Composed England, rusty South Africa

Moeen Ali was on a hat-trick when he came to bowl the 78^th over. The ball beat Morne Morkel easily and hit his front pad. Moeen and England’s close fielders scripted a vociferous appeal, but the on field umpire turned down the decision and England went for the review. The television umpire’s decision went in favour of Moeen who finished things off in a dramatic fashion by grabbing a hat-trick, the first by an English spinner for 79 years.

The one hundredth Test at the Oval proved to be a memorable one for the hosts who bounced back in style after the heavy defeat at Trent Bridge. Joe Root said after the match, “What a way to celebrate the 100th Test and this ground. It's been a great week for us. The way we batted first innings was very important, found a good tempo and it's a benchmark for us. Was a challenging wicket which got better as the game went on. We always felt we were ahead of the game from there. [Alastair's] innings was crucial, we could have been five/six down. That's why he's scored so many runs. At no point have we made excuses, always looking to improve, and most pleasing thing is we've responded”.

Indeed, England did not make excuses, but worked hard to improve and correct their mistakes made in second Test. While batting at Trent Bridge, England batsmen cashed in on going after the South African bowlers rather than exhibiting a composed approach. The result was disastrous. At the Oval, the level of composure and discipline of England was better than the visitors.

England exhibited better composure and discipline than South Africa 

 In the first innings at Trent Bridge, England left and defended 49% of the deliveries against pace and thus, were bundled out for 205 runs. At the Oval, on day 1, the percentage increased to 64% and it all was possible due to the sublime technique and temperament showed by Alastair Cook who kept one end steady and countered the threat posed by Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander and Kagiso Rabada. They never took undue risks against new ball and on the second day, when the new ball was taken, for fifteen overs they maintained their patience to see-off the new ball – 63% off the deliveries bowled with the new ball were either left or defended.

As the ball grew older, England took their chances and unleashed an assault lead by Ben Stokes. 44% of the deliveries were attacked and England’s first innings total swelled impressively. Ben Stokes went on to script one of the finest hundreds of his Test career and he brought up his hundred in an adventurous manner by hitting a big six!

Certainly, England’s investment in applying caution over aggression paid off while, South Africa wanted to prove themselves a Hercules and invested faith in the impulsive nature of batting display.

On day 3, The English pacers, pitched 73% of their deliveries on a good length and 51.5% of their deliveries on a good line. Moreover, they were moving the ball very well which demanded a better technique and temperament. They did leave and defend well, but the  major fault was the execution of a poor technique and impulsive nature.

Heino Kuhn and Quinton de Kock played the across the line against the moving ball, while the rest of the batters, except Hashim Amla – done by a beauty, hardly went behind the line, committed to the shot early and exposed their edges. Temba Bavuma and Rabada halted the fall of wickets and helped the visitors to post a score above hundred from a shambolic 61 for 7!

Bavuma showed his team-mates how to counter the movement by getting behind the line and never let the pacers to kiss the edge of his bat. He was again on the money on day 4 when his team-mates were leaving the crease at a rapid pace. He occupied the crease along with Dean Elgar to weather the storm and took the game on final day.

In the fourth innings, Elgar showcased an excellent display of guts and technique. He was cautious against the deliveries bowled outside off and punished those of which were bowled on his pads down the leg side. He received severe blows on his chest and arms, but remained firm at the wicket like a stone wall. Until Moeen Ali dismissed Elgar, he had scripted one of the boldest knocks of this year.

I won’t criticise the South African attack much, but would like to give England batters more credit of handling them well. Yes, at times, I saw the South Africa pacers to struggle with their line, but it was not worst like their indisciplined batting. At Lord’s and the Oval, their batting let them down heavily more than their bowling.   

Note: Statistical information has been taken from CricViz

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

   

Sri Lanka have positives to take from Galle, need to utilise resources smartly

The duration of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India at Galle lasted for just four days. India gave the hosts a whopping target of 550 to chase down within one and half days and an injured Sri Lankan unit failed to fight back as they digested yet another humiliating defeat. As the Kohli-Sahstri combination celebrated, the Lankan camp was found depressed and out of words.

Transitional periods are always tough to counter and when it prolongs, the confidence of a unit starts to ebb away gradually. This Sri Lankan unit’s confidence seems to be at its lowest ebb and moreover, it seems, lady luck frustrating them as well. On day 1, they lost one of their vital performers, Asela Gunaratne and reduced to ten men and the injury of Rangana Herath undermined their fighting spirit even more. At times, during such a transition period, a team needs a bit of luck as well.

Amid the disaster, Sri Lanka can take some positives from Galle ahead of the second Test.

Nuwan Pradeep’s vim

Rangana Herath found it tough to test the Indian batsmen. Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane and the lower order used their feet excellently to neutralize Herath who was left dumbfounded. Either the Indian batsmen came out of the crease to disturb the length or went back and played it late to fetch runs in plenty against the ace spinner.

Lahiru Kumara and Dilruwan Perera digested meaty blows, but one man kept running in defying the sultry weather of Galle, pitched it full and at times banged in short with decent pace to test the Indian batters. While bowling round the wicket, he was able to take the ball away from left handers but he received little support from the slip fielders. Then, he bounced out Virat Kohli with a well-directed bouncer in the first innings.

The humidity at Galle rose, but Pradeep hardly lost his vim. He fetched six Indian wickets and nine of the Indian wickets were grabbed by the pace bowlers in first innings.

This is where the Sri Lankan think tank can build a plan for the second Test by investing more faith in their pace bowlers. It was evident at Galle, the Indian batting lineup cannot be tamed by spinners and in that sense, it would be better to let the pace bowlers lead the attack. And Sri Lanka should shun the idea of preparing tracks suited for spinners and keep more bounce and movement on the track.

Pradeep’s never say die spirit can be used in a more productive way in the upcoming Test matches.

Dilruwan Perera's bold display

The Sri Lanka, reply in the first innings was less-spirited. None of the top order batsmen were able to stitch a stable partnership to frustrate the Indian spinners. But Dilruwan Perera showed how to bat with the right attitude.

He took calculated risks and when the situation demanded, he defended the Indian spinners like a top order batsman. Against the dangerous Ravichandran Ashwin, Perera’s foot work was exemplary while against Ravindra Jadeja’s nagging and incisive line and length, he decided to slog sweep.

He remained not out for 92 and conveyed the message, he could be used as a very good option as a lower-order bowling allrounder. As a bowler, he is good and always has that nag to give his hundred percent even if he struggles to fetch wickets. Such sort of characters can be highly productive while regrouping a team during the transition phases.   

Dimuth Karunaratne’s patience and Niroshan Dickwella’s courage

Dimuth Karunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella raised the hopes of a brilliant fight back with their inspiring partnership on day 4. Karunaratne decided to dig deep and left and defended deliveries to occupy the crease like a monk. According to CricViz, Karunaratne missed or edged 10% of his deliveries he faced in fourth innings. 

Meanwhile, Dickwella kept the scoreboard ticking. He mastered the sweep shot very well and according to CricvViz, Sri Lanka played ten sweep shots and five of them were executed by Dickwella. Then there were those inside-out and dabs with an opened face.

Ultimately, Dimuth and Niroshan could not resist further. Dimuth was dismissed for 97 and his average in fourth innings now is 42.14 which is way better than first innings’ 27.32.  Dickwella scored an impulsive 67 as the fifth wicket stand of 101 was the only time when India had to worry otherwise, it was a forgone conclusion.

Dimuth’s patience and Dickwella’s bold display can be a motivating factor for others who failed to exhibit the ideal temperament and surrendred meekly.

 At this moment, Sri Lanka desperately need a spirited display to instill self-belief within the team and it can only happen if they plan perfectly and use their available resources in the right way.   

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

The Oval's 100th Test: Wasim and Waqar's devastation is still the best I witnessed at the Oval

Today, the Kennington Oval will host its 100^th Test match. This ground has been the home of Surrey since 1845. The first ever Test was hosted on this ground way back in 1880 what were then the pre-Ashes days. Two years later, on this ground, Fredrick Spofforth and co gave birth to the Ashes which is still regarded as the fiercest rivalries in Test cricket.

 The Oval is also a spectator of a number of historical events apart from cricket. In 1870, England's first international football match, versus Scotland was staged here.  It hosted the first FA Cup final in 1872. In 1876, it held both the England v Wales and England v Scotland rugby international matches, and in 1877, rugby's first Varsity match.

I am privileged to witness some of the greatest Test matches and performances at this ground since the 90s. From the havoc of two Ws to Devon Malcolm’s devastation to Brain Lara’s hundred to Saeed Anwar’s classic century to Sanath Jayasuriya, Aravinda de Silva and Muralitharan’s magic to New Zealand’s epic win to England's regaining the Wisden Trophy to Steve Waugh’s fighting century to Rahul Dravid’s double ton to Marcus Trescothick’s double ton against Shaun Pollock, Ntini and Jac Kallis to Kevin Pietersen’s hundred and historic Ashes triumph to forfeited Test to Anil Kumble’s hundred and India’s triumph to South Africa’s celebration after winning the series to Andrew Strauss’ men’s regaining the Ashes to Pakistan’s victory out of nowhere to England’s whitewash to Hashim Amla’s mastery to England’s Ashes triumph to India’s shambolic defeat to Moeen Ali to England’s Ashes win to Pakistan’s historic win.

Woah! My experience of watching Test matches at Kia Oval is more than two decades and how quickly time flew away. It was one of the summers of 1992 when I came to know about the Oval and Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis’ high profile bowling on that ground left me and all of us spell bound. At the fag end of the first day, Wasim Akram ran through the English batting lineup and then in England’s second innings, Waqar Younis unleashed hell on a flat deck to crush the hosts. Waqar’s dismissal of David Gower is still etched in my mind – it was a delivery pitched on middle and leg and swung in such a way, Gower thought t would leave. But it swung late than ever to clip the bails leaving Gower stunned as he shouldered arms.  England were down and out and Pakistan won another Test series in England.  

Yes, I witnessed many great performances at the Oval since 1992, but still, in my book, that devastating bowling display by Wasim and Waqar in 1992 still is the best performance I have seen on this very ground in a Test match.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

   

Thilan Samaraweera: The underrated fighter, competent coach and his impact on Bangladesh cricket

The underrated fighter

After the ICC World Cup 2011, Sri Lankan cricket experienced a bad transition period. They lost Test series against England and Australia and at home, Michael Clarke’s Australia started off his journey in a commendable fashion by beating Sri Lanka at their own backyard and the defeat tasted bitter for Tillakaratne Dilshan Dilshan and his men, who, a few years ago, were hard to beat at home. Under Dilshan and the presence of legends like Mahela Jayawardene and Kumara Sangakkara, Sri Lankan cricket was going nowhere and after an innings defeat at Centurion in the first Test, an unknown fear overshadowed the hearts and minds of Sri Lankan cricket fans.

Had the wheel completed its circle?

Someone had to stand up and turn the fortunes of Sri Lankan cricket and it could only be possible by scripting a win against South Africa.

In the second Test at Durban, Sri Lanka found themselves in a similar position at 117 for 4 against the fury of Dale Steyn and Marchant de Lange.  One man from Colombo, who boasted the track record as a classy batsman right from his school career at Ananda College, Colombo and whose outstanding performances in successive years earned him the Observer Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year titles in 1994 and 1995, thought of unleashing his strong temperament and balancing act.

Thilan Samaraweera was one of those batsmen who would not attract anyone to watch his batting and sponsors to run after him, but whenever his team demanded stability, Thilan always rose to the occasion and delivered, He was like West Indies’ Larry Gomes who stood up and faced the challenges when the big guns failed to fire.

Thilan scripted a hundred on a tough track and helped Sri Lanka to post 338 in the first innings while in the second, he stitched a useful partnership with Kumar Sangakkara to stretch the lead and boost Sri Lanka’s morale, which propelled the wily Rangana Herath to gun down South Africa at Durban and instill Sri Lanka’s lost self-belief.

“Thilan was out of the side and had come back in for a very tough tour. To do what he did in that first innings for us was incredible. It was a make or break series for the guy,” Kumar Sangakkara said about the impact of that hundred later on.

That dramatic win helped Sri Lanka to rediscover their lost mojo and brought them back into the track as they experienced some of the most dramatic victories till 2014. How vital a role Thilan’s brave knock played to bring Sri Lankan cricket back to its old form, cannot easily be described in words.

In Test cricket, Thilan contributed effectively, but he decided to left international scene in 2013 in anger after being omitted from the 15-man squad which was declared to play the first Test against Bangladesh.

“I was shocked with my omission from the squad against Bangladesh. There was no point in waiting for nine months. I respect the decision of the selectors to go with young players and decided it was the right time for me to retire”.

It was a woeful end of a fighter who always played a vital role by coming out to bat at number five and six. His 50-over career did not go smooth, but in Test matches since 2008, his contributions can never be undermined. His batting averages in 2008: 72.75, 2009: 72.59, 2010: 114.25, 2011: 41.75 and in 2012 despite a disastrous tour down under he averaged around 32.59. His career came to an end after that poor series on Australian soil, but he cannot be blamed alone. Even the big guns did not fare well.

He played his last first class match against Northamptonshire at Worcester in September, 2013 and decided to leave playing cricket. He played 81 Test matches for Sri Lanka since 2001 and scored 5462 runs from 132 innings at an average of 48.76.

 Also, Thilan holds the record for scoring the most runs in ODI cricket with only scoring centuries without even dismissed between 50-99, he never had scores of unbeaten innings between 50-99.He has scored 2 ODI hundreds without a single ODI fifty.

“From among the Sri Lankans, I'm third after two of our greatest batsmen. Maybe in 40 years' time - can you imagine - some fellow who hasn't seen me bat might look at our averages and think: ‘Ah, this Thilan Samaraweera was so much better than Aravinda de Silva’. I think that's wonderful,” he said in an interview a few months back.

Life after cricket

After retirement, Thilan decided to take coaching as a career and immediately, Cricket Australia signed him up to work primarily with the next generation in the National Performance Squad and in the pathway program, with a focus on batting. He was also appointed as the batting consultant of the Australian team which toured Sri Lanka last year.

Before the start of Sri Lanka tour, at the Bupa National Cricket Centre at Brisbane, Australian cricketers kept in contact with Thilan and polished their technique under his guidance. Australia fared poorly in Sri Lanka as a young Lankan unit thrashed them 3-0 in Test series, but few batsmen did reap rewards due to Thilan’s advice and one of them was Shaun Marsh who notched up a hundred in the third Test.

Marsh was one of Thilan’s students at Brisbane and after that hundred he said, “It's been really good to chat to him and get a bit of an insight into the sort of conditions we'll be facing in the next couple of months.”

Samaraweera’s impact on Bangladesh cricket

Bangladesh cricket’s supremo Nazmul Hassan and charismatic coach Chandika Hathurusingha realised the value of Thilan and decided to appoint him as the batting consultant of Tigers. Mr. President said, the board was in process of appointing more coaching staff ahead of a flurry of international cricket, including a tour to New Zealand in December-January, maiden Test in India, Sri Lanka and Ireland tour and Champions Trophy in England.

Thilan was contracted till the Champions Trophy and since his appointment, Bangladesh batting has experienced a positive impact due to his coaching.  In an interaction with Bangladesh media Thilan said his main priority would be to make the Bangladesh batsmen strong mentally and improve their temperament while playing Test cricket. Moreover, he emphasised on improving the technical aspects of Bangladesh batsmen.

Certainly, since Thilan was appointed as the batting consultant of Bangladesh, from a technical point of view, the top order of Bangladesh batting lineup realised the importance of playing the ball late, running between the wickets, astute footwork and initial trigger movement of going back rather than front on tricky wickets. The Bangladesh batsmen put a price tag on their wickets and after getting well set at the wicket, they seldom exhibited rush of blood but concentrated more on grafting a partnership.

Tamim Iqbal’s average in 2016 in Test was 57.75 and in the recently concluded Test series against Sri Lanka, he averaged 51.75. This Tamim of 2016 and 17 is a different batsman in Test and 50-over formats. He’s one of those batters whose bat comes down perfectly, goes behind the line of the ball and picks the length earlier than others.

Then Soumya Sarkar’s improvement in Test cricket is evident. With an average of 46.75 this year, Soumya is hinting, he is not a limited-overs bunny but has the technique and temperament to cash in on five-day matches as well. That problem with footwork still persists and not poor like the past, but despite limited footwork, he is able to play strokes with pristine timing and learned to spend more time at the crease.

Sabbir Rahman is another young prodigy who has now realised his potentials as a top order batsman. He did score runs in 50-over formats but later on lost his rhythm which is a temporary loss of form and nothing else. For a brief period, Sabbir was tagged as the Glenn Maxwell of Bangladesh cricket mostly suited to Twenty20 cricket as a lower-order batter.

But Thilan and Chandika’s eyes recognised the hidden talent in him and decided to utilise his ability to time the ball perfectly and keeping the ball on the ground consistently while essaying shots through offside. Sabbir was promoted up the order as a number three batsman and in future, this move will prove effective.    

At Wellington, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim dominated the New Zealand attack and helped Bangladesh to post 595 for 8 (dec) in first innings. The Test match was lost along with the series, but if one observes closely, Bangladesh batters were able to get on top of the bounce which was never seen on previous occasions.

One can say about the inabilities to handle the rib-cage bowling of Neil Wagner, but they have to keep in mind, such sort of bowling was found tough to handle by the very best and Bangladesh have little experience of touring outside and playing in tough conditions and such a bowling.

Then the young Mosaddek Hossain showed his class as a Test batsman in the second Test against Sri Lanka where his defence and footwork hinted of a future master of the game.

And, in the Champions Trophy, Bangladesh batting thumped New Zealand in style through sheer mental strength and advanced to semi-final – a great moment to relish for us all.

Be it in Test or 50-over format, Bangladesh batsmen learned how to convert fifties into big scores, a matter which was always emphasised by Thilan since he was appointed as batting consultant. “If you are batting in the top five, you have to score hundreds. If you are happy with 50s, that is not enough,” he said after the collapse at Galle and in the next Test, the Bangladeshi boys did make their runs count.

Thilan kept his word. Under his supervision, Bangladesh batting certainly improved technically and temperamentally.

Was the decision of not extending Samaraweera’s contract good?    

       

On July 20, 2017, Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) decided not to extend Thilan’s contract. Samaraweera was appointed in September last year and was given an extension till the Champions Trophy this year, but the board decided not to continue with him anymore. The BCB is already looking for a new batting consultant, and among the names being discussed is a former Australian first-class cricketer and coach Mark O'Neill.

Meanwhile, Akram Khan, the chairman of BCB operation committee hinted of an indifference with Thilan and players which led to the decision of not extending the contract, but it is still not known from any players of what sort of indifference took place between him and players. Should one think of another pathetic politics of some of BCB officials and a section of Bangladesh's print and electronic media behind all these? 

One cannot be sure as there is no evidence but only can guess.

The newly appointed batting consultant Mark O’Neil would be on a temporary basis and according to Akram, he would focus more on lower-order batting. I am not sure had any team in world cricket appointed a batting coach for this purpose! 

Mark has no experience of playing international cricket; he played 76 first class matches, scored 3739 runs with an average of 35.17. He coached New Zealand for a short period of time and then joined New South Wales as a batting consultant. He also worked as a batting coach for South Australia and Middlesex.

I can’t be sure how good a coach Mark would be, but one thing I can say, the decision to not extend Thilan’s contract was not a smart move. Thilan gelled well with the players and he was taking Bangladesh’s batting in Test and 50-over formats in the right direction.

Was it not ideal to stick with the tried and tested one rather than roping in someone new whose experience and value as a coach is still not proven successful?

What would Akram Khan say?

Thilan Samaraweera’s life would not halt. He would be welcomed in Sri Lanka and Australia, but I do worry about the Tigers, who would be deprived of the services of a very competent batting coach.

Note: This article is published at Cricketsoccer on 23/07/2017 Thilan Samaraweera: The underrated fighter, competent coach and his impact on Bangladesh cricket

Thank You

Faisal Caesar   

Well played Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s fight back

Craig Ervine, the brave left-handed batsmen was not afraid by the aura of Ranaga Herath. He came at the crease when the score was 38 for 2 and witnessed two more wickets to fall, but he did not lose his composure. He got off the mark after facing thirteen deliveries and remained silent for a brief period until and unless he got accustomed to the spitting wicket and sticky heat of Colombo. Gradually the offside strokes started to unleash and his confidence was so high, he had the self-belief to marshall tail-ender Donald Tiripano and add 62 runs for the ninth wicket.

Zimbabwe took a lead of ten valuable runs courtesy of a valiant 160 from Ervine and gutsy 27 from Tiripano    

On day 3, Rangana Herath was in a killer mood. He was introduced into the attack immediately to set jitters in the Zimbabwean batting lineup. He did not dissatisfy the newly appointed captain Dinesh Chandimal as, in the twinkle of an eye, the tourists were found reeling at 59 for 5. But throughout this tour, Zimbabwe always found a way to frustrate the hosts and even stunned them and their supporters by scripting astonishing victories. On a sultry day afternoon at Khettarama Stadium, the tourists, yet again, found their way out of the dark caves through Sikandar Raza and Malcolm Waller.   

Raza was the symbol of courage on that hot afternoon. Like Ervine, he spent time at the crease and when got habituated with the spin of Herath, he relied on playing shots which were defensive at the start but never transformed into reckless ones, while he dispatched the ball for boundaries. At the other end, Waller was a bit fluent. He played his shot as he received assurance from the composed Raza who provided the perfect foil to Waller’s controlled aggression.

Raza and Waller stitched a courageous partnership against the dangerous Herath and stamped Zimbabwe's authority over the Test match and when Graeme Cremer essayed a stubborn 48 by batting at number nine on day 4, Sri Lanka’s chances in the only-Test series looked bleak and yet another humiliation was waiting to be digested.  

Zimbabwe failed to create history but they should not lose heart

The cricket followers around the world were already amazed and delighted by the fighting spirit of Zimbabwe and majority backed them to create history by winning the Test. But, in the end, lack of experience became a very important factor on the final day of this scintillating Test match.

Cremer, the spirited captain of Zimbabwe, failed to realise the value of close in fielders when he and Sean Williams operated for a prolonged period. He kept fielders in the deep and waited for the Lankans to go for the hit, which Niroshan Dickwella and Asela Gunaratne did not do as they built their match-winning partnership by relying fully on singles and twos.

Cremer and Williams targeted the middle and leg stump line so that the Lankan batters go for the rash shot, but sadly, Cremer forgot, he was not playing a 50-over match. In Test cricket, the tactics of 50-over matches don’t count. It cost Zimbabwe dearly.

Then, Zimbabwe lacked the option of a genuine wicket-taker who could come in for a short burst and fetch quick wickets and above all, Zimbabwe’s fielding was sloppy. During the crucial passage of play they dropped two catches and then, there were the little opportunities of run outs which went begging.  Of course, Dickwella’s tricky stumping decision by the television umpire also dented their chances.   

Gunaratne steered Sri Lanka home safely and Chandimal escaped a Test defeat in his first stint as the captain of Sri Lanka’s Test team. Zimbabwe were left bemused thinking what could have been the scenario had those catches were not dropped and had the decision of third umpire went in favour of them.

But in my opinion, Zimbabwe should not be upset. Throughout the tour, they played their cricket like a street fighter and the never say die attitude has earned them plenty of accolades all around the cricketing globe. The mistakes which they made were due to the lack of playing enough Test matches. We don’t see Zimbabwe play enough Tests and most of the top teams are not interested in playing against them. Neither do they have a professional Cricket Board and political system nor do they have the adequate financial support to provide them with the facilities to promote cricket in the country. The duty was on the players to utilise the little opportunities they get and prove their worth so that the top teams notice and lend a helping hand to bring Zimbabwe’s cricket back to life.

The boys from Africa exhibited enough character and they should maintain it for a better future.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Faf the brilliant captain, Root sees another side of the coin

England have a very good batting line-up. Apart from Keaton Jennings and Gary Ballance, they boast a lot of class and fireworks in their batting and thus, I was expecting a fight from them on the fourth day of second Test at Trent Bridge. But astonishingly, the English batting collapsed in just 44.2 overs and 20 English wickets fell within 96.1 overs. 

It was in 2009 at Headingley against arch rivals Australia that England faced less than 100 overs in both innings. This is England’s second biggest home defeat in last twenty years.  South Africa thrashed the hosts to bounce back in style despite losing their premium bowler Kagiso Rabada who was suspended by the match referee in a bizarre fashion in the first Test.

 Root was below average as captain

While following the Test for the last four days, one thing struck me and it was the tactical aspect of Joe Root and Faf du Plessis. While Faf took bigger strides to apply his tactical brains, Root was found wanting, which let South Africa come back into the game. Root was short of ideas and at times, he seemed a bit defensive while the visitors stitched partnerships to swell the lead.

The Trent Bridge track supported the pacers early on and English pacers tested the temperament of South African batsmen, but as the freshness of the wicket started to ebb away, it showed signs of variable bounce and slow turn and invited Root to introduce the spinners. But Root kept on using his pacers, which ultimately backfired as, on such a track, the old ball became easier to handle than new and thus, productive partnerships flourished.

On the third day, Root kept Moeen out of the attack for more than forty overs and there was a period of 17 overs, when Root only relied on pacers which fetched no wickets and when Hashim Amla smacked Liam Dawson, Root took caution over aggression and did not think of bowling Moeen Ali, who could have been fruitful on that slow and low third day track. Even the amount of turn and bounce Keshav Maharaj generated, did not strike Root’s cricketing sense. Overall, the spinners only bowled 27 overs out of 104 and that’s where Root lost the plot.

Hashim Amla, Dean Elgar, Faf and Vernon Philander scored runs freely whereas, it’s known to everyone, South Africa are not better players against spin bowling.  

Captain Root has certainly seen another side of the coin of captaincy in a short time.

Faf was tactically brilliant

Meanwhile, Root’s counterpart, Faf was absolutely brilliant tactically. In the second day, he noticed, his second-changed seamers; Chris Morris and Duanne Oliveir to leak plenty of runs, Faf asked Morkel to carry the extra workload and engaged Maharj at the other end to create pressure. While Maharaj and Morkel, kept things tight, Faf’s message to Morris was to rethink his intent and inject more aggression in it by bowling fast.

He threw the ball to Morris for a second spell after lunch and England found the going tough against him. He bowled fast, banged it short and swung late which devoured England in no time. “The message was clear from Faf: be aggressive and bowl fast. For me that cleared any doubt on what I needed to do,” Morris said.  

He was breathing fire in the fourth innings as well. The ball which dismissed Root was one of the best deliveries of this Test. It was full at the base of middle and off clocking around 87 mph and swung late to disturb the wood work of England’s captain.

Morris’ inclusion was a masterstroke and he proved me right as after the defeat at Lord’s I suggested about his inclusion in the team.

Then, South Africa’s first wicket in the first session of day 4 was the result of Faf’s tactical brilliance as well. He shifted to a more attacking field which confused Jennings and Philander’s full and targeting the off delivery beat his defence easily. Faf noticed how reluctant Jennings was while coming forward and immediately, he changed the field, so that it exposes Jennings’ defence by making him uncomfortable.

Again, maintaining the attacking field despite Root and Ben Stokes counterattack on day 2. England counterattacked but did not realise the importance of composure. They became ultra-attacking and always gave South Africa the chance of a wicket which actually happened in both innings.

Faf knew Bairstow will try something ultra-aggressive and set a fielder at mid on who took the catch and he could sense, Moeen would go for a half-hearted sweep and for which, he set Heino Kuhn at square leg who took the catch which was the result of Faf’s excellent reading of opposition’s mind. 

  

England batting need composure

England’s batting was reckless. They hardly thought of executing defensive strokes. Their stroke-play hinted, they were in a hurry and over confident which ultimately led to their downfall. Both the tracks at Lord’s and Trent Bridge demanded patience and composure. England exhibited that in the first innings at Lord’s, but after that, they remained a bunch of reckless kids.

In the third Test, they need to fix their batting order and bat with a bit more intent. And of course, this Engalnd team doesn’t need Gary Ballance and Keaton Jennings for a while.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Craig Ervine makes Sri Lanka sweat

Dinesh Chandimal wasted no time in introducing his best bowler when Zimbabwe looked steady in the first seven overs. Rangana Herath came in and set jitters in the Zimbabwean batting line-up. From 23 for 0 they were found reeling at 38 for 3 and at 70 for 4, Sikandar Raza, the brilliant allrounder joined the stubborn Craig Ervine, who was serving the role of a mere spectator at the other end while his partners were walking for the pavilion after a short stay at the crease.

A reverse-sweep off Herath’s vicious turning delivery broke the shackles and with Raza, Ervine stitched a partnership of 84 runs. But Herath was in no mood to watch a partnership flourish and trapped Raza lbw. 154 for 5 became 195 for 6 when Asela Gunarathne removed Peter Moor. Malcolm Waller joined Ervine to arrest a collapse, but their 65-run stand could not stop Zimbabwe from struggling at 282 for 8.

Ervine was not even bothered about the tricky situation and at present, he is brimming with confidence and bursting with energy. He is confident of clawing back into the game from any situation and marshalled the innings even when Zimbabwe lost hope of reaching more than 300 runs.

Even under pressure, he did not lose his composure to execute the drives off the back foot against pace bowlers and take risks by executing the reverse sweep whenever he thought, the vacant third man area could be utilised very well. Ervine has no huge experience of playing five-day matches, but still, the way he handled the threat of Herath, Lakmal and Perera was praiseworthy and his 151 would remain one of the best knocks of this year. He has not finished yet and the kind of confidence he and his fellow partner Tiripano exhibited today, one can expect Sri Lanka to struggle a bit more in the first session of day 2.      

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Sri Lanka's downward spiral is sad and alarming

As Sikandar Raza and Graeme Cremer celebrate the historic moment at Hambantota, one man was left stunned. He was leaving the field after completing the formalities dropping his head and with a bemused face. He was sad and tired. The consistent defeats over the last one year have taken a heavy toll on his mind and body.

Angelo Mathews, one of the stars of world cricket and dubbed as the future Messiah of Lankan cricket after Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara, could not bear the defeat against a lower-ranked side at his own backyard and such happened for the first time in the history of Sri Lankan cricket. "It's one of the lowest points in my career and a hard one to swallow. Everything went against us, from the toss to misreading the wicket. But there are no excuses. At the end of the day, we were not good enough to beat them. They played better cricket," said the dejected Mathews after the fifth one-day international.

Later on, he decided to step down as the captain of Sri Lanka from all formats. The Sri Lanka Cricket Board appointed Dinesh Chandimal as the Test captain and Upul Tharanga as the captain of limited-overs format.

Since Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene left the scene, the going has been very tough to Sri Lanka. Apart from a great Test series win against Australia last year and depleted West Indies unit, the Lankan Lions have been, somewhat, shoddy in limited-overs cricket, especially in the 50-over format.  In the last two years, Sri Lanka played ten ODI series and out of which they have lost seven of them, which is very frustrating for a side who were once regarded as one of the finest teams in 50-over formats.

If someone says, the Lankan team lacks talent, then, it would be a wrong statement in my opinion. The current team has enough talent to bring back Sri Lanka on the right track, but what I feel is, they need a settled coach who can transform these young talents into match winners. Over the years, Sri Lanka have not gone well with the coaches. They just kept getting appointed and then, left the scene unceremoniously.

They badly need a very competent coach who can work with this young team and instill self-belief in them and in my opinion, Dav Whatmore would be the best coach to help Sri Lanka come out of this rut. Whatmore can provide a huge support to Chandimal and Tharanga and make them understand what captaincy means in cricket and how to lead a young team during the phase of an ugly transition.

Then there are problems within the board which needs to be settled as soon as possible. From the boss of Sri Lanka Cricket to the chief selector, who fielded 39 players since his appointment, either needs to be moderated or needs to be cut off from Sri Lankan cricket fraternity.  

Short-sightedness and confusing decisions have done enough damage to Sri Lankan cricket. I am sorry to say, Sri Lanka’s downward spiral has become a big worry for the cricket fans. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Zimbabwe: What a ripper!

Since Robert Mugabe became the boss of Zimbabwe, gradually the cricket of one of the most promising teams in the 90s and early 2000 took a big blow. Neither the cricketers nor the administrators were involved in creating a mess in Zimbabwean cricket, but Mugabe’s biased mindset to promote more black players halted the progression of Zimbabwe.

Cricketers even protested against Mugabe’s bizarre policy. Andy Flower and Henry Olonga expressed their anger against the politicisation of cricket and were ousted out of the country. Heath Streak was forced to resign from captaincy after he refused to listen to the politicians and promote black players.

Each day, the unnecessary interference of the politicians and lack of appropriate funding took Zimbabwean cricket to a don’t-know-zone and there came a moment when Zimbabwe decided to abandon Test cricket voluntarily. They returned to play Test cricket in 2011 and stunned the world by beating Bangladesh at home, but that victory ebbed away with strings of shambolic defeats.

How can a team advance without appropriate funding and facilities?

In 2013, Zimbabwean cricketers decided to boycott the Test series against Pakistan as the players were paid poorly. Somehow, the crisis was resolved and Zimbabwe went on to draw the Test series against a competent Pakistan unit whereas, just before the series, in April 2013, they again stunned Bangladesh by drawing the series.

But as usual, such successes did not do any good for Zimbabwe. They continue to hit the rock bottom while their financial crisis crippled them each day. There was a time when Zimbabwe Cricket Board could not afford to pay the players for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the team hotel or arrange for their transport facilities.

But passion is such a thing, it cannot stop anyone from achieving big things in life. Despite all these troubles, Zimbabwe’s passion for cricket and determination to do well, helped them to stay alive in world cricket. The series victory against Sri Lanka was a perfect example of how sheer determination can conquer adversity. Just before the start of the five-match One-day series against Sri Lanka, they were beaten by the associate nations and landed on Lankan soil with the tag of no-hoppers. But Solomon Mire’s heroics in the first match boosted the confidence of this team immensely and at the end of series, it was Zimbabwe who not only won the series but won the hearts as well.

The world cricket wants Zimbabwe to make a comeback and play like the days of Andy Flower, Grant Flower and Heath Streak. This wonderful victory should take Zimbabwe cricket forward and make the concerned officials and politicians act sensibly. Of course, they deserve more international matches against top sides to polish themselves.  

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Root's brilliant start, dispirited South Africa

Dismal batting display by South Africa

In the end, the much-anticipated Test match between England and South Africa ended in a dull fashion. It was a one-sided contest where England thrashed the visitors in a shambolic manner to take a lead in the four-match Basil D’Oliveira series. The South Africans were without AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis, but I did not expect them to surrender in such way. They were bundled out for just 119 runs and lost the Test by 202 runs – a story which was quite unbelievable for me and when there was whole day still available, definitely one would expect a gripping contest.

The track at Lord’s started to turn from the second day with the odd ones keeping low. It was evident, the track would deteriorate with the progression of the day and spin, being one South Africa’s nemesis since they returned to the international circuit in 1991, it was thought, they would struggle to cope, but somehow, none did think, they would succumb in the final session o fourth day.

They were in big trouble at Wellington and Hamilton this year but decided not to give up and hung on to a draw though, at Hamilton, rain saved the day for them.

They can fight, but at Lord’s on the fourth day, they were like a bunch of school kids.

Hashim Amla is horrifyingly out of form while JP Duminy remained as one of the most talented folks who never utilised his talent appropriately. Amla has serious problems while playing the ball pitching in and around middle and leg. Last year, Azhar Ali was found wanting while playing that middle-and-leg line, but he recovered from that by adopting a two-eyed open stance. Amla adopted such in the second innings, but still failed to occupy the crease. England read that weakness of Amla and utilised it fully to dismiss him cheaply.

Quinton de Kock exhibited intent and I felt, he should have opened instead of Heino Kuhn, who, in my opinion, looked nervous and less confident to deliver the best on the big stage. They should have opted for Chris Morris at number seven with de Kock as an opener. Morris would have given the Proteas a very good option both as a batsman and bowler.

Theunis de Bruyn and Temba Bavuma looked good and could have been better had they exhibited the knack of occupying the crease more. They would improve as they are still at the earlier stages of their career.  But, at present, the form of Amla and Duminy is a matter of worry for South Africa.

Lack of discipline in South Africa’s bowling and fielding

Morne Morkel is six foot six inches tall and while approaching towards the bowling crease, he should have been careful about his back leg staying behind the line more. He bowled aggressively, but while doing that, he lost the control over his back leg which resulted in no-balls during the crucial juncture of the match.

Morkel produced a stunning delivery to Ben Stokes which disturbed the timber but he over-stepped which saved the day for Stokes and England. Joe Root and Stokes stitched a good partnership and poured water on the good work of Vernon Philander in the first session of day 1. Then there were the dropped catches which added more agonies to South Africa as they lost their grip on the match. Cricinfo’s Firdose Moonda described it, “Dropping Joe Root (twice), taking two wickets off two no-balls, not reviewing a decision against Stuart Broad when England were seven down in the first innings and he was on 4, dropping Jonny Bairstow in the second innings when the lead could have been clipped to under 300 - those are all the basic things South Africa got wrong and it cost them dearly”.

Moeen Ali, the hero at Lord’s

Ten wickets in the Test, a half century and brilliant fielding from one of the most underrated cricketers of modern times, Moeen Ali made the Test match all his own. Most of the times, critics don’t talk about him while expressing their sadness about the lack of quality allrounders at present. There is only one Shakib Al Hasan, but to challenge the might of Shakib in Test cricket, the rest of the teams have not surfaced any top class allrounders yet.

 But silently, Moeen has proved his point time and again, when, he became the second fastest to grab one hundred wickets and two thousand runs in Test cricket, critics started to take a look at the beard master from England. Surely, the time has come to give Moeen the due credit for his all-round abilities and project him as one of the best in the game along with Shakib.

Good start for Root

Good start for Joe Root as the captain of England. It’s too early to judge him as a captain as South Africa never really tested him. But some of his moves in the field deserve praise. Such as, knowing the nature of the wicket, he engaged a short mid-off and short mid on against pace bowlers to pile on the pressure on South African batsmen. He knew the ball would keep low and might not carry to orthodox mid-on or mid-off fielder, so, it would be smart enough to keep the fielders closer.

 Then, he utilised his major resources – James Anderson and Stuart Broad in shorter spells Which never let them get tired and whenever the ball got older, Root did not wait further but threw the ball to Jimmy and Broad to deliver him the crucial breakthrough. And they did. The fall of de Bruyn in the final session of day 2 was the perfect example of how you use your wicket taking bowlers to script breakthroughs. 

South Africa need to stand up

South Africa need to gather the pieces together, gel well and come back strongly in the second Test. Their spirited display is not only needed for boosting their morale, but it is needed for the betterment of Test cricket as well. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

Imrul Kayes should think about scoring runs and not the change in batting position

A dissatisfied Imrul Kayes

Imrul Kayes, in a recent interview with the prominent newspapers of Bangladesh, expressed his dissatisfaction about batting in different positions. Normally, Kayes is an opener, but with Tamim Iqbal and Soumya Sarkar gelling well in course of time, his position as an opener in the longer formats is somewhat at risk, which did not satisfy the opener from Meherpur.

The number three position has been shuffled in recent times. The emergence of Mominul Haque lets everyone think, Bangladesh have finally found a stable number three batsman, but over the years, his batting lost the classic touch and thus, Chandika Hathurusingha had to try and test several players in that important position.

 A left-hander at number three is always a very good option to have, as from a cricketing point of view, it makes the bowler and captain shuffle the fielders around and change the angle of bowling, which in turn proves an advantage for the batting unit and perhaps keeping this in mind, Chandika wanted Kayes to bat at number three. Moreover, having an opener to come out to bat at number three gives the advantage of weathering the early storm of pace bowlers on a fresh wicket if an early wicket falls.

But it seems, Kayes is not interested in utilising the opportunities provided to him but cares more about his personal interest. He said to the Bangladesh sports journalists,” It happens to everybody, not just me. I just want to give you an example. Say, you go to your office and find that your desk has been changed, how does it feel? You feel uncomfortable. It’s not only in cricket, but it happens everywhere”.

What does the history of Test cricket tell us?

Any batsmen can have their dissatisfaction regarding their batting position, but there were many in the history of Test cricket when batsmen were tried and tested in different positions to stamp their authority in the team. The respective batsmen went out of their comfort zone, faced the challenge with utmost courage and struck gold.

 David Boon and Geoff Marsh were one of Australia’s most successful opening pairs in 50-over and Test formats. But in the late 80s, an opener named, Mark Taylor emerged into the scene and his talent and capabilities led the Australian think tank to take a bold decision. They promoted Mark Taylor as an opener and David Boon to bat at number three.

Boon showed no signs of dissatisfaction but concentrated more on scoring runs. By batting at number three, Boon notched up 4412 runs at an average of 45.48, better than his opening position, from 111 innings. Moreover, he notched 13 hundreds while batting at number three, five more than as an opener.

 Similarly, in 2001, Justin Langer’s poor form worried Steve Waugh and Australian think tank. His position in the team was under threat. The combination of Michael Slater and Matthew Hayden was not working well. Slater’s form was bad during the Ashes of 2001 and in the fifth Test at The Oval, Waugh decided to open with Hayden and Langer.

Normally, we all know, Langer was not an opener, but more suited to bat at number three. Again, he was one of those batters, who was regarded of not well-equipped against the pace bowlers and thus, sending him to open was not accepted pretty well by the critics. But as soon as the fifth Test commenced, the Hayden-Langer pair became one of the most successful opening pairs in the history of Test cricket.

Langer accepted the challenge and did not bog down. He was determined to cement his place in the team and kept on scoring runs. As an opener, he notched up 5112 runs at an average of 48.23 with 16 hundreds in Test cricket from 115 innings. As a number three batsman, he averaged just  41.64.

Both Boon and Langer did not even bother about their respective batting positions, but their main focus was to score runs for the team.  They were out of their comfort zone but never felt discomfort while batting at the crease. Scoring runs consistently was what mattered more for the.  Both of them adapted to the situation very well.

Imrul Kayes should concentrate more on scoring runs

One thing Kayes is forgetting and which is, adaptation. Be it in life or in cricket, those who learn to adapt, advance forward and taste success. Nothing is permanent in personal or professional life. Nothing will happen according to your own wish, but life would always throw you new challenges to test your temperament and skills. What you need to do is, accept the challenges and prove a point through performance. There is no credit in blooming flowers by living in your comfort zone.

 Perhaps, Kayes doesn’t know, in Test cricket, while batting at number three, he has a better average than an opener. He averages 34.67 as a number three batsman and has scored a century as well. As an opener, he averages 27.35 from 48 innings, which doesn’t justify his claim that he’s more suited as an opener.

Even though the Tamim and Kayes combination has given Bangladesh some great moments, but when better options are available and considering the recent form, hard choices must be made. Soumya in Test matches this year averages 46.75 while Kayes averages just 23.67.Kayes opened the batting at Wellington and scored 1 and 36 respectively while batting at number three in P Sara Oval, he could score 34 and 0 (out first ball).

Be it at number three or in the opening position, Kayes’ bat did not talk this year. Even last year, he averaged 33.33 with the bat which was poor than 2015 when he averaged 54.86. The dip in form is evident.

The dip in form is evident.

In my opinion, the matter is more about adjusting the technique and temperament rather than a change in the batting position.

Kayes is a quality batsman and has the abilities to score runs in any position. The main motto of Kayes should be scoring runs rather than thinking too much about his batting position. If he scores runs, he would earn the accolades otherwise, such opinions would be regarded as lame excuses.

Note: This article is published at Cricketsoccer on 09/07/2017 Imrul Kayes should think about scoring runs and not the change in batting position

Thank You

Faisal Caesar