Mohammad Isam in Khulna25-Nov-2012Mushfiqur Rahim was running laps of the Sheikh Abu Naser Stadium when Darren Sammy spotted him while walking across from the media centre to the dressing-room. The West Indies captain saw the lighter side of it and even asked Mushfiqur a good-natured question about staying fit. But the sight of the Bangladesh captain, in his whites, running after a big Test loss was ominous. The Bangladesh players, particularly the batsmen, have issues to deal with but they don’t seem to be doing it in the right way.Known to be one of those cricketers who goes through a period of sulking after a poor performance and has a hard time moving on, Mushfiqur could afford some down time when he was just a regular member of the side. But this characteristic becomes a bigger disadvantage when he is the captain, as those who had followed his progress from his formative years pointed out when he was named captain last year. In this series he aggregated a modest 107 and had no business being dismissed the way he was in the second innings in Khulna, so a share of the blame does lie with him, not just as captain but as batsman too. But if he lets this series loss play too relentlessly on his mind, it will not help him or his team much.Instead, he and the rest of the line-up have to figure out ways to improve not just as batsmen but as thinking cricketers. There were positives with the bat in this series but those occurred mostly in the first innings of the first Test. Since then, it was mostly a story of fritting away advantages earned.The concerns for Bangladesh start at the top, where Junaid Siddique and Nazimuddin tried out as Tamim Iqbal’s partners. Both failed but Siddique, who was replaced by Nazimuddin for the second Test, could have been allowed second chance. Siddique had fought back similarly against England two years ago, after an early failure, and has first-class runs behind him. But the selectors don’t seem to have taken note. Either way, both seemed unprepared for quick and short bowling, a standard requirement for opening batsmen.Tamim too could learn from this Test series, as he continues to try to instill discipline in his batting. He was bowled twice in Khulna, once leaving and then surprised by pace, and was out to a rash shot in the first Test. He will have to work hard on balancing his impetuous strokeplay with the discipline he has talked about recently.Bangladesh have also had trouble with the No.3 position in this series, which they could have avoided had Shahriar Nafees not committed to a shot-a-minute mantra. He was persisted with through this series and frustrated in all four innings. In Dhaka, he needlessly went after the bowling when Tamim was already doing that job in the first innings. He was dismissed twice to the short ball and, like Junaid, is struggling against deliveries pitched on that length.

Mahmudullah bats too low down the order; his maturity is an aspect that can be used to Bangladesh’s advantage in the top or middle order

Someone who began the series with a refreshing approach was Naeem Islam, but after the century in Dhaka, he too has given it away much too easily. He has had footwork issues and, as the second innings dismissal in Khulna showed, Naeem also has to work on what to leave outside offstump without committing himself fully.Among those who have done well consistently is Nasir Hossain, who scored three half-centuries in the series, but he too was out for just 21 at the most crucial stage of the first Test. He also gave it away after cruising to 52 in the first innings of the Khulna Test and, from a personal point of view, he has to address the apparent mental barrier he faces when nearing a a hundred; he has now fallen twice in the nineties and though the 96 and 94 are runs that had helped the team at the time, not getting hundreds will hinder his further progress. While he has injected some control into his strokeplay, his natural tendency to hit out requires a watchful eye from time to time.Shakib Al Hasan also gave away two chances of scoring hundreds, an issue that has dogged him for most of his international career. He also has to learn be on top in crucial situations, especially when the team is nearing a win; he had done it successfully in Test cricket once, three years ago, and has done it quite regularly in one-day cricket.Mahmudullah is one batsman who seemed to have grown during this Test series, particularly in the way he rallied after being was hit several times. He bats too low down the order; his maturity is an aspect that can be used to Bangladesh’s advantage in the top or middle order.What could help these batsmen develop further would be if there were six other batsmen pushing them continuously by performing in domestic cricket and for Bangladesh A. To Bangladesh’s benefit, their first-class cricket this year has been competitive, which also means these Test batsmen have the opportunity to go back and play, and find out more about their batting. If they get the chance, they shouldn’t think twice or hide behind an excuse. It doesn’t pay as much or is not watched by thousands, but scoring runs just for the pleasure of it, without much scrutiny should be enough incentive to play in the National Cricket League.Otherwise, in three months’ time in Sri Lanka, much of these same words will be written, read and forgotten.

St George’s Park may not get its share of Tests unlike the better known stadiums, but its special spectator experience and quirks make it an attractive venue, which hopefully will get to host more games in future

Firdose Moonda in Port Elizabeth09-Jan-2013To remember the last Port Elizabeth Test would seem to be to go back three decades. South Africa lost to West Indies by 128 runs but it was not the 1980s.The hosts came back to win the next two matches and the series in the summer of 2007. Since then, St George’s Park has not seen men in whites.The return of the longest format is being hailed as a homecoming, especially because the ground is the oldest in South Africa and where the first Test was played. Now the No.1 team in the world will return to it.”It’s important that we play Test cricket here because of the history,” Rory Kleinveldt, who will turn out for South Africa in place of the injured Vernon Philander, said.Despite its age, St George’s has only hosted 23 Tests and 11 after readmission because of its status as a second-tier ground. That reputation was not earned because the facilities are considered sub-standard (which they are not) or because its pitch is known to be as slow as the traffic outside. Rather, it is because of hierarchy determined by capacity and crowds at other venues.The Wanderers, Newlands and SuperSport Park are all guaranteed Tests every summer. Durban’s Kingsmead will miss out on a Test for the first time since readmission this summer. Because most of South Africa’s series are three Tests and most summers only involve five Tests with six on rare occasions, Port Elizabeth has to wait its turn.”The way it has gone, Test matches have become fewer on the calendar and we usually allocate the big teams to big stadiums,” Jacques Faul, acting CSA CEO, told ESPNcricinfo. “But we do like to have Test cricket at St George’s as there is a special spectator experience.”The obvious difference between St George’s Park and other grounds is the band. The brass instrumentals occupy a section of the Grandstand and entertain throughout the match. Their repertoire includes golden oldies like Ben E King’s and Eddie Grant’s which are oft repeated but they add modern tunes annually. Adele’s is a recent example.They have also taken to creating bespoke songs for their favourite players. “JP jou lekker ding,” (JP, you good thing) was invented two seasons ago for an ODI. This time, they could come up with tunes for the two P’s – Alviro Petersen and Robin Peterson. Both are local lads and neither have played a Test in the city before.”I was born in Port Elizabeth and I always wanted to play a Test here,” Petersen, the batsman said while Peterson, the bowler, said it would be “special,” to play a match in his home town.Both will have large family and friend contingents in attendance. “It’s always nice to play in front of people you know,” Petersen said. They will be able to get close to the pair too, closer than fans elsewhere because there is no moat separating the stands from the field in some parts of St George’s.Like any ground, it also has its quirks. Among the best in Port Elizabeth are the Westering Methodist Church’s ladies group burgers and the pancakes. Both will be in abundance as the city ends their international cricket involvement this summer.They hosted the deciding Twenty20 against New Zealand last month to become the only venue other than the Wanderers to host more than one T20 match as part of a series and not an event like the World T20.That will change soon as T20s are now spread all over the country but something like that obscure fact that could help Port Elizabeth build an identity for itself. Unlike South Africa’s big four stadiums, Port Elizabeth is still looking for a reason why it cannot be ignored when it comes to international cricket.Port Elizabeth were the hosts of South Africa’s first Boxing Day Test in 1992 when they played India. The last Test played there was also a Boxing Day one, when CSA decided to experiment with the venue of the festive season fixture.But Eastern Cape residents need not despair. The recent rotation of limited-overs matches to grounds including Boland Park in Paarl, Buffalo Park in East London and Senwes Park in Potchefstroom shows CSA’s commitment to move the game around.Test cricket may be infrequent here but it will be back. “If we have a Boxing Day Test against India we’d want to play it in Durban because of the fan base there but if we played against, maybe England, we could look at a venue like St George’s,” Faul said. It is just a case of when it will be back.

For a side that has lost an overwhelming majority of their Tests, a draw – whether on a featherbed or not – is a result to savour

Mohammad Isam in Galle12-Mar-2013How an uninteresting day of Test match cricket can essentially be a blessing was witnessed in Galle. Boring was good, nay great, for Bangladesh.An interesting end to this game would have meant Bangladesh wickets falling quickly in the final sessions, and that was not going to be appropriate for a team that had posted a 600-plus score in the first innings. It was contested on a wicket that smothered any contest, but it is not the first time Bangladesh played on a featherbed. On 24 previous occasions a team has scored more than 500 against them and won handsomely.In the context of a side that has lost 65 out of 76 Test matches, a draw has to be a positive result, though it is not too popular an idea for many. But this was exactly the sort of Test match that this team has worked on for years, especially the last five when they have shown steady improvement under Mushfiqur Rahim and Shakib Al Hasan.This was Bangladesh’s eighth drawn Test match and only the second one in which playing time was not lost. The only other occasion was against Zimbabwe at home in 2005. Indeed against a major Test side, this was the first time they had drawn a game. Besides Bangladesh’s Test wins against a young Zimbabwe in 2005 and a third-string West Indies in 2009, this is their best result in Test cricket given the opposition, the track record against the opposition and the very fact that Bangladesh had never taken the game into the fifth day in eight previous Tests in Sri Lanka. And not to forget, Bangladesh were understrength due to the absence of two of their major players.Sri Lanka led by 48 runs on the fifth day, and as Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan picked up centuries, the Bangladesh fielders were visibly struggling. There were dives over the ball, several fumbles and offspinner Sohag Gazi had to rest due to leg cramps, and could bowling only 15 overs.Mushfiqur was wary of what had happened on the fifth day against West Indies just three months ago. They had to chase 245 in more than two sessions but froze when it mattered – the bouncers were not handled properly and it ended up as a 77-run loss despite Bangladesh making their then highest Test score.In preparation for this fifth day, the captain held two meetings with all the players, first after the end of the fourth day’s play and then during warm-up on the fifth morning. The message was simple: “work harder on the fifth day, more than the first four days”.He emphasised the importance of not giving up, despite the physical struggle in the heat. This time, the goal was to just hold on till the end but there were hiccups with the bat too. The wicket of Anamul Haque highlighted the young opener’s struggle against the swinging ball and perhaps more work on his technique is due. Jahurul Islam and Mohammad Ashraful, on whom all the focus was on after he had made 190, just about held on.Mushfiqur later said the experience of the Dhaka Test last November played a part in their approach to the fifth day. They did not cower under the pressure of expectations, neither did they play their best cricket. They survived for five hours, and that’s what they often fail to do.Test cricket was certainly not been the winner in this game, but the competition provided by the underdogs provided some joy. Sri Lanka played it safe in the first session, probably not taking the risk of letting Bangladesh have a crack at a small total or a slower asking run-rate. This chunk of respect is what Mushfiqur and the rest of the Bangladesh team should strive to gain in every Test match. It cannot always be about winning, that’s what this Test match has explained to Bangladesh.

From TS Trudgian, Canada

Cricinfo25-Feb-2013
Michael Clarke, a man ready to assume leadership•Getty ImagesI had the bitter-sweet pleasure of watching Michael Clarke bat on the fifth day of the 2009 Ashes series, at Lord’s. Australia were set what would have been a world-record run chase of 522 to win. The day’s play started with Australia 5 for 313, with Clarke and Brad Haddin unbeaten on 125 and 80, respectively. Midway through the fourth day Australia were 5 for 128 and we looked for all money to be preparing to spike our guns and pull the flag down for what had been 70-odd year fortress at Lord’s … but now the indomitable Australian fighting spirit was coming to the fore. A mere trifling 200-odd to win, with two batsmen well set, both of whom had shown limited weakness against the relatively innocuous Lord’s wicket. But my Dad, forever the pessimist, resorted to the age-old maxim that ‘everybody is vulnerable when starting again’. And so it came to pass that Haddin was dismissed in the second over, and the paternal pessimist decided that we had best open our pre-packed lunch soon (as well as the first of our permitted four pints of beer [thank you MCC members]) as we ‘probably won’t make it that far anyway’. Lamentably, he was right. With two-dozen schoolkids behind us cheering incessantly, and thinking that every player with a hat was Andrew Strauss, Dad and I watched as Australia were dismissed before the lunch interval, entitling us to the poor-man’s consolation prize of a 20% refund.Though Clarke batted on for only another 10 overs before missing a straight Swann’un, it was the manner of his batting which was most impressive. Two-hundred runs to make in a day with No. 8 new at the crease is not a batsman’s idea of a good time: he faces criticism for doing anything short of pulling off a Botham-esque barrage by landing on Chance a few times and managing to get out of jail, free. Clarke rotated the strike, allowed Mitchell Johnson (who, despite having a crisis of confidence and overestimating the dimensions of the pitch while bowling, is one of the better No. 8s since Lawrence Dallaglio) to get settled, left well alone the still swinging ball which was Haddin’s undoing, and with furtive, yet frequently cheerful, looks at the scoreboard, he was setting the stage for the biggest run-chase of all time. In short, he showed ‘maturity’; this is not used in the weakened, cabbage-water fashion to say that someone who was hot-headed is no slightly less so (KP Pietersen, anyone?), but to say that he has stepped into the breach, earned his spurs and become what was expected of him: a man ready to assume the leadership.A hundred on debut and a fairytale 6-9 in his fourth Test signalled, or rather trumpeted, the arrival of MJ Clarke. His salad days were to last for a couple of years, before he was told that a stint back at Shield cricket would ‘do him the world of good’. It is out of this demotion that the focused, yet freely playing Clarke arose. Clarke has shown, not merely in Test matches, but in his stand-in stints as one-day captain, that he has a mind for the game. That he captains the side in Twenty20 cricket is, to some degree, of no real importance for this discussion, and his much-maligned ‘inability’ to change gears in between the Test and hit-and-giggle format is something to be addressed another day. Clarke has been both playing lieutenant in leadership and acting as heir presumptive for the position of No. 3.At the moment he is able to enter (I hope!) as the ball is becoming old, the field begins to spread and spinners try an over or two. That is where I wish to spend at least one paragraph: Clarke’s footwork against spin. It was said of the batsmen in the Golden Age of cricket (Ranjitsinhji, Trumper and Hobbs in particular) that one of their defining qualities was the ability to score off both the front and the back foot, with no pre-determined preference. The advice of ‘if in doubt, push out’ is sound enough, and I was bowled by a grubber at Blenheim Palace on a wet May wicket after throwing this caution into the wind. But most of us are not good batsman (I am certainly not, as evinced by a mate’s coining the verb ‘grim-reapered’ to be used in the phrase ‘You just grimreapered the stumps’, after I had been dismissed hit-wicket following an overly lusty and ultimately one-handed pull-shot), and so the adages we need are not those for the big-game players. Clarke pushes forward, sure, and when he does he is quicker on his feet than most. He does not thunder after balls, the pitch of which he can not possible reach, but rather all front-foot shots (not necessarily to half-volleys) be played according to the length he wishes. When the ball is a trifle shorter, in the zone of indetermination (which is not so ominous sounding as ‘corridor of uncertainty’) and he is in doubt, he does not slavishly adhere to our pushing-out epithet. The right-foot goes back and to his left, the front leg straightens and the ball is hit mere inches before the stumps and driven for what might be called a late cover-drive.Pup is due some runs again, and although his form against England was great in July 2009, he will be keen to settle the so-near, so-far innings at Lord’s. And if in say, the Sydney Test, Australia needs three wickets with two overs to spare, who better to have a trundle?

A classic Lee v Dravid contest, followed by fireworks from Yagnik, Hodge and Morgan in Rajasthan’s first home game for the season

Aashish Calla09-Apr-2013Choice of game
All Rajasthan Royals home games this year are special to me, since this could be the last season for my all-time favourite – Rahul Dravid. That, and the prospect of watching the big-hitting Yusuf Pathan against the team that made him a star in the first three seasons, made this a must-watch game for me.Team supported
Rajasthan Royals, most definitely. After all, what’s the IPL without the city rivalry and fierce support for one’s home town? Additionally, the Royals have always backed relatively unknown players and made match-winners out of them, an approach that deserves to be lauded.Key performer
This wasn’t a game in which one player won the game for the team. With the bat, it was Ajinkya Rahane and Brad Hodge, and with the ball, it was Rahul Shukla, Siddharth Trivedi and Kevon Cooper. For me, however, the star performer was Dishant Yagnik. I don’t remember the last time I saw someone smash Sunil Narine for a six and a four off successive balls, but he did it with ease. And to add to that, he took three catches, including the outstanding take of Gautam Gambhir, that changed the course of the game.One thing I’d have changed
I would have had Brad Hodge come into bat ahead of Stuart Binny. Stuart did score 40 off just 20 balls in RR’s last game, but this time, the score was 47 for 2 in the eighth over, and the time was right for Hodge to come in, set the stage, and attack later. As it turned out, Binny didn’t last long, and Hodge then came in at 63 for 3.Face-off I relished
Brett Lee v Rahul Dravid. A few trademark defensive strokes from Dravid, a couple of sharp in-dippers from Lee that hit the thigh, and later, Dravid’s fluid flick off his hips to fine leg. My night was made.New kid on the block
Rahul Shukla, playing the first home game for Rajasthan in his first season with them, made a big impact on the game. In his very first over, he uprooted Manvinder Bisla’s stumps, and then dismissed Jacques Kallis first ball. It was a start that Shukla himself wouldn’t have dreamt of.Wow moment
Binny’s catch on the boundary. A sharp, short delivery from Shaun Tait, Rajat Bhatia playing a stinging pull shot, and then Binny, holding it on the edge. All of it happened in a flash and brought the crowd to their feet.Close encounter
When Tait and Kallis got close to the boundary while fielding, the kind of support they received from the crowd was overwhelming. The classy cricketers also obliged the cheering fans with an occasional wave and a thumbs-up, that made the noise level go up by a few decibels.Shot of the day
Tough choice, as there were three exceptional strokes played. Rahane’s six off Shami Ahmed over covers, Yagnik’s slog-swept six off Narine, and Eoin Morgan’s flick off his hips to a Shaun Tait bazooka. But of these three, I’d pick Yagnik’s six. No one would have expected him to hit such a flat six, that too off the wily Narine, whose idea of an expensive over is one that goes for five runs.Crowd meter
The chants from the crowd in my section were largely in support of the home team, but there were some loyal Kolkata fans too, sporting Kolkata bandanas, who made their presence felt as soon as Lee dismissed Shane Watson. The home crowd was sporting, appreciating the good deliveries that Narine bowled. Even when Morgan was hitting those sixes in the end, they were still applauding his batting. And above all, it was a very well-behaved crowd.Overall experience
No home fan would ever complain when the home team wins, but here, there was more than that. My team won, yes, but it was a great game in every way. It was neither a low-scoring game, nor a 200-run affair. The eventual margin of 19 runs does seem comfortable by T20 standards, but the game, especially towards the end, was anything but one-sided. One more over of Morgan and things could have ended very differently. Good batting, terrific fast bowling, great fielding and some wonderful catching ensured that the crowd got their money’s worth.Marks out of 10
8.5. I’ll deduct 1.5 on account of Watson’s flop show, and the fact that I couldn’t get enough of Dravid at the crease. Other than that, it was a beautiful game of cricket.

Sunrisers began this tournament as one of the underdogs, but fought impressively to reach as far as the Eliminator

Siddhartha Talya23-May-2013Where they finished

Sunrisers Hyderabad exceeded expectations in this IPL, and had the support of many who backed a side making its debut, having been bought over by a new owner after the previous franchise was terminated last year. Their run ended in a closely-fought Eliminator, and while they’ll be disappointed at not having progressed to the second Qualifier, they went farther than most would have thought possible with the resources they had at their disposal. And their success came at the expense of Royal Challengers Bangalore, a popular franchise with big stars and flamboyant owners.What went right

Sunrisers’ biggest strength was a formidable bowling attack, though only Dale Steyn appeared a serious threat on paper at the time the tournament began. He lived up to his reputation, but was supported ably by the rest, and that combined effort enabled Sunrisers to compensate for the relative weakness in their batting.Ishant Sharma was largely consistent, Darren Sammy had his good days, and the success of the leg-spin combination of Amit Mishra and Karan Sharma stood out. So effective did they prove that a score of 130, especially on a slowish track, seemed secure. Home advantage has been a big feature of this IPL season, and Sunrisers were hard to beat in Hyderabad, winning seven out of their eight matches there, one of them in the Super Over.What went wrong
The bowling unit had its occasional off days, but the batting was Sunrisers’ Achilles heel. Shikhar Dhawan was recovering from a hand injury at the start of the tournament and missed three weeks of his team’s campaign. His return was a boost for the side, at the top of the order, but the overall batting blew hot and cold through the tournament. Sunrisers appeared to rely too much on their bowling to defend targets, and though they put up a spirited fight – even in the Eliminator while defending 132 – the batting depth of the opposing team at times won out.It didn’t help Sunrisers that the going was slow in the first 10 overs, with occasional periods of stagnation when the top and middle order struggled to push on, leaving the likes of Cameron White and Thisara Perera to surge at the death and take them to a par score. Among all teams in this IPL, Sunrisers were the slowest in the first 10 overs, going at 5.85 an over. That climbed to 8.87 in the final five overs, which was the still fifth among all teams.Best player
Without a doubt, Dale Steyn. He was a regular wicket-taker and finished as the second-most economical bowler (min. 20 overs) this IPL, going at 5.66 an over, but what stood out was his intensity and commitment on the field. It seemed each time he came on to bowl, he was bowling a fresh spell. He bowled with pace and regularly ruffled the batsmen with jaffers that nipped away to beat the edge, or were banged in short.He was the most energetic on the field when brought on to bowl, trying desperately to save the single when the ball was knocked around, and celebrated with the kind of excitement we’re accustomed to seeing in Tests. He was Sunrisers’ go-to man in times of a crisis, a responsibility he shouldered well, and was easily the most feared and respected by the opposition.Poor performer
Kumar Sangakkara was one of four overseas captains this season who had to relinquish his place in the side as a result of poor form. His tournament began on a steady note, as he scored 15 against Pune Warriors, but he didn’t push on. He had to sit out after five games, with Cameron White taking over, but did get a chance to return, unlike Ricky Ponting of Mumbai Indians. However, his performances turned out to be worse, with scores of 4, 21, 8, and 3, before he had to sit out again. A player who has expertly anchored innings in his international career, Sangakkara couldn’t fulfil that role for Sunrisers this season, and wasn’t part of the playing XI for half the team’s campaign.Surprise package
The lack of spin options in India has been a worry for a while, and it remains to be seen if Karan Sharma, a legspinner, will allay some of those concerns. For Sunrisers, he was the find of the season, working very well in tandem with senior partner Amit Mishra. He had the variations, imparted considerable turn on the ball, and proved quite economical at 6.60. He was brought on mostly between overs 7 and 14, and picked up nine wickets in that period. This, after an impressive three games for Railways in the Ranji Trophy in which he picked up 21 wickets at 19.04.Recommended for retention
Dale Steyn

Shikhar Dhawan

ESPNcricinfo picks its team of the 2013 season, with a limit of only four foreign players in the XI

George Binoy27-May-2013A best XI of this IPL season, without a limit on the number of foreign players, might look like this: Gayle, Hussey, Kohli, Watson, Miller, Dhoni, Johnson, Steyn, Faulkner, Malinga and Narine, with Pollard as 12th man. A wealthy franchise owner’s dream.Reality, however, dictates that only four foreign players may be on the field at any point of time during a game, and that was the brief for our ESPNcricinfo staff in India while voting for the best XI of 2013. Three foreign players – Chris Gayle, Michael Hussey and Dale Steyn – were in such irresistible form that they picked themselves, but there was a tie in the number of votes for the fourth, between Shane Watson and James Faulkner.Picking Watson would result in a line up of match-winning batsmen until No. 7, a strategy used by Chennai Super Kings to steamroll into the final, but it would require Watson to bowl a full quota of four overs, which he’s done in only six out of 16 games this season. Choosing Faulkner, however, meant a bowling attack comprising five specialists, a tactic used by the champions Mumbai Indians. A specialist batsman at No. 7 is a bit of a luxury in the Twenty20 format, so Faulkner made the cut.The notable foreign players to miss out on that fourth spot were Kieron Pollard, Mitchell Johnson, Sunil Narine, Lasith Malinga, David Miller, AB de Villiers, and top wicket-taker Dwayne Bravo, who lost out to Faulkner because of a much inferior economy rate.The Indian players were far easier to pick. Virat Kohli was the only unanimous choice in the XI, and Mohit Sharma the only uncapped player. The only other Indian quicks to get votes were Vinay Kumar, who was too expensive, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was impressive but not compelling enough.It was a close-run thing between Rohit Sharma and Stuart Binny, the difference between them being one vote. Rohit, who took over the Mumbai leadership from Ricky Ponting and led them to their maiden IPL title, slotted in as vice-captain, largely because MS Dhoni had more votes. Binny was the 12th man. Had Shikhar Dhawan not been injured for six games, he would have been a strong contender too.The XI comprises five specialist batsmen, a wicketkeeper-batsman, three fast bowlers, an offspinner and a legspinner.Team of the tournament
1. Chris Gayle (RCB) – 708 runs, average 59, strike rate 156
2. Michael Hussey (CSK) – 733 runs, average 52, strike rate 129
3. Virat Kohli (RCB) – 634 runs, average 45, strike rate 139
4. Suresh Raina (CSK) – 548 runs, average 42, strike rate 150
5. Rohit Sharma (Mumbai) – 538 runs, average 38, strike rate 132
6. MS Dhoni (CSK) – 461 runs, average 42, strike rate 163
7. James Faulkner (Royals) – 28 wickets, average 15, economy rate 6.75
8. Harbhajan Singh (Mumbai) – 24 wickets, average 19, economy rate 6.51
9. Amit Mishra (Sunrisers) – 21 wickets, average 19, economy rate 6.35
10. Dale Steyn (Sunrisers) – 19 wickets, average 20, economy rate 5.66
11. Mohit Sharma (CSK) – 20 wickets, average 16, economy rate 6.43
12th man: Stuart Binny (Royals) – 293 runs, average 33, strike rate 147

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the fourth day at Trent Bridge

George Dobell and Dan Brettig at Trent Bridge13-Jul-2013Slip of the day
There are many ways to start the day’s play. Mitchell Starc picked the car crash option. He delivered a head high full toss that almost killed his captain at first slip and cost his side five runs. If you looked at the day’s balls on Hawkeye, you’d assume they had a bug in the system for the first delivery. Eventually Hawk Eye gave up and the path ends as a shadow. Steve Harmison’s infamous ball in Brisbane might have been more high profile, but at least he hit the pitch and made it easy for his captain to handle catch it.Key moment of the day
The dismissal of Michael Clarke – caught behind off the thinnest of outside edges – might be one of the defining moments of this game. Aleem Dar checked the ball had carried to Matt Prior cleanly before giving Clarke out but, having confirmed that with the TV umpire, Clarke utilised Australia’s final review. Hot Spot showed the tinniest of marks. With Phil Hughes dismissed in the next over, after England used the DRS to show that more than half of the ball had, by a millimetre or two, pitched inside the line of leg stump. Australia could be justified in feeling that a series of marginal calls had gone against them in this game.Misfield of the day

Only if England had been rolled over by a steamroller could they have looked more flat than when Shane Watson and Chris Rogers were together. The bowlers looked unthreatening; well Finn would have, if he got a bowl. In the field they lacked their usual energy and hunger. At no stage was this better illustrated than when two fielders got in each other’s way, the ball was rebounded loose, and after a second or two they suddenly realised that there could actually be two runs there so for the first time they showed real intent.Let off of the day
Ed Cowan was on a pair when Steven Finn started to bowl at him. Not just that but Cowan has spent a considerable period of this game in his hotel bathroom due to illness and knew his position was under threat. He was as close to “there for the taking” as a No. 3 batsman gets in Test cricket. But Finn, bowling without pace or control, gifted the most delicious long-hop – wide and outside off stump – to allow Cowan to cut a boundary and release the pressure. An over of similar deliveries followed, forcing Alastair Cook to post a sweeper on the cover boundary which meant there was an easy single through point to allow Cowan and Chris Rogers any easy release stroke. It underlined the sense that Finn, whether due to form or fitness, is currently struggling to fulfil his holding role in this England bowling attack. But he did improve in his second spell.Celebration of the day
Ian Bell had scored Test centuries before – 17 times before – but the
jump for joy, the punch of the air and the sustained celebrations upon
reaching three figures betrayed his emotion on achieving this one.
Perhaps relief was the primary emotion: Bell’s form has not been great
of late – he has averaged 30 since the start of 2012 – and he knew the
murmurs about his place in the side and the old canard about him only
scoring “soft” runs were returning. But here, with an Ashes Test at
stake, his team in trouble and an Australian attack bowling well, he
had delivered the innings required.Umpiring error of the day
This has not been a game that either of these two well-respected
umpires will reflect on with a great deal of fondness. On the fourth
day it was the turn of Kumar Dharmasena to see one of his decisions
overturned: having adjudged Rogers caught behind to a delivery from
Graeme Swann, Australia utilised the review system and were rewarded
when replays showed no edge. Rogers took one look at the replay, and went straight back to his crease to mark his guard. He clearly has more faith in Marius Erasmus than most of us.Lapse of the day
In Joe Root’s first over as tea ticked near, Chris Rogers had a careful look at the part-time offspinner before late cutting the final ball to the boundary. In his second, Rogers clipped a single first ball to leave Ed Cowan facing up to the final over of the afternoon session. Like Rogers, Cowan was initially circumspect. But unlike Rogers, he was unable to contain himself until the end of the over. The fourth ball was tossed up and Cowan leaned out to drive through cover. Root had barely spun a ball in his previous nine, but this one gripped out of the rough and took the edge to slip. Cowan crouched, motionless, before departing. It was not the sort of lapse Australia, or Cowan, can afford.

Clashes with the board over payments may have left the Test series in doubt, but it has also affected the morale of Zimbabwe players. With the absence of key performers like Kyle Jarvis, the two Tests against Pakistan will test the hosts’ bowling

Firdose Moonda01-Sep-2013Andy Waller must have more on his mind than the average coach ahead of Zimbabwe’s two-Test series against Pakistan. For a start, he will be wondering if the series will even go ahead.Zimbabwe’s newly-formed players’ union may yet boycott the matches, as they have been threatening to do since Pakistan arrived in the country more than two weeks’ ago, because of non-payment of salaries. The players have not received their July or August remuneration or the match fees they negotiated with ZC, despite being promised the monies would be transferred into their accounts last Thursday. They have given ZC until Monday to pay up or they will not take the field in whites on Tuesday.Earlier, the players had also said that they would not take part in the T20s or the third ODI, but they reached an agreement with ZC at the 11th hour. An insider believes this will not happen again. The source told ESPNcricinfo the players are likely to stop crying wolf and follow through with their ultimatum this time. Even Waller seems to think the payments issue will have an effect on the Tests.”I think the unhappiness over payments will spill into the series, unfortunately. I don’t think it has been solved yet,” he said. “I am not a 100% sure exactly, but I am under the impression that nothing’s definite yet.”Waller, like the rest of us, will have to wait to hear their final decision, but he will also contemplate how to get the best of a clearly disgruntled group if they opt to compete. Even though Zimbabwe found it in themselves to win the first ODI against Pakistan, they have not fared well recently and were defeated in all nine matches – five ODIs against India, two T20s and two ODIs against Pakistan – in which Waller has been in charge.He has not coached them in a Test yet, but has already seen enough to know what Zimbabwe’s biggest challenge will be. “The main concern I have is probably on the bowling side: how are we going to get 20 wickets?,” he asked after the third ODI. Zimbabwe have not bowled a team out once since Waller took over so to expect them to do it twice will be a tough ask. To ask them to do it twice without two of the most attacking bowlers may well be a bridge too far.”I am not saying our bowlers aren’t good but we’ve lost someone like Kyle Jarvis, who could bowl with a bit of pace and swing the ball, and Graeme Cremer, who’s a quality legspinner,” he said.Jarvis retired from international cricket on the eve of the Pakistan series, saying the cash-flow situation had made it impossible for him to continue playing for Zimbabwe, while Cremer made himself unavailable during the Bulawayo leg of the India tour. ESPNcricinfo understands Cremer does not want to be considered for Zimbabwe until he is paid monies owed to him and is assured of financial security going forward.That leaves the rest with a lot more responsibility and not a lot of experience to bank on. Brian Vitori, who partnered Jarvis and even outshone him on Zimbabwe’s Test comeback, will likely have to lead the attack as the one of the most experienced men, with just three caps. He has not played the longest form in 18 months since January last year. Despite a promising start to Test cricket, injuries and a lack of form have hampered his progress.Shingi Masakadza and Tinashe Panyangara have also played a trio of Tests each – Panyangara more than eight years ago in 2005 – but both have shown fairly good control in the lead-up. Much is expected from young Tendai Chatara, who impressed in West Indies earlier this year, and Zimbabwe will have to take a gamble on the kind of spinner they are going to use.Without Cremer, their attacking options will be between Natsai Mushangwe and Tinotenda Mutombodzi but they could go for the safety of a containing bowler instead. Prosper Utseya is their leading offspinner and has the experience of years and captaincy behind him to add solidity to an otherwise fragile attack.All Waller can do is be optimistic. “I still believe our bowlers can go out and do the job,” he said, although he confined that to doing it in the first match. “Bulawayo will be difficult because it’s a batting paradise down there and we know the quality of the Pakistan batting, so we are going to have to do something exceptional to beat them down there. If we are going to beat them, I think it’s going to have to be at Harare, on a wicket that will give us more of a chance.”Efforts have been made at Queens Club – where Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in 2011 – to ensure it is less flat and new clay has been laid on three of the pitches on the square . However, whether Zimbabwe will even get down to Bulawayo to play will depend on how quickly ZC can come up with cash and how seriously the players’ union wants to flex its muscles.

Gary Ballance, a young left-hander with a Zimbabwean lilt could be asked to solve one of England’s more enduring problems: the No. 6 Test spot.

Alan Gardner24-Sep-2013English cricket has a lot to thank Zimbabwe for. The two coaches most responsible for transforming England into one of the best teams in the world over the last decade and a half, Duncan Fletcher and Andy Flower, hardened their characters and honed their philosophies in southern Africa and now another young leftie with a Zimbabwean lilt could be asked to solve one of the more enduring problems within the current set-up: the No. 6 Test spot.Gary Ballance, of Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Mid West Rhinos and, some years ago, Zimbabwe Under-19s, was the Ashes bolter who caught the eye when England’s squad to tour Australia was announced. A powerful batsman, the 23-year-old has been capped once by his adoptive country – making a two-ball duck in the ODI against Ireland earlier this month – having qualified through residency, and could become England’s first Test debutant in Australia since the Lancashire wicketkeeper, Warren Hegg, in 1998.It is often said that a strong Yorkshire makes for a strong England, and Ballance played a full part in the county’s tilt at the title this year, scoring 995 Championship runs so far as they secured second. He may not have mastered the accent but Ballance will happily band together with his friends, team-mates and fellow tourists, Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow, in England’s young Yorkie club.”I’ve played at Yorkshire for four to five years, I don’t think you get more English than that,” was his unequivocal response to being asked about his allegiances. “I feel 100 percent English.”There will be those that prickle at the claim, as well as England’s recruitment of another foreign-born player to their ensemble. Indeed, upon announcing the Ashes squad the national selector, Geoff Miller, had to defend the selection of yet another player drawn from non-English roots.But Ballance was not inveigled away from his homeland. Like soon-to-be team-mates Kevin Pietersen and Jonathan Trott, who both came through the South African system, he left with a clear goal in mind.Born in Harare to parents who ran a tobacco farm, Ballance played several sports but knew early on that a career in cricket might be more fruitful – and stable – overseas. A family contact, in the form of the former Zimbabwe captain and coach Dave Houghton, then in charge at Derbyshire, was able to assist. Houghton is married to a cousin of Ballance’s father and was happy to be involved in bringing the teenager to England, putting him up for a period before he took up a sports scholarship at Harrow.”His father and mother came to see us on one of my trips back to Zimbabwe,” Houghton recalls. “I knew Gary was a decent player, we’re quite close as a family. They said to us, ‘He’s 15, what do you suggest we do? He wants to play cricket as a profession and he’s got a British passport’ I said, if he can get to England, we’ll happily look after him.”Ballance described his Ashes inclusion as being “quite a shock” and his parents, who are currently in England, were the first to be told. Their farm was among the many confiscated by the Zimbabwe government, shortly after Ballance left home, but they remain in Zimbabwe and involved in the farming industry, making periodic visits to watch their son play.Asked about the challenges of starting a new life in another country at such a young age, Ballance answers with a clear-eyed sense of purpose. “I don’t think it was as hard as people might think, it was in the interests of my career and wanting to play cricket,” he says. “It came down to that. I knew if I wanted to play cricket that England would be the best place to do it. I got help from my parents, when I came over here I got a lot of help from Dave Houghton and that made the decision a lot easier.”Since I moved over it’s been my dream to play for England. I moved to Yorkshire, to the academy there, they’ve treated me very well and I’ve had a great time there. I’ve always dreamed of the opportunity and I’m really looking forward to it.”

A solid, muscular presence, Ballance looks like a bit like a svelte Rob Key and has a similarly cheery disposition, indicating there will not be any animosity should he and Bairstow, a one-time room-mate, end up in competition to bat at No. 6.

An indication of Ballance’s ability is provided by his appearance at the 2006 Under-19 World Cup – at the age of 16. He played against England in the tournament, top-scoring for Zimbabwe in a two-wicket win, and was quick to impress when he was brought to Derbyshire. Karl Krikken, then in charge of the academy, suggested immediately that Ballance be signed on a summer contract.Observant Sky Sports viewers would have caught a glimpse of the future in 2007, when Ballance smashed a century for Derbyshire club side Ockbrook and Borrowash in the televised national T20 cup, and it wasn’t long before he attracted the attention of a bigger county in Yorkshire, whose academy he joined at the end of that year.Ballance learned his cricket in Zimbabwe, where he went to the independent Peterhouse boarding school, and his batting idol was Sachin Tendulkar rather than Michael Atherton or Graham Thorpe (though Michael Vaughan’s personal Ashes of 2002-03 made an impression). He returned in 2010-11 and 2011-12 to further his development in the first-class Logan Cup competition but has since become one of England’s track-suited, talent-identification generation, through the Lions and Performance Programme squads.He impressed with the Lions in Australia over the winter, his only previous visit to the country, and although his one-day debut “didn’t go as well as I’d hoped”, he has now overleapt the likes of James Taylor and Ravi Bopara for Test selection.A solid, muscular presence, Ballance looks like a bit like a svelte Rob Key and has a similarly cheery disposition, indicating there will not be any animosity should he and Bairstow, a one-time room-mate, end up in competition to bat at No. 6.And what of his prospects if called upon to fill the position, which has chewed up numerous candidates since Paul Collingwood’s retirement three winters ago? Could Ballance provide just that and offer Flower, England’s made-in-Zimbabwe coach, a made-in-Zimbabwe solution? Houghton has further words of encouragement.”His business is scoring runs. When he gets in, he gets hundreds and he has got hundreds at every level he’s played at – plenty of them. And I don’t expect that to change once he gets into Test cricket.”