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ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2016They chose to bat on a slow pitch that didn’t lend itself to strokeplay, and were propped up by Rohit Sharma’s power-packed 70 off 65 balls•Associated PressVirat Kohli’s half-century had a bit more finesse. Though he struck only three boundaries, his 65 took only 76 balls•Associated PressWith India 190 for 2, New Zealand were looking at a daunting total to chase•AFPBut MS Dhoni fell to Mitchell Santner in the 38th over, which gave the visitors an opening to try and limit India’s inexperienced middle order•Associated PressGaining plenty of turn, Ish Sodhi dismissed Kohli in the 44th over, which tempted New Zealand’s quicks to use a lot of offcutters. India combated that well to put 269 on the board•Associated PressUmesh Yadav struck in the first over, bowling Martin Guptill•Associated PressAnd Jasprit Bumrah got rid of the in-form Tom Latham for 19•Associated PressNew Zealand were 63 for 2, hopeful of a revival, when they ran into Amit Mishra•Associated PressMishra brought all of his toys to the party – flight, dip, drift, and lots of turn•Associated PressHe finished with figures of 6-2-18-5 as New Zealand were bowled out for 79 in 23.1 overs – their shortest completed innings in ODI history. There were five ducks•Associated PressIndia took the series 3-2•Associated Press

Stats highlight from the third day’s play of the first Test between Bangladesh and Pakistan in Khulna

Shiva Jayaraman30-Apr-20157 Scores of 200 or more made by Pakistan’s openers before Hafeez in this match. The last Pakistan opener to hit a double-hundred in Tests was Taufeeq Umar, who hit 236 against Sri Lanka in 2011. This was Hafeez’s first double-hundred in Tests.204* Pakistan’s previous highest individual score against Bangladesh in Tests, which was made by Mohammad Yousuf in Chittangong in 2002. Hafeez’s 224 is now the highest, and also only the third double-hundred by a Pakistan batsman against Bangladesh.642 Runs made by Hafeez in his last three Tests, which account for 22.42% of his total career runs. He has scores of 96, 101*, 197, 24 and 224 since the start of the series against New Zealand in November last year. In 38 Tests before that he had scored 2222 runs, including five hundreds and nine fifties. Hafeez’s batting average in Tests has made a steep climb to 40.33 from 33.16 in just his last three matches. This is the first time since 2007 that Hafeez’s Test batting average has reached 40.227 Partnership between Hafeez and Azhar Ali – Pakistan’s second highest for any wicket against Bangladesh in Tests, and the second double-hundred stand between the two batsmen. They had put on a 287-run stand against Sri Lanka in 2012.5 Fifty-plus scores by Pakistan’s top order (No. 1 to No. 7) in their innings – the third instance of them making five or more fifty-plus scores in six Tests since the start of the series against Australia last year. Before that, there were only 11 such instances in 382 Tests for Pakistan.1960 The last and the only time a team had a fifty-plus stand from each of it’s first-six wickets before Pakistan in this innings. Australia had one century and five fifty stands from their first six wickets against West Indies at the Gabba.2011 The last time before this Test that Pakistan made a total of 500-plus in the first innings of a Test after fielding first. This was also against Bangladesh in Chittagong, when they declared on a score of 594 for 5.4 Number of times Pakistan have taken a first-innings lead of 200 or more runs with five or more wickets to spare including this match. The first time Pakistan achieved this was against New Zealand in 1994 in Wellington. The other three instances have all come against Bangladesh.57 Runs scored off Shakib Al Hassan by Hafeez – the second-highest he has hit off a bowler in a Test innings. Hafeez had scored 65 runs off 106 deliveries off Rangana Herath in the first innings of a Test in Colombo in 2012, which are his highest off any bowler in an innings. Hafeez had a strike rate of 85.07 against Shakib in this innings.

His technique would make a spider on skates look elegant, but how dangerous was he when it came to high-pressure chases?

Andy Zaltzman04-Mar-2014Australia are currently specialising in series of almost identical matches. The recent Ashes saw a recurring nightmare of Haddin-inspired recoveries, first-innings collapses, baggy-green second-innings thwacks, and a slide to inevitable defeat, all with Johnsonian moustaches roaring past in celebration. The monotony was broken only in the fourth Test in Melbourne, when England found a new and innovative way to lose. Albeit with many similarities, and another variation on the theme of early promise giving way to miserable annihilation. It was like a series of five particularly gloomy Rothko paintings, in which the fourth one was upside down with a willy graffitied onto it.In Australia’s current series in South Africa, three times the team batting first has taken a massive first-innings lead. In the first two Tests, a 90mph-denouement was administered by a champion paceman. South Africa, unlike England, remember at least to change which side was doing what within this pattern; unless they can stop the formula being applied again in the final two days, they will lose a series for the first time this decade.Australian habits have recurred – Johnson, obviously; critical, high-impact runs by Steve Smith; a Clarke century at a series-shaping moment; proactive declarations; Warner transmuting from a fist-flinging idiot with a seemingly endless collection of stupid things to say, into one of the most influential players in Test cricket with a seemingly endless collection of stupid things to say. And, in the third Test, we have seen once again Ryan Harris scalping the opposition captain/opener with a beauty; and one of the opposition’s most important players retiring. Perhaps Graeme Smith, like Swann, checked out of Hotel International Cricket anyway, but the way in which their games were dismantled by Australian brilliance has hastened (or at least, given the impression of hastening) their departures.The similarities may end there. Perhaps South Africa will find the resolve and luck to escape with a draw. Perhaps they could conjure a miraculous victory, especially if Clarke dangles his customary declaration carrot. Whatever happens, it is hard to imagine Hashim Amla or AB de Villiers being sacked for being too gobby. Australia have transformed the tenor and landscape of Test cricket in this 2013-14 season. If they can secure victory in the next two days, they will have obliterated the status quo, with eight Tests of occasionally vulnerable but bristlingly high-octane cricket.Smith’s retirement removes from the international game another of the towering figures of modern cricket. He has captained in a record 109 Test matches (including the pointless ICC World XI’s alleged “Test” at the SCG in 2005-06), and opened the batting in 108 of them – exactly twice as many as the highest number of Tests captained by any other opener (Mike Atherton).On an entirely personal level, I hated watching him bat. This was largely because he was irritatingly good against England, especially in England. He scored five centuries in 12 Tests here. Only one man this millennium has scored more – Dravid, who scored six, with rather more finesse and rather less rapidity. Smith’s first two were elephantine double-hundreds in 2003, when he became the second man ever to hit two 250-plus scores in a Test series. (A quick multiple choice quiz question: Who was the other? (a) Donald Bradman; (b) Monty Panesar; (c) Chris Martin; (d) Elvis; or (e) Donald Bradman. And… pencils down… The answer is (e). I will also accept (a).) As an England fan, both innings were massively irritating.He added to his catalogue of English frustration with two more decisive three-figure scores in the 2008 series – 107 in the follow-on at Lord’s to blunt England’s attack and lay the platform for an ultimately comfortable and opponent-sapping draw; and a series-winning, career-defining unbeaten 154 at Edgbaston, one of the finest innings of the millennium so far. As an England fan, both innings were massively irritating.His fifth hundred on these shores was at The Oval in the first Test of 2012. He and Amla laid the foundations for South Africa’s 637 for 2, grinding England’s previously-all-conquering bowling attack into a pulp in their wildly different styles, a good-cop-bad-cop combination that was like watching Margot Fonteyn dance with a rhinoceros. As an England fan, it was massively irritating. His record against England is the best of any Test opener of the last 50 years, and surpassed before then only by Bobby Simpson and Bruce Mitchell.He was, massively irritatingly, less dominant against the other leading Test nations of the era than he was against England, but still scored significant runs in South Africa’s two series wins in Australia, and his record outside his home country (17 centuries, average 55) stands comparison with the best in Test history.There were times when he was almost comically vulnerable to swing, as when Matthew Hoggard left him face down in Johannesburg, as if he was desperately searching for his lucky termite Nigel in a crack in the patch, whilst the umpire’s finger rose majestically skywards. As an England fan, however, these sporadic failings served only to make his triumphs against us all the more massively irritating. And all the more impressive. If Jacques Kallis was a one-man walking coaching manual, Smith often appeared to be the product of a rogue laboratory experiment to design a robot to teach young children what not to do whilst batting. Hands, arms, legs clodding off in all directions. Bat clumping down at mathematically unfeasible angles. Ball pounding the midwicket fence when it should by rights have been nestling in third slip’s hands.Despite his technique from the outer reaches of peculiarity, Smith’s extraordinary eye (he has also pouched of 169 catches, mostly at slip), and his even more extraordinary will, generally prevailed. He averaged 61 in South Africa’s Test victories, only fractionally less than Kallis, Amla and de Villiers (although, with fewer not outs, Smith scored more runs per innings in his team’s wins than any of his Protean contemporaries and most of his predecessors).He has been the undisputed statistical Caesar of the fourth-innings chase – 1141 runs (comfortably an all-time record) at an average of 87, with four centuries (Ponting, with three, is the only other player with more than two) and a total of ten scores of 50 or more (Ponting, Langer and Hayden are behind him, with seven each).As a batsman, he was cussed, dangerous, ugly and skilful, a master of the crux of a match. Yes, he batted with the elegance and refinement of a motorway pile-up. Aesthetically, for what that is worth, he was a Frankenstein’s Kirsten. But in terms of his transformatory impact on matches and series, he has been one of the great Test batsmen of the 21st century.* Graeme Smith may not be the only player bowing out of Test cricket in this match, if the lurid descriptions of Ryan Harris’ crumbling fruitcake of a knee are anything to go by. Hopefully, the wonders of modern surgery and/or some well-targeted witchcraft will ensure that this match will not mark the end of his belated Test career, but if it does prove to be so, he is likely to leave having carved an eternal statistical niche in the game. As I write (before the fourth day’s play), Harris needs one more wicket to become the first ever pace bowler to take 100 Test wickets having made his debut after his 30th birthday.Admittedly, this statistical niche is itself “niche”, and the Test-packed schedule of the last few decades has made such as achievement more likely than in earlier times, but it is still a remarkable achievement by the late-blooming, mountainously-shouldered craftsman of curve.(Previously, the closest any 30-something debutant had come to taking 100 Test scalps was Harris’ recent baggy-green predecessor Stuart Clark, with 94 wickets; few others have come close. Five spinners have done so – inter-war wristspin wizard Clarrie Grimmett, Bruce Yardley (both Australia), Dilip Doshi (India), Mohammad Rafique (Bangladesh) and Pakistan’s current tweakmaster Saeed Ajmal.) (Here endeth the stat.) (Some time after it might have ended.)Harris’ 99 wickets thus far have come at an average of 23.1. He would be the 24th Australian to reach the 100-Test-wicket milestone since Alan Davidson in 1960. The great left-armer’s average when he took his 100th was 20. Assuming Harris takes his 100th before conceding 58 more runs, he will become only the second of those 24 to reach 100 wickets with an average below 23.5. The only Australian in the last 50 years to take his first 100 Test wickets at a better average than Harris was Jason Gillespie (22.1). (Here endeth another stat.) (Are you still there?)* The ECB has announced that, in protest at Russian actions in the Ukraine, England are retroactively boycotting the 2013-14 Ashes. The unremittingly official ECB spokespersonage Harculian Javes explained: “What Putin is doing is completely unacceptable. Bang out of order. In the great tradition of politically motivated sports boycotts, therefore, we are withdrawing from the recent Ashes series, in order to send a message to Mr Putin that English cricket will not tolerate his flagrant disregard for international law. Nor would we have tolerated it last November, when the Ashes began. The series has now been ruled null and void. England therefore hold the Ashes once more. If Mr Putin does not withdraw Russian troops from Crimea immediately, we will be left with no option but to also boycott the 2006-07 Ashes. The time has come to take a stand.”

Geoff Boycott on the World T20, Kevin Pietersen, attacking captains in history, innovations likely in the game

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2012Siddhartha Talya: Hello and welcome once again to Bowl at Boycs. I’m Siddhartha Talya and speaking to me today, as usual, from his home in Jersey is Geoffrey Boycott. Morning Geoffrey. We had a compact, short but exciting tournament, the World Twenty20. Enjoyed it?Geoffrey Boycott: I watched quite a lot of the matches and I knew it would be a good tournament because it was kept on the shortish side. These tournaments can get too long and I thought it was just about right. It was interesting. I know the Sri Lankans love their cricket, and India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were favourites because in the conditions in their own countries, they are pretty good, with the slow turn and with batsmen who are good against it. I’m not surprised one of them made it to the final. In fact, they were the favourites.ST: Yes, we had a full house at the Premadasa for the final but unfortunately for them, Sri Lanka ended up on the losing side. Our first question is about the World Twenty20, it’s from Jason, a happy West Indian writing from Guyana. He asks: What next for West Indies cricket? Their fans have been starved of success for many years. Where do you see the game going from here in the Caribbean? Surely, West Indies winning was a great result for the game.GB: Jason, you are spot on. But I think we’re all pleased for cricket that a side like West Indies, which has been down in the doldrums a bit, has won. Their Test cricket has been pretty ordinary in recent times. It hasn’t been great probably over the last ten years. West Indies cricket needed a boost and it’s got it. If it gets kids playing cricket more, because they see West Indies as world champions of T20 cricket, then that’s great. If more kids take it up, that’s fantastic.I played Test cricket mainly, not a lot of one-day cricket. I’m not one of those who think cricket’s just about Tests. In my opinion, if the youngsters of the West Indies see T20 and 50-over cricket as the cricket that they want to play in the future rather than Tests, in some ways it’s a little bit sad but in another way, who cares. Above all, we want youngsters to start playing cricket. We want to see them enjoying the game, playing it, loving it, just like we used to as kids, instead of sitting watching television or being on computers all the time. We should never be picky about what type of cricket is played.If you think back, when I was a kid, the first cricket I ever played was 20-over cricket. We didn’t have time to play a Test match. It was a 20-over competition where a guy kept wicket and all the rest of us could bowl two overs each, which was brilliant because it got every kid in the game. The wicketkeeper’s in the game all the time, and if you don’t bowl first, you know eventually you’re going to get your two overs. So it really was a team game where you all had to have a bowl, and then you had to retire after you made 25 runs.It’s a brilliant idea because the big thing about kids playing cricket is that you get two or three who are really good and they hog the bowling and hog the batting, and all some kids do is watch them bat and bowl and just field. There’s no fun involved. You have to get kids involved.And now, these West Indian kids, all over the islands, they’ve got heroes they can look up to. They’ve got heroes they can want to emulate. That’s what we’re all about. The guy I liked when I was a kid was Tom Graveney, the great English batsman with 120-odd hundreds. Now they’ve got guys who can hit the ball, play great T20 cricket. They’ve seen West Indies win, they’ve seen it on TV and they can rightly now say: West Indies are champions of the world in T20, and they’re the best. That’s what matters. All West Indies will rejoice and, hopefully, kids will want to get out there and hope to play 20-over cricket like some of their heroes.ST: So much at one point seemed to depend on Chris Gayle, Geoffrey, but other players have come to the fore as well. Marlon Samuels won them the final…GB: Samuels was brilliant throughout the tournament. He’s always had talent, if you go back a long time. When he was kid, I used to commentate a lot in the West Indies like I used to commentate in India. He was a brilliant youngster. Then, somewhere, he lost his way but he’s come back again. Look at Dwayne Bravo. When fit, he is a wonderful allrounder. Maybe he didn’t have exceptional performances in this tournament, but he’s a fantastic player. Then there’s their spinner, Sunil Narine. They’ve got enough people to look out for, to like and look up to and want to emulate. That’s what it’s about. You just want heroes. That’s why I think it’s so important that the national game of each country is seen, in that country on television, for the kids to see their heroes and the national team.ST: There’s been some resolution in England cricket and related to that is a question from Noel in the UK. He says: Kevin Pietersen’s back in the England fold, but there are now claims by the ECB that he was provoked by South African players into sending those messages that led to them being dropped. Cricket South Africa has denied this, but the saga seems to be continuing in the background. What do you make of all this?GB: How do you provoke someone? Sorry, I don’t believe it, but how do you provoke someone to send a text? In fact, I ask the question: Why are you texting the opposition? I don’t get it. You are playing against the opposition. You are playing against South Africa, I don’t care if you were born there. The opposition aren’t your friends when you’re playing against them. I’m not saying they’re your enemies, but they are your opponents. They want to knock you out, they want to get you out.It’s not as if South Africa treated him really well when he was there. He was sacked, remember, when he played for Natal, because they thought he wasn’t good enough. I’m sure that didn’t go down too well, it never has. And when he first played for England, against South Africa in South Africa, he got boos and cat-calls and terrible things were being shouted by the public. I was there watching. I think he played brilliantly, he got three hundreds in the one-dayers. And certain South African players, one was the captain of South Africa, would give him a real earful or mouthful when he was batting. So, when he first played against South Africa, they weren’t very nice to him. They were not his friends.I do think it’s possible, as we move on and he plays, he’s played in the IPL in other countries… when you play in the IPL in India, you play with people from other countries in your team. So you get on with them much more as team members, because then you have to treat them as your colleagues. With so many international one-day tournaments around the world, I do get it that, particularly in the IPL, that players from other countries are going to become friendlier. And you can become team-mates at that moment when you’re playing, in another country, in a different team.But, surely, when you come back and play for your country, your national side, against somebody else, you don’t fraternise much. Certainly, you don’t share anything to do with cricket. If you met them socially at a function or a bar, you would say hello and what have you and have a drink but you don’t fraternise about the cricket there, you’re on opposite sides. Most cricketers would say, “Yes, I know him, I get on with him, a beer just now and again, but I keep it at arm’s length. I’m actually on the other side.” I really don’t believe he was provoked and I don’t believe how you can provoke somebody, not into saying something that’s not nice about the England captain.Remember, he did apologise about what he said about the England captain. He apologised to the England captain. He apologised to cricket lovers in England, to the officials of the ECB. If you apologise, you apologise because you’ve done something wrong. Whatever it is, you can all speculate, but he must have done something, else there’s no point in him apologising.ST: Next up is a question about captaincy and it comes from Mr Ramki in India. He says: Douglas Jardine was known to be an aggressive captain, so was [Mansur Ali Khan] Pataudi. Who are some of the modern captains in recent times that you thought have stood out for their attacking captaincy? Can you think of someone who didn’t have the strongest of teams, but remained attacking against the best of sides?GB: It’s a good question, Ramki. Look, it’s very easy to captain a great side. Look at West Indies, and that’s not putting Clive Lloyd down, I love him to bits. I’ve played a lot against him – Yorkshire v Lancashire, England v West Indies. With respect, Clive did a brilliant job, but they were a brilliant side, weren’t they? But you’re not asking me that sort of question.Somebody like Ian Chappell. He took over in the last Test match, when England were winning the Ashes, and they did win it, in 1970-71. He took over in the last Test, which we won in Sydney. That’s the Test I couldn’t play; I broke my arm a few days before, hit by a Graham McKenzie ball. He took them over, came to England in 1972, they drew with England. He took them to the West Indies after that, and they beat West Indies there. That was when [Dennis] Lillee broke down, in ’72 in the first Test. He didn’t take a wicket, broke down with his back. He had bowlers like Jeff Hammond, who was a decent fast bowler but played one or two Tests, Max Walker, decent medium-pacer and a good bowler, Max, and Kerry O’Keefe and Terry Jenner, the legspinners. Again, they were decent bowlers but not in the great class of Shane Warne. So he [Chappell] didn’t have anybody there that was great as bowlers and they beat West Indies 2-0.

“If you apologise, you apologise because you’ve done something wrong. Whatever it is, you can all speculate, but he must have done something, else there’s no point in him apologising”

That was a pretty good performance, and they played against the Rest of the World as well. He did well there against a really talented side. The guy had something. He was a good batsman as well, was a positive captain and could lead his players.Brian Close, for me, did great, in 1966 in England. Colin Cowdrey, being captain of England, we’d lost three Test matches out of four. West Indies were 3-0 up, one Test left, they gave Close the captaincy for the last Test at The Oval. Everybody was down a bit, we’d been beaten handsomely, they were a far better side with [Garry] Sobers at his best, a great player and others like [Rohan] Kanhai. There were five changes, changes he wanted. His attitude, right from the first time we met up the day before for nets, for a team meeting, he just believed we could win. Forget about the other Test matches, he said. Forget about the fact that Sobers was the best player in the world, “We can get him out.” He just talked very sensibly about it, and we won handsomely. We really did win and that was a splendid effort.Any question on captaincy for me, Imran Khan is my favourite, always. Everything he did, nearly always, trying for wickets… when he had the legspinner Abdul Qadir, he really didn’t like to bowl him negatively, tried to bowl him to get wickets all the time. And quite frankly, he had to be so strong, aggressive and positive because anybody who’s having to handle a Pakistan team is going to have to act like God. That is probably the toughest job in world cricket. When you get the job in Pakistan – they’re so headstrong are many of the players, so many ex-players try to interfere, there’s political interference from ministers and people – that’s the most nightmare scenario to captain in Pakistan. I thought at the time he did it, he was absolutely and unbelievably brilliant.ST: Many Indians would like to know what you think of Sourav Ganguly’s captaincy. He had a good team, but he took over after the match-fixing controversy and Indian cricket was in some turmoil at that point in time. He’s been credited with reversing the fortunes of the Indian team, so what do you make of him?GB: You are right there. But I have to be careful mentioning Sourav because I deem him one of my best friends, like Sunny Gavaskar. I love him dearly. I think he did a fantastic job. People sometimes criticise him but I like him. There are miles more plusses in Sourav than there are minuses. None of us are perfect. We’ve all made mistakes.Sourav did a brilliant job, and he did it without throwing his weight around. I always feel that with Indian people and players, you get more out of them with honey and sugar than you will with the stick and the carrot. Shouting at them and getting mad at them doesn’t really work. You’ve got to use some commonsense, honey and sugar, I call it. He pulled them all together, showed he wasn’t frightened of anybody else in the world as a captain. He was a good player without being one of the greats. He’d got [Rahul] Dravid and [Sachin] Tendulkar, who was magic at that time, [VVS] Laxman, who is a dream player. So he did have some very, very talented batsmen. Bowling – so-so, not bad, but he didn’t have anything special. What he did was pull it all together in a way in which he showed great leadership qualities. That’s the key.Sometimes, you get people who get thrust into a job. Maybe they want the job, maybe it just happens. And they themselves don’t know if they’re going to be good at it. They hope they will be. We just had one, Andrew Strauss. Tactically, I don’t think he’s very good. I don’t think he’s ever been great at that. I can think of many people [who were]: Mark Taylor of Australia was brilliant, Ian Chappell got close, [Ray] Illingworth, [Mike] Brearely, Imran Khan, miles better. But when he got the job, he had the ability to get the best out of the players. They wanted to play for him, they didn’t want to let him down. Now, that’s a gift. If you get players who don’t want to let the captain down, they want to do the best, that means they’re going to get the best out of themselves and the team’s getting the best out of them. That’s a gift, you don’t always know until it’s thrust on you.Sourav was like that. He wasn’t the best player, by a long way. Not with Tendulkar, Dravid and Laxman in the side. But he had this ability to pull people together and he did a fantastic job.ST: Geoffrey’s favourite question this show comes from Ketul in Hong Kong. He says: I saw a couple of spin bowlers stopping before delivering the ball, on occasion, in the World Twenty20. One is R Ashwin, the other is Mohammad Hafeez. It breaks the batsman’s concentration. Is it the right thing to do, or is it the same, in a way, as a batsman shuffling back and forth before a ball is delivered to play on a bowler’s mind?GB: Well done Ketul, you’ve been watching very carefully. You’re right. What’s the difference between a batsman changing his stance or grip, to play the reverse-sweep or the reverse-hit. Not a lot, is there? You’re right. Nobody stops the batsman from moving around in the crease when he’s trying to upset the bowler. What about when you charge the bowler? When somebody suddenly charges down at him just as he’s going to deliver.Ian Chappell: “The guy had something”•Getty ImagesAnything that gets the bowler or batsman the advantage, and it’s not against the law or spirit of the game, in my opinion is okay. We have to remember that throughout history, cricket has always changed. It’s not stayed the same for 200 years. Only a few years ago, nobody ever thought of the reverse-sweep or the reverse-hit. Or even the scoop. So you can’t play these shots unless you move before the bowler bowls. If you wait for him to deliver, it’s too late to get in position to do it, so you’ve got to be premeditating it.Spinners used to bowl orthodox, didn’t they? And all they had, which was something different, was an arm ball. But now, there are so many bowlers, from different countries, all over the world, who can bowl the . So that’s been the big development. Batting, bowling, they’ve always developed.So maybe the next development is bowlers, like you’ve seen, changing their run-up, stopping, then starting, to put the batsman off. Think of it as football. What happens in football when you see some people take a penalty? They run a yard or two, they stop, see if the goalkeeper’s going to dive one way and then just pop it into the side quite easily, don’t they? Maybe we’ll see more bowlers doing a, sort of, swerve in the middle, or trying to weave into the middle of the run-up, instead of running straight, just get behind the umpire and spoil the view of the batsman of the bowler running up. There’s nothing in the laws that says you can’t do that, is there? He loses sight of you a fraction, then you come in to deliver. If that upsets the batsman, too bad. It’s up to him to deal with it.Do you remember Jeff Thomson when he first came on the scene? When he bowled, his right arm, which held the ball, went back and it hid behind his body. Normally, when the arm comes over, you can see the ball coming all the way coming round to deliver it. Thomson had this slinging action where the arm, catapult like, went behind the body and you couldn’t see it. Some batsmen – not all – found that distracting. And different. But it wasn’t illegal. It wasn’t wrong. It was his natural way of bowling. And again, there’ll be things that will come along that we haven’t even thought of.It’s a good question Ketul, but you want to think what’s going to be the next thing that’s going to happen in cricket. Not the scoop, we’ve got that, not the reverse-sweep or the reverse-hit. Not the doosra. What is going to be the next thing? I think it’s going to be like that, that for a fraction of a second, the batsman will lose sight of the bowler running up. But whatever happens, there’ll always be new developments and the key is to be the first on the block with it. That’s the key, because then you bamboozle people.I can’t think of what’s going to happen in the next ten or 20 years, but believe me, there’d be things happening in cricket that I’d never thought of. That’s why I’m saying to Ketul and anybody listening: Cast your mind, try and think what you think is going to happen. What do you think is going to happen in cricket? What’s going to be unorthodox, what’s going to be different? There will be new developments, and if you are one of the first to think of it, do something and do it good, you’ll become a superstar at cricket.ST: That’s something to ponder over Ketul. Thanks a lot for your time, Geoffrey.Send your questions to Geoffrey Boycott by clicking here

The deficiency in the pace stocks, especially after the injuries to Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram, has hurt Chennai’s campaign severely

Cricinfo staff25-Mar-2010During the IPL auction this year, Chennai Super Kings wanted to buy a fast bowler but failed to pursue their targets with the single-minded determination necessary to land a big catch. After losing allrounder Kieron Pollard to Mumbai Indians during the silent tiebreaker, Chennai bid aggressively for Shane Bond but dropped out of the race once the price passed $600,000. They then pursued the West Indian quick Kemar Roach, bidding higher than they had for Bond, but let Deccan Chargers have him for $720,000. They did not chase Wayne Parnell.The deficiency in the fast-bowling stocks as a result of those failed bids, especially after the injuries to Andrew Flintoff and Jacob Oram, has hurt Chennai’s campaign severely. The franchise reportedly rated the best in the IPL in terms of brand value doesn’t possess one of game’s best match-winners – a genuine fast bowler.Today, Chennai’s attack was led by Albie Morkel. Bangalore’s Dale Steyn spearheads the bowling for South Africa, Kolkata’s Bond opens for New Zealand, Mumbai’s Zaheer Khan leads India’s attack, Delhi’s Dirk Nannes and Rajasthan’s Shaun Tait do the job for Australia, and Deccan’s Chaminda Vaas was Sri Lanka’s new-ball expert for years. Morkel, the tall South African, is usually first or second change for his national side.Morkel has failed to make much of an impact with only four wickets in six matches. He’s been given the new ball but has often finished a first spell without denting the opposition’s batting order. His control has been good but that amounts to little without wickets, especially when there’s not much firepower to come. It would be unfair to pin it on Morkel, though, for he isn’t a natural strike bowler. Circumstances have made Chennai give him that responsibility.Most of the other franchises have a support cast of international quality fast bowlers as well. Mumbai, for example, had Lasith Malinga, Dwayne Bravo, Pollard and Ryan McLaren. Chennai possess the gentle medium-pace of L Balaji and Joginder Sharma, both easy prey for batsmen intent on attack. They have Makhaya Ntini on the bench but his form in recent months has been poor and he hasn’t got a game yet. There are no other reserves.The Indian bowlers sharing the new ball with Morkel are Balaji, Sudeep Tyagi and Manpreet Gony. Balaji has the ability to produce variations that can take batsmen by surprise but his accuracy is poor. Tyagi is still raw and, despite an encouraging performance in Bangalore, is a work in progress. Despite spending time in the Indian dressing room over the last six months, Tyagi hasn’t put those lessons into practice in the middle. Gony blows hot and cold.MS Dhoni acknowledged bowling was an area of concern, with the tournament approaching the halfway stage and Chennai having lost four out of six games. “We are lacking confidence in the bowling department,” Dhoni said after the defeat to Mumbai.But he did not agree that a tearaway quick would solve his team’s problems. “It is not just about pace. Because if that was the case, Shaun Tait would’ve been doing really well and Chaminda Vaas wouldn’t have been taking wickets.” Fair point, but he would love to have the option of a Tait to try and rattle the opposition openers.

All you need to know about Portugal's squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup

Portugal are going to be an interesting team to watch at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The Cristiano Ronaldo-led side recently won their second Nations League title and are currently one of the strongest teams in Europe, despite having slightly less squad depth compared to other European powerhouses like England and France.

They are yet to win the coveted World Cup title, and this might very well be the last chance for the legendary Cristiano Ronaldo to achieve that dream for his nation.

Alongside the veteran forward, Portugal have a well-balanced squad with quality players across every department.

Another emotional element tied to Portugal’s World Cup campaign next year is the tragic passing of forward Diogo Jota. The news of Jota’s death came as a shock to the footballing world. He was only 28 and had recently celebrated a Premier League title with Liverpool as well as a Nations League triumph with Portugal.

It has been a difficult loss to accept for the entire football community, especially his teammates. His absence may serve as extra motivation for the Portuguese side, who will be determined to give their all and lift the trophy in his memory.

• (C)Getty Images
  

  Goalkeepers

  Portugal are well covered in the goalkeeping department, with Porto's Diogo Costa leading the charge as the front-runner to start at the showpiece event next year. Costa was integral to Portugal's 2025 success in the Nations League, making several crucial saves throughout the tournament. His composure, shot-stopping ability, and confidence with the ball at his feet make him a reliable presence between the posts.

  Meanwhile, Jose Sa remains an excellent backup option. The Wolves keeper has consistently performed at a high level in the Premier League and could prove valuable for Robert Martinez’s side

  Player	Club
  Diogo Costa	Porto
  Jose Sa	Wolves
  Rui Silva	Sporting CP
  Rui Patricio	Atalanta

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• AFP
  

  Defenders

  Defensively, Portugal have a sound and well-balanced setup. The center-back duo of Ruben Dias and Goncalo Inacio has performed consistently for Robert Martinez's side. In the wider areas, Portugal are blessed with one of the top talents in world football right now – Nuno Mendes.

  The young PSG star has been exceptional for both club and country, playing as a left-back. Mendes was a key figure in PSG's treble-winning campaign in the 2024-25 season and also for the Portuguese in the Nations League. On the right, both Diogo Dalot and Nelson Semedo are excellent choices and have been performing consistently for their respective clubs in the Premier League.

  Manchester City's Matheus Nunes is also an interesting choice to be played on the right. Although not a traditional right-back, Nunes has played solidly for the Premier League side. Antonio Silva and Tomas Araujo of Benfica are also valuable assets and could make the final cut.

  Player	Club
  Nuno Mendes	PSG
  Ruben Dias	Manchester City
  Mathues Nunes	Manchester City
  Diogo Dalot	Manchester United
  Goncalo Inacio	Sporting CP
  Nelson Semedo	Wolves
  Joao Cancelo	Al Hilal
  Nuno Tavares	Lazio
  Renato Veiga	Chelsea
  Tomas Araujo	Benfica
  Francisco Moura	Porto
  Toti Gomes	Wolves
  Joao Mario	Porto
  Antonio Silva	Benfica

• (C)Getty Images
  

  Midfielders

  Similar to the backline, Portugal are well covered in the midfield region. Joao Neves and Vitinha have been at the top of their game playing for PSG in Ligue 1 and, similar to Nuno Mendes, played instrumental roles in PSG's treble-winning campaign.

  Meanwhile, Premier League stars Bernardo Silva and Bruno Fernandes have been consistent performers for their respective Manchester sides. Bruno, especially, has been the only beacon of hope during the recent tough times at Old Trafford.

  Ruben Neves has also been key, playing for the Al Hilal superteam in the Saudi Pro League. PSG's Renato Sanches seems to have found his footing during his loan spell with Benfica and could play a part in Martinez's side. Back in 2016, Sanches played a big role in Portugal's Euros triumph; however, the youngster’s career has been on a downward spiral since then.

  Player	Club
  Joao Neves	PSG
  Vitinha	PSG
  Bernardo Silva	Manchester City
  Joao Palhinha	Bayern Munich
  Pedro Goncalves	Sporting CP
  Bruno Fernandes	Manchester United
  Ruben Neves	Al Hilal
  Andre Gomes	Lille
  Renato Sanches	PSG
  Dario Essugo	Chelsea

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  Attackers

  In attack, Portugal will be highly motivated by the presence of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese superstar will be 41 by the time the World Cup arrives.

  Although he is no longer in his prime, Ronaldo outscored everyone to finish as the top scorer of the Nations League, helping Portugal lift the title. Having already won the Euros in 2016, the World Cup remains the only major trophy that has eluded the iconic number 7, and he will not be alone in his quest to clinch the gold.

  Serie A forwards Rafael Leao and Francisco Conceicao have also been in great form and will carry huge responsibilities in the attacking third alongside Ronaldo. Francisco Trincao has been performing exceptionally for Sporting in the Primeira Liga and could be in Martinez’s plans for the World Cup.

  The likes of Pedro Neto and Goncalo Ramos are also solid options for Martinez to consider.

  Player	Club
  Cristiano Ronaldo	Al Nassr
  Rafael Leao	AC Milan
  Goncalo Ramos	PSG
  Francisco Trincao	Sporting CP
  Joao Felix	Chelsea
  Goncalo Guedes	Wolves
  Fabio Silva	Wolves
  Fabio Carvalho	Brentford
  Geovany Quenda	Chelsea
  Pedro Neto	Chelsea
  Francisco Conceicao	Juventus

Eight single figure scores in his last 11 innings the catalyst as NSW face South Australia in the final Sheffield Shield round trying to avoid a winless season

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Mar-2023

New South Wales have made the bold decision to drop their captain and two-Test batter Kurtis Patterson from their Sheffield Shield team for the final match of the season against South Australia as the Blues try and avoid a winless season.Since starting the Shield season with scores of 72 not out, 3, 40, 25 and 122 not out, Patterson has scored just 155 runs at an average of 14.09 in his last 11 innings with one half-century. Eight of those scores have been single figures including 1 and 9 in NSW’s last Shield loss to Victoria in Albury.Stand-in coach Greg Shipperd, who took over from Phil Jaques in late November after the former Test opener was sacked following a horror start to the season, made the bold decision to drop Patterson alongside the NSW chairman of selectors and head of male cricket Michael Klinger.”Our batting group have been inconsistent recently in delivering the runs necessary to establish the match positions we were looking for,” Shipperd said.”We recognise it is a difficult decision to pass on your captain but we are confident Kurtis will regather and draw purpose from this call into the future.”It was decided to support consistent and inform batters in this season’s last fixture, with the currency being runs.”Moises Henriques will stand in as captain for the match against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval.The Blues look set to make five changes. Blake Nikitaris has also been dropped while Trent Copeland has retired. Daniel Hughes has a calf injury and Liam Hatcher is out with a foot issue.Jason Sangha, Ryan Hackney, Ryan Hadley and Ben Dwarshuis have been included in the squad while last week’s 12th man Blake MacDonald is in-line to make his Shield debut.Shipperd emphasised the selection changes were based on performance at the lower levels.”Ryan Hackney has been in the Blues team previously and has averaged over 65 in Second Xl this season,” Shipperd said.”Blake MacDonald was in the squad with us for the last match, although he didn’t play. He has had a phenomenal summer, scoring consecutive Second Xl centuries for ACT / NSW Country as well as 177 not out against the touring West Indies side. This week in the match between NSW Metro and NSW/ACT Country he scored in the 90’s twice.”He was given feedback earlier in the season and asked to score more runs and he has more than done that. Those two guys completely demanded selection.”Similarly, Jason Sangha was left out of our last match and went away and scored plenty of runs in this week’s Second Xl match.”Ryan Hadley is another who has put the form on the board with an extremely dominant Premier Cricket season.”NSW Shield squad vs South Australia: Ollie Davies, Ben Dwarshuis, Jack Edwards, Matthew Gilkes, Chris Green, Ryan Hackney, Ryan Hadley, Moises Henriques (c), Hayden Kerr, Blake MacDonald, Jason Sangha, Chris Tremain

MatériaMais Notícias

Após vencer o Madureira, o Botafogo terá pela frente seu primeiro grande desafio na temporada contra um rival do estado. Neste domingo, o Glorioso mede forças com o Fluminense, às 18h, no Maracanã, pela quinta rodada do Campeonato Carioca. Com isso, o clube divulgou a lista de relacionados para a partida com os mesmos 23 jogadores, que estiveram aptos a enfrentar o Tricolor Suburbano, na última quinta.

+ Veja novidade do Botafogo no mercado da bola

Contudo, a tendência é que Luís Castro escale o time titular e coloque em campo o que tem de melhor à disposição no momento. Vale lembrar que na quinta o treinador optou por dar rodagem ao elenco e utilizou os reservas.

RelacionadasBotafogoBotafogo se mobiliza para primeiro teste mais firme de sua equipe principal em 2023Botafogo27/01/2023BotafogoBotafogo abre vendas para confronto com Nova Iguaçu. Saiba valores e onde comprar!Botafogo27/01/2023BotafogoPiazon reconhece incômodo por cobranças da torcida do Botafogo e projeta clássico contra o FluminenseBotafogo27/01/2023

O comandante terá a mesma lista de desfalques da última partida. São os seguintes atletas:Jeffinho e Lucas Fernandes (lesionados), Joel Carli (em tratamento), Kayque, Eduardo e Gatito Fernández (recuperação de cirurgia) seguem como desfalques no Glorioso.

+ Confira e simule a tabela do Campeonato Carioca

Com seis pontos, a equipe ocupa a quinta colocação do Estadual, porém tem um jogo a menos que seus adversários. O clássico contra o Vasco foi adiado para o dia 16 de fevereiro a pedido do mandante e deve ser disputado no Maracanã, visto que o Consórcio aceitou o pedido do Gigante da Colina.

Confira os relacionados:
​
Goleiros: Douglas Borges e Lucas Perri

Zagueiros: Adryelson, Philipe Sampaio, Segovia e Victor Cuesta

Laterais: Daniel Borges, Hugo, Marçal e Rafael

Volantes: Danilo Barbosa, JP Galvão, Marlon Freitas, Patrick de Paula e Tchê Tchê

Meias: Gabriel Pires e Lucas Piazon

Atacantes: Carlos Alberto, Gustavo Sauer, Luis Henrique, Matheus Nascimento, Tiquinho Soares e Victor Sá

Atletas relacionados para o jogo com o Fluminense. 📄⭐️ #VamosBOTAFOGO pic.twitter.com/iCrkgaBPvd

— Botafogo F.R. (@Botafogo) January 28, 2023

ESPN analysts Gomez and Shaka Hislop offered contrasting perspectives on the American striker’s potential move to the Bundesliga

Hislop believes Sargent needs to become more clinicalBaffled by striker's limited USMNT appearancesGomez says relegation likely humbled SargentGetty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED

Shaka Hislop addressed Josh Sargent's potential transfer to Wolfsburg, questioning whether the American possesses the clinical finishing required at Bundesliga level. The former Premier League goalkeeper said that a possible return to Germany represents a step up that will demand greater efficiency.

“It's a different ask for Sargent at Wolfsburg,” Hislop said on the Futbol Americas podcast. “First of all Wolfsburg, mid-table in the Bundesliga, looking for that out-and-out striker. I still wonder if he's a clinical enough finisher because, while we're talking about numbers for Norwich City, they are good numbers without being great numbers, largely, in the Championship.

“Now he's a step up into the Bundesliga, a league that he knows well – and yeah, granted he left four years ago. He was 21 years old. That's a big ask for somebody that young to make any kind of a significant impact and now he's more experienced. He knows his game better… Josh Sargent though, to be a success at Wolfsburg, I think has got to be a more clinical finisher than we've seen at Norwich. He does that. I think he has an impact."

AdvertisementWHAT HERCULEZ GOMEZ SAID

Herculez Gomez suggested it would be a "a great move going back to the Bundesliga" for the American forward.

“Josh Sargent’s player development was club soccer in the United States And after a U17 World Cup, jumped to the Bundesliga and had that type of awakening," Gomez said. "And from there, he was purchased to the Premier League. And he did not do well in the Premier League, but in not doing well in the Premier League, he found time to be humbled in the correct way.

“Not that he was arrogant or anything, but it'll humble you when you get relegated. Did the right things going forward to be the man in Norwich. In the last few seasons, he's been one of their best players if not their best, clearly, their best goalscorer… while he could be more clinical at times, he's added so much to that arsenal."

However, the former national team player questioned why Sargent has struggled for the USMNT.

“For whatever reason, when the national team comes calling, he doesn’t make trip, he's injured, you get sick, whatever the case may be," he said. "He needs something if he wants a repeat of being the starting forward like he was in Qatar, if he wants another chance at a World Cup, to be a prominent player. I see the tools there and I see an open field. If you think of the nine position, there is nobody right now that has their hand raised that says ‘I'm healthy. I'm scoring goals, this position's mine and it's going to stay mine’.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Josh Sargent currently plays for Norwich City but is reportedly set to sign for Wolfsburg for a fee of €21 million – although the two parties are still, reportedly, in negotiations.

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Getty Images SportWHAT’S NEXT?

Sargent was not included on the USMNT's Gold Cup roster, something coach Mauricio Pochettino called a "football decision." He will be hoping to be in contention for a spot on the 2026 World Cup roster.

West Indies 191 for 6 (Carty 50, Jacks 3-22) beat England 206 for 9 (Duckett 71, Forde 3-29, Joseph 3-61) by four wickets (DLS method)West Indies secured a long-awaited 2-1 series win over England with victory by four wickets in the third ODI in BarbadosNot since 2007 had they enjoyed a 50-over success against England, who themselves craved a positive result here to move on from their abject title defence at the World Cup. West Indies, who failed to make it to India after falling in the qualifier, also registered their first bilateral win against a Full Member nation in more than two-and-a-half years.It was a largely torturous affair after rain that delayed the start by two hours and then interrupted England’s innings, which began as a 43-over affair before morphing into a 40-over one. The tourists scraped 206 for 9 before another delay, which left West Indies needing 188 from 34 overs, a target they achieved with 14 balls to spare.Debutant Matthew Forde set things in motion in front of his home crowd, taking 3 for 29 to reduce England to 49 for 5 inside 10 overs. Keacy Carty then showed his class with a second career half-century, after making 16 and a duck in his first two knocks of the series, before Romario Shepherd repeated his 28-ball cameo from Antigua, scoring an unbeaten 41 this time to take them over the line.For England and Jos Buttler, who lost the toss and returned a first-ball duck, it was another blow to wear in what has been a harrowing winter for the ODI set-up. That being said, they were favourites on the home stretch, thanks to a fine spell of 3 for 22 from Will Jacks. The Surrey opener helped level the series with 73 in the second ODI and looked to be turning things with his offspin. Having not been utilised in the field during the first match, he was able to return career-best List A figures.After sharing the honours in the two opening exchanges in Antigua, this showdown in Barbados was supposed to provide an opportunity for both teams to secure a nourishing series win.Having dealt with unchanged line-ups for the first two ODIs, a single tweak was made to each XI. England were pushed into action with illness ruling out Brydon Carse, giving his Durham team-mate Matthew Potts a fourth ODI cap. West Indies, however, opted for a tactical shift in rotating out Oshane Thomas for Forde.The 21-year-old needed just 25 balls to pick up his first three wickets, utilising the moisture in the air and extra life in the pitch to give himself a day to remember. Playing in just his 13th List A match, Forde was entrusted to open the bowling and repaid Shai Hope’s faith by prising out Phil Salt at the end of the first over for his maiden dismissal.Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone put on an 88-run stand•Getty Images

Salt was typically bullish, flaying the second delivery over point for four, but botched a drive to Alzarri Joseph at mid-off whose catch passed the sniff test after the umpires sent it upstairs to check it was clean. Bounce then did for Zak Crawley, attempting to leave outside off stump only for the ball to lift and kiss the glove for a dolly to Alick Athanaze at second slip.The best of the opening trio was the removal of Jacks. Forde angled one into the right-hander which held its line enough on pitching to skim Jacks’ edge through to Hope, making it 45 for 3 at the start of the ninth over – the last of the first powerplay with the revised playing conditions.Things went from bad to comical for England in the next over. Joseph was brought into the attack for the 10th and was loose enough to field his second delivery into the leg side before throwing down the non-striker’s end stumps after Harry Brook had tipped and run for an ambitious single. Two balls later, Buttler was walking off for a golden duck having top-edged a well-directed short ball from Joseph to Gudakesh Motie down at fine leg.And so came an all-too-familiar sense of dread from an English perspective. As impressively as Forde had begun, the situation was reminiscent of the various moments of disarray England had found themselves in during the 2023 World Cup, with a few new faces.It was one of those new faces in Ben Duckett who set about the rebuild. Having arrived on the scene in the third over – England were only two down by then – he was an engaging presence at the crease even amid the decline at the other end.Both he and Liam Livingstone set about ticking over, safe in the knowledge that Forde’s six overs meant they would not be seeing him for a while. They knocked about spinners Motie and Yannic Cariah with ease – the latter guided through point for the single to take Duckett to his fourth ODI score of 50 or more, from 56 deliveries.The the pair exchanged sixes to score 17 from the 22nd over, delivered by Joseph. Duckett’s, the first of the innings, came over fine leg before Livingstone heaved over midwicket. The tide seemed to be turning, particularly when Livingstone was given a life on 31 when Carty shelled a straightforward high catch out at deep square leg after an unnecessary hack across the line.That should have been a learning experience for the Lancashire allrounder. But he fell on 45 to an even worse shot, clothing to mid-on when trying to clear the straight boundary. A dismissal made all the worse coming 17 balls after Duckett had unwittingly prodded to midwicket to end his impressive resistance, and the sixth-wicket stand on 88.Sam Curran and Rehan Ahmed took the score to 161 for 7 after 33 overs before more rain lopped off three further overs, putting the onus on the tail to pitch in. Joseph profited, Rehan scuffing a rising delivery through to Hope, then Curran skewing a shorter, slower delivery out to Motie at deep third. But Atkinson and Potts were able to find 35 unbeaten runs between them to take England to 206. They would have had to settle for 190 had Carty not dropped his second catch of the innings when Potts chipped to him at cover.Keacy Carty acknowledges his half-century•AFP/Getty Images

Atkinson carried that responsibility over the elongated innings break and into his work with the ball, striking with his second delivery as Brandon King crunched a drive straight to Jacks at cover. Athanaze and Carty then set about a run-a-ball stand of 76 which seemed to take the sting out of the chase.Athanaze was back in the groove that allowed him to strum a classy 66 in the first ODI, driving everything overpitched, occasionally dealing with flourishes to pick boundaries through the leg side. When a googly from Rehan passed his edge and clipped off stump through to Buttler’s gloves without dislodging a bail, you wondered if the left-hander would see things through to the end.Alas, he would be yorked by Atkinson for 44, having added just one more run, and that triggered a four-wicket collapse for just 44. Hope, the only centurion of the series after his first ODI heroics, was seen off for 15 after turning Rehan to Potts at midwicket. Shimron Hetmyer cut straight to point off Jacks, who then had Sherfane Rutherford caught at long-on.As the required rate ticked above six-an-over, the onus was on the new batter, Shepherd. Initially, his role was to play second fiddle to Carty, who brought up a half-century from 56 deliveries. Two balls later, Carty danced down and bunted a return catch to Jacks for his third wicket, shifting the focus squarely on Shepherd. And he delivered.His first six was a towering effort off Rehan that just cleared Crawley at long-on. Numbers two and three came in successive deliveries at the start of Atkinson’s sixth over – the most expensive of the match at 24 – both off full tosses. Forde chipped in with a flick around the corner for his first boundary, before Shepherd closed it out with a powerful straight strike all along the floor to leave just nine needed from the final 18 deliveries.With the help of five wides from Livingstone, they would come in the next four legal deliveries, with Shepherd securing the moment of glory with a fine sweep for his sixth and final boundary.