What resistance to change? We take a look at how the Quaid-e-Azam trophy has evolved in the last 15 years

Danyal Rasool13-Jul-2017.2002-03: This QeA season comprised 24 teams, divided into four groups. Regional teams and departmental teams competed together. For example, Faisalabad (a regional team) was in the same group as WAPDA (a departmental team).2003-04: This season saw dramatic changes to the QeA trophy. Departmental teams were removed. Instead nine regional sides, all in one group, competed against each other for the title.2004-05: The format remained the same as the previous season, except two more regional teams were added to the mix, and 11 teams, all in one group again, vied against each other.2005-2006: This season saw another extensive overhaul, with a new, 13-team format. The teams were split into two leagues: seven in the top-tiered Gold league and six in the Silver league. Promotion and relegation was introduced for the first time. Departments and regions remained segregated. Departments competed in the Patron’s trophy instead.2007-08: The Gold and Silver league experiment came to an end after just two seasons. Twenty-two teams competed in this season’s competition, placed in two groups of 11. In another significant change, departmental sides returned to the QeA trophy, and competed alongside regions for the first time in five years.2010-11: Further changes were made to the way regional and departmental sides competed in the QeA. This season featured 22 teams, split into two divisions – 12 and 10, as opposed to 11 each. Twelve teams – the six best regional sides and departmental sides based on the previous year’s results – constituted division one. At the end of the league phase, the lowest-placed regional and departmental sides were relegated to division two.2013-14: The number of sides was reduced to 14 in another revamping of the format and structure. They were split into two groups of seven, with the top four teams from each group proceeding to the Super League of the tournament and the remaining six teams going through to the Plate League.2014-15: In another wide-ranging refurbishment, a whopping 26 teams competed this season – 14 regional and 12 departmental. The top six teams from the 2013-14 Quaid-e-Azam Trophy and the top six from the previous President’s Trophy made up the Gold League. All 12 teams played each other once, leading to a final at the end of the round-robin series. The Silver League consisted of two groups, each with four regional and three departmental teams. In both groups, all 12 teams played each other once, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and a final.2015-16: The number of teams was reduced to 16, eight departmental and eight regional. Of the 16 teams, 12 – six regional and six departmental – gained automatic qualification on the basis of their performance the previous season. The last four places were filled through a qualifying round – two regional and two departmental teams – from which FATA made their way into the top competition.

West Indies have made yet more clumsy errors in an absorbing Test, but they haven’t allowed their heads to drop, and that could yet be critical

Melinda Farrell at Lord's08-Sep-20172:46

Windies fight on after Anderson makes history

Jason Holder had three slips in.It seemed the sensible thing to do. Rain had prevented play for most of the first session, the players were back out after lunch, the ball was still swinging, England were 64 for 5 and Shannon Gabriel was trying to break up the partnership between Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow. Pressure time.Gabriel ran in and angled the ball into Bairstow, who turned it into the vacant leg side for a single. Now it was time to turn the heat up on Stokes, who had weathered the moving ball and, on 24, was starting to look more comfortable.Holder moved the fielder at second slip into the covers and waved Kyle Hope, fielding at third slip, towards the vacant spot.Gabriel ran in once more. This time the ball reared up from the pitch and off the splice of Stokes bat straight to the man at third slip. Who wasn’t there. Hope made a valiant dive to the left – where he had been standing moments before – and just got a hand to the ball. Ben Stokes, dropped. Different day, same tune.Almost sheepishly, Holder shifted into reverse. No more cover, three slips. It still seemed the sensible thing to do.Gabriel bowled again and Stokes punched the ball straight back past him and down to the rope at the Pavilion end. Take that. Holder kicked the ground in frustration. It would not be the only time. Sometimes you’re ahead of the game and at others you’re frantically trying to hang on, with all the success of holding water.****Stokes was on 60. Easily the highest innings in a low-scoring match in which conditions so favoured the bowlers. Gabriel had the ball again. Coming around the wicket, he found enough inswing to beat Stokes’ bat. Bowled. Except it wasn’t. It was one of six no-balls in Gabriel’s extras column.This time, Gabriel quickly made amends, bowling Stokes two balls later – before he could do any more damage – with a quicker ball angled in.At Edgbaston, mistakes were punished. At Headingley, they were balanced out by some outstanding performances. At Lord’s, the bandaids were holding it together.***Ben Stokes and Jason Holder share a joke during a hard-fought passage of play•Getty ImagesThey were required to patch things up once more when Shane Dowrich made an absolute hash of what should have been a straightforward catch; Toby Roland-Jones offering a thick edge off Kemar Roach. This time it was Dowrich kicking the turf. The jeers of the crowd were loud when the big screen showed the replay. They were even louder soon after, when Dowrich tripped and fell when tossing the ball back.The wicketkeeper hasn’t made double figures this series and hasn’t convinced behind the stumps. Both the Hope brothers keep wicket and Jahmar Hamilton is waiting in the wings. Dowrich may struggle to keep his place beyond this tour.****In the first Test of the summer at Lord’s, South Africa’s bowlers were pummelled by the free-swinging bats of Stuart Broad and James Anderson. Someone should have shown West Indies that tape, before Broad teed off once more. The tenth-wicket partnership was worth 31. Like the 36 runs scored by Stokes after he was dropped, or the two scored by Roland-Jones after he was dropped, or the seven no-balls, it wasn’t a major cost. No one went on to score centuries and England’s first innings lead was a not insurmountable 71 runs. Small margins.****The mistakes West Indies have made are not new. They were there in the warm-up matches – in Derby, where Gabriel bowled 24 no-balls, and in the first Test, where poor fielding and even worse batting proved to be critical. But England have dropped catches, too. And the fight shown at Headingley can still be seen in the way that, after kicking the turf, the players didn’t drop their heads.Roach’s impressive five-wicket haul was punctuated by clever use of the swinging ball and the obliging seam movement. Gabriel’s response to his no-ball to Stokes was swift and decisive. Holder may have erred with a fielding change early on but claimed four wickets off his own bowling and rallied his players.And there is something of the gritty resolve of Headingley still hovering over this side. They haven’t folded when England have landed punches. They’ve scrapped and dug in and while Shai Hope is at the crease, it would be unwise to write them off. Their lead may be slender but they still have wickets in hand and they are in the battle.’We’re here to fight, to put up a fight against the English,” said Roach. “Came here to win, things we can brush up on but we’re going to fight in the second innings.”This has been a Test of small margins.And small margins could prove to be all that’s required.

Stats highlights from Old Trafford where England wrapped up their first home series win over South Africa since 1998

Gaurav Sundararaman07-Aug-20171998 – Last instance of England beating South Africa in a series at home. In 2003 it was drawn, while South Africa won in 2008 and 2012. This was also the first time since 1960 that England won three or more Tests in a series against South Africa.8 – Players to have scored 250 runs and taken 25 wickets in a Test series .This all-round feat has been achieved only nine times in Tests, and Moeen Ali is the only one to achieve it in a four-Test series. The other eight instances were achieved over either five or six Tests. The last to achieve the double was R Ashwin against England in 2016.2 – Players to have scored 250 runs and taken 20 or more wickets in a series comprising four matches or less. Moeen and Richard Hadlee feature in this list. The tally of 25 wickets taken by Moeen in this series was his highest so far in his Test career.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2 – Losses for South Africa in an away series since 2007. Before the defeat to England, South Africa lost to India in 2015. During this period they won 12 and drew three away Test series’.11 – Spinners from England to take 25 or more wickets in a Test series. Before Moeen, Graeme Swann was the last to achieve this, during the 2013 Ashes in England.5 –Man-of-the-Match awards for Moeen Ali in Tests since his debut – the joint most for England, alongside Joe Root, in this period. Only Steven Smith has more such awards with six.3 – Centuries scored in the entire series. There were also 27 half-centuries. The 10% conversion rate is the worst for any Test series of four or more matches. Pakistan’s tour of India in 1979 had three centuries and 26 fifties, which is second worst. Since readmission, this is only the second time that South Africa have managed just one individual century in a Test series of a minimum of four matches. They didn’t score any during the tour of India in 2015-16.113 – Runs made by Heino Kuhn in this series – the second worst for an opener from South Africa in Tests having played a minimum of eight innings. Kuhn could manage a top-score of only 34 in his debut series.2 – Number of century stands for England this series, out of six overall. The last time England had fewer century stands was in the 2013-14 Ashes in Australia. South Africa’s top run-scorer this series, Hashim Amla, was involved in three of four century stands.

The part-timers low-slung spinners have accounted for some big names

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2017

Despite another creaky performance that highlighted the weaknesses in their side, Usman Khawaja just about proved the difference against Perth Scorchers

Jarrod Kimber11-Jan-2018Last season, Sydney Thunder won three games in the Big Bash League. They finished last, with the worst net run rate as well.The games they won included one featuring a staggering fifth-wicket partnership of 84 between Pat Cummins and Eoin Morgan, sealed off the last ball. In another, Fawad Ahmed took 4 for 14. Their third win was a good effort from the bowlers, and then James Vince breaking the chase in the Powerplay.Cummins hasn’t played yet this year, Morgan doesn’t have a contract, and Vince has been busy with England (and now seems to have caught Joe Root’s gastro). Two seasons back they won the whole thing. Mike Hussey and Jacques Kallis played, Andre Russell in his pomp and Usman Khawaja was so good David Warner got demoted from the Australia opening position.The Thunder were great, and then they were horrible. And then there is this year.It’s hard to work out how this current team wins. Their seam bowling is almost always ordinary, they don’t get off to fast starts, they routinely manufacture their No. 6, and you could make a pretty solid case that last season Cummins was their best batsman.In this game, they played the best team in the competition; but the best team in the competition without the Marshes, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Andrew Tye, and Jason Behrendorff.Coming in, the Thunder had won two games from six.The problems for the Thunder start right at the top. Kurtis Patterson, their opener, made a hundred on his Shield debut at 18. He’s a talented player. But he’s not been a good T20 player. In 24 matches, he has made no fifties. He faces 15 balls per game, but strikes at 110, so on average he’ll produce 16 runs. It gets worse: Patterson scores a boundary every 6.4 balls in the Powerplay, the average is 5.4. Not only is that 17% worse than the average, with all but two players outside the circle he doesn’t even hit a boundary per over.In 11 out of 17 innings of over 10 balls, he has scored slower than his team, despite coming in during the Powerplay virtually all the time. He’s outscored when he is at the crease by his team-mates, and he faces more balls in the Powerplay than the man at the other end. So he doesn’t hit boundaries or rotate the strike well, he doesn’t make fast runs, or go on for big scores.

Their overseas signing hasn’t been going well, their allrounder captain isn’t bowling, and their long-term seamer is a one-dimensional player

Coming in at No. 4 is Callum Ferguson, who hasn’t made a fifty in his last 28 BBL innings. He strikes at 120, and his average is 22.58. But Ferguson can play, he averaged over 40 in ODIs, and he’s the sort of batsman when in who ups the rate well. You cannot afford to play both of them, and if you do, Ferguson has to bat higher up the order than he currently does.Their depth outside the squad is also a problem. Aiden Blizzard is a quality player, but he’s getting on. Ryan Gibson has had a shocker of a year (30 runs in five hits). So when Vince is healthy, and with the Thunder hoping Khawaja doesn’t get called up as injury cover for the ODI side, they will most probably drop Patterson or Ferguson.But their batting problems don’t end with these two and the depth. At No. 6 they’re batting Arjun Nair. Every time he comes out to bat the commentators talk about how he hits the ball to unusual places; well, he has now hit 303 runs in his 25 professional games across all formats. So at the moment, he rarely hits the ball anywhere. The problem was there last year, when Cummins batted six, but Cummins made it work. This year Nair has 49 runs at a strike rate of 119.51, which is handy. But when you have two slower batsmen up the order who don’t make big scores, Nair either needs to make more runs, or make his runs really fast. He may get there, but he hasn’t shown that yet.Tonight, none of that mattered. Since 2012, Khawaja is averaging 72 in BBL cricket. He was excellent again, scoring at 9.96 runs an over and making almost half their score. The rest of the Thunder scored at 7.5.Other than Khawaja, the other thing holding this team together is their spin.The Thunder spinners are outstanding. Over the last two years they’ve gone at 6.84 and over, the pacers at 8.75. That isn’t because they’ve been in the soft middle overs: even when the pacers bowl those overs, the spinners are better. They are also way better in the Powerplay, going at 5.9 compared to 8 an over. And with Nair getting more confident since last year, their spinners are even better now.The problem is that while one batsman like Khawaja can often win the game for you, generally you need most of your bowlers to play well. One-off bowling performances win far less game than one-off batting. So even Fawad, who has nine wickets and at economy of 5.9 this year, can’t win many games.That means the Thunder seamers have to be better – and they have lost Russell and Cummins since last year. Coming into the Scorchers game, Gurinder Sandhu’s last five outings had him leaking over ten runs an over.Gurinder Sandhu celebrates Alex Doolan’s wicket•Getty ImagesOne thing Sandhu’s good at is bowling with the new ball. His econ is 6.8, he strikes every 19 balls, and his average is 21. That’s him ranked sixth, fifth and third for those skills in Powerplay. He bowls 38% of his overs in the Powerplay; but he doesn’t often bowl more than one over. This was the first time since 2012-13 that he bowled more than two overs in it. In that game, also against the Scorchers, he took 1 for 18. So you have a team whose seam bowlers are struggling in the Powerplay, and a bowler who gets smashed when he bowls outside the Powerplay, who doesn’t bowl enough in it.Tonight was Sandhu at his best; he swung the ball massively; he got the big wicket of Ashton Turner, and when he did come back on to bowl at the death, he did so with confidence. His over should have iced the game. But even Mitch McClenaghan – brought in to shore up their seam bowling – gets in green and becomes like all the other recent Thunder seamers: incredibly expensive. And the one player who could probably help, Shane Watson, has bowled 7.4 overs for the season.So their overseas signing hasn’t been going well, their allrounder captain isn’t bowling, and their long-term seamer is a one-dimensional player.When Fawad finished his overs, the Scorchers needed 74 from 30; they got 70 of them.It’s not like the Thunder fielded brilliantly either, this might’ve been the worst fielding of a tournament that has already been plagued by drops. In the last over they fumbled, missed a run-out, and that is not even including McClenaghan’s full-toss no-ball.Khawaja covered their flaws against this Scorcher-lite team. But as good as he was, and as much as the weakened Scorchers struggled, it still came down to the last ball. And with a boundary needed to win the game, a full toss was delivered. Luckily for them, it was mishit.The Thunder have now won three games in this year’s BBL. They won, but how.

Former India batsman pays tribute to Wadekar, following his death due to a prolonged illness in Mumbai on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2018″Sunil, sorry, he is no more.” Those devastating words conveyed to me that ‘my captain’ Ajit Wadekar had passed away. Just a little while earlier, I was trying to help put him in the car to rush him to the hospital since the ambulance was going to take another 15 minutes to arrive and even then it looked like it was a hopeless battle.Ajit Wadekar was my captain when I made my debut for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy and he was my skipper when I got my India cap. So for me he was always ‘captain’. That he was from Shivaji Park Gymkhana and I was from Dadar Union Sporting Club – the great rival clubs then -made no difference as I was a fan first. Those days there was hardly a single weekend where you didn’t read that Wadekar had got a century. He was so prolific in local and Ranji Trophy cricket that it was a surprise to many that he made his India debut as late as 1966 against Garry Sobers’ West Indies team. Five years later it was against Garry Sobers’ team that he led India for the first time and went on to win the series, beating West Indies for the first time. A couple of months after that he led India to another historic win when India beat England in England for the first time.He was unkindly called a lucky captain by those who couldn’t stomach the fact that he had replaced the charismatic Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as the skipper. The then Chairman of selectors, batting legend Vijay Merchant was also pilloried by some for it was his casting vote that made Wadekar the new Indian captain then. Even after these twin wins and another in India a year later neither Vijay Merchant nor Ajit Wadekar got the credit they deserved for bringing India those hat-trick of wins.Ajit retired from Test cricket suddenly when he was left out of the West Zone team for the Duleep Trophy by a committee led by another Indian great, Polly Umrigar and thereafter concentrated on his banking career and also cricket administration with the Mumbai Cricket Association. He also was a successful manager/coach of the Indian team in the early 1990s. When some of us sportspersons requested the Maharashtra Government for a plot of land to build an apartment block, it was Ajit who took the lead and there was Umrigar also in the society formed showing that he harboured no hard feelings towards his senior. Being the promoter, he got the top floor of the building when it was built and since I was on the floor immediately below him he used to always joke, ‘I am the only one on top of Sunny’.In recent times with my travel schedule, we hardly met but whenever we did, he would, as usual, come up with a joke in his easy drawl.There’s hardly been a day when I haven’t mimicked his at least once and not just me but even Sachin Tendulkar told me that he too says the same at least once a day.My captain is no more but he will always be with me when I say, .

Ajay Rohera broke Amol Muzumdar’s record of highest score by a debutant in first-class cricket, as seven matches finished on the third day

Saurabh Somani08-Dec-2018At the end of the second day of the fifth round of Ranji Trophy 2018-19, a debutant and two men playing their final matches were in sight of significant achievements, and all three got there. And in Dehradun, two men emulated VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid.As many as seven matches finished on the third day.Record-breaking debuts, and fairy-tale farewellsMadhya Pradesh’s Ajay Rohera was one hit away from getting the highest score on debut in first-class cricket when play ended on Friday in Indore. He didn’t get there in one hit, but he did break the record set byAmol Muzumdar. Muzumdar had made 260 against Haryana in Faridabad in February 1994. Rohera finished on 267 not out before Madhya Pradesh declared on a massive 562 for 4. They then shot Hyderabad out for 185 to win by an innings and 253 runs and pocket seven points. To make it sweeter, Rohera also earned praise from the man whose record he had broken.

Would like to congratulate the youngster on this achievement. What an Effort. Records r meant to be broken, n I’m glad that the record stays in the ‘Country’. well done to Ajay. Enjoy the moment.! https://t.co/c1lqiqndDd

— Amol Muzumdar (@amolmuzumdar11) December 8, 2018

Gautam Gambhir was on 92 overnight, and duly completed a 43rd first-class century, signing off in style in his final match. Gambhir’s century, and Dhruv Shorey’s 98, have ensured Delhi will take the first-innings lead against Andhra, though with only a day’s play left and Delhi 409 for 7 in their first innings, an outright result doesn’t appear likely.Saurashtra’s Jaydev Shah had missed out on a hundred in his last match, making 97 in the first innings. He made only 4 in his second innings – thus ensuring that he’ll end up with a first-class average below 30 – but Saurashtra won the battle of spinners against Karnataka to send their captain into retirement with an 87-run win.1000 miles away, Eden reprisedDehradun is actually 1051 miles away from Kolkata, but the Uttarakhand pair of Vineet Saxena and Rajat Bhatia did a Laxman-Dravid, batting the entire day without being separated. The pair had come together just before the tea break on Friday. At stumps on Saturday, they both had double centuries and their partnership was worth 399 runs. Meghalaya might have fancied their chances of a first-innings lead after having Uttarakhand 92 for 4 in reply to their 311 – but they couldn’t have predicted 90 overs of toil without a wicket.
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Results already inRajasthan have been on a remarkable run in Group C, and already have four wins from five games. They beat Assam by an innings and 43 runs, thanks to Aniket Choudhary‘s match haul of ten wickets. Choudhary took 5 for 38 in the first innings and 5 for 40 in the second, as Assam could muster only 108 and 174 in their two digs. Rajasthan have now raced away to 28 points, and are on top of Group C.Uttar Pradesh might have expected to find themselves on top of their group, and with 24 points in five games thanks to three wins, that would have been a reasonable expectation. Only Rajasthan’s even more brilliant run has pushed them to second. But UP have been a force in Group C, and their latest win underlined that. Having conceded a 102-run first-innings lead to J&K, they struck back to first bowl the team out for just 111, and then ease to a victorious fourth-innings chase. Most pleasingly for them perhaps, Suresh Raina found some form after a long time, hitting 66 not out, while Rinku Singh added a quick 42* to his first-innings 66. The hero for UP though, was Saurabh Kumar, who took career-best match figures of 11 for 118.Baroda missed out on a bonus-point win, losing one wicket while chasing down a target of 28 against Chhattisgarh. The visiting team had been bowled out for 129 in the first innings but put on a better show in the second with 283, but with Yusuf Pathan’s century having taken Baroda to 385, Chhattisgarh had too much to catch up on and make a match of it.Bihar shut out Arunachal Pradesh by an innings and 317 runs, with Ashutosh Aman running through the visitors. Aman took 7 for 14 for a match haul of 11 for 40 – both career-best figures – as Arunachal tumbled from an overnight 98 for 1 to 135 all out.Manipur quelled Nagaland’s challenge for a seven-wicket win. After a dismal 126 in the first innings, Nagaland’s were driven by their professionals – KB Pawan (131) and Abrar Kazi (90) – to 334 in their second innings. Manipur didn’t stutter on their way to the 125-run target though. Yashpal Singh, Manipur’s professional, made an unbeaten 35 in the chase, having earlier taken 5 for 46.Rajat Bhatia made his highest first-class score while batting all day with Vineet Saxena•ESPNcricinfo Ltd
Notable performancesRohera’s innings stole the show, but Avesh Khan had an equal hand in MP’s victory, taking 7 for 24 and 5 for 30 to send Hyderabad crashing. It was the first time Avesh had taken ten wickets in a match, and his first-innings figures were also his best ever.The man who made Jaydev’s farewell a happy one was Dharmendrasinh Jadeja. He had already taken 7 for 103 in Karnataka’s first innings, and he followed that with 4 for 44 in the second, including trapping R Samarth plumb in front off the first ball of Karnataka’s chase.Watch out for…These final day matches could have a thrilling finish:Maharashtra are leading against Mumbai by 191 runs with five wickets remaining. They had begun the match well, but collapsed from 310 for 4 to 352 all out. Mumbai couldn’t capitalise, though with a familiar face to battle the crisis – Siddhesh Lad, captaining Mumbai for this game – they made 273. In the second innings though, Mumbai have strangulated Maharashtra, whose scoring rate has been 2.15.Jharkhand let slip a good start, going from 57 for no loss to 172 all out. They fought back though, as Odisha were bowled out for 201 after being 7 for 3 at one stage. Saurabh Tiwary‘s unbeaten 132 then set Odisha 260 to win. They’re 81 for 3 at stumps, and the match is fascinatingly poised.When Tripura bowled out Haryana for just 119 in their second innings, they might have thought a rare win was near, with only 162 to chase. However, they find themselves 104 for 7, and even that is a recovery from 75 for 7. The good news for Tripura is that Pratyush Singh, who made 76 in their first innings, is at the crease on 23.

Brief scores

Groups A and B:Gujarat 367 (Panchal 69, Chawla 130, Amit Mishra 4-93) & 4/0 trail Railways 547/9d (Bhille 116, A Ghosh 93, Mahesh Rawat 119*) by 176 runs in Valsad. ScorecardMaharashtra 352 (Gugale 101, Khurana 71, Pande 74, Parkar 4-56) & 112/5 (Dube 2-7) lead Mumbai 273 (Tare 63, Lad 93, Ranjane 54*, Ashay Palkar 4-62) by 191 runs in Pune. ScorecardBaroda 385 (Yusuf 129*, Bhatt 67, Arothe 63, Verma 4-184) & 31/1 (Devdhar 25*) beat Chhattisgarh 129 (Swapnil 5-23) & 283 (Dhaliwal 79, Manoj Singh 61) by nine wickets. Scorecard
Saurashtra 316 (Jaydev 97, Suchith 6-111) & 79 (Deshpande 3-5, Shreyas 3-10, Suchith 3-29) beat Karnataka 217 (Nischal 58, Nair 63, D Jadeja 7-103) & 91 (Nair 30, D Jadeja 4-44, Makwana 5-28) by 87 runs in Rajkot. Scorecard
Delhi 409/7 (Gambhir 112, Shorey 98) lead Andhra 390 (Bhui 187, Bhati 5-48) by 19 runs in New Delhi. ScorecardPunjab 84 (M Dagar 4-22) & 195/8 (Garg 48, Gurvinder 4-43) trail Himachal 390 (Kalsi 82, M Dagar 71) by 111 runs in Mohali. ScorecardKerala 152 (P Rahul 59, Rahil Shah 4-32, T Natarajan 3-43) & 27/1 trail Tamil Nadu 268 (Indrajith 87, Shahrukh 92*, Warrier 5-52, Thampi 4-62) & 252/7 (Kaushik 59, Indrajith 92, Sijomon 4-51) by 341 runs in Chennai. ScorecardMP 562/4d (Rohera 267*, Yash Dubey 139*) beat Hyderabad 124 (Himalay 69*, Avesh 7-24) & 185 (Rohit Rayudu 72, Avesh 5-30) by an innings and 253 runs. Scorecard
Group CTripura 250 (Pratyush 76, MB Murasingh 44, Harshal Patel 4-49) & 104/7 (Pratyush 23*, Amit Rana 4-37, Tinu Kundu 3-19) v Haryana 292 (Bishnoi 82, Rahul Dagar 114, Ajoy Sarkar 5-57, MB Murasingh 4-74) & 119 (Himanshu Rana 64, Ajoy Sarkar 3-15) by 57 runs in Agartala. ScorecardServices 184 (Ravi Chauhan 75, Prabhudessai 5-52) & 277/5 (Paliwal 91, G Rahul Singh 81*) lead Goa 259 (Darshan Misal 101, Pathania 5-74, Pandey 4-59) by 202 runs in Porvorim. ScorecardUttar Pradesh 188 (Rinku Singh 66, Rasool 4-47) & 218/4 (Raina 66*, Rinku Singh 42*) beat J&K 290 (Rasool 87, Irfan 91, Saurabh Kumar 6-90) & 111 (Saurabh Kumar 5-28, Yash Dayal 4-26) by six wickets in Jammu. Scorecard
Odisha 201 (Sarangi 58, Pradhan 54) & 81/3 (Sarangi 41) trail Jharkhand 172 (Basant Mohanty 5-44) & 288 (S Tiwary 132*, R Mohanty 4-87) by 178 runs in Ranchi. ScorecardRajasthan 325 (Lomror 133, Salman Khan 71, Mali 5-62) beat Assam 108 (Aniket Choudhary 5-38) & 174 (Gokul Sharma 77, Aniket Choudhary 5-40) by an innings and 43 runs in Jaipur. Scorecard
Plate GroupSikkim 247 (Milind 96, Pankaj Singh 3-21, Rohit D 3-67) & 105/3 (Ashish Thapa 52) trail Puducherry 647/8 d (Dogra 253, Fabid 99) by 295 runs in Wayanad. ScorecardUttarakhand 491/4 (Saxena 202*, Bhatia 212*) lead Meghalaya 311 (Bisht 154, Nagar 91, Dhapola 6-52) by 180 runs in Dehradun. ScorecardManipur 336 (Raghav 228, Tahmeed 5-108) & 128/3 (Lakhan Rawat 55) beat Nagaland 126 (Priyojit 3-20) & 334 (KB Pawan 131, Abrar Kazi 90, Yashpal Singh 5-46) by seven wickets in Sovima. Scorecard
Bihar 536/5 (Indrajit 222, Babul 98) beat Arunachal Pradesh 84 (Ashutosh Aman 4-26) & 135 (Samarth 58, Ashutosh Aman 7-14) by an innings and 317 runs in Patna. Scorecard

Williamson’s 228 runs were the most by a New Zealand batsman in a Test against Pakistan

Bharath Seervi07-Dec-20181984- The last time New Zealand won a Test series in Asia (excluding in Bangladesh). It came in Sri Lanka 34 years ago. Since then they have played 18 series in Asia against India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka without winning any of them. The only previous occasion when New Zealand defeated Pakistan in Asia was in 1969-70.2- Number of series defeats for Pakistan in UAE since they started playing their home games there. Both of them have come in about the last 15 months and both since their ace duo Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq retired. Before these defeats, they were unbeaten in nine Test series in UAE.4- Number of Tests lost by Pakistan in UAE since Misbah and Younis retired, in seven matches. They lost two to Sri Lanka and two to New Zealand this series. Before their retirement, Pakistan had lost only four Tests in UAE in 24 matches.

Period Mats Won Lost Drawn W/L ratio Series defeatsAfter Younis-Misbah’s retirement 7 2 4 1 0.50 2During Younis-Misbah’s career 24 13 4 7 3.25 010- Number of times Pakistan have lost when chasing targets between 100 and 300 in the last ten years. In 18 such chases, they have won just four and lost ten of them. No other team has had that many unsuccessful chases. Pakistan’s average runs per wicket in chasing those targets just 20.61, the worst among all Test teams.7/127- William Somerville’s figures in the match – the third-best by a New Zealand spinner on Test debut. In the first Test of this series, at the same venue, Ajaz Patel picked 7 for 123 on debut.228- Runs for Kane Williamson in this Test, the most by a New Zealand captain in a Test against Pakistan. Williamson’s tally is also the third-best by a New Zealand captain in Asia.2.63- The scoring rate in this series, which is the second-lowest in any Test series of 2-plus matches in the last five years. The only series that had a lower run-rate was the Freedom Trophy in India (v South Africa) in 2015-16.5- Number of Man-of-the-Series awards for Yasir Shah, all coming since 2015 – the most for any player. R Ashwin is next with four such awards. All other Pakistan players combined have managed to win only four series awards in this period.29- Wickets for Yasir in the series at an average of 19.03. The next highest wicket-takers in the series were Hasan Ali and Ajaz Patel with 13 wickets each. Only one Pakistan bowler has picked more wickets in a three-match series – 30 wickets by Abdul Qadir in 1987-88. Yasir’s tally is also the most by a bowler in losing three-match series.

Here today, gone tomorrow, and back again, he’s made enough comebacks for all of us to have a favourite. Which one is yours?

Osman Samiuddin in Dubai07-Oct-2018Here’s a question. If you come back as often as Mohammad Hafeez, then were you ever really away in the first place? Think this through. This was Hafeez’s first Test in over two years but I’ll wager there’s a number of us out there who a) didn’t realise that he’s been out of the Test side that long, b) that he was out of the side at all, or c) that there were other openers actually opening for Pakistan in his place. Without opening Statsguru try and name the guys who have opened for Pakistan in the time since Hafeez last played a Test (apparently since August 2016, but I don’t believe it).Don’t hold me to this but today was, by a very rough count, Hafeez’s fifth comeback. We’ll restrict this to Tests not just because this is a Test but because we didn’t invent enough numbers to keep track of his comebacks in all formats combined. There’s enough for all of us to have a favourite comeback. The most successful one was when he returned in the Misbah era, to become a lead figure in what was not a team but a collective revenge of the rejected.My favourite is when he came back at The Oval in 2006 with 95 runs of such promise and purity that it felt like there was no way that would remain his only fifty in 12 Tests in England, New Zealand and South Africa, places where real openers are made. Sure enough, one series in South Africa later, he was pretty much gone for three years. , as we say around these parts, or we basically figured out the real Hafeez and his very real limitations.Three of those comebacks have happened after he’s missed more than 15 Tests, which is the kind of homeless fact that can only find a home in a piece about a Pakistani batsman. It will surprise you none that he’s not the first Pakistani to accomplish this and neither will the identity of the first: Hasan Raza.Does it tell us anything? Not much, but you know how it feels like Pakistan are never really anywhere, not firmly in the present era, only tentatively looking towards a new one, and not fully convinced that the older one is done? The sum total of that, to the last decimal point, is Mohammad Hafeez, who’s often but never decisively been discarded for being old furniture, who’s never been truly appreciated when he’s been around, and whose very presence kind of holds you back from looking too far ahead (you go ahead and imagine not picking him for his bowling alone for next year’s World Cup).It’s actually kind of cute that Pakistan thought in his dotage they could actually slip a younger, more real opener past Hafeez without him noticing. For two long years they thought they could do this. Sami Aslam, Shan Masood, Ahmed Shehzad (another comebacker), Imam-ul-Haq, Azhar Ali, and toying with Fakhar Zaman too, all of which got them right back here to the easy comforts of the UAE where Hafeez, let’s face it, is still king. Pretend all you want that he was a last-minute, emergency call-up to cover for Shadab Khan’s injury but come on: this is Hafeez. He’s never not going to be around.Mohammad Hafeez sweeps•Getty ImagesAnd perhaps it’s time to embrace that idea of a solution that isn’t quite short-term and definitely isn’t long-term but just is. How long you embrace it for doesn’t matter either just as long as you know that it’s difficult to argue he’s not a solution here. Go on, try and make a case for newer, younger openers. Try and make a case for bringing back other tried, tested and younger men. Try to make a case for converting batsmen into openers. But do always come back to the following stats, numbers that make a case for Hafeez while simultaneously unmaking the case of stats as an analytical tool altogether.Since Hafeez’s big comeback, in November 2010 at the start of the Misbah era, and including today, Pakistan’s openers have put on 13 century stands. It’s remarkable because only Australia and England have more. What’s more, Pakistani openers have put on a hundred at a rate of 1 every 9.62 innings and only Australia’s have done it more frequently. And of course they’ve done it with the second-highest number of partners.Opening has been a problem for Pakistan for so long that we’ve haven’t stopped to recognise that actually it’s not such a big problem at all. Fine, ten of those stands are in the UAE but that kind of home bounty is utterly in tune with this era. Ultimately, in a time of poor openers, when settled opening pairs are overrated, Pakistan are not as bad as you think.Do you need me to spell out who’s been involved in over half of those 13 century stands? I didn’t think so.It’s no point even treading over the quality of his tenth hundred today. Of course it was good to look at, with that preternatural feel he has for strokes, the hands-out drives, the touches through point and midwicket, the studied defence. We all know he can bat and make it look good. We all know he won’t be around when Pakistan go to South Africa later this season and if he is, we all know what’s going to happen there too.Don’t think too hard about it, or what it means. Appreciate the fact that Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and allowed Hafeez to bat first on this pitch, setting Pakistan up solidly on the first day of this series. Later on you’ll get to watch Hafeez bowl and it’s not unlikely he’ll chip in with a wicket or two, and if he doesn’t you can be sure he’ll keep things tight enough for Yasir Shah. Then his action will probably get reported again. Life happens. And he’ll be gone for a while, and then he’ll be back again, not yesterday’s man, or today’s, or tomorrow’s.

Also: was West Indies’ total of 45 the lowest in any T20I?

Steven Lynch12-Mar-2019Adam Zampa has now got Virat Kohli out five times. Which other bowlers can claim to have Virat’s number? asked Pranav from India

The Australian legspinner Adam Zampa has indeed now dismissed Virat Kohli on five occasions in internationals – three times in ODIs, and twice in T20Is. There are actually 12 men who have got him out more often, admittedly usually from more attempts. Leading the way, with eight, are the England pair of James Anderson (five in Tests, three in ODIs) and Graeme Swann (four in each). Next, with seven, come Nathan Lyon (all in Tests, the most for anyone), Morne Morkel (four in Tests and three in ODIs), Ravi Rampaul (six times in ODIs – the most – and once in Tests) and Tim Southee (five in ODIs, two in Tests).Five Englishmen – Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Adil Rashid, Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes – and one Australian (Pat Cummins) have dismissed Kohli on six occasions in internationals. Thisara Perera of Sri Lanka has, like Zampa, nabbed him five times.Was West Indies’ total of 45 the lowest in any T20I? asked Mark Hartford from England

West Indies’ headlong collapse to 45 all out in Basseterre last week was the lowest in T20Is by a Test-playing nation. The previous lowest was 60, set by New Zealand against Sri Lanka in the World T20 in Chittagong in March 2014, and equalled by West Indies against Pakistan in Karachi in April 2018.There has been one lower total by a non-Test nation: Netherlands were shot out for 39 by Sri Lanka in March 2014, also in Chittagong during the World T20.There have been several lower totals in women’s T20 internationals, which since last July have included all matches between ICC member countries. The record at the moment is 14, by China against United Arab Emirates in Bangkok in January.Who has scored the most runs in one-day internationals without ever making a hundred? asked Keith Matthews from England

There’s a clear leader here: Misbah-ul-Haq scored 5122 runs in 162 ODIs for Pakistan, with no fewer than 42 half-centuries – but his highest score was 96 not out, against West Indies at The Oval in the Champions Trophy in June 2013. Misbah’s highest five scores in ODIs – 96, 93 and a trio of 83s – were all not-outs.Two more Pakistanis are next on the list. Wasim Akram scored 3717 runs in 356 ODIs, with a highest score of 86, while Moin Khan made 3266 in 219 matches, with a highest of 72 not out.The record in Tests is held by Shane Warne, who scored 3154 runs with a highest score of 99, while the most in T20Is as I write is shared: both Virat Kohli (highest score 90 not out) and Shoaib Malik (75) have scored 2263 runs.Misbah ul-Haq has ten hundreds in Tests, but not one in ODIs – the closest he’s come is 96 not out against West Indies in 2013•Getty ImagesI hope he’ll play another one, but at the moment Will Somerville has played one Test for New Zealand, and won it. I think this is rare for New Zealand, who don’t win often! Has anyone else done this? asked Michael Woods… from New Zealand

Offspinner Will Somerville made his Test debut for New Zealand against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi in December 2018, not long after returning to his native land from Australia, where he had played for New South Wales. Somerville hasn’t yet played another Test, although it’s a bit soon to write him off.You’re right in thinking that a 100% success record is unusual for a New Zealander. At the moment there are 31 Kiwi one-cap wonders, and only two of the others (apart from Somerville) were on the winning side in the only Test they played: fast bowlers Andre Adams, against England in Auckland in 2001-02, and Gary Robertson, against Australia in Auckland in 1985-86.You talked last week about people who had been out second ball for six. But has anyone ever been out second ball for five? asked Chris Evans from the Netherlands

My first thought was that there wouldn’t be any – but that’s always dangerous! Actually, as this table shows, there are nine known instances in men’s international cricket – six in ODIs and three in T20s. The first eight all involved a run-out – usually a case of a four followed by the player being caught short going for a second run next ball – but the most recent case was more interesting. Playing for Pakistan against New Zealand in Dubai in a one-day international in November 2018, Faheem Ashraf got off the mark first ball with a five (thanks to some overthrows), and then was out to the next delivery he faced.Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions