Muttiah Muralitharan’s final spell at home ended in fairytale fashion, much like his Test career in Galle last year. Just like back then, it would have been incredibly contrived had it not been for real

Sidharth Monga in Colombo29-Mar-2011″It would have been incredibly contrived had it not been for real,” this reporter wrote on July 22, 2010, just having watched Muttiah Muralitharan end his Test career with a wicket off the last ball, No. 800, also the last wicket in the match. At 792 wickets, Murali had announced the Galle Test would be his last. If 800 happened it would be good; if 800 didn’t happen, so be it. How could 800 not happen?At his beloved Galle International Stadium, a ground he had help rebuild after the 2004 tsunami had ravaged it, there was a cloud coming from the distance, Lasith Malinga was off injured, Sri Lanka were racing against time to finish India off, and the last wicket had frustrated them for 15 overs. In his 27th over of the day, Murali produced the final wicket.About a year later, having agreed to delay his ODI retirement for the World Cup, Murali had fought a hamstring injury, a side strain, a troublesome knee and groin when it was suggested that he be preserved for the final and not be risked in a home semi-final against New Zealand, not fancied to beat the hosts on a sluggish surface. Rubbish. There is no way you could keep Murali out of his last match at home. If he could stand straight, he would play. And play he did.The build-up, as expected, was not as big as Galle. Firstly ODI cricket doesn’t allow such elaborate farewells, and then Sri Lanka were just two matches away from a World Cup win, and this was just his last match at home, and not necessarily his last match. The relief around in Colombo was palpable when it was announced Murali was fit to play. Just enough, it turned out. For in the sixth over he went off the field, and came back in the 11th. Still Murali, clearly not at his best, even on one leg, is presence enough. As soon as he had spent the four overs on the field to become eligible for a bowl, Murali gave it a twirl.Round the wicket he started, and landed the first ball on the spot. In his third over, a big offbreak, not the best delivery he has bowled to take a wicket, bounced on Jesse Ryder, and New Zealand’s match-winner from the quarter-final was gone. The ascendancy gained, Sri Lanka went ahead to apply the squeeze, and once again it ceased being all about Murali. New Zealand rebuilt through Scott Styris and Ross Taylor, and then asked for the Powerplay in the 42nd over.Murali was brought back in the second Powerplay over. Now a 20-year-old kid, playing his 19th international match, served a reminder that a bad ball from Murali is still a bad ball. It was a levelling over actually. Kane Williamson employed the old trick on the master: came down and lofted him over mid-off one ball, and rightly guessed a short ball next and rocked back to cut it for four. Nathan McCullum hit him for a six in his next over, the ninth.Murali’s last match at home could not have ended in a whimper. He had one more over left, majority of which was bowled to the set Scott Styris. The Premadasa Stadium was awake to it. The Sri Lanka flags were raised in the stands, it seemed like a single long Sri Lanka flag, as long as the stadium’s circumference, ran across the stands. For old time’s sake, perhaps, Murali went back to bowling from over the stumps. For one last over at home, he started bowling the big offbreaks, reminiscent of the pre-doosra days. He even bowled a wide that turned too much down the leg side. The fourth ball of the over turned sharply into the pads, Styris tried to nudge it for a single, but there was no way a nudge was going to beat the two men square on the leg side. Same with the fifth ball. He knew he was bowling to his field, and knew Styris would need to take a risk to score off him.Styris, more experienced than Williamson, was showing more reverence; he would have experienced much more Murali wrath than Williamson. He just wanted to see Murali off, and would take the single if he got it in the process. Murali ran in for his last ball at home, and bowled a bit wide, turning it back in, and hitting Styris in front. LBW. A wicket that kickstarted a collapse of 4 for 4.It would have been incredibly contrived had it not been for real.

A combination of a wet start and a slow pitch meant a tough opening day for England

Andrew Miller in Cardiff26-May-2011Andrew Strauss said on the eve of the match that the time for a glorious homecoming had long since past, and sure enough, the start of the first Test since England’s Ashes triumph was a spectacular anticlimax, entirely befitting a team whose Sydney celebrations had been curtailed by a hungover coach trip to Canberra.The most glorious start to an English summer in generations was entirely lost on the weather in Wales, which started revolting, and slowly descended into cruelty, as the morning rain threatened to abate every once in a while, before returning with a vengeance to postpone the start again and again. The toss, when it took place at 2.15pm was a farce, with such a violent squall wafting in after Sri Lanka’s correct call that players, presenters and camera crews alike were effectively blown clean off the square, as play was delayed by a further 75 minutes.In the circumstances, therefore, to chisel 48 overs out of a day that was pushed back by four-and-a-half hours was a pretty impressive effort, as the late evening sunshine did its best to atone for what had gone before. For England’s bowlers, however, it was a tough and uncompromising workout, as they encountered on their return to red-ball cricket a pair of batsmen in Tharanga Paranavitana and Tillakaratne Dilshan whose own preparations had involved a double-century partnership against the England Lions in Derby.As Chris Tremlett and Graeme Swann discovered to their cost in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s batsman have a ball-by-ball mentality that translates across formats without a glitch. If there was an assumption that the disciplines of Test cricket would lure them into a rash of loose swipes, a la Umar Akmal and his Pakistan team-mates last summer, it was quashed by the steadfast approach of Paranavitana, whose unbeaten 58 contained 122 dot balls and just six boundaries, five of which were emphatic.The scalping of two late wickets ensured the day’s honours ended more or less even, while the frisson of controversy that existed when Kumar Sangakkara was adjudged caught-behind on review was quickly doused when Dilshan conceded that the edge had been conclusive. All in all, therefore, this first day had the feel of a dress rehearsal, albeit one that left little reason to doubt the stage-presence of either side.”I thought to be honest we started pretty well, considering that we spent most of the day in the dressing room,” said James Anderson, whose seven overs for seven before tea would might well have made dents in the Pakistan top-order last summer, although when you recall just how fragile their batting had been, that is hardly a ringing endorsement. He was waspish and energetic, and clearly refreshed after the travails of the World Cup. But for all three of England’s seamers, there was a certain snap still lacking.”It is sometimes hard to get yourself up for that start time, but I thought we did brilliantly that first hour, and we could have got a couple of wickets,” said Anderson. “We beat the bat a few times, but there a few bad balls, one too many in certain periods, and they put them away well. Generally I thought we asked a lot of questions of the batsmen, but they played pretty well, left well, and it will be a hard contest tomorrow and further into the game.”Still, there’s only so much to be read into this truncated first-day performance. As expected, the Cardiff wicket tended towards the docile, with Stuart Broad’s short-ball attack offering little prospect of reward, despite the aggressive intentions of three slips, a short leg and leg gully. Anderson reckoned there was more life than he’d expected, though having been put to the sword by Australia’s 674 for 6 on this surface two years ago, he came into the game with good reason to be pessimistic. “If you bend your back you get something out of the pitch,” he said. “It’s a good cricket wicket.”A crowd of roughly 6000 turned out to watch the team in their first match of the new season, with one in three of the pre-booked punters deciding it wasn’t a day for watching cricket. Better weather is in prospect for the latter stages of the game, so England – and their season – can aim to start again. “The crowd was pretty good considering the weather,” said Anderson. “It was a really good support out there, a good atmosphere considering it’s cold and wet, so we can’t complain.”

A teenage prospect a decade ago, Samuel Badree, with his arsenal of straighter ones and googlies, has found a measure of success in Twenty20 cricket

Siddarth Ravindran01-Oct-2011One of the charms of the Champions League Twenty20 is the opportunity it provides for fans to discover the talents of journeymen cricketers. Take the case of Trinidad & Tobago legspinner, Samuel Badree, owner of the most frugal economy-rate in Twenty20 cricket (4.58), whose day job is teaching physical education to teenagers at the Barrackpore East Secondary School in southern Trinidad.He doesn’t possess the gargantuan legbreak that makes leg spin such an exciting art to watch but a grab bag of straighter ones and googlies with the new ball have made him a knotty bowler to face. Ask Leicestershire, who after clouting his first ball for a boundary were only able to take three runs off his remaining 3.5 overs – resulting in the most economical spell in the tournament.So what’s his formula for Twenty20 success? “I try to use some variety because if you get predictable in this game it is easy for batsmen to pick you off,” Badree told ESPNcricinfo. “Some skidders, some wrong ‘uns, try to get some turn off the legbreak as well, main thing is to keep your eyes on the batsmen as long as possible, see what they are doing and try to out-think them.”Opening the bowling with a spinner is now almost standard practice in Twenty20s, and it’s a role Badree plays particularly well. “It’s always difficult to bowl in the Powerplay overs, new ball coming on to the bat, the batsmen are looking to capitalise,” he says. “I think I have been consistent in terms of line and length, I bowl to my field, things are just working out fine for me, I guess I’m a bit lucky as well.”Things have been working out well for the 30-year-old Badree over the past year or so, getting a regular place in a T&T side filled with spinners, giving away less than four runs an over during the Caribbean T20 in January, and having begun the CLT20 with four solid games. But it hasn’t been a trouble-free ride for him. His career began promisingly as he progressed from playing cricket at Naparima College with future T&T team-mates, Daren and Sherwin Ganga, to making his first-class debut while still a teenager. That was nearly a decade ago though, and his first-class career has sputtered since, with only a dozen caps, and his last match in early 2009.”Twenty20 is more of a defensive game, whereas in first-class cricket you need to take wickets,” Badree says. “I’m more of a defensive bowler than a wicket-taker that is why my first-class career hasn’t taken off as much probably as my Twenty20.”Even the Twenty20 career seemed to be in jeopardy when T&T made the world sit up and take notice at the inaugural Champions League two years ago. Sherwin Ganga and chinaman bowler Dave Mohammed, he of the outrageous celebrations fame, were the lead spinners in the side and Badree got only a few chances. His tournament ended after a pasting in the match against New South Wales, the match most remembered for catapulting Kieron Pollard to Twenty20 superstardom. In Badree’s only over in the game, David Warner clobbered him for 24 runs. When the two sides met in the CLT20 this year, Badree’s first over to Warner was a maiden.”The experience in 2009 really serves me in good stead, because I know what the pitches hold, how batsmen are approaching the game,” Badree says. “I use that to any advantage, I think bowling at the top you need a bit of luck, I think so far in these games I have been lucky, I hope that luck continues in the rest of the tournament.”Since then, he’s conceded little more than four an over in Twenty20s and has leapfrogged Mohammed to become one of T&T’s frontline bowlers. At 30, it may seem that an international career is out of his grasp but with West Indies looking beyond Sulieman Benn and Nikita Miller to fill the spinners ‘ spot, there might still be an opening for a Twenty20 place. He certainly hasn’t given up.”My childhood dream was to play for the West Indies, and hopefully I can do well in this tournament and make the selectors look in my direction,” he says. “As long as I am playing for T&T, the aim is to play for West Indies. The day that I do not feel that I do not want to play for West Indies is the day I will give up playing for my country.”Is there some aspect of his bowling he would like to improve? “If I could get the legbreak to turn a bit more, that will be an additional ball in my armoury. I would be much more effective, I have to keep working on that.”Even if the international career passes him by, the CLT20 puts him in the shop window for a chance at Twenty20 contracts in domestic leagues around the world, a well-trod path that the biggest names of T&T cricket have taken. “When you come on the world stage, a lot of teams are looking at you. I’m only trying to do my best , whatever comes my way I will consider it but I’m concentrating on T&T right now and my bowling. Whatever happens after that, we will think about after that. “

Despite a 4-0 loss in the Tests, India’s impressive ODI record in the last two years increases the possibility of a close series

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan02-Sep-2011ODIs a challenge for England
After being completely outplayed in the Test series, India will be more than glad to resume playing a format in which they have tasted much success in recent times. They have very few positives to take from the 4-0 drubbing in the Tests, but will try to draw confidence from their World Cup triumph in the subcontinent in April. England, on the other hand, will be brimming with confidence following a terrific display in the Test series where they were so far ahead of India in every department that any result other than a whitewash looked impossible. The ODIs however present England with a fresh challenge as it has not been a format they have excelled in. They have failed to make the semi-final of the World Cup since the 1992 tournament and on the two occasions they reached the quarter-final (1996 and 2011), they were crushed by Sri Lanka. In the 2011 World Cup, England were entertaining, but highly inconsistent. They had three superb results- a tie against India in Bangalore chasing 338 and successful defences of low targets against South Africa and West Indies. On the flip side, they suffered shock defeats against Ireland and Bangladesh before managing to get through to the quarter-final stage where they were at the receiving end of a ten-wicket thrashing by Sri Lanka.Since 2000, India have thoroughly dominated England in ODIs in the subcontinent, winning 14 matches and losing just four. In matches played in England though, the head-to-head record is 7-6 in favour of England. India’s most notable wins include the final of the Natwest series in 2002 when they chased down 326 after looking down and out at 146 for 5. In the previous ODI series between the teams in England in 2007, the momentum swayed between the teams before England finally took the series 4-3 with a seven-wicket win in the final ODI. The most recent ODI played between the two teams in Bangalore during the World Cup was a cracking game with many twists. England, after fighting back in the final overs, restricted India to 338, and were in control of the chase till the 41st over. Following a mini-collapse, they eventually recovered to tie the game. England have won three of the last four series at home by a margin of 3-2 and if the record between the two sides in recent years is any indication, the series is set to be another closely-fought one.

India the better ODI team in recent years
South Africa and Australia have been the best teams based on the run-rate difference in ODIs in the last two years. Both the teams have quality bowling attacks and hence a much lower bowling average when compared to most teams. Their win-loss ratios are the best among all teams (2.06 and 2.03). India, by virtue of playing most of the cricket in the subcontinent on flat tracks, have a high batting run-rate (5.58) and a fairly high economy rate (5.38). England’s recent ODI form has been patchy, and as a result, the average difference and run-rate difference are very low (0.37 and 0.02 respectively). West Indies, who have the lowest win-loss ratio (0.45) and Pakistan lie at the bottom of the table with extremely low values for both the average difference and run-rate difference.

India’s strength remains the batting
Although the Indian batting line-up will miss the attacking prowess of Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, there is still enough firepower in the top order to trouble any bowling attack. MS Dhoni’s strike rate has fallen in the last few years, but he remains a vital part of the line-up as he demonstrated in the World Cup final when he promoted himself and scored a match-winning 91. While Sachin Tendulkar will aim to score his 100th international century and move forward after a below-par show in the Tests, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli will look to extend their impressive ODI record to matches outside the subcontinent. India will, however, miss the services of the consistent Gautam Gambhir, who has scored close to 2000 runs at an average of 50.28 in ODIs since the start of 2009.

Settled look to England’s line-up
England’s ODI squad has seen quite a few changes after quarter-final exit in the World Cup. The most notable one is the absence of Andrew Strauss who scored a brilliant 158 against India in the tied game in Bangalore. Despite Kevin Pietersen being rested, the batting order has a strong look to it. Jonathan Trott has averaged over 53 in ODIs since 2009, and his consistency is complemented by Eoin Morgan’s aggression. However, on an average, most English batsmen tend to score at a lower rate than their Indian counterparts.

Conditions facour England bowlers
For the ODIs, England have retained the core of the Test attack which gave India a torrid time. Almost all England bowlers have a far better ODI record in England as compared to their record outside home. Graeme Swann, in particular, has been superb in home ODIs since 2009 with 38 wickets at just 20.28. Swann has a very low boundary percentage (30.83) and a high dot-ball percentage (56.17) making him a vital part of the attack. Stuart Broad, who won the player-of-the-series award in the Tests, has also been impressive in the last two years with an average of 28.89 with four four-wicket hauls. James Anderson has struggled in away ODIs conceding over 90 runs in ten overs on two different occasions. His average at home (27.59) is much better than his record overseas where he averages 35.94. Tim Bresnan, who picked up 5 for 48 in the World Cup game against India, has been in great form in the Tests, and his presence rounds off a highly-competitive bowling attack.

Bowling India’s weak link
With injuries to Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan, the Indian bowling attack is severely depleted. The return of Munaf Patel does add some consistency to the bowling. Along with Praveen Kumar, who picked up 15 wickets in the Test series, Munaf brings the much-needed experience to the attack. R Ashwin has impressed in the limited opportunities he has got so far, and together with Amit Mishra, will lend the variety to a bowling attack that does need to step up to be able to contain the England batting.

Batting first a slight advantage
Lord’s (5) and The Oval (4) have hosted the most ODIs in England since the start of 2009. England, however, have failed to win any of the five matches at Lord’s and have won just one out of the four played at The Oval. In 15 ODIs played at the five venues since the start of 2009, teams have won nine batting first. In eight day-night games played at The Oval, the Rose Bowl and Cardiff since the start of 2009, teams batting first have been more successful winning five and losing three matches.

Jesse Ryder’s latest indiscretion might make it hard for New Zealand to pick him for the Test series against South Africa

Andrew Alderson01-Mar-2012Just as New Zealand were showing signs of turning a bedraggled few seasons around, momentum has been lost with news that Jesse Ryder and Doug Bracewell have been dropped for at least one match after a night out in Napier turned sour.The New Zealand management reprimanded the pair after the second one-day international against South Africa in Napier for breaking team protocol (players rehabilitating from injury should not consume alcohol). Both went to a Napier hotel despite Bracewell receiving treatment for a tight hamstring and Ryder splitting the webbing on his hand. According to a statement from the team manager Mike Sandle, the pair responded to taunts from a member of the public. The players claim they were goaded and didn’t allow the situation to escalate past a short exchange of words.More facts will be needed before a balanced judgment can be made but there is no doubt such an incident can derail team spirit and the bond with fans which has built steadily since New Zealand’s Test victory over Australia in Hobart.Unfortunately for New Zealand, it also indicates that fragility and vulnerability are emerging against a South African team that is getting stronger as the length of matches increase.However this incident is spun, it seems no coincidence that Ryder was at its heart. This could well be another Groundhog Day ending in a soft punishment but there is genuine concern in the squad about his vehement refusal to improve his behaviour. Ryder was once treated as a roguish anti-hero by sections of the public after the ‘digits through the dunny window’ episode in Christchurch four years ago. Further form on his rap sheet has turned patience to pity and sometimes anger. There is frustration at his refusal to acknowledge a wider problem; be it the makings of alcoholism or a penchant for binge drinking. As anecdotal evidence it is worth noting his excellent half-century – albeit with a stagger at the end – which took New Zealand close to victory in the final Twenty20 received a less than glowing reaction from some quarters of the crowd.Ryder was going to be in consideration for the Test squad but this incident makes that prospect far-fetched, given his past indiscretions. He needs further help and that might start with more visits to boxing trainer Billy Graham’s gym in the Wellington suburb of Naenae. With a Test series as important as South Africa starting next week it’s hard to believe a character with such a renowned disruptive influence could be picked. New Zealand can’t afford to condone the erratic behaviour of a rebel without a cause.Given it is Bracewell’s first official blemish in the New Zealand environment, he will likely get a reprieve but he needs to watch himself. No one is bigger than the game. His heroic acts with the ball in Tests in Zimbabwe and Australia have been tempered by seven limited-overs matches back home, where he has scored nine runs in four innings and taken four wickets at 60.50.Writing about Ryder and Bracewell’s indiscretions could be labelled hypocrisy for anyone who has endured experiences such as waking up beneath a shrub on a random street; or found a phantom 3am kebab shop receipt in a grease-stained pocket when stirring on a mate’s couch. But there is a difference – they are public figures and national representatives. They don’t have to be role models – and may well be victims of their own success – but that argument gets little sympathy from those who toil week-to-week on the nation’s cricket fields for the love of the game and little representative or monetary reward.

Both on the field and off, Mark Gillespie is one hard man: he keeps things brief when he talks, and just bowls and bowls and bowls, even through the all the pain

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton16-Mar-2012One of the five doctors Mark Gillespie saw in the last two years, for advice on his persistent back injury, told him to take up commentary. Had Gillespie taken those words seriously, television viewers around the world would be stunned by his curt usage of the English language, his abrasive tone and, if the camera ever panned to him, the look of disgust mixed with a strange kind of thoughtfulness on his face as he spoke. They would have been thoroughly entertained by his naked honesty.After a career-best five-for on his Test comeback – which ended an absence of more than three years from the national side – Gillespie was asked what many in the same position and at the same age, 32, would have been expected to be quizzed on: during his time out of the side, did he ever he think he would play for New Zealand again? “Yeah,” came the answer, with a stare as icy as the Dunedin wind. And a pause. Long enough to make everyone in the room, except Gillespie, uncomfortable.Finally, more words. “It’s why I play, otherwise I would have packed it in when the five doctors I saw told me I shouldn’t be playing anymore. That’s why I keep going.” The same icy stare. The same awkward silence. The same shifting in the seats. In those few seconds it was clear that both on the field and off, Gillespie is one hard man.During the 2009 series against West Indies he had hurt his back and no amount of medical advice could put him back together again. “It was a joint problem and no-one knew what it was,” he said. “I was just in a lot of pain and couldn’t bowl and then got to the point when I just thought ‘Stuff it, I’m just going to give it a crack. I’ve bowled in pain my whole life so why not just keep doing it?'”Instead of stopping mid-tale this time, Gillespie went on. “So after a while, I just pushed through the pain, and then my leg, because of all the pain of what my back was doing, my thigh fell apart. Twice. And it [the injuries] was just going around in circles and then it just took a lot of time.”Stop.What happened then? Did he recover completely before getting to where he is now? “It’s just been a case of bowling again. And plenty of bowling. The reward has come from that,” he said. Gillespie has enjoyed a phenomenal few weeks, in which he has taken 30 first-class wickets in six matches. All he will say is that he still feels the hurt. “As one of my idols once said, you’re lying if you say that you’re a fast bowler and you say that you bowl pain-free.” So, who is the idol? “He’s at this ground. But he’s not part of our camp.” That’s all Gillespie would say.It may be Allan Donald, who was part of the New Zealand set up before he moved to the South Africa job. It may be Shane Bond, who has had injuries throughout his career. It may be Dale Steyn, someone Gillespie may have admired from afar, when he made his debut in the 2007 series against South Africa, the one in which Steyn took 20 wickets in two matches.It’s entirely possible that no one will ever know. Gillespie is a stranger even to his own media, having only met one of the of the current press corp in the past. No one really seems to know the reason for his elusiveness, some say he does not enjoy talking to the press, others, that he is afraid of them. It’s difficult to imagine Gillespie being afraid of anyone.He certainly wasn’t scared of the South Africa line-up, neither was he overwhelmed by the names of the men he dismissed – that included Hashim Amla and Jacques Kallis. “I don’t really care who I get out just, so long as I get wickets,” he said. “You are contributing to the team. Obviously it helps the team cause if you get out the top order, but to me if you’re getting guys out it’s just as important. It’s a team job.”He didn’t pay much attention to whether South Africa’s batsmen were caught by surprise, considering they have only seen him once before. “They saw me on debut, so they would still have that footage, and I think I have bowled pretty much the same as then.” Or to the fact that he has played against them before. “I don’t think it added anything [beneficial to my bowling]. It’s just another opposition, really.” Nor did he let advice from Ross Taylor and the management cloud his mind too much. “Just do what I do [is what they said], pretty much. It’s pretty simple, just run in and bowl. The team knows what I can do and it was just backing my own ability.”Typically, he kept it short when he explained the secret to his success, the feeling of being back in the international game and everything that is right with his game at the moment – he managed to fit it all in two sentences: “It’s a good reward for doing something I love. I will just bowl and bowl and bowl, and if wickets fall, it makes me even happier.”

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the fourth day at Lord’s

Andrew McGlashan at Lord's20-May-2012Landmark of the dayThis has been a good Test for Stuart Broad’s statistics. After a career-best 7 for 72 in the first innings he then became the first England bowler to take 10 wickets in a Test at Lord’s since Ian Botham in 1978 against New Zealand (and his first such haul) when he had Darren Sammy caught behind. He also joined the select band of players – Botham, Gubby Allen and Keith Miller – to have done the treble at Lords; a hundred, five-wickets in an innings and 10 in a match. That’s all the honours boards completed.Shy of the dayFor most of this Test bowling for run outs has been the best idea when Shivnarine Chanderpaul has been batting. Often it is his partner who finds himself in trouble but Chanderpaul would have been run out for just the fourth time in Tests if Kevin Pietersen had hit with an under-arm back-handed flicked when Chanderpaul had 38. Marlon Samuels had dropped the ball towards midwicket and Pietersen was quickly onto it and perhaps did not realise how much time he had. He opted for an awkward attempt at the stumps rather than trying to find a better position to throw from.Bouncers of the dayThis is a placid Lord’s pitch – the slowness is understandable after the wet start to the summer – and the England quicks have had to be selective about when to really bend their backs. Broad picked one over against Samuels – with the ball 69 overs old – to try a series of short deliveries, the first of which Samuels did not play well and took a blow on the shoulder. The next ball, another short one, was fended short of third slip but Samuels had the final say in the over when he pulled consecutive boundaries to leave Broad chuntering.Century of the dayTim Bresnan has done wonders in the Test side since the 2010-11 Ashes series – when he has managed to find a place in the team. It was a tight race between him, Steven Finn and Graham Onions for this Test but the 100% man (Bresnan has won all 12 of his Tests) got the nod. For much of the game he has done what Andrew Strauss needed; drying up the runs to allow others to attack. However, after tea on the fourth day he was expensive for a spell and in the process was taken for a ton for the first time in Test career. Maintaining that 100% no longer looked a foregone conclusion.Late reward of the dayJames Anderson was probably wondering what he had to do to get a wicket. The difference in tallies between him and Broad no way reflected the quality of the bowling. Anderson was superb throughout, even managing to beat Chanderpaul on one occasion, but more often than not was left with head in hands at another near miss. When Fidel Edwards fended a rising delivery over the slips it could have been the final straw, but three balls later he produced a peach to remove Denesh Ramdin to give him one in the ‘w’ column.

Plays of the Day from the third day of the third Test between Sri Lanka and Pakistan in Pallekele

Kanishkaa Balachandran in Pallekele10-Jul-2012Save of the day
Keeping wicket to the seamers was never going to be easy on a lively pitch, spiced up further by heavy rain. You have to spare a thought for Taufeeq Umar, standing in for the injured Adnan Akmal. Junaid Khan in particular was getting the ball to talk, testing the experienced Thilan Samaraweera. One such delivery from round the wicket swerved in sharply to the right-hander and a circumspect Samaraweera did the wise thing by not offering a shot. The ball could so easily have evaded Umar, but he managed to fling himself to his left and pluck it one-handed, like his life depended on it. His team-mates in the slips were appreciative of his efforts, patting him on the back.Close shave of the day
For a period in the morning session, Tharanga Paranavitana was like a walking wicket. One delivery from Umar Gul nipped in and ballooned off the back of his bat and cleared the slips. That was harmless, compared to a snorter he got from Mohammad Sami. Paranavitana tried to sway away from a short delivery but took his eyes off the ball and was hit flush on the peak of the helmet. He didn’t flinch, but the shock must have lingered.Drop of the day
Pakistan went through a fruitless morning session. There was no respite straight after lunch when Samaraweera poked at a Gul delivery and produced a thick outside edge, only to be reprieved. The ball went at a comfortable height to their safest slip fielder, Younis Khan, at second slip. Younis juggled, the ball rebounded to Misbah-ul-Haq at first slip and neither could hang on. Samaraweera was on 49 then, desperate to make amends for an otherwise poor series. The drop cost Pakistan 24 runs.Shot of the day
Thisara Perera’s one-handed six off Umar Gul stood out for its audacity, but the shot that stood out for its style and follow through was his straight-driven four earlier in the over. Bowling with the new ball, Gul fired it full on the stumps and Perera biffed it with such authority that none of the fielders moved. Perera showed a straight bat and maintained his balance well.Misjudgement of the day
When fielding on the boundary, the timing of the dive and pick up is crucial. When Umar drove Nuwan Kulasekara past point, Rangana Herath gave chase. He did the tough job of getting to the ball, but sensing that it was going to beat him to the boundary, he froze and just stepped over the rope. A little too late, he realised that he overran the ball and could easily have pulled it back. That boundary was one of the few things that went Umar’s way.

Paul Nixon liked to think he was pushing the boundary every time he played. And it hurt him when he found the management didn’t appreciate his efforts

Jon Culley08-Jul-2012When Paul Nixon called time on his playing career, he put every ounce of the energy that had driven him through 22 years as a professional cricketer into making sure he went out at the top and pulled it off as his final game in England ended with Leicestershire crowned Twenty20 champions for the third time.The veteran wicketkeeper had made a major contribution too, snaring a brilliant catch to limit the destructive West Indian Kieron Pollard to just a single, as Somerset failed to chase down the 146 runs they needed to win the final at Edgbaston. That catch – an extraordinary one-handed effort diving full length to his right – and the feel of the trophy in his hands gave him images that would forever illuminate his memory.Hardly surprising, then, that the letter he found on the doormat a few days later left a nasty taste. It was from Alan Fordham, Head of Operations (first-class cricket) at the ECB, and Nixon recalls the contents in his newly published autobiography, , written by the paper’s cricket correspondent Michael Atherton, that had made specific reference to “unacceptable levels of sledging” by Nixon, in particular towards Jos Buttler, Somerset’s then 20-year-old batsman, who was, according to the report, “visibly upset at the close”. And Paul Haywood, the Leicestershire chairman, had told Nixon that “something had been picked up from the stump mic” to the effect that he had said “something derogatory about [Buttler’s] mum”.”It left a bitter taste for a short period,” Nixon said at the launch of the book at Grace Road. “For years England have talked about breeding tough cricketers, people who want to win. The English public love characters who show their emotion – Gazza, Stuart Pearce, Daley Thompson, Ian Botham.”For me it was my last game, in a final. I had to win because it meant so much. So to have a bit of banter with a batsman, without an umpire telling me off, without anyone complaining… and I get a letter like that.”When Jos shook my hand as we came off the field, he was so disappointed they had lost the game he wouldn’t look me in the eye. I kept hold of his hand and said, ‘Come on, you’re better than that – I knew you could win that game because you’re a good player. We play hard on the pitch and have a beer together afterwards.'”When I saw him after the game at the drugs test, we had a chuckle about it. He told me he was just gutted that they didn’t win. He said, ‘Well done’, I said, ‘Good luck’, and we parted on decent terms.”Nixon was only 19 when he made his Leicestershire debut, but so far as he recalls, he was never shy about giving verbal expression to his competitive edge, even in a dressing room in which the fearsome Peter Willey could reduce a young player to a trembling wreck with little more than a stare.”It was never something I was timid about doing. I used to give a bit of stick to help keep me focused. As a wicketkeeper you use it as a tactic. Batsmen work on their mental drills, their routines. If you can interrupt his mental routines you’ve got him.”I have always been like that. I was brought up in a very competitive environment, playing village cricket in Cumbria, and people cared about winning. There was always banter. Sometimes there was close to fighting. The rivalry was huge.

“When England played Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup, it was the most mentally disintegrating experience I have had against any opposition, but I respected them for it because they wanted to win”

“But there is a line that you don’t cross. You can have funny comments about things but you don’t abuse people about family or illnesses or things like that.”The suggestion that I said something about Jos’ mother was ridiculous. Whether it was something that sounded that way on the stump mic, I don’t know, but as soon as I heard that this was what it was about, I phoned Tres [Marcus Trescothick]. He said he had heard nothing and then he called Jos, who said he had heard nothing either.”I was disappointed with what Athers had written because I really respect his journalism. I think he is a magnificent writer and broadcaster. As I said in the book, if he had asked me what had happened I would have told him.”I can laugh about it now but I think England should have people who want to win. I’ve played in international games where the opposition have ripped me to pieces because they want to win. In my experience the Sri Lankans are the worst – more so even than Australia. When England played Sri Lanka in the 2007 World Cup, a game where Ravi [Bopara] and I got runs, it was the most mentally disintegrating experience I have had against any opposition, but I respected them for it because they wanted to win. They push that boundary as far as they can because ultimately our jobs are about delivering victories.”Nixon’s participation in the World Cup to which he referred came about because, late in his career, England did recognise his competitive edge, calling him into the one-day squad sent to Australia in January 2007, charged with salvaging some national pride after an Ashes whitewash.It was an experience that began with a handwritten note under his hotel room door from Duncan Fletcher, whose concern about the mental state of England’s Test players was sufficient for him to ask the newcomers to stay away from them for as long as possible. “It was a strange introduction but he did not want us to be infected with any negativity,” Nixon said.Fletcher asked Nixon to address the senior players about his approach to the game, particularly with regard to T20, in which he had enjoyed success already with Leicestershire. It was a moment Nixon recalled for Andrew Flintoff “looking bored and distracted throughout” and noted that “at one point I thought I saw him roll his eyes”. Yet he developed a respect for Flintoff even though he was party – as a member of the same late-drinking group and fined for his trouble – to the pedalo incident that earned the ex-captain the biggest dressing-down of his career, after which the players were summoned to an 8am team meeting to explain themselves to Fletcher, with Flintoff lying on his back on a physio’s bench in the corner of the room, sand still sticking to his legs.”In some ways Freddie was unfortunate to have played in an era when players’ behaviour is under so much scrutiny,” Nixon said. “When I was a young player, if someone did something a bit naughty it might be on the back page but the next day it was fish-and-chip paper. Nowadays it goes online and stays there forever.”Freddie is a guy who can go out for a beer and rock up the day after and bowl at 90mph and be a class act on the field. But times have changed these days and you have to do everything right.”Doing everything right is a theme through the book, from Nixon’s now well-documented rejection of a match-fixing attempt to the extraordinary steps he took to overcome a condition – something between dyslexia and attention deficit disorder – that for many years left him muddle-headed, forgetful and unable to read more than a few pages of a book without developing a headache. Now he has written one of his own and it is an absorbing, informative and honest account of a rich life in the game.Keeping Quiet
by Paul Nixon
The History Press Ltd, 2012
£17.99, 224pp

Plays of the Day from the 2nd ODI between West Indies and Australia at St Vincent

Daniel Brettig18-Mar-2012The double-strike
This was no kind of pitch for fast bowlers but in the seventh over of the day Kemar Roach showed how pace bowling of direction and thought could be just as dastardly at Arnos Vale as any spinner. David Warner was his first victim, undone by a delivery that skidded through low rather than stopping in the surface as many others did. Four balls later Peter Forrest followed, edging a ball that was fast, full and challenging the batsman to offer something. Forrest’s defensive bat could only result in an edge that was well snaffled by Darren Sammy.The maiden
First impressions can be important, particularly for spin bowlers, as a good start can often help confidence to grow and greater returns to be claimed from subsequent overs. So it was for Sunil Narine, who began his stint by beating Michael Hussey twice and rendering him shotless otherwise in a first-up maiden. Hussey would go on to be the first of Narine’s four victims – a wicket the spinners of England, Sri Lanka and India have all grown to consider a precious one.The leave
Maybe Kieran Powell got a speck of dust in his eye. Maybe he did not expect Brett Lee’s first ball to be on target, full and swinging subtly back into him. Or maybe his mind was still in the dressing room. Whatever the reason, Powell’s decision to leave Lee’s first ball was catastrophic, resulting in the clearest lbw possible. Lee barely needed to turn around towards the umpire in his appeal, so plain was the decision, and so grave was Powell’s error.The flurry
Only three sixes had been struck all day before Kieron Pollard muscled three in four overs. All three were different shots, all three critical as the West Indies sought a first win over Australia since 2006. The first was pulled convulsively over midwicket from Daniel Christian, reducing the pressure that had been brought to bear by the loss of Darren Bravo’s wicket. The second was perhaps the pick, an inside-out cover drive also from Christian that cleared the rope easily. And the third was an effortless straight hit that forced Xavier Doherty’s removal from the attack. All were hammer blows for Australia.