Learie Constantine’s influence on life and cricket in the West Indies and in his adopted home, England, went far beyond his deeds on the field

Alan Gardner09-Sep-2017West Indian cricket has probably long grown tired of being reminded of its glorious past, which is why the current team’s famous win at Headingley this year was such a tonic to players and followers alike. From having their fitness for Test cricket questioned they were suddenly conquering heroes, able to travel to Lord’s for what few expected to be a series decider, in the hope of making some more history of their own.It is 67 years since those “two little pals” of Lord Beginner, Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine, spun West Indies to their first victory in England on the same ground; 22 years before that, they made their Test bow, also at Lord’s, only to be beaten by an innings. Those early tours more closely resembled West Indies’ recent fortunes in England – where they did not win a Test between 2000 and 2017 – but the struggle for recognition was more profound. Three heavy defeats in 1928 left to question whether they had been elevated to Test status too soon.What was not in dispute was the talent of one man: Learie Constantine. His Test record as an allrounder may seem unspectacular, with 58 wickets at 30.10 and a batting average below 20, but in other respects he was a colossus. An important figure in the fight for West Indian self-rule, he helped break down some of the racial barriers that affected life for black people in Britain, his adopted home, during the middle of the 20th century, and went on to receive a knighthood and serve at a different Lords – the House of Lords – as the first black peer. That’s without touching on his time as a legend of the Lancashire League.Constantine – or “Connie”, as he was affectionately known – was a T20 hitter before the idea was conceived, as well as a formidable fast bowler and extrovert fielder, perhaps second only to Bradman as one of the sensations of the age. But he was pragmatic about how cricket could help him advance in life, using his natural ability and showman’s skills on that 1928 tour to win a contract as a professional with Nelson, a small town in Lancashire where he spent nine English summers during the prime of his career, becoming one of the highest-paid sportsmen in Britain.It is when charting Constantine’s time in this northern cloth-manufacturing community that Harry Pearson’s new biography of the man really comes to life. When Constantine arrived, he became a local hero – there is now a blue plaque commemorating the house where he lived – and star attraction in Lancashire cricket, drawing record crowds to Nelson’s Seedhill ground and on trips to rivals such as Bacup, Rawtenstall and Colne. (More than 50 years later, Viv Richards would briefly tread a similar path with Rishton.)If it seems strange that a player of Constantine’s ability would choose to commit himself to club cricket (albeit as a professional), sometimes at the expense of representing his country, it is important to remember the context of being a black West Indian in the 1920s and ’30s. As Pearson writes: “The West Indies was a divided society, and white people ruled it.”Players were often selected for the national team on the basis of which island was hosting a touring side, and the captain was by default always a white man – though Constantine stepped in to help guide West Indies to a series-sealing victory in Jamaica on England’s 1934-35 tour, when Jackie Grant went off injured. Perhaps ironically, it was in the tight-knit, white working-class environment of Nelson that Constantine could leave such indignities behind. “It was a little world all to itself, drawing strength from its parochialism. Here, Connie noted approvingly, ‘a cricketer is just a cricketer and nothing else’.”Little, BrownIncidentally the Lancashire League – and equivalents such as the Bradford League, where Constantine ended his professional career – seems to have been a sort of proto-IPL (without the cheerleaders and global TV audience), attracting the likes of SF Barnes, Hedley Verity, Ted McDonald, George Headley and Lala Amarnath for what could be highly lucrative stints well away from the world of Test cricket. Things change, things stay the same.Constantine was a man of strong principles (he held an eight-year grudge against Wally Hammond for a perceived snub on England’s 1925 visit), though his demeanour could sometimes be taken for arrogance and he struggled to adapt to life back in Trinidad after going into politics. He was, as CLR James noted in , a beacon for West Indian cricketers in their fight for recognition, but his most significant legacy may have been as an advocate of Caribbean independence, as well as in improving race relations in the UK. “The country we live in would be a much diminished place had he stayed in Trinidad,” writes Pearson.There are times when slips into rather mundane Test match reportage, and it is a shame that Pearson – a noted humourist – appears somewhat constrained in his writing about a historical figure of such gravity. But this is an excellently researched and sensitively handled account of Constantine’s life and impact beyond the game. He was “a ‘Champagne cocktail’ cricketer – effervescent but with a kick” and half a century on, his story has lost none of its fizz.Connie: The marvellous life of Learie Constantine
By Harry Pearson
Little, Brown
£20, 352 pages

All the key stats from the third and final day of the deciding Test at Lord’s

Bharath Seervi09-Sep-2017 7/42 – James Anderson’s figures in the second innings – his best in Tests. He marginally bettered his previous best figures of 7 for 43 against New Zealand at Trent Bridge in 2008. This was his second seven-for in Tests. 39 – Wickets for Anderson in this home season – 20 wickets in four Tests against South Africa and 19 wickets in the three Tests against West Indies – the joint second-most for an England bowler in home season. Only Jim Laker’s 46 scalps from five matches in 1956 season is higher than Anderson’s tally. Anderson had identical bowling average in both the series this season – 14.10. Anderson’s previous highest tally in a home season was 37 from seven Tests in 2014. 1 – Number of fast bowlers to claim a seven-for at an older age than Anderson’s 35 years and 39 days in the last 100 years. Imran Khan, who took 7 for 80 against West Indies in Georgetown in 1988, is the only pacer to do at an older age than Anderson. Overall, Anderson is the fifth oldest to take a seven-for in Tests. 9 – Number of consecutive series without a win for West Indies, since their 2-0 win against Bangladesh in 2014. Only one of these nine series West Indies could manage to draw and lost rest eight. Their longest streak without a series win is 13 between 2004 and 2009. England haven’t lost a home series the 1-0 loss to Sri Lanka in 2014. 1936 – Last instance of all four innings of a Lord’s Test yielding less than 200 runs, between India and the hosts. This Test, with highest total of 194 is the fourth such Lord’s Test and 32nd overall. The last anywhere was in 2007 in Cape Town between South Africa and Pakistan. 375 – Shai Hope’s tally in this series – the highest among all batsmen. He had made only 372 runs from his 10 Tests prior to this series. His average increased from 19.57 at start of the series to 31.12 at the end. 10 – Instances of England chasing down a 100-plus target losing just one or fewer wickets. Their last three instances, including this Test, have all come against West Indies. 90 – Wickets for Anderson at Lord’s – the most by a fast bowler at a single venue. He went past Heath Streak’s 83 wickets in Harare. Only Muttiah Muralitharan and Rangana Herath have more wickets at a venue than Anderson. 33.90 – Stuart Broad’s average in this home season, his worst in a home season since his debut season in 2008 when he averaged 46.46. His average had never gone above 30 in any of the other seasons since then. He could get only 20 wickets from seven Tests this time.

In his short Test career, he has been dismissed close to lunch, tea or stumps too many times and it is hurting Pakistan

Osman Samiuddin in Dubai09-Oct-2017There were about five minutes left before tea. Babar Azam was looking like Babar Azam, hanging around with all the languor of a rakish prince. When he defended the first ball he faced, as often happens with him, he immediately looked so in, so in control that it could’ve been the 100th ball he was facing, or even dawdling in a low-key net session.For half an hour, he appeared every bit as accomplished as the hype has it, mostly untroubled – although not against spin – and definitely unhurried. Sri Lanka’s pacers were squeezing him and making him play, but all in all he was shaping up okay, a young man who knows he’s got this.Then, with a break in play looming, Rangana Herath bowled a shortish delivery on off stump that broke further away. Babar tried to whip it through midwicket, except there was a midwicket in place and he took a straightforward catch. The ball had not stopped on him, it did not bounce more than it should have, it wasn’t great. But it an awful shot. With ten balls left for tea.But hey, it happens. It happens to young batsmen finding their way into the game. Make a note, talk it out with him and expect better next time. Except this wasn’t the first time Babar had gotten out at the worst possible time. Or even the second. Or third.He’s not had a long Test career – this is just his 12th Test. Yet of his 19 dismissals to date, on as many as 15 occasions he has been dismissed just before or after a break, whether that is at the start of play, lunch, tea and close (or tea and dinner), as well as drinks intervals in between sessions.A graphic showing Babar Azam’s dismissals before session intervals•ESPNcricinfo LtdNear enough a break, for the purposes of this, is anything inside four overs either side. If that seems too much, it isn’t really – common wisdom has it that five overs either side of a session break are important moments in a game, where it is vital to not lose a wicket and, potentially, cede momentum. Maybe including the drinks in between sessions is harsh, but they are breaks and do require, to an extent, the batsman starting afresh after it. In any case, Babar’s dismissals near drinks breaks have all been within 10 deliveries either side.Even if you take those out, look at the timing of the really bad ones on the list. Four balls after tea in Hamilton; last ball before lunch and first ball after it at the MCG; three overs before tea and four overs into the morning in Sydney; last ball before lunch in Dominica; and what turned out to be the last ball of the day in Abu Dhabi.All of them are critical moments for batsmen, where the very best of them prove in a small way why they are what they are. It is where the already-heightened levels of focus of elite athletes reach out to another higher level. Eyes narrow, the mind cleanses itself of distraction. Shots are checked and balls that can be, are left. Batsmen, forever stepping in and out of bubbles, must step into one here, where their intrinsically selfish instincts are, for once, line up with the needs of the team. One must survive so that the team can prosper. It is when you really need to understand not only your game but also where the game itself is. What will bowlers and their captains try and do to you here?Even if you find justifications to whittle this list down, in such a short career it will still be too many for it to not be a pattern, not to reveal an overbearing looseness in Babar’s Test game. It makes it worse that it always looks so easy for him. Half the problem is that he is unable to make it look any other way. He plays as he plays whether Pakistan are following on, clawing their way out of another wreck, chasing a target down, batting out time – batting in monotone, unaware much of what is happening around him.That much should be clear from the nature of some of these dismissals. The shot to Herath was awful, but only perhaps as bad as the tickle down the leg side in Abu Dhabi at day’s end. At least twice he has chased full, wide tempters that may as well have come with a skull-and-crossbones sign. And twice his wicket has come not only right after a break, but been the second in quick succession. He’s a cautionary coaching manual tale of how not to bat near breaks.It’s no secret how highly Pakistan rate him. And the fuss is understandable, because it’s easy to look at the way he bats, and the runs he scores in limited-overs and the manner in which he scores them, and walks away thinking there is no way he’s not going to make it as a Test batsman. Well, it turns out there is one way, which is to average 19 in 16 innings since his best Test knock (an unbeaten 90 in Hamilton) and lug around this list of dismissals. It should be enough for Pakistan to start asking themselves whether he really can be turned into a Test batsman.It is not known whether he or the coaching staff have picked up on this issue, though it wouldn’t be a surprise if they haven’t. All through last season, they put him at one down in the belief that ‘yes, it will be tough and he is the youngest and most inexperienced in that order, but he is gifted enough to work out a way’. And suddenly this season, it’s fine to have him lower down when, one would think, he is a year older and wiser. With young batsmen, it usually works the other way.Azhar Ali, who could teach him a thing or two about batting, thinks it is just a matter of one big innings. Babar will make it, that’ll be the end of it and we’ll have ourselves a Test batsman. If only it were that easy.

There are many good reasons for Joe Root to enter the IPL auction, but his inclusion begs several questions that cricket must answer

David Hopps13-Jan-2018As they apparently say at the poshest parties when asked who is coming: “Everybody who is anybody darling”. As many as 1122 players, including 282 from outside India, have put themselves up for the IPL auction. It is easier to ask who can’t be there.But for one player at least, the decision has not been an easy one. For two seasons, Joe Root has eschewed IPL, firstly because he wanted to establish the certainty of his Test match game, then because of the twin considerations of his first child and his appointment as England’s Test captain.Such considerations are now behind him. Root wants to swig headily from IPL’s champagne flute as much as anybody. Entering his peak years, at 27, he desires to assert himself as a multi-format player, part of a special breed of batsmen including Virat Kohli, Steven Smith and Kane Williamson who can turn their hand to anything cricket’s split personality can devise.The mood in England towards the IPL has also changed. Resistance to the tournament was abandoned within the ECB from the moment Andrew Strauss became director of England cricket. But resistance has also collapsed beyond the confines of the governing body. The new breed of cricket fan, weaned on Twenty20, actively wants to see Root play in the IPL and even many traditionalists who resent the format because it intrudes so overbearingly on the start of the English county season now shrug that his involvement is inevitable.England will always come first – Root

Joe Root emphasised that England will always take priority after he entered the IPL auction.
“I’ve always said I put playing for England first and if it means resting from things like the IPL, which I’ve done in the past, I’ll happily do that,” he said. “For however long my international career lasts it’s going to be focused about giving as much as I can for this team and playing for England.
“But as someone involved in the Test side I don’t want to be missing white-ball cricket and falling behind, trying to catch up. The IPL is a great opportunity. It may be that I don’t have a great IPL but the best thing would be the exposure to different players and different ways of looking at the game, being under pressure for long periods of time. I can’t see how that could hamper my game or be detrimental to my England career.”

Root is right to join the IPL long list. Not to challenge himself against the best, in the hullaballoo of IPL, would be to limit the extent of his ambitions. Not to learn from the best would be to suppress his potential. IPL is now a central part of cricket’s history. See and be seen: it would be a strikingly non-conformist cricketer who resisted that.There has been a lot of tosh, nevertheless, about how a sports career is short and cricketers “need” the money. Of course, they are entitled to seek their rewards while they can, but “need” is an inflammatory word when a top cricketer can earn in a single year from England alone what a worker on average wages can earn in 40. And, as for talk of a short career, the support mechanisms that exist for English professional cricketers as they approach retirement are better than ever. They are allowed to work after their careers are over.T20 data on Root is hardly extensive. He has regularly rested out T20 internationals and such is the all-consuming nature of England’s international summer that he has rarely appeared in the Blast – England’s own T20 tournament. But his strike rates in all three forms of the game are comparable to Smith and faster than Williamson. He is no plodder; indeed, it is his propensity to become over ambitious when set at Test level that has become one of the recurring features of his game.Dan Weston, a data analyst at Sports Analytics Advantage, calculates that Root will do better than many casual Indian observers expect, saying: “With an Expected IPL batting average of 46.35, and strike rate 134.44, Root would be an excellent acquisition for an IPL franchise looking for a player capable of playing a strong anchor innings at the top of the order.”As Weston points out, the comparison to last year’s IPL mean batting average of 25.29 and strike rate of 133.36, suggests that Root’s elite-level performance would be expected to be seen in his average rather than strike rate. There are other predictions, too: his boundary count can be expected to be lower with a heavy emphasis on reducing dot balls to a minimum, and potential suitors might fear that his innings may stagnate against spin.All this conjecture is the very stuff of sport and encapsulates why Root must put his skills to the test.

Compensation levels to the clubs that produce the players who keep the T20 gravy train rolling are wholly inadequate

But there are legitimate worries nonetheless. International cricket and the T20 leagues co-exist not by intelligent consideration of a sustainable international schedule, but by piling ever more demands on ambitious young sportsmen.Multi-format cricketers feel this burden more than many, none more so, of course, than Kohli, who played 86 days’ international cricket in 2017, plus IPL. Root played 78, plus two four-day Championship matches for Yorkshire, and the sight of him exercising one of the stiffer backs in international cricket have become commonplace. More than double that for practice and travel days. Root, too, has committed himself diligently to regular media opportunities on behalf of various sponsors and charities and surely now that must be curtailed.Already Trevor Bayliss, England’s coach, has intimated that, if Root wants rest, he might also now have to skip county matches ahead of the England Test summer (he only played two anyway and barely got a run). Just turn up to practice, flick a switch and put on the right coloured clothing. It is now quite possible Yorkshire – the county that nurtured him – will not see him again for the next five years.Root’s exhuastion summed up England’s repeated Ashes failings•Getty ImagesCompensation levels to the clubs that produce the players who keep the T20 gravy train rolling are wholly inadequate. The gathering talent drain from county cricket has emphasised the pressing need for England’s 18-team professional system to extend its developmental reach to ensure its standards are not compromised. Proper financial rewards would protect the supply lines – and not just in England.As far as the players are concerned, to cope with the workload, concessions are already made. International tours have been curtailed by slashing warm-up matches, and too many series have become one-sided as a consequence, but until crowds fall, or TV companies protest, that outcome is not about to change.In England, some young county professionals excited by a marquee signing for the NatWest Blast have been somewhat disillusioned when the recognition dawns that most of the sporting knowledge they hoped to glean from their overseas import would have to take place on the golf course. The second tier of T20 leagues might still manage to sign the player, but they no longer delude themselves that they necessarily command his full attention.Eventually, something will give. Just as it takes a tragic accident outside a school for a council to fast-track a new speeding sign, it will doubtless take an overburdened, world-renowned cricketer to suffer a serious health issue to make cricket give the issue serious thought. Unless cricket’s rulers negotiate a responsible outcome, where T20 and international cricket can co-exist in a sensible framework, that one day the whole shebang will explode in our faces is inevitable.

Twitter reactions to Tim Paine’s unexpected Ashes call-up

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Nov-2017Tim Paine is not even the first-choice keeper for his state team, so his elevation to the national side as a gloveman caused plenty of debate.Former Australian legspinner Stuart MacGill was blunt, as ever.

Ashes selections…. made by morons mascarading as mentors. Times up gents. https://t.co/LIfRIK1B41

— stu macgill (@scgmacgill) 16 November 2017

The sheer lack of games behind the stumps for Paine made it an incredible selection.

Tim Paine tipped as Ashes wicketkeeper? Hasn't made a first-class hundred since 2006. Has kept wicket in 3 Shield games in past 2 years. Extraordinary. https://t.co/iuTRZvi7FA

— Brydon Coverdale (@brydoncoverdale) 16 November 2017

Then there was the lack of runs.

To put things in perspective, the Oz coach Darren Lehmann scored a FC ton in 2007, Tim Paine’s last FC ton was in 2006.

— Rob Moody (@robelinda2) 16 November 2017

Paine averages 29 in his first-class career, and just 20.40 in the past two years.

And what of Paines average in shield cricket in that time? Best keeper is old school selection!!

— Brett Geeves (@brettygeevz) 16 November 2017

Paine had his share of backers too though, including experienced wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Ludeman.

If Paine selection is true. Great move, no wicketkeeper is currently in form. So pick the best 'keeper in the country #pure #gloveman

— Tim Ludeman (@tludey) 16 November 2017

And former Tasmania medium-pacer Tim Macdonald.

best gloveman in the country. Fact. Even the country’s glovemen agree with that.

— Tim Macdonald (@timmacs) 16 November 2017

The New Zealand batsman’s three T20I centuries have come in his last ten innings

Shiva Jayaraman03-Jan-2018Munro, the first batsman to three T20I hundredsColin Munro became the first batsman to hit three T20I centuries with his 104 off 53 balls against West Indies in Mount Maunganui. Four other batsmen have hit two hundreds in this format, including Munro’s former captain Brendon McCullum.ESPNcricinfo LtdMunro carted ten sixes in his innings, which are the joint most by a New Zealand batsman in a T20I innings. Corey Anderson too had hit 10 sixes at the same venue against Bangladesh in 2017. Those big hits helped Munro soar to his century off only 47 balls, making it the fastest for New Zealand in T20Is and the joint sixth-fastest overall.

Munro makes record series runsThis was Munro’s third successive fifty-plus score in T20Is. He joins McCullum and Martin Guptill as the only New Zealand batsmen to have got fifty-plus scores in three consecutive innings. While McCullum has a streak of four such innings, Guptill has had two such separate streaks. Notably, all of Munro’s three hundreds have come in his last ten innings, which also include three ducks. Munro has made 447 runs in his last ten T20I innings at an average of 49.66 and at a strike-rate of 182.44.ESPNcricinfo LtdMunro’s three fifty-plus scores in the series tallied up to 223 runs at an average of 74.33 – the most runs scored by any batsman in any bilateral T20I series (41 of these have had three-match series). He beat Hamilton Masakadza’s tally of 222 runs in a series against Bangladesh in 2015-16, which was the previous highest.A big stand, and a unique record Munro added 136 runs for the first wicket with Martin Guptill – New Zealand’s third-highest stand in this format for any wicket. Guptill, incidentally, has been involved in all the three top partnerships for New Zealand. Apart from Munro and Guptill, each of the other five batsmen to bat hit at least one six apiece, making it the first instance when each of the top seven batsmen in a T20I innings have hit at least one six. There have been two instances when the top six batsmen have each hit sixes in an innings. Afghanistan’s top six had done that against UAE in a T20I in 2016-17 and England’s batsmen had each got at least one six against New Zealand in 2012-13.New Zealand’s record totalSuch lusty hitting meant that New Zealand piled up 243 – their highest total in T20Is. They beat their previous highest total by 29 runs. New Zealand had made 214 against Australia in Christchurch in 2009-10. Overall, there have been only six other totals in T20Is that are higher than New Zealand’s score in this match.New Zealand seal their biggest ever winNew Zealand bowled out West Indies for just 124 and wrapped up a 119-run win – their biggest in this format. Their previous biggest win had come against Pakistan in Wellington in 2015-16. Overall, there have been only two other bigger margins of wins in T20 internationals.

The latest snippets from around the English game including Dom Bess’ best friend who played for England in another sport and how Tom Kohler-Cadmore’s dad joined him at Yorkshire

Paul Bolton22-May-2018The return of county cricket to outgrounds could prove to be one of the unexpected, but welcome, benefits of next year’s World Cup and the ECB’s planned 100-ball competition from 2020.The introduction of a full programme of four-day matches and the reduction in the number of County Championship matches has seen the number of outgrounds halved to just 21 over the last 25 years.But the combination of the World Cup and the new franchise tournament will put the major international venues out of bounds to county cricket for significant periods of the next four summers forcing the host counties to seek alternative venues.Nottinghamshire, who have already made a success of staging Royal London One Day Cup cricket at Welbeck near Mansfield, are now considering taking a match over the border to Grantham in Lincolnshire. Their last foray into England’s second-largest county came at Cleethorpes in 2004.Warwickshire have already confirmed that a return to Portland Road in Edgbaston, where first-class cricket was last staged in 1961, is likely in 2020. The ground, originally the Mitchell’s & Butler’s Sports Ground, lay derelict for more than a quarter off a century, before being resurrected as the Edgbaston Community Foundation Sports Ground which is used extensively by Warwickshire for 2nd XI and county age group matches.Yorkshire are also considering taking county cricket back to Park Avenue in Bradford and Abbeydale Park in Sheffield, which have both seen investment to upgrade facilities since they dropped off the outground roster in 1996***Increasing the number of outgrounds will give Chris Nash, the Nottinghamshire and former Sussex batsman, the opportunity to add to his encyclopaedic knowledge of motorway service stations.If you want to know which services serve the best all day breakfast or flat white or which have the cleanest toilets, Nash, a man who has spent 17 years travelling the motorway system on the county grind, is your man.Nash even runs a weekly ‘Guess the Services’ (#countygrind) quiz for his 7,500 Twitter followers with photos of Hopwood Park (M42), Cobham (M25), Toddington (M1) and Knutsford (M6) among his early-season ‘highlights’.

Here we go….. #guesstheservices #countygrind pic.twitter.com/BfxgmlTdGA

— Chris Nash (@chrisnash23) May 18, 2018

***Somerset offspinner Dom Bess will emulate his best friend Jack Maunder if he makes his Test debut for England against Pakistan at Lord’s this week.Bess and Maunder played cricket and rugby together at Blundell’s School before their sporting careers took different paths.Maunder, a wicketkeeper who played alongside Bess for Devon in the 2011 Under-14 County Cup final, concentrated on rugby with Exeter Chiefs.Maunder was the first of the bosom buddies to win an England cap in Argentina last summer. He will be preparing to face Saracens in Saturday’s Aviva Premiership final at Twickenham while Bess gets ready for his potential Test debut.***Yorkshire knew they were signing a talented batsman when they recruited Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who flayed 164 in their opening RLODC match against Durham, what they didn’t expect was to get a new dressing room attendant into the bargain.Kohler-Cadmore’s father Mick, a former prison officer, spent two years as Worcestershire’s dressing room attendant but he left New Road at the end of last season and has now followed his son, who joined Yorkshire midway through last season, to Headingley.Kohler-Cadmore Jnr has taken a circuitous route from his hometown of Hornsea into Yorkshire’s first team via Malvern College where he was awarded a scholarship after he was recommended to Worcestershire by former Yorkshire batsman and coach Kevin Sharp, who is now head coach at New Road.***Luke Fletcher’s heartening return to action after suffering severe concussion last season has been mirrored by the early-season form of Sam Hain, the batsman whose fierce return drive inflicted the injury, during a T20 match at Edgbaston.Having recovered from the trauma of seeing Fletcher felled, Hain has made a scintillating start to the Royal London One Day Cup with successive centuries in the defeat by Derbyshire – watched by England selector Mick Newell – and victory over Yorkshire.Hain, born in Hong Kong, raised in Australia but now qualified to play for England, marked his England Lions debut with a century against West Indies A in March.***Manchester artist Fanny Gogh has swapped knickers for nickers.Gogh, whose real name is Sian Doherty, was given the pseudonym after she persuaded celebrities to donate their underwear which she then used to create artwork in the shape of Knickerbocker Glory ice creams.The Salford-based artist has since produced abstract paintings of Manchester United footballers but has now turned her attention to the other Old Trafford, with excellent results.Prints of Gogh’s striking portraits – all paint, no jockstraps – of Andrew Flintoff, James Anderson, Haseeb Hameed, Liam Livingstone and Kumar Sangakkara are available at: @fannycricket***James Taylor has turned down a request to appear in a new video to promote the PCA Benevolent Fund.The former England batsman was surprised to be asked to promote the charity because he has received no assistance from it since his career was cut short by a heart condition – arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy – two years ago.Taylor has also criticised the players’ union and the ECB for the inadequate insurance cover they provided which meant that he left the game with a pay-out of GBP £300,000, which in his case represented barely a year’s earnings.”When it came to the crunch, the combined value of the PCA and the ECB’s insurance policies bore no relation to the modern game: it added up to little or no more than my previous year’s earnings,” writes Taylor in his new book .***Boyd Rankin has taken to social media in an attempt to track down the car belonging to his girlfriend, Anna Hawkins, which was stolen the night after he returned to Birmingham after playing in Ireland’s inaugural Test.Rankin has posted photos of the white Fiat 500 with Italian stripes, registration number HY11 WLH, on Twitter and Facebook. Rankin has asked anyone with information about the car, which was stolen between 10pm on May 16 and 8am on May 17 to contact @WMPolice or @CMPG

Trinbago Knight Riders reap rewards for continuity, and Andre Russell stands up for more “home” games for Jamaica Tallawahs

Peter Della Penna18-Sep-2018Continuity pays off for TKROne of the most amazing things about Trinbago Knight Riders’ third CPL title in the space of four seasons is how they’ve done it, by virtue of a settled core to maintain team chemistry. The draft and auction regulations for many of the world’s T20 franchise leagues can lead to excessive chopping and changing from season to season, making some teams unrecognizable from one season to the next, but that hasn’t been the case for the Knight Riders.Twelve squad members who took the field during their 2017 title run were back again in 2018. When newcomers were forced to be chosen, due to the unavailability of Shadab Khan and Ronsford Beaton, management chose their replacements shrewdly as Fawad Ahmed and Ali Khan were the team’s top two wicket-takers in 2018, helping TKR to repeat as champions. Unsurprisingly, the team with the second-fewest changes – Guyana Amazon Warriors with nine players retained – was TKR’s opponent in the final, showing the value of keeping faith in a strong nucleus.Associate stars shining brightThe CPL has been a trailblazing league when it comes to offering opportunities to Associate players. Since the 2016 season, there has been a mandate to draft at least one North American player from an Associate country as part of the squad. That commitment to helping develop players beyond the Test world continues bearing fruit.USA’s Timroy Allen was the main beneficiary in 2016, serving as a key role player in six matches for the champion Jamaica Tallawahs. Steven Taylor had been part of Barbados Tridents squad as an ICC Americas pick for Barbados Tridents before parlaying exposure from the Regional Super50 into a handsome USD 30,000 contract in 2017 with Guyana Amazon Warriors, while Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi also fetched high-priced draft slots for Guyana and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots respectively before Afghanistan got Test status later in the year.In 2018, Nepal’s Sandeep Lamichhane and USA’s Khan continued the trend in spectacular style. Lamichhane was one of the standout bowlers over the first two weeks of the tournament, taking seven wickets in five matches with a sparkling 6.23 economy rate. Forget Associate status, few from any country were better than Khan for TKR this season as he finished joint-third with 16 wickets, vaulting him to the top tier of bowlers in demand for 2019.Russell stands up for JamaicaTallawahs captain, and very proud Jamaican, Andre Russell earned himself plenty of brownie points in his homeland when he stated in no uncertain terms what he thought of team ownership’s decision to shift home games from Sabina Park to the Central Broward Regional Park (CBRP) in Florida. Following the first of what would be three straight “home” losses in Florida, Russell went on full blast to slam the decision to play those games away from Jamaica, essentially conceding home-field advantage.Jamaica Tallawahs captain Andre Russell chats with coaches Mark O’Donnell and Ramnaresh Sarwan during training•Peter Della PennaTallawahs won two matches in front of sellout weeknight crowds of 15,000 at Sabina Park. When Russell and his charges moved to Florida later that weekend to finish off their home slate, they were greeted by hostile crowds, heavily in favour of Amazon Warriors and TKR. Their final match was played in an eerily quiet setting with just 700 fans in attendance to see Tallawahs lose in stunning fashion to Barbados Tridents, despite seven wickets in hand.It was hard to tell which was a worse atmosphere was for Tallawahs in Florida, the roar of the opposition fans in the first two games or pin-drop silence through the third. Regardless, Russell and team owners – Worldwide Sports Management Group – may have a tricky decision to make this offseason in light of WSMG’s agreement with the CBRP guaranteeing at least three major cricket events at the stadium per year. If Russell has his way, the CPL may go back to using Lauderhill as a neutral site venue, shared equally by teams as it was in 2016 and 2017, rather than a “home” away from home for Tallawahs.Sandpapergate curse continuesThe summer of franchise barnstorming for Steven Smith and David Warner has not gone as planned for either player. Smith was a headline selection in the inaugural season of the Global T20 Canada, but his Toronto Nationals side finished in last place. His presence in the Barbados Tridents side produced equally dismal results as the 2014 champions continued their streak of missing the playoffs for a third consecutive year, notching just two wins to finish with the wooden spoon in CPL 2018, and Smith himself missed the end of the tournament due to injury.Warner had a horrid time with the bat playing for Winnipeg Hawks in Canada, but at least he could say that his team made the playoffs. However, in the CPL, another wretched start for St Lucia Stars doomed them to miss the playoffs for the second year in a row, and Warner only managed one half-century in his nine innings. Perhaps his most significant contribution was highlighting how poor the umpiring was at times during the league phase as his glove-before-wicket dismissal provided an early catalyst for DRS to be brought in for the semi-final and final.DRS for 2019At least a dozen doozies were missed by the umpiring crews during this season. CPL administrators finally conceded that the issue had become an epidemic when the decision was made to use DRS technology for the semi-final and final. Even that was a curious call as it meant the first half of playoff matches in Guyana were without it, which cost TKR in their qualifier loss to Amazon Warriors when a pair of lbw decisions against Brendon McCullum and Denesh Ramdin inside the Powerplay stood a very high probability of being overturned.The IPL and PSL have already instituted DRS across the entire season. Bringing DRS in for the last two matches of the CPL 2018 playoffs was a positive step forward. Instituting it for the entire season in CPL 2019 will be even better.

Right through the Asia Cup, Bangladesh’s middle order had made up for their misfiring top order. In the final, the roles were reversed

Mohammad Isam28-Sep-2018Bangladesh’s middle order had turned 2 for 3, 87 for 5 and 12 for 3 into spectacular wins in the Asia Cup. But the day Liton Das produced his maiden ODI century, that too in the tournament final, the rest of the batting was a no-show.It was Bangladesh’s last three years in a nutshell, one aspect of their cricket going horribly wrong before or after others click perfectly into gear. The recipe of this collapse included two hits that didn’t cross the midwicket boundary, one batsman playing down the wrong line, and two getting run out.Such untimely dismissals have lately been associated with Liton, who has been billed for so long as the best Bangladeshi batsman of his generation. Despite scoring heavily in the domestic scene for more than five years, Liton has found many different ways to get out in international cricket. After making 41 against Afghanistan, for instance, he had thrown his wicket away with a needless slog. He has been a source of frustration for long, much like Soumya Sarkar has been since 2016, and all of this has piled the pressure on Bangladesh’s senior batsmen.Before today, Bangladesh’s opening stands in the Asia Cup were 1, 15, 15, 16 and 5. Thanks to injury and poor form, three different batsmen had partnered Liton at the top of the order. In the final, the team management made another change in the opening slot, and an unexpected one, with the offspinning allrounder Mehidy Hasan – who had never before batted above No. 6 in 16 ODIs – walking out alongside Liton.Liton himself hadn’t scored a whole heap of runs, but Bangladesh trusted him to open despite having Imrul Kayes and Soumya Sarkar in their line-up. One more failure from Liton could have tipped the decision-makers over the edge. This was his make-or-break innings.How well he and Mehidy responded. They took everyone, including perhaps themselves, by surprise. Like the honest trier he is, Mehidy committed himself fully to the cause of seeing off India’s opening burst. His firmness rubbed off on Liton, who waited until the fourth over before unveiling his first really attacking shot, a wristy flick past square leg. That shot sent him on his way, and he treated Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal with similar intent on his way to reaching his fifty off 33 balls.But one ball later came the sort of moment that has given Liton a reputation for throwing his wicket away. But Chahal couldn’t hold on to his mistimed slog-sweep running back from deep midwicket, giving Liton a much-needed stroke of luck.Liton tightened up considerably over the course of his next 50-odd runs. It made sense because he was witnessing a collapse at the other end. It was the first of two collapses that would derail Bangladesh’s innings.Poor decision-making played a large part in 120 for no loss turning into 151 for 5. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah should have held back their slog-sweeps for much later. Mohammad Mithun was run-out with Liton not responding to his partner’s call, instead watching Ravindra Jadeja’s athletic effort to stop his blazing drive into the covers.Liton, who had slowed down considerably after reaching his hundred, added 37 for the sixth wicket with Soumya in a bid to rebuild what was broken but his dismissal, the tightest off stumpings after he was beaten by Kuldeep Yadav’s wrong’un, began Bangladesh’s second collapse. They lost their last five wickets for 34 runs in 7.4 overs.The timing of Liton’s wicket – in the 41st over – was inopportune for Bangladesh. Perhaps they could have added an extra 20-30 runs to their total – which, in the end, wasn’t too far short of match-winning anyway – had he stayed on until the last three or four overs. And they will rue the shot selection and miscommunication that cost them at other key moments. In the end, as has been the case with a lot of Bangladesh’s recent ODI cricket, hugely encouraging developments came hand in hand with that perennial question: what if?

The Oval was been witness to many famous retirements over the years, but few can have matched the ovation for Alastair Cook

George Dobell at The Oval10-Sep-20181:34

‘The most surreal four days of my life’ – Cook

And they all lived happily ever after.It wouldn’t quite be true to say you couldn’t script Alastair Cook’s farewell – have you seen Attack of The Killer Tomatoes? – but, had seven dwarves, a fawn and a princess welcomed him back into a dressing room made of candy, it could hardly have proved more fairytale.The Oval has been the scene of many remarkable events. It hosted the first football international and the first FA Cup. It was the birthplace of the Ashes and, towards the end of WW2, was fitted out as a prisoner of war camp. It’s witnessed rock concerts from The Who, Rod Stewart and Genesis.But it can rarely have witnessed an ovation like the one that greeted Cook’s century here. Without invitation or organisation, without any need to implore them to ‘make some noise,’ the crowd rose as one and gave Cook an ovation so heartfelt and sustained that you wondered, for a while, if it would ever stop. Britney Spears had a marriage that lasted less time than this; Brian Clough a spell at Leeds.At one stage, the umpire, Kumar Dharmasena, tried to wrap things up. At another, Cook, who had already raised his bat to the crowd in all corners of the ground, shrugged to the India fielders who were in position and waiting the next ball. But still it continued. An expression of relief that Cook’s struggles should be rewarded at last and gratitude for the times he has put himself in the line of fire – both on the pitch and off – for the good of the team.How long did it last? Well, someone, somewhere will no doubt have measured it in minutes and seconds. But the real answer is until Cook knew, knew for certain and for ever, that he would go into retirement appreciated by the supporters of the team he has served with such distinction. It was a long goodbye, for sure, but it was also a perfect one.”They wouldn’t shut up,” he said with a smile afterwards. “It was phenomenal. It’s been the most surreal four days of my life. Every reception has been incredible.”I’ve had bigger innings in more important games that have meant more but, on a purely emotional level, with so many friends and family here, I couldn’t have asked for a better week for me.”People have said that the pressure is off. But, in a funny way, thinking about not getting out for nought or not getting out early every morning, has brought a different type of pressure. It’s a nice way to go.”The manner in which he reached the milestone – Jasprit Bumrah gifting four over-throws after Cook jabbed a cut to point – probably added to the elation of the moment. It was so unlikely and, for most of a crowd who had been living and breathing every ball, such a relief that it added a layer of hilarity and drama.

I’ve spent all my life trying to play for England so to give it up is obviously a big thing. Chasing my dreams and playing for England is all I’ve ever knownAlastair Cook on retirement

Few would begrudge Cook the bonus. After a summer of trying to negate the Duke’s ball and a career trying to negate the fastest and freshest bowlers, he had probably earned a bonus. This was a sort of a ‘buy 12,000; get four free’ deal; a loyalty reward; a tip.In registering a century in his final Test innings, Cook managed what Sir Jack Hobbs, Sir Viv Richards and Sir Don Bradman – all of whom also finished their Test careers at this ground – could not. He finished, as he had begun, with a century.But it wasn’t just his score that impressed. It was the manner in which he made the runs and, most importantly, the fact his batting has laid the platform for victory (barring a miracle, anyway) against the world’s No. 1 ranked Test side. If he has ever batted with such fluency, it can only have been on that 2010-11 Ashes tour. At times his cover drives bore a hint of David Gower. And there’s no higher praise than that.There will, no doubt, be those who look at the 218 runs he has scored in this game and conclude that he is retiring too early. He’s only 33, after all, and it’s not as if there are a throng of obvious successors pushing him for his place. But he’s having none of it.”It absolutely confirms the decision in my mind,” he said. “My decision was not just the culmination of three or four bad games. It’s been coming for 12 to 18 months. It’s not just about a bit of bad form; I’ve been through that before.”I’ve spent all my life trying to play for England so to give it up is obviously a big thing. Chasing my dreams and playing for England is all I’ve ever known. But it was actually a really easy decision for me. Over the last 18 months, things have started to creep into my mind. Once I lost that edge, which has definitely happened in training, that decision was made for me. It’s a bit like the captaincy: when you know it’s right, it’s right.”It’s just time. It’s time for me; it’s time for my family. It’s always nice when people want you just a bit more rather than kicking you out. To go out on my own terms makes it perfect.”Of all the ovations he has received during this game – and a conservative estimate is that he has had 15 standing ovations – there were two that he said stood out. The first was for that century. The other, in the last hour of the day, was led by the Barmy Army trumpeter, Billy Cooper and featured a succession of songs – notably their version of KC and The Sunshine’s Band ‘Baby Give It Up’ – reworked as a tribute to Cook. Lyrically uncomplicated (“Ali, Ali Cook, Ali Cook, Ali, Ali Cook” is about the sum of it), it nevertheless struck a chord for the man at whom it was aimed.Alastair Cook drives•AFP”Their support means so much to the players,” Cook said. “Hearing your song on one of those tough away days – where we might be in the dirt for 150 overs – is amazing. They know how much we try whether we have a good day or a bad day. I’ve had unbelievable support from the Barmy Army and those last few minutes were very special.”And that’s the key with Cook. Everyone knows there have been those days in the dirt. Months of them at times. Days when he couldn’t find a run; days when his team couldn’t take a wicket. Days when it seemed English cricket would rip itself apart in a civil war as ugly as it was unnecessary. And on them all, Cook went out first, scratched his guard and tried to lead the way. Cook wasn’t the most talented, he wasn’t the most flamboyant and he didn’t always succeed. But he was decent, hard-working, honest and loyal. He was the old man who never cheated, never doubted. And somewhere along the line, the cricket-loving people of England seem to have connected with those values.We live in an age when some celebrities hire PR firms to confect a public image; to create a short-cut to respect and popularity. When fame can be achieved by appearing on reality TV and success is measured in the number of Instagram followers. Cook’s not like that. He’s not on social media. He’s not seen at club openings – unless they’re cricket clubs – and he’s most unlikely to go on Celebrity Big Brother. He married his childhood sweetheart and, on their wedding day, drove her from the church in a tractor. He’s more about substance than style.And, on the ground where Boris Johnson had been soundly booed the previous day, Cook received the sort of standing ovation of which any politician would dream. This grand old ground has witnessed many heartfelt goodbyes to many fine cricketers. But this was special and probably unique. Nobody present will ever forget it.