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Ricky Ponting’s eight years in charge of Australia brought miserable lows but also unparalleled highs. It’s those peaks that deserve to be remembered

Brydon Coverdale30-Mar-2011Two years ago in South Africa, Ricky Ponting led a touring party that was as green as the baggy cap to which the new players aspired. When they landed in Johannesburg, four members of the squad were yet to debut, while other newbies were still finding their feet after a home series loss to Graeme Smith’s men.Throughout that trip, Ponting stood in the umpire’s place during net sessions and monitored his younger team-mates, dispensing advice and encouragement. When the first Test arrived, he positioned himself in the slips with debutants Marcus North and Phillip Hughes on either side of him, where once Matthew Hayden and Shane Warne had been.Once upon a time, captain Ponting could steer the Australian ship through any conditions and rely on his experienced crew to help him find the way. Now he was teaching a new outfit, and avoiding the icebergs was naturally much trickier.Winning that series was a wonderful achievement. That Ponting didn’t lead Australia to more successes in the couple of years that followed was not a shock. It would have been a surprise if the victories pile up as they had when he could call on Warne, Hayden, Glenn McGrath, Adam Gilchrist, Justin Langer et al.Unlike Australia’s other recent captains, Ponting had to deal with two distinct eras of his reign – with champions and without. Will he be remembered for his unrivalled list of achievements as skipper? There were two World Cup triumphs, Australia’s first Ashes whitewash in 86 years, a record-equalling 16 consecutive Test victories, and a couple of Champions Trophies for good measure.Or will it be the fact that he was the first Australian captain in more than a century to lose three Ashes series? Will the mention of his name bring to mind the acrimony of the Sydney Test in 2007-08, when Australia’s slide was beginning? How will the nine-year, two-stage Ponting era be considered in years to come?He should be remembered as a fine captain with a wonderful record, though not without flaws. At the end of the 2006-07 Ashes clean-sweep, when Australia farewelled Warne, McGrath and Langer, Ponting had only endured three losses in his 35 Tests in charge. After that point, Australia played another 42 Tests under Ponting and won exactly half.Compare that to Graeme Smith, whose South Africans have won only 45% of their Tests under his leadership. In their day, Michael Vaughan and Hansie Cronje were highly regarded leaders, the latter’s match-fixing scandal notwithstanding, and they each only won 50% of their Tests in charge.After the champions left, Ponting’s team became normal. Not terrible. Not substandard. Normal. They could have plummeted into freefall, like West Indies after their dominant era came to an end. Instead, Ponting held them together well enough to enjoy away series wins over South Africa, West Indies and New Zealand, as well as home successes against India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and New Zealand.

After the champions left, Ponting’s team became normal. Not terrible. Not substandard. Normal. They could have plummeted into freefall, like West Indies after their dominant era came to an end. Instead, Ponting held them together well enough

And as great as the men surrounding him were in the opening years of his leadership, they may not have achieved what they did without an uncompromising captain, committed to complete domination. It was a trait Ponting learned under Steve Waugh, the master of mental disintegration. But unlike Waugh, Ponting eventually had a team that couldn’t always back it up.There were times when his on-field leadership lacked imagination. Like a horse wearing blinkers, Ponting was prone to bouts of tunnel-vision. The 2009 Ashes might have been different had he trusted his best bowlers in the final hour in Cardiff, instead of the spin of North and Nathan Hauritz, and in Nagpur a year earlier he had made similar strange decisions by allowing Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke to bowl when a victory could have been set up.But no captain is without his faults, and Ponting’s team-mates were fiercely loyal to him, the sign of a leader respected by his troops. Australia’s gradual slip from all-conquering to just all right did not happen because of Ponting. The retirement of stars, a decline in the standard of domestic cricket and the selection panel’s poor handling of the spin-bowling stocks were important factors.Even in the difficult Test times, Ponting managed to keep his one-day international team at the top of the ICC’s rankings, which was no small achievement. It was appropriate that his final act as captain was a fighting century in the World Cup, eight years after he lifted the trophy for the first time as leader, having made a brilliant 140 in the final.When he announced his resignation, Ponting nominated that 2003 World Cup, when a Warne-less team went through undefeated, as his fondest captaincy memory. Even more remarkable was the way he lifted his men to another perfect World Cup in the Caribbean in 2007, given the poor form his one-day side had displayed in the months prior.Achievements like that must be remembered. In Ponting’s nine years in charge, Australia’s low points were miserable, but their highs were unparalleled. Like Ponting the batsman, Ponting the captain deserves to be held in great esteem. His successor will be grateful to do half as well.

ESPNcricinfo presents the Plays of the Day from the first day of the second Test between South Africa and Australia, at the Wanderers

Brydon Coverdale and Firdose Moonda at the Wanderers17-Nov-2011Poignant moment of the day
As journalists made their way into the press box at the Wanderers, they were greeted by a familiar yet eerie sight. Peter Roebuck’s distinctive straw hat was sitting on a desk. Next to it was a box with a written note asking for donations to support the underprivileged South African and Zimbabwean students who were financially supported by Roebuck, who took his own life on November 12. The radio commentator, Jim Maxwell, one of the last people to see Roebuck alive, delivered an on-air tribute to his broadcasting colleague before the match started. “Peter’s gift of language, ideas, knowledge of the game, his self-deprecation, occasional intensity and downright contrariness,” Maxwell said, “made for stimulating, often brilliant broadcasting.”Delay of the day After tea, with Australia seven overs behind the required over-rate and a thunderstorm looming, both teams were eager to get going. But the Powerade advertisement on the sightscreen at the Corlett Drive End would not switch off, causing a 13-minute delay, and the ground staff eventually had to throw a curtain over it. Michael Clarke spent the time signing autographs for young fans while AB de Villiers had a lie-down next to the pitch.Common-sense approach of the day
Umpires are often criticised for their hasty decisions to leave the field for bad light, so it is only fair that they be applauded when they use common sense. Such was the case when Billy Bowden and Ian Gould allowed play to keep going in the final session. The conditions were gloomy but the floodlights were on, and the South Africa batsmen were in no danger as Australia bowled spin from both ends. It was only when the Australian innings was to start, presumably against the pace of Dale Steyn and Co., that bad light was called, and rightly so in conditions that had started to resemble a day-night match.Debut of the day
The last time Australia played a Test at the Wanderers, they handed out three baggy greens, to Phil Hughes, Marcus North and Ben Hilfenhaus. Hughes is the only one of that trio left in the side. They hope for greater success with Pat Cummins, who was presented with his cap by Ricky Ponting, a man old enough to be his father. At 18, Cummins is Australia’s second-youngest Test debutant of all time and he entered the match with nine first-class wickets. His tenth arrived in his 12th over of Test cricket when a full outswinger was edged to second slip by Hashim Amla. Fittingly, it was the old man of the team, Ponting, who took a sharp catch above his head to give the new boy his magic moment.Tremor of the day
In-form swing bowler, opening batsman, vice-captain – Shane Watson is the most important man in Australia’s side. Imagine the concern in the Australian camp, then, when Watson walked off the field during his fourth over with an injury to his right hamstring. Already he had collected a wicket, but if the injury proved serious he would leave Australia down one bowler and a key batsman. To Australia’s great relief, he returned to the field during the second session and fielded at first slip. It remains to be seen how much he can contribute with bat or ball. Start of the day
Jacques Kallis came to the crease with both South Africa’s openers back in the dressing room. With his arrival, South Africa would have expected calm to reign, but, with the first ball he faced, Kallis showed he had other ideas. A full, wide, Watson ball could have been left alone but Kallis decided to show intent early. He moved forward and cracked it through the covers, a stroke sprinkled with nothing but Kallis class. That shot saw him draw level with Brian Lara in fourth place on the all-time leading run-scorers in Test cricket and was the ninth time in his 146-match career that he has opened his innings with a four. An over later, Kallis overtook Lara with a nudge into the leg side.Needless shot of the day South Africa’s slide of four wickets in four overs was largely caused by needless stroke-play against slightly more incisive Australian bowling. Mark Boucher played the most careless shot of the day when he was left to marshal the tail and take South Africa close to the 300 mark, which looked like a certainty earlier. Instead, Boucher pulled a Peter Siddle short ball and top-edged it. The ball went high but Nathan Lyon ran around from the boundary in time to catch it and leave the lower order to fend for themselves.

He had to wait more than a decade for his second Test century and it is a moment he says he feared would never come

Firdose Moonda in Harare 05-Aug-2011When Hamilton Masakadza was playing cricket for his primary school, in Highfields, the second-oldest suburb in Harare, his friends gave him a special, but complimentary nickname. They called him “Test cricketer” because of his extraordinary staying power for someone so young.”Growing up I was always patient,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Tatenda [Taibu] and Vusi [Sibanda] and those guys were the ones being aggressive and I was the one holding up the other end.”It turned out to be an apt description of his character, because Masakadza is one of the most-patient men cricket has seen; the fifth most to be exact, if you take the amount of time between Test centuries as a yardstick. He had to wait 10 years and six days between his first Test century, in 2001, and his second, which he brought up on Friday in Harare, in Zimbabwe’s first Test since returning to Test cricket. That is a length of time surpassed only by India’s Mushtaq Ali and Vijay Merchant, England’s Frank Woolley and Australia’s Warren Bardsley, who waited 13 years and 346 days between his fifth and sixth centuries. All those players had their careers interrupted by the World Wars.Although Masakadza’s wait didn’t involve an event as catastrophic, the political and cricketing turmoil Zimbabwe has been through in the last decade has not made his interval easy. Besides the country’s cricketing woes, he has also had to deal with the expectation that came from registering his first Test hundred – a match-saving knock on debut – at the age of 17, and the disappointment of not being able to push on from that.When the pressures of sport can become overwhelming, Masakadza said strong support kept him grounded and that he felt his early achievement helped build his confidence. “At that age if you don’t do well you will spend a lot of time wondering if you are good enough or not, so I was pleased that I was able to do well for that reason. Even when I didn’t follow it up in the best way, people encouraged me and believed in me.”Those people may have been surprised when, a year after his debut, Masakadza took a break from the game. He went to complete a degree in marketing at the University of the Free State in Bloemfontein, South Africa, where he spent three years. There, he played for the varsity’s club team alongside Ryan McLaren, Cornelius de Villiers and against Rusty Theron.He said the time away from the international game helped him improve. “I learnt a bit more about how to play seam bowling while I was there. I also worked on my off-side game; I think before I was stronger on the leg side but now if you look at my wagon wheels, I play all around the wicket.”When he came back to Zimbabwe, in 2004, he established himself as a regular in the one-day team, but missed out on selection for both the 2007 and 2011 World Cup squads. His career was punctuated with breaks and so he was hardly surprised when it took him eight years to score his first ODI century. “When I eventually scored it, it was one of the highest points in my career,” he said, laughing as he remembered the opposition. “And it was against Bangladesh.”Now, he has brought up his second Test century against the same team, and Masakadza cannot contain his joy at being able to achieve it, especially because there was a time when he thought it would never come. In the middle of Zimbabwe’s self-imposed exile from Test cricket, Masakadza thought he would have to forget his dreams of Test success. “I thought I may have retired by the time we get Test cricket back. That question definitely went through my mind. But now I understand that I am an integral part of the team and I relish being a senior player.”He admits that he had some doubts during the course of this innings in Harare, but they only crept in later on. “I only actually got nervous when I was on 99. [When on 95], I hit the ball through mid-off and I thought it was three and that I would be able to wait at the other end for a while but then I saw it trickled down for four and I knew I was close. Getting past the hundred was the best part of my innings today.”

He’s watched plenty of Boxing Day Tests; now he’ll be looking to make history in one with a good hometown mate

Brydon Coverdale22-Dec-2011Next week, James Pattinson and Peter Siddle could create a slice of Victorian history. It has been nearly 75 years since a pair of the state’s fast bowlers shared the new ball in a Test at the MCG. Last time it happened, in 1937, Ernie McCormick and Laurie Nash helped bowl Australia to an innings victory over Gubby Allen’s England side.If Pattinson and Siddle can manage something similar against India, it will be an achievement neither will ever forget. Simply walking out on to the MCG together in the baggy green will be a big enough thrill, for the two have known each other since their teenage days playing at the Dandenong Cricket Club in Melbourne’s outer east.Back when Pattinson was 13, his older brother Darren, later a one-Test wonder for England, would bowl in tandem with Siddle for Dandenong. They were the young stars in the firsts. James was a constant presence around the club, where he used to hassle Siddle, the man who nearly a decade later would help calm his nerves during Pattinson’s Test debut against New Zealand at the Gabba last month.”I remember him when I first came down to the club and I was the little annoying kid. I used to annoy them all,” Pattinson told ESPNcricinfo. “I used to come over from junior cricket and tell him how many runs I got and all that. Pete was always there to listen to me, even then when I was a little shit. He’s been a great help for me.”I’ve always been a confident sort of bloke without being arrogant. In the first innings [on debut] I was a bit nervous. There were times in that first over that I thought, ‘Geez, this is harder than I thought it was going to be,’ but I just tried to stay as relaxed as I could, just run in and bowl fast.”It’s pretty easy to stay relaxed when you’ve got a close mate there who can talk you through things. He’s been around now for quite a while, he’s played nearly 30 Tests. He’s bowling probably better than he’s ever bowled. He’s swinging the ball at good pace. If we can take that into the Boxing Day Test I think we’ll be a good show of getting a lot of wickets.”Darren Pattinson will be in the crowd during the Test, probably with a group of mates from the Dandenong club. He used to sit in the stands with James and the family; the Boxing Day Test is a tradition for the Pattinsons as it has been for countless Melbourne families over the decades. The younger Pattinson, 21, cannot wait to be part of the action with Siddle, 27.”It’s the best day of cricket in the year,” he said. “It’s the ritual. It’s what everyone does on Boxing Day. It’s an unbelievable atmosphere. It’s the closest you’re going to get to an AFL grand final. It will be an amazing feeling. Being a hometown crowd I’m sure they’ll be behind me and Pete 100%.”I’ve been to the Boxing Day Test quite a number of times, especially early on when I was a bit younger. I remember I went there three or four years ago when Pete was playing and it was an amazing moment for me just to watch him out there playing in a Boxing Day Test. It will be even more special when I get to run out there with him.”Pattinson has been one of the success stories of Australia’s past few Tests. His fast, accurate outswing has made him the go-to man for the captain Michael Clarke, despite his career being only two Tests old. In each of the matches against New Zealand he managed five-wicket hauls. The challenge against India will be vastly different.For one, he will struggle during this series to find conditions as helpful as those Australia encountered at the Gabba and Bellerive Oval. And a line-up including Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman is daunting for even the most experienced bowlers in world cricket, let alone a rookie. Pattinson wasn’t born when Tendulkar played his first Test. And despite being from Melbourne, he has played only two first-class games at the MCG – fewer than Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman, and the same number as Sehwag. Pattinson has an IPL deal and went on Australia’s Test tour of India last year, but he has never bowled to the likes of Tendulkar.”Tendulkar is the pinnacle of batsmen,” he said. “He’s done it for so long and he’s the best. Just to have a duel with him will be quite amazing. You grow up and you watch those people and they’re just like heroes to you. To be able to play against them and hopefully get the wood over them and compete well against them, that’s all you’re looking for. You’ve just got to back your ability.”As a bowling group I think we can take a lot out of the way England bowled to them over in England this year. They got up them and bowled some bouncers to the right people, bowled in good areas. I think the batsmen did struggle over in England. If we can get on top of them and bowl in the right areas and intimidate them a little bit then we’re well on our way. We’ve got a young bowling group and we’re enthusiastic, I think everyone is going to be up for a challenge.”

Despite being from Melbourne, Pattinson has played only two first-class games at the MCG – fewer than Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman, and the same number as Sehwag

Perhaps the most fascinating battle will be between Pattinson and Sehwag. Against New Zealand, Pattinson proved he can curl the ball away viciously from the right-handers. His delivery that got rid of Brendon McCullum in the second innings in Hobart was almost perfect: angled into off stump and swinging away, forcing the batsman to play. It was edged to slip.McCullum had taken to Pattinson in the tour match at Allan Border Field a fortnight earlier. The bowler’s revenge was sweet. Sehwag is the same kind of player as McCullum, albeit in a different league, and Pattinson knows that he faces a major challenge to keep India’s most destructive batsman quiet.”You’re going to bowl good balls to him and they’re going to go for four every now and again,” he said. “He’s going to try and score fast. But I think if you put the ball in the right area against him over and over again, you’re going to get the reward eventually. He’ll give you a chance.”Australia’s attack for Boxing Day has not yet been settled, although Pattinson and Siddle are certain starters. The swing bowler Ben Hilfenhaus might win a spot ahead of the young left-armer Mitchell Starc, who showed some promise against New Zealand but struggled to build the pressure for long enough to be as threatening as Pattinson and Siddle.The man the Australians would love to have in the side is Pat Cummins, the 18-year-old fast bowler who was Man of the Match on his Test debut – just as Pattinson was – in Johannesburg last month. The prospect of building an attack around Cummins and Pattinson is exciting for Australian supporters, but a heel injury means they won’t play a Test together until at least the tour of the West Indies in April.”He’s a great talent,” Pattinson said. “It’s unbelievable. At 18 years old, he’s bowling 150kph and swings the ball both ways. He knows what he’s doing with the ball. He’s going to be an absolute phenomenal talent for Australia. It’s definitely exciting. We’ve got some great bowling stocks around. If we can build a great friendship, all of us, and work together, I think it’s going to be great for Australian cricket.”At 21, Pattinson has much to learn, but a fine base on which to build his Test career. The next step for him comes on Boxing Day. And just like all those years ago in Dandenong, he’ll be yapping in Siddle’s ear as he goes.

West Indies ordinary record in recent years makes England firm favourites ahead of the first Test at Lord’s

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan16-May-2012A major shift in head-to-head record
Perhaps no other stat provides a better perspective of West Indies’ decline than their record against England. In the last few years, England have been the dominant team in Test cricket, except for the blip against Pakistan. West Indies, on the other hand, have failed to win a single away series against major opponents (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) for nearly 17 years, and last won a Test in England in 2000. Other than the victory in Jamaica in 2009, West Indies have well and truly been outplayed by England in recent years. However, the story before 2000 was completely different. Between 1973 and 1990, West Indies lost just one Test against England while winning 23. They won two consecutive series by a 5-0 margin in 1984 and 1985-86 and 4-0 again in 1988. England, who managed to win their first Test after 16 years with a nine-wicket win in Jamaica in 1990, went on to win their first series against West Indies in 31 years when they beat them 3-1 in 2000. West Indies failed to regroup after this series defeat and have never since managed to compete with major Test teams in overseas series.West Indies dominated England to such an extent in the 1970s and 1980s that their overall record is still positive despite the barren run in the last decade. West Indies lorded over England both home and away in the 1980s and went through the decade without a single loss. In the 1990s too, West Indies were comfortably the better team, though England did get back to winning ways. However, since the Dominic Cork-inspired win at Lord’s in 2000, England turned the tables completely. They went on to win 3-0 and 4-0 in the back-to-back series in 2004, with the only draw coming in Antigua where Brian Lara scored an unbeaten 400. Since 2000, England have won 15 Tests in all against West Indies, with 12 of those coming in home Tests. West Indies, who have hardly mounted a serious challenge away in the last decade, will be hard-pressed to compete against an England team that last lost a home series back in 2008.

England’s Test record against West Indies

PlayedWinsLossesDrawsW/L ratioOverall1454353490.811970-198937123130.041990-19992671270.582000 onwards2415277.50Home since 200015121212.00Since 2007115155.00With West Indies lacking both the bowling firepower and consistency in batting, England have hardly been tested in recent contests. In home Tests against West Indies since 2004, England have averaged 50.16 with the bat and 27.47 with the ball. The difference between the batting and bowling averages is 22.69. In the same period, the difference between the wickets taken per match for the two teams is 6. West Indies have been far more competitive at home, with the difference in averages there falling to 6.73. The wickets difference is also much lower in the West Indies (1.56). Overall, however, England have averaged nearly 47 with the bat and 30.64 with the ball (average difference 16.35). They have also picked up more than 16 wickets per match on an average while West Indies have managed a corresponding number of just over 12.

Batting and bowling stats for England against West Indies (since 2004)

MatchesBatting (runs per wicket)Bowling (Runs per wicket)Avg differenceWickets per match (bowling)Wickets per match (batting)Wickets differenceHome1050.1627.4722.6918.6012.606.00Away943.2535.526.7313.4411.881.56Overall1946.9930.6416.3516.1512.263.89Stark contrast in recent form
Since 2008, England have been the in-form Test team, winning Ashes series at home (2009) and away (2010-2011), and drawing in South Africa (2009-2010). Although they have failed to win in the subcontinent, they have been quite unstoppable at home. Following comfortable wins over Pakistan and Sri Lanka, they trounced India 4-0 in 2011 to go top of the team rankings. Their win-loss ratio of 2.00 since 2008 is marginally behind South Africa’s 2.10. England average 39.26 with the bat and just over 30 with the ball in Tests played since 2008, thus maintaining a difference of 8.34.West Indies, who have played 40 Tests in the same period, have managed just four wins and lost 19 Tests. Their win-loss ratio of 0.21 is the worst among the top Test-playing teams (excluding Bangladesh and Zimbabwe). Not only do they have a poor average difference (-9.65), they also have a much lower number of centuries (32) as compared to England, who have scored 66 hundreds.

Record of the two teams since 2008

TeamMatchesWins/LossesW/L ratioBat avg/bowl avgAvg diff100/50England5326/132.0039.26/30.928.3466/126West Indies404/190.2129.83/39.48-9.6532/89Chanderpaul in a different league
Until the recent series against Pakistan in the UAE, when they came unstuck against top-quality spin, nearly all England batsmen were on song. In the Ashes and the subsequent series against Sri Lanka and India, Kevin Pietersen, Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott were outstanding. Alastair Cook, who top-scored in the Ashes with 766 runs, set up England’s crushing win in Edgbaston against India with a massive 294. Although Andrew Strauss has experienced a poor run, his association with Cook is England’s most prolific opening stand.With the exception of Chanderpaul, the rest of the West Indies batting is fairly light on experience. Chanderpaul, who became the tenth batsman to pass 10,000 runs in the recent series against Australia, has been simply superb in the last two series in England. Since 2004, he has scored nearly 1000 runs in nine Tests against England at an average of 73.61. Needless to say, he has excellent numbers against pace bowlers and spinners. Darren Bravo and Kirk Edwards have made promising starts to their Test careers and West Indies will rely heavily on their contribution in the upcoming series.

Record of batsmen from both teams since 2008

BatsmanMatchesRunsAverage100/50Pace (avg/balls per dismissal)Spin (avg/balls per dismissal)Alastair Cook53424850.5712/2045.95/92.0663.50/133.54Kevin Pietersen50363048.4010/1552.40/89.2047.93/73.84Andrew Strauss51338141.239/1640.57/86.5042.50/83.92Ian Bell41286550.2610/1243.97/82.0563.77/122.05Jonathan Trott28231952.707/947.26/91.8375.08/176.66Shivnarine Chanderpaul35276161.358/1661.29/153.0859.95/138.57Darren Bravo16133949.593/738.35/84.4261.69/128.76Kirk Edwards765750.532/452.40/110.6049.37/104.87Adrian Barath1254323.601/422.31/46.5631.00/60.83England’s superior bowling firepower
England have been able to compete in all conditions primarily because of an all-round bowling attack. In James Anderson and Stuart Broad, they have two of the finest fast bowlers who are especially dangerous in home conditions. While Anderson has been equally successful against both right-handers and left-handers, Stuart Broad has a much higher average against left-handers. Graeme Swann, who is second behind Derek Underwood on the list of England spinners with the most five-fors, has been exceptional against left-handers (average 19.85), which suggests he could be a key bowler against Chanderpaul.Fidel Edwards has been West Indies’ most successful bowler since the retirement of Curtly Ambrose. He has six five-wicket hauls since 2008 and has done much better against right-handers. Kemar Roach, who recently became the first West Indian fast bowler since Ambrose (in 1993) to pick up ten wickets in a match against Australia, has similarly been superb against right-handers (average 20.46) but disappointing against left-handers. The underrated Darren Sammy, who picked up a seven-wicket haul on Test debut at Old Trafford, has been quite consistent in the same period with 55 wickets at 33.52.

Record of bowlers from both teams since 2008

BowlerMatchesWicketsAverage5WI/10WMRight-hand batsmen (wickets/avg)Left-hand batsmen (wickets/avg)James Anderson4819627.309/1125/27.6471/25.90Graeme Swann4118227.9713/292/35.8590/19.85Stuart Broad4414630.824/0102/26.3644/39.31Fidel Edwards258233.686/051/28.8031/35.48Kemar Roach176228.674/143/20.4619/42.68Darren Sammy225533.523/034/34.4121/31.28A look at the venues
Lord’s was the venue where England kick-started their dominant run against West Indies with a two-wicket win in 2000. They have been very successful at the venue, losing only one Test in the last seven years. Their success is recent years has been even more pronounced, with five wins and one draw in the last six Tests at the venue.The second Test will be played in Trent Bridge, a venue where every Test in the last seven years has produced a result. Both pace bowlers and spinners average significantly lower than their corresponding numbers at Lord’s. West Indies’ last Test win in England was at Edgbaston, the venue for the third Test. The result percentage here is pretty high, with five decisive games out of six. The runs-per-wicket value in the first innings is low (22.30) but increases across the other three innings. Spinners have picked up a relatively higher proportion of wickets in Edgbaston Tests as compared to the other two venues and also have a slightly better average than the fast bowlers.

Venue stats (Tests since 2005)

VenueMatchesResult %1st innings2nd innings3rd innings4th inningsPace (wickets/avg)Spin (wickets/avg)Lord’s1553.3344.5829.0937.7035.22339/35.38110/37.98Trent Bridge610030.7525.3535.6215.75167/26.2045/32.40Edgbaston683.3322.3039.5430.7438.05135/31.3252/28.69

South Africa’s immediate preparation didn’t include tours but a gruelling three-month camp at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria

George Binoy in Brisbane11-Aug-2012South Africa prepare for the Under-19 World Cup differently when compared to most other teams of their standing at the tournament in Townsville. Not for them the extensive tour programmes to familiarise their young cricketers with foreign conditions, various opponents and life on the road – experiences their opponents take pains to acquire. Although they visited England in 2011, when they won 4-2, and hosted Pakistan and Zimbabwe, South Africa’s immediate preparation has been a gruelling three-month camp at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria.”We have a different view on how to train our younger guys,” says their Under-19 coach Ray Jennings. “We have programmes in South Africa where we create pressure and intensity for players to develop, whereas the Indians and some other guys tend to create the intensity on tours.””This year, for example, we had a group of players together for three months in a national academy programme. We trained them from six in the morning to six at night, not only from a cricketing point of view but also from a life point of view, [we] try and mature them. It’s a different programme that Cricket South Africa has started. We haven’t gone the route to go on tour. Our three and a half months have been intense, with early morning runs and all sorts of things at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria.”Won’t other teams’ prior knowledge of opponents and conditions in Townsville give them an edge over South Africa at the tournament? “Why should it?” asks Jennings. “I don’t think the players that we worked with fear any opposition. We’re aware that we’re as good as anyone in the world. We don’t have an inferiority complex on skills.”This side is well balanced. We’ve got a really good group of fast bowlers. There are a lot of allrounders in the side, one or two guys who can win games with the bat and the ball.”Their performances in the warm-up games in Brisbane back up Jennings’ confidence in his players. South Africa kept New Zealand to 184 for 8 before their openers Quinton de Kock and Chad Bowes put on 127 to ensure victory before retiring out after 20 overs. De Kock is perhaps South Africa’s premier batsman, having scored 341 runs on the tour of England. He has three international centuries – two against Pakistan and one against Zimbabwe.”I would have preferred if New Zealand had scored more runs so that we could have been challenged in our batting department. But our bowlers bowled well and our batsmen put in a good start,” Jennings said after the warm-up. “But everyday you play at Under-19 level is a different type of challenge.”South Africa’s batsmen were challenged by Bangladesh in the second warm-up the next day, but Bowes scored an unbeaten 104 to help his team achieve the target off the penultimate ball.Jennings has earned the reputation of being a tough coach, a disciplinarian, and the grown-up manner in which these teenagers are treated by umpires and match referees in the World Cup appeals to him. He says there’s zero tolerance for breaking rules, bad behaviour and corruption. It all adds up to nurturing a young cricketer’s character, something Jennings puts a premium on vis-a-vis technical skills at this age.”Technique is important but if you don’t have a character around that technique, it’s not going to be good,” he says. “If you have a bad technique and a good character, you can always get through and work your technique, but you can’t really work on the character of the person. I always look at the character of the person and the technique second.”That strength of character is certain to be tested at the World Cup, and more so in the coming years, when the danger of these cricketers falling off the charted path due to distraction or failure is greatest. “From this age until 23, it’s quite a tough age where a lot of players have other things come in the way – girlfriends, life … and the partying life and things like that,” Jennings said. “There are a lot of distractions in the next two three years but I like to believe we’ve addressed that in the last six months in the national academy.”Will South Africa’s intense and different preparation work at this World Cup? They begin their campaign on Sunday, against Bangladesh, having made the finals in 2002 and 2008 but losing both, to Australia and India. From Jennings’ point of view, winning a maiden Under-19 title would be an achievement to savour, but the satisfaction of watching some of these boys make the senior team is what he wants more.

There are pretty grounds, historic grounds, grounds that ooze atmosphere, and those that make you feel like you’re in the Colosseum. Five writers choose their favourites

19-Nov-2012Galle International Stadium, GalleSambit Bal
Galle: you can watch the action while walking or driving past the ground© Getty Images
There’s a photograph in my digital album titled “Sri Lanka” that always fills me with the warmest memories. In it I am with my wife and close friends. We are on a patch of grass, sitting, sprawling, and leaning on each other. We look relaxed, cosy and happy. Looking at that photo, taken in August 2008, it would be hard to guess we are watching a game of Test cricket – and in the subcontinent at that.We were right behind the sightscreen – years of covering cricket have spoilt me to the point that the view of play from anywhere else in the ground seems a compromise. To our left was the gentle expanse of the Indian Ocean stretching into infinity, and behind us, a quaint little world inviting exploration. And we were not even inside the stadium.We had tickets, and I had a seat in the press box, with a view of the waters, but on an overcast day there is no better place to watch cricket from than the ramparts of the Galle Fort. I have seen prettier Test grounds but Galle gets my nod for the whole package.The stadium is informal and charming: it’s perhaps the only Test ground in the world where you can watch the match while driving or walking past, and though the civil war hadn’t ended when I watched the Test in 2008, the security wasn’t overwhelming. But travelling to watch sport is also a cultural experience, and Galle is enchanting all the way.The other three

Newlands, Cape Town: What can beat Table Mountain as a backdrop?
Adelaide Oval, Adelaide: The canopy rooftop, much imitated now, and the churches in the background
Trent Bridge, Nottingham: Beautiful walk along the river, and both an open and intimate ground

The drive from Colombo, winding and along the coast, is pretty. A new expressway will now take you to Galle in 90 minutes, but if you want memories and a couple of stops along the way for photographs, take the scenic route (at least one way). Stay in one of the boutique hotels inside the fort that, in a maze of lanes and bylanes, houses quaint shops, little houses and rooftop restaurants serving authentic Sri Lankan food. The nights offer the option of driving down to one of the nearby towns for dinner to the sounds of the sea.If you go to watch a Test in Galle – a Test it has to be, because shorter matches are unlikely to provide the space to experience the peripherals – you will not only find that the best seats are free, but that you are likely to come back with a longing to return. As for me, it was perhaps the only place I could have got my wife to accompany me to a Test.Sambit Bal is the editor of ESPNcricinfo

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Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, DharamsalaHarsha Bhogle
Dharamsala: where the Himalayas watch cricket© Getty Images
So what makes for a good cricket ground? A comfortable chair, a good internet connection, a dry toilet and good coffee? Oh dear, we’ll have to start again, for you could get at best three of those at any ground. A great setting, a large enough car park, easy public transport and a spectator-friendly attitude? We’re getting somewhere, even if the shortlist is very small. Grounds that evoke awe? Grounds that are friendly? Grounds that you can take your kids to?There were three grounds I was most excited about and each disappointed me on my first experience. The MCG was vast, colossal; I felt like an ant, intimidated. I wanted to get away. Lord’s was shocking. Everybody on the staff seemed intent on being rude, almost as if they would be sacked otherwise. And Queen’s Park Oval… well, it seemed like just another ground. I have had better experiences at those grounds since. I quite enjoy the MCG, and quite grudgingly admitted to even liking Lord’s a bit the last time I was there (it was the smiles at the gate and the girls serving coffee in the media centre that did it).Increasingly, I find I am drawn towards grounds in proximity with nature. Queenstown is dramatic; Newlands is very nice too, though Table Mountain can get a touch monotonous; St Lucia is pretty; and while I haven’t been to the Bellerive Oval in Hobart for a while, it must be very difficult to make that less scenic.Indoors is the best place to be in Wellington, though, I find the idea of a large traffic island being used for Test cricket quite unique. The Kotla in Delhi is a lot better now but till very recently the best spot from which to watch a game there was at home. The Wankhede can only get better, and the Chidambaram Stadium (I still prefer to call it Chepauk) has.The next best

For the best combination of history, comfort and warmth I am going to pick: Trent Bridge in Nottingham, the Sydney Cricket Ground (probably the greatest cricket ground in the world), and the Adelaide Oval, with the river flowing lazily by and the grass banks providing quite the most brilliant setting. Somebody told me they are taking the grass banks away, and I said not even the worst villains in the Hindi movies could be so cruel. There has to be an element of the leisurely associated with great cricket grounds (oops, the SCG just lost a point, having done away with its grass banks some years ago). It just goes well with the pace of Test cricket.

But I am not going to be a consultant, merely offering options. For long my favourite grounds were the back field at the Hyderabad Public School (sadly, I visited it again), the “A” ground of Osmania University (sadly, I revisited that too), and the Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium (I said goodbye to the old commentary box, now a hostel, with underwear put out to dry).And then a couple of years ago I flew in a small plane through the mountains to land at a quaint airfield (it wasn’t an airport, if you know what I mean), drove on roads that went up and down according to the terrain, and encountered hill people who smiled and offered local food at prices that were a pleasant shock. The ground itself had me stunned. I saw the pavilion first, a blazing red pagoda, and then I turned around and saw the mountains; not hills, mountains.The rays of the sun glistened off the snow on the peaks, and the sunset was a cinematographer’s delight. Often I found myself looking at the mountains rather than at the cricket, and more than one evening was spent in an open-air restaurant with simple tables and chairs and eager waiters.For the grandeur of its setting and the simplicity of its people, I will go with Dharamasala. Now if only they can keep away the rude, loud 4×4 gang that comes from Delhi and honks all along its lovely curving paths…Harsha Bhogle is a commentator, television presenter and writer

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St George’s Park, Port ElizabethTelford Vice
A hodgepodge of creaking stands and diabolically pokey corners© Getty Images
The biggest single chunk of St George’s Park is also the ugliest.So much so that the Duck Pond Pavilion, which lazes in a slovenly curve on the northern boundary like some obese, rust-coloured slug slowly stinking to death in the sun and salty air, is a cautionary tale against what can result when bricks and steel are stacked symmetrically with not a smidgen of creativity.Had the vast, soulless plastic bowl that is the Gabba existed in the early 1990s, when the Duck Pond Pavilion was “built”, the offending architect, one Terry Baker, should have been sent to Brisbane and told: This Is Not What We Want.But how do we know what is beautiful if we do not have an ugliness to compare it to? The rest of St George’s Park, a hodgepodge of creaking old stands and diabolically pokey corners that seems to exist only to ensure visitors unfamiliar with the ground (let no one who calls the place a stadium make it out of there alive), is its charm.The grandstand along the western boundary is a magnificence of wood and paint and the sense of community that comes with bumping knees and shoulders with your neighbours instead of pretending there is no one in the bucket seat next to you.This is where the St George’s Park brass band is in residence, parping out a well-worn repertoire of standards and occasionally shocking all and sundry with a freshly learned number that might last have been heard on radio ten years ago.The next best

University Oval, Dunedin Zen garden of a ground; nothing superfluous to requirements. And a large, treed hill brooding over everything.
The Bourda Deep, dark verandahs – which have been known to shine with the incredible whiteness of Mick Jagger’s presence – and a moat around the outside of the ground lend the place the irresistible aura of a murder scene.
The Oval The realness of red brick and wrought iron, and proof that not all Poms are yobs or snobs.

Under the grandstand, the good women of the Westering Methodist Church feed the multitude – not with loaves and fishes but with the best hamburgers and pancakes that surprisingly little money can buy. They have been doing so for decades in the name of charity, and they will do so for many more.The eastern boundary is home to a haphazard collection of stands, a grass bank, and the main scoreboard. Other than keeping spectators statistically informed, the board is an important indicator of what the captains should do at the toss. If the wind is coming off the nearby Indian Ocean and blowing over the scoreboard and across the field, insert the opposition. If it’s blowing from inland and towards the scoreboard, bat.Players, umpires, scorers and media are housed at the southern end of the ground. Stand on a particular landing between buildings and the view into the players’ enclosure is clear and frequently instructive – players are far more likely to reveal their emotions when they can’t see themselves on a television screen. So close are reporters to the action that it seems entirely possible to reach out and tap the captain on the shoulder to tell him to put in another slip.The pitch? It is often a desert, sometimes a jungle, and occasionally both – one end dry, the other green.That’s because players come to St George’s Park to be tested, not to be pandered to or protected from the real world. Cricket could do with more places like that.Telford Vice is a freelance cricket writer in South Africa

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Antigua Recreation GroundBy Chloe Saltau
The Rec: an atmosphere all its own © Getty Images
There’s nothing beautiful about the Rec, unless you like your cricket grounds buffeted by prison walls and rough around the edges. It was a place to bat, and bat, and bat – the Rec hosted both of Brian Lara’s world-record innings, 375 and 400. And yet there was something special about this tiny ground in an unpretentious part of St John’s that hasn’t existed since it stopped hosting international cricket.Australians flocked to the Rec for the carnival as much as the cricket. I shouted myself a trip to the Caribbean to celebrate graduating from cadet reporter to graded journalist in 1999. Happily, the journey coincided with Australia’s tour of the West Indies, and Antigua appealed because it was the island home of my cricketing hero, Viv Richards. I have only vague memories of the rambling interview I conducted with a very generous Viv as he sweated profusely in the press box, but he embodied the national and regional pride riding on everything that happened on that sweet batting pitch. The Rec is within walking distance of the street where Viv was raised. With its white concrete walls and ramshackle stands, it blends in with a town that’s edgier than Antigua’s reputation as an idyllic beach paradise suggests. The rum joints inside the gates did business even when there was no cricket, and the smells of jerk chicken and flying fish burgers pervaded the air.My next three

My favourite suburban ground is Holbrook Reserve, home of Brunswick Park Ladies Cricket Club in Melbourne. Tucked beneath the Tullamarine Freeway, it’s small enough that well-struck sixes can endanger cars bound for the airport. It’s also where I learnt to play cricket and how to reverse out of the car park without landing in Moonee Ponds Creek.
On a grander scale, the MCG is more than a cricket ground. It’s a meeting place (especially in the Long Room on Boxing Day), a theatre and a workplace. It was a privilege to witness Shane Warne’s 700th Test wicket from the press box, and a thrill to hide behind a concrete pillar as Sachin Tendulkar had a private net.
I love the Wanderers, in Johannesburg, because of its heady mix of intimacy and intimidation. It felt like a cauldron for the World Cup final in 2003, and the high altitude promotes a breathless atmosphere, where the ball seems to sail for miles.

The ground barely holds 10,000 people, and in ’99 it was bursting at the seams. Everyone was desperate to catch a glimpse of the genius of Lara, who had peeled off a match-winning century in the previous Test in Barbados. He saved his most devastating innings for Antigua, where every exquisite stroke made the Rec vibrate even more violently than the reggae music blasting from the Double Decker Stand.What captivated me most was the intense and sometimes delirious way the Antiguans watched the cricket. Lara’s 82-ball century wasn’t enough to stop Australia winning the Test, and when the Frank Worrell Trophy was retained, I remember an Australian flag fluttering above a haze of ganja.It’s possible the Rec has been romanticised in my memory, simply because there is nothing like it in the age of standardised modern venues. I returned almost a decade later to find the outfield overgrown and the buildings in a state of sad disrepair as a game of intra-island soccer unfolded. Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, the soulless stadium built for the 2007 World Cup, is an abomination, shunned by locals because it’s so far out of town and disliked by the man it’s named after. I’ll never understand why the Rec could not, instead, have been lovingly restored to its former glory. Chloe Saltau is the chief cricket writer at the

The West Indies might have had criticism about their performance on tour, but they have warmed the hearts of those who have watched them

PDT Mathieson25-Feb-2013The phrase ‘mind the windows, Tino’ rung out around Edgbaston as the West Indies No. 11 strode to the middle on Sunday. In a session, Tino Best made history and nearly made more. The handsome pose he struck after a stroke (contact was irrelevant), the helmetless dash towards the team balcony on reaching 50, and the barked instructions at the senior batsman, Denesh Ramdin, showcased the joy of West Indies cricket at its best. It infected the English crowd and caused them to groan when he skied the ball to Strauss, who was the man least likely to be sporting enough to drop the catch.The West Indies might have had criticism about their performance on tour, but they have warmed the hearts of those who have watched them. Darren Sammy is one of the most likeable and liked guys in international cricket. His broad, if slightly sheepish, smile on reaching his century at Trent Bridge was shared by everyone who saw it. Everyone was appreciative of a decent attempt at what is a wildly difficult job as captain of a flailing team, done with a good mood and a frequent grin. This is the joy of cricket.Cricket is a well-loved sport. It is full of joy. Our treasured memories of the game are so relatable that we can share experiences with others anywhere in the world. The question is, have England lost this joy?They are probably the best team in the world, and easily the most professional. In 2004, Freddie Flintoff made that famous quip about Best’s stroke play, but such light moments on the field seem rare these days. Talking about their good, intense battle, Marlon Samuels said he doesn’t like Onions, not even in his food. Onions’ reply? That of a serious professional: cliché ridden and hardly uncontentious.Off the field, England often maintain this attitude, with the obvious exception of Swann and occasionally Anderson. They appear from the outside to get satisfaction out of cricket, but not joy.Best, on the other hand, lit up Edgbaston on a day where bad light stopped play twice. Majestic (and self-aware) with the bat and fiery and irresistible with the ball, the chant of ‘Tiiiiiiinooooooo’ rang out instead of an ode to local boy Ian Bell.West Indies win plenty of fans with their passion, and the character with which they play the game. On a day where play was going their way, they had a great time where England seemed indifferent, if not downtrodden. There was no ‘mind the windows, Tino’ moment, except for when the windows were actually in danger.Cricket is entertainment. As you would tell the lead in a West-End musical, “The audience has a good time if they think you’re having a good time.” Lighten up, England.

Stats highlights from England’s 247-run win in the second Test against New Zealand at Headingley

Shiva Jayaraman28-May-2013This was the 23rd series win for England against New Zealand in 34 Test series played between them. New Zealand have won only three. Eight series have ended in draws. New Zealand have now lost their third consecutive Test series in England.The 247-run margin of victory for England in this match was their biggest against New Zealand in terms of runs, not including innings-wins. England’s biggest win against New Zealand at this ground, though, was back in 1965 when they won by an innings and 187 runs.Tim Southee was Man-of-the-Series for New Zealand for the first time in his Test career, in his 17th series. Joe Root, England’s Man-of-the-Series, won the award in just his third Test series.Brendon McCullum took five catches in the first innings of this match; he now has collected five-or-more dismissals in an innings on four occasions, equalling Adam Parore’s record by a New Zealand wicketkeeper. McCullum also became only the second New Zealand wicketkeeper-captain to take five catches in an innings after Ian Smith.Alastair Cook hit his 25th Test century in England’s second innings. As England captain, Cook has scored a century on all seven occasions that he has gone past fifty. Cook has taken 6.52 innings per century, the third-least by an England player. Only Herbert Sutcliffe (5.25) and Wally Hammond (6.36) took fewer Test innings per century for England, among batsmen with at least ten Test hundreds.Graeme Swann’s 10 for 132 in this match is the first ten-wicket haul by a spinner at Headingley in over 40 years. The last ten-wicket haul by a spinner in a Test at this ground was Derek Underwood’s 10 for 82 against Australia in 1972.Graeme Swann’s five-wicket haul in New Zealand’s second innings was his first against them. He has now taken 15 five-wicket hauls in Tests – only Derek Underwood has more five-wicket hauls by a spinner for England.Trent Boult took 5 for 57 in the first innings, the second five-wicket haul of his career. His first five-wicket haul also came against England, at Auckland in March this year.Trent Boult and Neil Wagner survived 48 balls in New Zealand’s second innings without scoring a run before James Anderson broke their partnership by dismissing Boult. This is the longest, in terms of balls faced, a pair has batted without scoring a run in Tests.Martin Guptill had played 30 Tests and scored 1714 runs before playing his first Test against England, in this match.In England’s second innings, Nick Compton laboured to seven runs from 44 balls before getting out to part-time spinner Kane Williamson. His strike rate in Tests, 34.68, is the lowest among England openers who have played at least 10 Test innings since 1990.

Plays of the day from the third ODI between Sri Lanka and South Africa

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Pallakele26-Jul-2013The fireworks
Sri Lanka’s innings had progressed at a crawl from the outset, until Thisara Perera got hold of Robin Peterson and sent his figures flying into the night in a 35-run mauling. Perera began by slogging Peterson over cow corner, his bottom hand coming off in the exertion. The second legitimate ball was bludgeoned slightly squarer, but just as far, before Perera went over cow corner again for the next two deliveries, getting the second of those blows into the midst of a jubilant crowd. Peterson tried to dart the next one in, but Perera hit it straight and hard for a one-bounce boundary, before finishing the over with the biggest blow of all, over deep square leg. With a frazzled Peterson having bowled a wide somewhere in the middle, the over was the second-most expensive in ODIs, after Herschelle Gibbs’ six sixes against Netherlands.The drop
Perera had sent serious scares into the South Africa camp by lifting the score above 150 by the 38th over but the visitors may all have breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him miscue a pull off Morne Morkel, the ball lobbing gently towards Lonwabo Tsotsobe at short fine leg. Tsotsobe had little more to do than reach forward and grasp the ball but, stunningly, allowed it to slip through his fingers, keeping the match alive and the crowd exultant, for a few more overs at least.The close call
With the other two seniors dismissed, Mahela Jayawardene’s early demise would have swung the match firmly in South Africa’s direction and, were it not for one of cricket’s most puzzling quirks, the visitors might have had their man for 21. Jayawardene dragged his back foot forward to defend Peterson’s last ball of the 21st over but missed, and Quinton de Kock whipped off the bails triumphantly. When the decision went to the third umpire, Jayawardene seemed to have nothing behind the line on some replays, and was perhaps just home in others. If the convention was to rule in favour of the outcome that had more evidence supporting it, Jayawardene should have been out. But because replays left room for a little doubt, the benefit of which the batsman receives, he was allowed to continue.The hook
Having helped his side recover from early losses for much of his innings, David Miller only showcased his hitting in the final two overs of South Africa’s innings, but it was not one of his four sixes that was his best stroke. He strode out of his crease before Lasith Malinga delivered the first ball of the last over, and seeing the batsman’s approach, Malinga dug the ball in short. Miller had almost been expecting this strategy, and was on to the hook in an instant. Getting well on top of the bounce, he struck the ball hard and flat, and although a man had been placed in the deep for just that stroke, he had little hope of preventing four.