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How many players have scored centuries in their 99th and 101st Tests?

Steven Lynch17-Jan-2017Hashim Amla joined the club of players who scored a century in their 100th Test match. How many have scored centuries in their 99th and/or 101st Test? asked Savo Ceprnich from South Africa

Hashim Amla’s 134 against Sri Lanka in Johannesburg last week made him the eighth batsman to score a century in his 100th Test, after Ricky Ponting (who made two in 2005-06), Colin Cowdrey (1968), Gordon Greenidge and Javed Miandad (both 1989-90), Alec Stewart (2000), Inzamam-ul-Haq (2004-05) and Graeme Smith (2012). Ponting had also scored a century in his 99th Test, while Inzamam added one in his 101st. Brian Lara (2003-04) and Mahela Jayawardene (2008-09) both scored hundreds in their 99th and 101st Test matches. Eight others reached three figures in their 99th Test: Sunil Gavaskar (1983-84), Mohammad Azharuddin (in what turned out to be his last match, in 1999-2000), Sachin Tendulkar (2002), Gary Kirsten (2003-04), Sourav Ganguly (2007-08), VVS Laxman (2008-09), Virender Sehwag (2012-13) and Michael Clarke (2013-14). Ganguly, who made 239, Gavaskar, Lara and Laxman all reached 200. Apart from Inzamam, Jayawardene and Lara, six others made centuries in their 101st Test: Viv Richards (1988-89), Stephen Fleming (who scored 262 in 2004-05), Justin Langer (2006-07), Kumar Sangakkara (2011-12), Younis Khan (2015) and Brendon McCullum (2015-16).Is it right that Virat Kohli now has more hundreds in successful run-chases even than Sachin Tendulkar? asked Praful Patel from India

Virat Kohli’s 122 in that exciting match against England in Pune on Sunday was his 15th century in 63 successful chases – one more than Sachin Tendulkar managed in more than twice as many matches (127). Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Saeed Anwar all scored nine hundreds in successful chases, while Chris Gayle, Adam Gilchrist and Ricky Ponting made eight. Sunday’s century was Kohli’s 17th in ODIs while batting second, equaling Tendulkar’s record. Dilshan and Gayle made 11, and Jayasuriya and Saeed Anwar ten.Bangladesh’s 595 in Wellington was their second-highest Test total•Getty ImagesShakib Al Hasan’s 217 against New Zealand meant he has scored a double-century and taken seven wickets in an innings in Tests. How many people have managed this? asked Azam Hossain from Bangladesh

Some nifty work from ardent Facebooker Michael Jones saved me the trouble of looking this up: Shakib’s 217 in Wellington the other day, which followed his 7 for 36 against New Zealand in Chittagong in 2008-09, made his only the ninth player to have managed a double-century and a seven-for in Tests. The others are the Australians Allan Border and Jason Gillespie, Ian Botham of England, India’s Vinoo Mankad, Wasim Akram of Pakistan, the South African Aubrey Faulkner, and the West Indian pair of Denis Atkinson and Frank Worrell. Mankad actually managed two centuries and two eight-fors, while Botham had one double to go with two eight-fors.Clarrie Grimmett took 11 wickets in his first Test and 13 in his last. Has anyone done better than this? asked John Hackett from New Zealand

The Australian legspinner Clarrie Grimmett marked his Test debut, aged 33 in 1924-25, with 5 for 45 and 6 for 37 against England in the final Test of the 1924-25 Ashes, and signed off with 7 for 100 and 6 for 73 v South Africa in Durban in 1935-36, when he was 44. The only other man to take ten wickets in his first and last Tests was England’s Tom Richardson, who started with 5 for 49 and 5 for 107 against Australia at Old Trafford in 1893, and finished with 8 for 94 and 2 for 110 in Sydney in 1897-98. The only man to take more wickets than Grimmett in his last Test was England’s Sydney Barnes, with 14 for 144 – 7 for 56 and 7 for 88 – against South Africa in Durban in 1913-14.England fast bowler Tom Richardson is one of only two bowlers to take ten wickets in his first and last Tests•Getty ImagesWas Bangladesh’s 595 at the Basin their highest Test total? asked Brett Carter from New Zealand

Bangladesh’s 595 for 8 declared in the first innings in Wellington at the weekend was actually their second-highest total in Tests – they made 638 against Sri Lanka in Galle in 2012-13. Mushfiqur Rahim made 200 in that one, Bangladesh’s first double-century. Tamim Iqbal improved on that with 206 against Pakistan in Khulna in April 2015, but Shakib Al Hasan’s 217 in Wellington now tops the list. Bangladesh’s highest total at home is 556, against West Indies in Mirpur in 2012-13, although they came within one of that in Khulna when Tamim made his double-hundred. New Zealand’s 539 was their third total of 500 or more against Bangladesh (their record remains 553 for 7 declared in Hamilton in 2009-10), and their third-highest in Wellington after 680 for 8 declared against India in 2013-14 (when Brendon McCullum hit 302), and 671 for 4 v Sri Lanka in 1990-91 (when Martin Crowe made 299).Who was the last man born in England to score a Test century for Australia? asked Jarrod Harte from Australia

This question was obviously inspired by Yorkshire-born Matt Renshaw, who piled up 184 for Australia against Pakistan in Sydney early in January. He’s only the fourth English-born batsman to score a century for Australia, but it’s not very long since the last one – Andrew Symonds, who was born in Birmingham, made two Test tons to go with six in one-day internationals. The other two, though, were from way back: Charles Bannerman, who scored an undefeated 165 in the very first Test of all, in Melbourne in 1876-77, and Percy McDonnell, who made three Test hundreds against England in the 1880s, were both born in London. Archie Jackson, who stroked a brilliant 164 on debut against England in Adelaide in 1928-29, was born in Rutherglen in Scotland, while Tom Horan, who scored 124 against England in Melbourne in 1881-82, was born in County Cork in Ireland. The only other overseas-born batsman to score a Test century for Australia is Kepler Wessels (born in Bloemfontein in South Africa) who made four, including 162 on debut against England in Brisbane in 1982-83.Post your questions in the comments below

Despite being sanctioned by the government, South Africa’s cricket system is not all that far from being able to call itself representative

Firdose Moonda26-Apr-2016It may not seem like it but South Africa’s cricket bosses can breathe a little easier. Although they received what seems a hefty punishment – being banned from bidding for or hosting major tournaments – for the slow progress of transformation, unlike their rugby counterparts they have both enough time and enough resources to ensure the sanction is lifted before it could make a real difference.South Africa was not in line to host a senior ICC tournament until at least 2023 and has only been pencilled in to stage the Under-19 World Cup in 2020. The government’s transformation targets are reviewed annually, which means that by next year, CSA could see the penalty reversed. But the board will need to make some changes and many are wondering what those have to be.The curiosity begins in the question itself, because the terms of the memorandum of understanding five South African sports federations signed with the sports ministry have not been made public. At Monday’s press conference, where sports minister Fikile Mbalula received the transformation reports and delivered his verdict, the barometer for measuring progress was set at 60%.That means that in order to avoid sanctions, 60% of players in the national cricket, rugby, football, netball and athletics teams had to be players of colour, which refers to anyone of black African, mixed-race or Indian descent. Only football met this target.Cricket was not that far off the mark, though, with a representation rate of 55%. Bridging the gap will be CSA’s first task.Using the 60% mark, South Africa would have to field seven players of colour in the national team, which would leave space for four white players. The significance of that ratio will not be lost on some. When transformation targets were first introduced in 1998, the quota was four players of colour in teams. The new requirements have essentially reversed that. They also require South African cricket to go where it has only gone three times before.

“I know what it was like to have to take three or four taxis from the township to the stadium for practice, not having a job but having pressure to earn a salary for a family”Lions coach Geoffrey Toyana

In 2013, in ODIs against Netherlands, Pakistan and India, South Africa fielded seven players of colour. On 17 other occasions – eight ODIs and nine T20s – South Africa teams have included six players of colour. The most they have ever had in a Test is five players of colour, in 17 matches. In the 2015-16 season, the South Africa XI typically consisted of between four and five players of colour. So where will the extra players come from?The obvious answer is the domestic system, where at least 36 players of colour regularly ply their trade at franchise level, in line with the transformation targets of six players of colour per team. Should CSA want to put that in line with the international target, it may look at increasing that number to seven, as it considered doing last year.It did try to implement a target in the second-tier system – the 13 provincial teams – of seven players of colour but backtracked after a legal threat from the South African Cricketers’ Association, who said it was told too late about the proposed changes. Instead, CSA used last season to increase the black African quota from two to three.This subsection of the target is also something the ministry of sport addressed, although there is no explicit target. Black African representation in South Africa’s cricket team sits at just 9%, which translates to one player in an XI. Last season, most often, this player was Kagiso Rabada, although Eddie Leie, Temba Bavuma and Aaron Phangiso also featured. The ministry continues to monitor whether this number will go up.The systems put in place at domestic level suggest that it has to. Even without increasing the franchise targets, there are 18 black African players in the franchise set-up and 18 other players of colour. Naturally, the next question will be whether any or all of them are good enough to make the step up or if the system is merely colouring by numbers.CSA’s transformation goals run from players and coaches right through to administrators•AFPAmong the top five franchise performers in each format were: one batsman of colour in first-class cricket, Qaasim Adams, and two bowlers of colour, Dane Piedt and Tabraiz Shamsi; three batsmen of colour in the 50-over format, Alviro Petersen, Rudi Second and Justin Ontong, and four bowlers of colour – of which three were black African – Malusi Siboto, Wayne Parnell, Junior Dala and Tshepo Moreki. In the T20 tournament, there was one batsman of colour in the top five, Reeza Hendricks, and two bowlers of colour, both black African, Sisanda Magala and Phangiso.This analysis, albeit brief, is proof that players are coming through but also evidence of a glaring problem. There is a lack of batsmen of colour, particularly black African batsmen, and a lack of first-class performers of colour. If CSA is to address the national team’s transformation issues, these are the areas it needs to focus on, by ensuring the development of black African batsmen – for whom Test centurion Bavuma has become a role-model – and nurturing players of colour in the longer format.The issue of mentoring these players is also a transformation issue, not least because the number of coaches forms part of the ministry’s assessment. Willie Basson, a member of the group that puts together the transformation report and a former acting president of CSA, explained that the relationships between coaches of colour and players of colour are different because they often involve a level of understanding about background that can be absent in the relationship between a white coach and player of colour.Lions’ coach Geoffrey Toyana is a case point. Toyana is a former first-class cricketer from the storied Soweto township and has previously spoken of how he can relate to the socio-economic difficulties players of colour face as they try to make it as professional sportsmen. “I know what it was like to have to take three or four taxis from the township to the stadium for practice, not having a job but having pressure to earn a salary for a family and that kind of thing,” Toyana said. It is seen as no accident that under Toyana’s watch, Lions have become the team with the most black African players, including Test successes Rabada and Bavuma.

There is a lack of batsmen of colour, particularly black African batsmen, and a lack of first-class performers of colour. If CSA is to address the national team’s transformation issues, these are the areas it needs to focus on

Toyana is one of two black African coaches at franchise level, along with Warriors’ Malibongwe Maketa, and one of three coaches of colour – Paul Adams of Cobras is the third. That number could increase to four in the 2016-17 season, with Yashin Ebrahim and Roger Telemachus in line to succeed Lance Klusener as Dolphins’ coach.South Africa are also transforming their coaching of feeder sides for the national team. Lawrence Mahatlane, a black African who won trophies in charge of the Gauteng provincial team, is the Under-19s coach, while Shukri Conrad, a franchise trophy winner with Cobras and Lions, is the national academy coach. Vincent Barnes, a successful bowler who was denied the chance to play for South Africa in the apartheid years and a former national bowling coach, is CSA’s high performance manager.Administratively, South African cricket is also keeping up with transformation requirements. Three of the six franchise CEOs are people of colour, although none is black African. CSA’s president, Chris Nenzani, is black African and the CEO, Haroon Lorgat, a person of colour.All these things are taken into account when the transformation report is compiled, so it is not only about the composition of the national team but about wholesale change. Not everybody likes this way of looking at things – former allrounder Jacques Kallis even said it made him embarrassed to be South African – but it is clear that cricket is not far from meeting the requirements and having the sanction lifted, and thus being able to call itself a sport that represents all South Africans.

We are just over the halfway point of the season, and it would be fair to say things aren’t looking too bad for Ipswich Town.

Now, it is true that Kieran McKenna’s side are sat in the relegation zone, but results have improved in recent weeks, and they are still within touching distance of safety.

Moreover, with the transfer window in full swing, the club have a chance to further strengthen the squad and bolster their chances of survival.

That said, while reinforcements will undoubtedly help, we can’t imagine they’ll bring in anyone more valuable than one of their current stars, including Jadan Philogene.

Ipswich's January dealings

So, with so much on the line, there was an expectation that Ipswich would be at least somewhat active in the transfer market this month, and so far, anyway, they have been.

For example, just five days into the window, Atalanta defender Ben Godfrey joined the club on loan until the end of the season, and while he struggled to make an impact in Serie A, this could prove to be a brilliant deal.

The former Everton ace has 112 Premier League appearances to his name, two England caps and can play across the backline and even in defensive midfield if needed.

With that said, while the York-born defender will undoubtedly add some more solidity to the Tractor Boys, he won’t add much excitement, at least not as much as the club’s second addition, Jaden Philogene.

It took a little while for the deal to be officially completed, but it was finally announced on Wednesday afternoon that he had joined Ipswich for around £20m.

It’s certainly a lot of money to spend on a player with just 334 minutes of top-flight football to his name, but considering he racked up a brilliant haul of 12 goals and six assists in just 32 Championship appearances for Hull City last season, it could prove a wise investment a few years from now.

That said, there is a current Ipswich star who spent time with the Tigers last season, someone worth considerably more than £20m.

The Ipswich star worth millions more than Philogene

So, to get straight to the point, it will come as no surprise that the player we are talking about is, of course, Liam Delap.

The former Manchester City prospect, who also cost £20m in the summer, is now worth up to €41.3m according to Football Transfers, which converts to about £34.77m, or £14.77m more than Philogene is set to cost.

Now, while that is undoubtedly a lot of money, it could be argued that the Englishman should be worth even more, as so far this season, he has been utterly spectacular.

For example, even though he is playing for a relegation-threatened team and had limited top-flight experience prior, the incredible “one-man battering ram,” as dubbed by Opta Analyst, has scored eight goals and provided two assists in just 21 appearances, totalling 1553 minutes.

That means that the 21-year-old phenom is currently averaging a goal involvement every other game, or every 155.3minutes, which, again, for a team battling down in the relegation zone is simply sublime.

Ultimately, there can be no debate over Ipswich’s best player this season, and should they manage to keep themselves up, the sky is the limit for Delap’s future valuation.

Ipswich Town now receive permanent bid to sell "powerful" player in January

The Tractor Boys are open to a sale.

By
Charlie Smith

Jan 15, 2025

After Melbourne Renegades used Sunil Narine as an opener, we look at other surprises at the top of the order in T20s

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jan-2017Sreesanth: Andhra v Kerala, Inter-state Twenty20 tournament 2007, Score: 19(21)•Associated PressYasir Shah: Chittagong Vikings v Dhaka Dynamites, BPL 2015, Score: 10(9). Next match as opener: 8 (18)•Getty ImagesNeil Wagner: Auckland v Otago, HRV Cup 2011-12, Score: 4(5)•Getty ImagesR Ashwin: Kolkata Knight Riders v Chennai Super Kings, IPL 2013, Score: 11(13)•BCCI

The offspinner had claimed five wickets then forged the match-winning stand with No. 11 Cameron Gannon after a WA collapse

AAP14-Nov-2025Western Australia captain Sam Whiteman made the most of Queensland’s butter fingers before Corey Rocchiccioli guided the tail home in a thrilling one-wicket Sheffield Shield victory over Queensland.Set 272 for victory from 90 overs on Friday at the WACA Ground, WA went from a comfortable 155 for 2 to a shaky 249 for 9 as Queensland’s attack put the squeeze on.Related

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But Rocchiccioli (24 not out off 37 balls) and No.11 Cameron Gannon (10 not out off 13 balls) showed nerves of steel in an unbeaten 23-run final-wicket stand to guide WA to their first win of the season with 7.3 overs remaining.Whiteman, in his 100th Shield match, was the rock at the top of the order, with his knock of 81 off 170 balls helping set up victory. But he had some luck along the way.The 32-year-old was yet to score when he was dropped at second slip by substitute fielder Hugh Weibgen, who was on the field for the rested Matt Renshaw (knee).Whiteman was dropped again on 47, this time in the deep by another substitute fielder – Benji Floros.Cameron Bancroft, Hilton Cartwright and Cameron Green failed to go on with their starts, while Cooper Connolly was out for just 2 as Queensland worked their way back into the contest.Xavier Bartlett loomed as the biggest threat to WA’s victory hopes, with the home side going from slipping to 159 for 4 when he struck twice in the space of three overs by having Green caught on the pull and Connolly flashing a top edge to the keeper.Whiteman’s luck finally ran out when he hooked Gurinder Sandhu to the deep and Angus Lovell took a tumbling catch, reducing WA to 180 for 5.WA still needed 55 more runs for victory when Aaron Hardie fell for 12, and when Josh Inglis departed for 28, WA’s tail was well and truly exposed.But Rocchiccioli and Gannon stood up when counted, reviving WA’s season after they began with two losses and a draw.It wasn’t only Queensland’s dropped catches on Friday that proved costly.They were cruising at 183 for 4 in their second innings late on Thursday before a collapse struck. Player of the match Rocchiccioli snared four quick wickets as Queensland slumped to 187 for 8 by stumps.Rocchiccioli claimed another wicket on Friday morning to help dismiss Queensland for 203.

Arsenal are willing to shell out a fee to make one striker their second most expensive ever signing, behind their club-record deal for midfielder Declan Rice, as manager Mikel Arteta seeks to add a new forward to his squad this month.

Arsenal in dire need of striker after Gabriel Jesus blow

Gabriel Jesus is set to miss the rest of this season after rupturing his ACL, and the Brazilian’s lengthy absence means that Arteta will have just Kai Havertz from now until the conclusion of this Premier League title race – if they can’t get another striker through the door.

Arsenal approach £182k-per-week Bayern Munich star over joining them

The north Londoners have reached out to his agents.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jan 17, 2025

Arteta has confirmed Arsenal’s plans to sign a new forward this month, and it is reliably believed that the Gunners are working hard on adding a new number nine to their ranks before deadline day on February 3.

There are even reports that Arsenal have had a loan bid rejected for Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic, while others claim the north Londoners are in active negotiations with RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko, who they reportedly tried and failed to sign last summer.

Arsenal have also been urged to break the bank for Newcastle United star Alexander Isak, who’s been linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium.

“I would literally go right now with a barrel-load of cash and drive to Newcastle and break the bank to sign Alexander Isak,” said Piers Morgan on talkSPORT.

“£100million, £120m, £140m, £150m – I don’t care. I will find the players from our 87 defenders that we’ve signed in the last two years to make up the cash for the PSR stuff.

“The way we play, the chances we create – do you know how many shots we’ve had this week? 49 shots. Do you know how many goals we’ve scored? One. Do you know who scored it? Gabriel, a central defender. If that doesn’t tell you something, I don’t know what does.”

Arsenal prepared to pay £84 million release clause for Viktor Gyokeres

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, as relayed by GiveMeSport, Arteta’s side are prepared to go all out for Sporting star Viktor Gyokeres. The Swede has picked up right where he left off last season, bagging an incredible 32 goals and six assists in all competitions so far, making him a hot commodity for elite European sides who are after a proven scorer.

It is believed that Arsenal are not opposed to paying Gyokeres’ £84 million release clause, which would make him their second-most expensive ever signing behind Rice.

The 26-year-old, formerly of Coventry City, has enjoyed quite a rise to stardom. Gyokeres also possesses favourable physical attributes which could make him tailor-made for the Premier League, like his speed.

“I don’t want to say he should test himself in the Premier League but who is like him in the Premier League at the moment,” said Tony Mowbray in 2023.

“Who is too fast, too strong and too big, you would suggest Haaland is like that and Gyokeres in this league looks a yard faster and stronger than the players he plays against in the Championship.”

It’s lonely, players have to take care of their own fitness, coaching and schedules, and always live with the risk of being dropped

Tim Wigmore21-Mar-2017February was just another month in the life of Chris Gayle. A quick scan of his Instagram account reveals a man who partied with Shaggy and Didier Drogba, dined out with Kumar Sangakkara, played golf, relaxed by the pool with cocktails, and wore a T-shirt emblazoned with the words “Cash is king.” He even had time to fit in a little cricket in the Pakistan Super League in the UAE. This is the life of the self-proclaimed Universe Boss, and the idealised existence of the freelance T20 cricketer.But there is a dark side too.

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The world over, concern is increasing about the gig economy, in which ever more workers are self-employed, and left economically insecure and vulnerable to exploitation and loneliness. The itinerant T20 cricketer is not immune to these forces.For all the razzmatazz, traipsing between T20 tournaments can be a lonely existence. “It is much harder than people think because you are on your own to get yourself right,” says Samuel Badree, a long-time West Indies team-mate of Gayle’s who plays for St Kitts & Nevis Patriots in the Caribbean Premier League, and in other leagues throughout the world. “Plus you have to balance other things like family and work commitments.” The unpredictability of freelance T20 life means that Badree balances his cricket career with being a PE teacher. Many other freelancers look to fill the monotony of training by themselves with coaching or media work of the sort that those with national central contracts have no need for.”Freelance cricketers have to do a lot more thinking, caring and planning for themselves. In this regard cricket becomes less of a team sport for them,” reflects Tony Irish, the executive chairman of the Federation of International Cricketers’ Associations.A freelance T20 cricketer’s existence is now more akin to that of a golf or tennis player than of an athlete in a team sport.”The biggest challenge is to maintain optimal levels of fitness and performance, given that you are not directly involved with any team when no tournaments are on,” says Badree. “When players are no longer actively involved in international cricket their performance drops because they are not playing cricket as regularly as they used to. In between tournaments you are pretty much on your own.”Franchises have little incentive to manage their freelancers’ injury issues•BCCIFreelance players tend to be able to share training facilities at their local first-class teams, but they do not have permanent access to coaches, unlike those with full-time contracts. Though private coaches are slowly becoming more common, they can take a significant chunk out of freelancers’ salaries, and can be unaffordable for players outside of the top rung. Many franchise teams are also suspicious of freelance coaches, forcing players to instead work with coaches they might not know during a competition.”Sadly, when the private coach loses access, they get replaced with a coach that has an idea of how your player should play rather than understanding their nuances. Rarely is there any open two-way communication between coaches,” says Trent Woodhill, a leading T20 batting coach. “The problem with cricket is that there’s no other sport to compare it to, so it’s easy to dismiss the importance of private coaches.”More so than for players with full-time contracts then, freelancers must work out how to manage themselves. “You’ve got to strategise about how and when you want to peak. It takes a little while to understand your own game and how much time you need to be ready,” reflects Owais Shah, who has played in seven national T20 leagues. “You’ve got to take responsibility for your own training and know what you’ve got to do to turn up ready and firing for a tournament – or if you need to get there early, you get there early.” He used to arrive two weeks before the start of the Big Bash to acclimatise to Australian conditions.Such foresight is not always possible. Players often only arrive in a country a couple of days before a T20 tournament, or even midway through one, after completing other commitments, leaving scant time to become acquainted with new team-mates, coaches or team strategies, let alone new places, cultures or languages. “There is not much time for training and preparation,” says Badree.Kevin Pietersen described his recent months playing in the Australia, Pakistan and South African domestic T20 leagues as “an incredibly bad winter of travel”. Even five-star hotels can get a man down.Pressure is a constant in modern sport, but it can be particularly acute for freelance T20 players. While leading national players normally have the relative security of central contracts, T20 cricketers risk losing contracts because of a bad tournament, and, because of restrictions on overseas players, sometimes only get a game or two to prove their worth. Insecurity is increasing as domestic T20 leagues become more professional and ruthless, and memories of feats in years gone past count for less. Rather than a part of a wider team, players can instead become almost dehumanised, just another cell in an analyst’s spreadsheet.The jet-set life can lose its appeal after a while•AFP”If you’re not playing international cricket alongside being a freelance T20 cricketer then you have to perform in every tournament. The pressure is on you, because if you don’t perform then they’ll look elsewhere the following year,” says Shah. “If you’re playing international cricket and doing the T20 stuff, at least if you have a bad tournament but are on TV performing for your country, the franchises will say, ‘Okay, he had a poor tournament for us but he’s really performing now, so let’s sign him again.'”Shah says that freelance T20 life “would be a tough gig for someone like Tymal Mills if he wasn’t playing international cricket because if he had one or two bad tournaments, people could just write him off”. Besides Mills, forced down the route of T20 specialisation because of injury, most players who have specialised in the format so far have significant international pedigree.An uncapped T20 specialist would have little job security on the circuit of domestic leagues, especially with so much volatility in the winner-takes-all world of player auctions. Players who suddenly lose form can easily slip into a self-perpetuating rut, a small run of bad form costing them a contract in another league, and leaving them less attractive to subsequent tournaments.Franchises have no incentive to manage freelance players in a way that a national team does. “The longer-term view and attention to a player’s fitness, rehab and future that most international teams take with their players is less likely to be there,” Irish says. Team physios are governed by the need to do what is best for their side, not for the player. “Each league team is paying a freelancer only for his time and commitment for a few weeks in the year, so understandably the team wants its pound of flesh from the player.”As contracts are often pro rata, injuries can be hugely expensive for players, who are often compelled to play when not fully fit, to the detriment of their long-term health. The financial risk of missing matches is leading a small number of players to take out insurance through FICA, though this in turn reduces their take-home pay.Depending on which tournaments they get picked for, players could face several months without any cricket at all, making it easy to lose fitness and form, and then several months of relentless cricket. That will remain true without windows for domestic T20 leagues – an idea supported by FICA but which has been rejected by the ICC board.Owais Shah: “If you’re not playing international cricket alongside being a freelance T20 cricketer then you have to perform in every tournament. The pressure is on you, because if you don’t perform then they’ll look elsewhere the following year”•BCCIIn the future, as T20 sides become more attentive to current form rather than past reputation, it might become harder for all but very elite freelance players to be selective about which tournaments they enter – meaning that specialist T20 players will spend even more time on the road. However appealing the notion of cherry-picking a few tournaments a year to play in, many players struggle to maintain their standards with such a sparse schedule.”I found I played much more consistently in T20 when I had been playing more – in county cricket or first-class cricket in Australia,” reflects Simon Katich, now assistant coach for Kolkata Knight Riders. “There is a balance to making sure you are getting enough cricket before the tournaments as well, so you don’t feel like you are going in underdone. As an older player I found it better to keep ticking over rather than having big breaks as my body found it harder to get back into things the longer I had off.”Freelancers might also be particularly vulnerable to the twin scourges of corruption and doping “because of a lack of consistent education around the world on anti-corruption and anti-doping in the leagues,” Irish says. The ICC believes that the threat of corruption has been displaced, with corruptors increasingly targeting domestic T20 leagues, where the players are relatively low-paid and their futures are insecure, which makes them especially susceptible. Resources of national anti-corruption units also vary considerably between different countries.Because T20 rewards power more than any other format of the sport, cricket has also never been more vulnerable to performance-enhancing drugs. Just as was true for baseball 15 years ago, doping to aid power-hitting feels very much like a sin of its time. Freelance T20 players, who have both the most job insecurity and the most to gain from bulking up, might be most vulnerable to this temptation.The trend towards free agency is likely to continue. Irish believes that it can only be stymied by rationalising the international schedule and addressing the wage gaps between what players beyond Australia, England and India can earn in domestic T20 leagues and playing for their countries. If freelance T20 players do become more common, the elite will enjoy an enviable existence in domestic leagues – even if it is not quite what Gayle’s Instagram feed suggests. But for those just beneath these gilded few, life will be altogether more challenging and cutthroat.

Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood weren’t at their best, Australia’s fielders missed three chances, but Mitchell Starc’s five-for had the visitors batting well before stumps on the first day in Galle

Daniel Brettig in Galle04-Aug-2016Australia’s day one effort in Galle was not so good as their opening day in Pallekele, if better than the second innings. Mitchell Starc delivered his best stuff of the series so far, Nathan Lyon disappointed and Josh Hazlewood ended the innings looking a little on the sore side. Dropped catches were an unwelcome sight, but Jon Holland can be expected to be better in the second innings after easing his debut nerves with a wicket. All the while, however, the bowlers were aware it is the batsmen who have more to prove in these conditions.Mitchell StarcAn excellent display to top and tail Sri Lanka’s innings, with a tight spell in between to account for Kusal Mendis. Starc has not been able to generate much of his trademark new- ball swing so far in this series, but in the case of Dimuth Karunaratne that was almost a blessing for Australia. Having twice got him lbw at Pallekele with balls angling into the stumps, this time Starc drifted the first ball of the match into Karunaratne’s pads and was the most delighted man in Galle when the opener flicked it obligingly to Joe Burns at forward square leg. A classical left-armer’s dismissal followed when the angled ball accounted for Kaushal Silva, before Starc worked his way into tackling Mendis’ considerable skill. Operating in tandem with Hazlewood, Starc was able to gain just enough reverse swing to find an edge, denying Mendis a second hundred in as many innings. Starc returned to the attack to clean up the tail and showed evidence his rhythm has improved since the second innings at Pallekele, finding a pair of yorkers to have Australia batting well before stumps.Josh HazlewoodA better day than his figures of 1 for 51 would suggest. After a tidy opening spell, Halewood’s return in the 22nd over signalled a period of sharp reverse swing and the opportunity for the Australians to attack. So sharp was the bend on Halewood’s inswinger that an lbw decision against Mends had to be overturned because the ball was projected to be skimming past leg stump, but he persisted to squeeze out Denesh Chandimal and so deny Sri Lanka a follow-up to their young No. 4’s latest exploit. Hazlewood did go for a few more boundaries than he would have preferred, but this was mainly the result of attacking the stumps in search of wickets rather than anything overly loose. He ended the day looking somewhat preppy, and did not return to partner Starc against the tail.Nathan LyonReturning to the scene of his first Test in 2011, Lyon was unable to repeat his first ball dismissal of Kumar Sangakkara that day, but did offer a fair impression of the delivery with another sharp offbreak to account for Kusal Perera. Later on he spun another fine delivery through Dilruwan Perera for a considered lbw verdict from the umpire Richard Kettleborough, but in between was unable to pose the sort of consistent threat the pitch suggested he might have. Sri Lanka’s batsmen have played Lyon well, calculating their attacks on him in between tight defensive strokes and plenty of sweep shots. Mendis and Angelo Mathews both heaved Lyon over the boundary for sixes, while Sri Laka’s captain also essayed a most impudent reverse sweep to a more than respectable delivery. Darren Lehmann said in the lead-up to this Test that the tourists wanted to see better from Lyon: an economy rate of 4.33 was more generous than the coach would have desired.Mitchell Marsh contributed with the wicket of Angelo Mathews•Associated PressMitchell MarshAnother useful supporting stint, albeit with a few boundary balls early on. There was some talk of Marsh being replaced by his brother for this match, but his lively fast medium will always offer a useful counterpoint and here he was able to contribute with the wicket of Mathews, dabbling at a ball better left alone. His best balls actually followed that wicket, with a one-two punch to Dilruwan Perera that beat the bat then won an lbw verdict from Chris Gaffaney, although the decision was then reversed on review. Marsh was also unlucky to watch Steve Smith drop a chance at slip, something seldom seen from an otherwise excellent fielder.Jon HollandThe prominent cross-breeze in Galle offered lavish drift at times for Holland on debut, and the wicket provided occasionally expansive turn. But it was always going to be a lot to expect Holland, not long off the plane from Australia, to adapt in the manner that Steve O’Keefe had done with he benefit of more than three weeks in India and then Sri Lanka to prepare for the Pallekele Test. That being said, Holland was not disgraced, posing numerous problems amid Sri Lankan attempts to attack him, and denied a first wicket when his offsider Lyon misjudged the flight of a ball sailing high in the direction of midwicket. Holland eventually had his reward when Dhananjaya de Silva missed a full toss, and Australia can expect better from him in the second innings.Fielding and catchingIf Lyon’s misjudgment of Kusal Perera’s loft into the outfield is included, the Australians missed three clear chances for the day, a figure that will not please Smith. He will be even less happy to have been one of the culprits. Nor will Peter Nevill be pleased to have missed a low chance soon afterwards. In themselves, these errors were not overly costly against a Sri Lankan batting line-up that offered more opportunities at regular intervals, but the coach Lehmann will be aware that stronger batting line-ups will be encounters later in the season, not least in India next year. For now the batsmen must do their job, but improvement in the field must also be a team priority.

Stats highlights from Australia’s seven-wicket win in Adelaide

S Rajesh27-Nov-20162 Instances, in Test history, of two debutants staying unbeaten in the fourth innings of a Test win. The only previous such occurrence was in 1880, in the fourth Test ever, when England beat Australia by five wickets at The Oval.9 Instances of Australia successfully chasing down targets between 100 and 150 out of ten, in Tests since 2000. The only time they failed was on treacherous Wankhede pitch in Mumbai in 2004, when they were bowled out for 93 chasing 107 for victory. In ten previous instances before 2000, Australia had lost four out of ten such chases.

5 Wins for Australia in their last six Tests in Adelaide – they have beaten India (twice), England, New Zealand and South Africa, and drawn against South Africa in November 2012.23.08 Mitchell Starc’s bowling average in Tests since the start of 2015. Among fast bowlers with 50-plus wickets during this period, only James Anderson has a better average. In 17 Tests since the start of 2015, Starc has taken 84 wickets; in 14 Tests before 2015, he had 45 wickets at 36.22.24.04 Matt Renshaw’s strike rate in his debut Test – he scored 44 runs off 183 balls over the two innings. Among Australians who have faced 150-plus balls in their debut Test, only four players have had a lower scoring rate; the last such batsman with a slower rate was John Dyson, when he scored 57 off 239 balls (strike rate 23.84) in his debut Test against India in Perth in 1977.6 South African openers who have scored a Test hundred in Australia – Billy Zulch, Eddie Barlow, Gary Kirsten, Graeme Smith, Dean Elgar and Stephen Cook. Cook’s was the 11th century here by these openers, but eight of those have been scores of less than 130.4 Instances of Cook scoring more than 25 in his ten Test innings. He has converted two of those into hundreds.1 Number of times David Warner had been run out in 100 Test innings before the start of this series; in this series he has been dismissed in this manner twice – in the second innings in Perth and in Adelaide. His only previous run out in Tests was against Sri Lanka in Hobart in 2012.

Gautam Gambhir talks about how the IPL has changed over the years, how KKR’s key players have performed this season, and what keeps him motivated

Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi10-May-2017Another good IPL for you personally as well as for the team?
Yes, you can say that. But personal things do not matter. We still have to qualify for the playoffs. Yes, it is always good to contribute, but the most important thing is where we finish on the points table. That is more important to me than how many runs I score.It was not an easy beginning. It is tough when you lose a player like Andre Russell. It is very difficult to replace someone with his abilities, especially with the kind of the firepower he used to provide at No. 7 – bowling at 140-plus was always an advantage – and he is an unbelievable fielder. Still, we should be pretty happy with where we are at the moment. Having said that, in two recent matches we got outplayed by two individual performances. It was not teams, but David Warner and then Rahul Tripathi who outplayed us in successive matches.Your strike rate so far this season is your highest in any season since 2012. Has there been a conscious effort to push it up?
Strike rates depend on the surfaces you play on. The surface we used to play on at home was different to now. In the previous seasons, we played seven matches on a surface that was slow and low. Playing on a low surface is always difficult for anyone to play their strokes. You need to be more of a grafter. But now since the surface has changed and the ball comes on much quicker, you can play through line.It also depends on your mindset: what you are looking to do, how you are looking to approach each season. I have always thought that it is important for me to be positive because, as I said, since we do not have someone like Russell to finish off matches, I have to be really proactive up front in the first six overs. So, yes, there was a conscious effort on my part.What kind of role did you assign yourself: play the anchor or the aggressor?
You ought to start by feeling positive, especially in those first six overs, when you can cash in a lot. And after that, depending on how your partner is batting and what kind of form he is in and what total you are chasing or planning to set as a target, you decide who bats through and who plays the aggressor. At one stage Robin [Uthappa] fortunately had been hitting the ball really well and taking a lot of pressure off me. So I could be the aggressor in the first six and then maybe try and bat till the 15th over to try and set a platform for the lower middle order to take over. So your partner helps you decide what kind of role you want to perform.

“In previous seasons, we played seven matches on a surface that was slow and low. But now since our home surface has changed and the ball comes on much quicker, you can play through line”

Do you know you are also the second-most* successful IPL captain in terms of win percentage, only behind Rohit Sharma (among those who have captained in at least 60 matches)?
Doesn’t matter. It is all about how many titles we win. [But] it is good, because I have always believed that it’s the team that helps me be successful. Yes, you can try and give them the best environment, you can try and give them a lot of security as well, by not chopping and changing too much. But it does make me happy, because I am not too much of a stats man.So no one told you about that stat?
Honestly, no. I don’t even know what my strike rate is this IPL. You are the first one to point that out.When you sit at the auction table, don’t the stats matter?
For me they don’t. I genuinely do not even see the stats. It is just about the ability of the individual, what he brings to the table is all that matters. Three years back, Russell’s stats were absolutely shocking. But we always thought he could be one of the most dangerous T20 players or could be the best allrounder in the world. At that stage, had I seen his stats, he could have gone unsold. I can’t expect Russell, who is batting at No. 8, to have an average of 30-35 in T20s. I would rather have him get a ten-ball 30-odd, and give me four overs with the ball.Perhaps that might explain your open-mindedness as captain, and willingness to experiment with strategy. For example, opening with Sunil Narine and Chris Lynn.
When we decided to play Chris Lynn this year, we thought we needed to get the best out of him, and the best way was to make him open. Yes, there was this thought that why do we fix something which is not broken. Me and Robin have done really well as an opening pair, but I always thought it is not about the individual. It is about where you can get the best out of an individual.Lynn had to bat in the top order so Robin had to go down. What Lynny did in the first two games was unbelievable. We don’t have that much firepower with Russell not being there, so we wanted to go really hard up front.It was unfortunate that Lynny got injured. We wanted to continue the same momentum. Obviously it was difficult to go as hard as Lynny was going. Sunil batting at No. 8 or 9 wasn’t giving us anything, especially as he was not able to face many deliveries. So if we could promote him and he could give us whatever little bit of momentum in the first six overs, that could help Robin as well – coming at No. 3, he could take his time. It helps me take my time as well, rather than both of us going hard straightaway. I could settle down in the first two or three overs while Sunil plays the aggressor.”People keep asking me about Narine’s mystery, but I have always felt that mystery is something which will only stay for a couple of seasons. You’ve got to have that quality to be consistent”•BCCIDid you tell Robin?
Obviously. There is nothing wrong. I’ve batted at No. 3 or 4 for the team. It is not about where individuals want to bat. It is about where the team wants you to bat. Individuals should not be having any choices. You are playing a team sport, so the team comes first. We thought that we could get the best out of Sunil by opening the batting with him. There are times when it backfired, when he did not get that many runs, but overall I am pretty happy with what he has delivered.With such a strategy, isn’t there a danger of becoming predictable, as oppositions know what Narine is there to do?
That’s fine as well. Bowlers will always be under pressure, because Sunil has nothing to lose. When the bowler is under pressure, he will end up bowling defensively rather than looking to take wickets. It can be an advantage for us. And the thing is, if you lose Sunil early, you don’t lose too much. If you lose someone like me or Robin, then it is a big loss. If Sunil can give us 20 or 30 quick runs and we end up losing him, we haven’t lost too much.You bought three fast bowlers at the auction, possibly because of the re-laid Eden Gardens pitch, which supports bounce and seam movement. Your top three wicket-takers this season so far are fast bowlers. So has your strategy proved to be correct?
We realised last year that our fast-bowling attack was becoming too one-dimensional. There was Morne [Morkel and Jason Holder. Umesh [Yadav] got injured. So there was not enough pace in our attack. Sometimes having pace is an advantage because someone bowling 145-150kph can be a wicket-taking option. We thought we needed variety as well. So Nathan Coulter-Nile and Trent Boult could provide that variety. The surface was a factor. Spin used to be more dominant in the previous seasons; now it has more carry. Yes, you prepare your team according to the home conditions, so it was a strategic decision.How much of a difference has Coulter-Nile made?
He is a pretty quiet guy. Take his very first match, which he was playing after a year, coming out of a stress fracture. It was at four o’clock and Delhi was absolutely boiling. To win the Man-of-the-Match award shows his character and mental toughness. The way he bowled at Eden when we got RCB out for 49 – it was the game-changing spell for me. He got Virat [Kohli] and AB [de Villiers]. Bowling at 148-149kph was unbelievable. When you see someone bowling at pace, it gives the confidence that we can rattle opposition. Really happy that we have someone like him. He is one of the best white-ball bowlers I have seen. He is someone who can swing it up front and bowls yorkers consistently at the death.

“I genuinely do not even see the stats when picking a squad. Three years back, Russell’s stats were absolutely shocking. But we always thought he could be one of the most dangerous T20 players”

Chris Woakes has been Knight Riders’ leading wicket-taker so far this season. How do you assess his performance in his first IPL season?
Colin de Grandhomme is our batting allrounder. Chris Woakes is more of a bowling allrounder. If you want to replace someone like Russell, you need two people to actually replace him. Woakesy, it is a little unfair on him because he has batted at No. 8, where he has not got too many balls to face. He is a good batsman who needs to take his time. He comes in when there are hardly two or three overs left.But he has bowled really well. It is always tough to bowl first-change, especially in the Powerplay, when you are bowling the fourth or fifth over, when batsmen are willing to take you on. Opening the bowling is still a little easier than bowling first-change in the Powerplay. And it is his first IPL as well. The way he has handled the pressure, bowling those tough overs initially and then at death, he has been very good.In the past, Narine was the go-to bowler. But this season he has endured possibly his worst IPL, in terms of average and strike rate. Yet you have persisted with him.
You need to keep in mind the conditions at all venues. Earlier there were two places where it used to spin: Chennai and Kolkata. This year, apart from Imran Tahir, who is a wristspinner, not a lot of spinners have got too many wickets.Stephen Fleming, coach of Tahir’s team (Rising Pune Supergiant), said that teams had failed to read the conditions well in the initial phase of this IPL. Do you agree?
Look at the surfaces as well. The conditions at Chennai and Eden, especially in the second innings, it used to turn. But this year, on most surfaces the ball has not spun at all. But even if Narine has not got too many wickets, some of the spells he has bowled have been game-changers for us. Bowling four overs for 16 or 20. The oppositions, I feel, have decided not to give him a wicket. They want to just play out his overs and then attack from the other end. So you have to give it to him, the kind of consistency he has shown over the years, which has been unbelievable.He has planted doubt in batsmen’s minds over the years.
Exactly. That is what he has done. People keep asking me about his mystery and stuff, but I have always felt that mystery is something which will only stay for a couple of seasons. You’ve got to have that quality to be consistent and to be able to carry on for so many seasons. That is what he has shown – he is a quality bowler.”I don’t know how to play a switch hit. I have never attempted it even in the nets. I have never reverse-swept either. My game is too conventional”•AFPDespite the consistency the Knight Riders have displayed, there have been instances, as you pointed out, when individuals like Warner or Tripathi have trumped your plans. How do you guard against that in the rest of the tournament?
This is the only format in which an individual can take the game away from you. That is expected. But you’ve got to be careful. Things can get out of your hand and at the same time you can wrest control back very quickly in T20. You can get the momentum back with two or three good overs.I still remember against RCB we were 70-odd for 1 after six overs. And we were all out for 131. When I got out after six overs I was expecting us to get 180-190 easily. We were bowled out in the 20th over. So things can change very quickly. What happens is, batsmen are always looking to score runs, they are always looking to be aggressive, so there is always an opportunity for a bowler to strike.People say that T20 is a batsman’s format, but I am a very strong believer that it is a bowler’s format as well. A bowler knows he has 24 deliveries and that there is an opportunity every ball to strike. Twenty-four deliveries, 24 opportunities. Because if you ask me as a batsman, my mindset is: I’m always looking to score runs, I’m always looking to strike hard, I’m always giving an opportunity to the bowler to get me out. It is not like I am looking to be subdued and rotate strike. Very few times does that happen.Is there a big change you have seen in ten years of IPL?
One big change, in fact, has been in the field placements. People have become far more innovative. In 2008 it was very conventional. We never had fields like three points and a deep cover and a long-off. There always used to be a short third man, a backward point and a cover – a more conventional field. There was a time when teams placed four fielders on the off side and the rest on the leg side.There is a range of different strokes as well. I don’t remember in the first two or three years batsmen playing so many switch hits. Okay, people used to whack the ball out of the ground, but that was done the conventional way, not the unorthodox way. Look now: people lapping, reverse-lapping, scooping, switch-hitting. With different strokes, there have been different innovations and different field placements, which has made it very exciting. But it has also made it tough for the batsmen.I feel getting runs in the first three years of the IPL was far easier than it is now. The reason is, bowlers have become smarter, have different game plans and have different field placements. They come round the wicket, bowl wide yorkers, have different variations, bowl different slower balls, the knuckleball.

“People say that T20 is a batsman’s format, but I am a very strong believer that it is a bowler’s format as well. As a batsman, I’m always looking to score runs, I’m always giving an opportunity to the bowler to get me out”

Batsmen have also started treating the first four or five overs as if they are playing at the death.
Exactly. When I joined KKR the first year [2011], our game plan was to get 40-45 in the first six overs, try and get to 100 by 15 overs with wickets in hand and then go hard in the final five. I still remember when Jacques [Kallis] was there as opener. We used to say, in our conditions, let us score at seven an over till the 15th over and then try and get 50 in the final five overs and get to 160, which we always thought, with our bowling attack in home conditions, would be a good score. Now, sometimes 200 is not a good score. People have become far more fearless, far more innovative. This is what IPL has done.All this means more headaches for a captain. What do you when Warner switch-hits Narine repeatedly?
Yes, he kept switch-hitting. Bowlers do not expect batsmen to switch-hit consistently. The only thing you can do is try and set a different field. If I want to bowl a good delivery I would looking at the conventional shot, not the unorthodox shot. And when someone like Warner is playing an unorthodox shot, you try and work with your field placements. Sometimes you just have to stand and applaud a batsman.You don’t play the switch hit. Why not?
I don’t know how to play a switch hit. I have never attempted it even in the nets. I have never reverse-swept either. My game is too conventional. That is how I was brought up. I don’t even sweep that much.Growing up, I was told by my coaches that the sweep is the last option you have against spin. If you can try and use your feet, if you can use the depth of your crease, you don’t need to sweep. But now I have realised it is always good to have another shot in your armoury. If I have to, I might do it in T20 when you have to slog-sweep and lap, but these strokes do not come to me naturally. I would never try and do it in 50-over cricket, unless it is a compulsion. I would hate doing it in first-class cricket.At 35, your drive is as strong as it was when you played for India for the first time. What keeps that passion strong?
I love winning. Winning for me is everything. Winning makes me happy, makes me satisfied, makes me be at peace. I just want to win, irrespective of what platform I play. Nothing else keeps me hungry. Nothing else makes me work hard.*After the loss to Kings XI on May 9, Gambhir is now the third-most successful IPL captain, below Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. This interview was conducted before that game.