbers, but Gambhir has always backed Yusuf.Yusuf’s game at times seems limited, even for Twenty20s. He can hit half-volleys a long way but bowlers are smart enough to not feed him with those. Mumbai Indians, however, were guilty of serving him a fair few, helping the batsman find his groove. Despite losing wickets from the other end, Knight Riders would have felt confident before the last over because of Yusuf’s ultra-calm exterior.Pollard, the Mumbai man
Halfway through the chase, Knight Riders were in complete control. Mumbai Indians were being made to run around by Shakib’s pulls. The deafening screams of “Mumbaaai, Mumbai” had also died down after the 10 pm curfew. Enter Pollard. Fielding at long-on, he took it upon himself to get the crowd fired up by asking them to get behind the team.At the second strategic break, right after Andre Russell’s dismissal, Ricky Ponting was at the centre, passing on instructions to the old boys, Harbhajan Singh and Rohit Sharma. Later, Rohit said it had been decided then that if it came to it, Pollard would be the one to bowl the last over.Pollard connects with the Wankhede crowd, perhaps better than anyone else in the team. He has delivered numerous knockout punches on this ground in the past. It may not have come with the bat today, so it had to be with the ball.Others had missed it, but Pollard had not. He bowled it short, he bowled it slow and Yusuf was gone. Then a series of slower balls and Mumbai Indians were back in the play-off race.The cost of a thriller
Mumbai Indians’ fans get behind their team like no other group. They buy flags and t-shirts from the pavements outside the ground from kids not yet affiliated with Education for All, Mumbai Indians’ corporate social responsibility programme. They pay exorbitant prices for seats that leave you with a back pain because they are small and upright. The ones who want to be closest to the field pay even more but get sat behind metal meshing, always squeezing through to get a good view, but it’s probably meant to let them not miss their rush hour local train ride too much. The toilets may be leaky and the stink unbearable, but hey, isn’t the whole of Mumbai a stink-hole? They all come here for the loud music anyway. The crumbling staircases leading in and out of the premier venue just four years removed from renovations for the World Cup are possible deathtraps, but what’s a little slip when you get to see your team, blindingly blue and shiny gold, win a thriller.

P.S. Sachin Tendulkar still rules the Wankhede. As the camera focused on Amitabh Bachhan, the actor, being interviewed on the sidelines, out went a roar. But the moment it moved to the tiny man standing next to the tall actor, it rose to deafening levels. “Saaachin, Sachin,” still echoes.

Dale Steyn sported a headband in the Test series against Bangladesh. Who’s your favourite bowler with a headband?

31-Jul-2015

Saurashtra stalwart Shitanshu Kotak on his image as a stonewaller, initiation into first-class cricket and conquering the mighty Bombay attack of the 1990s

As told to Sidharth Monga14-Oct-2015I remember the journey to my first match more vividly than my Ranji Trophy debut. Ranji Trophy was the thing then. Of course the ultimate achievement was to play for India, but Ranji was the big step up from limited-overs and Under-19 cricket.In 1992, though, I had had a bumper Under-19 season. We won four zonal matches, and I scored 400 runs in them. We used to get more matches only if we qualified for the next round, and for the first time, Saurashtra Under-19 had qualified.I might have scored runs in Under-19, but I was still not being allowed to bat higher than No. 7 in the inter-district matches. In the final, though, I got my opportunity. Rajkot had to bat an awkward half an hour before stumps. We lost two wickets in two overs, and there was a sense of panic in the dressing room. A senior asked me to pad up. I was not quite the nightwatchman but for the seniors I was doing precisely that job. I somehow managed to survive that evening, and refused to get out the next day.Now that I had scored 140 in the districts final they were forced to pick me in the Ranji squad at least. I think Niranjan Shah – the president and patriarch of Saurashtra Cricket Association – had a role to play in it. After that districts final he came up to me, congratulated me, and told me my performances weren’t going unnoticed.It was not easy breaking into that Saurashtra squad as a specialist batsman. We had Nilesh Odedra, Sudhir Tanna, Bimal Jadeja, Atul Pandya and Brij Dutta. The other reason why it was difficult to break in was the zonal system. We used to get only four matches. If we wanted to play more, we had to qualify to the Super League. We were a weak team, and hardly used to qualify.Two matches came and went, but I was nowhere near making my debut. The third one was against the much-feared Bombay. In the lead-up to the match I was taken aside and told, “Look we have some issues with openers. We might give you a chance to open the innings this match. They have Salil Ankola, Abey Kuruvilla and Raju Kulkarni. Only one zonal match is left, and we have no chance of qualifying for the Super League. So now if you fail and get dropped, we don’t want you to go around blaming us for making you open. We are not forcing you to open.”I didn’t think twice. I said I will open. Luckily, on the eve of the match, Brij Dutta came down with typhoid and they didn’t shuffle with the openers. They asked me to bat at No. 5, and I was relieved. I was now going to play for Saurashtra. On my scooter I lugged the kit and reached Rajkot Municipal Ground – formally known as Madhavrao Scindia Cricket Ground – and got ready for the match. Bombay didn’t play Kuruvilla. We won the toss, elected to bat on a flat pitch, but Ankola and Sanjay Patil had us down at 26 for 3 in no time. It would become 35 for 4 soon, but before that I got my first taste of first-class cricket.I clearly remember the first ball I faced was from Ankola. It was outside off, and I let it go. Now I was an awkward batsman. Over my career I earned the reputation for being a dour batsman who played at very few deliveries. The only catch was, I was strong off the pads. The second ball, Ankola tried to bowl straight at the stumps. It is a blur now. I brought down the bat, and closed the face. And the ball absolutely flew to fine leg for four. I had played some pace bowling until then, but I realised then that this was serious cricket.I played cautiously, saw Ankola off, and scored 76, although that was not enough to give us a lead. However, I couldn’t be dropped for the next match. It began a string of seven consecutive Ranji matches in which I scored at least fifty in at least one innings of the match. It was in my eighth match, two years later, against Maharashtra, that I failed to score even one fifty, getting out for 28 and 24. Two matches later, against Baroda, I scored my first century.

Irking the Australians, swinging out the English, and a sprinkling of batting records. ESPNcricinfo recounts 10 fine performances from Zaheer Khan’s celebrated India career

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Oct-2015India take the fast lane, finally
October 2000: Zaheer Khan bursts onto the international scene with a searing but smart spell of fast bowling in a famous victory against Australia in the ICC KnockOut. He outwits batsmen with inch-perfect yorkers – including a ball to the usually unflappable Steve Waugh that becomes part of Indian cricket folklore – and, alongside the other new boy Yuvraj Singh, puts India into the semis.Can he bat too?
December 2000: Zaheer exhibits his big-hitting ability early in his career against Zimbabwe as he wallops a 11-ball 32 from No. 10, which includes four sixes in the 50th over off Henry Olonga.Teaming up with Venky
August 2001: Combines with Venkatesh Prasad to bowl Sri Lanka out for 221 in the second innings of the second Test in Kandy, paving the way for a series-levelling victory. He picks up seven wickets in the match overall, early signs of the influence he would have on responsive overseas Test tracks.It was payback time for India’s torrid preceding tour of New Zealand at World Cup 2003•Getty ImagesNew Zealand duck out of the World Cup
March 2003: Delivers a hostile spell of swing bowling to eliminate New Zealand from the 2003 World Cup in Centurion, his victims including Craig McMillan and Nathan Astle, both for ducks in the first over of the game. New Zealand don’t recover from the early assault and India progress to the semi-finals.Making Australia hop
December 2003: After a difficult first day on tour down in Australia, Zaheer leads India’s fightback. The hosts go from 262 for 2 to 323 all out in Brisbane as Zaheer runs through the middle order on his way to a third Test five-for, and the pace is set for a compelling series.Set a record with the bat? Check•FARJANA K. GODHULY/Getty ImagesYes, he can bat
December 2004: Zaheer walks in with the score at 393 for 9, with Sachin Tendulkar on 191 at the other end in Dhaka. The score reads 526 when he is out, with Tendulkar on 248 and himself on 75. He sticks around to see Tendulkar past his double-century and then has some fun, striking 10 fours and two sixes in his knock – at the time, the highest score by a No. 11, and his 133-run stand with Tendulkar, the second-highest 10th-wicket stand in Tests.Turning England to jelly
July 2007: In Nottingham, he produces a masterclass in swing bowling to give India just their fifth Test win in England, and an eventually decisive series lead. Zaheer shows that he can keep his head amid distractions too – his second-innings five-for follows the infamous jelly bean incident – and his match haul of 48-15-134-9 earns him the Man of the Match in one of India’s most celebrated victories.Giving it back to Australia
October 2008: Zaheer gets the better of Matthew Hayden in in Bangalore, dismissing him twice, including a duck in the first over of the game. He is not done with Australia, or Hayden. He frustrates the visitors further with an unbeaten fifty and, after the game is drawn, irks them even more by declaring in the media that “Australia can’t take 20 wickets”. In the following game he shows India can, claiming three wickets in four balls on the final morning to secure a 320-run win before attending a hearing with the match referee for his send off to – who else but – Hayden.When Zaheer had the better of Haydos…•Getty ImagesA bag of tricks in Durban
Durban 2010: Who said you need tearaway pace to succeed? Zaheer, over a career plagued by injury, showed cricketing nous will do, too. In Durban, he boggles South African minds with variety, getting the ball to angle in and deviate away time and again. Zaheer claims the wickets of both openers, Graeme Smith and Alviro Petersen, as well as that of Ashwell Prince to ensure India’s first-innings score of 205 is more than enough for them to register an elusive victory on South African soil.On top of the world
World Cup 2011: A tournament Zaheer tags his ”greatest cricketing moment”. He finishes its joint-highest wicket taker with 21 wickets at an average of 18.76. Among his several exploits, he scripts a stunning turnaround in a stunning game in Bangalore: England are cruising towards the target of 339 at 281 for 2 in the 43rd, when Zaheer triggers a slide by taking out both the set batsmen in two balls – including one of those searing, swinging yorkers to get centurion Andrew Strauss lbw. The result? India hold on for a tie.

New Zealand were made to labour for their wickets throughout the Test, so in many ways it fit that a man such as Neil Wagner made the pivotal play on day five

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dunedin14-Dec-2015″Workhorse” is how Brendon McCullum described Neil Wagner before the Test. New Zealand then strapped four seamers to their plough on a generally lifeless Dunedin surface, but each quick had his specific role. Tim Southee and Trent Boult are the shiny-coated thoroughbreds, operating from sleek run-ups and liquid velvet bowling actions. In comparison, Wagner is one of those plodding, thick-set horses with fur around their ankles and a perpetually morose expression. He was left in the stable during New Zealand’s recent tour of Australia. This may partially explain the morose look. He also lives in Dunedin.On the fifth morning, when Sri Lanka began to surge – Dinesh Chandimal slap-happy behind point, Angelo Mathews turning the strike over – Wagner began to till a furrow on leg stump. In his second over of the day, a short one at Mathews’ throat was ducked under. The next one took the shoulder of the bat and whistled by leg gully for four.It was having got the batsman fearful of two close catchers on the legside that Wagner slipped in the surprise. Mathews attempted to pad away the full, swinging delivery next over, and wound up granting safe passage to the ball, through the arch of his splayed legs. He would later say the ball hit his pad and simply “rolled” into the woodwork. This is like saying the Titanic merely brushed the iceberg; that Poland had just been tickled by the Nazis. The only things actually rolling was middle stump, which had been uprooted, and maybe fans watching the dismissal, splitting their sides.”I thought it was beautifully set up,” Brendon McCullum later said of that breakthrough. “It was a sustained period when Wags was trying to go in around the rib cage, to try and get Angelo off the ball. Angelo’s such a world-class player, you can’t just run in and try and hit off top of off stump to him because he’s so adaptable and he’s got such a strong defence as well.”It was a plan we wanted play out, and when he started walking across his stumps a little bit, Wags decided that at some stage he was going to try and bowl the miracle ball to hit the base of leg stump. In the end it split his defence.”After that breakthrough, Wagner’s furrow grew to a channel, then a river, which Sri Lanka were washed out to sea in. Wagner helped muzzle Dinesh Chandimal, before he was out at the other end, padding away a delivery from Mitchell Santner. Kithuruwan Vithanage chanced his blade for 38 balls, but was gone before lunch. Boult came back to knock out a feisty Sri Lanka lower order, yet it had been Wagner who unlocked the victory.New Zealand were made to labour for their wickets throughout the Test, so in many ways it fit that a man such as Wagner made the pivotal play on day five. In all, they bowled 212.3 overs in the Test, without a specialist spinner. The new-ball bowlers swung it a little, but Doug Bracewell delivered economy, and Wagner nearly bowled himself into his hometown dirt. The effort was collective. Southee picked up New Zealand’s best figures in the innings, with 3 for 52, but to find a less impressive “best analysis” for a New Zealand bowler in wins, you would have to go back to 2009.”I thought Doug bowled absolutely brilliantly throughout the test match and all through Australia as well,” McCullum said, of Bracewell, who also had two catches spilt. “He just hasn’t got the rewards at the moment, but I’m sure he will get them soon.”In their last home series, also against Sri Lanka, New Zealand’s big-name players dominated. McCullum plundered 195, Boult and Southee scythed through the top order, and Williamson finished with the series’ highest score. In this Test, the hosts’ lower profile players have made critical contributions. Mathews is the owner of one of the world’s best defensive techniques, but on day five, the workhorse brought down the barn door.

The quality of cricket was high, the noise levels in the ground were high. The only downer was the struggle to get into the stadium

Hamza Khan24-Feb-2016Choice of game
Watching the PSL final live with friends was a no-brainer.Predicting the winner of the final was difficult as Quetta Gladiators (the best team in the PSL) was facing a very strong and resurgent Islamabad United side that had won four games on the trot including two eliminators. I predicted that Quetta will achieve a narrow win. As it happened, Islamabad won comfortably.Team supported
Ever since they released their official team song (the best in my opinion out of all PSL teams) and the choice of captain, my support was firmly with Quetta, reinforced after their unexpected and strong win on the opening day of the PSL. Hence I was doubly delighted to see my team in the final.Key performer
Brad Haddin to me was the most influential player, and deserved to share the Man-of-the-Match award with Dwayne Smith. Although the West Indian scored more runs, I feel it was Haddin’s presence at No. 3, and his complete calm and assurance at playing pace and spin that created an illusion of no pressure. In addition, after Smith’s dismissal when the game could have potentially turned, Haddin hung in till the end to close off the game.One thing you’d have changed about the day
I would have bowled Zulfiqar Babar in the Powerplay instead of Nathan McCullum during Islamabad’s chase. Babar had done brilliantly in the first six overs throughout the tournament, and I felt Babar was both more aggressive and a more skillful option. Also, I can’t resist watching his twirling arms.The face-off you relished
The biggest face-off in the match was the battle of captaincy between the old warhorse Misbah and the emerging leader in Sarfaraz. Some people in Pakistan are backing Sarfaraz for a leadership role, including me, and were relishing this contest. Although Sarfaraz had already beaten Misbah twice in the tournament, you felt the winner of the final would be the real victor. Sarfaraz lost it this time.The inclusion of Mohammad Sami in the World T20 and Asia Cup squads had given real context to his battle with KP and Sanga. I wanted to assess how Sami would respond when bowling in pressure and against great batsmen. Sanga was the clear winner.Plenty of fireworks lit up the start of the PSL final•Chris WhiteoakWow moment
A guy had brought an African djembe to the match and I borrowed it from him to play. Pakistanis love dancing to their respective cultural beats, and as I started playing the drums, hundreds of people around me in the lower stands joined in the fun, clapping, singing, shouting and dancing. It went on for over an hour and it was incredible fun, and a great joy to see people from all cultures and backgrounds join in the celebrations of an incredible tournament and two fantastic teams!Shot of the day
Ahmed Shehzad’s flick off his legs over square leg for 6. Sami was bowling fast and the ease with which Shehzad picked him up over square leg was breath-taking. A split second before the crowd started to celebrate, there was a discernible murmur oh ‘Ohh’ – the crowd was equally impressed. To add to the majesty of the shot, Shehzad held his pose for a second.Crowd meter
Overall Quetta had more support, but not overwhelmingly so. Tickets were already sold out about three days before the final. About an hour into the match, the stadium was completely full and it was difficult to find seats once you left yours. The noise was deafening and I went home with a sore throat. Mexican waves had been a regular feature throughout the tournament and it was the first time I had the chance to be a part of a Mexican wave – we had four consecutive 360 degree Mexican waves at one point in time.The biggest cheers were reserved for Afridi and Darren Sammy. Yes, they were not part of the match, but their mere presence in the VIP stands being broadcast on the big screens at the stadium was enough to get the crowd into a frenzy. Afridi’s supporters in particular, easily beat the crazy levels of his detractors.Inflatables and stuffed toy obsessions
And then there is the stuffed toy obsession with Pakistani men in UAE stadiums that just fascinates me. And not just standard sized, those toys are always huge. Varieties on display today were teddy bears, tigers and sea lions.Fancy-dress index
There were many Quetta supporters with gladiator masks on, a successful merchandising idea. It is also impossible to go to a Pakistani game without seeing one of its beloved ‘chachas’; three of them were present today. The most entertaining is the newest ‘chacha’ in Pakistan cricket, the guy in his green outfit and yellow headgear, tossing his long hair from side to side as part of his Pushto dance routine! Hard to believe, but there were V for Vendetta masks as well.However the most smartly dressed were the PSL’s commentary team, all showing up in traditional Pakistani dresses. Pat Symcox looked the best.Entertainment
For each small milestone, the PA blared out the relevant team’s official songs. During over breaks and timeouts, many of the famous Punjabi numbers and Coke Studio hits were also played. I personally am not a huge fan of constant music during a match though. The PA kept prompting the crowd to do something or the other, the highlight being when they were asked to whistle; for about 15 seconds, the stadium was filled with extremely shrill whistles.ODI v Twenty20?
ODIs. I prefer context, narratives and time for stories to build within a game. Although Twenty20 is proper thrill-a-minute format, it just doesn’t give you that time. Hence I’ve watched more Tests in stadiums than ODIs or T20s.Overall
The quality of cricket was really high. Quetta made a good score, and yet there were pockets of some high-class bowling. So while you could marvel at Sanga’s silken class and Dwayne Smith’s brutality, you could still appreciate the steep bounce and seam of Irfan or the guile on display from Mohammad Nawaz. The fielding however, was below par, even though the standard of fielding has been very impressive throughout the tournament. Watching a tournament final in a full-house was a privilege.Marks out of 10
Eight out of 10. Could have been 10 if Quetta had won, or if the management of ticketing and security was a little more organised. Although the experience within the stadium was fantastic, getting into the stadium remains a big hassle in Dubai, and is a mood destroyer.

Virat Kohli hit his first T20 century after a long wait. Here’s a look at the players who have scored the most T20 runs without a century

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Apr-2016Kieron Pollard
Runs: 5948 Innings: 272 High score: 89*•BCCIOwais Shah
Runs: 5509 Innings: 217 High score: 84•PA PhotosGautam Gambhir
Runs: 5107 Innings: 196 High score: 93•BCCIJP Duminy
Runs: 5002 Innings: 191 High score: 99*•AFP

Suddenly Yorkshire are confident in white-ball cricket but it was not always that way. The change over the past few weeks has been dramatic

Paul Edwards19-Aug-2016Suddenly Yorkshire are the masters of white-ball cricket. Alex Lees and his players will arrive at Edgbaston for Finals Day in the NatWest Blast expecting to do well and, to add to their pleasure, there is also a 50-over semi-final against Surrey in prospect.But it was not always this way. Just two months ago Yorkshire’s best chance of getting points in the NatWest T20 Blast seemed to be an abandonment. So how has the team that was regularly beaten turned into the team to beat? What has changed?Having won five of 14 games and finished next to bottom of the North Group in 2015, Yorkshire had won none of their first five matches this year (although two were abandoned) and seemed to have little chance of qualifying for the quarter-finals.Then they played Derbyshire at Headingley on June 19 and, when rain swept across the ground, their nine-over score gave them a grimy one-run Duckworth-Lewis victory. That was the first of seven wins Yorkshire were to record in this year’s Blast and, following last Thursday’s demolition of Glamorgan at Cardiff, they will arriving at Edgbaston on Saturday in confident mood.”I think most people were writing us off but we had that self-belief that if we got one win, we would get on a roll and do well,” said the T20 skipper, Lees. “As a team we’ve bought into the ideology of backing yourself and backing your team-mate. The key is to do the same thing when things are not going so well.”We sat down and had a couple of chats and said that we knew we were better than the way we had performed. We’ve been poor since 2012. We’ve done it as a team, as a collective, and that’s our blue print.”All of which is fine, of course, but rather similar things might have been said by any skipper whose county was playing pretty dismal short-form cricket. And yes, T20 is a game of frustratingly daft narrow margins. The key is to ensure that, far more often than not, you end up on the right side of them. The reasons go deeper than that.Let’s go back to that game against Derbyshire because it was important for more than just the result. The game saw the return to Yorkshire’s T20 team of Adam Lyth, whose confidence had received a fillip when he had hit successive 50-over hundreds against Northamptonshire and Lancashire a few days previously. Lyth blasted 30 off 16 balls, hitting three fours and a couple of sixes. Muck or nettles, he has carried on blasting ever since.But the match against Derbyshire also saw the return to Yorkshire’s T20 side of Azeem Rafiq, who had been released a couple of years earlier, yet whose form has been such since his re-engagement that he has been awarded his first-team cap. Rafiq is currently bowling his short-form overs at 6.9 runs apiece and he has taken 13 wickets, making him second only to Adil Rashid and Tim Bresnan in Yorkshire’s list of successful T20 bowlers this season.

“There’s never just one voice in our dressing room. There are 11 players who voice their opinion and that’s the Yorkshire way”Yorkshire’s T20 captain, Alex Lees

“Azeem was a revelation for us, particularly in those middle overs with Adil,” Lees said. “He gives you consistency. His bowling has made my job a lot easier. I was assured he’d be back at some point in the next few years but I didn’t know in what capacity and now he’s been rewarded with his first-team cap.”And the biggest thing for Adam is that he’s been backed. There is a carefree attitude that we’re going to go out and have a good time. The same thing can be said of David Willey, who didn’t get the runs he would have liked early in the season.”There is a sense in all this that Yorkshire’s cricketers have taken the brakes off in T20 cricket. Those brakes may not have been applied at all times in all games but they do not need to be. You only need to have four bad overs in the short-form stuff and it’s Goodnight, Vienna.Perhaps something of this approach was communicated to Lyth and his players by Kane Williamson, the New Zealand leader to whose team talks Rafiq has paid particular tribute.”There’s never just one voice in our dressing room,” said Lees. “There are 11 players who voice their opinion and that’s the Yorkshire way in all our cricket. Kane came in at the right time, he was a great character to have around the dressing room and he gave us a bit of direction as to the way we should go, particularly when we were unsure.”Kane give us that calmness as well as his own view. We got on a roll when no one believed we should be at a Finals Day and here we are.”The results of any change of attitude have been different with each player but they have been particularly evident with two cricketers at very different stages of their career. Jack Leaning has found that hitting sixes is something he can do on a regular basis while Bresnan is suddenly mixing up his deliveries like a drunken postman.”Jack’s gone from nudging and nurdling it around to whacking it out of the park,” said Lees. “He’s found his method in white-ball cricket and that can only come from confidence and he’s now very confident in that format.”Tim is experienced and he probably looked at how he went last year and just adapted things a little bit. May be he has mixed it up a little bit. This year it seems he’s bowling tight and he was exceptional in the game at Cardiff but in his own words his first ball was ‘a pie’ and he got a wicket with it. Last year, it would have gone out of the ground.”Liam Plunkett has been some rapid spells, proof that simple, searing pace has a home in Twenty20 and Lees himself, in his first season as a youthful captain, has worked on his own game well enough to enter Finals Day as Yorkshire’s leading run-scorer.Some would argue that Yorkshire are the form horses at this year’s Finals Day and they will be boosted by the availability of Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow et al. Whatever else, they will play without fear and with a brio that was absent in the grim days of May and early June. It has been some transformation but at Edgbaston it will receive its most searching test.

Stats highlights from Pakistan’s ten-wicket win at The Oval

S Rajesh14-Aug-20165-3 Pakistan’s win-loss Test record at The Oval. It is the only venue in England where Pakistan have won more Tests than they have lost. In their last seven Tests here they have won four and drawn two; the only defeat was the forfeiture in 2006. The five wins by Pakistan here is also the most Tests they have won at any away venue.4 Defeats for England, from the last seven Tests they have played at The Oval, since 2010. They have lost twice to Pakistan, and once each to South Africa and Australia. Their win-loss ratio here is the poorest among all home venues during this period.6 Number of consecutive home series of four or more Tests that England had won, before this 2-2 draw against Pakistan. They won three Ashes series (2009, 2013 and 2015), two series against India (2011 and 2014) and one against Pakistan (2010) since the 1-2 defeat to South Africa in 2008. Between 2004 and 2015, England won ten out of 11 home series of four or more Tests.1998 The last time a spinner took a five-wicket haul conceding fewer than 100 runs at The Oval, before Yasir Shah’s 5 for 71 in England’s second innings: Muttiah Muralitharan took 9 for 65 in England’s second innings in 1998. Yasir’s haul was also the first five-for by an overseas spinner at The Oval in more than a decade: the last one was by Shane Warne, who took 6 for 122 and 6 for 124 in the two innings of the 2005 Ashes Test. The last five-for by any spinner was Graeme Swann’s 6 for 106 against India in 2011. Six of the last eight five-fors by spinners at The Oval have been by wristspinners, including two by Muralitharan in 1998.992 Runs scored by Jonny Bairstow in Tests in 2016, the second highest by a wicketkeeper in a calendar year. The only higher aggregate was by Andy Flower in 2000, when he scored 1045 runs from nine Tests at 80.38.140 Runs scored by Moeen Ali, the second highest by any No. 7 batsman in a Test against Pakistan. The highest was also by Moeen a week ago, when he scored 149 runs (63 and 86 not out) in the previous Test at Edgbaston.1 Pakistan’s rank in the ICC Test ratings, if Australia don’t win the ongoing Test against Sri Lanka. However, India can go past them if they beat West Indies in the fourth Test and win the series 3-0.