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Leroy Sane was convinced to join Galatasaray after being 'grabbed' by the Istanbul atmosphere, with Okan Buruk revealing how they pulled off the deal.

Buruk held direct talks with SaneIstanbul crowd left lasting impressionGerman to feature mainly on the wingsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Galatasaray coach Buruk has revealed how he personally played a key role in convincing former Bayern star Sane to join the Turkish giants from the Bavarians. The Germany international signed on a free transfer on July 1 after he rejected Bayern's offer to extend his contract. The coach described the former Bayern star as a “dream signing” and plans to use him primarily on the wings but also centrally if needed.

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Gala are preparing for a bold Champions League campaign, and Sane’s arrival signals their European ambitions. Buruk’s involvement in the transfer talks and the emotional pull of Galatasaray’s fanbase helped seal the deal, the coach says.

WHAT OKAN BURUK SAID

The Galatasaray boss said to : "I was involved in the discussions from the very beginning. We had video calls, and I called him repeatedly to gauge the atmosphere. We also had very good discussions with our vice president, Abdullah Kavukcu. It was a dream of the Galatasaray fans to sign a player like Leroy Sane. It was also our dream to get him because he's simply an incredible player. He has incredible skills. In my opinion, the decisive factor for the move was that he played against us twice with Bayern, once in Istanbul, once in Munich. The atmosphere in Istanbul was fantastic, and that really grabbed him. The way we played the game also won him over again. Now it's all about getting him into the team as quickly as possible. It's also nice that the Turkish champions and the German champions have come together here."

Buruk also detailed how he envisions using Sane in the upcoming campaign: "He can play in all wing positions, including the center. The priority is for him to play in our wing positions. If we need him, he's also willing to play in the centre."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR GALATASARAY?

Gala continue their pre-season in Austria and are pushing to finalise a move for Victor Osimhen. With Sane already on board, Buruk is focused on integrating him into the squad. The Turkish champions aim to build a team capable of going deep in Europe, something they haven’t done in decades, and are betting on star power and tactical cohesion to make that leap.

USA and Canada will also face off in five games in April

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Mar-2024Bangladesh will tour the USA for a three-match T20I series in May, ahead of the T20 World Cup. The two sides have never played a T20I against each other before and will use the series to prepare for the flagship tournament co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies.USA will also play Canada in a five-match T20I series in April. All the games will be hosted by Prairie View Cricket Complex in Houston, Texas.Bangladesh have played two T20Is in the USA across their history, both against West Indies, in 2018, and with the first two games of the campaign – against Sri Lanka and South Africa – scheduled in Dallas and New York respectively – a series going into the tournament will help them get used to the conditions.”For the Bangladesh Team, this tour serves as an ideal platform to acclimatise to the conditions ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024,” Nizam Uddin Chowdhury, CEO, Bangladesh Cricket Board, said. “We recognise the significance of this preparatory phase and are committed to making the most of this invaluable experience.”USA vs Bangladesh T20I fixtures

1st T20I 21st May

2nd T20I 23rd May

3rd T20I 25th May

Bangladesh were knocked out in the group stages of the previous T20 World Cup and will hope to put on an improved show after an indifferent ODI World Cup.USA and Canada, who are set to feature in the tournament for the first time – will kick off proceedings in Dallas on June 1. The fives T20Is USA have played in the last two years all came in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in July 2022. The only T20Is Canada played in the last year were in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Region Final, which they won to qualify for the World Cup.USA vs Canada T20I fixtures

1st T20I 7th April

2nd T20I 9th April

3rd T20I 10th April

4th T20I 12th April

5th T20I 13th April

“Ahead of the important Men’s T20 World Cup, these games will be vital for our team to get their working combinations, build team cohesion, and fine-tune strategies,” said Mr. Venu Pisike, Chairman of USA Cricket.Canada and USA are part of Group A – along with India, Ireland, and Pakistan – in the T20 World Cup. Bangladesh are part of group D, and will play against Nepal and Netherlands in Kingstown in the West Indies.

How Glenn McGrath and Steve Harmison exploited the Lord’s pitch

On the Ball by S Rajesh and Arun Gopalakrishnan21-Jul-2005A day which began magnificently for the hosts turned pear-shaped by the end entirely due to the efforts of one outstanding individual. Before this Test, Glenn McGrath’s Lord’s stats read: 17 wickets in two matches at 12.76. One day into his third game at this venue, and the numbers look even better – 22 wickets at an incredible 10.82. McGrath has already won the Man-of-the-Match award in his first two Tests here, and if today’s performance is any indication, he’s well on his way to a hat-trick.As always, McGrath’s control over line and length was impeccable. The pitch, with its inconsistent bounce, was tailor-made for him, and McGrath exploited it to the hilt, homing in just around off stump, nipping it either way, and allowing the vagaries of the track to do the rest.A look at McGrath’s pitch map tells the story – 71 out 78 balls pitched on a good length, that’s a mind-boggling 91%. Fifteen of his deliveries pitched on or outside leg stump, but 14 of those were to left-handers from over the wicket, which meant that the angle of delivery would have forced the batsmen to play at them. Against right-handers, McGrath’s control was stunning – 52 good-length balls out of 58, with one ball which drifted further on side than off stump.McGrath’s virtuoso performance completely overshadowed Steve Harmison’s heroics earlier in the day. He was expected to be Australia’s biggest threat this Ashes, and so he proved on the very first day of the series with a fiery spell of 5 for 43. The key was the length that he bowled: of the 68 deliveries Harmison sent down, only three were pitched up, and they disappeared for 11 runs. He learnt quickly, and kept it on a good length or just short – on a pitch of varying bounce, that was the perfect way to bowl. Of the 51 good-length balls, 32 were back of a length, and all the 20 balls which pitched outside leg were to left-handers from over the wicket.The Australians didn’t help their cause by playing in one-day mode – they let only 71 out of 254 deliveries go through to Geraint Jones. A more cautious approach might have been the need of the hour on the first-day Lord’s pitch, but then Australia only play their cricket one way.

A stats preview ahead of Thursday’s Ashes opener at Brisbane

S Rajesh22-Nov-2006

Brett Lee: a batting average of 85, and a bowling average of 17 at the Gabba © Getty Images
When Ricky Ponting and Andrew Flintoff walk out for the toss at the Gabba on Thursday, it’ll be the 312th Test match between Australia and England. In their 311 previous clashes, Australia hold a 126-97 lead. Most of that 29-game advantage, though, has come about in the last 17 years, a period in which Australia have – till their defeat in that memorable series last year – dominated relentlessly, winning 29 of the last 48 Tests. For an England side already hit by injuries and illness, the numbers below will offer little relief. They start off their defence of the Ashes at the Gabba, a venue where Australia have been absolutely unbeatable over a decade and more: the last time they lost a Test there was in November 1988, when West Indies beat them by nine wickets. Since then, they have won 12 out of 17 matches. England, on the other hand, last won a Test at Brisbane 20 years back, in 1986. Since then, they have lost three times and drawn once. Such awesome results for Australia suggest that almost all their players relish the opportunity of playing at this venue, and a look at the numbers indicate that is exactly the case. Let’s examine the batsmen first. Matthew Hayden leads the way, with four hundreds in six Tests and an average of nearly 80; Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist aren’t too far behind, averaging 62 each, while Damien Martyn manages 46 runs per innings here. Even Shane Warne has three half-centuries and an average of nearly 35 at this ground, but what might really depress England’s supporters is this next stat: in three innings here, Brett Lee has two fifties to his credit and an average of – hold your breath – 85. It doesn’t get much better for England when the focus shifts to the Australian bowlers. Warne leads the way, with 64 wickets in ten Tests and an average of 19 (15 of those wickets have come in two Tests against England), while Lee’s bowling average here is a fifth of his batting numbers. And at a venue where the Australians have had such spectacular results, how can one forget Glenn McGrath? Fifty-eight wickets at 22.60 tell the story of just how much McGrath has enjoyed the pace and bounce which has traditionally been on offer at the Gabba. Australia’s dominance at Brisbane can be gleaned by the number of runs they score and concede per wicket. Since 1990, their average partnership with the bat is 46.93, but when the opposition come out to bat, that number is whittled down to 24.31. Contrary to popular perception, the pitch here isn’t just conducive to fast bowling; the spinners have had their say too. In all Tests since 1995, fast bowlers concede 35.63 runs per wicket, marginally worse than the spinners’ 34.78. Not surprisingly, the Australian bowlers have done much better – their fast bowlers average 25.91 and their spinners 23.28. One of the problems for England at this ground has been the lack of a solid opening partnership, and the withdrawal of Marcus Trescothick won’t help matters: in their last eight innings here, the average opening stand is only 25.25, with just one fifty-plus partnership.

The England selectors named two 16-man squads for the forthcoming ODI and Test series in New Zealand and a 13-man England Lions squad to tour India

Andrew Miller at Lord's04-Jan-2008

Matt Prior: unceremoniously axed by England © Getty Images
When England’s last Test squad was announced back in October, Andrew Strauss was the man with the very justifiable grievance. Back then he was dropped without ceremony just 12 months after being overlooked as England’s captain, but today, he was back in the set-up, and absorbed into the starting line-up as if he had never been away. The big talking point was the player headed in the opposite direction, Matt Prior, whose fall from grace has been as swift and dramatic as any England player in living memory.In the summer Prior was a debut centurion against West Indies, but now he has drifted so far off the radar the selectors weren’t even able to locate him ahead of the squad announcement. Instead it was left to David Graveney – in what might be his final act as chairman of England’s selectors – to apologise live on television for the breakdown in communication. It later transpired that Prior has changed his mobile number and has been lying low in America since the end of the Sri Lanka tour, but as a commentary on his fortunes it was strangely apt.After all, Prior entered the England set-up as the golden boy – the protégé of the new coach, Peter Moores, and a beacon of the new post-Fletcher era. Now he’s out on his ear, officially labelled as suspect after missing at least nine regulation catches and two stumpings in his ten-Test career. To add insult to injury, the man who has leapfrogged him is the same man with whom he vied for opportunities under Moores’ supervision at Sussex. Maybe a squad featuring both of Moores’ men, Prior and Tim Ambrose, would have smacked too much of favouritism. Instead the overriding flavour is fudge.Not since the rookie James Foster and Warren Hegg (two Tests) travelled to India in 2001-02 has an England squad featured two such untested keepers, but to have two uncapped players in competition rather takes the biscuit. “Since Alec Stewart finished his career, wicketkeeping has been under the microscope, more so than any other position,” said Graveney. “The player involved does feel the pressure, but with Prior, there are areas of his wicketkeeping he needs to work at, and that’s the reason why we’ve made that decision.”Prior will now retreat to Loughborough for further one-on-one work with Moores, and though Graveney insisted he would have his chance to come again, it’s hard to see when and where it will come. If England’s dramatic rotation policy is taken to its logical extreme, then the older, more mature Foster must surely come into the reckoning sooner rather than later, and then there’s Phil Mustard, who has been given a free rein as a one-day opener and keeper, but – rather perversely – will not be considered for the Test role unless he produces an extraordinary run of form in February’s five-match ODI series.Maybe a squad featuring both of Moores’ men, Prior and Tim Ambrose, would have smacked too much of favouritism. Instead the overriding flavour is fudgeThe situation is all the more bizarre when you consider the weight of wicketkeeping experience in the England coaching set-up. There’s Moores himself of course, Sussex’s stalwart of the 1990s, plus Andy Flower, who would give Adam Gilchrist a run for his money as the greatest batsman-keeper of all time. Even the analyst, Mark Garaway, kept in four first-class matches for Hampshire in the late 1990s. Perhaps Prior has been the victim of too much conflicting advice – that might explain why not even his agent, none other than Alec Stewart, was able to rustle up his mobile number.Either way, one can only wish Ambrose good luck as he takes his first sup from the poisoned chalice. For all that he made a career-best 251 not out in a tough season for Warwickshire last summer, he has managed just four first-class centuries in his seven-year career, which is 11 fewer than Prior, and seven fewer even than the maligned Chris Read. Although Ryan Sidebottom applied some unforeseen rigidity to the tail in Sri Lanka, such tenacity cannot be guaranteed on New Zealand’s zippier wickets. The onus is on England’s No. 7 to provide big runs, and regardless of his errors behind the stumps, Prior’s ten-Test average of 40.14 suggests he was increasingly proficient in front of them.In fact, Prior was third in England’s batting averages in Sri Lanka, behind Alastair Cook and Ian Bell, but that said as much about the failings of the top-order as his relative successes. “The message to all the players, is this is the time to deliver,” said Graveney. “We didn’t score enough hundreds, we didn’t bowl too many people out, and we also dropped too many chances in comparison with the opposition. We go into the New Zealand series having lost two in a row. They are not going to collapse in front of us, so the challenge is there and we have to raise our performance to get back to winning ways.”Back into the side, therefore, comes Strauss, who memorably made a century on debut against New Zealand when the teams last competed in 2004. He is already in Hamilton, preparing for his domestic stint with the state team, Northern Knights, and no doubt refreshed from a rare extended break from international cricket. His recall will bolster England’s slip cordon as well as their batting line-up, although in both cases it’s not yet clear quite where he will slot into the side. Cook and Michael Vaughan were qualified successes as an opening partnership, while in the catching stakes, his safe hands would probably be best employed at first slip rather than third – if nothing else, to act as a reassuring sidekick for a nervous new keeper.In other news, Monty Panesar has been quietly dropped from the one-day squad – rightly so, for the formulae and flatter lines required in that form of the game seemed to dull his impact and impair his attacking instincts in the Tests in Sri Lanka – while Ravi Bopara slips quietly out of the Test squad after four dismissals and no runs in his last ten balls of the series. But no change has been as seismic as the shift away from Prior. There’s not been a lot of sympathy doing the rounds since his form began to fall away in the India series last summer, but no-one predicted his demise would be quite so swift or ruthless. Maybe Moores has more of an edge than he’s been given credit for this year. If this is how he treats his friends, then woe betide his enemies.England Test squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Phil Mustard, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann.England ODI squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Phil Mustard, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.England Lions squad Michael Yardy (capt), Kabir Ali, Michael Carberry, Steven Davies, Joe Denly, James Hildreth, Ed Joyce, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Alan Richardson, Jonathan Trott.

Stats preview of the second Test between Sri Lanka and England, which starts in Colombo on Sunday

S Rajesh07-Dec-2007

Muttiah Muralitharan: 143 wickets from just 21 Tests at the SSC © AFP
Already 1-0 down in the three-Test series, England won’t be encouraged by the recent trend at the Sinhalese Sports Club, the venue for the second Test, which starts on Sunday. Sri Lanka have a 15-6 win-loss record in the 29 Tests here, but in the last six years the numbers have been downright intimidating for the opposition: in 12 matches, the home team have won ten, and lost just one – to Australia, by 121 runs in 2003-04.England have experienced victory here once – in 2000-01, when they achieved a famous series win – but the last time they played at this ground, they were drubbed by an innings and 215 runs. Only twice in their 865-Test history have they suffered a beating more severe than that. Just how dominant Sri Lanka have been in their last 12 games here is evident from this piece of statistic – during this period they’ve averaged 61.4 per wicket with the bat, and conceded just 24.7 per dismissal when bowling.As you’d expect, Sri Lankans have done exceptionally well with both and ball here. Mahela Jayawardene leads the way with seven centuries in 18 Tests and an exceptional average of 74.68, which is more than four times the average his opposite number, Michael Vaughan, has managed in four innings here. England will also be wary of Kumar Sangakkara, who has been in irresistible form this year and averages more than 66 at this ground.

Jayawardene and Sangakkara at the SSC

Tests Runs Average 100s/ 50s

Mahela Jayawardene 18 1867 74.68 7/ 4 Kumar Sangakkara 13 1256 66.10 4/ 3 Together, the duo of Jayawardene and Sangakkara has feasted on bowling attacks at this venue: in just seven partnerships together, they have amassed 1052 runs at an average of 150. 28 with three century stands. The most famous of those was, of course, the world record 624 they added against South Africa last year. Jayawardene scored 374 while Sangakkara fell for 287 – both remain the highest Test scores for these batsmen.Among the bowlers, the name on top of the tree is an expected one: Muttiah Muralitharan has nabbed a staggering 143 wickets from 21 Tests here, which is an average of nearly seven per match. Chaminda Vaas has excellent numbers here as well, and is the only fast bowler to take ten wickets in a Test here. (Click here for more SSC-related stats.)

Sri Lanka’s bowlers at the SSC

Bowler Tests Wickets Average 5WI/ 10WM

Muttiah Muralitharan 21 143 20.94 11/ 3 Chaminda Vaas 18 77 22.59 4/ 1 Lasith Malinga 5 17 29.76 0/ 0 Dilhara Fernando 7 16 32.31 0/ 0 That Murali has taken so many wickets here isn’t a surprise, but his spread of wickets recently at this ground isn’t what you’d normally expect from a spinner. In his last ten Tests at the SSC, Murali has been more effective – strictly in comparative terms – in the first innings, taking his 39 wickets at a measly 14.97. His second-innings numbers are impressive too, but not quite as good as the first.

Murali in 1st and 2nd innings in his last ten Tests at the SSC

Wickets Average 5WI/ 10WM

1st innings 39 14.97 4/ 3 2nd innings 40 21.55 3/ 3 Winning the toss is usually an advantage at most grounds, but at the SSC teams which have lost the toss have done much better – of the 21Tests which have ended decisively, two-thirds have gone in favour of the team which lost the toss.

There is something a little bit different about this West Indies side, a steely quality that has been lacking for years. It was evident in the field and now it has been evident with the bat

Andrew McGlashan in Jamaica07-Feb-2009
West Indies’ strategy was to bat as long as possible, though they weren’t at their flamboyant best © Getty Images
There is something a little bit different about this West Indies side, a steely quality that has been lacking for years. It was evident in the field and now it has been evident with the bat. For the most part it wasn’t flamboyant, but when a side is rebuilding, as West Indies are, cautious steps are often the best way.Five-out, all-out has been a West Indies theme on many occasions in the recent past, in effect batting with half a team. Take last year on this ground, for example, when they slid from 260 for 4 to 312 all out against Australia. That was just one of many comparisons that could be made. Their first innings in this game was threatening to go the same way, albeit in slow motion, as they lost 4 for 34 in 29 overs with England suffocating the top order following the 202-run stand between Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan.”It’s something we have talked about and have said we need to consolidate,” Gayle said. “This first Test is very important, we didn’t want to let England back into the game easily and so we knew we would have to get our heads down and bat as long as possible.”When England toured in 2003-04 the bottoming out of the West Indies order was a feature of the series. In the first innings in Jamaica they lost 5 for 30, in both innings in Trinidad they succumbed rapidly and in Barbados they lost 7 for 47. Two further innings didn’t allow them a chance of a tail-end collapse because they ended for 47 and 94, while the final one went to the other extreme and closed on 751 for 5 thanks to Brian Lara’s 400.Gayle, with a home-town hundred to mark Bob Marley’s birthday, and Sarwan combined superbly in their stand of 202, however both failed to build on their excellent innings as England clawed their way back. It was West Indies’ first double-century partnership against England since Lara and Sarwan added 209 at Edgbaston in 2004. They lost that match as well in another example of a high-quality stand not being put to good use.This was a situation made for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, but he blocked his way to 20 off 86 balls before being extracted by Stuart Broad. The man who has batted for unbroken stints of 1000 minutes on four occasions in recent years was gone in a relative flash, and the importance of his wicket was demonstrated by the fact that he tried to save himself with a referral. The innings was at its tipping point, and a West Indies side of the not-too-distant past could have folded. Instead they did anything but.England are no doubt expecting some long confrontations with Australian batsmen this year, but they probably didn’t expect it to start at Sabina Park. However, they were now faced with Brendan Nash, the stubborn left-hander resembling a more turgid Mike Hussey, who has provided some glue to a previously brittle middle order.”You have to give him a lot of credit, he’s been in good form with two half centuries from the Test matches he has played [in New Zealand] and like I said it is good to see someone stepping up to play against quality bowlers as well,” Gayle said. “Hopefully he can go on now and get the support from [Sulieman] Benn, [Daren] Powell and [Fidel] Edwards.”Nash’s embryonic Test career has already been marked out by his ability to occupy the crease. During the two Tests in New Zealand he made scores of 72 off 164 balls and 65 from 172. Here he has already faced 146 deliveries for his 47. Chanderpaul would be proud of those numbers.He wasn’t alone in providing the middle-order with some ballast as Denesh Ramdin did a fine impression of the local rum by giving the innings a bit of a kick. “It would have been nice to get a few more runs but obviously our objective was to keep wickets in hand,” Gayle said. “Hopefully the guys can capitalise and hopefully Nashy can go and get a big one.”West Indies should take heart, too, from this statistic. In 2004, England battled tooth and nail to reach a lead of 28 and proceeded to bowl West Indies out for 47 on the fourth day. Nothing has suggested such a dramatic turn of events in this game – the pitch is too slow – but already much of the action has confounded expectation.

The home team rolls over, and no Tendulkar show either. There’s disappointment for you

Nandeeshwar BK18-Apr-2010The game
I picked this match because the Mumbai Indians had so many India internationals, especially Sachin Tendulkar. I had booked my tickets nearly a month ago. With Bangalore red-hot in the initial stages, and even beating Mumbai away, I expected it to be a close game.Team supported
Bangalore. And since Tendulkar has been in great form, I was hoping to see a special innings from him and Bangalore chasing down the target.Key performer
Mumbai started off slow as Ryan McLaren struggled to get the boundaries. But then Ambati Rayudu took the game away with a 27-ball 46.One thing I’d have changed
Obviously it would have been better if there hadn’t been a blast. It took place just behind our stand, and while we heard a loud noise we didn’t realise what it was till people outside called us to find out if we were okay. I would have also preferred a closer match. It would have been nice if the game was still alive at the 16th over of the second innings, but in fact, it was over by the ninth over and even Ross Taylor and Robin Uthappa couldn’t do much about it.Wow moment
Mumbai’s run-rate rocketed after three sixes in an over by Kieron Pollard. The third one almost rose to the second tier of the stands.Player watch
Tendulkar got the loudest cheers wherever he fielded. During the first innings, R Vinay Kumar and Pankaj Singh fielded near our stand. In the second, Zaheer Khan and Pollard were by our stand. Zaheer waved at us a few times.Shot of the day
Virat Kohli used his bottom hand to hit a stylish six off a fuller delivery to wide long-on.Crowd meter
The stadium was filled with Bangalore supporters, though there were a number of Mumbai fans as well. The chants of “RCB” were frequent. Mumbai’s team song was played after each boundary and wicket by them. The crowd cheered Mumbai’s runs as well, though not as vociferously as for Bangalore. When the asking rate rose over 12 by the end of 10 overs, the spectators became subdued, and by the end of the 15th over they started leaving the stadium.Accessories
Paper horns.Fancy-dress index
A large group of fans in Bangalore jerseys was wearing and Mysore [turbans]. Traditional and stylish.Entertainment
There was a mix of Kannada and English tunes. Though the crowd roared every time a Kannada song was played, the cheerleaders struggled to dance to the Kannada songs. The DJ tried at least twice or thrice to get the spectators to attempt a Mexican wave, but the crowd’s efforts were half-hearted since the match had been decided by then.Star-spotting
Vijay Mallya looked tense while speaking to the police, but he did come by our stand and wave to the crowds before the match, for which he got a loud cheer.TV or stadium?
With no breaks, no ads, and the fact that you can scream your heart out, the stadium experience is definitely better.Marks out of 10
6, because the game was decided by the first second-innings time out. The first few overs from Bangalore were tight but their catching could have been better. Rayudu, JP Duminy and Pollard blasted Mumbai to a very good score, but then Bangalore botched up the chase in the first few overs, which turned the game into a one-sided affair.

Pakistan are close, very close, to something very big. But in Australia you are never over the line until you are over the line

Osman Samiuddin05-Jan-2010Last evening, Mohammad Yousuf spoke for an entire nation. A two-hundred lead was very good he thought. Against any other country it was probably insurmountable. This was Australia though, he said, and three hundred would’ve been nice. In that exchange lies not only one law of cricket – that Australia shall never you a match – but years and years of Australian rule over Pakistan. It doesn’t matter if Shane Warne and everyone else are not around.Yousuf himself has been on the receiving end of seven losses in nine Tests before this so the nerves are understandable. Across Pakistan probably much the same feeling is floating around. Until the winning runs are hit and the result is inked into the books of history nobody will allow themselves to think otherwise.Pakistan started today accordingly, as if Australia were 206 ahead not behind. Catches were dropped, lengths were missed, lines lost and fielders too far from the bat. The first session was a muddle. But they stuck at it, placing their fates in the hands of Danish Kaneria.His poor start added to the tension, though also to the humour. Before the Test, Yousuf had asked for more respect for Kaneria’s achievements and his first contributions seemed calculated efforts to do precisely the opposite. He dropped a catch, bowled full tosses and found the left-right opening combination as comprehensible as a blind man might the Rubik’s Cube.But Kaneria’s career is nothing if not a song to persistence and belief; having Kamran Akmal as a wicketkeeper decrees as much. Belatedly, post-lunch he began to find some kind of rhythm though the groove wasn’t properly locked in until after tea. Then he was a changed man, focused, intense and still comical. The surface wasn’t as spin-friendly as it was the last time he bowled here, but in the wickets of Marcus North, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson, he went through a dangerous lower order.The day was a Kaneria highlights reel: poor bowling, good bowling, many overs, wickets, runs, dropped chances, nearly an entire lap of the ground in celebration. Then he fell over and limped off, job nearly done. If Pakistan do win this, he will not have bowled them to a more important win.It was that kind of day, bathed in sun, on an improving surface and a determined opponent. Pakistan had to grind their way through, running in the sand against the wind with a bagful of cement for company. It was also a day for Umar Gul.It’s been an odd year for him. He led his side to a grand triumph in England but Test fruits have been harder to come by. Maybe he hasn’t adapted back to five-day cricket. The lengths have been missing, sometimes too full, often too short. Waqar Younis said his rhythm was missing and he wasn’t getting his run-up right. It has never been as fluid as others and the action is clunkier always, with potential for things to go wrong.He should still never have been dropped in Melbourne even if in the first innings he was the least threatening of the three fast bowlers. But he picked up the slack today in one of those thankless mid-day spells that the least-pampered fast bowler must endure, when the sun is as much an opponent as the batsman. He ran in well, was quick and did well with his lengths. In Ricky Ponting and Shane Watson – both very clever pieces of bowling – he picked up the day’s biggest wickets.As much as Australia, Pakistan were fighting themselves today. Tomorrow they must do so again; 80 for eight is not up to much for most sides but Australia. Shane Watson says they still believe they can pull this off. Of course they do. If he had said otherwise you’d ask to check their passports. No one in the Pakistan camp is willing to even express supreme confidence. Decorum dictates it obviously, but they also know this is not over. They are close, very close, to something very big. But in Australia you are never over the line until you are over the line.

What do you do when the curator has it in for bowlers? You plan, persevere and pray

Aakash Chopra29-Jul-2010The tracks laid out for the first two Test matches in the ongoing Sri Lanka-India series have pretty much dictated the course of the matches. The Sri Lankan tracks, like most in the subcontinent, are batting havens – classic “win-the-toss-bat-first” surfaces, which in most cases push the team losing the toss into playing catch up for the duration of the match.On these featherbeds the ball refuses to change its path after pitching, for spinners and fast bowlers alike, and the odds are stacked heavily against the bowlers and the fielding side. Yet there’s a job to be done – to dismiss the opposition, failing which you need to brace yourself for a dreadfully long haul. Nothing hurts a player more than the feeling of helplessness against the inevitable, which in this case is the declaration from the batting side.Does this mean one resigns to fate and does not plan at all? Definitely not. In fact, bowling on such tracks might need more planning than on helpful surfaces. But planning alone is often not enough; it needs to be complemented with lots of perseverance.Fast bowlers with the new ball
A fast bowler’s planning depends on the ball being used in the match. If the match is in India, it is the SG Test ball that is used, which of course behaves quite differently to the Kookaburra.The SG ball moves negligibly in the air while it’s new, and so it’s important to hit the deck hard till one side gets rough. You often see Zaheer Khan bowl cross-seam deliveries right at the beginning of a spell to hasten this process. And I vividly remember Glenn McGrath employing similar tactics in the 2004 series in India.Unless the team has three seamers at their disposal, it isn’t a bad idea to hold back the two frontline quicks till one side of the ball loses its sheen. A part-time quick or a spinner comes handy in these conditions. This was the job Angelo Mathews did for Sri Lanka in India last year.Once the ball starts swinging, releasing it right, instead of hitting the deck hard, becomes the mantra. The track might not offer lateral movement but the ball will likely swing in the air, if delivered properly. Since the swing in the air may not be complemented by movement off the surface, field placements may still need to be a little conservative. The bowlers must stick to a line, set their fields accordingly and err only on the side of fullness, for balls pitched short won’t even move in the air.Bowlers must employ different tactics while bowling with the Kookaburra, which, unlike the SG ball, moves appreciably when it’s new. Hence the endeavour should be to release the ball properly, pitch it slightly fuller and extract movement in the air. Smart bowlers use the more pronounced seam to bowl cutters too.Lasith Malinga did something remarkable in the first Test match, in Galle. He bowled fuller to start with, dismissed Gautam Gambhir cheaply in both innings, and then used the hardness of the ball to push Virender Sehwag on to the back foot with a barrage of well-directed bouncers when he saw there wasn’t much swing on offer. He knew that once the ball lost its hardness, he would have to wait for it to start reverse-swinging to inflict damage. The trick is to assess the conditions quickly and then react appropriately, be it the SG Test or the Kookaburra ball.Fast bowlers when the ball gets old
The brand of ball makes very little difference in the approach when the ball gets old, when there isn’t much conventional swing, no movement off the surface, and it’s too early to get reverse swing going. That’s when discipline and patience take centre stage.

The brand of ball makes very little difference in the approach when the ball gets old, when there isn’t much conventional swing, no movement off the surface, and it’s too early to get reverse swing going. That’s when discipline and patience take centre stage

Zaheer is a master operator in these situations, especially in post-lunch sessions in the subcontinent. He bowls at about 70% of his optimum speed, sticks to a line a foot outside off stump, employs a 6-3 or 7-2 off-side field and waits for the batsman to commit hara-kiri. He has the advantage of the natural angle working for him, taking the ball away from the right-hander even when it isn’t swinging.Another tactic, if executed well, is to accept that there isn’t enough movement to find the outside edge, and that even if you do, it’s unlikely to carry to the slips. Then one must bowl wicket to wicket, keep the catching fielders in front of the stumps and hope to either breach the defence or expect the batsman to get carried away and hit in the air. You need to be persistent rather than imaginative to see through such phases. But consistency in line and length is imperative, else you’ll be punished, for the margin of error is really small. The only thing you must constantly vary is the pace. Rolling your fingers over the ball to bowl slower ones and cutters are among the few ways to create doubt in the batsman’s mind in these conditions.Another tactic is to get two fast bowlers to bowl bouncers in tandem from around the stumps, with both fine leg and square leg on the fence. Since there’s nothing happening otherwise, there’s no harm in trying something different.Once the ball starts reverse-swinging, good quick bowlers come into their own. One is still required to stick to a line (you don’t want to bowl on both sides of the wicket) but lengths can, and perhaps must, vary with almost every delivery. The last thing you, as a bowler, want when the ball is reverse-swinging is to be predictable. Even a toe-crushing yorker doesn’t have the same effect if every ball is in the block-hole.Once again, Malinga used the old ball quite effectively in the first Test match to break the back of the Indian batting line-up, dismissing Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar and MS Dhoni. Michael Kasprowicz did something similar in the series against India in 2004. He was so ruthless with his lines around the middle and leg stumps that he could do without a slip or a gully fielder.While talking about masters with the old ball, it would be criminal not to mention Waqar and Wasim. But these two were special bowlers with special skills and others can only dream of emulating them. Don’t they say: planning and plotting is for lesser mortals; geniuses carve their own road.Spinners
Slow bowlers are your workhorses on dead surfaces, for good captains rarely give their fast bowlers long spells. Spinners are required to do the donkey’s work of bowling extremely long spells with or, mostly, without any assistance from the surface. They need strategies too, but unlike for their quicker counterparts, their plans don’t vary from Kookaburra to SG Test, for balls don’t behave radically differently depending on their brand when in the hands of a spinner.Vettori: chokes off the scoring and waits for mistakes•Getty ImagesLength is not negotiable: they must stick to it for as long as they are bowling or pay for it dearly. The lines and the pace, though, must keep changing, along with the introduction of variations like the doosra, googly or the arm ball.The lack of purchase from the surface, unless you’re a Murali or Warne, might make a spinner monotonous, and that’s what they must guard against. They must keep using the drift, experiment with angles by coming over and around the stumps, and use fielders cleverly to play with the batsman’s mind. There may be nothing happening but the batsman must always get the impression that there’s a plan in place. And the most likely way for a spinner to get a wicket on these surfaces is to put pressure on the batsman by making run-scoring difficult and thus making him commit a faux pas.I really like how Daniel Vettori operates on good surfaces against quality players of spin bowling. He tries to block their working areas – i.e. behind square leg for a left-hander and point for a right-hander – by altering his line and length and placing a fielder to cut off the single. By doing so he challenges the batsman to do something different, like go over the top or play against the spin. He may not always be successful, though he mostly is, but his intentions are absolutely right.In batting-friendly conditions it helps to have a multi-dimensional attack: a couple of attacking bowlers who’re expected to go for wickets, though they might be a little expensive in the bargain, along with a couple of defensive bowlers who’ll stem the flow of runs and also give their more aggressive counterparts some respite.Ideally one would always have tracks like the ones England dished out for the recently concluded Pakistan-Australia Test series, which had enough in them to keep the bowlers interested. But expecting them from curators in the subcontinent would be a bit too optimistic. While I have written about how a bowler can plan, it’s still a bloody tough job to be a bowler in the subcontinent. Unless we make a conscious effort to prepare sporting wickets, it may well cut a few careers short, either due to injury or lack of results. To those who’re still standing and delivering in these inhuman conditions: take a bow!