South Africa v England, 1st Test, Day 5 - England 1 South Africa 0

As soon as AB de Villiers was dismissed early in the morning, South Africa’s hopes of scripting a great escape became an ice sculpture in the desert. England have won the first Test without facing any challenges from the number 1 Test team in the world.

Alastair Cook and his men have been clinical throughout the Test match and never allowed South Africa to come back as England have been superb in fetching crucial wickets in the important junctures of the match. This Proteas unit is lacking self-belief and until and unless that doesn’t reinstill, they are bound to struggle in the remaining Test matches as well.

Thank You
Faisal Caesar 

South Africa v England, 1st Test, Day 4 - Hashim Amla frustrates us again

12.1: Stokes to Amla, no run, back of a length, this zips through outside off as Amla leaves well alone.

12.2: Stokes to Amla, no run, gets across and defends solidly on off.

12.3: Stokes to Amla, no run, length delivery, 131kph and thudding into the bat as Amla plays back.

12.4: Stokes to Amla, no run, angled in and struck on the thigh trying to work to leg.

12.5: Stokes to Amla, FOUR, runs for the Mighty Hash, he waves his wand and middles a short, wide ball through the covers to get off the mark.

12.6: Stokes to Amla, no run, fullish length, enticing Amla forwards, he gets out but raises the bat away as the ball tails back outside off - that is tea, with the pot boiling nicely.

 14.1: Broad to Amla, no run, full outside off, met with a very solid forward defensive from Amla.

14.2: Broad to Amla, no run, tight at off stump, he's walking forward a little into this defensive push back to the bowler.

14.3: Broad to Amla, 2 runs, short of a length outside off, opens the face a touch and it runs through backward point.

14.4: Broad to Amla, no run, fuller again, outside off, defended to the covers.

14.5: Broad to Amla, no run, a touch further up to the bat again, Amla opts to defend rather than drive.

14.6: Broad to Amla, FOUR, that's a statement! Dropped a fraction short from Broad and he responds with a rasping pull over midwicket.

 16.5: Broad to Amla, 1 run, full at off stump, takes a thick inside edge into the leg side.

17.1: Ali to Amla, 1 run, onto the back foot straightaway and works the delivery from off stump through the leg side...the sort of shot that gave Graeme Swann nightmares at The Oval in 2012.

18.1: Broad to Amla, no run, a meaty back-foot punch to a short-of-a-length delivery, Finn gets around from mid-off and although he can't stop it cleanly Amla declines the single.

18.2: Broad to Amla, no run, full this time, outside off, a nicely-timed drive straight to cover who is fairly deep and almost lured Amla into what would have been a risky single.

18.3: Broad to Amla, no run, finds the middle of the bat again, back foot drive this occasion, but again finds cover.

18.4: Broad to Amla, no run, fuller, outside off, left alone.

18.5: Broad to Amla, no run, cover is having a busy time at the moment, Amla comes forward into a drive and finds the man again.

18.6: Broad to Amla, no run, not much bounce from this delivery, full outside off and it barely reaches Bairstow on the full

20.1: Finn to Amla, no run, a very small appeal for lbw, angling into leg stump from a good length.

20.2: Finn to Amla, OUT, massive wicket! Not a great shot from Amla. Short of a length outside off, he flashed away from his body, not fully committed to the cut stroke and Bairstow takes the catch moving to his right.

Courtesy: Cricinfo

This was how Hashim Amla was playing the English bowlers before he got dismissed. He was looking confident at the crease. His foot was moving well, his back lift was high, he was leaving the ball well and got behind the line of the ball while executing the strokes especially, through the covers. He hit two boundaries and those were superbly timed off the back foot as his initial movement was backwards.

I thought he would go big, but from nowhere he executed a loose shot. Well, his horror run is continuing. AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis revived the memories of Adelaide, but Steve Finn’s delivery in-and-around the offstump was a beauty which forced Faf to play and thus, resulted in a wicket, a crucial breakthrough. England have been brilliant in fetching such breakthroughs and they are well poised to take a lead in the series.

South Africa’s hopes rest on AB de Villiers, but this England team is confident and determined than the host.  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Australia v West Indies, 2nd Test, day 4 - West Indies' performance has been better than Hobart

Denesh Ramdin and Jason Holder were going well and at one point, I thought that the Caribbeans might take this Test match into the final day. But as soon as Ramdin was dismissed after forging a 100-run stand for the sixth wicket, the tail was exposed and the last four West Indian wickets fell for just 32 runs in ten overs. There was no adventure from Carlos Brathwaite this time, but overall, West Indies’ performance in MCG was way better than that in Hobart.

I repeat, there is hope regarding this young team. The hierarchy of the West Indies cricket just needs to shun stupidity and invest faith in Holder and the young guns. The main goal should be the improvement of the health of West Indies cricket and not the health of the pockets and bank accounts.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar    

South Africa v England, 1st Test, Day 3 - England are in a dominant position

For the last five Tests, the South African batting line-up is suffering from the lack of confidence. Had Dean Elgar not been focused and steady, the story of South Africa’s batting would have been a sorry tale. Elgar remained unbeaten with his fourth Test hundred, second in a Boxing Day Test match and when the South African innings ended, he became the first Proteas opener to carry his bat since Gary Korsten against Pakistan in 1997 at Faisalabad.

I loved the way Elgar built his innings. It was established on solid defensive stroke-play and there was some thinking as well. With the English bowlers troubling in-and-around the off stump line, Elgar targeted the legside region to notch-up the runs and it paid off well. Dean Elgar’s resolve and composure should inspire the other out-of-form Proteas batsmen to comeback in track.

Alastair Cook’s introduction of Moeen Ali was a brilliant move. The dismissal of Temba Bavuma by Stuart Broad in the second ball of the day brought JP Duminy at the crease and it prompted Cook to introduce Ali early as he has the habit of striking gold against the southpaws. Immediately Ali induced an edge from Duminy’s bat and put South Africa on the back foot. Then Kyle Abbott and a dangerous looking Steyn became his victims. His spell was 12-3-24-3 and with the track drying up and offering uneven bounce, Ali will prove handy in the fourth innings when South Africa will chase.

Dale Steyn’s injury is a severe blow for South Africa. Hashim Amla is rotating his bowlers to pile up the pressure, but it’s always hard to fill the gap of a Dale Steyn. At the moment, England are in a dominant position at Durban.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Australia v West Indies, 2nd Test, Day 3 - Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite gave us hope

The West Indies can fight. They can show maturity when the going gets tough. Darren Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite gave us hope.

There aren’t any demons underneath the MCG track and a batting team who are trailing by the huge amount of runs, just needs to occupy the crease and score runs steadily. The Caribbean top order imploded miserable, but one man denied to surrender meekly and decided to restore some pride for this depleted West Indies unit.

Bravo batted for six hours and kept on fighting till the very end. He batted like a Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Larry Gomes, rather than the traditional Caribbean stroke makers. His Caribbean style of scintillating stroke-play was evident in Hobart, but boy, he can switch gears efficiently and present himself as a role model of composure. His fanda was simple: Just spend time at the crease, leave the good balls and wait for the bad balls to cash in – a ploy which is still very productive in this bloody age of Twenty20 Cricket.

At the other end, Carlos Brathwaite provided such an able support to Bravo’s composure. He was lucky enough to stay at the crease, but fortune favors those who goes out there to fight. The fight back of Bravo and Brathwaite, as usual, gave the fans of West Indies cricket hope and still they wish to believe that one day the golden days of Caribbean cricket will return.

Personally, I wish to invest faith in this young team and give them enough time to gel well. I won’t sit down and start crying for the return of those seniors who ditched Caribbean cricket for cash and of course, I have faith in Holder. I pray and hope that, WICB shows some sense.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

South Africa v England, 1st Test, Day 2 - A productive day for England

It has not been a great thing for me to witness Hashim Amla’s lean-patch. First of all, his feet are not moving at the crease and secondly, he is not leaning on the stroke properly and is moving away from the ball and thus, that Stuart Broad leg-cutter took the edge of his bat. The cardinal rule is, as far as I am concerned, never allow the ball to come to you, but you should reach the ball first and cover your offstump well. I have always found Amla comfortable against pace bowlers by getting behind the line of the ball rather than side of the ball – a tactic worked well for Rahul Dravid but not for Amla.

By the way, I must agree, Stuart Broad bowled brilliantly throughout the day and never let anyone felt the absence of James Anderson. Most of the time, he pitched the ball full on the good length area in-and-around that off stump which kept the South African batsmen at bay. While Broad was hard to score, Dean Elgar and AB de Villiers kept the scoreboard ticking by fetching runs against the other English bowlers, forged a 86-run partnership for the third wicket.

AB was outsmarted by another Broad leg-cutter and it was up to Elgar to glue the Proteas innings together. Elgar was watchful and quick to move his feet and his reflexes were good to persist against some disciplined English bowling.

England were good in gaining the momentum – outweighed a struggling Amla by targeting the off stump and dismissing AB de Villiers when he was looking threatening by pitching four consecutive deliveries on the off stump line and good length and letting it leave the batsman – AB, like Amla didn’t reach the ball first and left his offstump unprotected. Broad’s deliveries to Amla and AB were good, but they were not unplayable. It was a productive day for England.    

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Australia v West Indies, 2nd Test, Day 2 - West Indies in disarray

The West Indies are 91 for 6 at stumps in reply to Australia's 551 for 3 and the scenario is quite predictable of yet another Caribbean humiliation. West Indian openers, Rajendra Chandrika and Kraig Brathwaite's steady start looked promising, but as soon as Brathwaite was dismissed by Nathan Lyon, an ugly collapse took place.

Chandrika offered no shot against a Pattinson in-ducker, Marlon Samuels' stiff legs did him no favour as a Pattinson reverse-in-swing trapped him lbw, Jermaine Blackwood foolishly ended up the ghost by coming down the track to dominate Lyon and was caught and bowled, Peter Siddle delivered one into the pads of Denesh Ramdin and Ramdin executed a mistimed flick in the air and was caught by Burns while, Jason Holder registered first golden duck in his Test career as Siddle disturbed his offstump.

The manner of dismissals were quite annoying for the fans present at the stadium and those who watched in television and sadly, West Indies continue to gift world cricket such dismal displays again and again.  

Thank You
Faisal Caesar 

South Africa v England, 1st Test, Day 1 - Well played Nick Compton and James Taylor

If you are making a comeback in the test side after almost two years, surely, today’s muggy and damp conditions at Durban would not have been the ideal one to announce your comeback in style. But Nick Compton conquered the adverse circumstances while James Taylor proved displayed the perfect composure under pressure.

Durban’s condition was perfect for Dale Steyn’s comeback and he was right on the money from the word go – dismissed Alastair Cook by pitching the ball on the length and slanting it away. Then Steyn dismissed Alex Hales and at 49 for 3, England were struggling. They needed someone to stabilize the innings and two inexperienced Englishmen occupied the crease well and helped England to travel through the troubled waters.

Nick Compton justified his selection with a watchful half century and James Taylor is proving himself to be a productive cricketer for England. Taylor is a very good timer of the ball, pivots on the back foot very well and loves to score on the onside – anything short and onto the pads will be sent to midwicket and squareleg while if you pitch it full on middle-and-leg, he will come forward a bit – transform it into a half volley and fetch runs through mid on and mid off. He is a compact player. Of course, Taylor can drive the ball through the offside with an absolute surgical precision as well.

Meanwhile, Nick Compton’s Grahan-Gooch-and-Graeme-Hick-like high back lift was a cool one. It made me a bit nostalgic and I loved those timings through the cover region. The guy has a blessed foot work and very good eyesight. Even in such conditions, he could lean onto the front foot, maintain his balance and play some wonderfully timed drives through the offside. I am glad to see Compton back in the team as in my opinion, he is a very good Test player.    

An English fight back was necessary to keep the interest regarding the first day of this Test match alive. Let day 2 be cracking days of Test cricket.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Australia v West Indies, 2nd Test, Day 1 - Gutsy Australian selectors, brilliant Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja and a dull West Indies

Jason Holder won the toss and sent Australia to bat first as the track had a bit of life on it and the conditions were a bit favorable for the pace bowlers, but the Caribbean pacers were welcomed in a brutal fashion by David Warner. Kemar Roach was punished by Warner for three consecutive boundaries in his first over’s first three balls and conveyed the message that the Australians are in no mood to show any respect towards the opposition bowlers. The Boxing Day turned out to be another hectic and dull day for the Caribbeans.

Warner was dismissed quickly, but Joe Burns and Usman Khawaja ensured that the misery of West Indies continue to prolong. As usual, the Caribbean bowling lacked heart and an appropriate plan – if I am not wrong, the length was more like a Twenty20 match and this indicates how badly this format has affected West Indies cricket. We all realize this except the West Indian players and the Board.

I must say that the selectors of Cricket Australia do possess a sound vision. Otherwise, it is never an easy task to invest faith in a batsman who has just returned from an injury-break and had only warmed himself up by playing in a circus show named BBL. The options for CA were to choose between a struggling Joe Burns, Usman Khawaja and an inform Shaun Marsh. Ideally, one would go for either Burns or Khawaja and not Marsh. But CA opted for Burns and Khawaja and left out Marsh which proved to be a masterstroke.

Both Burns and Khawaja needed runs to boost their confidence and who can be a better opposition than this depleted West Indies side. There is no harm in experimenting against one of the weakest oppositions in Test cricket and I hate to say this, West Indies are the weakest in Test cricket at the moment.    

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Day 4 - Kane Williamson batted like a master and dented the chances of a Sri Lankan fairy tale

Well, there was no Sri Lankan fairy tale. New Zealand won the Test series in style without making the weather heavy. Kane Williamson’s innings was of sheer class and this guy is destined to achieve greatness. Great batsmen learn from their mistakes and Williamson belongs to that category who is not interested in repeating his mistakes. He was dismissed by a short ball in the first innings, but in the second innings, he was quick to get on the back foot and behind the line of the ball, executed the pull shot without enough power, but via the gentlest of timings.

Williamson has notched up 1172 runs in 2015, which has now made him the number one Test batsman in the world. I am quite happy with this achievement as I have been following the progress of this guy since that Ahmedabad Test in 2010 where he scored a match saving 131. As usual, my instincts told me that this guy will go a long way, but at the moment, I can see that Kane is surpassing my expectations – an absolute legend in the making.

Sri Lanka should not be sad. Yes their ugly collapse in the second innings was frustrating, but overall, this young team has shown the character to face the challenges. This young team can climb higher if they take Test cricket seriously and yes, they should take Test cricket seriously.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Day 3 - It was a crazy day!

I woke up around 4:45 am to relax myself in the bathroom as because my urinary bladder was full. After emptying the bladder, I checked my mobile for the latest updates of the Hamilton Test match. Okay, things were looking good for the Lankans because, at that point of time they were 60 for 0. But when I checked the updates while going to my hospital, I was dumbfounded to discover that, Sri Lanka were all out for 133. Woah! The pants of the Lankan batsmen were on fire!

This young Sri Lankan unit have been impressive because of their resolve in Test matches and on day 3 it was much needed. But sadly, they suffered a panic attack.

Dimuth Karunaratne and Udara Jayasundera were dismissed by very good deliveries, the latter being a bit unlucky, but the way the middle-order batsmen ended up the ghost was simply crazy: Dinesh Chandimal’s leg galnce was lackluster, Kausal mendis and Angelow Mathews never got behind the line of the ball by pivoting on the back foot and walked for the pavilion after executing an IPL-BPL-BBL-like directionless hook-shot, Milinda Siriwardana wished to sent the ball to the solar system by executing another IPL-BPL-BBL-like bullshit stroke and Vitanage wished to send the ball to the offices of the Twnety20 team owners from India and Bangladesh and eventually became a laughing stock – the fielder at third was the only fielder on the offside as Brendon McCullum targeted to pepper the Lankan batsmen with a barrage of short balls.......phew, let me pause here as because, the dismissals of the tail-enders were funnier enough.

New Zealand’s hopes rest on Kane Williamson. An early breakthrough on day 4 might change the whole scenario of this Test match. Thankfully, Angelow Mathews kept on attacking and didn’t give up hope, and in fact, Dushmantha Chameera and the likes of Nuwan Pradeep, Rangana Herath and Nuwan Pradeep’s vigor and sizzle will be critical in making this Test match a memorable one for the true cricket lovers.

Thank You
Faisal Caesar        

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Day 2 - Brilliant Dushmantha Chameera!

A fast bowler at his best is the best thing to happen in a Test match and they are an asset for any team. They create a big impact on the game and of course, they can change the course of the game in the twinkle of an eye. A Test match is never dull when a fast bowler is steaming in, banging in some bloody bone-chilling short-stuffs, mesmerizing yorkers fired through the blockhole and knocking back the stumps with deceptive pace. Boy, their lively celebrations also adds a colorful dimension to the game.

Dushmantha Chameera’s bowling against Pakistan in the Dhamika-Prasad-oriented second Test at Colombo was encouraging enough to impress me. I believed that he will improve with time, but actually, I never thought that he will make his mark so soon as young bowlers from the subcontinent takes time to bounce back after returning from injuries. But he struck gold. 

His lively spell of fast-bowling against one of the top Test sides of world cricket paid rich dividends as Sri Lanka are in a commendable position at Hamilton. New Zealand were in complete command at 81 for 0, but suddenly lost their way when Chameera dismissed Tom Latham and then, toppled the dangerous Ross Taylor and Kane Willaimson. The wickets of Tim Southee and Neil Wagner gifted him his maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket.

Again,  one must not forget the contributions of Rangana Herath, Nuwan Pradeep and co provided to sustain the pressure on the New Zealand batsmen. While Herath was teasing, Pradeep joined the shot-ball-party by pitching it accurately on the short-of-a-length to make it an eventful day.

Test cricket is beautiful.

Day 3 should be an enjoyable one as well.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 2nd Test, Day 1 - Late wickets waste Sri Lanka's hard work

The Hamilton track was greenish and seam-and-swing bowling was on offer. The Sri Lankan batsmen decided to counter such a challenging condition with aggression. Kusal Medis set the tone and Dinesh Chandimal tried to continue the aggressive mood.

Surely, I need to say that the New Zealand new ball bowlers didn’t bowl the right way they should have on this track. They didn’t pitch the ball more on the good length or full enough to extract movement and thus, allowed the Lankan batsmen enough freedom. And then, there were those missed-run-out chances and a dropped catch. But an aggressive approach doesn’t last long on such tracks if you don’t add resolve and for which Sri Lanka were in a bother at 121 for 4.

Angelow Mathews and Milinda Siriwardana realized that they are neither playing in the Bangladesh Premier League nor the Big Bas League nor the Indian Premier League and for which they injected stability – fluency was there, but not at the cost of caution. Milinda and Angelow added 138 runs for the fifth wicket at 4.6 runs/over.

In the final session, the sky turned gloomy and the conditions were ideal for the pacers to cash in and this time, the Kiwi pacers didn’t make any mistake to spoil Sri Lanka’s hard work. Trent Boult’s away movement curtailed Milinda’s stay and Vithanage was dismissed quickly while a needless-and-risky single culminated into a run out to waste all the hard works of Angelow Mathews and Milinda Siriwardana.

This young unit of Sri Lanka has been impressive so far. They just lack the experience to bloom and, I think, they will bloom in the course of time. To succeed in the longer formats, they need to understand the value of spending time at the crease and how to convert those 20s into 50s, 50s into hundreds and hundreds into double tons.

Thank You
Faisal Caesar

Roy Fredericks' big time brutality at Perth

Perth, the capital city of Western Australia, is situated where the Swan river embraces the southeast coast. It is blessed with natural beauty and an easygoing outdoor lifestyle. Bright sunshine, deep blue sea, adventurous landscapes, attractive beaches, festivals and blessed people make Perth one of the most happening places on earth.

Then, at Nelson Crest, East Perth, there lies the WACA cricket ground, which itself has been a spectator of many memorable cricketing incidents for so many years and has been the centre of attraction for the tourists and cricket lovers since Test cricket commenced on this ground.

Since the 1890s, the WACA has been Western Australia's home of cricket. On December 16, 1970, it hosted the first ever Test match and since then, this ground has witnessed some of the most epic battles and eye-catching individual performances which still remain etched in the memories of the cricket lovers.

 Traditionally, WACA ground is famous for its pace and bounce as it is regarded as the one of the fastest wickets in the world, but this ground has also gifted some of the best batting performances which are a part of cricket folklore.

A historic day

December 13, 1975. For the first time, the American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show  “Saturday Night Live” hosted by Richard Pryor used a time delay, Jane Blalock won the LPGA 14 Colgate Triple Crown Golf Tournament, the former Soviet Union performed a nuclear test in Kazakh and in the Australian Federal Elections, Liberals with coalition under Malcolm Frasier won largest ever parliamentary majority.

So, December 13, 1975, was not just an ordinary day, but it happened to be quite a significant day to remember and from a cricketing perspective, it was made an unforgettable one by a southpaw from Guyana named Roy Fredericks.

It was summer in Australia and on this day, forty years ago in Perth, Malcolm Fraser, the Prime Minister in a minority coalition government, was caught in a brouhaha outside the Northcote town hall. A bunch of angry mobs spat on him and pelted beer cans at him.

A strike at the Carlton & United breweries triggered fears of a beer drought throughout the country and on December 13, 1975, a fire broke in one of the new skyscrapers being built in downtown and thus, the situation at Perth was chaotic and the skyline turned gloomy by smoke.

West Indies' chance tour Down Under

Amid this rut, Perth was hosting the second Test match between West Indies and Australia.

The West Indies were a young side and under the leadership of Clive Lloyd, they had just won the first ever World Cup by beating Ian Chappell’s Australia at Lord’s few months back in 1975. In the same year, Lloyd and his men toured Down Under for a six-match Test series.

West Indies were not supposed to tour during that time. Instead, it was South Africa who were scheduled to visit, but Australia joined the sporting boycott against apartheid. The Caribbeans were offered to play and fill the empty summer schedule.

West Indies were beaten comprehensively by eight wickets in the first Test at Brisbane and then, they traveled to Perth for the second Test.

This was the only Test match which stood out like an oasis in the desert for the Caribbeans who had a thoroughly miserable tour that was brightened by this one match which hit the headlines due to Roy Fredericks’ murderous knock.

Greg Chappell, Australia’s captain, won the toss and elected to bat first. The West Indian pace bowlers kept on dismissing the Aussie batsmen, but Ian Chappell, free from the cares and pressures of captaincy, played an innings of controlled aggression to help Australia post 329 runs in their first innings.

A young Michael Holding, who was playing in his second Test, picked up four wickets and he finished the Australian innings in the second morning in style – Ian Chappell, Jeff Thomson and Ashley Mallett were castled via sheer pace.

Fredericks' outstanding innings

Roy Fredericks came out to open the innings with Bernard Julien, who was an all-rounder and suited more at number six or seven. But, Lloyd played a gamble as at that point of time he had less faith in his another young player Gordon Greenidge who bagged a pair in Gabba.

Anyhow, Dennis Lillee, the tear-away fast bowler took the new ball to bowl the first over. Lillee’s second ball was banged in short and with pace and Fredericks tried to hook it – the ball flew off the top-edge and landed in the crowd sitting on the leg side boundary.

It was a six and thus, one of Test cricket’s most dynamic and jaw-dropping knocks started to unfold.

 Back-foot stroke-play requires confidence and courage and to exploit it against the fury of Lillee, Thomson, Walker and Gilmour on a quick wicket was nothing short of a Herculean act.

The fast bowlers of those days didn’t like to be hooked, pulled and cut mercilessly. It was dubbed as an insult to them and on that eventful day, Fredericks kept bruising the ego of the Australian pace attack with a rare disdain.

Lillee sent down his missiles, Thomson bowled like a tornado and Walker and Gilmour hurled down short deliveries regularly, but Fredericks swiveled, turned the bat over and down, brutally hooked and pulled to send the ball into the boundary.

His cut shots were spectacular as well as Ashley Mallett described, “There was many a time when he cut at lifting deliveries, and at the precise instant he struck the ball, both his feet were well clear of the ground. I was fielding in the gully and nothing came anywhere near me, yet Freddo was cutting fiercely, the ball soaring over my head and to my left, round point”.

The famous West Australian sea breeze “Fremantle Doctor” blew the ground and added enough woes to the miseries of the Aussies who were already getting roasted by the heat of the blazing sun and the scorching stroke-play of Fredericks.

Fredericks' bat was 'something between a rapier and a bludgeon'

According to Ashley Mallett, “The Fremantle Doctor added to Australia's woes, for the wind reached 50kph. Add that to the speed of Freddo's ferocious strokes. Surely the good doctor, who with his cooling hand comes to the rescue of the people of Perth every afternoon in summer, could have given Freddo a calming pill to save the poor Aussies from a terrible hiding”.

One of Thomson's deliveries that day was clocked at 99.68 miles per hour by university researchers, and the speed with which it flew off Fredericks’ bat was unimaginable.

Terry Jenner, the twelfth man for the match, was fielding at point as a substitute fielder said, “I'd been sitting there with my feet, up but then I came onto the ground, I think it was for Ross Edwards, my laces were undone so I had to do them up, get out there and go straight to forward point and the first ball off (Gary) Gilmour was a massive square drive that curved towards me, I got down and it spun straight past me and went for four....bloody embarrassing - when you're the 12th man and that's what happens to you.

"But he was awesome, Fredericks. He played hooks, cuts, drives, every shot in the book. It wasn't a mug attack by a long shot, and it was just an awesome innings, one of those innings of a lifetime really ... unbelievable!”

Fredericks notched up his fifty off 33 balls and by lunch, West Indies were 130 for 1. After lunch, one staggering stroke followed after another at a rapid pace. Fredericks scored his hundred off 71 balls and when he was caught at slip after tea, he made 169 runs off 145 balls out of 258.

In his tour book, Frank Tyson wrote, “His flashing bat could be described as lying somewhere between a rapier and a bludgeon."

"His high and full backswing gave each shot a tremendous power, yet at the same time, there was finesse of execution. It  would be hard to imagine a better century”.

Fredericks’ 169 outweighed the intensity of the Australian Federal Election and made December 13, 1975, all his own.

It was a big time brutality and still people talk about that blazing knock as because it is never easy to gift Lillee and Thomson buffets of embarrassments without wearing a helmet on the fastest wicket of the world. Roy Fredericks was the man to do that on that sun-kissed day at Perth.  

December 13, 1975, was not an ordinary day of Test cricket.

Note: This article has been published in Sportskeeda on 14/12/2015 Roy Fredericks' big time brutality at Perth

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Day 5 - Neil Wagner was a treat to watch

A lot of things depended on the shoulders of Angelow Mathews and Dinesh  Chandimal and they were going well until Neil Wagner entered into the scene. Wagener broke the partnership by dismissing Chandimal and Sri Lanka lost their way and succumbed to a heavy defeat.

Neil Wagner’s bowling was a treat to watch. He banged the ball short, clocked around 140 km/hour and targeted the rib cage area which was tough to handle for this young Lankan side. I love to enjoy such bowling display as fans like me were habituated to witness such things from our childhood. In this New Zealand side, Wagner is highly underrated, but when on song, he can deliver one of the most deceptive spells of pace bowling.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Day 4 - New Zealand are on top, but Sri Lanka are fighting

Sri Lanka need 405 runs to win the first Test against New Zealand. It is not an easy target for this young Sri Lankan side to chase in five sessions and what the Lankans needed was resistance to ensure a respectable draw. Their young openers were impressive and made the Kiwi pace attack to work for their wickets.

But just as stability was about to take a permanent place on a stop-start-day due to inclement weather, Dimuth Karunaratne and Kusal Medis were dismissed and the early departure of Udara Jayasudera led to the entry of Angelow Mathews and Dinesh Chandimal​ - the two most senior players in the side on whom a lot of things will depend.

Angelo Mathews​ must lead from the front and Chandimal must control his extravagant stroke-making instincts and support his captain for a brief period so that the value of a hard fought draw sustains in Test cricket. As usual the first session will be crucial tomorrow.    

Thank You
Faisal Caesar 

Australia v West Indies, 1st Test, Day 3 - The Aussies complete Caribbean humiliation

Darren Bravo scored a hundred, but the West Indies were forced to follow on and their response in the second innings was horrifying. Such a dismal display has not been surprising for me. When you lack the passion to play for your country and when there exists a vacuum at the top, then such humiliations become a day to day affair.

Since the start of 2000, there has been a lot of debate and discussion about the fall of West Indies cricket and many experts suggested various solutions to the problem, but nothing has changed and it will never change until and unless the players and officials stop thinking about who filling their pockets.

As an ardent follower of West Indies Cricket since the days of Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall, a Caribbean humiliation always hurts me badly.

Thank You
Faisal Caesar 

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Day 3 - The Kiwis are in a commendable position

The second new ball was supposed to test both Dinesh Chandimal and Kithuruwan Vithanage on the first session of day 3. The weather at Dunedin was overcast and chilling and it aided the pace bowlers to move the ball at will. Within 15 minutes both the overnight batsmen were dismissed and Sri Lanka were lifted by the contributions of the tail-enders. I think, Milinda Siriwardana was needed to curb his attacking stroke-play and carry on as much as possible by spending enough time at the crease. Whereas, Rangana Herath exhibited the ideal temperament with the bat – cautious and focused.

But, New Zealand were able to take a handy lead in the first session and their batsmen scored runs without enough hassle, aided by some dropped catches, to stretch the lead. They are in a commendable position at the moment and the Lankans need to show a lot of character to save this Test match.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Australia v West Indies, 1st Test, Day 2 - Darren Bravo continues to fight for West Indies

Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh stretched their mammoth partnership a bit more as Steve Smith declared the innings, which prohibited Voges from scoring a triple ton. But the Australians hardly give importance on achieving personal milestones. Anyhow, the West Indies reply was shaky and at 116 for 6, Roach joined Darren Bravo.

Roach’s bowling might have been poor, but while batting he provided Bravo the ideal support to avoid humiliations. Darren Bravo’s batting was delightful to watch. Especially, his strokes through the offside were delicate and those through mid-off were brilliantly timed. Bravo’s talent hardly transforms into deeds, but when it does transform, it becomes a joy for the cricket fans.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Day 2 - Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal show determination

The second day was an attritional one, but it was never short of intense. The second session of the day was a treat to watch. The New Zealand pace bowlers kept on bowling with a relentless accuracy and movement, but hardly could fetch a wicket. The Lankan heroes were Dimuth Karunaratne and Dinesh Chandimal, who exhibited patience and the skill to survive a testing session.

Apart from determination and astute defence, the correctness in back lift and countering the swing with soft hands aided them to travel through that critical period where the fall of few more wickets might have triggered a collapse. It was not an extravagant days of cricket, but one for the lovers of Test match cricket.  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Australia v West Indies, 1st Test, Day 1 - Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh maul West Indies

Steve Smith won the toss and decided to bat first on a greenish track and in the first session, the performance of the Caribbean bowlers were quite satisfactory. Even though, Shannon Gabriel was the only pace bowler to fetch a wicket. But as soon as Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh started batting together the Caribbean worry knew no bounds.

Both of them accumulated runs pace – 5 runs per over and stitched a partnership of 317, the third-highest of all time against West Indies, for any wicket. At stumps, Voges was not out on 174 and Marsh 139.

The West Indian bowlers have always been promising, but so far, their talent has never transformed into deeds. Neither Roach, Gabriel, Taylor nor Holder pitched it further up and targeted the stumps, but continued to bowl either too short or too straight or on a leg stump line and buffets of half-volleys – you can’t even think about testing the might of the Australian batsmen with such mediocre stuffs.

Thank You
Faisal Caesar

New Zealand v Sri Lanka, 1st Test, Dunedin, Day 1 - Sri Lanka bounce back to halt New Zealand's aggression

Angelow Mathews should have introduced Milinda Siriwardana when Brendon McCullum was in his 30s and looked threatening. Milinda is such an effective cricketer that he is habituated to deliver the goods when his team is needed the most. Mathews threw him the ball when Baz had put New Zealand in a very strong position, but the escalating scoring rate halted when Milinda dismissed Baz by pitching a ball on a half-volley length along the leg stump line! Milinda is becoming the man with the golden arm for Sri Lanka.

As soon as Baz was dismissed, the wickets kept on tumbling for the Kiwis but the kind of start they had, it seemed that they would end up something around 450 plus at stumps. Mathews put the hosts to bat on a greenish Dunedin track, but the Lankan new ball bowlers wasted the opportunity by not pitching the ball full around the middle-and-off-stump line, but they banged the ball more on the half-volley length, short-and-wide outside off and along the leg stump line – at one stage each over fetched boundaries which almost made this Test match into a Twenty20 circus show.

Thankfully, the Lankan bowlers bounced back to make the day evenly poised. Dushmanta Chameera was costly, but I was amazed by his never-say-die spirit and he was in no mood to sacrifice his pace. His action needs a bit of modification: the head position just needs to be adjusted a bit. He has the ability to hit that difficult length: the dismissal of BJ Watling says it all and a bit more discipline will make him a very good product.

Again, on this track, bowling with a scrambled seam worked better.

Martin Guptill played a brilliant knock   his third Test hundred, his first in 40 innings since November 2011 while yet again, Kane Willaimson is among the runs. This guy is an all-time best package. He is my favorite batsman along with Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli, Mushfiqur Rahim, Steve Smith and AB De Villiers.

Sri Lanka needs to exhibit resolve rather than aggression on this track while batting.

Thank You
Faisal Caesar

India v South Africa, 4th Test, Day 5 - India 3 and South Africa 0

As soon as Hashim Amla was dismissed by a beauty from Ravindra Jadeja, South Africa’s hopes of avoiding a 3-0 defeat rested on the shoulders of AB de Villiers. AB was superb in taming the Indian spinners. His footwork was precise, defence was impenetrable and he taught everyone the importance of playing the spinners with soft hands.

But sadly, the Proteas kept on losing wickets at the other end and none of the batsmen were successful in supporting AB. A dramatic end to the Test match was not possible as the Proteas digested a heavy defeat. The last time I saw a South African team to get humiliated was in 2006 where a strong Australian side led by Ricky Ponting completely outclassed the South Africans on their own den.

It’s time to celebrate for Virat Kohli as under his captaincy the Indian team has achieved better things in Test cricket. But, until and unless his team achieves similar feats outside home, he should not sit back and relax. Even though at present, most of the teams are home track bullies. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

India v South Africa, 4th Test, Day 4 - At last, the South African batsmen exhibit resolve!

Resolve has been the factor which helped England to conquer India in 2012 and if any non-subcontinental team, at present, wish to win a Test series in India then he must give the priority of spending time at the crease more rather than applying the idea of playing strokes from the word go in the name of positive cricket. Such tactics work well in Twenty20 circus shows and not in India or subcontinental tracks.

Have the Proteas think tank forgotten Neil McKenzie’s resolve and occupation at the crease at Chennai in 2008? Well, it was not a rank turner, but taming Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh was not an easy task at all.

Surprisingly, the South African batsmen realized the importance of resolve very late and Amla, AB de Villiers’ and Co’s such a sturdy resistance were needed since the first Test.

I didn’t understand why people were trolling Amla? When a batsman is going through a lean patch, they can apply two things: either play attacking cricket or spend time at the crease as much as possible. Amla went for the latter one and I don’t see anything wrong with this.

Why Amla has been able to spend so much time at the crease? Do guys remember my post two days back where I said to adjust the back lift a bit against the  spinners? Amla played the spinners with a lower back lift and he crouched a bit to read the uneven bounce of the Kotla track. The same ploy was adopted by AB de Villiers and Bavuma as well. Why their batters didn’t adopt this earlier remains a moot question.

Don’t you dare to say that it was a boring days of cricket. It was an attritional days of cricket where the battle of patience was exhibited brilliantly by Amla and co.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar  

India v South Africa, 4th Test, Day 3 - South Africa's humiliation continues

Morne Morkel rattled the Indian top order with quick strikes, but an inspiring 133-run stand for the fifth wicket between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane flattened the Proteas. At the moment the Indians are leading by 403 runs and surely, another humiliation awaits for the South Africans whose poor show throughout the Test series has surprised everyone.  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

India v South Africa, 4th Test, Day 2 - South African batsmen dug their own graves

The South African batsmen have lost the battle mentally. I am not ready to accept that a champion batsman like Hashim Amla and brilliant batter like Faf du Plessis lack the technique to survive on the testing tracks, but at the back of their mind, they have lost it completely. This is quite unexpected from the best team in the world.

I think Amla should adjust his back lift a bit. It has to be a bit lower on such tracks and surprisingly, Amla has tried to execute the strokes against the spinners with stiff legs. I am not familiar with this Amla. Whereas, Du Plessis’ mind still seems to be stuck with the Twenty20 format - the IPL-like-sweep-shot-or-what executed today, surely annoyed not only the South African cricket fans, but the cricket followers as well.  

Seniors like Amla and Du Plessis were needed to cash in badly to inspire and teach the youngsters about how bat on the testing tracks of the subcontinent.

AB de Villiers was batting brilliantly, but sadly, he lacked the support from his colleagues. With due respect to the Indian bowlers, the Proteas batters dug their own graves today and in my opinion, they have been doing this throughout the series.

Don’t blame the tracks, but blame the fragile technique and temperament.

Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane notched up his first Test hundred at home and gradually, this guy is becoming the crisis-manager for India. Rahane is a very smart guy as he knows how to utilize the best moments and has the knowledge to realize the magnitude of a crucial situation of a Test match. This is a very special quality and such players can go a long way.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

India v South Africa, 4th Test, day 1 - The partnership between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane was good to watch

The partnership between Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane was a good one. It was almost like Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid batting together –  more about maneuvering the strike rather than fighting survival or waiting for the big shots to ease the pressure, a ploy which is most often applied by the batsmen of Twenty20 generation. Be it in Test cricket or 50-over cricket (I don’t know what happens in Twnety20 cricket so I can’t comment) rotation of the strike and picking up the singles and twos are extremely valuable than hitting the big boundaries as they prevent the innings to get stagnant.

South Africa missed the services of Imran Tahir when they needed him the most. Tahir was not introduced further into the attack when Rahane was cashing in during a very critical phase of the Indian innings as because, in my opinion, he was struggling with his form badly – buffets of full tosses and long-hops hinted he was lacking the confidence to strike gold.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar