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Sachin Tendulkar and Shane Warne face a dilemma in their attempt to sell the game to a new audience, but for fans of a certain vintage it’s nostalgia that continues to win the day

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan in Houston12-Nov-2015Some moments need to be frozen in time.Like at the start of the eighth over of the second innings in the second All-Star Series match in Houston, when Shane Warne brought himself on to bowl. Sachin’s Blasters were 69 for 2, chasing a mammoth 263. Brian Lara was on strike. Sachin Tendulkar, who had just pounded his buddy Ajit Agarkar for two sixes and a four, was shadow-batting at the non-striker’s end. Kumar Sangakkara stood behind the stumps. Ricky Ponting and Jonty Rhodes patrolled the off side. Jacques Kallis hovered on the leg side. Wasim Akram and Saqlain Mushtaq weren’t too far away.Warne drifted one towards leg; Lara unfurled a sweep to fine leg: four. Warne shortened the length; Lara flicked square: no run. Warne threw it up outside off; Lara waltzed down the track and tonked it over Warne’s head: four more. This was straight out of a time-capsule: watching Lara dismantle Warne, ball after ball. And waiting for Tendulkar to do the same when he got the chance. The crowd at Minute Maid Park were in thrall. For a brief few seconds the asking rate of around 15 appeared gettable. “That ’90s Show,” said a banner, “My childhood is officially ‘back’.”A couple of minutes later Saqlain came on and did what he often did in the late 1990s: he shattered all illusions. First he fooled Tendulkar with a flighted ball that dipped, rapping him on the pad; next he fired a quicker one that skidded on, struck the pads and ricocheted onto the stumps. Saqlain turned around in half-appeal but quickly realised he had got Tendulkar both lbw and bowled. Not for the first time, he stunned many Indian fans in the crowd into silence. Saqlain got Mahela Jayawardene in his next over. And Andrew Symonds soon dismissed Lara. The game was up.This was only expected. As in the first game in New York, Warne’s Warriors were too strong for Sachin’s Blasters. Sangakkara, Ponting and Kallis seem focused enough – and fit enough – to consider unretirement. And Rhodes is still an asset with the bat and on the field. Andrew Symonds and Matthew Hayden occasionally bring out bullet throws. And Saqlain and Akram have retained bits of their magic. Heck, even Michael Vaughan smashed a six (something he hadn’t managed in his two T20 internationals).Sachin’s Blasters have struggled with the bat, hardly inspired with the ball, and found it hard on the field. This is not meant as criticism. Of course these players shouldn’t injure themselves trying to dive on the boundary line, of course they can’t be faulted for their ageing bodies and slow reflexes. They are trying their bit but, as one would expect, haven’t been able to turn back the clock.But that doesn’t take away from the tricky dilemma the organisers and players must soon confront. Tendulkar and Warne have emphasised that this is their attempt to globalise cricket, a serious venture where they hope to inspire kids and introduce Americans to the game. Tendulkar has said T20 offers the best of both worlds: a great chance for entertainment as well as a window to the game’s intricacies. He says he wants to see many young Americans play the game at some point in the future and the stars have spent a bit of time with kids in New York and Houston. Some members of the US national team have also been part of the nets; a local cricketer, Usman Rafiq, even fielded for four overs on Wednesday.On the other hand are the games themselves, mostly one-sided and often lacking intensity – exactly the kind of attributes that you wouldn’t want when trying to sell T20 to a new audience. Outfielders have taken selfies with fans, yet Shoaib has not held back when it comes to sending down bouncers. Fun or serious? Serious or fun? With four balls left – in a hopelessly one-sided game on Wednesday – Shoaib walked in to bat without a helmet. Symonds bounced him. Fun or serious? Serious or fun?Houston-based fans Vijay Raghunathan and Madhav Nyapathi soak in the ‘Greatest Hits of the 90s’•Siddartha VaidyanathanAgain, maybe that is beside the point. For the moment, many fans don’t seem too perturbed. Nostalgia continues to win the day. For Madhav Nyapathi, 33, a Houston-based chemical engineer, here was a chance to go back 15 years, to a time when he followed cricket closely. “I haven’t watched a full match since 1999,” he says, “just snippets here and there. But I came to the stadium because this game seemed like the ‘Greatest Hits of the ’90s’ on a video tape. I never imagined I would see Sachin and Lara batting together, facing Akram and Warne. This is crazy.”His friend, Vijay Raghunathan, a safety consultant based in Houston, hasn’t watched a full game after the World Cup final in 2011. “I somehow thought that was the end of my cricket-watching experience,” he says, “because since when I was a kid I had so badly wanted India to win a World Cup. When they won, I just moved on. But this game is making me feel young again. If it happens next year, I’ll think of coming back.”And as was the case in the first match at Citi Field, fans flocked to Houston from various parts of north America. There were groups from Chicago, Austin, Dallas, Colorado and Indiana. There was a group from Saskatchewan in Canada and a man from Antigua, here to watch Lara. Many of them came with dhols, flags, cricket jerseys, whistles and banners. There were loud cheers and passionate chants. There was plenty of banter among the Indian and Pakistani supporters, including from one group of Pakistani fans who baited the Indian fans with chants of soon after Tendulkar got out. Within a few minutes, though, it was all hunky-dory. The same group chanted:

Tillakaratne Dilshan has produced some key big-match performances, including nearly taking Sri Lanka to the World T20 title in 2009, but has not got the credit he deserves

Bimalka Liyanarachchi03-Dec-2015Tillakaratne Dilshan was recently picked in the ICC ODI team of the year. I wondered what he had done to make this elite team. A quick check on Statsguru gives the answer: only Kane Williamson has scored more runs during the concerned period, and Dilshan turned 39 this October.If you ask a random Sri Lankan cricket fan to pick the greatest batsmen Sri Lanka have produced, chances are Dilshan wouldn’t even enter the discussion. So why is this man so underrated?Style of play cannot be the reason – he is an aggressive opening batsman as dangerous as anyone to play the game, especially the shorter formats. Is it the aesthetics? He probably did lag behind his more stylish and aesthetically pleasing team-mates, Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. But he’s no Graeme Smith or Alastair Cook.In full flow, Dilshan is an attractive batsman to watch. Then, is it his performances in big matches? Dilshan has a top-class World Cup record and almost single-handedly won a World T20 title for his team in 2009. Only seven batsmen have scored more World Cup runs than Dilshan, and all of them are superstars – Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara, AB de Villiers, Sanath Jayasuriya and Jacques Kallis. Yet, you’ll struggle to find anyone who would put Dilshan in the same bracket as the players above.His Test record is good without reaching the highest echelons of batsmanship, but as a white-ball player, he surely is one of the very best to play the game. Not withstanding his outstanding record with the bat, he was also one of the elite fielders in the game for a long while. His offspin remains as underrated as any other aspect of his game. But his contribution has been invaluable for his side, especially in conditions that suited his type of bowling.Is it his maverick outlook to the game? Is it his weird and wonderful goatee patterns? Whatever it is, Dilshan surely does not get the credit he deserves. He might be skipped in a discussion on modern greats, but he surely should hold his own in a discussion on Sri Lankan greats.Perhaps, he will get the recognition when he eventually retires. But knowing how his career has gone, he will probably go out with little fanfare. But the day he goes, I will ll stand up from my seat and applaud the man. I hope I am not alone when I do so.Want to be featured on ‘Inbox’? Send your articles to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Mar-2016The wicket triggered a top-order collapse as Pakistan slumped to 18 for 3 inside five overs•AFPUmar Akmal fell ten runs later, but Sarfraz Ahmed gave Pakistan some stability with an unbeaten 58•AFPHe found good support in Shoaib Malik, who made a 30-ball 41•AFPBut the hosts kept chipping away at the wickets to restrict Pakistan to 129 for 7•Associated PressMohammad Irfan removed Tamim Iqbal early in Bangladesh’s chase of 130•AFPSoumya Sarkar then dropped anchor with a run-a-ball 48 that took the hosts past 80•Associated PressMohammad Amir gave Pakistan a glimmer of hope with the quick wickets of Sarkar, with a toe-crusher, and Shakib Al Hasan•AFPMahmudullah, though, saw Bangladesh through to the final, by hitting a boundary to complete the chase with five balls to spare•Associated Press

Sandeep Sharma is one of the few genuine domestic Indian fast bowlers that the IPL has unearthed, bowlers who have shown prowess and performance for more than one season, and his skills were on full display in Kolkata

Nagraj Gollapudi 04-May-2016Arguably one of the best, if not the best over of this IPL – Sandeep Sharma’s final six deliveries against two of the most brutal batsmen in T20 cricket – Andre Russell and Yusuf Pathan.Kolkata Knight Riders were sitting strong on 160 for 2 at the end of the penultimate over – with Russell on 14 off seven balls and Yusuf on 17 off 13 – and would have felt 175 was realistic. Sandeep stuck to a round the stump angle which he was forced to adopt having bowled three consecutive wides in his previous over from over the stumps. Russell stood deep in the crease. He was waiting for the low full toss or the angled yorker length delivery wide on the off stump which he could chip or steer over or past point.But Sandeep had a different plan. He had already seen Russell floored a couple of times by the yorker this tournament including that knockout punch from Bangladesh left-arm fast bowler Mustafizur Rahman in Hyderabad.So Sandeep went wide of the crease and delivered the inch-perfect yorker deep into Russell’s toes. The angle and the accuracy stunned the Jamaican who lost his balance trying to dig out the delivery and fell in the process but was still able to squirt the ball out for a single.Incredibly Sandeep maintained the same line, the same length to stifle both Knight Riders batsmen for the remaining five deliveries, culminating in a run out of Russell on the final delivery. Four singles and two dots, including the last ball run out, comprised Sandeep’s over, one that could turn any match. A target of 165 no longer looked insurmountable for Kings XI.There are not many genuine domestic Indian fast bowlers that the IPL has unearthed, bowlers who have shown prowess and performance for more than one IPL, carried forward the skills and experience into their domestic cricket and been on the fringes of selection for the Indian team. Sandeep has ticked all those boxes. He joined the franchise in 2013 but already he is on the verge of becoming their best fast bowler in terms of wickets.Sandeep had given just two runs off the first over of the match imparting swing and seam and offering no width. Yet Murali Vijay, the newly installed Kings XI captain, opted to leave his strike bowler back for the death overs, a phase where Sandeep has become the go-to man for Kings XI captains in the last two years.Sandeep has the third best economy rate, 6.55, for any bowler to bowl at least 15 overs in this IPL, behind only Shakib Al Hasan (6.52) and Mustafizur (6.53). At the death, Sandeep has bowled five overs at an economy rate of 7.60 so far this IPL including today’s match.At Eden Gardens on Wednesday, with seven overs to go, Sandeep returned for his second spell. Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa were going strong, but they were tiring and somewhat desperate as Axar Patel and Swapnil Singh had bowled economically in the middle overs.Despite all his experience and performances, Uthappa remains suspect against swing and has frequently edged while moving in to drive fuller, away swinging deliveries. Today, he opted to play Sandeep from the crease. Gambhir paid the price for over eagerness and was run out.When presented with a full toss, Uthappa slapped Sandeep for four but he was not comfortable. When Sandeep pulled back his length on the off stump, Uthappa rushed into his drive, top edged high over the bowler’s head and nearly walked back to the dugout. But Mohit Sharma ran into the path of a straightforward catch for David Miller and botched the chance.After two one-over spells, Sandeep returned to deliver the 18th. Eyebrows were raised when he delivered three consecutive wides against Russell. Sandeep was delivering from as wide as was possible off the crease while attempting to get the off stump yorkers right. His plan was to challenge Russell to come out of his comfort zone and not just swing his bat.Following the third wide, Sandeep signalled immediately to the umpire he was going round the stumps. Another full yorker, again on the off stump, flew over third man for four off Russell’s outside edge. But Sandeep was not afraid. He stuck to his plan, pitched full into the batsman’s legs and gave away jut four singles to end the 18th.He might have gone wicketless in the end, but the success of his final over showed Sandeep’s courage, his bowling intelligence and his presence of mind. At 22 years old, Sandeep has already shown he is a smart, thinking mind, who can handle pressure. Unfortunately, Sandeep was failed by Kings XI’s batsmen, who failed to keep their heads in a position of strength before ultimately falling short.

The Australian bowlers did not do a whole lot wrong. But the truth of the matter is that they should have been defending a far bigger lead, if they were even bowling at all on day three

Daniel Brettig in Pallekele28-Jul-20161:32

‘We missed our half-chances’ – Lyon

“Kill the other guy before he kills you” was a line beloved of Jack Dempsey, the world heavyweight boxing champion of the early 1920s. Dempsey’s phrase is known to plenty of sportsmen, and Allan Border once used it to describe how Australia squandered the advantage of hosting the 1992 World Cup. Border is present in Kandy to watch this match, and was unimpressed by the visitors’ batting effort on day two, which happened also to be his 61st birthday.No-one knows better than Border that Test cricket can often require a similar level of ruthlessness to that espoused by Dempsey: the ability to slam the door shut on the opposition before they can take the chance to regroup and respond later on in a match. Having rolled Sri Lanka cheaply on the first day, Australia’s batsmen had the chance to do the slamming, a role they have generally enjoyed. Through some poor shot selection and diligent Sri Lankan bowling, they did not, and the consequence was to watch Kusal Mendis charge into the resultant breach.It was a somewhat ironic turn of events, given that over the past 33 years it has invariably been the Sri Lankans squandering strong positions over Australia. Border led his 1992 touring team to a most unlikely victory in Colombo after surrendering a first-innings advantage of 291. A more confident and accomplished Australian side thrice bailed out Ricky Ponting on his first tour as captain in 2004, when in each Test the tourists surrendered a first innings lead. Most dramatic of the turnarounds came in Kandy, where Australia were bowled out for 120 on day one, but managed to limit Sri Lanka to a first innings lead of 91.Those figures were oddly reminiscent of proceedings at Pallekele the past few days: the rush of wickets on day one, the failure to take advantage on day two, the strong riposte on day three. The major difference of course was the reversal of roles, and the dominant innings being played not by a promoted Adam Gilchrist but the ebullient Mendis. At length he showcased an arsenal of strokes to be widely admired, and a level of determination to put some of the Australians’ less savoury day two shots to considerable shame.His combination of positivity and organisation contrasted with Steven Smith’s stumping, even if there was some good fortune along the way. For most of the morning Steve O’Keefe looked a decent chance to get Mendis lbw with a ball sliding into the stumps from around the wicket, and the left-arm spinner’s withdrawal from the attack due to a hamstring complaint was a grievous blow to Smith. O’Keefe’s eagerness to chase lbw verdicts also had the impact of costing Australia their two DRS referrals before lunch arrived, an eventuality that, like their first innings batting, would sting later.Otherwise the Australian bowlers did not do a whole lot wrong: Mitchell Starc got the new ball swinging for a couple of early wickets, Josh Hazlewood retained a disciplined line without the same seam movement he had found on day one, and Nathan Lyon delivered spells that were never less than presentable and often dangerous. But the truth of the matter is that they should have been defending a far bigger lead, if they were even bowling at all on day three.Batting conditions in this match have been somewhat tricky, but never impossible. Greater application was required when Australia had the chance, for they will now be facing a testy fourth innings chase and the prospect of facing up to Rangana Herath and Lakshan Sandakan with scoreboard pressure on their side. Most troubling for the coach Darren Lehmann will be the fact that Australia’s mediocre first innings took place without the worry of a mighty first innings total hanging over his batsmen: the impediment widely attributed to their failures in the UAE in 2014.Instead, they were simply confounded by the muddle of their own minds and techniques, with failings gleefully exploited by the aforementioned spin duo. That will be maddening for each batsman to ruminate upon, as evidenced by the sullen faces and gestures of frustration that cropped up increasingly across day three. When Smith offered a Border-style teapot pose it wasn’t hard to recall his stumping; when Mitchell Marsh kicked the dust in mid-pitch after another stout Sri Lankan forward defensive, it was as much about the Sandakan googly he missed as the ball that had just been hit.Even the momentous occasion of Lyon’s 200th Test wicket was reduced to something of a sidelight by the match scenario. Five years ago Lyon had made his debut with a five-for against Sri Lanka in Galle, his first-ball victim Kumar Sangakkara. The smiles and celebrations were more reserved, even fatigued this time around, after Dhananjaya de Silva bunted a catch to mid-off. More runs in the bank and Lyon may not only have been chasing wicket 200 but the buzz of an innings victory.Mentally speaking, the Australians now have a sizeable hurdle to get over, just as Sri Lanka have done over the years. But where Sri Lanka’s issue often seemed to be about overcoming Australia in a Test match, Australia’s issue is with finding a way to win in Asian conditions. In recent times they have been able to console themselves with the thought that encounters with India and Pakistan were won by the more accomplished team in the conditions. But an unfancied Sri Lankan side with an abominable recent record is another matter entirely.The coaching staff and team psychologist Michael Lloyd will have a power of work ahead of them should a defeat unfold here. A sub-par result in Sri Lanka would likely require a substantial rethink abut the way some of Australia’s set-up has operated under Lehmann, with the emphasis on providing plenty of net bowling and throw-down volume for batsmen while leaving them free to find their own methods to succeed. Lehmann is fond of saying mistakes are fine so long as they are not repeated: he must now hope for plenty of remedial work in the fourth innings.There have been times leading into this match when it was easy to wonder where Sri Lanka’s runs would come from, given the retirement of the “big three” and the repeated failure of their replacements in subsequent Tests. A sturdy Australian first innings and this sequence may well have continued, under the weight of runs and the crush of pressure. Smith’s team contrived to leave the game open, however, and now find themselves staggering towards the latter rounds of this contest behind on points.

Stats analysis from the fifth day’s play between Pakistan and West Indies in Dubai, where Pakistan secured a thrilling win in the final hour of play

Bharath Seervi17-Oct-201656 Margin of victory for Pakistan in this match, the smallest for them in a Test in the UAE. The previous smallest victory in terms of runs was 71 runs against England in Dubai in 2012.507 Balls faced by Darren Bravo in this Test – 258 in the first innings and 249 in the second. That is the third-most by a West Indies batsman in a Test away from home. Brian Lara faced 569 deliveries in Colombo (SSC) in 2001 and Desmond Haynes 531 in Dunedin in 1980. Only Alastair Cook has played out more deliveries in a Test in the UAE (528 in Abu Dhabi in 2015) than Bravo here.2007 The last time a West Indies batsman scored a century in the fourth-innings of an away Test – Shivnarine Chanderpaul scored 116 not out at Old Trafford. The only other such century by a West Indies batsman since 2000 was Dwayne Smith’s unbeaten 105, on his debut, in Cape Town in 2004.2 The 109 overs West Indies played out in their second innings here is the second-longest they have batted in the fourth-innings of an away Test. They had played out 132.5 overs at Old Trafford in 2007.6 Scores of 50 or more for Bravo in the fourth innings of Tests. Since his debut, only Misbah-ul-Haq with seven has recorded more such scores in the fourth-innings. Bravo averages a healthy 52 in the fourth-innings, his best in any innings of a Test. His fourth-innings average is second only to Gordon Greenidge’s 53.19 among West Indies batsmen to play 15 or more innings.24.41 Difference in Bravo’s home and away averages – 29.35 at home and 53.76 away – the highest for any batsman who has played 30-plus innings at home and away. India’s Mohinder Amarnath comes next with a difference of 21.42. Bravo’s away average is the best among 35 West Indies players to score 1000-plus runs. Seven of his eight Test centuries have come outside the West Indies; five of those are in Asia.2010 The last time a Pakistan bowler conceded 100 or more runs in both innings of a Test – Abdur Rehman against South Africa, also in Dubai. Yasir Shah conceded 121 runs in the first innings and 113 runs in the second innings. This is the first time Yasir conceded more than 200 runs in a Test in the UAE. It’s the 13th instance of a Pakistan bowler conceding 100 or more runs in both innings of a Test. Yasir bowled 84 overs in the match – the most he has bowled in any of his 17 Tests so far.0 Instances of both No. 10 and 11 getting run out in the fourth-innings of a Test prior to this match. West Indies’ last two batsmen, Miguel Cummins and Shannon Gabriel, were run out.54.40 Jason Holder’s average in the fourth innings of a Test. In seven innings, he has made two fifties, a century, as well as 40 not out in this innings.3/63 Mohammad Amir’s figures in the fourth-innings of this Test – his best innings figures since his return. He had not taken more than two wickets in any of the previous nine innings.

India played their first games in the USA – two T20 internationals against West Indies – and the diaspora lapped it up, turning parts of Lauderhill distinctly Indian over the weekend

Aishwarya Kumar in Florida29-Aug-2016August 26
The minute I entered Central Broward Regional Park, I knew what I’d been missing for the past year in the USA: the long queues, the over-enthusiastic fans trying to sneak into the press box so they could meet players, the emotion behind every “Sachin, Sachin”.You can move to the US for work, you can go to innumerable baseball games to make up for not being able to watch cricket in person, but there is nothing like going berserk over Yuvraj Singh’s sixes and crying over a lost wicket. You can never leave the game behind. It’s what makes us who we are.I stopped in my tracks the minute I heard my mother tongue, Tamil. Sekhar Krishnan, a BCCI cameraman, looked at me and said, “? (Are you a Tamilian?).” Hugs were exchanged. Numbers were shared. It felt like he was my long-lost brother. It was then that I realised how starved I was for my people – the crazy cricket fans from Tamil Nadu who welcomed everybody in and made them feel at home. He introduced me to everybody around him as his sister. I was already in his inner circle.I talked to more than two dozen people that day, in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and English. It felt like a reunion, although it was the first time we were all gathered together for an international series featuring India in the US.Day one ended with a trip to Hollywood, a 12-mile trek south from Lauderhill. It was my first time in Florida and Peter Della Penna, ESPNcricinfo’s USA correspondent, wanted me to eat at Mauro’s, a pizza joint he called “the best outside of New York”. The restaurant was tiny with no seating inside, strictly takeout, accepting cash only, and was tucked away between posh Thai and Italian restaurants.The pizza slices were huge and really good. I was also incredibly hungry and would have found a cardboard box tasty. With two days before I head back to Washington DC and with two matches to cover, I knew this was the most I would see of Florida during this visit.When in America, you gotta have pizza•Peter Della Penna/ESPNcricinfo LtdAugust 27
“Why is there so much traffic on I-95,” my Uber driver wondered out loud as we were making our way from Fort Lauderdale to Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill. He couldn’t understand what was holding up the cars ahead on a Saturday morning. I knew the answer almost immediately. People were driving to India’s first official international match in the USA. Cars snaked down to almost a mile from the stadium two hours before the toss. People wanted to get there fast. Their adrenaline rush was palpable. As I walked into the stadium, I began to see people in India jerseys holding posters of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni. It was like somebody had carved out Chepauk and planted it in Florida. It was like being back home. It was chaos, but it was my chaos. When India’s national anthem played before the match began, the crowd of 15,000 sang along, myself included.I spent most of the first match sitting with a group of Indian and West Indian fans in the stands. Suddenly this one Indian fan directly in front of me stood up on her chair and cheered, pointing to the big screen. “That’s me. I am the fan of the day.” Surely enough, her name, “Fan of the day – Cherry Patel,” popped up on the screen, with a picture of her. She was ecstatic, pointing to her jersey and screaming at the top of her voice. She had the word “Virat” painted on her legs and she was sporting a Virat jersey. And now she was going to get a picture taken with him at the end of the match as part of the “Fan of the Day” promotion.For the next ten minutes, she was up on her chair, cheering loudly. At one point, the whole stand started chanting “Cherry, Cherry.”I was in her shoes a few years ago when India played Australia in Chepauk. I screamed so much the first two days of the Test match that I lost my voice for a while. Indian fans are crazy and they embrace it. It put a smile on my face.I grew up in a household where family members took off work to watch India play, and this included watching pre-match analysis and post-match press conferences. Breakfast, lunch and dinner happened in front of the television and the conversations were limited to “cricket talk”. Since I was 15, all I’ve wanted was to sit in as part of the media during a press conference.So when MS Dhoni walked in to the media room after the first T20I, it took a while to understand the magnitude of the moment for me.Dwayne Bravo celebrates the last-ball win in the first match•AFPAugust 28
I walked down to have breakfast on the morning of the second T20I. Having been in the US for a year, I’ve got used to noticing people of Indian origin. But I’ve never seen a room full of them. People who didn’t know each other eating their breakfast together and commenting about how India needed to have bowled better in the first ten overs of the first match.If I hadn’t seen an American flag plonked in the corner of the room, I’d have believed that I was in India. MS Dhoni was right. Even if the team went to the Bermuda Triangle, Indian fans would follow them there.Over the two days of cricket, there was a stark difference between the fan experience here when compared to India. While you get to eat peanuts and drink soda there, here you get to eat chips and drink beer. Fans jumped at the opportunity to relax and drink beers with their friends and family. The cheers got steadily louder as the day progressed, thanks to the alcohol. This aspect made it seem like a cross between baseball and cricket. Beer seems to be one of the main reasons fans trek to baseball games.The extent to which Indian fans love their team: players’ wives are part of their family. So when Sakshi Dhoni made her way to the VIP area above the press box, the fans were overjoyed. They stood against the railings that separated their part of the stand from the press box, phone in hand, trying to take a good picture of her.It something every Indian cricketer comes to accept – what he does is no longer just his business. It’s the country’s business.After close to an hour and a half after the rain ended, the second match was officially called off – the outfield was too wet for play. Despite the washout, August 27 and 28 was a historic weekend – India’s first official series in the USA. And the fans seemed to walk out of Central Broward Regional Park satisfied.Peter generously offered to give me a ride to the airport, and on the way we stopped at Fort Lauderdale Beach. The rain had stopped by then. The clear blue sky, the breaking waves, the tall coconut trees and the Sunday afternoon beachgoers made my visit to Florida complete. It lived up to all the hype that beaches here get. I also learned that Fort Lauderdale Beach was Spring Break central in the 1960s and ’70s before the crowd moved to Miami’s South Beach.

A moment of fielding brilliance from England cricketer Liam Thomas has given disability cricket a huge opportunity to prove its worth to the world

Vithushan Ehantharajah04-Nov-20160:33

WATCH: England cricketer loses prosthetic leg while fielding

“You know, that’s the first time it’s happened playing cricket,” says Liam Thomas, 22 years of age, site supervisor for Yorkshire Water, England Physical Disability cricketer and global sensation.During the final of the ICC Academy Dubai Invitational T20 Tournament last month, offspinner Dan Reynaldo was swept behind square for what looked a certain boundary. England, having batted first, needed to squeeze as much as they could in the field in order to defend a target of 138 against their rivals, Pakistan.Running around, just inside the rope, Thomas dove and slapped a strong palm on the ball before getting up to hurl it back. Just before he got back to his feet, however, he realised one of them – his prosthetic right – had come off. He gathered the ball, returned it to the keeper’s end then hopped back to retrieve the strewn limb.Since the video of that moment was released on Sunday morning, his phone has been abuzz. His heroics have received blanket coverage on social media, breakfast TV and the news. He has had to make his excuses at work to field calls for countless interviews – “they’ve been really understanding,” he says – and even landed himself a bat sponsorship deal for 2017. He has been hailed as inspirational by England legends past and cricketers present. Yet for Thomas, there is one aspect of the video he is not overly chuffed with. The camera does not pan back to the stumps.”It were quite a good throw, that,” he tells ESPNcricinfo. “Right to the keeper, next to the stumps. Thing is, I’d thrown a couple of dollies in previous matches. Everyone’s focusing on the leg, but that weren’t too bad.”That Thomas was in the outfield anyway is its own story. Last year, he decided to take a break from the game, worn out by the demands of international duty and a high level of club cricket for Gomersal Cricket Club in the Bradford League. A keeper by trade, his place behind the stumps had been taken by Hugo Hammond, a keeper from Hampshire. Thomas understood that Hammond had the place for keeps – “he’s such a pure gloveman” – but his ability to scamper along the boundary, as seen by millions, allows him to offer protection in the deep. It’s a role he is embracing: “Hugo won’t mind me saying that his mobility isn’t as good as mine. He’s got club feet.”Thomas is without the lower part of his right leg. Underdeveloped in the womb, a further operation to amputate from the knee down was carried out when he was just one. In his own words, “he has never known anything else”. A keen footballer, he would often have to reattach the prosthetic limb when his enthusiasm got the better of him. “It’s funny that it has been such a big deal. The first thing I do every day is get up and put my leg on. I’ve never known anything else. That’s just a part of my life.”Liam Thomas:” The first thing I do every day is get up and put my leg on. I’ve never known anything else. That’s just a part of my life”•Chris WhiteoakIt is part of his game too. As a left-hand batsman, his right is his front foot and, as a result, he has to ensure he gets far enough forward and does not simply plant his foot on the wrong line.”I’m a front-foot player, so I really need to watch the ball and pick up the length as early as I can. Sometimes my hands get me out of trouble. But I shouldn’t be relying on them too much. Technically, I need to be bang on with my footwork.”Head coach Qasim Ali is the man charged with ensuring that Thomas has everything he needs to iron out the creases in his batting. And he does so, he says, from the back seat.”Every cricketer is different. The way you set up, the way you play the ball, the way you react. No two are the same. So you can imagine how that is amplified with working with cricketers with physical disabilities. My job, in essence, is to get the players to really embrace their own technique. We – myself and, say, Liam – have to find a way that is comfortable for them but also can be secure and sound so that they can be really productive in what they are trying to do.”Having joined the England PD side as the assistant coach to Chris Ellison, Ali became head coach in May 2014. The following year, England, led by skipper Iain Nairn, won the inaugural International Committee of the Red Cross T20 World Cup (ICRC T20) held in Bangladesh – the first PD cricket series to feature more than two sides.While Ali’s mantra of “ensuring players maintain their creativity” is evident in the way Thomas plays his cricket, it slaps you in the face when you consider the case of Matthew Askin, a right-hand batsman from Shropshire who, through a congenital birth defect, was born without his left hand and part of his left arm. While the prosthetic arm offered Askin the control of a rock-solid top hand, it limited how much elevation and force he could impart on the ball.After the Dubai series against Pakistan in 2014 – Ali’s first as head coach – Askin came to him with a request. Recognising that disability cricket was moving more towards T20, he wanted to develop into a power hitter.”At the time, there was a player for Pakistan with one hand,” remembers Ali. “He’s just got his bottom arm. You ask any cricketer, a dominant bottom hand leads to the ball going up in the air or to cow corner. But this lad hits balls all along the floor through extra cover. There was Matt’s inspiration.”At first, the change seemed unconquerable. Gradually, as the pair worked together throughout the winter, with drills skewed towards besting spin, it started to come together. Ali’s role was to “egg him on”, as Askin worked on his alignment, footwork and swinging through the line. In his first match of the 2016 season, playing for the England Lions, Askin hit the first six of his life. Later that season, in a match against Sefton Park Cricket Club, he hit his second – high and handsome over some trees at mid on. “Mate, you should see him hit the ball,” says Ali. “He smashes it!”

“It were quite a good throw, that. Right to the keeper, next to the stumps. Everyone’s focusing on the leg, but that weren’t too bad”

The difficulty for Askin is that he is competing with more international-ready batsmen than there are places available. Ultimately, he will be selected on what else he can provide for the team, something he and others are very aware of. That, simply, is a sign of the exciting times. The sport has come a long way since Ian Martin, head of disability cricket at the ECB, answered an advert looking for disabled cricketers in 2000.Returning home from the first Gulf War in 1991 with the Navy, Martin injured his ankle ligaments playing football. While undergoing rehab after an operation, his physiotherapist noticed that his muscle strength was not returning as expected. After seeing a specialist, Martin was diagnosed with Charcot Marie Tooth Syndrome – an inherited, progressive condition that makes everyday tasks increasingly difficult.Martin would go on to spend four years working in the community with disability sports while still volunteering within cricket. In 2007, when the ECB was looking for a full-time officer, he got the gig. Since then, Martin has not stopped.”When I started in disability cricket, all we had was a domestic competition made up of eight counties. There was no international cricket whatsoever.” In 2016, there are 30 teams from 19 counties. Next year, by the ECB’s estimations, that will increase to 36 teams from 25 counties and regions.The pathway from county to international cricket is bridged by a regional system, with centres in the north, midlands and the south. Counties are consulted to establish their best players, who are then put forward to regional centres. From there, the PD coaching set-up highlights the key talents who move on to the England Lions. Ali, while taking time to watch as many players has possible, now has a handful of scouts and coaches at his disposal to report on players across the country.”What we’ve been able to do in England is shape our system so that it’s not just about being a talented cricketer,” says Martin. “It’s about how you conduct yourself, what your attitude is like. It’s about all the component parts that make a talented elite sportsman. It’s great that we have been able to develop it to that level where people have to work really hard to make it into our squad. That’s something I’m really proud of.”England captain Iain Nairn bats against Pakistan in Dubai•Chris WhiteoakThe players have embraced the thorough nature of the system. For example, in the 12 months prior to the ICRC T20, they reported every injury and niggle, adhered to a gym programme that asked for three sessions a week, along with various nets and skill sessions to ensure playing levels were maintained. While they are amateurs – the ECB reimburses travel expenses – there is a hope that full-time support of some kind is not too far away.Considering the system, it is perhaps no surprise that England won the first global PD competition. But as much as Martin and Ali’s jobs are to focus on keeping England at the forefront of the game, they regard it as their duty to bring the rest of the world with them.For starters, due to the sheer number of disability groups across the world, Martin spends most of his time lobbying and liaising with various representatives. Luckily, he has seen enough good emanate from his belligerence not to deter him. Last year’s ICRC T20 had Martin’s bloody-minded prints all over it.In 2014, the international committee for the Red Cross in Bangladesh realised cricket was the lifeblood of the local communities. Given they were working predominantly with disabled youngsters, cricket presented them with an opportunity to get them active and make them feel valued. A representative contacted the Bangladesh Cricket Board, who in turn directed them to the British High Commission in Dhaka.Soon, Martin’s phone was ringing and, later that year, he and Ali went out to Dhaka to deliver a workshop to BCB-affiliated coaches who had no experience working with disabled players. Six months later, they had a PD cricket team, with 500 players attending open trials. Nine months later, Bangladesh hosted the ICRC T20. England would lose their opening fixture, against the hosts, before winning three on the bounce to make the final, where they beat Pakistan.The competition was actually going to be repeated in Bangladesh this year, again organised by the International Red Cross. However, with the BCB focusing their energy on ensuring the senior tour with England went ahead, they were unable to assist. With the plans on the verge of falling through, Martin was able to get the tournament moved to the ICC Academy in Dubai. However, with the increased accommodation costs of the UAE, India and Afghanistan were unable to cover the costs and pulled out. It is worth noting that the India PD team is not under the umbrella of the BCCI.Currently, there are only five international PD sides – England, Pakistan, Bangladesh, India and Afghanistan. The lack of representation from countries such as Australia, South Africa and West Indies frustrates Martin.”You only need to see how Bangladesh put together a competitive side in the space of six months, with little infrastructure and a heck of a lot of passion. It can be done, it just needs support. You’re not telling me that there aren’t physically disabled cricketers playing grade cricket every weekend? All you need is a pathway and a bit of a push and you can do some pretty great things.”The 2019 World Championship, whether assisted by the Red Cross or not, will be hosted in England. As well as the five established nations, Martin has extended invitations to Australia, South Africa and others, and given them enough notice that they can implement development programmes that could run for a few years prior to the tournament. His hope is that with greater participation and a better showcase for the sport, regular cricket fans will get behind the PD side. As the last few days have shown, the enthusiasm is there. “Let me tell you – I’m amazed and proud of everything I see from these lads. And I think a lot more people will be too.”The importance of this week is evident to Liam Thomas too.”It would be great if people drawn to disability cricket over the last week are keen to learn more about it. That a disabled kid watches that video and sees what they can achieve. That fans see just how high the standards are and want to come along and support us. I’ve enjoyed the coverage but, seriously, it’ll be great if something more worthwhile comes from it.”

At 36, the offspinner is enjoying the responsibility of leading New Zealand’s spin attack, a proposition he didn’t expect three years ago

Firdose Moonda in Dunedin11-Mar-20171:33

Moonda: Which spinner will NZ pick in Wellington?

If the only reason Jeetan Patel is part of New Zealand’s XI, or at all, is to get Quinton de Kock out, he won’t mind at all. As long as it means he can don the Black Cap again.”Maybe I get picked to get Quinton out,” Patel, who has now dismissed de Kock four times out of four in this series, joked.The offspinner accounted for de Kock in the fourth and fifth ODI and in both innings of the Dunedin Test, but is not calling him a bunny just yet. “I probably got a bit lucky in the two ODIs. It was a good nut in Hamilton and then he hit one straight up at Eden Park. He was trying to get on with it and that happens,” Patel said. “Then the two wickets here were against spinning deliveries.”He got a tough one in the first innings – you would say that’s a pretty decent ball he faced there. I’m not going to say there is a voodoo or anything going on there. It’s pleasing to know you’ve got some confidence when you are bowling to someone.”Far more pleasing for Patel is the biggest picture: at 36 he is a Test cricketer again. It didn’t look possible three years ago. After being dropped from the New Zealand team following their tour to South Africa in early 2013, Patel turned down a chance to travel to West Indies and embarked on a county stint instead. Two successful seasons with Warwickshire later, he was their leading wicket-taker in 2015 and the overall top bowler in the Championship last season. That earned him a recall to the national team for the tour of India in September last year.Having missed the first four Tests of the home summer, he was then included for this match as conditions called for additional spin resources. “I didn’t plan to play for New Zealand again, to be honest. But when the stars align, it is beautiful,” he said. “You get an opportunity to make up for lost time, for an opportunity I may have missed.”And he has made the most of that chance. Patel has seized the opportunity to operate as the senior spinner in the XI. He has bowled almost twice as many overs as Mitchell Santner so far – 69 compared to 37 – which included a marathon spell of 28 overs on the fourth day.
“It’s a nice responsibility. I have a real desire to do something for this team, especially being called back,” he said. “It’s nice to be given an opportunity, especially at this level. In terms of Kane turning to me, I think that’s more the fact that they had left-handers out at the wicket most of the time so I was probably just as dangerous as any other bowler.”Apart from de Kock, Patel also proved pesky against JP Duminy, who he should have dismissed in the morning session. New Zealand did not review an lbw appeal which replays showed would have gone on to his offstump. Two overs later, they reviewed another decision, which Duminy had inside-edged onto his pad.”I was pretty frustrated. I came off and there were some expletives probably shouted. But that’s cricket,” Patel said. “Some days I hope to take a lot of wickets for cheap runs but today was one of those days where I had to put the yards in.”Jeetan Patel attributes his recent success to the hard work he put in during his country stint in England•Getty ImagesPatel’s time in the United Kingdom has him the value of having a strong work ethic, the results of which are showing now. “Playing 11 months of the year is taxing but it’s meant that my cricket in terms of my bowling a lot better. My smarts a lot better. I also understand how to enjoy my days off, because it used to be just training,” he said.For now, he does not want too many more days off. Patel is hopeful of playing a Test at his home ground in Wellington. “I’d love to play a Test match at the Basin. It’s the greatest ground in New Zealand, if not the world,” Patel said. “I have played a lot there so I tend to know what’s going on there but you never know everything. We have to wait and decide what it looks like, what will be our better weapons and how we can attack then. It will be great to play in front of my home ground but you don’t always get what you want.”Most of all, he wants to do his bit to contribute to New Zealand’s rise which, even though it has not reflected on the rankings where they remain No.5, is evident in the type of cricket they are playing. They put South Africa under pressure in this match in both innings, which Patel believes is a sign of progress.”It’s huge, to be able to stand up against the No.3 team in the world and to beat them in the first innings is a little win by itself,” he said. “They are such a great bunch of guys. They are certainly going somewhere with their cricket and I want to help them get there. I know I am not going to be in this team forever so I am enjoying every moment I’ve got.”

Stats highlights from the fourth day in Colombo, where Sri Lanka lost five wickets for 62 after lunch to give Bangladesh a shot at a rare away win

Shiva Jayaraman18-Mar-2017244 The lowest target successfully defended at P Sara Oval – by the hosts against West Indies in 2015-16. Sri Lanka are 139 runs ahead with two wickets in hand. The scoring rate on the fifth day in the last five Tests here has been an average of 3.00 runs an over, with a wicket falling every seven overs.2 Number of hundreds by Sri Lanka openers in Tests at P Sara Oval before Dimuth Karunaratne. The previous hundred was made by Roshan Mahanama (151), against India in 1993.2006 Previous instance of a Sri Lanka batsman getting a hundred in the second innings of a Test at this venue. Mahela Jayawardene had steered Sri Lanka’s chase of 352 against South Africa in that famous Test. Overall, Karunaratne’s century is only the fifth hundred by a Sri Lanka batsman in the second innings at this venue.11.6 Karunaratne’s batting average in ten Test innings at home between his previous Test hundred at home – 186 against West Indies in Galle – and this innings. He had got out for three ducks and three single-digit scores in those ten innings.100 Dismissals for Mushfiqur Rahim as a keeper in Tests; he is the first Bangladesh keeper to get there. Mushfiqur’s 59 dismissals as keeper-captain are now the third-highest after MS Dhoni’s 211 and Gerry Alexander’s 70 dismissals. Mushfiqur went past Andy Flower’s 56 dismissals in Sri Lanka’s second innings.3/10 Mustafizur Rahman’s figures against right-handed batsmen between lunch and tea on the fourth day. Mustafizur bowled 25 deliveries at them – all from around the wicket – and the awkward angle meant that Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva got out edging outside off. Before lunch on the fourth day only 14 out of the 80 deliveries that he bowled at right handed batsmen in this Test were from around the wicket.

17 The third lowest run-aggregate of Sri Lanka’s No. 4 to No. 7 their third least when all four batsmen have been dismissed. This is their lowest tally at home.The two runs they made against India in the Chandigarh Test in 1990-91 is their lowest.