All posts by n8rngtd.top

Australian fans turned up in droves for their team’s SCG semi-final, dispelling pre-match fears that they would be drowned in a noisy sea of blue t-shirts and tricolour flags

Sharda Ugra at the SCG26-Mar-2015Looks like Australia’s cricket fans paid attention to Michael Clarke.The fears of a 70-30 split in favour of an Indian audience had led the Australian captain to send out a tweet to the home audience: “”I call on all Australian cricket lovers to paint the SCG gold. We need your support. #goldout.” Steven Smith, next in line to be Australia’s captain, chipped in, “let’s fill the place with gold.”Two hours before the game, the only spectators milling around the ground who could be seen – and of course heard – were Indians in their blue T-shirts. Two Australians dressed in team colours replied to greetings from volunteers with a laugh, “we’re the only two going to be in there.”Not really. The crowd split was close to 50-50 between Indian fans and Australian fans. At best it could have been 55-45 India-Australia.The main point of distinction was the fact that almost every Indian fan was wearing blue and in the battle of the flags, the tricolor was winning. As the match ran its course, though, the sound of fans on both sides began to make itself heard. Matching the Indian fans cheering every fielding stop or well crafted over was the steady drumbeat of applause at every Australian four. India’s (we will win, brother, we will win) was met by “Cmon, Aussie, cmon”.The fears of a mysterious detachment of Australian fans from a World Cup they were themselves hosting arose when the quarter-final between Australia and Pakistan pulled in 35,516 but left many visible empty seats in the 50,000-capacity ground. When a news report two days before the SCG quarter final quoted organisers as saying 70% of the stands would be filled by Indian fans who had snatched up the tickets, the dread would have passed onto Australia’s cricket establishment.This sudden, ominous lack of Australian interest could have arisen from two quarters: the advent of the footy/rugby season was well under way, the summertime for paying attention to cricket had passed. Then there was the matter of an Australian trait – of paying attention to any major sporting events only a week or so before the main event. Several Indian generations brought up on the dreaded fear of ‘waiting lists’ – whether for telephone connections and flights in the past or train journeys and new models of cars even today – make a beeline for tickets they care about the instant they are available. In this case, the moment the quarter-final line-up became known, those Indians who wanted to turn up made all their bookings.The Australian team need not have feared, their fans came. In healthy, raucous and supportive numbers. Without as many flags or team jerseys as the Indian fans, but they were there. As Mitchell Johnson cleaned out 49 off the last four overs, the Australian cheering grew louder, and the Indians spent the evening listening to music and dancing instead.MS Dhoni raised the pulse of the Indian fans briefly, hitting two consecutive sixes off Watson, but once he was run out by one of two dead-eye direct hits, their energy leached out. In the blink of an eye, they began leaving the ground, and by time the Australians cleaned up the last three wickets, all that was left to be seen were healthy clusters of yellow shirts and green chairs.

Despite often being lampooned online, Ashish Nehra’s importance to Chennai Super Kings’ strike-force cannot be overstated

Arun Venugopal28-Apr-2015April 18, 2014. Chennai Super Kings v Kings XI Punjab, Abu Dhabi. Disclaimer: before you Ctrl + T and google what you have missed, or more likely, forgotten, it wasn’t anything remotely earth-shattering. A dropped catch. But the image has stayed in the memory for longer than normal, not necessarily for its role in affecting the course of the game. It is as much because of the subject as the ease with which he lends himself to meme-making on the internet.Ashish Nehra, in his first match for Chennai Super Kings, had dropped Glenn Maxwell’s catch. His facial contortions even as the ball eluded his outstretched palms were all that were required to produce a laugh-worthy meme. The Nehra-loving population – it’s a considerable number – on social media took it upon themselves to make it viral.Google ‘Ashish Nehra memes’ and about 25,200 results pop up in 0.38 seconds. One meme has Nehra bellowing out a loud appeal: ‘Need 37 off six balls. (I am there).’ There are also jokes on a bowler being a product of the imaginary Ashish Nehra Cricket Academy whenever he leaks runs.However, Nehra, who will turn 36 on Wednesday has – to borrow one of his favourite send-offs – blown a flying kiss in the direction of critics and cynics. Besides being the highest wicket-taker for Chennai Super Kings thus far with 12 scalps from six matches, Nehra is also their most miserly bowler at 5.70 an over. He also has two Man-of-the-Match awards.As for cricketers being lampooned, Nehra isn’t the only one; among the Indians, Ravindra Jadeja and Ishant Sharma are meme-magnets. It isn’t known if Nehra is aware of the existence of such memes. By many accounts, he isn’t quite your zany, Playstation-obsessed cricketer that posts selfies on Instagram; Nehra is a throwback to a different generation.But, if Nehra indeed does keep a track of the memes, he would see how his performances have impacted them. Sample this one with Nehra’s toothy grin: ‘Because Gods don’t retire’. If that’s too snarky, there’s the image of Nehra pumping his fists with MK Gandhi’s famous quote: ‘First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, and then you win’.The importance of Nehra to Chennai Super Kings’ strike-force can’t be overstated. While amply revealing his cunning at various stages of the innings, Nehra has also ensured his pace hasn’t withered, despite being hampered by injuries several times in his career. His bowling has found plenty of admirers among his team-mates and opponents.Captain MS Dhoni said after the Delhi Daredevils game that Nehra “was one Indian pacer who bowls pace effortlessly.” R Ashwin called him one of the “finest bowlers that India has produced.””In India the bowlers tend to be written off very easily. We are not a bowler’s nation,” Ashwin told iplt20.com. “We are more comfortable judging a bowler than a batsman and that is the reason we write off a good bowler.”He was one of the linchpins of our 2011 World Cup winning side. What I admire about him is that he never sulks. He picks up the new ball, bowls in the Powerplay, bowls in the death, whether it is AB de Villiers or Yuvraj Singh he is up against. He never complains and always gives his 100 per cent.”That kind of smouldering intensity was on view against Kings XI Punjab at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, especially while he was bowling to M Vijay. There were a few lifters that whizzed off the surface. Then, Nehra sent down some slower deliveries which Vijay failed to decipher. He shadow-practised the stroke after each ill-connected attempt, but still couldn’t get it right.Nehra’s fielding has often been a source of unintended humour, but after Mitchell Johnson slog-swept Jadeja, he dived forward at deep square leg. The opposition might be the same, but there was to be no drop this time. He rose with the ball, and a huge smile on his face.
The crowd, too, cheered and laughed , and not , him, unlike on many occasions in the past.He is realistic about fans’ perceptions though. “I have been in good rhythm. I also had a good Champions League last year. Sometimes in T20 you are bowling well, you don’t pick wickets, so people don’t notice.”Nehra is known for his straight-talking nature and dry humour, and a fan got a taste of both during the 2011 World Cup. After India lost to South Africa, the fan told Nehra that the latter’s last over was responsible for the defeat. Nehra coolly replied that the 99 overs prior to his over hadn’t taken place, and the coin was tossed for his one over. India, he said, then ended up losing both the toss and the match.Don’t be surprised if you see a Dubsmash version of that line on social media.

In so far as the County Championship has a single history, Stephen Chalke strives mightily and successfully to tell it through a visually wonderful new book

Paul Edwards11-Jul-2015Over the past two decades Stephen Chalke has produced a number of books describing the lives and careers of county cricketers in the quarter-century following the Second World War. Now he has written the story of the County Championship, the only competition in which the vast majority of those first-class cricketers learned, tested and practised their skills.Immediately one protests. story of the County Championship? Surely there could be hundreds of stories of this glorious, ramshackle hog feast of a competition with its long-standing aversion to order and logic. So the first of many things for which readers of this book can be grateful is that the championship’s historian has brought clear-eyed precision to his task. Those who wish to know when the counties joined the fun and where they finished in each year will find it all here.Statistics and records are supplied throughout but they never obtrude. Choosing which to leave out and how to present those included must have been very tricky but the selections have been successful. Each season since 1890 is given due attention but the book is never merely a dull chronicle. Even the controversial period from 1864 to 1890 is considered. Some critics might wish that space had been found each year’s County Championship table but Chalke has instead opted to list each team’s finishing position in the book’s first section, which briefly assesses each of the counties, before moving on to the many narratives within the championship itself. The book is already 352 pages long; there seems little doubt that it could have been double that length but nothing like twice as good. is also a very clear book. The layout is easy on the eye and the colour contrast in the many tables is invariably attractive. One never has to squint to be sure of particular statistics. The illustrations are always apposite and many of them are in colour. Making production values secondary to content in a book of this type risks the content being neglected by the reader. While Chalke acknowledges the support of the ECB in bearing the costs of production, this is a handsome book because its author plainly understood the importance of making it so.

possesses a richness and variety far greater than a single review can express. To receive it is a little like being given a huge hamper at Christmas; one is still enjoying delicacies well past Twelfth Night

Also, and this is particularly significant perhaps, readers will find which grounds a county has used and how often its cricketers have played on them. At a time when many good judges are advocating the use of outgrounds for four-day cricket, we have here a clear indication of the importance of club venues in the histories of, among others, Essex, Kent and Yorkshire. It is something to ponder for spectators as they watch fine first-class matches take place in front of a scattering of spectators in soulless concrete bowls designed for Test matches, limited-overs games, pop concerts and not much else.But as we might expect from its civilised author, is very short on polemic and rich in celebration. It explains the worth of the County Championship by revisiting some of its greatest matches and exploring the feats of its finest players. It is also laced with quirky incidents and barely credible facts. For example, which county did not even enter the championship in 1919 and which, in 1925, included in its team a 57-year-old vicar whose last first-class match had been played for a Liverpool and District XI in 1893? The answer to both questions is Worcestershire, but eccentricity has not been confined to New Road, and Chalke takes obvious delight in ferreting it all out. “The quirky things always appeal to me,” he writes in a prefatory paragraph.At the same time there is nothing self-indulgent about this book. Those who wish to understand how the format of the championship has evolved will have their desire satisfied in the fine appendix. There is even a list of the winners of the one-day competitions, in addition to those of the Second XI and Minor County champions. We also learn how the business of county cricket has become more professional. In so far as the championship has a single history, Chalke strives mightily and successfully to tell it. He has taken his scholarly duties very seriously; he has also, may we speculate, worked very hard and had a lot of fun.Fairfield Books possesses a richness and variety far greater than a single review can express. To receive it is a little like being given a huge hamper at Christmas; one is still enjoying fine delicacies well past Twelfth Night. The book is also something of a love letter to all those beautiful grounds in England where championship matches are still played and a tribute to those that will never see another ball bowled. It is also, like Chalke’s best work, a tribute to the extraordinarily diverse body of men who have played first-class cricket over the 125 years this book covers. It is a magnum opus with the lightest of touches. It is a deeply humane history. Those who love the championship have probably bought it already, but anyone who cares about English cricket, as well as supporting the national team, should possess a copy. The book costs 20 quid but that price is cheap. The County Championship is priceless.Summer’s Crown: The Story of Cricket’s County Championship
By Stephen Chalke
Fairfield Books
352 pages, £20.00

Whatever the end result, Sri Lanka’s young batsmen have some distance to go. They had a seaming pitch, and tried to pull a gun on India. They fumbled with the trigger and shot themselves in the kneecap instead

Andrew Fidel Fernando at the SSC30-Aug-2015

Sri Lanka’s day was saved a little bit by Kusal Perera’s feisty half-century, though he had also edged to slip in solidarity with his team-mates•AFP

In the last match, a skilful batsman took leave of the Sri Lanka side. In the first innings at the SSC, Sri Lanka’s batsmen took leave of their skill. This flaccid innings, this deflating circus tent of a collapse, deserves reliving. It needs to be savoured as much as any rollicking ton or enthralling spell because it was not just bad, it was so bad it was good.For so long outsiders had suggested Sri Lanka’s batting would be lost without Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene. Though the team has protested, vociferously at times, on Sunday they went out to almost willfully prove that they were not just lost, they were like Tom Hanks on , holding on to the merest shred of hope that they will find their way back one day, but in the meantime going a little insane.There are so many gems to be uncovered in the post-mortem of the top order’s 47 for 6, but the decision to promote Upul Tharanga up the order is, I guess, as crazy a place as any to begin.Sri Lanka have for some time been planning to provide a green pitch for the SSC Test, partly because they feel they have managed to play the moving ball reasonably well. This line of thinking was not without merit. Sri Lanka had a series victory in England last year, for example, and the batsmen were also good in a recent Test in Pallekele, where both teams had felt compelled to field three quicks.But the logic veers off a chasm when the opening partnership that negotiated those new-ball spells in England is broken up, and Tharanga is promoted. He’s a batsman who could be of great use to Sri Lanka because when he is in flow, no one bats so serenely. But across formats, Tharanga has been consistently suspect against the moving ball.On Sunday, his bat seemed to be made only of edges. He was dropped by second slip in the first over, had another nick fall short, laced his only runs of the innings through the cordon, until an edge was finally caught in the fifth over. Ishant Sharma may have overstepped during that delivery, but the umpires may have seen that innings and decided being caught in the slips was Tharanga’s destiny. Who could blame them?Kaushal Silva is a man who would never overstay his welcome at a dinner party, because leaving is thing he is great at – the thing he seems to be born to do. Today he left the ball almost aggressively, throwing both hands in the air, wielding the bat like an axe that he is about to bring down on some firewood. Still, he somehow managed to play the ball, and have his stumps disturbed.Dinesh Chandimal came out at No. 4, having been relieved of the keeping gloves, and batted superbly for 23. He got a rough decision, with the ball that had him lbw probably heading over the stumps. Chandimal seemed annoyed at this, but when your greatest Test innings, had only been made possible by an umpiring blunder, it is probably wise to take the good with the bad. As an aside, it’s worth mentioning that as poor as Sri Lanka’s top order has been this series, the umpiring has been immeasurably worse, not least because match officials have gone out of their way to ruin spectators’ fun.0:34

‘Had to take calculated risks’ – Kusal Perera

Lahiru Thirimanne and Dimuth Karunaratne also pushed at balls and were both taken in the slips. The top six batsmen had fallen before the spinners – whom Sri Lanka had played poorly all series – could even be introduced. Sangakkara would at least have waited for R Ashwin to arrive at the crease before presenting his outside edge.You almost have to admire Sri Lanka’s implosion, because while India batsmen had poked and missed at plenty, Sri Lanka’s top order seemed to be in the zone when it came to getting just a touch of wood on the ball. They were sublimely effective at having it fly off in unintended directions. Scintillatingly good at being bad.The day was saved a little bit by Kusal Perera’s feisty half-century, though he had also edged a ball to slip in solidarity with his team-mates, and was reprieved by another drop, on 9. Sri Lanka’s two best players of the series saved it further, only this time, they did it with the bat, deciding to give themselves something to bowl at, since the batsmen didn’t indulge them.Dhammika Prasad, who had stampeded though the crease in 26 first-innings overs, sore shoulder and all, barely had time to put his feet up in the dressing room before Sri Lanka’s batsmen were stampeding right back at him. He was struck painfully on the hand first ball, but returned to the crease to collect more runs than anyone else in the top six managed. Rangana Herath swept and slashed his way to 49.As bad as Sri Lanka have been for most of Sunday, they are also capable of hurtling to the other end of the spectrum overnight. Sometimes they need a whiff of defeat to inspire them to victory. The scales were not quite even at stumps, but two wickets in the first hour on Monday could make the match interesting.Whatever the end result, Sri Lanka’s young batsmen have some distance to go. Even accounting for Angelo Mathews’ P Sara hundred, their first innings have been modest in this series. They were screwed by spin at Galle and the P Sara. With the seaming pitch here, they tried to pull a gun on India. They fumbled with the trigger and shot themselves in the kneecap instead.

Faf du Plessis’ well-rounded captaincy style and vast experience of India and their key players can only help South Africa on what will be a tough overseas assignment

Firdose Moonda26-Sep-2015What would a combined Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni’s captaincy style be like? It’d be very similar to Faf du Plessis’.Du Plessis, South Africa’s T20 captain, started his international career as the angry young man Kohli has built his caricature around but is swiftly moving towards the more sage-like sensibility of Dhoni. In India, where he will take on both of them, those complimentary skills could come to the fore.Du Plessis will lead South Africa at the start of the tour and will assume a senior role in the ODIs and Tests where he will provide stability. Provided his fitness holds – du Plessis has only just recovered from a knee injury that kept him out of action for more than a month – he will be a key figure in South Africa’s fortunes, from the very first moment when he goes toe-to-toe with Dhoni.Luckily for South Africa, du Plessis knows Dhoni better than anyone else in South Africa’s squad. Du Plessis has played under Dhoni for Chennai Super Kings and understands what makes Dhoni such an inspirational leader. “MS’ strength as a captain is his cricket brain. He controls everything on the field – everything is up to him,” du Plessis explained. “He will set the field. He will tell the bowler what to bowl. He will decide the batting order, he will decide when he goes in to bat, he is a very powerful member in that Indian team. And MS is very calm. When there is real pressure in the field, guys look to MS.”That sounds very much like the kind of player du Plessis is evolving into, especially as a batsman. Even on Test debut, du Plessis showed authority when he controlled an innings Australia thought they had wrapped up. He has since gone on to do the same to India and Sri Lanka. That approach has not always seemed to serve him well in shorter formats, where du Plessis acts as the anchor others bat around. Some have called for more aggression, something du Plessis expects from India in the longer format, where Kohli is king.”Virat is a little more aggressive and in your face and with his style of captaincy, he will demand a bit of that from his players as well,” du Plessis said. “We’ll see a little bit more of that in this series than we usually do from India. Usually, they are pretty chilled and smile and relaxed on the field and just talk around the bat when the spinners are bowling, but it’s a new phase of Indian cricket and we’ve also got a few guys who can do a bit of that.”Banter has become a more recent talking point in matches between India and South Africa, with the 2010-11 series a match up of motor-mouths. Then, Sreesanth had words with Graeme Smith and Paul Harris retaliated. Now, those three are not around but the likes of Ishant Sharma and Dale Steyn are, and the conversations will continue. The crowd could get involved but du Plessis will not, as he tries to usher the younger players through the baptism of fire that playing in India is.”A few of us are used to those crowds of 50,000 or 60,000 people, but for the younger guys it’s something to get used to. When you get there at the beginning of your career, the fans can be quite intimidating,” du Plessis said. “The challenge for us as a team is that we have a few younger players that haven’t travelled as much so we need to try and bridge that gap as quickly as possible.”And there is also the bigger picture. Du Plessis will return to India next March to try and break South Africa’s major-tournament trophy drought, at the World T20, and this is the best preparation he could ask for. “I am excited for this tour because its in India, where we are going to play the World T20. There are a few guys who are getting opportunity, guys who can potentially make an impact in these conditions. If you look at someone like Eddie Leie, he is probably a left-field inclusion but it is to give guys who are not as experienced as playing in India through the IPL an opportunity,” du Plessis said. “Everything that we do as a T20 side is geared towards that World T20 and there is no difference for this series.”That sounds like something any one of Dhoni, Kohli or du Plessis would say.

South Africa’s confidence is crushed. The well-being present two years ago when Graeme Smith took one last picture on the outfield with Jacques Kallis is hard to find

Firdose Moonda in Durban30-Dec-2015A man with a beard marched onto the Durban outfield as though he owned it. Behind him bounced a toddler with the giddy gait of someone who may one day own the place himselfThat man could easily have been Hashim Amla and his son Abdullah. Instead, it was Moeen Ali carrying on like the king of Kingsmead with his crown prince, Abu Bakr. South Africa were nowhere to be seen.About 45 minutes later, the embattled opening pair of Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl trudged across from the Friendship Pavilion to the changerooms. Their legs were a little less heavy than they had been for the last five days but their expressions were still worn. The mingling they had done did not change the reality that this defeat had demoralised them.Even Elgar, who was “the positive light” in his captain’s words, did not really have a reason to feel good about himself. Although his century provided some cheer – it was only the second scored in a Test by a South African this year – he lacked support. It is difficult for personal satisfaction to show in that sort of space and that applies to his team-mates too.As individuals, the South Africans have had their confidence crushed. Even those with considerable reputations like Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy don’t seem to have the same self-belief that was so central to their match-winning and match-saving efforts in the past. The captain himself is the most affected.Amla is carrying the leadership like a lead balloon. He can’t focus on it while his own form remains an issue and he can’t fix his own form while the team keeps failing. “Not getting runs has been the most disappointing for me. It’s more of a confidence thing and the thing about it is that you only get confident once you get the runs,” he admitted. “You can be doing everything well in the nets and putting the work in behind the scenes but it’s got to materialise to runs on the board in the big games. Hopefully that will happen for me.”With the seniors understandably self-absorbed, the rest of the line-up are not getting the guidance they need to make the step-up. They look suitably lost, as does their overall strategy.South Africa are refusing to pick an opener to open and insist makeshift players have earned the right to be retained. They don’t want to dispense with anyone in their misfiring middle-order because they expect them soon to turn what Amla hopes is a “short corner”.All the delight was England’s at Durban•Getty Images”We know we’ve got quality there. The key is for us to get that quality firing,” Russell Domingo, South Africa’s coach said. “It can just take Hashim Amla to hit two or three great drives and off he goes or Faf du Plessis to hit a couple of good shots and everything just clicks into gear.”They can’t settle on a spinner and they keep getting out to the opposition’s. Dane Piedt’s five-for showed he has the potential to become the first-choice but compare his economy rate to Moeen Ali’s and you wonder how South Africa will hold an end.The part-timers can deliver a few decent overs but that’s not how it should be. The batsmen shouldn’t have to bowl and the bowlers shouldn’t have to be taught to bat better as is the case now. Lance Klusener was specifically called in to work with South Africa’s lower-order before this Test, a match in which van Zyl and Elgar bowled eight balls less than Morne Morkel in the second innings. Granted, Dale Steyn’s injury gave them more to do but they still had to do it and they may have to again given the frequency with which Steyn breaks down.Compare England, who have the luxury of four seamers and who can allow James Anderson the time he needs to recover because, “it’s not about whether he can get through, it’s about can he give the best account of himself,” as Alastair Cook explained.South Africa will be happy with Steyn just getting through. They showed as much in India when they took last-minute calls in each of the three Tests after he was injured in the hope he would be able to play. Each time, they must have known they were cutting it too fine but they also knew they did not have too many other choices. They will do the same before the second Test, where they will again run the risk of Amla having only 10-men, something he is struggling to manage.Hashim Amla has a huge task ahead•Getty Images”Immediately, it changes things in the game. The options are very limited not having Dale Steyn, who you would consider one of your banker bowlers, who you can rely on,” Amla said. “But things like this happen. Guys get injured and you’ve just got to deal with it and use some of your other resources. It puts a lot of workload on the other seamers in the team, which you have to manage, especially having two days turnaround for the next Test but you have to deal with it.”That is essentially how South Africa are playing. They are dealing with things, not dominating. The only consolation they can take is that, as a collective, they are clinging on. South Africa’s attack has kept them in the game even as it is being depleted but there is a distinct feeling that any more disruptions will send them into free-fall. “There’s been a lot of talk about the batting, about AB’s retirement, about Dale’s injury, about everything. It’s important for us to stick together as a team and shut out the noise,” Russell Domingo, the head coach, said.Perhaps it was always coming. Although it seems like yesterday that Graeme Smith, sans barbe, with a little one in tow was galloping onto the pitch to take a final picture as a team-mate of Jacques Kallis, that was actually two years ago.Since then, South Africa have only played 11 Tests, won four, lost four and drawn three. They are now at a tipping point. When we see who jogs jauntily across the Newlands outfield in a week’s time at the end of the second Test we may know whether they have finally tumbled or if they have managed to turn things around.

While the response has been encouraging in the UAE, what Pakistan fans really want is for the tournament to be held in Pakistan

Charles Reynolds15-Feb-2016″Afridi! Afridi!”The chants begin to build, just audible over the already enthusiastic shouting and cheering of the crowd. Pakistan’s favourite son strides towards the wicket, arms outstretched, windmilling a couple of times, bat in hand.The number 10 on his back feels appropriate. Like Diego Maradona, he is part-sportsman, part-showman and by the time he has taken his guard the noise levels in the Dubai stadium have gone up several notches.With the stands approaching somewhere near full capacity, it is the loudest the ground has been, and after nearly a decade worth of false starts, a moment when it feels like the Pakistan Super League has well and truly arrived.

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“I am very happy that we now have PSL, so everyone will see Pakistan players against the best in the world,” said Ramiz, who is originally from Islamabad but has lived and worked in the UAE for the past five years – one of many expats who have turned up in force for the double-header on the competition’s second day. “Hopefully the PSL can one day be as big as the IPL – it will be good for all Pakistan. But I hope one day it can be played in Pakistan”He is not alone in that sentiment. Najam Sethi, chairman of the PSL, has made that hope one of the stated aims of the competition, seeing the PSL as “a gateway to Pakistan”. Before the tournament began, he told ESPNcricinfo: “If we are successful in holding a league here which creates a degree of excitement, if our security situation continues to improve, as it is improving by the day, I see no reason why we can’t persuade foreign players to play one match in Karachi and one match in Lahore next year. Then maybe in the third year, we could bring the whole league back to Pakistan. That is the short-term objective.”

This bodes well for Pakistan’s cricketing future, with a whole new generation of players set to be exposed to high-intensity cricket from a comparatively young age

It would certainly be the best thing for the competition, which saw attendances dwindle sharply after the initial excitement of the opening two days – a brief glimpse of what could be, before the more sobering reality of a tournament in exile that was to follow.On day two of the competition the fans flocked to the ground, among them Pakistani political royalty, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, who had helped open the tournament the night before and was back at the stadium to see Mohammad Amir’s headline-grabbing hat-trick in Karachi’s convincing win over Lahore.The young fast bowler’s return to cricket, following his spot-fixing ban, is one that divides opinion in the sport, although admittedly perhaps less so among those who gathered on that particular day. Mohsin, proudly wearing a Karachi Kings shirt, was one of that number: “I’m pleased to see Amir again. He made a big mistake, that is for sure, but he is exciting for Pakistan’s future.”He, perhaps unsurprisingly, lives for the most part in Pakistan’s largest city, but, for reasons that get somewhat lost in translation, had business in Dubai and was watching the day’s events unfold from one of the stadium’s plush-looking boxes.”This [the PSL] is something for my country to be proud of. India has not allowed Pakistan players in the IPL but now this will not matter, we have our own league.”Given Pakistan’s relationship with its main neighbour, which might generously be labelled as a little dysfunctional, it is not perhaps the biggest shock that this idea of the tournament as a rival to the IPL is a popular one. While it seems highly unlikely that the PSL, or indeed any other global franchise tournament, will ever manage to outstrip India’s all-singing, all-dancing competition, there has at least been huge interest in the tournament back home in Pakistan – an incredible estimated 55% of the country’s television audience tuned in for the match between Karachi and Lahore.Fans have had the chance to catch the world’s best T20 players in action•PCBBut what, though, of the potential audience in the UAE? Can the competition ever appeal to a more mainstream audience, or is the feeling that cricket is mainly the sport of migrant workers in the region inescapable? On the evidence of the fairly dismal attendance figures that followed the busy first two days of the tournament, the PSL has some way to go on this front. Although things did improve a little when the games moved to Sharjah.”Do you like cricket?” I asked a member of the ground security team, who, rather eccentrically it seemed, was wearing a thick woollen balaclava despite the blazing Dubai sun. “Slightly…” he replied rather enigmatically, before adding a bit sheepishly, “but I prefer football.”There is, however, still a sizeable community of expats from a host of cricketing nations that the PSL should appeal to, as witnessed by the crowds during the early action. “We are are here to see Shakib [Al Hasan]!” said a man in a Bangladesh ODI shirt, who was swept away before our conversation could go any further by a noisy group of similarly attired compatriots.Two others watching that day – who, even from quite a considerable distance, were unmistakably English – were work colleagues Ed and Dan, both fairly recent arrivals to Dubai. “We took the afternoon off work,” said Ed. “Well, it is Friday…”It’s great to have this in Dubai. I’m hoping to see Chris Gayle smack it about a bit.””And Ravi Bopara!” added Dan enthusiastically, although perhaps not altogether seriously, seemingly another devoted member of the cult of Ravi.Sadly, the pair will have been disappointed on both fronts, with Bopara not needed to bat and Gayle holing out to long-on in the first over. The Jamaican, in fact, has not enjoyed a good tournament, out first ball in his next match and slightly mysteriously missing the next two through a reported combination of injury and then illness.

“The PSL is something for my country to be proud of. India has not allowed Pakistan players in the IPL but now this will not matter, we have our own league”Mohsin, fan from Pakistan

In truth, while there have been some notable feats from overseas players – Luke Wright in particular – where the PSL has been a real success is in the performances of young Pakistani players: Mohammad Asghar, Rumman Raees and Mohammad Nawaz in particular; the latter two earning themselves spots in Pakistan’s World T20 squad.While it is only early days, this bodes well for Pakistan’s cricketing future, with a whole new generation of players set to be exposed to high-intensity cricket from a comparatively young age.

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Afridi ended up playing an innings that bordered on self-parody, smashing a couple of meaty shots to the boundary before blasting one straight up into the night sky for Andre Russell to catch. Boom, boom and bust as ever.Ultimately, though, the crowd were not too heartbroken. They saw their hero in action after all, and after so long they have a franchise competition to call their own. And while the PSL remains some way off Wasim Akram’s claim to being the biggest thing to happen in the country’s cricket history, it is an all-important start – and if it leads to top-level cricket being played in Pakistan again, then who knows, it just might be.

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-2016Scott Boland then removed Sanju Samson for 20 in the sixth over•BCCIKarun Nair made a fluent 32…•BCCI…before he sliced a Rajat Bhatia legroller to sweeper cover. The seam-bowling allrounder would finish with figures of 2 for 22•BCCIJP Duminy and Sam Billings lifted their team with a 45-run partnership for the fourth wicket•BCCIThe stand ended when Billings mistimed a switch-hit to long-off•BCCICarlos Brathwaite then slammed three sixes during his 8-ball 20•BCCIBrathwaite and Duminy fell off successive balls, but Pawan Negi’s cameo took Daredevils to 162 for 7•BCCIIPL debutant Usman Khawaja gave Supergiants’ chase a brisk start•BCCIHe benefited from reprieves on 8,9,22, and 27•BCCIKhawaja failed to cash in and was stumped by Amit Mishra’s googly in the ninth over, for 30 off 27 balls•BCCIAjinkya Rahane, though, kept Supergiants ticking with pushes and dabs•BCCISaurabh Tiwary struggled for timing but hung on to add 45 for the second wicket with Rahane•BCCICaptain MS Dhoni promoted himself to No.4 and slammed back-to-back boundaries off Mohammed Shami before holing out for 27•AFPRahane finished the chase with a flicked four and stayed unbeaten on 63 off 48 balls, his fifth half-century of the season•BCCI

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Aug-2016While Younis Khan resumed intent on adding to his overnight score of 101•AFPHe had a positive partner in Sarfraz Ahmed, as Pakistan enjoyed a solid start to the morning•AFPEngland were again grateful to Chris Woakes as he removed Sarfraz for 44•AFPYounis wasn’t going anywhere, however…•Getty Images…and he passed 150 shortly after lunch, Pakistan’s lead growing to three figures•AFPMoeen Ali removed Wahab Riaz after a stand worth 37•Getty ImagesBut Younis ploughed on, smashing Moeen for a couple more sixes…•AFP…including one to reach his double-hundred, for the sixth time in Tests•AFPYounis, who farmed the strike brilliantly during a ninth-wicket stand of 97 with Mohmmad Amir, gives thanks for his innings with a •AFPHe was eventually dismissed for 218, the highest score by a Pakistan No. 5 in Tests•AFPAmir made a career-best Test score of 39 not out as Pakistan were dismissed for 542, a lead worth 214•AFPEngland’s hopes of a rearguard wereruptured when Alastair Cook fell to Wahab Riaz for 7•AFP… before Alex Hales fell for 12 in Yasir Shah’s first over•Getty ImagesAfter struggling in the middle of the series, Yasir was back on form•Getty Images… and he soon extracted the big one when Joe Root fell for 39•Getty ImagesDespite asking for a review, Root couldn’t get a reprieve•Getty Images

Also, the most wickets after 15 Tests, and overcoming 100-plus deficits to win a Test by more than 100 runs

Steven Lynch09-Aug-2016At the end of the first Test against Sri Lanka, Australia faced something like 25 successive maidens. Was this a record? asked Brian Gladwin from Australia

Steve O’Keefe hit a four from the fifth delivery of the 63rd over of the final innings in Pallekele – his only scoring shot in 98 balls – to take Australia to 161 for 8, after which they faced 154 further deliveries (25.4 overs) without scoring a single run. O’Keefe and Peter Nevill faced 138 of those (including the ball that dismissed Nevill), then O’Keefe and last man Josh Hazlewood had 16 more. Such a scoreless sequence is easily a Test record – England went 92 balls without scoring, largely against Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine, as they slipped to defeat against West Indies at Lord’s in 1950. Charles Davis, the assiduous Australian statistician, has pinpointed another possible similar barren run: on the first day of the first Test in Melbourne in 1882-83, Alec Bannerman and Billy Murdoch patted back 22 successive four-ball maidens from Billy Barnes, Dick Barlow and Willie Bates. That’s 88 deliveries without a run, and it’s possible it was as many as 92 in all.The four opening partnerships in the second Test in Sri Lanka managed just eight runs. Is this a record low? asked Stephen Anderson from Australia

The openers certainly struggled in the second Test in Galle. Dimuth Karunaratne of Sri Lanka was dismissed by the first ball of the match, then Joe Burns fell to the second ball of Australia’s reply. In the second innings, Kaushal Silva fell in the second over with the score on 5, then Burns was again out in the first over, with three runs on the board. There have been two other instances of four opening partnerships adding up to eight runs in a Test: by England (5 and 3) and New Zealand (0 and 0, with Roger Twose bagging a pair) at Edgbaston in 1999, swiftly followed by West Indies (4 and 0) and Zimbabwe (0 and 4) in Port-of-Spain in 1999-2000. But the clear winner comes from another Caribbean Test. In Kingston in 2006, the opening partnerships for West Indies (0 and 0, with a pair for Chris Gayle) and India (1 and 1) amounted to just two runs.At Edgbaston England trailed by 103 runs on first innings, yet won by 141. Is this the biggest turnaround by runs in a Test? asked Richard Shavei-Tzion from Israel

Well, there have been three Tests which were won by a team which followed-on – by England against Australia at Sydney in 1894-95 and at Headingley in 1981, and by India against Australia in Kolkata in 2000-01, so I suppose those would be the biggest turnarounds of all. But England at Edgbaston last week provided only the eighth instance of a team winning by more than 100 runs after being more than 100 behind on first innings – and England were also the last to do it, against New Zealand at Lord’s last year. It happened twice in the 12 months before that, as well: Sri Lanka beat England by 100 runs at Headingley in 2014 after being 108 behind on first innings, while New Zealand beat Sri Lanka by 193 in Wellington in 2014-15 after trailing by 135. The first instance was in 1931-32, when Australia (160 behind on first innings) beat South Africa by 169 runs in Melbourne; South Africa turned the tables in Johannesburg in 1966-67, defeating Australia by 233 runs after trailing by 126. India in Kolkata in 2000-01 trailed by a whopping 274 runs, but won by 171 after the heroics of VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, and finally Australia beat Sri Lanka by 197 runs in Galle in 2003-04, after starting their second innings 161 adrift.At Sabina Park in 2006, the total of all four opening stands amounted to just two runs. Chris Gayle made a pair•AFPYasir Shah now has 90 wickets from 15 Tests. Is this a record? asked Nigel Cooke from Jamaica

Despite his relative lack of success in the second and third Tests of the current series – he struck only once at Old Trafford, and three times at Edgbaston – Yasir Shah still has more wickets after 15 Tests than anyone else in history. The 19th-century England pace bowler George Lohmann had 89, while his contemporary Tom Richardson totalled 88 from just 14 Tests in all. Sydney Barnes, Clarrie Grimmett and Vernon Philander all had 87 wickets after 15 Tests. Lohmann took 12 wickets in his 16th match, against South Africa in Johannesburg in 1895-96, so Yasir has his work cut out in the final Test at The Oval if he is to stay ahead – and equal Lohmann’s record for the fewest matches required to reach 100 wickets.New Zealand’s 582 for 4 in Bulawayo was apparently their highest total against Zimbabwe. But was it also their highest total away from home? asked Joan Fernandes from the UAE

New Zealand’s 582 for 4 in the second Test in Bulawayo at the weekend improved their highest total against Zimbabwe, which was set all of a week earlier – 576 for 6, also in Bulawayo. Before that their highest against Zimbabwe was 495 for 7, in Napier in 2011-12, which also led to an innings victory. New Zealand have made 11 higher totals in all Tests, four of them away from home, including their highest of all – 690 against Pakistan in Sharjah in 2014-15. They also amassed 630 for 6 against India in Mohali in 2003-04, 624 v Australia in Perth in 2015-16, and 593 for 8 against South Africa in Cape Town in 2005-06. For the full list of New Zealand’s highest Test totals, click here.Who took five wickets from the last 17 balls he bowled in Test cricket? asked Brian Murdoch from Australia

The man who produced this stunning finish was the Australian medium-pacer Gervys “Gerry” Hazlitt, in the last match of the one and only Triangular Tournament, in England in 1912. Bowling cutters to good effect on a rain-affected track at The Oval, Hazlitt took 5 for 1 in his last 17 balls to finish with career-best figures of 7 for 25 in 21.4 overs. His success, though, enabled England’s bowlers to get at the Australian batsmen before the conditions improved: “Subsequent events proved that his astounding success was for England a blessing in disguise,” reported Wisden, “as it led to victory before the end of the day.” Australia were skittled for 65, and England won by 244 runs to take the triangular series, that also included South Africa. Australia didn’t play another Test until after the First World War, by which time the unfortunate Hazlitt had died. He succumbed to a heart condition in 1915, aged just 27.Send in your questions using our feedback form.