All posts by h716a5.icu

With the plot of the Test yet to be written by the team that took the initiative, Australia’s spinners adjusted to their detriment, thereby conceding the advantage to the hosts

Daniel Brettig in Colombo16-Aug-2016Dimuth Karunaratne’s momentary doze on the batting crease and Peter Nevill’s sharp response to stump him, released a torrent of sanctimony familiar to anyone who has read much about the Olympics these past two weeks. The spirit of cricket had been trampled on by Nevill’s alertness, reinforcing Australia’s reputation as a team up to no good – or so the opinion went.Nevermind that Karunaratne had ignored the fact the ball isn’t dead until it has returned to the bowler, or that wicketkeepers the world over are perpetually trying to catch a batsman out in this way and Nevill was a rare one to succeed. The moment drew out a chorus of tut-tutting that only really abated when Adam Gilchrist emerged to tweet the following: “Nothing unethical about this one. Just a little bit lazy by batsman.”Later, an instance was found where Darren Lehmann had been dismissed in more or less the same manner by Romesh Kaluwitharana in a 1996 ODI. A little like Mankading, Nevill’s stumping provided another instance where batsmen should be more conscious of checking their privilege.There was another cricketing point to the farrago, one of far greater import to Australia and borne out further as the fourth day at the SSC went on. If it was going to take an alert Nevill’s moment of opportunism to manufacture a wicket for the spinners on a turning and deteriorating pitch, then the tourists were going to be waiting a long time to get through Sri Lanka’s batting. How true this turned out to be, as Kaushal Silva and Dinesh Chandimal set about building a handsome lead.Irrespective of the result in this match, Australia’s cricketers, coaches and selectors were hoping to see signs of progress over five days, especially in the departments of batting and spin bowling. While Mitchell Starc has been the outstanding Australian performer in the series, and Josh Hazlewood has offered sturdy support, pace was always something of a sideshow in these climes. The greater onus was on the batsmen to build partnerships and big scores, and the spinners to take wickets through unrelenting pressure on helpful surfaces.The inclusion of Shaun Marsh and the batting evolution of the captain Steven Smith allowed for the former to occur at least in part on days one and two. Their partnership was something for the top six and their mentors to take home to Australia with a sense that at least two players had been able to show the way – even if the rest failed to capitalise on it.But the same could not be said for Nathan Lyon and Jon Holland when their turn came to exert an influence on the match. Rather than coming into their own on the same pitch Rangana Herath was able to use to harvest six wickets, Lyon and Holland were frustrated at length by impish Sri Lankan batting and their own inability to find the consistency required of spinners against opponents raised on a steady diet of slow bowling.Lyon and Holland are both bowlers capable of delivering high quality stuff – their best offerings are arguably more potent than those of Herath, being whirred down from greater heights and so able to gain greater bounce while also being loaded with plenty of revolutions. However the ability to land ball after ball in the same small area of the pitch while close-in fielders sweat on batting errors is what counts most in Asia, and on that count both have been found wanting.For this, a large degree of credit needs to go to Sri Lanka, who have manipulated fields by canny use of sweep shots and heaves over the top at well-chosen moments. As their latest centurion Kaushal Silva put it: “We were positive. When you play on this kind of a wicket you need to manoeuvre the fielders around, you can’t have fielders in catching positions. Our guys played shots and reverse swept so they had to put a fielder there. Those are the little things you need to do when batting, especially the sweep we did it quite often in the series, so that helped us to move the fielders so that they had to do something different which is not their plan.”Nevertheless, Lyon and Holland needed to be able to counter with their own consistency, and a strong self-belief to stick at the task. Wicketkeeper Peter Nevill has had a ringside seat to this contest, and agreed that neither Lyon nor Holland has been allowed to get into any sort of comfortable groove. “Our spinners have done their best to adapt as best they can and I think it’s been an admirable effort, but their batsmen have played spin exceptionally well and made it very hard for a spinner to settle,” he said. “They’ve swept really well, used their feet well, so a lot of credit’s got to go to their batsmen.”What will be most troubling for Lehmann, Smith and the selection chairman Rod Marsh is the fact that day four in Colombo was a much better opportunity for Lyon and Holland to influence the outcome than any other juncture of the series. Certainly it was a world away from the scenario they faced in Galle, when a large first innings lead had been conceded. This time around the game was finally balanced entering the second innings, with the narrative to be written by the team that took the initiative through skill and mental sharpness.But rather than Lyon and Holland making use of the lessons they have learned over the past two weeks, it was Sri Lanka who emerged the stronger, as Australia’s spinners kept on trying to make adjustments in terms of pace, length and arm path. Both men landed the occasional delivery in the perfect spot, eliciting sharp turn and bounce. But they did not do so often enough to corner their opponents, and when the wickets did start to come later in the day, Sri Lanka’s lead had already assumed proportions never successfully chased on this ground. These belated breakthroughs were arguably serving more to open the game up for the hosts than the visitors – the opposite of what Australia had hoped for.Having made his debut in Sri Lanka five years ago, Lyon is now the most senior member of the Australian team in terms of Test matches played. He is also the song master, entrusted with the job of belting out after Test match victories. It will be a source of enormous frustration for him that he has not been able to emerge as a decisive force in this series, and cause for the selectors to ponder the right combination to take to India next year.When the review of Australia’s defeat is undertaken as the chief executive James Sutherland has promised, more time will be spent analysing Lyon’s failure to perform as the lead strike bowler on tour than on an opportunistic stumping effected by an aware wicketkeeper. It should be, anyway.

A flashback to some of the best moments between Australia and South Africa in the last eight years

Firdose Moonda02-Nov-20164:17

‘Told Rhino either you bowl, or I bowl’ – Clarke

It might not quite be the Ashes or India-Pakistan, but a series between Australia and South Africa has its own appeal. The two sides are competitive, intense, evenly matched, and bring the best and worst out of each other.Over the last eight years, Australia-South Africa contests have been especially epic: both teams have overcome the other’s home advantage, legendary captains have retired, and records have been made and broken.Here’s a quick recap.2008: South Africa successfully chased 414 in Perth and won again in Melbourne – their first series victory in Australia.2011: Australia were bowled out for 47 in Cape Town, before sneaking to a two-wicket win in Johannesburg to draw the two-Test series.The 2008 series was particularly special for JP Duminy, who was making his debut•PA Photos2012: A stonewalling in Adelaide that has become the stuff of legend.On the day, it was a show of defiance. In the context of the series, it shifted the momentum. For the players involved, it was defining. It was where Faf du Plessis showed the character that led to him becoming a stand-in captain. It was where Peter Siddle learned to lead an attack. It was where Nathan Lyon played his first real Test.”I realised I was playing Test match cricket and teams don’t just roll over,” Lyon told ESPNcricinfo.Far from it. Usman Khawaja, who was not playing in that Adelaide Test, admitted what a lot of people would have been thinking. “I was expecting Australia to win.”South Africa finished day four on 77 for 4 in their chase of 430. Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla were out. Jacques Kallis was injured. Du Plessis was on debut. Even though Australia also had a casualty in James Pattinson, they thought themselves halfway home.”When you’ve got debutants coming in, you know they might perform well because the reason they are getting an opportunity is because they are skillful,” Siddle said. “You think he might bat for a little while but then you might get him out. He’s nervous, it’s his first test, it won’t last.”But it did. And partly because of who du Plessis had at the other end. His childhood friend, AB de Villiers; the inventor of some of the most ingenious strokes in the modern game was not interested in anything other than the block. De Villiers scored 33 off 220 balls at a strike rate of 15 – a run every seven balls he faced – and did not breach the boundary once. It was an incredible show of restraint from a player who is known for scoring quickly.Australia bowled 148 overs without breaking through in the Adelaide Test•Getty ImagesWhen Lyon called their partnership “unbelievable,” he was not saying so in the way the word is casually used. He really meant it.Australia “tried everything under the sun,” as Siddle remembers it. Michael Clarke bowled first change and went on to deliver 18 overs. Du Plessis was given out twice off him, both times lbw, both times overturned on review.Rob Quiney bowled, Ricky Ponting bowled, David Warner bowled. Nathan Lyon bowled more than anyone else, but in the absence of Pattinson, the responsibility fell chiefly on Siddle. He bore it bravely, even when it became difficult and even as he knew he was probably bowling himself out of contention for the final game.”The first thing I learned was that I hope none of your fast bowling buddies go down injured again,” Siddle joked. “But personally, the biggest thing is putting yourself through that and knowing you can do it. Even though it cost me in the end. I didn’t end up playing in Perth.”Four years and a few injuries later, Siddle can see beyond the exhaustion of that day and reflects fondly on what the match did for Test cricket. “People always talk about Test cricket dying and all those types of things, but that was exciting. They are the challenges you love about Test cricket. You don’t get to see stuff like that in other forms of the game.”That’s the great thing about Test cricket. The different challenges, the tactics, how it goes up and down from one side to the other. You don’t mind if teams have to play defensively sometimes, that’s also what Test cricket is about. It’s not about trying to win every match. I am a traditionalist. I have always loved the longer form.”Siddle: ‘The biggest thing is putting yourself through that and knowing you can do it’•Getty ImagesLike Siddle, Lyon also appreciates the experience, although he certainty does not want to relive it.”It helped me grow as a person and it helped our bowling group grow as well,” he said. “I have much better memories of 2014 though.”2014: That year, Australia traveled to South Africa with revenge on the agenda. Mitchell Johnson was, in Khawaja’s words, “terrorising everyone in world cricket at the time.”South Africa had stayed No.1 all through that period, information that didn’t mean much to Johnson. He tore through them at SuperSport Park, a venue where South Africa have been more successful at than any other, before Steyn returned the favour in Port Elizabeth.The series went down to a decider in Cape Town, where Smith announced his retirement mid-match and South Africa threatened another blockathon to save the game.Ryan Harris was the man with ball in hand then, and in the final hour on the final day, he removed a stubborn Morne Morkel to maintain Australia’s record of never losing a Test series in South Africa post-readmission. South Africa suffered their first defeat since being crowned No. 1.Ryan Harris didn’t allow an Adelaide repeat in 2014•Getty Images”In a way it’s weird. You don’t usually lose on your home soil, and then go over there and win,” Siddle said.But that’s exactly how South Africa and Australia have played it for the last eight years. South Africa have won in Australia, Australia have won in South Africa, and all the meetings have been intriguing.At a time when world cricket needs introspection over the questions of scheduling, possible expansion, and the place of T20 leagues, to have a rivalry this rich is a reminder of how unique international, long-form cricket is. If the 2016 edition of Australia versus South Africa is anything like the previous ones, there’s nothing else you’d want to be watching. Nathan Lyon agrees.”To have two good teams going at it is exceptional for world cricket and it shows how good Test match cricket is.”

06-Sep-2016Warner biffed 28 off 16 balls before perishing to offspinner Sachithra Senanayake, bringing an end to the 57-run opening stand•AFPMaxwell carried on in great fashion after the breakthrough and made sure the tempo of the innings was maintained•AFPHe was supported well by Usman Khawaja who struck 36 off 22 balls•AFPChamara Kapugedera had a tough chance in the deep to dismiss Maxwell for 76, but he stepped on the boundary cushions and conceded a six instead•Associated PressThat meant more punishment for the home team as Maxwell raised his maiden T20I century in 49 balls. He remained unbeaten on 145•Associated PressTravis Head joined in the fun, slamming 45 off 18 balls as the total swelled to 263 for 3•Associated PressSri Lanka lost Tillakaratne Dilshan in the very first over of the chase as he swung across the line and chopped on to the stumps•AFPThe veteran batsman walked off the Pallekele ground for the final time in his career and soaked in a warm applause•Associated PressSri Lanka never recovered from the early blow and lost wickets at regular intervals•Associated PressKusal Mendis briefly entertained with a 13-ball 22 before holing out to deep midwicket to leave Sri Lanka at 76 for 4•Associated PressDinesh Chandimal fought with a brisk half-century, but the slide continued at the other end•AFPAfter Chandimal’s dismissal, Kapugedera gave the crowds something to cheer about with a 25-ball 43•Associated PressMitchell Starc removed Kapugedara and Suranga Lakmal late in the innings•AFPStarc and Scott Boland returned identical figures of 3 for 26 as Australia kept Sri Lanka to 178 for 9 for an 85-run win•Associated Press

They have a mountain to climb on the final day but England’s chances of survival were aided by another unflappable display from Haseeb Hameed

George Dobell in Visakhapatnam20-Nov-20162:17

Compton: Hameed’s style is perfectly set up for Tests

Just for little while, it seemed the almost impossible was becoming the merely unlikely.As Alastair Cook and Haseeb Hameed resisted for 50 overs, it seemed England really might be able to defy India in the sort of conditions English players grow up to fear. The last 10 overs – and most of all, that last ball – were a harsh way to wake from the dream.This has been an odd game. Whatever happens on the final day – and victory for India remains highly likely – England will leave Visakhapatnam encouraged by their performance. There seems every chance that this will turn out to be that most British of things: a heartening defeat. Really, it might be the most heartening defeat for years.Why? Because they’ve proved (to themselves as much as any of us watching) that they can compete in such conditions. They’ve shown that they have the character and skill to cope with losing the toss and playing against good bowlers in turning conditions. And, just as importantly, they’ve shown they can claw their way back into games from unpromising situations. You could make a strong argument that they have had the best of days three and four. It’s just the damage inflicted on days one and two was too deep.They have learned several useful lessons, too. They have learned, or been reminded, they cannot afford even half a bad session in such circumstances. So the loss of their first five first-innings wicket before the end of the second evening – a couple of them to somewhat soft strokes – was a setback from which they have never been allowed to recover. The footwork has to be more certain; the techniques more solid. They cannot afford a bad hour here.And, while there are no easy answers to dealing with Virat Kohli – he has looked magnificent in this series – England will reflect on the chance he offered when on 56 in the first innings and know that, had they been better organised and had a better fielder than Adil Rashid in position for the hook trap, the whole complexion of this game might have been different. It was a fleeing moment, certainly, but that may well prove to be as good an opportunity as England find in this series. If they are going to win, they have to seize such moments.They may rue the tenth-wicket stand of 42 they conceded on Sunday, too. A target of 363 in 160 overs would, perhaps, have been scarcely less daunting in practical terms. But in terms of morale? Final-wicket stands drain and dispirit like little else. While England hardly bowled a poor delivery in the first 100 minutes or so of the day, when they took six for 64, they may reflect that, just for a few minutes, they then allowed their concentration to drift and were punished for it.Generally, though, since Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes resumed on the third morning, there has been much to admire about this England performance. Stuart Broad has never bowled better in India, Rashid has never bowled better in Test cricket and, for all the praise lavished upon India’s spinners, Rashid and Moeen Ali have better bowling averages and strike rates than R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja at this stage in the series.But perhaps it was the performance of Hameed that provided most cause for encouragement. For the second Test in succession, Hameed demonstrated a calm temperament in an unhurried display that belied his 19-years. It took an almost impossible ball, one that kept horribly low, to dismiss him.These were desperately tough circumstances for Hameed. On a pitch offering turn and, most pertinently, variable bounce, he was tested in just about every way a batsman can be tested. India’s seamers examined his discomfort against the short ball and India’s spinners examined his ability to play the turning ball.His struggles against short-pitched bowlingt will have had fast bowlers around the world taking note. Whatever he achieves in the next few weeks, it is inevitable now that Hameed will be on the receiving end of many bouncers when he comes up against West Indies, South Africa and Australia. And they will almost always be directed at him on quicker, livelier tracks than this.Haseeb Hameed faced down his first barrage of short balls in international cricket•Associated PressThere was talk of this potential weakness before he arrived in India. He was troubled by Surrey’s fast bowlers (Stuart Meaker and Mark Footitt) in the English summer and by Taskin Ahmed in Bangladesh.Here he was struck on the hand by the first delivery he faced – he later received treatment on his little finger, but the England camp played down any serious damage – after taking his eye off a fine, head-high bouncer from Mohammed Shami and took two more deliveries in the rib area. He wore a chest guard in this innings, but he may have a bruise or two for the rest of this week.But, whether he had been hit or not, he was right back in line for the next delivery. And whether hit or not, he was right forward to the next delivery as required. There’s no question of courage with Hameed, he is just learning to deal with that line of attack. The challenge confronting him might be compared to that confronting Ben Stokes and spin. Stokes overcame that challenge; how Hameed manages may well define how far he progresses in international cricket.There were, in all, nine deliveries that might reasonably be described as bouncers directed at Hameed. While his inclination seems to be to sway out of the way, he also ducked once and played the ball from in front of his face straight into the ground on other occasions. Short-leg was never in business and the two men out for the hook seemed utterly redundant. It was painful, but he survived.The manner in which he dealt with spin was even more impressive. Having been dismissed in Rajkot by Ashwin bowling around the wicket, he has resolved to watch the ball harder and be even more precise in his foot movement. He leaves the ball well outside off stump and gets further forward than most to smother the spin.While other batsmen – and not just young batsmen – might have become uncomfortable with the slow rate of scoring, Hameed looked supremely unworried. And while other batsmen might have allowed the match situation to play on their mind, Hameed seemed to enjoy the prospect of five sessions of crease occupation. Where else would he rather be?Every day, in every way (it was Hameed who was most insistent that England should utilise their review which resulted in KL Rahul being given out) he seems to be growing more comfortable with this level and the environment of the England team. This was a terrifically tough day and he came through it bruised but unbowed. It was another step forward in his development.It is for such reasons that, whatever happens on Monday, England will leave Visakhapatnam with spirits and heads high. They are learning and improving all the time.

As another largely fruitless day in the field away from home developed, Sri Lanka needed someone to shake them into life

Andrew Fidel Fernando at the Wanderers12-Jan-2017Nuwan Pradeep has a face and frame made for sulking. He sulks mid-pitch when a batsman hits him for four. He sulks at long leg when no balls have come his way. By the end of some fielding days, his shoulders are basically being dragged along the ground.Mahela Jayawardene – in his final, feistiest years – routinely used to watch Pradeep from slip and fire verbal mortars in his direction. It’s not that Pradeep was doing anything wrong exactly; it’s more that he just wasn’t doing anything.Even when he is taking wickets and winning matches, Pradeep’s default setting is to sulk. Not everyone will be a bolt of lightning on the field, I suppose, and this just happens to be one of those players who needs his team-mates to fire him up. Today, though, the opposite happened. Sri Lanka’s entire effort seemed to take cues from their least demonstrative man.It was disheartening. To watch this in the field in the third session was like watching soldiers in a foreign land, bone-tired, fighting a battle they don’t think they can win, losing face with their public, worried that their girlfriends have found someone new at home.There was intensive milling around, and non-stop conventional cricket.The Wanderers is one of the bounciest pitches in the world, and Sri Lanka have two bowlers – Pradeep and Lahiru Kumara – who can bowl at more than 140kph, yet it did not occur to them to stack the leg side and at least try a sustained short-ball offensive. Nor did they think to take a page from Pakistan’s book and have bowlers send balls wide of off stump – to starve the batsmen out. Instead there was the fifth-stump line all day long, waiting for the pitch to give them something; the regiment that keeps on charging with their bayonets, while the opposition call their mothers hamsters from the ramparts of a castle.At times in the day, it seemed like Sri Lanka were not even active participants in the game. The cricket was happening to them. Endlessly besieged, resplendently short of ideas, they were mopey, dopey, hands-on-hips victims, waiting to be airlifted out.Of the catch dropped at gully by Dhananjaya de Silva – Hashim Amla had been on 5 – a team-mate would later launch the most tired defence. “We all know Dhananjaya is one of the best fielders in the team,” said Kaushal Silva after play. “It was costly, but those things happen in cricket. We need to move on.”Sri Lanka are not a team that will publicly undermine each other – nor should they be – but a little ire on the field at the time would not have gone unappreciated. Yes, these things happen in cricket, but on away tours, they seem to happen to Sri Lanka more than most.Along with Kumara, of the few fielders who refused to spend the entire day languishing, was Rangana Herath, who stamped around at mid-off, threw himself around for the cause, and yet, has become grumpier by the day on this tour. Who could blame him? South Africa have explicitly made it the groundstaff’s mission to hurt him with pitches that fail to wear. He is Sri Lanka’s ace battle tank on turning tracks, but in this series, South Africa are not fighting a land war – they have moved the conflict out to sea. All Herath can do, really, is traipse back and forth on the beach firing doleful shots in the general direction of the battle, which is happening hundreds of kilometres across the waves.This has been the relentless tone of their work over the past four tours out of Asia. Eight of the nine most-recent away Tests (excluding the tour to Zimbabwe) have been lost. This one, it would seem, would take a fightback on the scale of Kusal Mendis’ 176, or Dinesh Chandimal’s 162, to make something out of.It is a pity they play such insipid cricket away, because in Galle, or Colombo, they are a team that melts stony hearts, and regularly have grizzled men weeping. There are wrist-spinning delights, mischievous counterpunching, and roaring defences of their home bases.But in this series, could it be they have now already checked out? After a day like this, the time seems to be right. Maybe they are ready. Bring the boys back home.

Your one stop for all the happenings in and around the Champions Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2017Stokes and the ‘bloody genius’
June 16Ben Stokes endured a frustrating Champions Trophy semi-final against Pakistan, first making a boundary-less 64-ball 34 and then giving away 38 in 3.1 overs. A snarky tweet from a fan who was at Cardiff for the game did nothing to improve his mood.

Nearly as intelligent as you replacing the A in your name with a 4…you're a bloody genius https://t.co/qrMMEE0Nnt

— Ben Stokes (@benstokes38) 15 June 2017

“A world of hurt”
June 15Last month, Shane Warne and Sourav Ganguly had a bet about who would win the England-Australia game at the Champions Trophy. When Ganguly backed England to win, Warne promised to wear the England jersey for a day if they beat Australia, and asked the former India captain to wear Australian colours if his prediction ended up being wrong. England won, and we got to see a sight we never thought we would.

I'm in a world of hurt wearing this shirt right now, but a bets a bet so on with the England shirt ! #CT17

A post shared by Shane Warne (@shanewarne23) on Jun 15, 2017 at 3:32am PDT

Trick of the mind
June 14Here we were thinking Yuvraj Singh had worked incredibly hard and shown immense dedication to get back into the Indian team. But it’s all a farce. The truth, revealed by Yuvraj on his Instagram account, is that he can control objects with his mind. Now which bowler can counter that?

When u think u have super powers video courtesy @virat.kohli

A post shared by Yuvraj Singh (@yuvisofficial) on Jun 13, 2017 at 10:00am PDT

Yuvraj and Zaheer – who is copying whom?
June 13Now that Zaheer Khan is a television pundit, he has decided to tweet updates and analysis on international cricket matches. During the Champions Trophy, there have been a few posts such as this:

India taking strong hold on this game at 34 over mark …need to finish the inning strong 260-270 will be good total to chase #INDvSA #CT17

— zaheer khan (@ImZaheer) June 11, 2017

Yuvraj Singh found it quite funny that Zaheer was being so serious about his new role as an analyst and sent him a tweet that roughly translates to “Oh, you are tweeting a lot these days, huh, what’s up?” What Yuvraj, perhaps, did not expect was for Zaheer to completely shed his pundit’s diplomacy and deliver a biting analysis of Yuvraj’s fielding.

Oh tu bade tweet kar reha aj kal ki gal ?

— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) June 12, 2017

I am tweeting like you @YUVSTRONG12 but why are you fielding like me ??? Hahaha https://t.co/FaPx75Kn8Q

— zaheer khan (@ImZaheer) June 12, 2017

Another hundred, another family-related celebration
June 13After hitting Bangladesh’s first ever match-winning World Cup hundred, against England in 2015, Mahmudullah blew kisses in the direction of the team hotel, where his wife and son were staying. Now, after an unbeaten 102 against New Zealand put his side in contention for a Champions Trophy semi-final spot, he pointed to the back of his bat repeatedly.Turns out his son Raeid, all of six years old, had signed an autograph for his father when he left for the tournament. “Before leaving for the UK when I was packing my kit my son scribbled something on one of my bats. When I asked him what it was he said he was signing the bat for me.” Mahmudullah told the ICC. With three ODI hundreds in ICC events, Mahmudullah certainly has plenty to write home about.Prince takes a veiled dig at de Villiers
June 12Ashwell Prince has never backed off from speaking up, be it as a player asking coach Mickey Arthur to get AB de Villiers to open the innings, or in his role as a chief selector expressing disappointment at some of de Villiers’ comments in the past. His latest comment, in the aftermath of one of South Africa’s most humbling runs in a major tournament, was a veiled one from his yet-to-be verified Twitter account, targeting the South African captain’s decision to pick and choose the series and formats he represents South Africa in.

Perhaps it’s time that @OfficialCSA dictates to players when they may have the honor of representing this country instead of other way round

— Ashwell Prince (@ashyp_5) June 11, 2017

ICC trolls du Plessis on Twitter
June 11Two run-outs. For the first one, Faf du Plessis was headed to the other end as AB de Villiers failed to make his ground. The next one was comical. Both du Plessis, who was facing the ball, and David Miller ended up at the same end.Social media can be cruel in such situations. Unfortunately for du Plessis, he was not able to make up with a big score, having dragged one from Hardik Pandya on to the stumps on 36. While he was the subject of many jokes on Twitter, one would not have expected this to show up on the timelines of cricket fans across the world.

#INDvSA #CT17 pic.twitter.com/pflZ66zApA

— ICC (@ICC) June 11, 2017

With an account having 5.28 million followers tweeting it, that is some burn.Taking time off, giving it back to the game
June 10For all the talk about this being a short, snappy tournament, there is enough time between games for players to squeeze in off-field commitments. While some are introspecting at roadside cafes, others have been indulging in a spot of tourism with their spouses.Morne Morkel and Farhaan Behardien have been out contributing to ICC’s Cricket for Good program, a community outreach effort aimed at impacting lives of children around the world. Joining them for this one was Muttiah Muralitharan, Sri Lanka legend and the latest inductee into ICC’s Hall of Fame.

South Africa's @mornemorkel65 and @fudgie11 got involved in a #CricketForGood training session today alongside Sri Lanka legend Muttiah Muralitharan! #CT17 #cricket #selfie #SpiritofCricket

A post shared by ICC (@icc) on Jun 9, 2017 at 9:27am PDT

Sangakkara contributes to yet another Sri Lankan win
June 9One day before Sri Lanka’s clash against India, Angelo Mathews half-joked about reaching out to Kumar Sangakkara to join the squad, after Upul Tharanga’s two-match ban and Chamara Kapugedara’s injury. In the build up to the game, when Sangakkara was asked on live TV about it, he dismissed those suggestions, pointing to his greying hair and age. When Sanjay Manjrekar pointed to the fact that he was referring to Sri Lanka as “we”, a rarity among commentators, the former Sri Lankan captain agreed, talking about how “you can’t take the Sri Lankan out of the Sri Lankan”.After Sri Lanka pulled off a remarkable chase, Mathews revealed Sangakkara’s contribution in the days before the game, and how the team, and Kusal Mendis in particular, had benefitted from his insights. “He [Mendis] met Kumar Sangakkara to get a few batting tips, and he’s the king, and we all look up to him. We all get advice from him, all the batters. He taught us a lot of good things on how to play on these tracks.”Significantly, the match was played at The Oval, Sangakkara’s home ground in the County Championship, where he has been in prolific form for Surrey this season, recently being named the PCA’s Player of the Month for May. Less than 24 hours later, he padded up for Surrey against Essex at Guildford, where their latest four-day fixture is underway.

@PCA player of the month @KumarSanga2 looking as good as ever in the nets here at Guildford this morning. More of the same please sir pic.twitter.com/QIz2zsQQy5

— Surrey Cricket (@surreycricket) June 9, 2017

South Africa wear their away strip
June 7IDI Home-and-away kits are a common phenomenon across sports, most notably football, and sides pay great attention to ensure team colours do not clash on the field. Nearly two decades since coloured clothes became the norm in limited-overs cricket, we still see similar shades of blue and green kits clash on a cricket field, across internationals and franchise T20 leagues.Therefore, it was a refreshing contrast, in more ways than one, when South Africa turned up in their yellow “away” strip, normally reserved for their T20 internationals, to take on Pakistan in their second league game. Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are the other international sides to have an away kit for the tournament.Spotted : The Brexit bus
June 7Remember the Brexit bus? The one which displayed the claim (since disproved) about Britain’s NHS gaining an extra £350m a week?Some prying eyes have caught the iconic bus number at… of all places, outside Edgbaston this afternoon, as Pakistan arrived for their game against South Africa. Pakistan’s fans would hope the connection ends just there, and this isn’t an omen for their exit from the tournament.

As reported by @Cricket_Ali, Pakistan's team bus was formerly the infamous £350m NHS Brexit bus #CT17 pic.twitter.com/T5g8472R7t

— Charlie Reynolds (@cwjreynolds) June 7, 2017

Commentary’s not an easy job
June 5Being a commentator might be the dream job for most cricket fans, but it’s not a cushy one. A tweet from Virender Sehwag illustrates why.

The future is shaped by one's dreams. These legends still don't waste time in following their dreams. Sone ka Maza@SGanguly99 @ShaneWarne pic.twitter.com/2zgZEC4KWa

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 5, 2017

Two bails are better than one
June 4The morning after the UEFA Champions League final, and two full days before the first Champions Trophy match in Cardiff, it was ICC’s turn to crack a pun, referencing one of the city’s most recognisable names, who turned out for Real Madrid on home turf. Sophia Gardens, the venue for England’s clash against New Zealand on Tuesday, has barely one-fifth the capacity of the Millennium Stadium, and cricket would do well to fill the stadium, given the sport is some way off being Wales’ most popular. If online ticket sales are any indication, the 15,600-seater is set to be packed for its first game of the tournament.

So now Cardiff can focus in the proper sport! #CT17 pic.twitter.com/a055TjNe0h

— Claire Furlong (@ClaireFurlong14) June 3, 2017

Fido Dido : cricket edition
June 4Adam Zampa, whose timeline on Instagram is a curious mix of pop culture, photoshopped gags on fellow cricketers and the occasional experiment with his locks, unveiled his latest look, drawing praise from his state and national team-mate Peter Nevill. There was the odd Justin Bieber comparison, but we think it’s more a noodle-haired than the Canadian pop star.

I @zamps63 haircut.

— Peter Nevill (@pmnevill) June 3, 2017

A post shared by adam zampa Ⓥ (@zampstagram) on Jun 3, 2017 at 11:44pm PDT

The retro-football duo
June 2The last time we saw a shirtless Jos Buttler celebrating a win on Instagram, he lost his towel, yelling out loud after a tense finish on TV. This time, he joined hands with team-mate Moeen Ali to pull off hairdos that harked back to English football teams of the late ’70s and early ’80s. In line with the tournament’s norms, he was duly holding a pint of the official lager partner’s wares.

Terry Mac and Chrissy Waddle enjoyed the win… hope you did too!! @englandcricket #CT17

A post shared by Mark Wood (@mawood33) on Jun 1, 2017 at 11:35am PDT

How many hundreds can you rack up?
June 1If you, like millions of others on the internet, have done your spot of Googling for the day, you are unlikely to have missed (and spent more than a few minutes of your day on) their addictive doodle to commemorate the start of the Champions Trophy. Cricketing doodles are not a new thing, and the latest installment is an interactive game of crickets batting against a team of snails, to symbolise how the game works on the slowest of networks across the globe. To their credit, the crickets are incredibly quick between the wickets, comfortably running twos and threes for the slightest of nudges through the leg side.

My life's work is complete. pic.twitter.com/CdnrOEQHh2

— Osman Samiuddin (@OsmanSamiuddin) June 1, 2017

Interestingly enough, apart from being available on all of Google’s regional sites for the eight countries in the tournament, it is also available in the West Indies, whose team is missing the tournament for the first time since its inception in 1998. Go on then, find out how many hundreds you can smash by the end of the day.Adblockers installed at The Oval
May 31Still a day left for the action to begin at the Champions Trophy, but the organisers have pulled off a switch-hit of their own.The tournament sees the ICC having exclusive partnerships for every imaginable category and sub-category, from cider and lager to luxury watches. One of the primary sponsors has business interests in the automobile space, directly in competition with the naming sponsors of the Kennington Oval, Kia.As a result, a blackout has ensued, leaving odd-looking blank spaces all over the ground. In fact, on match day, the levels of exclusivity have reached a point where even the media WiFi has been renamed to take out the Kia brand name. Just like last time (and many times before) then.

A reminder of @JasonRoy20's enduring class. And of the @ICC's enduring pettiness! Fill the blank … #KIAvNissan pic.twitter.com/vnINLQkJXM

— Andrew Miller (@miller_cricket) May 31, 2017

Highlight of the Champions Trophy so far: media wifi being changed to take out 'Kia'

— Tim (@timwig) June 1, 2017

Sri Lanka’s failure to compete with a well-drilled India reinforces the urgent need for Test cricket’s growing imbalances to be addressed

Sidharth Monga in Galle31-Jul-2017Opposite the main gates of Galle International Stadium is the Galle bus station. The buses almost all have Sri Lankan names, with “speed racing” or “super express” or similar terms added on. Wickremasinghe Speed Racing, for example. Tharindu Speed Racing. Dilshani. Chaminda. Although Vaas himself might disagree with words such as “super express” next to his name.Almost all Sri Lanka cricketers’ names are covered. These buses are not exactly dilapidated but you can bet on the glass in the windows rattling in the frames if they go over 40kph. This is a busy roundabout anyway, so there is no way they can speed. So they honk at each other mercilessly, creating a racket that can be heard inside the ground, perhaps even by batsmen in the middle of Test innings. Or at least in this Test they would have, because SLC in its infinite wisdom chose to block the view of passers by, who used to watch through the fence and create some noise.Watching these buses as they try to manoeuvre their way through the roads, to overtake and try to deliver on the promise of speed, was far more engrossing than watching the Test match that took place inside the stadium last week. At least in this contest, if a new road is ready and satisfies all safety norms, you don’t have to wait till October 1 to use it. Or if one bus breaks down, its passengers are allowed to travel in a substitute bus.

So unbalanced and full of the myopic self-interest of member boards is Test cricket that by the end of this year India’s last 30 Tests will have come either at home or against West Indies or Sri Lanka. Or both

Most of what happened during the last week is a reminder – in case it was needed – of how broken bilateral international cricket is. The cricket could not have been any more hopelessly one-sided if it tried, and the two boards have already agreed to hold another series later this year. Entirely unrelated, no doubt, SLC was the only board to stand with the BCCI in their recent battles at the ICC table. On the field, Upul Tharanga grounded his bat inside the crease, only for it to bounce up upon impact, and was given out run-out even though everybody – including the MCC – has agreed that this sort of thing should not be out. Just that the ICC will wait till October 1 to adopt the change of rule. Asela Gunaratne injured himself on the first morning, and for the next four days an already weak Sri Lanka side was reduced to ten men.Surely cricket needs to look at allowing like-for-like substitutions in the case of genuine external-impact injuries that result in fractures? The ICC has discussed concussion substitutes but is nowhere close to implementing such a move. Test cricket is a singular sport, yes, but its followers cannot be expected to stick through all kinds of hardships, especially those that are self-inflicted. Cricket’s debilitating idiosyncrasies become so significant because it is already so delicately balanced that it can’t stand any further blows.This was not merely a bad week at the office for Sri Lanka; it has been a long time coming. Over the last few years it has taken some magical, once-in-a-lifetime performances to keep them from absolute misery in Test cricket. Dinesh Chandimal played a sensational – and lucky – knock against India to give them respectability in 2015. Kusal Mendis did something similar last year – though with far less luck involved – against Australia, and Rangana Herath – himself an example of how broken Sri Lankan Test cricket is, in how he is getting an opportunity to make such a late mark on Test cricket – sealed the series. They have lost a home Test to Bangladesh. They needed to stretch every sinew and benefit from a crucial umpiring error and some nervous fielding to beat Zimbabwe earlier this month. The problem with once-in-a-lifetime turnarounds is that they happen, well, once in a lifetime.Test cricket cannot afford Sri Lanka going the way of West Indies and Zimbabwe•AFPWinning Test matches in Sri Lanka was never this easy. Even as recently as 2010, India had to contend with high-quality batting and Muttiah Muralitharan and Lasith Malinga. In the last 20 years or so, cricket has lost West Indies and Zimbabwe as competitive Test teams, and it now seems as if Sri Lanka might join them. It has gained Bangladesh over that period, but has steadfastly refused even to let other teams try to join the ranks. Outside the big three, South Africa and New Zealand continue to be formidable opposition, but those countries struggle to sustain Test cricket as a gainfully employable sport.So unbalanced and full of the myopic self-interest of member boards is Test cricket that by the end of this year India’s last 30 Tests will have come either at home or against West Indies or Sri Lanka. Or both. It is no fault of the players but it does devalue some of the runs and the wickets they have accumulated. This is more than half the careers of most of the current India squad.The ICC has been doing its bit to try to introduce more context and balance to Test schedules, including trying to save Test cricket from its own excesses, but many of its attempts have been blocked by the member boards. Next up is an attempt that sounds like a covert army project: Option C.Under Option C, teams will not be able to play more than three home series over two years as part of a rolling league. This is, of course, subject to member boards agreeing to it. If all decision-makers are invited and made to sit through the next five India-Sri Lanka Tests, they might just ratify Option C immediately. After all, not every ground has buses racing madly outside it to distract the spectator from the one-sided contest within.

Dean Elgar has steadily worked himself into form in an early-season stint at Somerset, and he is itching to extend South Africa’s record in Test series in England

Firdose Moonda28-Jun-2017Never mind the bilateral white-ball series that no-one will even remember took place; never mind another major tournament failure that no-one will forget, the real stuff in South Africa’s tour to England starts now. At least if you ask Dean Elgar.”What’s happened throughout the summer with the one-dayers and the Champions Trophy and the T20s is in the past,” Elgar said in Worcester, where he will lead South Africa against England Lions in a three-day tour match ahead of the four-Test series next month. “It’s time to crack on with the proper format of Test cricket now.”Many will agree. Given South Africa’s record in multi-team tournaments compared to their reputation in whites, Test cricket is where they have built their reputation in the recent past. Since beating England in 2008, South Africa have gone on to win in Australia three times, in New Zealand twice, in West Indies, Sri Lanka and the UAE and, though they were blitzed 3-0 in India at the end of 2015, they rose five places on the Test rankings last summer to sit at No.2.The last time they came to England in 2012, they were in the same position. Though they cannot claim the Test mace with a series win on this occasion, this tour could set the tone for a showdown against India in the home summer, and Elgar expects the squad to be up for it. “It’s a different energy that’s within the Test side. Irrespective of how things have gone in the past, the energy is always in a good place for Test cricket,” he said.Mood is going to be an important factor for South Africa because they have seemed to be in a bad one since arriving in the UK a month ago. Amid uncertainty over AB de Villiers’ future, angst over Faf du Plessis’ availability for the first Test as he awaits the birth of his child, and an emergency in Russell Domingo’s family which will result in the tour match, and perhaps even the start of the Test series, taking place without the presence of their coach, South Africa have been unsettled. Add to that the hefty defeats the A team suffered in two of three four-day games and England might think they hold the advantage. Elgar, however, sees an opportunity to exploit some recent movements in the opposition’s set-up, not least the appointment of Joe Root as Alastair Cook’s successor.”England also seem to be a team that is going through a bit of a change with a new captain. I’m sure he has got his own things he wants to implement and I’m sure they are not 100% sure of their final XI,” Elgar said.The identity of Cook’s opening partner is still being debated, and a decision will only be made at the weekend. Some of their Lions’ players have returned to their counties for a round of pink-ball matches – a format Elgar of which seems far from convinced after calling himself an “old-school traditionalist” who believes Tests are played “with a red ball and white clothes” – others are pre-occupied with the one-day cup final between Nottinghamshire and Surrey, and the rest are facing South Africa in the practice match so there’s a lot for the selectors to think about.South Africa, on the other hand, have made their pick. Heino Kuhn will accompany Elgar at the top after Stephen Cook was axed. Elgar is pleased with his new partner, who is also a domestic team-mate. “Heino is a highly experienced player back home,” Elgar said. “He has played a lot of seasons of cricket and he is quite familiar with his game-plans at the moment. It’s great to see him finally get an opportunity.”Heino and I are best of mates. We’ve been that for many years back home and we open the batting together back home. He is not unfamiliar to me. I’m sure our chemistry will go out onto the field.”Other new names include another opening batsman in Aiden Markram, who is the squad as cover in case du Plessis is not back in time, and allrounder Andile Phehlukwayo, but more of the focus will be on the absentees. Local media asked Elgar how the South Africans will cope without AB de Villiers – on a sabbatical from the longest format – and Dale Steyn – who is recovering from a shoulder injury. His answer? “We’ve missed AB and Steyn for the last two series and we’ve had guys who’ve put up their hands and put in massive performances. Having them the side is great but in my opinion we’ve got guys who have come in now and are really trying to make the position their own. In terms of selection now, they have definitely earned their right within the team. The game carries on which is quite important.”Even without their two heavyweights, South Africa have beaten Australia, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, while their Test unit has solidified. Those results will give them confidence, especially if they have to start the series minus du Plessis. If that happens, Elgar will take over the leadership and he will have a practice run at it over the next three days. Elgar’s captaincy experience includes six matches at first-class level and the Under-19 World Cup in 2006, and he has a strategy in place for the role at this level. “You’ve got to put your pride away and think of yourself as someone that can influence an environment,” he said. “The leadership qualities that you possess have to come out.”As someone with a forthright personality and an obvious fighting spirit, Elgar can also be expected to lead by example, with form on his side. In six County Championship matches for Somerset, Elgar scored 517 runs at 47.00 including two centuries and is nicely familiarised with English conditions and players. He knows what South Africa will come up against and he knows they need to treat everything, including the warm-up in Worcester, as the real thing.”We’ve got to hit the ground running. The series starts tomorrow and it’s going to be vitally important for us to have some prep,” he said. “We’ve got to compete against a very good England Lions side. To get that competitive edge is a big thing for us. Naturally the guys will have that instinct in them. It’s a very big three days of cricket we have ahead.”

England’s inability to compete in the Ashes would once have been a matter of national shame. But the ECB’s priorities lie elsewhere

George Dobell in Sydney05-Jan-2018Having carried the drinks for most of the Ashes tour, Gary Ballance now looks set to carry the can for it.Ballance, despite not having played a first-class game on the tour, is one of the few involved in this campaign who appears to find his place in jeopardy ahead of the two-Test series in New Zealand in March. A couple of others – notably Jake Ball and James Vince – might be waiting nervously for a tap on the shoulder, too.But most of the main protagonists in the series – the batsmen who have averaged in the 20s, the bowlers who have averaged over 100 – look set to keep their places. And most of those behind the scenes – the administrators who make the policies that have held England back, as well as the development coaches who have failed to develop a player for years – appear to be immune from consequence.Nobody is advocating a return to the days when England used 29 players in a series (as they did in the 1989 Ashes). And nobody is advocating an adoption of the culture prevalent in football where managers – well, managers anywhere but in north London – are never more than a bad fortnight away from the sack.But there has to be a balance. And the problem England – and the ECB – have at present is that they are in danger of breeding and encouraging mediocrity. And, while what appears to be a cosy life goes on for many of those involved, nobody is taking any responsibility.The ECB have, you know, a pace bowling programme. It is designed to identify the most talented young bowlers and provide them with the best coaching and support to ensure they avoid injury as much as possible. It is designed to optimise their ability and ensure England get the best out of them.Sounds great, doesn’t it?But let’s look at the results: their first change in this Test is a medium-fast bowler who was born in South Africa and invited to England as a 17-year-old. And hard though Tom Curran has worked – and his efforts have been faultless – he has not looked likely to take a wicket. Meanwhile the fast bowlers who have developed in county cricket – the likes of Jamie Overton, Olly Stone, Mark Wood, Atif Sheikh, George Garton, Stuart Meaker and Zak Chappell – are either injured or not deemed consistent enough for selection.The poverty of the programme has, to some extent, been masked by the enduring excellence of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. That’s the same Anderson who went through the Loughborough experience, sustained a stress fracture, lost his ability to swing the ball and reverted to bowling how he did originally. Take them out of this attack – and time will eventually defeat even the apparently indefatigable Anderson – and you have real trouble for England. You have an attack that will struggle to keep them in the top six of the Test rankings.Mason Crane saw a chance fall between him and short leg•Getty ImagesThe ECB have a spin bowling programme, too. A programme that has delivered so little that, here in Sydney, they have taken a punt on a talented kid who, in a more sympathetic domestic system, would be learning his trade bowling over after over for his county. But, as it is, with the Championship squeezed into the margins of the season, Mason Crane (who did fine here after a nervous start; Shane Warne took 1 for 150 on Test debut, remember) has struggled to warrant selection for Hampshire (he played half their Championship games in 2017 and claimed 16 wickets). Other promising young spinners – the likes of Ravi Patel and Josh Poysden – could tell a similar tale.Meanwhile Adam Riley, who not so long ago was viewed as the most talented young spinner in England – some well-known pundits recommended him for Test selection – didn’t play a Championship game for his county, Kent, last season having previously been identified for inclusion in the ECB’s spin programme. Does that sound like a success story?It is not just those at Loughborough to blame. The county system is ever more marginalised by those who set the policies in English cricket – the likes of Tom Harrison and Andrew Strauss – so the development of Test quality cricketers has been arrested. The struggle to develop red-ball players will only be accentuated by the decision to have a window for white-ball cricket in the middle of the season. With so many games played either before the end of May or after the start of September (when the start time is brought forward to 10.30am), the need for quality spin and pace has been diminished. Why bother to invest in the time and effort of developing such players or fast bowler when the likes of Darren Stevens can hit the seam at 65 mph, nibble the ball about, and prove highly effective?But will anyone be held accountable for this Ashes defeat? Will the director of England cricket take responsibility? Will the development coaches? Will the executives who prioritise T20 over the success of the Test side? Judging by recent events – Harrison telling us that, actually, England cricket has had a fine year, that the pace bowling programme is delivering “excellent results” (he namechecked Mark Footitt as an example of its success) and that changes to the governance of the sport somehow represent an “exciting moment” – the answer is a resounding no.In the longer term, there is talk around the camp of the creation of a new position. A manager might be appointed – particularly on tours – who would be responsible for discipline within the squad and act as a sort of big brother for players who may be struggling. It would be no surprise if that new appointment – no doubt a recently retired player with experience of such tours – was in place by the time England depart for Sri Lanka in October.There’s probably some sense in such an idea. But it does grate a little that England’s response to this latest series loss abroad is the appointment of another layer of middle management.It’s not as if they don’t have a fair few figures on tour already. There’s already a coach, an assistant coach, a batting coach and, in normal circumstances, a bowling coach. That’s before we even consider the doctor, physio, masseuse, selector, strength & conditioning coach, topiarist and women who makes balloon animals. OK, those last two were made up, but you get the point. Does another manager on tour really answer the questions England are facing? Or does such an appointment further obfuscate who takes responsibility when things go wrong?The fact is this: England have lost eight out of their last 10 away Tests and won none of them. The only away series they have won since the end of 2012 was the one in South Africa in 2015. Despite being awash with money (relatively speaking), England are about to slip to fifth in the Test rankings.They really shouldn’t be satisfied with that.Ashes defeats used to hurt. They should hurt. If the ECB have in any way become inured to such pain, if they are in any way content with that away record and anything other than entirely focused on improving it, they are not just accepting mediocrity, they are bathing and swilling in it.

He’s made 233 runs in three innings in the Quadrangular series, without being dismissed once. With the Asia Cup not far away, he couldn’t have timed this run of form any better

Shashank Kishore in Alur27-Aug-2018Chants of “Rahul Dravid (may victory be with Rahul Dravid)” echoed around Alur for every lap the India A (in this case India B coach) walked around the ground, for over 90 minutes after the match began. The 300-odd fans implored Dravid to wave in their direction, and when he did, it felt like victory to them. Once Dravid was done, the focus shifted to Manish Pandey, another Bengaluru boy. It remained that way for most parts of India B’s innings, and he didn’t disappoint them.With Pandey, the crowd took a little more liberty, often giving him instructions when he erred. They told him not to take risky singles when he tried to steal ones under the fielders’ nose at short cover, asked him to focus when he played the occasional loose shot, and begged him hit sixes towards the end of the innings. For the rest of the day, he was their hero.Pandey ignored all the chatter, not once looking in the crowd’s direction while he carefully reconstructed India B’s innings. But as he turned for the second run to bring up his seventh List A century, he immediately turned left, and waved his bat towards the fans, broke into a grin, raised both his arms, giving everyone enough time to snap away with their cameraphones. Pandey was happy, the fans were happy, and it was business as usual.On Monday, he picked up 56 singles and hit seven fours and three sixes. There were only two occasions when he faced more than three dot balls in a row. Two of his sixes sailed over deep midwicket, but the one that stood out was an inside-out hit over extra-cover off Mitchell Swepson, the legspinner. He brought up his century off just 97 deliveries, and then carried on to finish unbeaten on 117. This, in addition to unbeaten scores of 95 and 21, took his tournament tally to 233 runs without being dismissed. With India’s next ODI assignment – the Asia Cup – slated for September, Pandey couldn’t have timed his surge any better.It has also come at a time when his rivals for middle-order berths in India’s ODI squad are dealing with issues of form or fitness.Suresh Raina had a poor tour of England. Dinesh Karthik has battled poor form, albeit in the Tests. Kedar Jadhav is coming back from a four-month layoff spent recovering from a hamstring injury, and hasn’t hit form yet. Jadhav’s round-arm offspin gives him an extra dimension, but he hasn’t bowled an over yet in two Quadrangular games, possibly because he isn’t fully ready yet. Shreyas Iyer, who’s also playing the Quadrangular, has made scores of 4, 20 and 7 so far.All this could work to the advantage of the in-form Pandey.”Personally, I just think about batting. I’m looking at the middle order at the moment, trying to seal that position,” Pandey said. “This series was a proving ground to get some runs and get looked at for the Asia Cup. I want to enjoy myself, there is competition, but I want to focus on what I do best.”Pandey didn’t feature in the limited-overs series in England. Two T20Is in Ireland was the only cricket he played for three weeks on that tour. Pandey admits to have fallen into a rut of sorts during the time. “I wasn’t feeling good, so I took a three-week break after the UK tour,” he said. “I wanted to switch off, took time off the game, and then used the time to focus on a couple of niggles and get myself mentally fresh. That seems to have helped.”Before that, Pandey had endured a difficult IPL, moving from Kolkata Knight Riders to Sunrisers Hyderabad, for whom he scored 284 runs at a strike rate of 115.44. According to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats, contextual numbers that take match situations and phases into account, his Smart Strike Rate of 100.71 was the second-worst this season among all batsmen who had faced a minimum of 120 balls.Pandey put this down to trying a little too hard at times, when he may have been better off batting with an uncluttered mind.”I think it’s never easy batting lower down the order with few overs remaining in T20s,” he said. “But you have to be ready for the chances because you wait for so long. The more games I play in that situation, it will help me prepare for tough situations. There are always learnings you try and take out of such situations. That’s what I also did.”In the IPL, I struggled, yes. I wasn’t reacting to situations like I normally do, maybe that’s also because I was batting lower down. At KKR, I had a set role in the top three. Batting elsewhere made it tougher for me, but I can’t offer excuses. I have to accept the reality as it is and try and work my game around these tough situations.”In limited-overs cricket, Pandey’s innings often follow a pattern – he can start slowly at times, but once set he’s as dangerous and unorthodox as they come, capable of flat-batting bowlers tennis-style, playing his trademark short-arm jabs off the front foot and glides behind point. Batting at No. 4 – as he has done for India A – suits him well, since it gives him time to settle in before needing to play the big shots.He had time to settle in when he made his maiden ODI ton in Sydney in 2016, but he’s not always had that luxury in the India side. He’s moved up and down the order, oscillating anywhere between No. 4 and No. 7 from one match to another. But that’s not entirely within his control. He’s just happy to be in form and in a good place mentally.”I’m in a better frame of mind now, sometimes a break does that to you,” Pandey said. “Runs made for India A count, and getting big runs here is a boost for me ahead of a big season. I have done it in the past as well, so there’s definitely no doubting my own ability. It’s about being in a good head-space and I think that’s what I’ve worked on doing.”When there is a lot of competition, every opportunity counts. I have worked out my game well, and I’m looking forward to continuing this form.”