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Kamindu Mendis can bowl orthodox left-arm spin. He can bowl right-arm offspin as well. He is also a handy batsman. And his unique skills were on show against Pakistan in Mirpur

Vishal Dikshit in Mirpur03-Feb-2016On the first ball of the 18th over in Sri Lanka Under-19s’ chase against Pakistan Under-19s, in Mirpur, left-handed batsman Kamindu Mendis attempted a reverse sweep off left-arm spinner Ahmad Shafiq and it fetched him three runs. That was not the first time Mendis had switched hands or his stance or his style of playing – whether during the day or his career.When Pakistan were batting, Mendis was brought on to bowl in the 27th over with two right-handed batsmen in the middle and he started with some orthodox left-arm spin. After a run-out in that over, left-handed batsman Salman Fayyaz took strike. Mendis then switched to right-arm offspin.”I practice with both arms but I bowled with both arms [in a match] for the first time in Under-17 against St Joseph’s College two years ago,” Mendis said after the match. “I took four wickets in that match.”The junior Sri Lankan selectors first spotted him and his unique skill about a year ago in school cricket and held several trials before picking him for the home Youth ODIs against Pakistan last October. “He does it very well and he’s just 16 years,” junior selector Ranjan Paranavitana told ESPNcricinfo. “And he can bat at any position…it’s an added factor for Kamindu.”Mendis first started practicing with both arms in the nets at the age of around 13 when his coach Dhanushka Dhinagama came up with the idea. The plan was simple – turn the ball away from the batsman. And that’s what he did today too – left-arm orthodox against right-handed batsmen and right-arm offspin against left-handed batsmen.”When two left-handed batsmen are batting, we have to use two offspinners,” Paranavitana explained. “When Kamindu is bowling he can bowl to both kind of batsmen.”Mendis is also aware that he is not the first Sri Lankan to try it out. Hashan Tillakaratne, a part-time offspinner, had done so in the 1996 World Cup in a league match against Kenya. Defending 398, Sri Lanka had the match in the bag when Tillakaratne came on to bowl the last over of the innings and bowled left-arm orthodox spin and right-arm offspin. Even though Mendis was not even born then, he has played with Tillakaratne’s son who happens to be a chinaman bowler.Naturally a left-hander, Mendis is more of a classical spinner compared to the spinners of this age and era. Right arm or left arm, he flights the ball and often pitches it up to tempt batsmen to drive with a slip in place. In Sri Lanka’s 23-run loss to Pakistan, Mendis bowled only four overs without any success and conceded 21 runs.Mendis took to cricket because of his cricket-following father and represents Richmond College in Galle, like his captain Charith Asalanka. And the two recently made their List A debuts together for Galle Cricket Club. Mendis and Asalanka, in fact, have been playing together since the Under-13 level.Mendis is one of the youngest members of the squad and likes to call himself a batting allrounder. It was his batting that proved more handy on Wednesday when he hit 68 runs at No. 3, even as the rest of the batsmen did not provide substantial support. In a chase of 213, Mendis took his team closer to 150 with a patient knock, which lasted nearly two hours, before holing out to long-on. Sri Lanka then lost their last five wickets for 32 runs.”My idea was to play 50 overs but I played a poor shot and got out,” Mendis said. “So I think I should do less mistakes and do well in remaining matches.”The other young and promising allrounder in the team is Jehan Daniel, the only player younger than Mendis in the squad, and assistant coach Avishka Gunawardene said the idea to pick them early was to hone them for the next Under-19 World Cup.”That is the plan in our mind,” Gunawardene said. “In every Under-19 tour we are planning to have 16 or 17-year-old guys go on the tour so they can play for a couple of more years in Under-19 and take over when the senior guys go. That has been the plan in the system.”I think Sri Lanka’s school cricket structure is really good, it is one of the best in the world. That is the backbone of Sri Lankan cricket. So until they come out of school, they hardly play first-class cricket.”Mendis bats left-handed, can he bat right-handed too?”Can’t bat with both hands (laughs) but I can reverse sweep,” and he used quite a few of them after the 18th over too.

Quinton de Kock stole most of Sunday’s headlines for his rapid century, but Mohammed Shami’s successful return in his first IPL match since 2014 provided a rich subplot in Delhi Daredevils’ seven-wicket win

Deivarayan Muthu in Bangalore17-Apr-2016The Chinnaswamy Stadium geared up for an ensemble-driven blockbuster on Sunday night. Chants of “R-C-B, R-C-B!” were deafening an hour before the start of the hosts’ second match of the season.The chants grew louder when Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers and Shane Watson turned up for practice. Delhi Daredevils coach Rahul Dravid, hoping for a happy homecoming, also drew a big cheer.At the pitch adjacent to the playing surface stood the comeback man Mohammed Shami with a new, flashy hairstyle. He listened intently to his captain Zaheer Khan, nodded, and delivered a short ball with extra bounce. It thudded into the gloves of Quinton de Kock. Zaheer had another chat with Shami and patted the fast bowler on his back. That turned out to be a regular scene throughout the first innings.After opting to bowl, Zaheer explained that Daredevils had picked Shami to exploit Royal Challengers Bangalore’s middle order, which does not have as much cream as the top. Shami, playing his first IPL match since May 2014 and his fifth competitive match since the 2015 World Cup, was far from his best, but changed the game by giving Daredevils the momentum de Kock needed to run away with the chase.At 16 overs, when Shami came back for his third spell, Royal Challengers were cruising at 164 for 2 with Kohli in a rarefied zone on 75 off 43 balls. By then, Watson was also set – on 27 off 17 balls – and the pair had the crowd grooving to their shots. Zaheer had been put away for two sixes and two fours in the previous over . The pressure was on Shami and to remind him the raucous crowd went: “We want sixer, we want sixer!”Shami duped Watson with a slower ball, but the batsman managed to find a six via a mis-hit. The crowd wanted more. Shami, however, muted them with a chest-high short ball, which tucked Watson up for room. He only managed to pop a catch off the gloves to short fine leg. Shami was pumped and let out a roar.Three balls later, Shami showed off his improved fitness and ran out Sarfaraz Khan off his own bowling. Shami nimbly moved to his left in his follow through, picked the ball up with his left hand, spun around and fired, all in one motion to nail the stumps and catch Sarfaraz a foot short despite a dive. Shami’s confidence was back.The crucial blow, though, came in his next over when Shami speared a full ball that Kohli could not get underneath and shovelled to long-on. Shami and Daredevils were on to something and he followed it with rising short balls that gave Kedar Jadhav and David Wiese no leeway to free their arms. He gave away only 14 runs from his last two overs and finished with 4-0-34-2.Morris’ hit-the-deck bustle complemented Shami and helped Daredevils drag Royal Challengers back to 191, which de Kock later termed a “par score.” At the post-match presentation, Zaheer said that his last over – the 16th which went for 21 and preceded Shami’s final spell – had made Daredevils re-assess their bowling plans.”My bad over helped me figure out what will work,” Zaheer said. “Just told [Shami and Morris] bowl back of a length … Tournament like IPL, momentum helps, these kinds of games matter. We ticked a box and now we have three to four days off.”That Shami hit back after a nervous start should come as a boost for Daredevils and Shami himself. His second ball was a loosener down leg, which was helped on its way. His third was a decent length ball, which was manoeuvred to the cover boundary by Kohli’s supple wrists. His sixth was a rank full toss, which was gleefully swatted into the stands beyond midwicket by de Villiers. In the tenth over, Shami lumbered to his right from long-on and fumbled, allowing two instead of one.Shami looked like he was shaken. It helped that he had Zaheer, who had the experience of mentoring several bowling groups, kept chatting with Shami and shielded him from pressure like an older brother would protect his younger one. The innings ended with a smiling Shami high-fiving Zaheer. The night ended with de Kock’s sparkling century sealing Daredevils’ first win over Royal Challengers since 2010.

After a week that included skill-based training, yoga, meditation, a buddy programme and even drum-rolls, it was evident that the Indian team had made strides both on and off the field

Shashank Kishore in Bangalore04-Jul-2016Late on Sunday evening, India’s squad of 17 for the tour of the West Indies was asked to assemble at the team room in their Bangalore hotel for what was to be a “team-bonding activity”. If the players expected a serious game involving pen and paper, they were in for a surprise when Anil Kumble, the head coach, announced the drum circle, an activity aimed at “discovering creativity” and “energising participants.”Having fun can help ride tough times – MS Dhoni

MS Dhoni stressed on the need to “have fun” and “back each other” in his motivational speech to the Indian team on the penultimate day of their training camp.
“Most of us started cricket when we were five. I think this is the period where Indian cricket will move forward,” he said. “Last two-three years, we were talking about the youngsters getting into the Test arena. Now, we have a set of batsmen and a pool of bowlers. That is why this coming phase will be very interesting.”
Dhoni emphasised bringing back the fun element to their game. “Make sure you have a lot of fun, because in Indian cricket, it is something we don’t do often. Cricket is too much for us. For a lot of us, if you take cricket out of our personal lives, there is not much left. But it is important to have fun.”

The agenda, it was later explained, was to get the whole group in sync with the beats, much like they would have to in the West Indies. It started with a pep talk from MS Dhoni, who urged the players to “enjoy cricket and not be consumed by the pressures associated with being an Indian cricketer”. Over the next hour or so, they jammed to the beats of a popular musician.”We were surprised by Anil ,” Kohli said. “We thought it would be a serious session, but it turned out to be a fun session. This is very important for the team. Sometimes, when we are focused on our individual game, we forget the importance of team bonding. We wanted to improve our camaraderie and understanding. This is important because the performance on the field can be better if everyone understands each other better. Everyone enjoyed it a lot and we had fun. It is going to be a long season, and these sorts of activities are required.”Shikhar Dhawan had been one of the first to congratulate “Sir” Kumble on Twitter when he was appointed head coach, and he somewhat summed up the mood in the camp when he said, “Kumble sir is too old now, easy to face”, before walking off with a grin.Going by what has happened over the last week, this much was certain: Kumble’s shoulders must be sore, if not creaking, given the number of hours he has spent bowling in the nets.One of the first to arrive at the ground, Kumble planned the net sessions meticulously, with the bowlers gearing up to bat first, before role reversals. It was no different on Monday, the final day of the team’s week-long camp in Bangalore.Kumble rolled his arm over again, his enthusiasm to beat the bat a constant, and the joy on his face when he eventually did suggest not too much had changed since his playing days, except maybe his waistline. After each ball, he would walk back to where an umpire might stand, and monitor the fast bowlers’ landing. So while Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar earned appreciation each time they beat the bat, they were also politely informed that they were pushing the crease in their quest for pace.Bhuvneshwar said he was happy to have a bowler as head coach. “When you have a coach who is a batsman, he talks more to the batsmen. He talks to the bowlers as well, but those practical things don’t come. I am not saying he can’t give feedback, but with a coach like Kumble, who is a bowler and has played for India for so many years, you can get more practical things from him rather than from a batsman. That is something I am really looking forward to, and it’s one thing I will take from him being a coach.”Each of the batsmen spent considerable time at the three nets – one for the spinners, one for the quicks, and another for throwdowns, with batting coach Sanjay Bangar hurling the ball down with his sidearm for more than two hours.There was one nervy moment at the pacers’ net, when R Ashwin walked off clutching his elbow after being hit by a lifter from Shami. He eventually returned, and didn’t bat any further. Kumble later said Ashwin had suffered nothing more than a “bruise.”

COMING UP – #TeamIndia bonding session full video on https://t.co/CPALMFZaWL #MustWatch pic.twitter.com/gRVZFOZjL4

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 4, 2016

The intensity picked up when the frontline batsmen geared up for their stints. Dhawan, batting with a slightly open stance after a chat with the video analyst, nicked a few before waltzing down the track to the spinners. Kohli, walking out with three bats, seemed unhappy with his footwork while sweeping the spinners, and asked them to pitch the ball in the same area till he was satisfied. Then he hopped over to the pace bowlers’ net and was welcomed with a peach from Varun Aaron that squared him up and took the edge. At the throwdown net, he spent close to 20 minutes simply leaving the ball.By the time his first camp as head coach had drawn to a close, Kumble had engaged his team in a drum circle, in sessions of yoga and meditation, and a buddy programme to help them open up to each other.”I certainly believe that as a coach of a young team, you need to be hands on and you need to really get your hands dirty as well – train with them, be a part of their training,” he had said last week. “And be with them more like an elder brother, in every aspect, not just on the field, but also off it.”The players seemed to have listened, judging by how quickly they went from “Sir Anil” to “Anil “.

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Oct-2016Wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi then dismissed Steven Smith and Travis Head to compound Australia’s woes•AFPMatthew Wade, however, counterattacked his way to a half-century•Associated PressMitchell Marsh, meanwhile, played sensibly and made a fifty of his own before becoming Abbott’s third victim. Australia were 111 for 6•AFPAbbott also accounted for Adam Zampa en route to figures of 4 for 40•AFPAaron Phangiso removed Wade and Scott Boland in the 37th over to dismiss Australia for 167•AFPChris Tremain gave Australia hope by reducing South Africa to 29 for 2 in 6.1 overs•Getty ImagesFaf du Plessis and JP Duminy then put the hosts back in control with a 56-run partnership for the third wicket•Getty ImagesThe stand ended when Zampa had Duminy caught by Marsh for 25 in the 20th over•AFPDu Plessis, however, went on to score his second fifty-plus score of the series as South Africa wrapped up a six-wicket win to go 4-0 up•Associated Press

In May 2010, as part of ESPNcricinfo’s All-time XI series, a jury had selected an All-time Pakistan Test XI. Six years later, would you make some changes?

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2016The nominees for Pakistan’s all-time Test XI have been put in the following categories: openers, middle order, wicketkeeper and allrounders/bowlers. In each of these categories, the following ten players would make it to a Readers’ All-time Pakistan XI based on voting: Openers (top 2), Middle order (top 3), Wicketkeeper (top 1), Allrounders/Bowlers (top 4). The 11th spot in the All-time Pakistan XI would go to the player with the highest votes outside the above picks among either the category of middle order or allrounders/bowlers..The openersThe middle orderThe wicketkeeperAllrounders/bowlers.

Does this Pakistan attack defy mathematics by showing that the whole attack is distinctly less than the sum of its individual parts? Maybe the maths is right, that this attack is only as good as its numbers, which aren’t great

Osman Samiuddin15-Dec-2016Mathematicians must hate it when the rest of us non-mathematicians think we are being clever in saying things like the whole is greater – or less – than the sum of its parts. How can the total ever be less than the sum of the numbers adding up to it? This is not philosophy; this is maths. Two plus two has to be four. It can be nothing else, not more or less.So it is with the greatest respect to all mathematicians that this line is wheeled out again, this time in application to this Pakistan pace attack – of which the whole currently distinctly less than what it should be given the sum of its individual parts.No doubt skeptics might join mathematicians in arguing that actually, the attack equals exactly the sum of its constituents; that this, the first day of Brisbane and Australia near enough 300 for just three, is how good any combination of Mohammad Amir, Rahat Ali, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan and Imran Khan can ever be.But how? At least in theory it looks like an excess of riches unlike any Pakistan have been able to call upon in recent times. Remember, after all, those fun days about a decade ago when the prospect of some combination of Mohammad Asif, Shoaib Akhtar, Umar Gul, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Shahid Nazir, Shabbir Ahmed and (we might as well throw him in) Mohammad Sami generated enough drool to turn a crater into an ocean? And yet, somehow, no potent attack from that could ever really turn out together, and certainly not for long enough for it to matter.Some just weren’t as good as was thought; there were drugs and there were injuries; there were dodgy actions and bad haircuts; there were fights and bans; and there was Asif, a force not ever knowingly tamed by anyone, batsmen, friends, lovers or administrators.So it must be a blessing right now that they can at least pick from the five pace options they have every Test they play. And it should be a blessing that together the quintet cover so many bases. A bit of swing in the air? No worries, Sohail will touch you up a little. Need a bit of nasty? Please, Wahab. Something cute and reliable, maybe for those UAE pitches? Thanks Rahat. Maybe a back-of-a-length, into-the-wind toiler when everyone else pulls a sickie? Ladies and gentlemen – the Imran Khan who isn’t one. And the cherry on top of this, the glue that holds them together, that once-in-a-generation star? Welcome back Amir.And yet, on days like today, and on a number of them through the tours of England and New Zealand, these options have either not seemed enough, or that there are more bases to cover than Pakistan thought. In part it is because a four-man attack with negligible part-time options is always going to be thin in modern cricket. Over in India, two sides are currently playing what seems to be the future, with five, six, even seven options in any one innings.With just four, the whole operation is fragile. In England that was at its most acute with Sohail around, looking as if he had just one spell in which to make it count in an entire Test. When Amir went off briefly in Brisbane, the Test may as well have been over, Pakistan already floored. The big outfields, the heat, the crowds and often the surfaces – Australia is ruthless in stretching thin attacks to the point of tearing them up. Without an allrounder they can do little about that, except fret and complain that they haven’t spent the last few years trying to develop one.They have not always known which permutation of the five suits their purposes, or the surface, best. Rotation is a reality and Pakistan have played on a variety of pitches this year, but seven changes to their pace bowling combination in ten Tests – no matter the divergence in conditions – suggests they are not sure what works.In one sense, Pakistan are still adjusting to the return of Mohammad Amir•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesThe three in Brisbane are the three who played the first Test at Lord’s this summer and then, as now, it isn’t obvious that it is the right three. Rahat, in particular, has struggled in the opening innings of the three series he has played away from home this year – and with limited resources, one misfiring bowler is fatal. Even accounting for the left-handers in Australia’s line-up, might Imran not have been a sturdier option?In one sense, Pakistan are still adjusting to the return of Amir. They had made peace with what resources they had in his absence. Junaid Khan had skipped out of his shadow. Imran emerged. Mohammad Irfan briefly looked like he could have a Test career. Wahab found his calling. Instead, Amir waltzed back into the side once his ban ended and the men who had been holding fort either faded away, like Junaid, or began missing out, like Imran, Wahab and Rahat, who have all sat out Tests because Amir has already assumed the status of an automatic selection.Is it time then, even as early as the first skirmishes of this series, for some reassessment? That Wahab is a deliverer of good-to-great spells rather than being a good-to-great bowler and that Rahat is a slow learner? And as for Amir, maybe the swing-friendly summer of 2010 and what followed swelled in our heads the memories of how good he really was.Maybe the maths is right, that this attack is only as good as its numbers, which aren’t great. After all, at various points in England and New Zealand, they have collectively squandered helpful conditions.Or, as they did today, they have bowled well enough intermittently but bowled boundary balls often enough to create no pressure, deflecting it instead on Yasir Shah and earning the mistrust of their captain. The depth of that was damning enough in Misbah-ul-Haq not using two fast bowlers in tandem from the 11th over of the innings until the second new ball, as if he was trying to hide one on the first day of a series in a country where there is no place to hide.

Which of these young players who have impressed in this IPL season will be playing for India by the 2019 World Cup?

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2017Several young players who have not played ODI cricket for India have caught the eye during this IPL season. Some have been consistent throughout, while others have produced moments of brilliance. Some are new names, while others have been impressing in the IPL for a few seasons now. But which of these players will kick on and become part of the Indian XI for the next World Cup. Swipe right for those you think will and left for those you think will not go beyond the IPL.

ESPNcricinfo rounds up the highlights from the latest matches in the NatWest T20 Blast

Will Macpherson17-Jul-2017The Championship success of Simon Harmer and Kyle Abbott, and the concurrently touring South Africans, means that Kolpak has rarely been a hotter topic. There’s one outstanding T20 cricketer, perhaps because he has been here a little longer and prefers the white ball to red (he will not play Championship next year), who flies a touch under the radar: Colin Ingram.With centuries on consecutive Sundays, Ingram provided a reminder of why he is the best white-ball batsman in the county game. First there was a 46-ball effort against Sussex to trump Luke Wright, then his T20-best 114 from 55 balls in the last-ball win over Essex.Don’t forget that in the Royal London Cup this season he also made three centuries and averaged over 70. Glamorgan have themselves a gem; perhaps the IPL, where he has played just three games, and as long ago as 2011, will come calling once more.He might be 31, and he might describe himself as “a journeyman,” but he admitted upon signing a new Glamorgan contract earlier this season: “I’d like to get out there and experience what’s on the world stage.”

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Noise is the answer for the Blast The Blast is on notice. We know that in 2020, it will not be the premier T20 competition in the land. With funding, resources and exposure largely shifting to the as-yet-nameless Dream Competition, the Blast will have to find its place and relevance in the world.It is worth looking at Old Trafford on Friday, where the Roses match drew the largest Blast attendance outside London. Before rain intervened to ruin a match in the balance, the Roses crowd was everything the Blast should aspire to be.Such was the raucousness of the Roses match that conversation on comms turned to how it was much like a football crowd: loud, packed, partisan and boisterous. The Blast, of course, is not always – or even often – like this, and it is worth noting that another derby, Sussex and Hampshire’s El Classicoast (excellently monikered but perhaps not well marketed?) drew a disappointing crowd at little Hove two nights earlier.But a noisy, partisan response to the action should be the direction of travel for the Blast, just as tranquillity best suits the Championship. The new Dream Competition, like the very family-friendly crowds of the BBL, will hone in on attracting kids and new fans. Meanwhile the Blast already has supporters, and teams with history: it must play on this, pack fans in, charge their glasses, voice those loyalties and get the party started.Perhaps, just perhaps, the two competitions can then co-exist harmoniously.

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Middlesex still can’t get it rightIt seems curious, given their star-studded side and big name new coach in Daniel Vettori, that Middlesex have won just one game (and they made a mess of that one, too) and that the youngsters seem to be doing some heavy lifting. In the loss to Somerset on Sunday, Nos 3-6 all got in, then got out, with Eoin Morgan the worst offender, making 33 from 31, leaving the potentially destructive Ryan Higgins in a no-hope position.One of those youngsters is the rather innocuous looking Nathan Sowter. His curious low leggies, all spindly variations, have proved expensive (8.73/over), but they get a wicket every 15 balls too. This was in evidence when he took 3 for 43 against Somerset.Daniel Vettori has been a fan since long before he joined Middlesex, and tried to sign him for Brisbane Heat this year. Sowter is Sydney-born, but turned the offer down because it would have rendered him ineligible for Middlesex.

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Tabraiz Shamsi: so very NorthantsNorthamptonshire have a way of doing things in T20, and it works. We know that by now. They look deep into the stats, then go low-key, high value and routinely pluck rabbits from hats. Moneyball, if that’s what you want to call it.So when Seekkuge Prasanna found himself back in the Sri Lankan fold, they turned to the South African left-arm wrist-spinner Tabraiz Shamsi for three games. One of them was rained off, but Prasanna returned with a niggle, so Shamsi stayed for a third match of a highly-successful spell, anyway. Another left-field pick has gone right.Having gone wicketless in the opening defeat to Derbyshire, Shamsi took 2 for 20 as Durham were strangled, then 2 for 24 to restrict Warwickshire to 156, a total Northants chased down off the final ball.Shamsi’s figures of 11-0-68-4 tell a tale and, judging by the joyous way in which he farewelled his new club on Twitter, he evidently made plenty of friends and fans. He leaves with Northants in fine shape (in the table, if not physically). Don’t be surprised if he returns.

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In Leicester, of all places, anything is possibleThe sides leading the two Blast groups have a different look about them. We should not be surprised by Hampshire’s ascension in the South. Having reached six straight Finals Days before missing out last year, they have a formidable T20 record, and have hardened up this year.The retention of Shahid Afridi was curious, but Abbott and Rilee Rossouw bulk them up, Reece Topley is finally fit and Mason Crane is actually playing. They might just have Liam Dawson back from England soon, too. T20 nous, in James Vince, Michael Carberry and George Bailey, teems through the batting.Also three from three, and atop the North Group, are the altogether more surprising Leicestershire. Theirs is, crucially, is a settled side (they have used just 11 players so far), with a well-travelled top order and a varied bowling attack.Clint McKay, a canny appointment as captain, took the club’s best T20 figures (5 for 11) as Worcestershire were swatted aside. In that game, Colin Ackermann made his second major unbeaten contribution in a chase (47 following 62 against Lancashire). Ackermann failed with the bat against Warwickshire on Sunday; never mind, he then took three for 21 to help defend 147.They are nothing if not resourceful, and they know better than anyone, in the city where Leicester won the Premier League barely a year ago, that anything is possible.

June is the month for the men in charge of cricket teams to throw the towel in

Andrew Fidel Fernando29-Jun-2017The vacancy
Having this month elbowed Graham Ford out of his job, SLC are on their tenth head coach in seven years. As Nic Pothas’ position is only temporary, the board may soon begin searching for a more permanent appointment. The Briefing has taken the liberty of drawing up an advertisement, which the board is welcome to use:ESPNcricinfo LtdThe power move
One month after Ramachandra Guha resigned from the BCCI’s Committee of Administrators, lambasting the “superstar culture” within the organisation, Anil Kumble has parted ways with the national team, thanks in part to disagreements with Virat Kohli.Kumble, though a superstar himself, was not in this instance as monumental a figure as the present India captain.If the BCCI want a coach who is not just a player patsy, they might need to hire someone who has an even bigger name than the men within the team. The question is: is the cricket world ready for Coach Kardashian?The pitch problems
England had issues with their pitches in the past six weeks. Having been blown away on a Lord’s greentop by South Africa in the approach to the Champions Trophy, they were stunned on a used Cardiff surface by Pakistan, in the semi-final. On both occasions the state of the pitch came into focus. Eoin Morgan criticised the Lord’s pitch directly, and after Cardiff, said the surface was “too much of a jump” for a team that had played their most recent match at bouncier Edgbaston.England were the tournament favourites, and looked just about unbeatable until they were waylaid by the Cardiff clay. The whole situation calls for an Andy Flower-era 2013-14 Ashes cookbook-type fix, whereby the team can specify exactly how many blades of grass should remain on the surface, how much sun, in nanoseconds, the pitch should get before the game, and the optimal body-fat percentage of the groundsman who sits in the heavy roller that packs down the soil.AB de Villiers: unhappy camper•Getty ImagesThe zombie
For the last few months, one of the best players in the world, and maybe the greatest batsman of his generation, has plodded around cricket fields a little dead in the eyes. AB de Villiers hasn’t played a Test since January 2016 and, at only 33, is now talking about trimming his cricket commitments with a view to retiring in 2019.Maybe it’s South Africa’s Kolpaxodus, or perhaps he is just bored of dominating the best attacks the planet has to offer. Whatever the case, international cricket needs to have him in it, and the cricket world might do well to find out whatever it is that will cheer de Villiers up.The shock Champions Trophy triumph
The 2017 Champions Trophy gave the cricket world a surprise that brought unspeakable joy to tens of millions: the Google Doodle stick-cricket game.Now Google has a long history of producing great doodles unexpectedly, but even by those standards, this was a stirring achievement. Many were left elated by their new high scores, though in parts of the world, others have also been saddened at the number of work hours lost.The riposte
The Women’s World Cup has broken new ground with its visibility and popularity this year, and hopes are high the tournament can inspire a new generation of cricketers. It might also have brought an end to a long-time bugbear of women cricketers around the world – the query about which male cricketer is their favourite. Before the tournament began, India captain Mithali Raj dispatched the question like a long hop to the boundary, when she responded: “Do you ask the same question to a male cricketer? Do you ask them who their favourite female cricketer is?””Congratulations, chaps. You’re now going to be ignored and belittled in a whole new way!”•Peter Della PennaThe young sensation
Hasan Ali and Ben Stokes may have lit up the Champions Trophy, but the best performance of the month might have come in St Lucia, where Rashid Khan claimed 7 for 18 in what was frankly a ridiculous spell of legspin bowling. Two wickets came from his first two balls, and by the time he completed his fourth over, he already had a five-for. With Afghanistan’s schedule about to become a lot busier over the next few years, Rashid could have the honour of becoming the first player from his nation to be accused of putting IPL commitments over national duty.The new cousins
Ireland and Afghanistan have been granted Test status this month, which is an affirmation of their readiness for the rigours of cricket’s toughest format.Are Afghanistan and Ireland ready, however, for the paternalistic manner in which they are about to be covered by the global cricket media? Are they prepared for hand-wringing editorials about whether Test cricket is besmirched by their presence in it, every time they suffer a collapse? Are they ready to be treated like weird relatives by the established cricket nations, who will make excuses not to tour them, and invite them over only sparingly?Over the past four decades, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh all went through stages of being treated like cricket’s nuisance, rather than embraced and uplifted for the wider benefit of the sport.Welcome, Ireland and Afghanistan, to a whole new world of dysfunction. Get through the hard years, put in your time, and with a little luck, you will be able to be condescending towards Nepal, Scotland or Netherlands someday.

Doing it once is hard enough, but to accelerate so crazily to get three double-hundreds after a sedate beginning is a perfect combination of skill, fitness and the right mental approach to ODI batting

Sidharth Monga13-Dec-20171:01

Rohit, the ODI superstar

It was for long the insurmountable peak for ODI batting, but one man might now have a template to score ODI double-centuries again and again. In Bengaluru, against Australia in 2013, Rohit Sharma reached 20 off 35th ball, 50 off the 71st, and the hundred in the 38th over of the innings. In Kolkata, against Sri Lanka in 2014, he was nearly caught for 4 off the 17th ball he faced, reached his 20th run off the 35th ball, but accelerated slightly earlier to bring up his century in the 32nd over of the innings. On a cold mid-week afternoon in Mohali this season, he was even slower to start, reaching 20 off 37 balls, 50 off 65 balls, and bringing up the hundred only in the 40th over.All three were ODI doubles. One time can be a charm, but to accelerate so crazily three times after having set up the innings and to make it look predictable is a perfect combination of skill, fitness and the right mental approach to ODI batting. You can be all amazed at how he manages to do it, but Rohit’s reaction to it is typically relaxed. “That’s my template, no?” he tends to ask. He remembers the innings clearly: reaching “50 off 70 balls”, bringing up the hundred “near the 40th over”, and then knowing that the bowlers can’t get him out unless he makes a mistake.”That is my style of play,” Rohit said. “You are set and seeing the ball nice and hard and you have understood what the bowlers are trying to do by then, and it’s all about trying to play with the field once you get past 100. It’s all about you not making a mistake and getting out. I am not saying it’s impossible or difficult, but it’s very unlikely the bowlers are going to get you out once you have scored a hundred.”So it was all about me not making a mistake and batting as long as possible. That’s what I did. There is no secret or formula to it. You just have to bat and not make any mistake. The ground is good, the pitch is nice and hard, so you can trust the bounce and play the shots.”Rohit was asked to expand on the mindset. “I started off very slow because I like analysing,” Rohit said. “I like to analyse the situation, conditions more than that because the conditions initially were not so easy and we wanted to play out those initial overs, and then see what we can do. In all the three double hundreds, it is a very similar pattern that you will see… started off slow, then picked up the pace and then in the end I accelerated.”That is only because unless you make a mistake, you are not going to get out because you are set and you are seeing the ball well. Bowlers are trying to get away with their plans because things are not going their way. So all those things, I count, I analyse and I talk to myself about it when I am batting. I feel after you get a hundred, batting will only get easier. You have been there, took out the toughest part of the game which is the initial phase with the two new balls. You have batted that, your team is in a good position and you also have wickets in hand, so all those put together, gives you freedom to play those shots. I exactly did that.”I am not someone like AB de Villiers, or Chris Gayle, or MS Dhoni for sure. I don’t have that much power. I have to use my brain to manipulate the field and I have to stick to my strength, which is to hitting through the line and playing with the field. Once you cross the three-figure mark, batting only gets easier. Unless you make a mistake, you will not get out. It can happen if you get a good ball, but eight out of 10 times you will not.”This might have sounded arrogant had it come from someone other than the affable Rohit. He does make it sound like the six-hitting in the last 10 overs is routine, easy even. “Nothing is easy in cricket,” Rohit said. “May be when you watch it on TV it looks easier, but it is not. Trust me, when you are out in the middle, you have to use your brain and you have to time the ball. Otherwise, it is not easy. I was trying to play with the field, playing a scoop shot, trying to hit over point. Those are my strengths. It is not always that you can clear the rope easily. So that is the advantage of having five fielders inside. You can play with the field and shot selection becomes very important.”How about selecting which of the doubles is closest to him then? They all are, and Rohit went on to talk of the circumstances that made it impossible to choose between them. “I cannot rate this because the others were as important as this one,” Rohit said. “Because the first one against Australia was a series-decider. The second one against Sri Lanka I was making a comeback after three months. I was injured before that and didn’t play any cricket. It was a world record so obviously that has to be right up there. This one also having had a loss in the first game, we wanted to come back as batting group. This is my first captaincy stint, and you know I as a batsman first and then as a captain I wanted to do well.”This one did have an extra icing on the top, coming as it did on his wedding anniversary and in the presence of his wife, whom he saluted with a little peck on his ring finger after reaching the double hundred. “You must have seen on visuals, she was more happy than me,” Rohit said. “She got a little emotional because it was the first double-hundred that she witnessed. It is not that I score double-hundreds every day. The way she came and told me was quite funny. But it was good to have her there and let her witness what I did today. I am very happy about that part. But more than that, winning the game… my first [successful] game as a captain… very happy with that.”