N Srinivasan’s ICC stint, Sundar Raman’s future and the fate of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals are some of the issues awaiting Shashank Manohar’s attention

Amol Karhadkar04-Oct-20154:36

Gupta: Decisions on IPL franchises on Manohar’s plate

N Srinivasan’s ICC stint
Manohar did clarify that a decision on representation at the ICC would be taken by the board’s annual general meeting, expected to be held next month. Indications from board members, including many Srinivasan detractors, are that Manohar will not displace Srinivasan as the ICC chairman. Whatever decision is taken in this regard, Manohar will have a lot of explaining to do for it.Sundar Raman’s future
Over the last two years, Manohar has been the most vocal critic of the previous BCCI dispensation protecting the IPL chief operating officer, who is under investigation in connection with the 2013 IPL corruption scandal. It didn’t come as a surprise that Raman wasn’t present at the BCCI office over the weekend. Manohar will now have to make up his mind on whether to wait for the Supreme Court-directed investigation on Raman to complete or terminate his contract straightaway.Fate of two tainted IPL teams
The Lodha panel may have imposed a two-year suspension on the owners of Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals but the BCCI can still exercise its right to terminate the franchise agreement of both the teams. When asked if the board will do so, Manohar played safe. “It is hardly 25 minutes since I have taken over. You can’t expect me to look into all the board records, all the board papers and tell you what decision the board is going to take,” he said.Selectors’ appointment
Just like the ICC representative, the selection panel is also appointed at the AGM. But the appointment is a mere formality during the meeting; the members of the selection committee are decided in advance by the president and the secretary. Till Jagmohan Dalmiya’s demise, indications had been that three of the five selectors – Rajinder Singh Hans, Saba Karim and Roger Binny – might be replaced. But with the AGM being delayed and the World Twenty20 fast approaching, it remains to be seen if Manohar prefers Sandeep Patil’s panel to continue and serve out its maximum four-year tenure.Cricket advisory committee
The high-profile cricket advisory committee – comprising Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly and VVS Laxman – was Dalmiya’s brainchild to advise the BCCI on a range of cricket-related matters. When asked if the advisory committee will continue, Manohar again played safe. All he said was that the committee does exist “at present”. During his first stint as president, Manohar had preferred to not have too many committees in place. Will he stick to his old policies, or make an exception and let the committee consisting of three of India’s greatest cricketers continue?

The series against India has gone and there are some interesting scenarios for South Africa as to how they use the final match in Delhi ahead of their home season

Firdose Moonda30-Nov-20151:46

Moonda: Delhi is all about fitness of SA bowlers

For the next ten days, South Africa will have to realign their expectations. The nine-year unbeaten run away from home is over. They will be hurting because of that – it was a hugely proud record in an era when teams struggle manfully outside of their own shores – but once refreshed from the disappointments of Nagpur they may also see it as an opportunity.Hashim Amla will not want a 3-0 scoreline on his CV, but Delhi is a chance for them to play with freedom and not be overly worried about the final outcome. If they want, they can also stop pretending they are happy with the pitches.Their first taste of being unshackled came at the Pench Tiger Reserve, 80 kilometres outside Nagpur, where they tracked down a tiger who even posed for pictures. The photographer in chief was Dale Steyn, who remains on the tour despite missing two-and-a-half Tests with injury, and whose participation, or lack thereof, in Delhi could be one of South Africa’s key considerations.

Awesome Tiger safari this morning. Dead eye Dale spotted Mr Tiger hiding in the bush, he kindly decided to take a stroll in front of us for 15min after, such a beautiful beast! #biggerthanhelooks #tiger

A video posted by DALE STEYN (@dalesteyn) on Nov 28, 2015 at 2:19am PST

On the face of it, there is no reason to risk Steyn. In fact, the talk throughout the week was that only if South Africa won in Nagpur and Delhi was a decider would they go to every effort to ensure Steyn was ready for a final showdown. But now that Delhi is a dead-rubber, Steyn does not need to be hurried back, except that what looms for the South Africa could make it a tricky decision for the selectors.Less than three weeks after South Africa return home from India, they will begin a four-Test series against England, for which they need Steyn fit and firing. If he is able to play the Delhi Test, they may want to give him overs in the legs as a warm-up for the home matches, especially as the man himself has admitted he performs better once he has bowled competitively, although there is a round of Sunfoil matches before the Boxing Day Test that Steyn could conceivably play in.If there is any doubt about Steyn’s availability he will be given the extra days off because South Africa will not want to deplete their resources even more. They are already in danger of being without Vernon Philander, who is recovering from torn ankle ligaments, for the early part of England series. That will also mean South Africa pondering giving their reserve seamers – Kyle Abbott and Marchant de Lange – a run in Delhi and resting Kagiso Rabada, who has played every match on tour and may be required to do the same against England.They may also want to give their reserve batsman, Temba Bavuma, time in the middle after what has been a month of carrying drinks. Although there is no obvious spot for Bavuma in the line-up, Stiaan van Zyl’s misfiring may have run its course and Bavuma could be asked to prove his versatility as a result. But if they want to be fair to Bavuma and open a spot in the middle for him, they will have to ask AB de Villiers to keep and drop Dane Vilas, who could be facing the end of the road anyway.Vilas’ body language says it all. He went from looking up keenly at big-screen replays of the byes he conceded to see how he could better his technique, to bowing his head in disappointment every time an image of him committing a blunder came up. He is unlucky in that he was given a difficult job to do in a difficult place to do it – claim the Test wicketkeeper’s spot on the subcontinent – but luck can sometimes determine who makes it and who doesn’t.For now, South Africa have resisted the temptation to recall Quinton de Kock but it is unlikely they will able to do that for much longer. As harsh as it would be to take the gloves away from Vilas mid-series, it may be the only way of gauging whether someone like Bavuma or even the extra spinner, Dane Piedt, merit a more permanent place in the line-up.This kind of experimental talk is usually unheard of in Test cricket. Even when there is seemingly nothing to play for, teams like to put their strongest XI forward. But South Africa have been unable to do that throughout the series as injuries have interfered with their equilibrium. They have been off balance for all three matches and it would be brave of them to deliberately leave themselves that way to prepare for what is ahead. Still they can do it without fearing the consequences because the challenge of this series has proved a step too far. The next challenge, though, is just around the corner.

After three undefeated seasons at home, New Zealand’s mode of operation is clear: talk up the visiting teams and then set about traumatising them

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Dunedin10-Dec-2015Prior to this match Brendon McCullum spent almost as much time complimenting the opposition as he did endorsing his own, recently-defeated team. New Zealand are familiar with Rangana Herath’s calibre, of course, but McCullum made particular mention of Sri Lanka’s “world-class” batsmen, and their “underrated” seam attack. “They’ve gone through a lot of changes,” McCullum surmised. “But we’re respectful of the challenge these guys will put to us.”These are interesting comments to have made in light of his own innings, and New Zealand’s general progress, on day one.In a 57-ball knock that sent the hosts hurtling past 300, McCullum respected Sri Lanka to all parts of University Oval. He began by respecting Nuwan Pradeep for three consecutive fours after just 11 previous balls at the crease, then, later on, raced at Sri Lanka’s quickest bowler to launch him high over cover for a six forged from deep, abiding, money-can’t-buy respect.Overall, 60 Sri Lanka deliveries were hit to the boundary in the day. New Zealand advanced at a run rate of 4.53. And all batsmen who crossed 25 had a strike rate of 65 – the captain’s was 131.McCullum’s comments were probably meant in earnest, because on the surface at least, New Zealand have made a point of treating opponents well over the last two years. It is part of the reason they have begun to be so admired across the world. But now touring the country for the second time in 12 months, Sri Lanka may feel they have just about had it. They may be sick to death of McCullum’s particular brand of respect.

Capped off a lot of hard work for Test return – Guptill

Martin Guptill said positivity at the crease drove his 156 – an innings he also described as a welcome boost of confidence. Guptill had averaged 13.66 in Australia last month.
“I tried to go out and be as positive as I could be,” Guptill said. “To be able to show good intent, be able to rotate strike, and get some good partnerships going – that helped me to get through the day. I’ll take a lot of confidence from it.”
Guptill has been persevered with in this New Zealand outfit, and he expressed pleasure at being able to justify the belief in him. He has also been working in private sessions with Martin Crowe over the past 18 months.
“The coaches and management have been good to me, and have given me a good run in the Test side. I thank them very much for that. Today I guess capped off a lot hard work over last 18 months to get back in the Test side. A lot of that was with Martin Crowe. Today it came together.”

It had been the same when they were here last year. That series had also been preceded by glowing appraisals as several New Zealand players invoked Sri Lanka’s recent Test series win in England. When Kumar Sangakkara struck a double-hundred at the Basin Reserve in January, the hosts spoke so effusively about the batsman it sounded like they all wanted to take turns cuddling him. Then on the field, New Zealand took catches that verged on the supernatural, hit rapid, monumental innings, and swung the ball viciously in both directions, and judging by the reactions of the batsmen, through undiscovered spatial planes.After three undefeated seasons at home now, this seems to be New Zealand’s mode of operation in the country. They talk up the visiting teams, then set about traumatising them.Things just appear to start clicking for them on home soil. McCullum’s 71 was a sort of return to runs, after an Australia series in which he averaged 27.4. He wasn’t the only batsman to regain confidence on Thursday. Martin Guptill had had an even worse tour across the Tasman, but was at ease almost from the outset in Dunedin. He began with a series of serene drives on a green-tinged surface, then moved to more bruising square blows. When he was finally caught behind in the 85th over, he had 156 from 234 deliveries.At times it felt like this whole Test-match day was staged just to get Guptill back into form. Virtually everyone on the field was complicit in his twin lbw escapes on 78. Bowler Dushmantha Chameera was half-hearted in appeal when Guptill was first struck in line, in the 38th over. The umpire quickly turned that appeal down, then shook his head at another shout next over. Sri Lanka should have reviewed that second decision, but it was Guptill and New Zealand’s day. Angelo Mathews, in consultation with the bowler and fielders behind the wicket, opted not to pursue it. The hosts’ second-wicket partnership would grow to 173.Chameera bowled with good pace – at times reaching 146 kph – but didn’t get his first wicket until the second new ball was nearly due. By then New Zealand’s total was already more than 350. Sri Lanka claimed five wickets for 65 in a 14-over stretch towards stumps, but with the inexperience in their top order on this tour, New Zealand’s 409 for 8 already feels like 60 runs too many.What’s more, even the pitch appeared to be colluding with the home team. There wasn’t a lot of bounce in the morning session, but plenty of zip was visible towards the close. “Towards the end of the day, when the pitch was drying out, the ball started doing funny things,” Guptill said. “So that’s good signs for us when we start bowling.”Sri Lanka will hope that despite a tough first day, this tour ends more happily than their last visit to this corner of the world. On that occasion New Zealand mauled Sri Lanka in the Tests, then dragged their carcass around the country during the ODI series, all the while suggesting the visitors were a dangerous side.New Zealand are widely described as the nice guys of world cricket. It’s just that on days like this, Sri Lanka may wish they were off being nice to someone bloody else.

Sat in the stands at Centurion, Jimmy Cook could understand what his son was going through but he had every faith that he would not be overawed

Firdose Moonda in Centurion22-Jan-2016Stephen Cook should have been nervous. Jimmy Cook was not.He watched his oldest son walk out to the middle, as he has done for the best part of the last two decades. He watched him take his guard, perhaps with a little more care than he used to do two decades ago. He watched him prepare to face the first ball, a ball that would be unlike any other in the last two decades because it was the first of a Test match. And then he watched Stephen wait.It was only 10:28. The game could not begin until 10:30. That was enough time for Cook senior to relive the first ball he faced in Test cricket – a beauty from Kapil Dev that he edged to the cordon at Kingsmead which came at the age of 39 after South Africa’s readmission – and for Cook junior to remember his father’s pre-match joke.”You haven’t got much to beat here, boy. You’ve only got to last two balls and then you’ll be fine.”Then it came. With a ribbon on it. A leg-stump half volley from James Anderson which Stephen could lean into and lash to the square leg boundary. “He got a nice ball. He couldn’t have asked for a nicer one,” Jimmy admitted, a few hours later as Stephen entered the eighties.Even then, Jimmy maintained he had no reason to be nervous. He was just happy to be in attendance.”I wasn’t supposed to be here because a while back I had organised to go and do some coaching at Gary Kirsten’s academy in Dubai with my younger son Ryan,” Jimmy said. “Suddenly when Stephen’s call up came, Ryan said to me, ‘You’d better stay here,’ but because we had already made the commitment, I still thought we needed to go. Ryan told me to think about it but even after thinking about it, I still thought we should go. Then Ryan told me I couldn’t go because he had cancelled my ticket.”At least Kirsten understood. “He sent me a message from Dubai and said, ‘Not a problem. you’ve got to be there on the day’.”So there Jimmy was. In Suite 32. Watching. Without any nerves.”If Stephen was 18, I probably would have wondered, ‘ooh what’s going to happen here,’ but the guy’s has been around the block. He has played 15 years in the first-class game so he knows how to look after himself,” Jimmy said. “They [England] might well have chirped him this morning but it’s nothing he hasn’t heard. A younger guy might have been listening more and thinking about it a bit more.”Experience is really why there were so many calls for Stephen at the start of the series. South Africa had just returned from India, smashed. They needed several changes to restore confidence, specifically a specialist opener but chose to give regular No.3 Stiaan van Zyl a chance to prove himself at home. That chance extended even when Stephen, the highest run-scorer in last season’s first-class competition, opened his account this summer with two centuries in two games.After a childhood spent in the shadows of Graeme Smith, with whom Stephen opened the batting at school with and who Jimmy says “was always better than Stephen,” and an adult career being constantly overlooked, Stephen could easily have given up, especially as he had other options. He has a law degree and his wife has a British passport. There were times when Jimmy urged him to make use of both.Not quite like father: Stephen Cook acknowledges the applause for his century•Getty Images”I told him maybe he should go overseas. He said no because he wanted to play South Africa,” Jimmy said. “I told him that maybe he was getting on a bit. He still said just kept saying, ‘I am telling you that I am going to play for South Africa.’ He never thought the door was closed. He has persevered really well. He has been dedicated, he kept fit and kept going even when it looked like it wasn’t going to happen.”When it did happen, Stephen made sure he made it count. He was helped by some lacklustre bowling from an England attack who, with the series won, were not as aggressive as they have been throughout the series. He was able to form a solid opening stand with a Smith-like partner in Dean Elgar, another with one of the senior-most members of the side, Hashim Amla, and to set South Africa up, as he does his franchise team.Elgar’s batting style is similar to Smith’s, which may mean Stephen will complement him in the same way he used to Smith. “Graeme was the strong, bang, bang, bang guy who used to hit fours. Stephen was the technical, smaller guy,” Jimmy, who was also their coach, said. “As a youngster, he was not about blasting fours all over the place, he used to look for a single there, single here and then if he got a bad ball he’d put it away for four. They were a nice contrast to bat together. Graeme was the real aggressor, Stephen tended to be the steadier accumulator of runs.”A freak catch meant Elgar was not around long enough to properly test that theory but there should be other chances. Cook must get a decent run in the side, even though the next Tests are six months away. Even if van Zyl and Rilee Rossouw, who has been promoted to opening the batting for the Knights, set the first-class scene alight. Stephen’s time is now and the confidence he inspires at the crease has earned him that. “Their time will come,” Jimmy said.His innings was a combination of all the right things. He was strong off the pads with the flick, assured in his defence and unruffled when things got tough. And they did. When he was on 47, Stephen was dropped by Jonny Bairstow. He responded with the cover drive that took him to 50. When England tightened up after tea, Stephen was more cautious too. The bowlers found some swing and he negotiated it well. When he was 98, Amla played on leaving him with a new partner and England reviewed an lbw decision against him, which replays showed was clipping leg but enough to overturn the on-field call.As the television camera panned from the field to the father, there should have been some nerves. Jimmy will deny it because he knows this: “The disciplines were instilled in him from a young age: you don’t get out because you are tired. You can play a bad shot or get a good ball but don’t get out because you are tired,” Jimmy said.Stephen didn’t falter before three figures. His dad and his team-mates willed him on as he raced through for two to become the sixth South African to score a century on debut and the fourth-oldest overall. Stephen celebrated with satisfaction. Jimmy did not look surprised at all.

Plus, Williamson reveals a new kind of spin in the Plays of the Day from Mohali

Alagappan Muthu22-Mar-2016The extra spin
The script for New Zealand at the World T20 has been relatively straightforward. Win the toss, exploit the conditions, win the match. The first step of that sequence rested in Kane Williamson’s hands as he was given the coin. He promptly spun around, and with his back to all the cameras, flipped it up. If Shahid Afridi was surprised by the unorthodoxy, he didn’t give much of it away. Except his call ended up incorrect and New Zealand got first use of a batting beauty.The 100s
Martin Guptill finished off the fifth over with full marks all round. Imad Wasim made his bid to close out an over that had cost only three runs by bowling a quick dart but the batsman was quicker. Guptill came down the pitch and unfurled a majestic swing of the arms to deposit the ball into a delirious crowd behind long-on. The host broadcaster indicated that the ball had come in at 104 kph, left the bat at 133 kph and, if the distance of that hit had been measured, it would have probably been beyond 100 metres too.Switch on, switched off
Colin Munro is down as a left-hander but he seems just as adept batting the other way around. So when a simple push into the off side did not work as intended, he shaped up for a switch hit. Afridi was good enough to adjust and cramp the suddenly right-handed Munro for room. A late cut helped him get off strike, but the moment he was back facing up, Munro switched again and Afridi one-upped him again. The batsman did get to free his arms with a slog sweep, but it went straight to the man at sweeper cover (or deep square leg, if you prefer).The surprise four
Sharjeel Khan looked pleased with himself. He had just smacked the leading left-arm spinner in the competition Mitchell Santner over cow corner. The sound off the bat was crisp, the hang time was impressive and everyone thought this was six. Everyone except Guptill, who knows a thing or two about hitting the ball out of the park and knew this one didn’t quite have the legs. He ran after it and found himself within touching distance of pulling off a spectacular catch. Instead, the ball bounced away for four.Bat up, Pakistan
Chasing a big total, Sharjeel’s blitz had given the team just the start they needed. Eventually, it became a record-breaking one. Pakistan raised their fifty off only 24 balls – their fastest in T20Is – and it came about as a result of a nonchalant flick. Mitchell McClenaghan had given away a hat-trick of fours and, simply for a change, went around the wicket. But he offered a length ball on the pads and with a whip of the wrists, Sharjeel provided the appropriate flourish.

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jan-2016Rohit took India close to 150 with a brisk 47-ball 60•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesKohli took charge of India’s innings at the death, smacking seven fours and a six in his unbeaten 33-ball 59•Getty ImagesKohli’s late surge took India to a competitive total of 3 for 184•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesAustralia too started well, Aaron Finch leading the way with a quick fifty, as the openers added 94 in 9.5 overs•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesIndia then clawed their way back into match with quick wickets in the middle overs, to reduce Australia to 5 for 124•Getty ImagesRavindra Jadeja took a stunning return catch to dismiss Shane Watson, tilting the match in India’s favour•Getty ImagesAustralia’s slide continued as they ended at 8 for 157, meaning India clinched the T20I series with a 27-run win•Getty Images

Close analysis, sharp writing, love of the game, talk about splendid moustaches – a new “biography” of Test cricket has it all

Paul Edwards14-Feb-2016″You have to drive the engine that has your fuel in it,” said the playwright Dennis Potter. It is fine advice for any writer and the principle enshrined in the metaphor has not been lost on Jarrod Kimber*. In the seven years since his blog cricketwithballs.com cast its first irreverent eye on the cricket world, Kimber has established himself as one of the game’s most sympathetic, acerbic and disrespectful observers. He is also a very fine writer with a turn of phrase some journos would maim to possess. And he has never been less than himself. Kimber does not trim his opinions or shape them so that they might fit a dominant mood. Instead, he mocks the mighty and holds cricket’s absurdities up to the light, often in the one-sentence paragraphs and one-word sentences that have become two of his stylistic trademarks.Jarrod Kimber’s deep love of cricket shines brightly, particularly when he views the game with amused despair and wry anger.Jarrod Kimber casts a cold, unsparing eye on power. Cold. Unsparing. Power.Jarrod Kimber’s close observations of a day’s cricket are frequently devoted to the activities of a single player and they are often brilliant pieces of work.In four years there were three books. One was a collection of blogs and the other two were devoted to Ashes series. Last year , the film made by Kimber and Sam Collins, examined, among other things, the appalling governance of the ICC. It was necessary viewing for anyone interested in the game’s future and in whether Test cricket even had one. One or two of cricket’s megalomaniac bosses may have pondered whether Kimber took polonium in his tea.This, after all, is the author a “powerful cricket administrator” once described as “the most hated man in cricket”. Another badge of honour, eh, Jarrod?Now Kimber has written , a title containing one of the most superfluous words in the history of publishing: unauthorised. Of course it’s bloody unauthorised. The chances of Kimber currently being authorised to write anything by anyone in the ICC are around the same as the Pope asking Shane MacGowan to deliver his Urbi et Orbi address on Easter Sunday.Hardie Grant Books is typically unconventional. The current match between Australia and New Zealand is the 2201st Test to be played, although how some of the early matches came to be classified as such affords Kimber plenty of innocent amusement. It is plainly impossible to provide a full biography of Test cricket’s multifaceted character in 296 pages and Kimber probably would not wish to write such a tome. Instead he has provided us with 63 chapters, some of them no longer than a couple of pages. It is a book of essays and impressions that aim to give the reader as many flavours as possible from what has been a 139-year banquet.Now let’s get the gripe out of the way, shall we? So much of this book is good and so much of it is stimulating that the little inaccuracies are particularly irritating. Why, for instance is Hedley Verity’s first name spelt “Headley” three paragraphs above a sentence in which it is spelt correctly? Why did no one spot that it is Tom Cartwright, not “Tim”? And I’m not sure that anyone in Yorkshire will take too kindly to Herbert Sutcliffe’s first name being reduced to “Herb”. Such things may seem quibbles but a book containing so much perception and insight deserves a sharp-eyed proofreading.Far more often, though, Kimber sends you back to the players you thought you knew. This is valuable, even when you are still not quite convinced by his assessment. For example, in his description of what I take to be the famous Beldam photograph of Victor Trumper, he writes: “His back foot is off the ground.” Now I have always held the view that only Trumper’s front foot is raised in that glorious image, but it is not the least of my debts to that Kimber caused me to spend another ten minutes examining a photograph at which I have already gazed for many hours.There is, as we might expect from Kimber, plenty of very close analysis in the book. Moustaches get special attention. Fred Spofforth looked like he was about to twirl the end of his in the manner of a Victorian scoundrel, whereas Ted Peate’s was “the sort a genial school bus driver would have. Spofforth’s moustache wouldn’t spit on a moustache like that.” As for Richard Hadlee, the facial hair gets top billing: “That moustache. There was no way around it. It was the moustache of a villain.”

Women’s cricket gets far more attention than the authorities once gave to it. The opening and closing chapters about Phillip Hughes are as good as anything Kimber has written

Then there are the careers of cricketers of which one was aware but had not really considered in sufficient depth. This is Kimber’s first paragraph on Aubrey Faulkner, the South African cricketer who eventually killed himself.”Aubrey Faulkner was the sort of man that makes racists believe their own rhetoric. He was tall, broad-shouldered and looked like he was from some sort of superior sect that could, if it wanted, enslave us all.”And this is Faulkner’s last Test:”For Faulkner, the embarrassment was much worse. He had been a legend. A drop-dead gorgeous world-leading all-rounder. Now he was a man with no real balance, who had not even a hint of natural athleticism and seemed to hit the ball by accident. One of the greatest players ever would leave his last Test embarrassed.”Yet neither of those paragraphs is the best in – wouldn’t you know it? – Chapter 13. This is:”There is a dark history in cricket. There is something about the game that chews people up like no other sport. It’s the Woody Allen of sports, permanently on the couch, analysing itself. Its players do the same.” is pleasingly rich in such stuff. It does not ignore the countries that have played only a few Tests, and even makes room for those that have played none at all. Women’s cricket gets far more attention than the authorities once gave to it. The opening and closing chapters about Phillip Hughes are as good as anything Kimber has written. The book’s style and organisation remind one rather of RC Robertson-Glasgow’s two books, and . Rather like Robertson-Glasgow, Kimber is more concerned with painting a picture than churning out statistical proofs. And like almost all good writers, he invites you to think again.Test Cricket: The Unauthorised Biography
By Jarrod Kimber
304 pages, $35
Hardie Grant Books*Jarrod Kimber writes for ESPNcricinfo

Plays of the day from the Qualifier between Gujarat Lions and Royal Challengers Bangalore at the Chinnaswamy Stadium

Karthik Krishnaswamy24-May-2016Toe-crusher, heartbreakerFacing his first ball in the IPL, Eklavya Dwivedi walked across his stumps to Yuzvendra Chahal, looking to sweep or scoop him over short fine leg, and ended up playing a combination of the two strokes, inside-edging finer than intended but getting the four runs he desired.In the next over, the 18th of Gujarat Lions’ innings, he was back on strike as Chris Jordan ran in to bowl the fifth ball. He sent down a near-perfect yorker, swerving in late, denying the batsman any time or room to get his front leg out of the way and bring his bat down. The ball hit his boot and, even as the umpire shook his head to turn down – rightly, with replays showing it was angling past leg stump – Jordan’s desperate appeal, sped away to the third man boundary.Twice caught, once dismissedIn the next over, Dwivedi showed he was no mere chancer of inside-edged fours and lucky leg byes. He stepped out, all still head, and hit Shane Watson’s first ball inside-out for a sweetly-timed six over extra cover. He then went back rather than forward, and pulled a short ball disdainfully over the midwicket boundary. Then Watson went around the wicket. Dwivedi jumped out, and couldn’t quite time his shovelled drive down the ground. Virat Kohli ran in from long-on and fell forward to catch the ball inches off the ground. Then he got on his feet, threw the ball into the turf, and spat out an expletive.This was a trademark Kohli celebration, of course, one of his endearingly puzzling displays of rage. But Dwivedi stood his ground, and Kumar Dharmasena, the umpire, asked him to wait. The commentators wondered if he had read Kohli’s reaction as frustration at not catching the ball cleanly. Then Dharmasena consulted with his partner at square leg and called for the third umpire’s intervention.Up came the replays: Kohli throwing himself forward, low to the ground, getting his fingers under the ball, just about; then rolling over, his right hand letting the ball slip out of its grasp and then, miraculously, grabbing it back again, all in the matter of a slowed-down fraction of a second.The back-foot non-no-ballWatson stayed around the wicket even with Dwayne Bravo – who had crossed over to the striker’s end – facing him. He sent down a fullish, stump-to-stump ball, and Bravo played all around it. This looked like a routine dismissal, but Dharmasena wanted the third umpire to get involved again. Why? To check if Watson had bowled a no-ball, of course. But not the front-foot no-ball on the bowling crease. Dharmasena wanted to check if Watson, going wide of the crease, had touched the return crease with his back foot.It was an eagle-eyed bit of work from Dharmasena. Watson’s back foot had landed excruciatingly close to the return crease. The third umpire looked at replays from every possible angle, slowed down, magnified, served with a smear of Dijon mustard. None of them seemed conclusive. Was there a hair’s breadth between the edge of his foot and the crease, or were they in contact? It was too close to call, and the decision went in the bowler’s favour in the end.The beginner’s swimming-pool diveIn the 15th over of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s innings, AB de Villiers ran down the pitch to Dwayne Smith. He had already hit the previous two balls for six and four, and the pendulum of the match was beginning to tilt in the chasing team’s favour. Smith saw de Villiers coming and shortened his length, while shifting his line wider to make the batsman reach for the ball. De Villiers flat-batted it down the ground, in the air, using his bottom hand to manufacture power out of nowhere. It was flying to the right of Dwayne Bravo at long-on, descending rapidly, and he threw himself at it, sideways, landing on his stomach, much like the technique swimming instructors advise beginners against. It looked painful, but he had managed to put himself behind the line of the ball just as it fell, and he palmed it away meatily, towards the fielder running towards him from deep midwicket. The effort restricted de Villiers to just a single.

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2016Kumar Sangakkara rang the bell for the start of play•Getty ImagesCook and Alex Hales got the innings off to a serene start…•Getty Images…adding 51 together in the first hour•Getty ImagesBut Rangana Herath struck in his first over, Hales taken at slip for 18•Getty ImagesNick Compton, with his place on the line, did not last long…•Getty Images…he trudged off after making just 1 on his home ground•Getty ImagesSuranga Lakmal picked up his second wicket a couple of overs later, having Joe Root lbw after a review•Getty ImagesEngland were 74 for 3 at lunch and that became 84 for 4 when James Vince had his bail trimmed•Getty ImagesJonny Bairstow might have fallen for 11 but was dropped at midwicket•Getty ImagesCook reached his first half-century of the series …•Getty Images… but on 85, he was pinned lbw by Nuwan Pradeep•AFPHe wisely opted not to review despite being struck from round the wicket•Getty ImagesBairstow, however, built on his start to pass 500 Test runs for 2016•Getty Images… although his luck was still in when he inside-edged a four through fine leg•Getty ImagesMoeen Ali was caught at slip for 25•Getty Images… but Bairstow’s current vein of form sealed England’s recovery•Getty ImagesHe screamed with delight after bringing up his third Test century•Getty ImagesAfter making 95 at Lord’s in 2012, it was a particularly special moment•Getty Images

Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar analyses the talking points from the second day of the Antigua Test

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2016’Impressed with Kohli’s intensity and desire’Virat Kohli brought up his maiden first-class double-century against West Indies in Antigua to continue his incredible run in international cricket1:17

‘Great to see Kohli’s intensity and desire to score big runs’

‘Ashwin at No.6 not a solution for all conditions’ yetIndia’s batting fragility in seamer-friendly conditions could make it difficult to accommodate Ashwin at No.61:13

‘Ashwin at No.6 not a solution for all conditions yet’

‘Baffling to see Shannon Gabriel under-bowled’West Indies’ decision to strengthen their batting by playing bowling allrounders is severely hampering their wicket-taking ability in Tests1:30

‘Baffling to see Shannon Gabriel under-bowled’

‘Umesh Yadav’s control a good sign for India’Indian fast bowlers have been erratic in the past, but they showed control during the short stint at the end of day two1:41

‘Umesh Yadav’s control a good sign for India’