All posts by n8rngtd.top

Martin Donnelly’s brief Test career was interrupted by World War II but he shone nevertheless

Paul Edwards09-Jun-2020If you were to seek solace in these strange days by going for a walk in the Parks at Oxford you might notice that a few of the benches around the cricket ground have been placed there in memory of former Blues. One has been dedicated to Martin Donnelly but even were you reasonably well-versed in the game you might still not be able to name his achievements with much precision. And you would not be alone. Among the hundreds of lists compiled in these cricketless months, one table sought to rank the finest left-handed batsmen in history. It is a ticklish task given that the candidates include Lara, Sobers, Pollock and Clive Lloyd. Pardonably perhaps, no one mentioned Donnelly. Who would have thought that in those joyous post-war summers of abundance and shortage he was reckoned the finest leftie in the world?Please take your walk again. It is a May morning in 1946. Oxford are batting against Lancashire, who will become one of Donnelly’s favourite opponents. Suddenly the university lose their second wicket and he strides from the pavilion wearing the lucky multi-coloured cap he picked up in a Cairo bazaar during the war. Before long the ground will be ringed with spectators. A few tutorials have been hastily postponed but this, it turns out, has been to the perfect satisfaction of both parties, for undergraduates soon notice that dons are also watching the cricket. One of the latter may be JC Masterman, the Provost of Worcester; he helped arrange Donnelly’s two-year stay at Oxford, where he is reading Modern History at Masterman’s college. The Parks may not be thronged like this again until the mid-1970s when Imran Khan is in residence and the proximity of two all-women colleges helps to increase the number of spectators watching the cricket or something. Now, though, Dick Pollard drops a shade short and Donnelly square-cuts him for four. The undergraduates settle into their seats and some wonder if they can fit in a lunchtime pint at The Lamb and Flag.ALSO READ: Odd Men In – Alan Richardson“Bare figures can give no idea of the electric atmosphere in the Parks when that short, sturdy figure went out to bat,” wrote Geoffrey Bolton. “A lucky spectator might have half an hour to spare between lectures… In that half-hour he might well see Donnelly hit nine boundaries, each from a different stroke… If Oxford were fielding the spectator’s eyes would turn to cover point.”The students were watching Donnelly at close to the peak of his powers. Within four years he had all but retired from the first-class game and moved to Australia to become Cortaulds’ sales and marketing manager in that country. He joined the Coventry-based firm on going down from Oxford and they allowed him to play for Warwickshire in 1948 and to join the New Zealand tour the following summer. But by 1950 Donnelly was 32 and had decided to make a career in business. He played his last County Championship match at the Cortaulds Ground in early July. For something like five years he had flamed across the English game and now he was gone. “It was as if all his own cricket had been a student pastime, a youthful wheeze not worth mentioning any more,” wrote Frank Keating.The promise, however, had been clear since the early 1930s when Donnelly was a pupil at New Plymouth Boys High School in the North Island. At that stage it was unclear whether cricket or tennis would be his major summer sport but a letter he received from Australia in 1933 may have settled matters. “Dear Martin,” it read, “Having heard that you were a very keen little cricket enthusiast, I thought I would write and encourage you into even greater deeds. New Zealanders love the game as much as we do, and I am looking forward to seeing your name among their champions in the future.” The 15-year-old Donnelly kept that letter from Don Bradman under his pillow. Less than four years later he was selected for New Zealand’s tour of England, the decision to include him in the party being made on the strength of his innings of 22 and 38 and some brilliant fielding in a Plunket Shield game for Wellington against Auckland. It was his first-class debut.Donnelly was 19 when he arrived in the country where he would play all seven of his Test matches and make all but two of his 23 first-class centuries. His height had long earned him the nickname “Squib” but his maiden hundred against Surrey revealed a different type of stature and announced that he was “decidedly a ‘star’ in the making”. He managed 120 runs in the three matches against England and although New Zealand lost the series 1-0, Donnelly’s innings were already crafted as occasion required. He was beyond promising. All the same, he began his Test career with a duck at Lord’s, an indignity he shared with one of England’s debutants, Leonard Hutton. In view of the innings he played on the ground after the war, Donnelly probably viewed that nought with a wry smile. And on the way back to New Zealand he was able to thank Bradman for his earlier letter when the tourists played at Adelaide. It would be one of only two first-class games Donnelly would play in Australia.

He had certain similarities with Bradman: the build, the hawk-eye, the forcing stroke square of the wicket on the leg side, the determination to establish a psychological supremacy over the bowler. But Donnelly did not share Bradman’s passion to get outAlan Gibson on Martin Donnelly

He returned home having scored 1414 first-class runs in his first English summer yet it was by no means clear how his cricket career would develop. He read for a BA degree at Canterbury University and transferred his allegiance to the province for the 1938-39 season. But he played only six Plunket Shield games for his new team before being commissioned in 1941 and posted first to Cairo, where Major Donnelly commanded a squadron of tanks and was a star of the Gezira Club. Having later served in Italy he returned to England in 1945 to represent New Zealand Services during a four-month tour that would take them from village greens to the Test grounds. None of the players minded and all the spectators were grateful. Though the war against Japan continued until August, cricket seemed as good as way as any of celebrating peace in Europe, even if The Oval still looked more like the POW camp it had recently been. Austerity and even the Iron Curtain were problems for other years. Donnelly was 27 and had played just 41 first-class matches.In late August he represented the Dominions against England at Lord’s. It was a three-day match which featured two centuries by Wally Hammond, ten wickets for Doug Wright and an extraordinary innings of 185 in 168 minutes by Keith Miller. described it as “one of the finest games ever seen”. Donnelly made 133 in ten minutes over three hours and although overshadowed by Miller’s extraordinary hitting on the final morning, that century had been as clear a proclamation of talent as anyone could desire. Denzil Batchelor was clearly sold: “You sat and rejoiced, hugging the memories to your heart and gradually letting the dazzle fade out of your eyes.”Over the next four years there would be at least three more such occasions, all of them at Lord’s. At Oxford, strong county elevens found a mature batsman of international class waiting for them when they arrived to take on the undergraduates. Journalists returning late from the war hurried to the Parks to see what the fuss was about, only to find it was not a fuss at all, but the real thing. Given his fame, it would have been easy for Oxford’s best cricketer to trade on his status and become something of a star but after Donnelly’s death in 1999, Professor Douglas Johnson, a contemporary at Worcester, penned an addition to the obituary in the :”In college, Martin was universally liked. He was a quiet, modest man who was interested in the same things as the rest of us. At a college society meeting he talked about folk-music and folk-songs. He was not too grand for college games, and, if he was available, he would play in the college teams for cricket and rugby, at a time when they were far from strong. In one such match he hit five sixes in one over, against a visiting team that had not expected to encounter a Test batsman.”Donnelly made six centuries for his university in 1946, including 142 in front of 8000 spectators in the Varsity Match at Lord’s. The following season there were four more hundreds and a three-hour 162 not out for the Gentleman against the Players. Hubert Preston’s account of that innings in Wisden suggests why Donnelly was one of the Almanack’s cricketers of the year: “Apart from a chance to slip off [Doug] Wright when 39, he played practically faultless cricket and hit twenty-six 4’s, his punishment of any ball not a perfect length being severe and certain; he excelled with off-drives; hooked or cut anything short.”Yet however glittering his talent, cricket was always an amateur pursuit for Donnelly. Perhaps that was one reason why he struggled in 1948, his one full season for Warwickshire. He certainly found Bradman’s Australians no more vincible than anyone else had: his eight innings for four different teams produced an aggregate of only 116 runs with a best score of 36 at Scarborough. That letter of encouragement had become a fond memento of another time.Martin Donnelly batting in the nets on New Zealand’s 1949 tour•Hulton Archive/Getty ImagesBut one reason why Donnelly had played cricket during his first year with Cortaulds was in the hope he might be selected for the New Zealand tour in 1949. Despite a degree of opposition in a homeland where he had not played for nearly a decade, he achieved his aim and that trip would become his glorious farewell to the game’s great occasions. While his fellow tourists may have been met by a team-mate who spoke with an English accent when they arrived in April 1949, they also found a cricketer determined to prove that New Zealand should no longer be fobbed off with three-day Tests while Australians were granted five-day fixtures.Donnelly made 2287 first-class runs in his last full summer of cricket. The tally included four centuries and the first double-hundred made by a New Zealander in Test matches. That was scored at Lord’s, of course, and it took him five minutes short of six hours. The final stages of Donnelly’s last great innings, which was completed on a Monday morning of dry London heat, were described by Alan Mitchell, the correspondent who travelled with the team on their tour:”His pulling was bloodthirsty, coldly calculated, executed with both strength of wrist and perfect timing and balance, and a graceful swinging body. His off-driving was full of weight and his newly perfected late cutting a thing of joy and a suppleness of wrist that D’Artagnan could have admired. Bailey pounded up to the stumps, dragging a foot and spurting dust, only to be battered and in one over alone, hit for 12; Hollies lowered his trajectory and added speed to his spin, only to be cut or driven straight.; Gladwin glistened but with mere perspiration and the new ball lost its shine; Young was pulled and cut. The Don was alive in Donnelly.”Perhaps so but Mitchell also knew his comparison was momentary; Bradman’s statistics belonged in a category of their own. As Alan Gibson reflected in 1964: “He [Donnelly] had certain similarities with Bradman: the build, the hawk-eye, the forcing stroke square of the wicket on the leg side, the determination to establish a psychological supremacy over the bowler as soon as possible. But Donnelly did not share Bradman’s passion to get out.” Then again, it is difficult to imagine the Don singing folk-songs.New Zealand drew all four of the Tests in 1949 and Donnelly made 462 runs from No. 5 in their batting order. By now the best cricket writers of the day were searching carefully for appropriate references and ransacking their store of metaphors. As ever, RC Robertson-Glasgow found the words for the moment: “It is a position where the player must be equally able and ready to arrest a decline or to blaze an attack, to be Fabius or Jehu at need and in turn. In this exacting role Donnelly went from triumph to triumph. He was, as it were, both the gum and the glitter; and he carried his burden like a banner.”After his retirement Donnelly spoke about his own cricket only to those who made a point of asking about it. He made a new career in Australia and set about the serious business of raising three sons and a daughter. Occasionally, though, the past would be revived. There were reunion dinners and in 1990 he was elevated to the New Zealand Sports Hall of Fame “They said he had everything as a Test batsman,” read the citation, “Style and grace, confidence and determination, success and modesty.”Yet still you would be forgiven if you did not quite understand Donnelly’s place in the history of cricket in two countries. Perhaps you needed to live through those post-war years to understand their mixture of relief and guilt, exultation and grief, responsibility and abandon. Peace levies its own tariffs. Maybe the best we can do is find Donnelly’s bench in his beloved Parks and imagine his feelings as he strode out to bat in the few summers the gods had allowed him. Odd Men In

Stats highlights from North Sound, where Sri Lanka and West Indies played out a second straight draw

Sampath Bandarupalli03-Apr-20210-0 Scoreline of the Test series between West Indies and Sri Lanka, the first Test series in nearly six years to end in a 0-0 draw. The two-match Test series between Bangladesh and South Africa in 2015 was the last to end with a 0-0 scoreline. Only 309.1 overs of play took place during that series played during the monsoon season.Related

• Dimuth Karunaratne, Oshada Fernando fifties ensure series ends at 0-0

813 Minutes batted by Kraigg Brathwaite in the second Test against Sri Lanka, the most in a Test for West Indies. Brathwaite’s first-innings century came across 514 minutes, while his 85 in the second essay lasted 299 minutes. Brathwaite faced 507 balls in this match, the joint-most by a West Indian in a Test match since Brian Lara’s 400* off 582 balls against England in 2004.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 Number of centuries for Brathwaite in nine Tests as a captain. Brathwaite had only two fifties across 16 Test innings while leading the West Indies before the second match. The 126-run knock is also his first century in 38 Test innings.4 Player-of-the-Series awards for specialist Sri Lankan pacers in Test cricket, including Suranga Lakmal against West Indies. Chaminda Vaas won it twice while Nuwan Kulasekara, against Pakistan in 2009, was the last to get the award.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 Test matches played by West Indies in 2021; two against Bangladesh (2-0) and two versus Sri Lanka (0-0). It is the first instance for West Indies since 2013 where they went three or more successive Tests without a defeat.2 Century partnerships for Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne in the fourth innings, the most by a pair for Sri Lanka in Tests. Only one opening pair has more than two century stands in the fourth innings in Test history – four by Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes.ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 Series of two-plus Tests where both teams fielded the same 11 players in all matches, before the West Indies vs Sri Lanka series. Seven of the previous eight series were two-match Test series, while the three-match series between England and India in 2007 was the other.

At 34, the now-veteran is the benchmark in highlighting the benefits of hard work and perseverance

Madushka Balasuriya31-Mar-2021Suranga Lakmal is having a moment.Or is he?It’s really quite hard to tell. Sure, he just rolled off six straight maidens to start off the second Test against the West Indies. And yes, he picked up two wickets in that period. And okay, it probably could’ve been more had Oshada Fernando held on to a tough chance at third slip to dismiss Kraigg Brathwaite on 37 – quite some way away from the century he would eventually reach. But having said all that, are we really taking it all in as we should?There’s no question that those in Antigua were enjoying the show; I mean, you must be doing something right if Ian Bishop and Curtley Ambrose are waxing lyrical on-air about your fast bowling exploits.Related

• Hasaranga, Nissanka, Oshada and Embuldeniya – Mickey Arthur's picks for Sri Lanka's future

• Thirimanne fifty blunts West Indies after Brathwaite ton

“On a flat deck, with Brathwaite unbeaten on 107, Lakmal produces that,” Bishop gushed at one point on the second day, as Lakmal squared up the set Brathwaite with one that spat past his outside edge from a length. This, though, is what Lakmal had been producing all game to be fair, starting with that sublime opening burst.Really, you can’t overstate just how impressive an opening spell it was; six overs, six maidens, two wickets, zero runs – a man at the peak of his powers. On a pitch that offered adequate seam movement and swing early on, before flattening out as the day wore on, Lakmal was positively obnoxious in his lines and lengths, the ball seemingly tethered on the end of a string as he relentlessly probed that space just outside off stump. And he would persist with this strategy even as the pitch slowed up and batting became considerably easier.This would in the end bring him figures of 4 for 94, just one shy of what would have been the fifth five-wicket haul of his career. But even then, there remains the sense that many don’t quite realise how good this man really is.For example, did you know that Lakmal’s Test bowling average away from home is 32.09, bettering the 32.34 of a certain Chaminda Vaas? In fact, his away average among Sri Lankan bowlers is only bettered by Muttiah Muralitharan (27.73). This stat becomes all the more impressive when you realise that Lakmal has only really started producing world-class numbers in the last three years or so. Since turning 31, Lakmal has picked up 57 Test wickets at 23.83; in contrast, his previous 102 Test scalps had come at 43.56. His yearly averages since 2018: 27.70, 23.28, 15.10, 15.85.So why then is Lakmal so overlooked? Well much of it could come down to the fact that his career renaissance occurred just as Sri Lanka’s terminal decline had set in. But in general, Lakmal’s lot in life seems to be that of perennially flying under the radar.In a career blighted by injuries, even when he does turn up it’s a fascinating quirk of his time with the national side that his best work seems to come away from the expecting gaze of a home crowd. Of his 160 Test scalps, a staggering 128 have come away from home (18 in neutral venues). Christchurch, Port Elizabeth, Brisbane and Antigua have each witnessed five-fors, but the best fans at home have been treated to was a four-wicket haul against New Zealand in Galle.

Lakmal’s successes are borne out of sheer consistency; there’s no magic bullet, just subtle adjustments, that ever so gently unsettle those facing him

It also probably doesn’t do the perception of Lakmal much good that his output doesn’t possess the same ‘oomph’ factor of his fast-bowling forebears. While Lakmal is undoubtedly top dog now, before him there was Lasith Malinga and the aforementioned Vaas, both of whom are responsible for some of Sri Lanka cricket’s most devastating highlight reels.Lakmal, though, is different. Even when he has removed your top order, he never gives the impression of a man that’s going to tear through your team. His successes are borne out of sheer consistency; there’s no magic bullet, just subtle adjustments, that ever so gently unsettle those facing him. That’s probably why he prefers grounds and surfaces more suited to amplifying the natural variances he yearns for; on home pitches, his diligence more often than not leads to economical figures but not as many wickets – even if that haul against New Zealand did show he could deliver on the more docile surfaces.So in many ways, this relatively slow track in Antigua was nothing new for Lakmal, and so he proceeded to do what he does best. Which would have been particularly frustrating for his opponents because this was a wicket that was supposed to favour the batsmen.On a surface not doing too much, aside from some early movement, Lakmal was patient and inquiring. Both John Campbell and Jermaine Blackwood would edge behind to the keeper in due course – fairly textbook wickets as far as Lakmal is concerned – though it’s the removals of Nkrumah Bonner and, later on, Rakheem Cornwall, that would have provided him the most assured validation of his approach.Lakmal’s Test bowling average away from home is 32.09, bettering the 32.34 of a certain Chaminda Vaas•Associated PressHaving delivered five consecutive full-length deliveries to Bonner, off the final ball of his fifth over Lakmal went a little shorter – not so short that you could cut it, but short enough to make the batsman think that he could. By the time Bonner realised his mistake, the ball had moved back in and knocked back his stumps via the underside of his bat.That would be the last of Lakmal’s wickets until much later in the innings, as Brathwaite would put together successive key partnerships, including a 103-run stand with Cornwall for the eighth wicket. It was this partnership that would have been the most threatening from a Sri Lankan perspective, with Cornwall taking it upon himself to singlehandedly boost the scoring rate, and the visitors aware that anything over 400 would be considerably harder to claw back.But Lakmal would intervene, not with anything special per se, but just what was needed in the moment. With Cornwall looking to force the issue, all it took was Lakmal continuing to place the ball in hard-to-score zones, goading the batsman to force the issue and make a mistake – in this case, it was a simple length ball on off stump that Cornwall was unable to clear over mid-off.That is what Lakmal brings to the table – consistency, reliability and, most importantly, efficacy. He may not have the edge-of-your-seat theatrics of Malinga, or the memorability of being a key cog in a successful outfit like Vaas, but at 34, the now-veteran is the benchmark in highlighting the benefits of hard work and perseverance. For any young quicks looking on, Lakmal’s tireless enterprise should be required viewing.

The only sign that a career had ended was a guard of honour at the start of play

Mohammad Isam11-Jul-2021Mahmudullah’s final day of Test cricket was an intriguing one.At the start of play, he was given a guard of honour by his team-mates. He even led them out onto the field. But from then on he just faded into the background.He didn’t take a catch. He wasn’t needed to bowl any overs. He was just there, experiencing the last highs of a gruelling format as Bangladesh completed a fine victory over Zimbabwe.Mahmudullah has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride this series. Called up as an emergency replacement. Batting at No. 8. Making his highest Test score (150). Retiring mid-way through the game. And walking into the sunset with a Player-of-the-Match award. All of that merits some sort of noise. Except there was none.Related

• Mahmudullah: 'It's the right time to end my Test career'

• Bangladesh bank on form, momentum ahead of ODIs

• Shadman Islam: 'We wanted to win the Test for Mahmudullah'

• Mominul Haque admits Bangladesh 'got away' thanks to long batting line-up

• Donald Tiripano disappointed Zimbabwe let early advantage slip

In the presentation ceremony, Mahmudullah came up, collected his prize, spoke about his innings and went back. No mention of a career coming to an end. Just a strange silence.Bangladesh’s captain Mominul Haque had a tougher gig while addressing the post-match press conference. He was bombarded with questions about his team-mate’s retirement, to which, once again there was silence.But eventually the “I can’t comment” turned into a long-winded reply about dedicating the victory to Mahmudullah.”It is his personal decision,” Haque said. “It is difficult for me to comment on it. Anyone can take a personal decision.”We thought that if that’s how it is for him, we would dedicate the win to him. I heard that he won his debut Test as well, so he has now won his last match as well. If that’s how it is, although I don’t know.”The questions wouldn’t stop. The press wanted this silence broken. Finally when Haque was asked to describe Mahmudullah’s last day in Test cricket was, the emotions came out.”As a young captain, I am supposed to feel bad,” he said. “If I don’t feel bad, it is unusual.”Mahmudullah announced his retirement to his team-mates after the end of the third day’s play. As much as the decision was shocking, it was the timing that took everyone by surprise. Cricketers don’t usually quit in the middle of a match.The news sparked strong rebuke from BCB president Nazmul Hassan who, in an interview to said Mahmudullah’s decision was “unusual”, “unacceptable” and based on “emotion”. He also accused the 35-year old of going back on his word – specifically those on a form that the BCB had provided to its players to determine their availability for each of the three formats.Hassan’s anger has been the only non-wishy-washy response to the matter of a Test career ending. Even Mahmudullah hasn’t said a word in public. This, despite coming on a video shot by the BCB on the day he told his team-mates of his decision.ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCB has sent instructions to the touring party not to speak publicly about Mahmudullah’s retirement.Bangladesh’s cricketers have a bumpy history when it comes to retirement. Aminul Islam, the former captain who made a century in their inaugural Test, never formally announced his retirement. The exits of Akram Khan, Khaled Mashud and Khaled Mahmud were all uneasy as well. Javed Omar retired in 2014, seven years after his last international match, apparently carrying disappointment with the selectors’ treatment at the time of his axing.Mashrafe Mortaza, who led Bangladesh to 50 ODI wins in a celebrated captaincy stint, is still in limbo. He had a public fallout with the BCB over the timing of his retirement and since then he just hasn’t been picked to play.Mahmudullah meanwhile will continue to be in Zimbabwe. He is in the ODI side and leads the T20I team.

India, Pakistan, England and West Indies could be the likely semi-finalists

Ian Chappell24-Oct-2021It only took the preliminary stages of the men’s World Cup to highlight one advantage the T20 format has over Test cricket: the greater likelihood of an upset. Bangladesh lost to Scotland, and Namibia knocked Ireland out of the Super 12s. It’s dangerous mingling with the minnows.In Test cricket, in some matches it might look like a major upset is about to occur, but it rarely comes to pass. Ireland appeared on the verge of the upset of the century when they dismantled the England batting line-up for 85 at Lord’s in 2019. But despite holding a first-innings lead of 122, the Irish batting folded like a paper plane in the second innings to be all out for a paltry 38.We’ve just had another reminder that major upsets occur regularly in T20 World Cup tournaments. In 2009 at Lord’s, England suffered a calamitous defeat at the hands of Netherlands, which led to the home side missing the semi-finals.There have been other upsets, not of the same magnitude as England’s loss, but still embarrassing for the major nation. Then there are the exciting near-misses, where the less-fancied team appears to be on track to upsetting a major nation but eventually normality prevails.Related

• Left swings perfectly right for Namibia as Trumpelmann and co light up Abu Dhabi

• Richie Berrington, and a Scotland World Cup dream realised after heartbreak

• Bazid Khan: In the UAE, if you get 140, you're not out of it

• The only T20 World Cup preview you need to read

• Scotland have the quality to build on their first-round success

One such occasion, also in 2009, was an enthralling battle between Sri Lanka and Ireland at Lord’s. The fighting Irish looked to be in position to upset Sri Lanka when they held them to 144. The possibility of an upset came into sharper focus when Ireland compiled a productive opening partnership of 59 after just nine overs.I was sitting in the Lord’s press box in a group of animated Irish journalists. “Should be a big party tonight,” I said, “if Ireland win.” Without even turning his head, one journalist replied with typical Irish humour: “Regardless.”Of the minor countries who have performed reasonably regularly in T20 World Cups, Netherlands and Scotland have won over a third of their matches. In general this is a result of them winning games they were expected to win against other minor nations.The two latest nations to acquire Test status – Afghanistan and Ireland – have performed creditably, respectively winning 35% and 22% of their T20 World Cup matches, while the often-threatening-but-rarely-producing Bangladesh are at 25%.The inclusion of minor cricket nations – there were five in the current tournament – can lead to some club-standard cricket. Nevertheless, it’s worthwhile encouraging these countries through the T20 format. It’s a bit like the early rounds of English football’s FA Cup, where occasionally the part-timers upset the highly paid professionals and a township celebrates wildly. However, when the dust settles and the ambition has been doused, it will be four major nations who survive the cut and thrust to reach the semi-finals of this year’s World Cup.In a format where a quick-fire 20 that includes a couple of biffed sixes, or a brief but accurate two-over spell, can change the course of a match, predicting semi-finalists is fraught with danger. Adding to the uncertainty, this tournament is being played in a part of the world where the conditions are unfamiliar to many of the major teams.Logic would say that the venue favours the highly unpredictable Pakistan, who for most of the previous decade used the UAE as their “home” turf. Also, players who participated in the second half of the rearranged IPL will benefit from the tournament’s shift to the UAE and that makes India a big beneficiary.In Group 2, the most likely semi-finalists are India and Pakistan, with the biggest danger to them being New Zealand. Group 1 – where Australia, England, South Africa and West Indies all reside – is much more difficult to predict. Using the pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey method, I favour England and West Indies to qualify from this group, but I do so with little conviction. And that’s the beauty of the T20 World Cup – it’s a lottery.

Who has scored the most first-class hundreds without ever making a double-century?

Steven Lynch19-Apr-2022Dewald Brevis made his IPL debut before playing a single first-class match. I know some Indians have done this, but is it unique for an overseas player? asked Shekhar Mehra from India

Mumbai Indians’ 18-year-old South African signing Dewald Brevis – one of the stars of the recent Under-19 World Cup – is actually the sixth overseas player to appear in the IPL before making his first-class debut. The first was the Jamaican seamer Krishmar Santokie, for Mumbai Indians in 2014, and he’s been followed by the Afghan spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane in 2018, Australian allrounder Chris Green in 2020, and the hard-hitting Singapore-born batter Tim David in 2021.Santokie played a dozen T20Is for West Indies, and 119 T20 matches in all, but never did appear in a first-class match; Green (137 T20 games) and David (91, including 14 internationals) have not yet played first-class cricket. Mujeeb has played just one first-class match to date, and it was a Test – Afghanistan’s first one, against India in Bengaluru in 2018.No fewer than 63 Indians have played in the IPL before making their first-class debuts.I notice that Shan Masood has a List A average of 57.46. Is he top of the list? asked Tom McGuirk from Canada

The Pakistan left-hander Shan Masood, who has made such a good start to his county career with Derbyshire, is actually third on this list at the moment (given a qualification of 50 innings). His current List A average of 57.46 puts him just behind Michael Bevan (57.86), but ahead of Virat Kohli (56.83) and Babar Azam (56.07).The identity of the top man is rather a surprise: it’s Warwickshire’s Sam Hain, who’s yet to play for England despite a List A average of 59.78.Keshav Maharaj took seven wickets in the second innings of both recent Tests against Bangladesh. How many people have done this? asked Richie Knight from South Africa

South Africa’s slow left-armer Keshav Maharaj, who took 7 for 32 in Durban and 7 for 40 in Gqeberha, was only the tenth man to take seven-fors in successive Test matches, a list headed by the old England bowler George Lohmann, who actually did it in three consecutive matches, against South Africa in 1895-96.The others to manage two were England’s Tich Freeman (1929), Clarrie Grimmett (in what turned out to be his final two Tests for Australia in 1935-36), England’s Alec Bedser (in his first two, in 1946), South Africa’s Hugh Tayfield (1956-57; he took 8 for 69 and 9 for 113), Tony Lock of England (1958), the distinguished Pakistan trio of Imran Khan (in the year 1982), Abdul Qadir (in the year 1987) and Waqar Younis (1990-91), and India’s Harbhajan Singh (in two matches against Australia in 2000-01 in which he took 28 wickets in all). Of these, only Tayfield, Lock and Maharaj took both their seven-fors in the second innings.Keshav Maharaj became the tenth man to take seven-fors in consecutive Tests•AFP/Getty ImagesWho has scored the most first-class hundreds without ever making a double-century? asked Gokul Mohan from the UAE

The leader here is the New Zealand opener John Wright, who made 59 first-class centuries with a highest score of 192, for Canterbury against Central Districts in New Plymouth in 1986-87. Next come the former England batter Arthur Milton, whose 56 first-class centuries included a highest score of 170, and Bill Athey (55, highest score 184). The most first-class runs without a double-century is 34,994, by Brian Close, whose 52 tons included a highest of 198 for Yorkshire against Surrey at The Oval in 1960.In Tests, both Mohammad Azharuddin (highest score 199) and Colin Cowdrey (182) made 22 centuries without a double, while Alec Stewart scored 8463 runs with 15 centuries, the highest being 190.Further to last week’s question about one-cap wonders, how many people have played just the one Test for Australia? asked Kraig Tyrrell from Australia

To date, 72 men have been lucky enough – or unfortunate enough, depending on your point of view – to win just one Test cap for Australia. That includes a few who might yet play again, notably opener Will Pucovski and seamer Michael Neser, who both made their debuts during 2021. The stories of the other 70 have been collected together in a beautifully produced book, Fifteen Minutes of Fame, by the industrious Melbourne writer Ken Piesse (for details, see his website www.cricketbooks.com.au).There are also 40 women (again including some current players), who have played one Test for Australia.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

A man who couldn’t have been further from England’s 2019 World Cup win rises to the occasion

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-Jul-2022The throwbacks on social media began pretty much as soon as the clocks ticked over midnight. The highlights from that famous occasion at Lord’s were on every screen big and small as the crowds filtered in ahead of this second ODI with India. Eoin Morgan, now retired, posed with Ben Stokes on the outfield before the start of play to recreate a photo taken just before England collected their trophy.Three years isn’t usually an anniversary to go big on. But being back at the venue where England won the 50-over World Cup final in that Super Over thriller against New Zealand on July 14th was reason enough.Yet with six out of XI there on that day – Moeen Ali as 12th man – it was a man who could not have been further from that scene in every sense who rose to the occasion.At that point in the 2019 summer, Reece Topley was preparing for what was to be his first appearance in well over a year: a T20 Blast match scheduled for July 19 between Hampshire and Sussex. The twist being Topley would be turning out for Sussex, having left the Ageas Bowl in the 2018 season. A move from Essex as a 21-year-old three years earlier was blighted by a injuries, the worst being two stress fractures of the back. When he departed Hampshire, he did so with a view that he might leave the game altogether. The pain he experienced each morning, the injections to the stomach he’d have to administer himself to get through games, along with monthly ones in his back, were becoming too much to bear.The return to action was swifter than expected, even if that Blast game ended up being rained off. Just four days later, the reverse fixture at Hove finally gave Topley a competitive return in which he took 4 for 33. He went on to impress in the final half to the summer – with the red ball, too – and then made the move to Surrey. And now, with 6 for 24 to square the series ahead of Sunday’s decider, the 28-year-old’s name now carries pride of place not just on the Lord’s honour’s board, but in the history books.Related

• Topley's career-best 6 for 24 blows India away

• Jos Buttler praises batters' positivity as England bounce back from Oval drubbing

• Rohit Sharma bats for Virat Kohli again amid 'slump' talk

Those figures are now the best by an Englishman in ODIs and the best for anyone in the format at this grand old ground. Included among them were both openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, who butchered the first ODI’s paltry target of 110 between them on Tuesday. Suryakumar Yadav, the last hope for chasing down the 247 target given he was coming off the back of a stunning 117 in the third T20I last Sunday, was his third before the tail made up the rest. When England were bowled out for 246 with an over to spare in their innings having been put in to bat, victory was by no means a given, even on a Lord’s pitch that was far from flat. And yet, thanks to Topley, the margin was 100 runs in the host’s favour.”Delighted for him,” was Jos Buttler’s immediate reaction to Topley’s performance, which gave the new skipper his first ODI win. “He’s a very popular member of the team, he brings a lot of energy to the group and you know he’s had quite an interesting story, you know: came into the game very early with Essex and and then had obviously back trouble and stuff. So, for him to come back from that and to take 6 for 24 today at Lord’s is an incredibly special performance.”There is another timeline in an alternate dimension where Topley makes that World Cup squad. As Buttler alluded to, his story began early: first-class and List A debuts for Essex at 17, then T20 at 18 created buzz about a lanky left-armer. International white ball debuts came at the end of the 2015 season, when he had honed his craft.He was regarded as a raw but easy-to-hone prospect in Morgan’s white-ball plans, even making it on the trip to India in 2016 for the World T20. Then those injuries came and, thanks in part to split COVID-19 squads, a return in the 50-over squad came in 2020. And perhaps the best thing you could say about Topley in the time since then is that the injuries have been put so far behind him they almost feel irrelevant at this juncture.Because it is clear, not just from this performance, that England regard him as a key difference-maker at a time when their usual aces – the out-and-out quicks – are on the sidelines. Jofra Archer and Mark Wood are a way off from returning, though there is hope from the management team that they could make a crack at this winter’s T20 World Cup in October. The height, subsequent bounce, and ability to manipulate the seam both ways to get out proper players will be vital on Australia’s flatter pitches.”It’s a tribute to his perseverance and his outlook on life and the game,” said Buttler of Topley’s ability to return and have progressed his skills. “He’s had really tough experiences, not knowing if he would play again and that’s given him a real sense of perspective and a real enjoyment when he’s playing. He’s got all the attributes to be a fantastic international bowler and delighted for him to get those results today”.At the end of the game, player of the match champagne in hand, Topley stopped before his media commitments to embrace his parents before taking a photo with them. Now, July 14 will be extra special for him. A moment he moved to the top of the English ODI game and one which showed he will be a key part in any future red letter days for the limited-overs side.

A look at some of the standout numbers from the Galle Test which lasted just over two days

Sampath Bandarupalli01-Jul-20221 The 10-wicket win in Galle was Australia’s first Test win in Sri Lanka while batting second. Their previous seven Test wins in Sri Lanka came when they batted first. Since 2003, Australia have won only four out of the 19 Tests when they batted second in Asia. The previous three wins in this period came in Bangladesh.22.5 Overs batted by Sri Lanka in their second innings, their shortest all-out innings in Test cricket. The 24.2 overs they batted against Australia in the Melbourne Test in 2012 was their previous shortest innings. The 491 balls batted by Sri Lanka in this match is their lowest in a home Test and the third lowest in a Test match (where they were bowled out twice).ESPNcricinfo Ltd920 Number of balls bowled in the Galle Test. These are the fewest balls bowled in a completed Test match hosted by Sri Lanka. The previous shortest completed Test in Sri Lanka was 1056 balls in the 1986 Kandy Test between the hosts and Pakistan.3 Number of Test matches with an average runs per wicket less than 25 and a run rate of four or more before the Galle Test. In fact, the run rate of 4.27 in this Test match is the ninth highest in a Test match and the highest in Sri Lanka.