He also becomes only the second South African after Hashim Amla to bring up 25 ODI tons

Gaurav Sundararaman18-Oct-20173 – Scores higher bigger than AB de Villiers’ 176, his highest, for South Africa in ODIs. Three of the top four scores have come since September 2016. Gary Kirsten’s unbeaten 188 against UAE at the 1996 World Cup is still the highest individual ODI score by a South African.25 – Number of centuries for de Villiers in ODIs. He is the seventh batsmen to score 25 or more ODI centuries and the second from South Africa after Hashim Amla to achieve this feat. Incidentally all his 25 hundreds have come at a strike rate in excess of 100. Six of his tons have come in less than 70 balls.8 – Those who have ODI tons against all older Full Members (excludes Ireland and Afghanistan). Ricky Ponting, Herschelle Gibbs, Sachin Tendulkar, Hashim Amla, Virat Kohli, Ross Taylor, Upul Tharanga and de Villiers make up the super eight.ESPNcricinfo Ltd201 – Sixes hit by de Villiers in ODIs – the sixth cricketer to get past the 200 mark. He is fifth on the list of most six-hitters in ODIs. Shahid Afridi, Sanath Jayasuriya , Chris Gayle, MS Dhoni and Brendon Mccullum are the other members of this elite list.2 – Scores bigger than de Villiers’ 176 against Bangladesh in ODIs. Charles Coventry’s 194* in 2009 and Shane Watson’s 185* in 2011 are top the list.7 – Instances of Bangladesh conceding 350 plus in ODIs. Five of these have come away from home, two of which are against South Africa. This is the first time they have conceded 350 plus since April 2011.3 – Scores in excess of 300 at Boland Park in Paarl. The average first innings score at this venue in nine previous games is 230. South Africa’s 353 on Wednesday is tops the 351 for 3 India made against Kenya was the highest team score at this venue going past the 351 for 3 made by India in 2001. 12 – Century stands between Hashim Amla and de Villiers – the most by any South African pair in ODIs. They went past the 11 century stands put together by Hershcelle Gibbs and Graeme Smith.

For an eight-year period until October 2015, South Africa were the best touring side in Asia. They have now slid to being the worst, with their stats against spin especially dire

S Rajesh24-Jul-2018South Africa’s resistance in the last innings of their Sri Lankan tour salvaged some pride, but it still left them with a 2-0 series defeat, and some uncomfortable questions regarding their batting in Asia. There used to be a time when South Africa were by far the best touring side to Asia: between October 2007 and October 2015, they had a 7-3 win-loss record in 17 Tests, and played eight series without losing any, winning three and drawing five. Since then, it has all gone a bit pear-shaped for them: on their last two tours, they have lost five out of six Tests, their only draw coming in a rain-affected game in Bangalore in 2015.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe conditions have admittedly been difficult for their batsmen in both these series, with the pitches offering plenty of assistance to spinners in India and in Sri Lanka. While South Africa’s batsmen scored 26 hundreds in 17 Tests during their golden period in Asia, they managed only one in their last six.And then there is also the toss factor. South Africa have lost the toss in each of their last six Tests in Asia. This has meant they have had the toughest of the batting conditions, and also perhaps explains why Faf du Plessis has been so vocal in his appeal to do away with the toss in Test cricket. In the 17 Tests in the 2007-15 period, they won 11 tosses, but they also won three Tests when they lost the toss: in Ahmedabad and in Dhaka in 2008, and in Dubai in 2013. They drew the other three, and averaged 40.84 in those six games when they lost the toss.Despite the efforts of Theunis de Bruyn and Temba Bavuma in the fourth innings at the SSC, South Africa still finished the series with a batting average of 14.52, their second-lowest since readmission in series in which their batsmen have batted at least 30 times. Till that sixth-wicket partnership, they were in serious danger of ending up with a lower average than the paltry 13.75 they managed in India in 2015-16. (The next lowest, 21.98, also happened earlier this year, when India toured South Africa.)ESPNcricinfo LtdIn terms of balls per dismissal, South Africa’s rate of losing a wicket every 30.9 deliveries is their worst since readmission. Even during their struggle in India in 2015-16, they still managed to survive 41.5 deliveries per dismissal.

Till this current slide, South Africa were the best batting team in Asia among the top teams from outside the subcontinent. Of late, though, they have become the worst.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe major problem in these two series is quite obvious: the inability of South Africa’s batsmen to tackle spin bowling. In six Tests in these series, opposition spinners have taken 98 South African wickets at an average of 13.13; in the period between 2007 and 2015, opposition spinners had conceded almost three times as many runs – 37.50 – per South African wicket.It is clear that the pitches have generally been tougher in these six Tests than on previous tours, but then South Africa’s spinners have been unable to exploit them to the same extent. Between 2007 and 2015, South Africa’s spinners averaged 38.74 runs per wicket, which is similar to what opposition spinners averaged against their batsmen. In the last couple of series, South Africa’s spinners have averaged 27.57, while their batsmen have scored less than half as many runs per dismissal against opposition spinners.In that winning period, South Africa could also rely more on their fast bowlers to deliver the wickets: they averaged 28.54 in the 2007-15 period in Asia, which was excellent given the overall averages in that period. In the last three years that average is 29.96, which, though relatively unchanged in absolute terms, hasn’t been good enough given the increased potency of opposition spinners.

The one batsman whose fall encapsulates South Africa’s decline is Hashim Amla. He played 16 out of 17 Tests in Asia between October 2007 and 2015, and scored seven hundreds in 26 innings at an average of 73.00; in 11 innings since November 2015, he has a highest score of 43, and averages 14.36. That, in a nutshell, explains South Africa’s recent dire results in Asia.

Ten umpiring calls that left players wishing there was DRS in CPL 2018

Peter Della Penna and Deivarayan Muthu31-Aug-2018David Warner: lbw b Imran Tahir for 11The St Lucia Stars opener fell victim to arguably one of the worst lbw decisions ever, when he was hit outside the line of off stump, while gloving a reverse-sweep. Instead of supporting Imran Tahir’s appeal, wicketkeeper Luke Ronchi set off after the ball that trickled behind point. Perhaps he knew it would be missing the stumps, but umpire Nigel Duguid raised his finger to leave Warner stunned and Tahir wheeling away in celebration.Luke Ronchi: lbw b Mark Chapman for 42In that same game at Providence, Guyana Amazon Warriors wicketkeeper-batsman Luke Ronchi was also adjudged lbw, when umpire Dungid erred again. Ronchi missed a pull against a short arm ball from left-arm spinner Mark Chapman, and copped it on the thigh. Though the ball seemed to be heading down leg, Duguid thought otherwise, and Ronchi was on his way.Darren Bravo: reprieved on 36Just as Darren Bravo and Colin Munro were taking charge of Trinbago Knight Riders’ chase of 183, Jamaica Tallawahs’ Adam Zampa let rip a non-turner that fizzed past Bravo’s sweep and pinned him in front of middle. The ball would have crashed into middle and leg, but the umpire shot down the appeal. Bravo went onto cart a pair of sixes, which helped TKR secure a last-gasp chase.Glenn Phillips: lbw b Ben Cutting for 41Ben Cutting first hit the front pad of Glenn Phillips with a swinging yorker and then had it ricocheting onto his back pad. Replays indicated the ball had pitched outside leg, but Cutting’s appeal was upheld.Glenn Phillips: c Nicholas Pooran b Steven Smith for 36The Tallawahs opener was left fuming again, when he was given out caught-behind even though he did not nick a sharp legbreak from Barbados Tridents’ Steven Smith. When Phillips saw a short ball turn and bounce outside off, he went on the back foot to work it away towards the leg side but missed by a long way. Umpire Shaun George, though, did not spot it, and raised his finger.Andre Fletcher: reprieved on 18Trinbago Knight Riders’ new-ball fast bowler Ali Khan had been giving fits to St Lucia Stars opener Andre Fletcher in the opening match of the season. Having been dropped in the first over, Fletcher received another let-off when a yorker struck him flush on the toe in front of middle stump but was given erroneously as a run after the ball ricocheted through the slips. It wound up not costing much, as Fletcher fell to a slower ball later in the over, and TKR cantered to a resounding win.Chris Gayle: reprieved on 5The Universe Boss scored 86 out of a total of 146 for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the second match of the season against Guyana Amazon Warriors, but his innings really should have been done in the second over. Attempting to sweep the offspin of Chris Green, Gayle missed and was struck plumb in front. But umpire Duguid saw it differently. Replays showed the ball was crashing into the stumps. Amazon Warriors prevailed in the end despite Gayle’s fortuitous innings.Chris Lynn: lbw b Rahkeem Cornwall for 4As part of a trend of poor decisions involving the sweep, Lynn’s inside edge onto the pads went undetected by umpire Gregory Brathwaite. The error didn’t matter much in the end, thanks to a mind-boggling assault by Darren Bravo that helped take TKR homeBrandon King: lbw b Kavem Hodge for 17Even before Stars left-arm spinner Kavem Hodge had sent a full ball outside off, Patriots batsman King jumped a fair way across his stumps, lost his balance, and did not connect with a slog-sweep. Despite being struck outside the line, King was given out lbw. Another sweep. Another poor umpiring decision.Kavem Hodge: c Devon Thomas b Carlos Brathwaite for 0The clash between St Lucia Stars and St Kitts & Nevis Patriots at Gros Islet was the shortest-ever 20-overs-a-side CPL match, but it still had room for another umpiring blunder. And this time, Hodge was the victim. When Carlos Brathwaite found extra bounce and got a length ball to zip away outside off, Hodge reached out for the ball with his feet pinned to the crease and was beaten. Still, he was given out caught behind – a bizarre decision, which left the Stars captain Kieron Pollard flinging his hands in utter shock.

An unprecedented 5-0 success over their oldest enemy suggests England are in prime form a year out from the World Cup

George Dobell25-Jun-20182:20

Chris Woakes: Bowler, batsman, geography teacher?

Not so long ago, in 1994-95, the balance of power between England and Australia – in one-day cricket at least – was such that Australia decided to add an A side to a tournament between the two nations and Zimbabwe, just to ensure a bit of competition. And, sure enough, the final of that Benson & Hedges World Series was played between Australia and Australia A after England managed to lose crucial matches to both Zimbabwe and Australia A.So let nobody take the result of the Royal London Series lightly. Australia are the current World Cup holders and this was their best-available side. Their strength in depth is always enviable and, even in this series, they showed they had another fast bowler, in Billy Stanlake, who could enjoy a long career at this level. To have beaten them 5-0 – the first time England have managed such a feat – is worthy of respect. The fact that it follows a 4-1 victory in Australia, and that England have won 10 of the last 11 ODIs between the nations (and 12 from 14), underlines the new balance of power. There’s nothing wrong in savouring this success.There were several encouraging features of this success from an England perspective. There was the fact that four different batsmen – Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Alex Hales and Jos Buttler – made at least one century during the series; there was the fact the top four wicket-takers – Adil Rashid, Moeen Ali, Liam Plunkett and David Willey – were England players; and that, having set a world-record score batting first in Nottingham they achieved the second-highest chase in their ODI history in Durham a couple of days later.The batting line-up stretches over the horizon and the bowling, even without Chris Woakes (their top-ranked ODI bowler) and Ben Stokes fared better than might have been expected. England know their best 12 or 13 – it seems unlikely that, barring injury, anyone from the outside can force themselves in now – and they are rated the No. 1 ODI team by the ICC. Perhaps not since 1992 have they been better placed ahead of a World Cup year.The manner of some of these victories – hard-fought and scrappy – and the fact they lost to Scotland barely two weeks ago, should stop England becoming too giddy. They required Willey, batting at No. 8, to see them to victory at The Oval and Jake Ball, surviving a maiden over at No. 11, to help them over the line in Manchester. There were moments, not least as Australia passed 300 in Cardiff, that the limitations of England’s attack were apparent and times, such as when England subsided to 114 for 8 in Manchester or 163 for 6 at The Oval, when we were reminded they still have the odd batting collapse in them. One of those at the wrong moment can quickly derail a World Cup campaign.Jos Buttler is engulfed after his unbeaten 110 sealed victory•AFPAnd that is a nagging worry. For with so much invested in this pursuit of the 2019 World Cup – and English cricket has been building to it for more than three years now – there is an apparently unavoidable fragility to their plans that is bound to leave them mercy to an element of chance. There is also the concern that, with so much expected and required of this England side, their fearlessness could fade away when the spotlight is at its brightest.It would be unfair to suggest they have simply gone all-in on red – they are far better than chancers – but there is discomfort in knowing that such a huge part of the strategy for England cricket over the last few years could be reliant on the toss of a coin or the foibles of the English weather.Still, it’s better to be pace-setters than no-hopers, as England were going into the 2015 World Cup. And it says something for the competition in the side that even Joe Root’s place is now in question and, were it not for the fear of destabilising the team, Eoin Morgan’s might be, too. Stokes will certainly return to the side when fit – Hales remains the most vulnerable – while Woakes was, perhaps, the more-missed of the two against Australia.Root remains as the insurance policy should England find themselves playing a game in bowler-friendly conditions and, while Buttler looks every inch a captain in waiting, removing Morgan now would be to repeat the mistakes of many previous campaigns: a bit of stability doesn’t do any harm. Besides, Morgan’s statistics from the recent series – when he struck the quickest half-century in England’s ODI history – aren’t so bad: a batting average of 37.75 and a strike-rate of 126.89; higher than everyone involved except Bairstow.No doubt Australia will be stronger by the time the World Cup starts. At least some of their faster bowlers should have returned; surely Steve Smith and David Warner, too. But Morgan made an interesting point after the match in Manchester. Reflecting on England’s experiences going into the 2015 World Cup, he recalled “a generation of England players that had never won a game in Australia”. While his memory was slightly faulty – England had actually lost seven of their previous eight ODIs against Australia in Australia before the group encounter (another defeat) in Melbourne – the point still holds: “there was a big mountain to climb” in terms of belief. The default position of Australia players would appear to be dauntless self-confidence but recent drubbings must have eroded that a little.So Australia are in transition and South Africa are reeling from the loss of several top players. We know that Pakistan – the most recent winners of a global 50-over trophy – can never be discounted, but perhaps it is India who offer the most obvious threat to England’s dreams. Which means the ODI series between the teams in July should be intriguing.

His recall at the beginning of the season was something of a left-field decision but it has proved an outstanding success

George Dobell at The Oval08-Sep-2018Might this be remembered as the summer in which Jos Buttler came of age as a Test player?There seems a good chance. Having ended his comeback series – the two-Test affair against Pakistan – as the highest run-scorer on either side, he goes into the final stretch of England’s five-Test series against India having scored 98 more runs than his side’s next highest scorer. Only Virat Kohli has more among the batsmen of either side.Buttler’s 89 here was his fifth score of 50 or more in 11 innings since returning to the Test side and helped England add what may well prove to be a vital 151 runs for their final three wickets. His average in that period is 51.For a man who came into the summer as something of a left-field choice from the new national selector, Ed Smith, that is an outstanding return. And, while England may not know who their openers are, who should bat at No. 3, the ideal configuration of their middle-order or quite why Adil Rashid is in the side, Buttler’s emergence has been the one tangible sign of progress.It the manner of the runs as much as the amount of them that has impressed. They have been made in a variety of contexts and styles with Buttler demonstrating a growing ability to adapt his game to the team’s requirements. His shot selection, his game management and his maturity as a batsman appear to be improving by the week.Take the 80 he made against Pakistan at Headingley. On that occasion, having given himself some time to settle, he accelerated sharply when left with the final two tailenders to add 44 for the final two wickets. James Anderson and Stuart Broad contributed just seven between them.But that was, by and large, the Buttler we have seen in ODI cricket. We know he is capable of big hitting and outrageous strokes. He pretty much brought his limited-overs game to Test cricket.What he achieved at Trent Bridge represented more obvious progress. There, with England in desperate trouble – he came in with the score 62 for 4 requiring 521 to win – he knuckled down and produced a fairly orthodox Test century. He left more often, demonstrated more patience and showed an ability to build an innings in the manner of traditional first-class batting.Jos Buttler v India•ESPNcricinfo LtdHere, at The Oval, he produced a variation on the theme. Again left with the tail, he defended soundly, left well, rotated the strike cleverly (Anderson faced only five deliveries in their 20-run stand) and still found a way to put away the poor ball. While the innings at Headingley came when England were on top and the innings at Trent Bridge was made in an almost hopeless situation, this one came with the match in the balance and the pressure greater.Buttler himself is reluctant to talk of “breakthroughs.” He has shown promise at this level before and, as he puts it, knows “things can change for the better or worse very quickly.” But he did reflect that he had found “a nice balance” in his batting.”In the past, teams might think I’d be frustrated not to be hitting boundaries,” he said. “But at the moment, I’m quite content to just be in the middle, ticking over and picking up ones and twos. I’ve always tried to be very respectful of the situation and played accordingly.”He has the ability to find another gear, though. And there were a couple of moments towards the end of this innings when those talents were in evidence. Suddenly a first innings that at one stage was struggling to pass 200 was starting to eye 350. It might well prove to the defining passage of the game.It might be relevant that Buttler has batted at No. 7 in eight of his 11 innings since his recall. By doing so, he is given every chance of batting with the tail and therefore given something of a license to play some shots in the latter stages of the innings. If it comes off: great. And if he goes down swinging, well, there’s no blame attached. The attitude may well have helped him unlock his talent and allowed him to settle back into Test cricket with some confidence. His recall – and his positioning in the order – is looking like a bit of master stroke from Smith and co. right now.”Batting where I do, with the tail, I feel quite comfortable going into this [more aggressive] mode [when necessary],” Buttler said. “It comes quite naturally to me. But you’re trying to sum up the situation and play accordingly.”He was helped enormously here by the support of Broad, with whom he added 98 in 20 overs. Broad has had a couple of bigger innings in the last year or so – notably 57 in 47 balls against South Africa at Lord’s and 56 in 63 against Australia in Melbourne – but, while those were somewhat frenetic and chancy affairs, here he looked like the accomplished batsmen we once thought he might become. Only once has he batted longer – in terms of balls received – in the last five years and it is hard to think of an innings in that period in which he looked so assured. His fortitude allowed Buttler to build sensibly before pressing the accelerator.But it is Buttler’s progress that is most encouraging. There are plenty of challenges ahead: spin; short bowling and how he reacts to the inevitable times of adversity. But his ability to apply his talent should provide an example to other strokemakers in this team – notably Jonny Bairstow – that they can achieve far more if they can combine their undoubted ability with a little craft and patience. Buttler, right now, is showing them the way.

With the World Cup less than eight months away and places up for grabs in the ODI set-up, here’s the stage for hopefuls to build their CVs

Saurabh Somani18-Sep-2018Spots in focusThe claimants for No. 4 and No. 6On Monday, Rohit Sharma said India are looking to seal the No. 4 and 6 slots. In addition to the contenders part of the Asia Cup squad, a few other players will also fancy their chances. Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer and Suresh Raina lead the list, having played for India in 2018, and been tried at those positions.Rahane, who is leading Mumbai, has historically found strike rate to be his chief problem. If the World Cup is played on flat pitches that have been rolled out for white-ball cricket in England, the team will need someone who can get on with it and even explode when needed. Even in the IPL, where he opens the innings, Rahane’s strike rate across the last two seasons has been only 118.24.Iyer made a decent fist of his chances at the international level, but not done enough to cement a spot, and unlike a Manish Pandey, he didn’t collar attacks in recent matches for India A either. Raina, the Uttar Pradesh captain, was picked for the ODIs against England after not playing a single 50-over match through 2016 and 2017. His IPL numbers weren’t overwhelmingly good either, but he offered a bowling option in the top six that India were desperately looking for. It didn’t come off though, with Raina failing in the ODIs and back on the exit route.Rishabh Pant at a training session•Getty ImagesThe Pant factorRegardless of his batting form, MS Dhoni remains the first-choice wicketkeeper. The selectors have also picked Dinesh Karthik as Dhoni’s back-up. But Rishabh Pant (Delhi) with his explosive batting, on display even in the Test series against England, cannot be ignored. Pant’s List A strike from 2017 onwards is 111.42. He’s been even more irresistible in the IPL, hitting at 170.73 in the last two seasons at an average of 38.89. He can almost make a case for playing on the strength of his batting alone.Who will be the back-up for Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar?Khaleel Ahmed and Shardul Thakur are at the Asia Cup, while Siddarth Kaul, Avesh Khan and Prasidh Krishna were called up to help out in the nets there. Apart from them, Deepak Chahar (Rajasthan) and Mohammed Siraj (Hyderabad) will be the ones to watch out for. During the 2018 IPL, Chahar showed that he could hit the ball some way, too. Siraj sparkled in the recently concluded A series against Australia A and South Africa A, albeit with the red ball. But his career average in List A cricket is 20.78, and he has made picking wickets a habit with the white ball too. He’s also added strength and a yard of pace in the past season.Spin-bowling allrounderAlthough Axar Patel has been preferred as the third spinner in the Indian squad, the pair of Krunal Pandya (Baroda) and Ravindra Jadeja (Saurashtra) will still think they have the potential to challenge for that spot.Krunal was recently called up to the Indian squad to replace Washington Sundar (who is not playing the Vijay Hazare Trophy due to injury) for the T20Is in England. In the IPL, where he plays for Mumbai Indians, Krunal has emerged as among the most consistent allrounders. He’s able to hit big in the lower order, and has been parsimonious with the ball. His economy rate over the last two IPL seasons is 6.95 – phenomenal given he doesn’t bowl only in the middle overs.As for Jadeja, although he has not recently been part of India’s limited-overs squads, he showed as recently as the last Test that he’s still a gun fielder with fitness and athleticism intact. His challenge will be to prove he’s still a force with the ball. His white-ball form has not been particularly encouraging, but the spell out of the team could have given Jadeja the rest needed to rediscover his zip as a limited-overs bowler. He’ll also have to show that he’s still capable of cameos with the bat down the order.New Format, New EntrantsESPNcricinfo LtdThe format for the Vijay Hazare Trophy will have nine teams each in Groups A and B, and ten teams in Group C. All the new entrants will be in the Plate Group. Each group will play a round-robin league among themselves, to be followed by the knockouts.For Group C and the Plate Group, it’s fairly straightforward: the top two teams in C and the top team in Plate will go through to the quarter-finals.For Groups A and B, it’s a bit more complex. The top five teams from both groups combined will go through to the quarterfinals. This effectively means that in theory at least, you could have all five teams coming from just one group. If, say, five teams in A all have more points at the end of the league stage than the top-most team in B, none from B will go through. For the teams themselves, this adds an extra element of strategy (or headache, if you will) of tracking how things are going in the other group, especially in the last few rounds.The new entrants also means that there is the danger of some very lopsided matches, and the opportunity for some records to fall.List of domestic transfersKarn Sharma – Andhra (from Vidarbha)
Harpreet Singh Bhatia – Chhattisgarh (from MP)
Krishna Das – Goa (from Assam)
Amit Verma – Goa (from Assam)
Urvil Patel – Gujarat (from Baroda)
Irfan Pathan – J&K (from Baroda)
Chandrakant Sakure – Railways (from MP)
Madhur Khatri – Railways (from Rajasthan)
Rajat Paliwal – Services (from Haryana)
Arjun Sharma – Services (from HP)
Abhishek Tiwari – Services (from UP)
Harmeet Singh – Tripura (from J&K)
Bravish Shetty – Tripura (from Mumbai)
Professionals and transfers for new teams:Puducherry:Fabid Ahmed (from Kerala), Thalaivan Sargunam (from TN), Nikhilesh Surendran (from Kerala), Sagar Trived (from Mumbai), Shashank Singh (from Mumbai), Iqlas Naha (from Kerala), Abdul Safar (from Kerala)Professionals – Abhishek Nayar (from Mumbai), Pankaj Singh (from Rajasthan), Paras Dogra (from HP)Bihar:Ashish Sinha (from Jharkhand), Keshav Kumar (from Jharkhand), Samar Quadri (from Jharkhand)Professionals – Ashutosh Aman (from Services), Pragyan Ojha (from Hyderabad)Nagaland:Rongsen Jonathan (from Railways), Nitesh Lochab (from Delhi), Hokaito Zhimomi (from Assam)Professionals – Abrar Kazi (from Karnataka), KB Pawan (from Karnataka), Pawan Suyal (from Delhi)Arunachal Pradesh:Professional – Kshitiz Sharma (from Delhi)Uttarakhand:Saurabh Rawat (from Odisha)Professionals – Rajat Bhatia (from Rajasthan), Malolan Rangarajan (from TN), Vineet Saxena (from Rajasthan)Manipur:Professionals – Yashpal Singh (from Tripura), Hrithik Kanojia (from Delhi), Lakhan Arjun Rawat (from UP)Meghalaya:Mark Ingty (from Assam), Raj Biswa (from Tripura), Jason Lamare (from Assam)Professionals – Puneet Bisht (from J&K), Gurinder Singh (from Tripura), Yogesh Nagar (from Delhi)MizoramProfessionals – Taruwar Kohli (from Punjab), Akhil Lalchand Rajput (from Mumbai) Sinan Abdul Khader (from Karnataka)

India have been the best and West Indies the worst when it comes to completing their overs on time

Sidharth Monga and Shiva Jayaraman12-Feb-2019There have been 485 of them since 1992; most have been brushed aside with a gentle rap on the knuckles, some have resulted in match bans, a few of them have brought about the threat of lawsuits, and a rare one was responsible for a mid-tournament captaincy switch that has since been outlawed.We are talking about punishments for over-rate offences, for which the ICC invariably gets criticised: “too soft” when overs are lost but allowances are made, “too officious” when a captain gets banned despite allowances. The ICC finds itself in a bind over a breach-related incident again, this time being criticised heavily with West Indies playing their ongoing third Test against England without captain and talisman Jason Holder.ALSO READ: Jason Holder slow-over ban is just ICC killjoys at workThe first thing to know on the subject is that the process is subjective but not arbitrary. In a Test match, you are expected to maintain a rate of 15 overs an hour; in an ODI, you are expected to bowl your 50 overs in three-and-a-half hours or bowl the opposition out before that; a T20I innings should go no longer than 90 minutes. There are allowances made: injury timeouts, DRS reviews, sightscreen problems, longer drinks breaks in hotter weather, any external delay beyond the control of the fielding captain.In April 2003, the ICC took the drastic step of bringing the captain under the ambit of match bans. In the six years leading up to that, starting 1997, international cricket lost 73, 59, 60, 77, 78 and, in 2002, a whopping 120 overs. On the final day of the Port-of-Spain Test of 2002, a fifth-wicket stand of two hours for just 73 runs frustrated India. There was still time for both outright results, but the draw became a real possibility. Now, imagine the situation if West Indies had not been caught short by 18 overs across their two bowling innings.Such were the matches that eventually resulted in ICC getting stricter. Even as the amount of cricket has only increased since, there has never been a year since 2003 in which 60 overs have been lost. The data available – on the ICC website for all to see – is not always complete, but here are a few trends that might reinforce certain views and surprise you too.West Indies are the slowest
This is perhaps no surprise. They bowl a lot of fast bowlers, they haven’t had a great spinner since 1992 to build an attack around, and they have not been the most disciplined side. Since 2003, West Indies have been 88 overs short in a total of 45 over-rate breaches. Pakistan – 32 breaches and 69 overs lost – are a distant second.Data for over breaches and overs short•ESPNcricinfo LtdRicky Ponting, Graeme Smith and Sourav Ganguly are the captains under whose watch a high number of overs were lost. However, while Ponting and Smith captained 287 and 286 matches to be short by 36 and 34 overs respectively, Ganguly captained in only 64 matches since April 2003, but was in charge of a team that was short by 31 overs. Virat Kohli’s side has been short by only one over in 129 matches played under him.Captains with no over-rate violations•ESPNcricinfo LtdIndia’s transformation
India began to transform as they became more and more spin-oriented under MS Dhoni, and then as a disciplined bowling unit on the whole, that still had enough spin, under Kohli. It might surprise you if you have seen a lot of Indian cricket in the 2000s, but India hold the longest streak without an over-rate offence. The last time they were found short was at The Oval back in 2014. Ravindra Jadeja has never been part of a side found short on overs. India’s is a streak of 216 matches, comfortably ahead of Bangladesh’s 190 at second spot. West Indies’ best streak has been 48 matches.Longest streaks without a breach•ESPNcricinfo LtdTeam-wise data for longest streaks without a breach•Getty ImagesIt’s not always pace
As you would expect, most of the breaches happen when a high proportion of overs is bowled by the quicks – when Faf du Plessis was banned recently, he bowled no spin – but there have been a few instances when sides have failed to maintain the acceptable rate even with spinners on. Rahul Dravid once bowled only 16 overs of pace in an ODI innings, and yet fell short by two overs – against Australia in Gwalior in 2003.Captains with the most overs short per match•ESPNcricinfo LtdDo Big Three players get away with it?That is the question always asked because the last few captains to be banned have been from West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka, West Indies again, Sri Lanka again, Sri Lanka yet again, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Pakistan again. This is a question difficult to answer unless you sit with a stopwatch and note every allowance made for every delay during every match. If you agree, though, with match referees – and that’s their job so there’s little point doubting them without evidence – the penalties sound about right.Since 2003, in all formats put together, West Indies have been short in 6.45% of their matches, Pakistan in 4.38% and South Africa in 3.69%.Sri Lanka are an interesting case study. Their overall rate of breaches since 2003 – 3.24% – is close to India’s and Australia’s, but they have a big variance: excellent when at home, with the vast majority of the bowling done by the spinners, but slow when using quicks.Who goes over most often•ESPNcricinfo LtdDo over-rate penalties in Tests need a rethink?
Now to the biggest gripe among fans with these over-rate penalties. When Holder was banned, his side was short by two overs, in a Test ended in three days. Is the over-rate relevant then? Once the rule is in place, you can’t ask the match referee to be subjective in its implementation based on the number of days there were in the Test. So this has to be a question for the lawmakers. Also, even in a shorter game, if one side is bowling at a prescribed rate and the other not, there is a possibility the offending side’s bowlers are taking extra time to recover between overs and between balls.

Days Taken For Result Over Rate BreachesTwo 1Three 11Four 22Five 28For what it is worth, this is a poser for the lawmakers: in Tests with results, since 2003, there have been 62 over-rate breaches. Only 28 – fewer than half – of those matches went into the fifth day. Shane Warne recently suggested there should probably be no over-rate penalties if a Test ends in fewer than 225 overs, which is under half of the stipulated overs. Should the ICC make some allowance for matches that don’t go the distance or end in fewer than a certain number of overs?

For the third time in as many innings, Pakistan’s senior batsman found himself bounced out by Duanne Olivier

Danyal Rasool at Newlands03-Jan-2019Pakistan might have tried to turn a chapter after Centurion, but they keep finding it’s the same old story. On a morning where, put in to bat, they lost their first five wickets inside 20 overs, Sarfraz Ahmed’s unchanged batting order found the narrative of the Test had begun in that same unchanged vein.No dismissal epitomised that more than Azhar Ali’s, theoretically Pakistan’s best batsman in these conditions. For the third time in as many innings, he copped a short ball from Duanne Olivier, failed to fend it to safety, and found himself heading back to the pavilion cheaply.It is a tactic Olivier, in particular, has employed with devastating consequences against Azhar. Of the 34 balls Olivier has bowled to Azhar in three innings, 22 have been short, producing just eight runs and all three dismissals. Of the other 57 balls Azhar has been on the receiving end of, just 21 fell short of a good length, with fuller balls allowing him to score at over a run a ball (15 in 14).Pakistan batting coach Grant Flower was surprised at Azhar’s struggles against the short ball after the first Test. “I’m very surprised, because he usually doesn’t have a problem with the short ball,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “That took me by total surprise. He definitely knows what he’s going to get in the next Test, albeit on an easier pitch to bat on. But I can’t see the South Africans relenting. In the pressure of the match, he was probably just indecisive.”While Flower, like perhaps everyone else, was prescient enough to know what the hosts’ tactics would be against Azhar, he has been less successful in helping his batsman to cope. Among the 19 balls Azhar faced in his short-lived stay at Newlands, over half were banged in short. When Olivier was introduced into the attack, every one of the five balls to Azhar put the Pakistan batsman on the back foot. The one that dismissed him was nearly a carbon copy of those that felled him in Centurion, with Azhar flaccidly pushing it to first slip.Cheap dismissals set the tone as Pakistan were eventually dismissed for 177, the same team that trudged off at Centurion, dejected and demoralised. The challenges they face are well understood, predictable, even. They were out on New Year’s Day at 9.30am, practising for nearly four hours, but the possibility of producing the goods against a fearsome South African attack still appears remote.The bout between Azhar and Olivier is a microcosm, while the larger contest presently looks like a mismatch.

ESPNcricinfo reviews the best and the worst buys from this IPL in terms of money spent on players and how they performed

Hemant Brar13-May-20192:02

The best and worst buys of IPL 2019

Value for money

Jonny Bairstow (Sunrisers Hyderabad, INR 2.2 crore)
(Mat: 10, Runs: 445, Ave: 55.62, SR: 157.24, Ct: 9, St: 2)There was never any doubt about Bairstow’s ability, and at a price tag of INR 2.2 crore, he proved to be a steal for Sunrisers. Excluding the inaugural 2008 season, no batsman has scored more runs than Bairstow in his maiden IPL. Among those with at least 300 runs this season, only Andre Russell (204.81), Hardik Pandya (191.42) and Rishabh Pant (162.66) had a higher strike rate than his 157.24. With David Warner, he added 791 runs for the opening stands, including four century and three half-century stands, which were largely responsible in Sunrisers making to the playoffs.Ishant Sharma (Delhi Capitals, INR 1.1 crore)
(Mat: 13, Wkts: 13, Ave: 26.84, Econ: 7.58)Ishant had gone unsold in the 2018 auction, but this season – after being bought by Capitals – he translated his red-ball form into T20s. Primarily used in Powerplays, he picked up eight wickets at an economy rate of 6.85 in that phase. Apart from finding some seam movement with the new ball, he made good use of his latest weapon, the knuckle ball. It was his performances in the first six overs that allowed Capitals to use Kagiso Rabada at the death.Keemo Paul (Delhi Capitals, INR 50 lakh)
(Mat: 8, Wkts: 9, Ave: 26.33, Econ: 8.72)In a bowling attack led by Rabada and Ishant, and backed by the spin duo of Amit Mishra and Axar Patel, Keemo Paul was impressive as the fifth bowler. Before the Qualifier 2, he had nine wickets from seven games at an average of 20.88 and an economy rate of 7.77. He saved his best for Sunrisers. In the away league game, he picked up 3 for 17 in a Man-of-the-Match performance, and in the Eliminator, he scored the winning boundary apart from taking 3 for 32.BCCIRiyan Parag (Rajasthan Royals, INR 20 lakh)
(Mat: 7, Runs: 160, Ave: 32, SR: 126.98, Wkts: 2, Ave: 60.50, Econ: 8.64)Perhaps one of the finds of the season. After Parag’s calm and composed 43 off 29 in a chase against Mumbai Indians, Steven Smith tipped the 17-year-old for a bright future. Parag backed Smith’s statement with the scores of 47 and 50 against Kolkata Knight Riders and Capitals respectively, the fifty making him the youngest half-centurion in the IPL. He also showed he could bowl everything from legbreaks to googlies, carrom balls and cutters. In short, he was the rare bright light in Royals’ otherwise gloomy season.M Ashwin (Kings XI Punjab, INR 20 lakh)
(Mat: 10, Wkts: 5, Ave: 51, Econ: 7.50)A mere five wickets from ten games may not tell the full story, but with Varun Chakravarthy and Mujeeb Ur Rahman struggling with injuries, M Ashwin proved to be a more than handy foil for Kings XI captain R Ashwin. With the intelligent use of his variations, M Ashwin strangled opposition batsmen and was the second-most economical bowler for his side in the tournament, giving away only 7.50 runs per over. His 2 for 25 against Mumbai at home set up an eight-wicket win for his side.

High on price, low on performance

Jaydev Unadkat (Rajasthan Royals, INR 8.4 crore)
(Mat: 11, Wkts: 10, Ave: 39.80, Econ: 10.66)The most expensive buy of IPL 2019 – along with Varun – Unadkat was bought back by Royals for more than five times his base price (INR 1.5 crore). Unadkat had said he would work his “pants off” to wash away the disappointment of 2018 where he was the most expensive Indian buy ever in the IPL, but couldn’t convert it into performances on the field. However, for the second season in a row, Unadkat failed to live up to the expectation of being an effective left-arm seamer who can bowl at the death. Out of the 11 innings he bowled in, only thrice he conceded less than nine an over and only once picked more than a wicket.Varun Chakravarthy (Kings XI Punjab, INR 8.4 crore)
(Mat: 1, Wkts: 1, Ave: 35, Econ: 11.66)Impressive numbers in the Tamil Nadu Premier League and a truckload of varieties helped Varun fetch a hefty amount – 42 times his base price of INR 20 lakh – during the auction. But a shoulder injury kept him out of the action initially and when he eventually played, Sunil Narine carted the debutant all over the park. Varun ended up conceding 25 from his first over, the worst debut over in IPL history. To add to his woes, he then broke his finger and was ruled out of the IPL shortly afterwards.Colin Ingram hits over the leg side•BCCIColin Ingram (Delhi Capitals, INR 6.4 crore)
(Mat: 12, Runs: 184, Ave: 18.40, SR: 119.48)Ingram has made his name in various T20 leagues across the world batting mostly at No. 3. But with Capitals having a strong Indian top order – consisting of Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw and Shreyas Iyer – Ingram was almost always forced to bat at No. 5 or lower. The two times he batted higher – at No. 4 – Ingram scored 47 off 32 and 22 off 21 but mostly looked out of position down the order.Shivam Dube (Royal Challengers Bangalore, INR 5 crore)
(Mat: 4, Runs: 40, Ave: 13.33, SR: 121.21, Wkts: 0)Given his six-hitting ability, Dube was expected to be the finisher Royal Challengers Bangalore were looking for. A tall left-hand batsman who can also bowl right-arm medium would have lent the side the required balance. But a couple of failures meant Dube was overlooked after Royal Challengers’ third match into the season. In the second half of the IPL, he returned to play one more game, but his 24 off 16 against Capitals didn’t prove enough to fetch him another chance. With the ball, he bowled just 1.4 overs in all and didn’t pick any wicket.Prabhsimran Singh (Kings XI Punjab, INR 4.8 crore)
(Mat: 1, Runs: 16, Ave: 16.00, SR: 94.11)A hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batsman, Prabhsimran had shown glimpses of his talent with a 37-ball 65 against Sri Lanka in the Under-19 Asia Cup final and then with a 20-ball 54 against Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. However, with KL Rahul keeping for Kings XI in the IPL, Prabhsimran’s wicketkeeping abilities became redundant and the team management didn’t trust him enough as a specialist batsman. As a result, just like Varun, he also played only one game but the duo’s combined price tag of INR 13.2 crore burned a massive hole in franchise’s pocket.

Reactions, love and praise from around the cricketing world as Thailand sealed a historic win to make it to the 2020 T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Sep-2019Thailand have never been in a cricket World Cup of any kind before. When they beat Papua New Guinea in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup Qualifier, history was made.

That moment when you qualify for your first World Cup ever. Congratulations, @ThailandCricket! pic.twitter.com/qm9ytHZ3fa

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 5, 2019

Deserved praise came in from around the cricketing world.

Amazing!! Congratulations

— Alyssa Healy (@ahealy77) September 5, 2019

@ThailandCricket congrats to the women for qualifying for the @T20WorldCup. So cool and great for the game

— Ish Sodhi (@ish_sodhi) September 5, 2019

See soon @ThailandCricket https://t.co/gnfM7cHeyg

— Lisa Sthalekar (@sthalekar93) September 5, 2019

Congratulations, Thailand – a historical moment in cricket

— Lord's Cricket Ground (@HomeOfCricket) September 5, 2019

@ThailandCricket congrats to your wonderful team on reaching the @T20WorldCup amazing achievement and a delight to be able to watch it up close and personal.

— Niall John O Brien (@niallnobiobrien) September 5, 2019

It is an underdog story in the truest sense of the term.

12 years ago a group of recently converted softball players came last in an Asian women's cricket tournament. Today, they have made history; they have qualified for their country's first #T20WorldCup. A credit to their local development programs. Simply amazing @ThailandCricket pic.twitter.com/XbmhA3xJJO

— Tim Cutler (@timcutler) September 5, 2019

Yes, you are, ladies!

"WE'RE GOING TO AUSTRALIA!!!"

Thailand celebrate after booking their spot at the @T20WorldCup 2020! pic.twitter.com/dTZmLMdicH

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) September 5, 2019

Thailand have just secured the last spot for the Women’s #T20WorldCup. Most players in tears celebrating on the ground. Amazing story! https://t.co/QKU3KQkxUU

— Max Abbott (@m_e_abbott) September 5, 2019

Thailand’s journey to the T20 World Cup is an inspiration for Associate nations, as women cricketers from Hong Kong and Scotland were quick to point out.

HISTORY IS MADE. Congratulations @CricketThailand for qualifying for the 2020 Women's World Cup in Australia. Truly inspiring for any associate nation. What a story. @ICC

— Mariko Hill (@MarikoHill) September 5, 2019

Amazing! Huge congratulations to the Thailand players, coaches and support staff. Their work ethic and togetherness has made them a forceful unit. We can learn a lot from this win! Amazing @T20WorldCup @ThailandCricket https://t.co/yR8dliE8QC

— Olivia Rae (@ollierae14) September 5, 2019