Sri Lanka may not be the better team, but they somehow just get the job done during World Cup knockouts. The same can’t be said of their quarter-final opponents, who are, as of 2015, yet to win a single such game

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Sydney16-Mar-2015Mahela Jayawardene has the stalling semi-final knock that became a Kingston mauling in 2007. Kumar Sangakkara has the nifty World T20 final fifty. Lasith Malinga and Nuwan Kulasekara have their many tandem successes; trying batsmen with the new ball, tying them down with the old. Angelo Mathews, Lahiru Thirimanne, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Rangana Herath, Thisara Perera – they’ve all had star turns on big occasions. All can recall shots or balls or catches when nerves were held, opponents cornered, and matches turned.”It’s like a bank account,” Jayawardene said of the moments that have clinched Sri Lanka knockout games. “All those good performances, you’ve deposited. As a group, and as individuals we can always reflect back and know that there’s some things that you’ve achieved already. We think: ‘This is what I’ve done in those situations, mentally and physically.'”The knockouts is when Sri Lanka’s cricket has taken taut, menacing shape in the past two World Cups, in which they have played more sudden-death matches than any other side. In between, there have been two gallops to World T20 finals. So the belief at training is palpable. Some players have been away from home since mid-December, but they are not pining for Sri Lanka just yet. “We’ve got two more weeks here,” they say, “We’re just focused on that.”All through this World Cup, Sri Lanka have eschewed talk of dominating the competition and instead focused on “peaking”. Now that they are at the pointy end, they will reflect on the times they have collectively risen before.They might recall flying to the Caribbean unfancied in 2007, before losing to South Africa and only scraping past against England. They would scorch past New Zealand to that final. Adam Gilchrist and a great Australia team would have to summon something special to shoot them down.Sri Lanka may remember losing to Pakistan at home, in 2011, before heating up for a clobbering of England. So complete was their control over that chase of 230, Dilshan accidentally hit a four in the closing stages and apologised to his partner, who was running down a hundred. They would blow by New Zealand en route to the Wankhede again. Speckled through each recent marquee tournament are wins grasped from thin air, roaring fires summoned from embers from campaigns gone by.South Africa, their opponents, are a study in contrast. They have all the form, but little of the nerves or the know-how. It has been said that big-match pressure puts South African minds in a muddle, but so many tournaments has it been without a single knockout victory now, even the muddles have become tangled in a heap on their own. Their grand inconsistency has been dealt with inconsistently. Graeme Smith used to bristle when the word “chokers” was put to him in a question. AB de Villiers has confronted the tag head on, even sometimes applying the term when his team had simply been outplayed, instead of outwitted.Just in this tournament, while Sri Lanka have casually cast aside losses to two of the tournament favourites, essentially taking the view: “We just need to take care to get to the quarters, who we get is irrelevant,” South Africa have appeared particularly hurt at their two defeats.”I just want to sit in my room and feel sad,” de Villiers said after the 130-run loss to India. He suggested his team may “not be as good as we think we are” and were “not prepared to fight it out”, after the match against Pakistan. Then, not a week after having “nothing good to say about the team,” de Villiers delivered as high-flying a self-appraisal as has been heard all World Cup long. “I 100% believe we are the best team in the tournament here,” he said.The thing is, he could well be right. At the very least, they should outgun Sri Lanka. De Villiers has not scored as many runs as Kumar Sangakkara, but he is unarguably more dynamic. Hashim Amla hit two hundreds and averaged 86 in the most recent series between these teams, which South Africa comfortably won. In Morne Morkel, Kyle Abbott and Vernon Philander, Dale Steyn has pace support that often daunts opposition batsmen. Lasith Malinga decidedly does not. Even in spin – that great pride of Sri Lanka – South Africa have appeared more polished in this tournament. Imran Tahir’s 11 scalps have come at 23.36, far cheaper than Rangana Herath’s wickets. If his finger doesn’t heal, Herath may not even play at all.Reason suggests South Africa should coast into the semi-finals. They are fitter and faster in addition to being so skilled. But they are up against opponents who give no heed to reason. Sri Lanka have been a side that sparks suddenly and emphatically around a spell, or a run out, or a cameo.The Sydney quarter-final will not be the most-watched, nor does it feature the tournament’s new favourite teams. But it is not short on intrigue, because on Wednesday evening, one team will seek to ride high on their emotion, while another strives to keep a grip on theirs.

Their teams may have missed out on the knockout berth, but their bright individual performances left a mark on the tournament

Arun Venugopal16-Mar-2015William Porterfield, Ireland275 runs, 45.83
Best performance: 107 v PakistanIreland kept the Associates’ flag flying high throughout the competition, and central to their plucky performances was their captain. Although Porterfield didn’t play a leading part in any of Ireland’s three wins, his leadership on the field and off it – where he passionately argued against the shrinking of the next World Cup to 10 teams – made an impression. Porterfield’s best performances came against two top teams: India and Pakistan. His century against Pakistan in a must-win encounter eventually proved futile.Jos Buttler, England145 runs, 35.25
Best performance: 65 v BangladeshThere were a few eyebrows raised when Buttler was appointed vice-captain of the England side. His value as a wicketkeeper, apart from his work ethic and calm, were perhaps factored in. The stage, therefore, was set for him to showcase his utility in the lower middle-order in a tricky chase against Bangladesh. Buttler played himself in and looked good to seal the game, but his dismissal culminated in England’s defeat and eventual exit from the tournament. Buttler had also made an unbeaten 39 off 18 balls earlier against Sri Lanka, again in a losing cause.Ed Joyce, Ireland246 runs, 41
Best performance: 112 v ZimbabweEd Joyce has in the past spent considerable time switching between England and Ireland. He represented England in the 2007 World Cup before reverting to Ireland in the next edition. There was further vindication of that decision this time around when he was at the heart of two significant wins: after scoring 84 against West Indies in a match where Paul Stirling and Niall O’Brien also contributed substantially, Joyce struck a 103-ball 112 to set the foundation of a match-winning total against Zimbabwe.Brendan Taylor has played his farewell game for Zimbabwe•Getty ImagesBrendan Taylor, Zimbabwe433 runs, 72.16
Best performance: 138 v IndiaIt’s impossible to gloss over the poignancy of Taylor’s two recent centuries coming in what were, for now, his last two innings for Zimbabwe. At the end of the league phase, Taylor had more runs than AB de Villiers and Tillakaratne Dilshan in the World Cup, and was the second-highest scorer after Kumar Sangakkara. His hundreds against Ireland and India came at a strike-rate of 125-plus. In the India game he came in after the fall of two quick wickets and counterpunched spiritedly. Zimbawe coach Dave Whatmore said Nottingamshire, with whom Taylor, 29, has signed a Kolpak deal, were “very, very lucky” to have him. Zimbabwe evidently not so lucky.Shaiman Anwar, UAE311 runs, 51.83
Best performance: 106 v Ireland”Anwar’s doing very well in the team and he’s such a confident individual that we call him ‘Sir Viv’ in the dressing room – that’s his nickname,” UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir said after Anwar’s 62 against Pakistan. You can’t fail with a nickname like that. An employee with a shipping firm, Anwar was the highest-scorer at the halfway stage, and became the first UAE batsman to score a World Cup hundred.Sean Williams, Zimbabwe339 runs, 67.80; 7 wickets, 40.85
Best performance: 96 and 3-72 v IrelandNot long before Taylor announced his decision to pursue a Kolpak deal, Williams, 28, was ready to walk away from Zimbabwe. In this tournament, he and Taylor have provided their team with runs and plenty of them. In Zimbabwe’s agonising defeat against Ireland, Williams chipped in with three wickets before partnering Taylor with the bat. There was an encore, against India, of the Taylor-Williams show, and Williams rounded off his campaign with his fourth half-century.Samiullah Shenwari, Afghanistan254 runs, 42.33
Best performance: 96 v ScotlandBefore Shapoor Zadran set off on his delirious run, it was Shenwari who had set the base for Afghanistan’s first win in the World Cup, over Scotland. He ground out 147 balls before being the ninth man out. He played useful hands against New Zealand and Bangladesh as well, and finished as Afghanistan’s highest run-getter in the tournament.Josh Davey, Scotland15 wickets, 20.73
Best performance: 4-68 v EnglandFor Davey, the step up from a little-known seamer of an Associate side to the highest wicket-taker in the World Cup – even if briefly- was as rapid as it was remarkable. It’s certainly good enough to update his Twitter bio that until now describes him as “Entrepreneur and chocoholic.” Davey’s first notable performance was a three-wicket burst as Scotland ran New Zealand scarily close. His performances thereon went north; an economical two-wicket spell in a gutting defeat versus Afghanistan was followed by a five-for against England and the wickets of Sangakkara, Dilshan and Jayawardene against Sri Lanka.UAE captain Mohammad Tauqir has charmed people with his humour•ICCShapoor Zadran, Afghanistan10 wickets, 26.50
Best performance: 4-38 v ScotlandOne image is certainly likely to catch the fancy of TV production crews when they put together a World Cup montage as the tournament winds down: that of Shapoor, fists clenched, bolting at full tilt before spreading his arms and falling onto the ground in sheer elation after striking the boundary to accomplish Afghanistan’s historic triumph over Scotland. But there was more to the left-armer than his strapping build, shock of hair and Shoaib Akhtar-inspired run-up, as his four-for in the aforementioned game showed. Shapoor, who watches videos of Wasim Akram the night before every game, turned in sturdy performances against Sri Lanka and New Zealand, too. That he can perform the Attan, the Afghan war dance, fits in snugly with his rockstar persona.Hamid Hassan, Afghanistan8 wickets, 32.62
Best performance: 3-45 v Sri LankaIf Shapoor features in the montage, Hassan’s ungainly cartwheels can’t be far behind. With a headband and Afghanistan’s colours smeared on the cheeks, Hassan’s Rambo avatar is the sort of thing television feeds on. It helps he can bowl fast, and has a big heart. He produced that sort of a performance against Sri Lanka, who were nearly stunned by Afghanistan. “If I’m doing something wrong in a match, I watch myself on the big screen and when I touch my face, I get paint on my fingers,” Hassan told cricket.com.au. “And I say ‘You’re playing for your country, think about what you’re doing here’.”Mohammad Tauqir, UAE5 wickets, average: 46.20
Best performance: 2-38 v IrelandTauqir, at 43, became the oldest captain in World Cup history. While he wasn’t even the leading wicket-taker in his own team, his loopy off-spin made him the stingiest at 5.26 an over. Tauqir’s off-field success wasn’t insignificant either; the good-natured bluster sprayed with humour endeared him to many. Just look up his comments on having a “lot of cleaning of shoes” to do, or how UAE would avoid conceding 400 against South Africa only if they batted first. An investment banker by day, Tauqir, one of the two Emiratis in the squad, will go back to his “waiting employers” a more popular man.

Stats highlights from the India-Zimbabwe match in Auckland

S Rajesh14-Mar-20153:52

How does Taylor compare with Flower?

288 India’s total, their highest when batting second in all World Cup games.196 The unbroken partnership between Suresh Raina and MS Dhoni, India’s sixth-best in a World Cup game, and their best partnership in a World Cup run-chase. The previous-best in a run-chase was 174 between Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma against Ireland just four days ago.62.14 The average partnership between Dhoni and Raina in ODIs. They’ve batted together 66 times, and have nine century stands and 17 half-century partnerships. It’s the second-best average stand for any pair which has put together at least 2000 runs in ODIs – only Hashim Amla-AB de Villiers (average 81.96 in 35 partnerships) have done better.The last 70 runs that Brendan Taylor scored came off 29 balls•AFP71.50 Suresh Raina’s average in World Cup matches. In seven innings he has scored 286 runs, while this was his first World Cup century.2 Number of 50-plus scores for Dhoni in World Cup games. In 15 innings, his only other half-century was an unbeaten 91 in the 2011 final against Sri Lanka.433 Brendon Taylor’s aggregate in the tournament, the highest for a Zimbabwe batsman in any World Cup. The previous best was 367, by Neil Johnson in 1999.5 The number of Zimbabwe batsmen who’ve scored World Cup hundreds. Apart from Taylor, the others are Andy Flower, Dave Houghton, Neil Johnson, and Craig Wishart. Taylor is the only one to score two hundreds in World Cup games: in his previous match, against Ireland in Hobart, he made 121 off 91.9 Number of batsmen who’ve made hundreds in successive innings in the World Cup. Bangladesh’s Mahmudullah achieved the feat against New Zealand yesterday, while the others to achieve it are Kumar Sangakkara, Mark Waugh, Rahul Dravid, AB de Villiers, Matthew Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Saeed Anwar.70 Runs scored by Taylor in his last 29 balls, including seven fours and five sixes. In his first 81 balls, he had made 68.155 Taylor’s strike rate against R Ashwin – he scored 42 in 27 balls, including six fours and a six. Against Ravindra Jadeja he had a strike rate of 142 (44 off 31), while against each of the three seamers he scored at exactly a run a ball.8.17 The run rate during the Taylor-Craig Ervine partnership – they put together 109 off 80 balls. It’s the second-fastest 100-plus stand for Zimbabwe in World Cup matches: in the 2003 tournament, Grant Flower and Craig Wishart had added 166 off 117 balls (run rate 8.51) against Namibia.75 Runs conceded by Ashwin in his ten overs, the most he has ever conceded in an ODI. His previous highest was 74, against West Indies in Visakhapatnam in 2011. Jadeja went for 71, his fifth-highest.

Flashing advertisements on the sightscreen behind the batsman causes bowlers and umpires to be unsighted leading to dropped catches and possibly even injuries

Sidharth Monga in Ahmedabad24-Apr-2015In the 10th over of the Rajasthan Royals innings, Karun Nair offered legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal a return catch. It was not a powerful blow. More of a push that popped back to the bowler at an easy pace. Chahal stuck a hand out, but couldn’t hold on. His impatient captain Virat Kolhi let his disappointment known, but Chahal had other things on his mind. He had hurt the little finger on his spinning hand, and immediately gestured to show he didn’t pick the ball.How could he have? On the sightscreen behind the batsman was an advertisement. Not just a static advertisement, but a glowing, electronic one. Trying to pick a white ball in the white advertising is worse than trying to pick a red ball in a static-but coloured background. On air, two former India bowlers who have played in the IPL, called it immediately. Left-arm quick RP Singh was the first to point out Chahal seemed to have lost the ball in the lit sightscreen. Left-arm spinner Murali Kartik responded, “I don’t know about you, RP, but I often had trouble picking balls hit back at me in the IPL.”Two of the refreshingly sharp young commentators spoke from experience, and made an important observation. A catch had been dropped, and Chahal had to go off the field with only one ball bowled in the over, which meant he would miss out on bowling 21% of his quota even if he was to come back after repairs. If you went by Chahal’s reaction, and by the instinctive comments of two Test cricketers who have played in the IPL, the advertising on the sightscreen played its part.Which should raise the question: if the batsman gets the right to a clear background when facing the ball, why shouldn’t the bowler enjoy similar privileges? Of course not every ball is hit back at the bowler, but the ones that are have a lot riding on them. The reaction time for a bowler when the ball is struck at him is little. And while the other fielders don’t get a sightscreen to catch the ball against, they don’t have to contend with a glowing advertising in white font either.More than the return catch, though, the safety of the bowler and the umpire should be important to the authorities. Neither of them wears a helmet although the day is not far when an umpire might. With modern bats and freed minds, batsmen are hitting balls harder than ever before. An umpire died last year of a ricochet off the stumps at the non-striker’s end. A sudden freakish spate of on-field injuries has made us suddenly realise that ours is a dangerous sport, and safety – apart from the batsman’s – has not been given the attention it deserves.Those who have played cricket consider it a miracle there hasn’t been an accident yet. “Sooner or later a bowler or an umpire is going to getting seriously hurt,” Ian Chappell said at ESPNcricinfo’s recently. “Because the ball is getting back so quickly they have got no time to react. They have got a similar problem in baseball, another game that I follow. It has got to a point where last season they were offering pitchers padded caps. Even if we don’t believe that the balance [between bat and ball] is out of whack because of the depth of the bat – and if they don’t believe that they are out of whack – there is this danger aspect, and they [authorities] have got to seriously look into that.”It will take time and deliberations to regulate the thickness of the bat, but in the mean time do we really want to impede return catches in the already full-of-dropped-catches league and also put the bowlers and umpires at more risk ? And for what? The extra buck after about 240 degrees of the boundary is already sold to the advertiser? Not worth the cost, be it a dropped catch or an injury.

Statistical highlights from the first day’s play in the second Test between West Indies and Australia at Kingston

Bishen Jeswant12-Jun-20151 Number of players who have scored 2000-plus Test runs over the last two years – Steven Smith, with 2049 runs from 21 Tests at an average of 64.032 Number of 50-plus scores for Michael Clarke in his last 20 Test innings. He was dismissed for 47 in the first innings. Clarke has scored only 557 runs in his last 20 innings at an average of 32.7619 Number of overs bowled by Kraigg Brathwaite on the first day. He had only bowled 13.4 overs in his previous 21 Tests, and picked up a solitary wicket (v India, 2011)31.5 Jerome Taylor’s bowling strike-rate at Sabina Park, Jamaica, the best for any bowler who has taken at least 20 wickets at this venue. His bowling average of 13.1 is the second-best. He returned figures of 3 for 18 on the first day5 Taylor’s first spell in this match read 5-5-0-2. This is only the third time since 2002 that a bowler has started a Test with five straight maidens and all three of them have happened in the last couple of years. James Anderson did it against India in the Lord’s Test last year. Al-Amin Hossain did this against West Indies in Kingstown.5 Number of centuries Smith has made in his last-six Tests. He has made 934 runs at an average of 133.42 in these matches. He has now scored nine Test centuries, going past Graham Yallop, Victor Trumper and Ian Redpath, on the list of Australians with most Test hundreds24 David Warner’s batting average in his last five Tests; Warner has scored 216 runs in nine innings in these Tests and has been dismissed for two of his four career ducks. His previous seven Tests had produced 1061 runs at an average of 75.78 including six hundreds and three fifties

Sri Lanka have routinely had the opposition’s head on the chopping block, only to stab themselves in the eye instead, then flop around, bleeding to death

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle20-Jun-2015Lord’s 2014 – Sri Lanka bowl first and claim the first four England wickets for 120. The score is 209 when the fifth falls. Yet, Joe Root and Matt Prior rally, put on 171 together, before the England tail plunges the knife deeper. The eventual first innings score is 575. The last five wickets had cost 366. Sri Lanka have effectively been batted out of the match.At Headingley a week later, Sri Lanka have England on the run. The hosts are chasing 350 for victory, but in no time, they are 57 for 5 with a full day yet to play. Sri Lanka toil on a worn pitch, Moeen Ali and the tail resisting them staunchly. In the end, Shaminda Eranga closes out the victory sensationally, with the penultimate ball of the game. But the bottom half of England’s XI had held out for more than 90 overs.Not long after, in Galle, South Africa are 266 for 5, with AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla and Faf du Plessis all dismissed. Again Sri Lanka concede rearguard runs. JP Duminy signs up Vernon Philander and No. 10 Morne Morkel for sidekicks. South Africa proceed to an excellent 455 for 9.At the SSC a week later, Sri Lanka have South Africa by the throat, but again the tail rallies, and Nos. 7, 8, 9 and 10 see out 212 balls combined in the second innings. The visitors have faced 111 overs, but have lost only 8 wickets on a dustbowl, by stumps. Match drawn.In Wellington in January this year, perhaps the most dispiriting slide of all. New Zealand are only 24 runs ahead when they lose their fifth wicket, in the third innings of the game. Thanks in part to several lazy drops, Kane Williamson and BJ Watling mount a record unbeaten 365 for the sixth wicket, and turn the match on its head. Sri Lanka bravely attempt to chase the target, but lose by 193 runs.On Saturday, after Pakistan had swept the rug from Sri Lanka’s feet then trussed them up in it, Sri Lanka coach Marvan Atapattu had this to say: “I don’t think we did too many things wrong. Some of the things the tailenders happened to work. Some of the big shots connected, and it’s one of those days. [Asad] Shafiq and the wicketkeeper [Sarfraz Ahmed] also batted really well to get hundreds from a situation where they were down and out. A lot of credit should go to them.”He’s half right. Pakistan began the day 182 runs adrift, with the last recognised pair at the crease, on a pitch already taking substantial turn, yet Sarfraz was as precise as he was fearless with his hacks, cuts and slashes. Shafiq was a sublime foil until Sarfraz’s ambition got the better of him. Then Shafiq marshalled the tail maturely, striking a fine balance between farming the strike and trusting his partners.Yet it seems strange that Sri Lanka appear oblivious to the fissures that have emerged in their own cricket. Opposition batsmen often play well. That happens in Test cricket. But Sri Lanka have routinely had the opposition’s head on the chopping block, only to stab themselves in the eye instead, then flop around, bleeding to death.There are days when Rangana Herath, in his mesmeric spells, inspires in his field the predatory instincts that made Sri Lanka a menace at home in the nineties. But too quickly, the mood dissipates. The close-in fielders had been like bull sharks encircling prey when five wickets had fallen on the third evening in Galle. On Saturday, it only took a few Sarfraz swipes to dull them to apathy. When Herath’s bite deserts him, fight seemingly leaves his team-mates.It doesn’t help that the attack itself is monochrome when Herath is flat. The slow bowlers are almost mirror images of one another – two finger spinners who turn the ball a bit, but excel at maintaining control. More diversity exists in the higher ranks of Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket. Tharindu Kaushal sits inert in the squad for this Test match, but he delivers offspin with his wrist and bowls a mean doosra (which as far as anyone can tell, is sent down with a straight arm). Chinaman Lakshan Sandakan waits in the shadows too, and legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay had a decent outing against Pakistan in the warm-up encounter.Nor is it helpful that Angelo Mathews – for all his fine qualities as a batsman and leader – remains a modest strategist. In his field placements you get the impression he’s a captain who wants to be aggressive, but to whom defence comes more easily. He trialled several unorthodox positions on day four, but the traps seemed too loosely set to work. It’s unfair to measure him against the likes of Brendon McCullum and Michael Clarke because Sri Lanka’s attack is inferior, yet he plays in a rich tradition of captains who have felled better teams, with meagre resources. Mostly, they have done so with creativity and innovation.Sri Lanka now face a tough final day to stay even in the series. But enough of a pattern has emerged in their fielding efforts now, to warrant introspection. All four oppositions they have played in the past 14 months have turned Tests with substantial lower-order gains. Some of them have done it more than once in a series.

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2015While Rogers resolutely left balls outside off, David Warner got into his groove with some crunching pulls•AFPHe brought up a half-century off 76 balls•AFPEngland finally broke the opening partnership after lunch when Mark Wood had Chris Rogers pushing out to slip for 43, thus maintaining his average•Getty ImagesDavid Warner was also out nicking behind; Moeen undoing Australia’s soon-to-be vice-captain with turn…•AFPAnd Michael Clarke, who came in at the fall of Warner, in his 115th and final Test, was given a guard of honour•Getty ImagesShortly after tea, Ben Stokes had Clarke caught behind, despite a review•AFPClarke walks off after making 15•Getty ImagesSteven Smith, though, headed up Australia’s consolidation, and progressed to a solid half-century. During the process, Smith went beyond 3000 Test runs•Getty ImagesHe was ably assisted by Adam Voges before bad light led to early stumps. Australia ended strong at 287 for 3•Getty Images

Swing, seam and sheer pace. Over seven Tests and ten ODIs, which spell gets your vote as the best of the summer?

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-2015

Tests

Stuart Broad breezed past Australia, and 300 Test wickets, at Trent Bridge•Getty ImagesStuart Broad’s 8 for 15 v Australia, 4th Test, Trent Bridge
There were two questions ahead of this Test. Would England regain the Ashes? Would Stuart Broad reach 300 Test wickets? He was one wicket off but reached 301 by the end of the first over and finished with a career-best 8 for 15. Australia crashed to 60 all out and conceded the urn two days later.James Anderson’s 6 for 47 v Australia, 3rd Test, Edgbaston
Green pitch, overcast conditions, a new ball and James Anderson. Few combinations are deadlier as Australia found out. The high of dismissing England in 37 overs at Lord’s evaporated as they were bundled out for two balls less and Anderson’s 6 for 47 set up a three-day victory.Ben Stokes’ 6 for 36 v Australia, 4th Test, Trent Bridge
England fans have found a new firebrand allrounder to get excited by. Ben Stokes won them a Test against New Zealand with the bat, and here helped seal the Ashes with display of ridiculously good swing bowling that drew comparisons with Anderson.Steven Finn’s 6 for 79 v Australia, 3rd Test, Edgbaston
Unselectable for two years, Man of the Match in an Ashes win. Steven Finn struck with the sixth ball of his comeback to remove then No. 1-ranked Steven Smith. He knocked Smith out again in the second innings and handed single-figure scores to three more Australia batsmen en route to 6 for 79, his best figures.Trent Boult’s 5 for 85 v England, 1st Test, Lord’s
It was a fine spell of fast bowling – 5 for 85 in 34 overs – but it could not be a match-winning one because of Alastair Cook and his impeccable resolve. Trent Boult swung the ball both ways and troubled the England batsmen more than a bee in the helmet. Had he found the England captain’s edge sooner than the 125th over, things could well have been different.Pat Cummins tested England with his raw pace•Getty ImagesMitchell Marsh 4 for 27 v England, 5th ODI, Old Trafford
With the series on the line, Mitchell Marsh produced the best figures of the English summer in ODIs. After John Hastings made the early incisions, Marsh took over and helped bowl England out for 138 inside 25 overs to spearhead the victory that won the series for Australia. Trent Boult 4 for 55 v England, 1st ODI, Edgbaston
In a mad cap innings, where England racked up their highest total in ODI history and later claimed their biggest margin of victory in terms of runs in ODIs, Trent Boult held his own. He dismissed England’s top three and accounted for Ben Stokes at an economy rate under six. Pat Cummins 4 for 49 v England, 4th ODI, Headingley
Pat Cummins consistently hit speeds north of 90mph and troubled the England batsmen in an otherwise comfortable run chase. He struck with his second ball and finished with an impressive economy rate of 4.90 while James Pattinson and John Hastings were left nursing economy rates of over eight. Moeen Ali 3 for 32 and Adil Rashid 2 for 31 v Australia, 3rd ODI, Old Trafford
After losing the first two ODIs, England came back strongly through their spinners on a dry pitch at Old Trafford. Moeen Ali picked up career-best ODI figures and found an ably ally in Adil Rashid, who showed control as well as wicket-taking threat. Mitchell Santner 3 for 31 v England, Chester-le-Street
Taking the new ball in only his fifth ODI, the left-arm spinner undid Alex Hales, Joe Root and Eoin Morgan in seven balls before Johnny Bairstow and Sam Billings pulled off a heist.

There was a lot more to Virender Sehwag than see ball, hit ball

Aakash Chopra26-Oct-2015In the Chennai Test in 2004, Australia were bundled out minutes before the end of the fourth day’s play and India had to bat 18 balls before stumps. Their openers, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, played out the overs and came back unbeaten, but not before Sehwag had hit three cracking boundaries. That evening I said to Sehwag what a relief it must be to stay unbeaten and start afresh the next morning. To my utter disbelief, he was genuinely disappointed that the session hadn’t last a few minutes longer, since it had denied him a few more runs. He believed that since it was a short session the Australians would have kept attacking, which would have allowed him to hit a couple more boundaries.To understand the significance of Sehwag’s desire to bat longer, it’s important to know that the time of day openers dread batting in most is not the first over of a Test on a seamer-friendly pitch, because that’s what most of them prepare for. It’s when the opposition have been bowled out or have declared 15 to 20 minutes short of close of play. That’s when your body and mind are tired, and you know that there’s everything to lose and nothing to gain. Even if you survive that brief period, you won’t go back in feeling confident the next morning because you have haven’t faced enough balls. The worst-case scenario is losing your wicket and watching the rest come back refreshed the next morning to bat. Most openers will admit that they secretly want the opposition to bat a little longer on such days.This enhances our appreciation of the way Sehwag batted. But it’s not as if batting was always a one-dimensional pursuit for him in which he wanted to hog the strike. At times he was candid enough to admit that the non-striker’s end was a better place for him.In 2003-04, India decided to bat first on a slightly damp pitch in Sydney. Brett Lee was bowling one of his better spells, in which the ball swung like a banana at high pace. Somehow I got stuck at his end for the majority of that spell. I couldn’t rotate the strike. At the end of the innings Sehwag, who made 72, told me that if it weren’t for my getting stuck at one end, he wouldn’t have got any runs. Not that he denied singles or purposely stayed away from facing Lee, for that wasn’t his style. Just that he was acutely aware of what might get him into trouble. In fact, when I said to him that the arrival of the first-change bowler would make life easier, he said it was futile to think in that fashion, because if I wanted to bat the entire day I would have to play every bowler many times over.Sehwag wasn’t above admitting it when he found the going tough, like in Sydney in 2004•Getty ImagesHonesty
Sehwag’s biggest strength was his absolute honesty with regard to his own strengths and weaknesses. While he could play almost all the shots in the book (and create a few shots of his own), he couldn’t hook and pull the seamers and sweep the spinners all that well – a fact he was happy to accept. He wouldn’t take on bouncers even when he was well set and batting on 150, ducking under them instead, regardless of his form or the number of runs on the board. Similarly, he wouldn’t sweep spinners. That tells you that he had immense self-control and discipline, and, more importantly, the wisdom to realise his potential and limitations. It’s a difficult balance to maintain when you’re playing at the top level. Sehwag’s style of batting made you believe it was instinctive, but it wasn’t. There was method to his madness. He had the self-control to not attempt things he couldn’t achieve.Most players with so many shots to work with develop a certain arrogance over time, but not Sehwag. Once in a while, he allowed the ego to get the better of him, but that was mostly against spinners, when he knew the dice were loaded in his favour.Facing pace
“Sehwag is blessed with great eyes and hands” was the most common comment to describe his game. Since his batting was all hands and very little feet, it’s a sound assessment, but little do people realise that he worked really hard to become the batsman he was. He started as an offspinner who batted in the lower middle order for his club, school and state sides. While he wasn’t a walking wicket against seam bowlers, they did fancy their chances against him and often got him out too. For someone who was only half-decent against pace at club level to become one of the finest Test opening batsmen needed a lot of hard work. Sehwag was the first to get into the nets and the last out. Whenever two nets were set up for a session, one for pacers and one for spinners, it was a given that he’d beat you to the pacers net. He knew that he’d be confronting pace in the match, and so practising against it was critical to his success.I’ve also seen him practise for hours against the bowling machine to get used to extra pace. He batted at No. 7 in his first international match, against Pakistan in Mohali, and Shoaib Akhtar trapped him leg before* for 1. Sehwag looked a little at sea against genuine pace that day, and after that he didn’t leave a stone unturned to rectify that shortcoming. A genius makes nurture look natural.Sehwag worked hard in the nets to improve his batting against pace bowling•AFPA thinking batsman
“If it’s there to be hit, I don’t think if it’s the first ball of the match. I just hit it,” Sehwag would say when asked if he ever thought about going after a certain bowler from the start of a match. That made people believe he was an instinctive batsman. But he thought a lot about the game and batting.In a Ranji game against Orissa on a very poor pitch, where batting was an almost impossible task (the match finished inside two days), Sehwag at one point suddenly walked down the pitch to a medium-pacer and played a wild slog, missing it by a couple of feet. I went to him, hoping to calm him down, but he told me that he had planned to step out and get beaten, because now the bowler would try to pitch it short. He was right. The bowler walked into the trap and Sehwag dispatched the next two balls for boundaries.In a match against Punjab in Ludhiana once, Sehwag was running a high fever and went out to bat on the last day when Delhi were in a spot of bother. Since running was out of the question, he started hitting big shots. He also engaged the opposition captain, Vikram Rathour, in a wager. The deal was that Vikram would leave a gap unplugged and Sehwag would try to hit his next boundary through there. This little game within the game went on for the duration of his 175-ball 187. Not only did he know how to get the best out of himself, he also wasn’t shy of displaying a little bit of gamesmanship.Sehwag’s style was uncomplicated, but it’s foolish to believe that there wasn’t any planning involved in the way he batted.Courage of conviction
Since Sehwag didn’t move his feet much, his biggest strength was his balance. And quite early in his career he understood the importance of bringing his bat down straight. But the flip side of his limited foot movement was that he ended up playing inside the line quite often, which meant he frequently got beaten outside off. While most batsmen will tell you to forget what happened on the last ball, not many are able to practise what they preach. However much you want to forget, if you’re beaten, you tend to brood about where things went wrong. Did I not move my feet enough? Did I pick the wrong line? Did my head fall over a little? As a result you tighten your game up a little. Sehwag might give the previous ball a thought but never enough importance to change his style of play. Even a barren patch wouldn’t force him to re-examine his batting technique.While Sehwag’s faith in his technique played a big part in his success, it also contributed to his downfall towards the end of his career•BCCIThe moment he went through a slightly lean patch, a lot of well-meaning advice came his way, about moving his feet a little more, playing close to the body, and all the rest of it. His conviction in his own style of play was his biggest asset. If he had paid heed to what others were saying, he wouldn’t have become the Sehwag we admire so much. It was always his way or the highway.Unfortunately, while his faith in his batting held him in good stead for the majority of his career, it perhaps didn’t allow him to reinvent his game towards the latter half. Even when he was not as successful, he didn’t try to change tack. When his eyes weren’t seeing as they used to, the hands were still moving as they did before. There might have been a case to be made for trying to find another way of scoring runs, for his way was no longer working as well it had done. It’s a travesty that someone who redefined Test opening and happened to be one of India’s biggest match-winners wasn’t a part of the Indian team when he bid goodbye.But then if it were in him to change, he wouldn’t have been the player he was. Those who live by the sword, die by it too.*October 28, 12:16GMT: The piece originally said Sehwag was cleaned up round his legs. This has been corrected

Plus: the biggest difference between scores by openers, and the highest Test totals without a no-ball

Steven Lynch12-Jan-2016Martin Guptill held the record for the fastest T20 fifty for about 20 minutes – has anyone ever held a record for shorter? asked Mike Shaw from Canada
What happened in the recent T20 in Auckland was that Martin Guptill scored New Zealand’s fastest T20 half-century, in 19 balls, but Colin Munro then hurtled to one in just 14 deliveries shortly afterwards. Guptill reached 50 from the fifth ball of the fifth over, and Munro got there from the last of the 10th, winning the match with another six. Yuvraj Singh’s 12-ball half-century for India against England in the World T20 in Durban in 2007 remains the fastest in all T20 internationals.Leaving aside short-lived marks set in a team’s early matches, there are some notable examples of cricket records not lasting very long. Arguably the most famous was Australia’s 434 for 4 in Johannesburg in March 2006, which was comfortably a record one-day international total at the time – the previous highest was 398 – but it didn’t survive the night, as South Africa made 438 for 9 to win by one wicket.Charlotte Edwards held the record for the highest score in women’s one-day internationals for a few hours on December 16, 1997, after making an undefeated 173 for England in a World Cup match against Ireland in Pune; later that day Belinda Clark hit 229 not out for Australia against Denmark in Mumbai.Something similar may have happened on the first day of the men’s World Cup, in England in 1975. The highest individual ODI score going into the tournament was David Lloyd’s 116 not out for England against Pakistan in Nottingham in 1974 – but on the opening day of the inaugural global competition Dennis Amiss made 137 for England against India at Lord’s, while in a match that started at the same time, Glenn Turner was piling up 171 not out for New Zealand against East Africa at Edgbaston. Amiss was out in the 51st over, while Turner batted throughout New Zealand’s 60; we don’t have exact timings but it’s possible the record changed hands more than once during the day. (Thanks to the brains trust on the Ask Steven Facebook page for some of these.)West Indies bowlers took only 12 wickets in the recent series against Australia. Is this the fewest for a three-Test series? asked Tushar Mukherjee from the United States
That’s a good spot, as it turns out that the 12 wickets taken by West Indies’ bowlers in the recent series in Australia was easily the fewest in any three-Test rubber. The previous worst was 16, by New Zealand at home to South Africa in 1998-99, and by Bangladesh in Sri Lanka in 2007 (when Sri Lanka won all three Tests by an innings). The fewest wickets taken by bowlers in a four- or five-Test series is 31, by South Africa in five matches in England in 1924. England took all 120 Australian wickets in the six-match Ashes series of 1978-79.Jomel Warrican was not out in all his five innings in Australia. Was this a record for a three-Test series? asked Allan Alexander from the United States
The Barbados slow left-armer Jomel Warrican scored 44 runs without being dismissed in his five innings in the recent series in Australia. He currently boasts a heady Test batting average of 65, when those runs are added to the 1 (out) and 20 not out he made in his only previous Test, against Sri Lanka in Colombo in October. In fact, Warrican wasn’t dismissed in Australia at all – in his only other innings, in a two-day warm-up against Victoria in Geelong, he made an unbeaten 22. Warrican is the first player to have five innings in a three-Test series and be not out in all of them; there are some others with five undefeated innings out of five, but they were in longer series in which the players concerned missed one or more matches. Australia’s Bill Johnston, for example, had six innings in the 1953 Ashes, and was unbeaten in all of them – but he missed two of the five Tests. An earlier West Indian slow left-armer, Alf Valentine, had eight innings in the 1960-61 series in Australia, and was not out in all of them, a record matched the following season by the New Zealand swing bowler Frank Cameron in five Tests in South Africa. For the full list, click here.In the Perth Test against Zimbabwe in 2003-04, the difference between the scores of Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer was 354 – a record for openers•Darren England/Getty ImagesEngland didn’t bowl a single no-ball in South Africa’s innings of 627 in Cape Town. Was this the highest Test innings not to include any? asked Savo Ceprnich from South Africa
The highest Test total which features a zero in the no-ball column is West Indies’ 790 for 3 declared against Pakistan at Kingston in 1957-58 – the innings in which Garry Sobers set the then record individual score of 365 not out. South Africa’s 627 for 7 declared against England in Cape Town earlier this month comes in joint seventh on this particular table. But it’s possible that some of the entries on that list did contain some no-balls: until around 1980, when the scoring convention was changed, no-balls that were scored from would not have shown up. So the only higher total we can be sure did not contain a single no-ball is Pakistan’s 708 against England at The Oval in 1987. What’s the biggest difference in scores by opening batsmen? Is it 325, when Graham Gooch made 333 and Mike Atherton 8 in the 1990 Lord’s Test? asked Sujana Datta from India
There are actually three instances bigger than the 325 you mention. In Peshawar in 1998-99, Australia’s captain Mark Taylor made 334 not out against Pakistan, but his opening partner Michael Slater was out for 2. When Len Hutton amassed 364 for England against Australia at The Oval in 1938, Bill Edrich was out early on for 12. But the winner is Matthew Hayden: during his 380 for Australia against Zimbabwe in Perth in 2003-04, his opening partner Justin Langer departed for 26, a difference of 354.How many bowlers have conceded 100 runs in an innings at Lord’s? If there were such an honours board, would Ian Botham and Stuart Broad be on it, giving them a complete set, as they are on the centuries, five-wickets-in-an-innings and ten-in-a-match boards too? asked Gareth Sutcliffe from South Africa
If there were such a board, it would have to be a pretty big one, as there have now been 212 instances of an individual bowler conceding 100 or more runs in an innings during a Test at Lord’s. Ian Botham would certainly be up there, as he conceded a ton there on a record eight occasions; Stuart Broad has done it just once so far. Andrew Flintoff collected four bowling centuries; the Australian legspinner Clarrie Grimmett is unique among visiting bowlers in conceding three. The only man to give away more than 200 runs in a Test innings at Lord’s is India’s Bishan Bedi, with 6 for 226 in 1974.Send in your questions using our feedback form.