ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2016John Hastings spoiled the party though, having Dilshan caught at slip for 1 in the second over•AFPTake a bow: With 497 matches and 17671 international runs, Dilshan retired as one of Sri Lanka’s greats•Associated PressAustralia dominated Sri Lanka and it seemed they may not even make it to 100•Associated PressDhananjaya de Silva struck his maiden T20I fifty, but his efforts were undone with wickets falling at the other end•AFPAdam Zampa picked up 3 for 16 in his four overs as Sri Lanka ended up at 128 for 9•Associated PressGlenn Maxwell walloped Australia’s fastest T20I fifty – off 18 balls – to kickstart the chase•Associated PressDespite the platform he laid for Australia, their middle order succumbed to turning ball again. The score slipped from 93 for 0 to 99 for 4•Associated PressDilshan would finish his international career with a wicket off his final ball….•AFP…but Travis Head sealed Australia’s chase with a swiped six, which meant the visitors swept the series 2-0•Associated Press

Manchester United are now eyeing a surprise move for a “sensational” former Manchester City player, who is seen as an ideal target, according to a report.

Ruben Amorim planning major overhaul

Given his side’s extremely disappointing season, Ruben Amorim is planning a major overhaul of his squad this summer, with the manager searching for a deep-lying midfielder, centre-back, wing-back and striker.

Liam Delap has been identified as a major target to strengthen the attack, while Barcelona’s Alejandro Balde could be brought in to bolster Amorim’s options at wing-back, despite the arrival of Patrick Dorgu in January.

A new centre-back has been deemed a necessity due to the recent injury setback Lisandro Martinez has suffered, having been ruled out for the rest of the season with an ACL injury suffered in the recent 2-0 Premier League defeat against Crystal Palace.

Man Utd preparing £33m bid to sign "gem" who is seen as a Luke Shaw upgrade

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There are also indications Amorim could look at bringing in a versatile full-back in the summer, with reports from Spain revealing the United boss is keen on signing Al-Hilal’s Joao Cancelo, who is viewed as the ideal option to strengthen the right-back area.

The former Man City man has impressed since moving to the Saudi Pro League, meaning a move back to a top European club could now be on the cards, with the likes of AC Milan and Aston Villa also being named as potential suitors.

That said, the £247k-per-week full-back is contracted until the summer of 2027, so Al-Hilal will be in a strong negotiating position.

Cancelo was "sensational" for United's rivals

Should the 30-year-old be willing to move to the rivals of his former club, he could be an excellent addition to Amorim’s squad, considering the level of his performances during his previous stint in the Premier League.

Ex-teammate Phil Foden lauded the Portuguese defender during his time at the Etihad Stadium, saying: “Joao is one of the best if not the best attacking full backs in world football right now, he is always adding goals and assists.

“If one of the attackers is having an off day we need someone coming up with the goals and assists and he is always there in the big moments in the big games. We know he has got that quality in front of goal and he is sensational.”

The full-back has continued to display his attacking prowess, as well as his defensive ability, since signing for Al-Hilal, ranking highly across a number of key metrics over the past year.

Statistic

Average per 90

Successful take-ons

2.23 (99th percentile)

Progressive carries

3.04 (87th percentile)

Interceptions

1.69 (94th percentile)

Tackles

2.5 (79th percentile)

Cancelo’s ability going forward suggests he would be a fantastic signing for United, given that Amorim plays a system utilising wing-backs, but his affiliation to their rivals could prove to be a stumbling block.

Led by seniors like Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, Bangladesh are not shying away from responding to on-field sledging with some aggression of their own

Mohammad Isam06-Sep-2017One area in which Bangladesh’s growing confidence at home has manifest itself is in their on-field aggression, and in particular, their sledging. In the first Test against Australia in Mirpur, a few players regularly fired back at the opposition, who had usually done the talking in the contest. Things have been calmer in Chittagong so far, but the series has once again highlighted Bangladesh’s transformed body language on the field.Tamim Iqbal got a demerit point from the ICC for debating with umpires while Australia’s batsmen changed their gloves regularly, and later for his send-off of Matthew Wade in Mirpur. After the 20-run win, Shakib Al Hasan said Bangladesh were giving it back because they are more confident on the field now. Australia, said the captain Mushfiqur Rahim, had seen a new, aggressive side to Bangladesh.Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh’s ODI captain, is not surprised. The new attitude, he says, is to look an opponent in the eye, while being mindful to not overstep a line.”As a captain, I don’t encourage [them] to do anything that gets them into trouble, especially after the introduction of demerit points,” Mashrafe said. “We might end up losing a player ahead of an important match, which isn’t ideal. But I would always tell them to look into the opposition’s eye when they are looking at you.”Before 2015, we didn’t have a significant win under our belt. But in the last two years, I think we have played fearless cricket but that doesn’t mean we will abuse anyone.”Mashrafe feels the team’s outlook changed following the 2015 World Cup, with the ODI series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa at home.In April 2015, after thumping Pakistan 3-0 in the home ODIs, Shakib got into a finger-wagging joust with Wahab Riaz in the first Test in Khulna. Lip-readers were taken aback by Shakib’s verbal attack.In the ODIs against India in June that year, there was noticeable chatter from some of the Bangladesh players when India’s wickets fell. Ravindra Jadeja was a target, having apparently given similar treatment to Bangladesh’s players previously.”I think it really started around 2015, after the World Cup,” Mashrafe said. “We were prepared to go toe to toe in every match. But one thing that we don’t do is start the conversation in the field. We celebrate a wicket usually and only reply to what they have to say.”Look, we don’t think that we can win a game through sledging. Most of our opposition have been doing it for years. What I believe is that when you are out there, you have to look them in the eye.”Mahmudullah is a good example of the transformation, of players becoming confronters. It is a change that has also come about as individual players have cemented their place in the team through performances.In 2009, Mahmudullah was barely audible when he told off Brendan Taylor in an ODI. In 2012, he reacted tamely when Aizaz Cheema blocked his attempt for a second run in the last over of the Asia Cup final.Last year, however, in the second ODI against England, Mahmudullah stood in front of a team huddle and gave Jos Buttler a proper send-off. A normally quiet Buttler fired back and argued with the Bangladesh players, before Mashrafe intervened.”I think the England incident went on to for too long and I had to step in,” Mashrafe said. “But it wasn’t all one-sided. Both sides had their say that day but it should have stopped earlier.”There was a lot of needle in that England game, and it ended with a confrontation between Jonny Bairstow and Tamim when the teams were shaking hands after the match. Ben Stokes was shown on TV to be apparently pushing Tamim, and an argument ensued.Tamim has always been in the thick of things, right from the time Daniel Vettori got under his skin in 2007. He spoke out against Zaheer Khan when the two collided during an ODI in Mirpur in 2010 and, at times when many Bangladesh players hardly responded to on-field comments, Tamim made it a point to respond to criticism, even when it came from a legendary player like Geoffrey Boycott.Shakib got in on the act. In the 2010 ODI series against New Zealand, he was told off by Nathan McCullum, who complained about the Bangladesh bowlers taking time to finish overs. Shakib, who was the stand-in captain at the time, dismissed McCullum and gave him a send-off.These signs of Bangladesh cricketers standing up for themselves were, however, limited. Instead Virat Kohli telling Rubel Hossain to “f*** off” became a symbol for Bangladesh’s timidity on the field. When Rubel got his own back at Kohli in the 2015 World Cup, it had more to do with the confidence of his match-winning performance against England a week before and less to do with aggression.Mahmudullah in a spat with Jos Buttler during an ODI in Bangladesh last year. The match ended with another argument between Tamim and Ben Stokes•Getty ImagesThese days, even a youngster like Sabbir Rahman has made his presence felt in the middle, getting into arguments with David Warner during this series and Suranga Lakmal in Sri Lanka earlier this year. If he goes on to score bigger runs, he could end up as another vocal presence for Bangladesh in the middle.Before the 2015 World Cup, Bangladesh’s players could say little given the regularity of their losses. Mashrafe recalls an incident at the team hotel during the 2008 Asia Cup. “Once during an Asia Cup in Pakistan, we were subjected to a lot of talk off the field. There was once an incident in the swimming pool at the team hotel. I won’t mention the team but we were waiting for them to leave the pool as it was our time. They made us wait and when getting off, one of them told me, ‘What are you doing in the swimming pool? You concentrate on playing cricket. What will you learn in the pool?'”In previous years, we were told a lot of things on the field but when this happened, we were taken aback. Now we are realising that it was not normal.”Shahriar Nafees, who played 24 Tests and 75 ODIs, recounts his experience in the second Test of Australia’s previous tour to Bangladesh, in 2006. In the first Test in Fatullah, Nafees had scored 138 and did not encounter a lot of sledging but that changed in Chittagong.”During my 138 [in Fatullah], they were in shock so they didn’t say anything. But when I was unable to score for the first 21 balls in the second Test in Chittagong, I heard a lot of things from Matthew Hayden,” Nafees said. “Even when they were chasing in the fourth innings in Fatullah, some of their batsmen were sledging our bowlers. I think they were trying to get themselves out of pressure. And that’s how it was for many teams when we were on top. They’d sledge us.”Nafees says he had heard stories of how Bangladesh were subjected to much more on the field during their early years as a Test side, particularly when they threatened to get on top of the opposition.”I played in one game in which the Sri Lankans questioned our batting and bowling skills,” Nafees said. “From players who played between 2001 and 2004, I heard that a lot of them heard the opposition questioning Bangladesh’s status as a Test-playing nation. I think anyone who has been in an elite club for a long time would take a bit of time to accept a newcomer, and that’s how it was back then.”During a ten-year career for Bangladesh, in which they sporadically played ODIs, Athar Ali Khan says he experienced very little sledging. Now a TV commentator, Athar is happy the current crop is standing up for itself.”The first time I experienced such a thing was when an England A bowler spoke to me. I was initially a bit surprised so I waited till the end of the over before replying to him,” Athar said. “I think afterwards someone said something to me when I was walking in to bat against Pakistan. But I didn’t pay much attention to him. I was taking guard.”Now it is obviously different. I think our team is standing their ground and saying that you can’t push us around anymore. I think they have managed to get out of the culture of backing off. I think that’s how it should be.”

Tottenham Hotspur supporters have been handed a potentially encouraging bit of transfer news from a reliable media source, with Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou in urgent need of an outfield signing given the plethora of injuries which have swept through his squad.

Tottenham are working on two more major signings for Postecoglou

It is a sorry state of affairs at N17, with the Lilywhites languishing closer to relegation than a European qualification place. Postecoglou is under mounting pressure in the Spurs dugout as a result, and the Australian is badly in need of financial backing from the board.

Lange threatening to open "surprise" Tottenham talks for once-£84m striker

Spurs are yet to seal an outfield signing this window.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jan 25, 2025

Solanke’s absence is another huge blow for Tottenham, with the England international expected to miss six weeks of action after twisting his knee in training. Postecoglou is relying on Richarlison to get back up to speed quickly, but it is believed that Spurs are looking to sign a new forward to complement the Brazilian.

Following their £12.5 million deal for goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky right at the start of the window, Fabrizio Romano recently stated that Spurs still hope to get two more acquisitions through the door before deadline day on February 3rd.

“They’re working on it, Tottenham need players,” said Romano to GiveMeSport this week. “After Kinsky, they wanted to bring in (Randal) Kolo Muani, but as we know, he’s going to Juventus, so that was not possible. The idea remains to bring in at least two players from now to the end of the window.”

One target who’s been talked about as an option for the Lilywhites is Southampton winger Tyler Dibling, who stands out as one of the Saints’ star players despite being just 18-years-old.

The homegrown ace ticks many boxes for Postecoglou and the club in general, with Spurs potentially looking to snatch his signature in the coming days.

Tottenham in "very concrete" talks with Tyler Dibling's camp

As per Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Dibling remains high on Postecoglou’s agenda.

The reliable reporter previously claimed that Tottenham are the biggest competitors for Dibling’s signature, and Plettenberg has follows that up with news on their pursuit of the £55 million winger.

The Sky journalist says that Tottenham are in “very concrete” talks with Dibling’s camp, but they are by no means his only suitors, with RB Leipzig still very much in the frame and pretty keen to acquire his services.

The homegrown 18-year-old ticks many boxes for Spurs as a player with plenty of resale value and sky-high potential, with Dibling praised for his serious “quality” over the course of Southampton’s campaign.

Champions Trophy qualification is also at stake – England wouldn’t want to miss out, while for Netherlands it could be a life-changing event

Andrew Miller07-Nov-2023

Big picture – Total Cricket meets Total Wipeout

That’s right, here’s one in the eye for all those glory-seekers in the upper echelons of the World Cup table, queuing up for their invite to the big dance in Ahmedabad in two weeks’ time. There’s a punier title up for grabs in Pune on Wednesday – so puny, in fact, that it’s not even an official title, unlike the one that an England amateur team claimed at European Cricket Championships in Malaga last month. And look who they beat by eight wickets in the final… none other than the defending champions, Netherlands! Call off this farce! Cricket’s come home already!In all seriousness, England would be all too happy to walk away from this miserable campaign right now. Saturday’s 33-run loss to Australia finally confirmed the end of their increasingly tenuous hold on the 2019 crown, but they’ve got two further opportunities for humiliation looming – here in Pune, and then against a late-surging Pakistan in Kolkata on Saturday, and they are in quite the psychological bind as they approach them. A brace of victories would be too little, too late for the torched reputation of an ex-world-beating team, but defeat in either could also confirm their elimination from the 2025 Champions Trophy; and that really would be the perfect BOGOF fall from grace.There could be no better time, therefore, for an upbeat, optimistic and hugely tenacious Netherlands team to face down a side against whom they have a proven reputation on the world stage. Both of their victories in this competition to date, against Bangladesh and South Africa, have showcased a never-say-die spirit (especially in their lower-order batting) that their next opponents have been singularly unable to replicate. And, having already eliminated three other Test nations – West Indies, Ireland and Zimbabwe – simply to emerge from a brutal qualifying tournament in July, they unquestionably have the pedigree, and the recent form, to land another haymaker on a supposedly superior nation.Related

• Mott chasing success against Orange to avoid being red-faced

• How Netherlands will plot for their best shot at Champions Trophy

• Moeen Ali: 'England didn't see writing on the wall'

And so, if desire – desperation almost – is an unquantifiable factor in sporting match-ups, you might almost consider Netherlands to be favourites for this contest – which is a preposterous notion when you consider what happened when these two sides met in Amstelveen 18 months ago, at the start of Matthew Mott’s reign as England’s white-ball coach. But the effortless surety of purpose with which England racked up that world-record 498 for 4 has evaporated, to be replaced by something stale and unfamiliar. “Maybe the writing was on the wall, and we just didn’t see it,” was Moeen Ali’s typically honest assessment this week, as he faced up to the notion that an ageing team had simply curdled on the eve of their final reckoning.What, then, will it matter to this set of players if they flunk their final assignment in this coming week? Moeen stressed the importance of Champions Trophy qualification for “potentially, the younger players coming in”, but altruism is an unlikely motivational tool if raw ambition couldn’t rouse them in the first place. And besides, if that challenge does prove to be beyond them, their absence would almost certainly be balanced out by a bonus Test tour of the West Indies – it’s not as if the ECB struggles for reasons to fill any given void.For Netherlands, however, a more existential opportunity has reared its head. Quite apart from the glory of beating England at a(nother) World Cup, Champions Trophy qualification would have the potential to transform their ever-precarious finances, to give them a reason to lock in some long-term sponsors and build through the 2025 event to access the 2027 World Cup beyond. “It adds a massive element to these two games,” Scott Edwards, Netherlands’ captain, told ESPNcricinfo on the eve of the match. And, he added, with England sitting below them in the standings, “it puts us on a little bit of a level-playing field”.

Form guide – England on a losing streak

England LLLLL

Netherlands LWLLW

In the spotlight – Jos Buttler and Roelof van der Merwe

In the wake of the Australia defeat, Jos Buttler acknowledged that his catastrophic loss of form had “really hurt us”, but insisted that he hadn’t stopped “believing” in his ability to influence the big moments of England’s campaign. “You guys will give up on me a lot earlier than I’ll give up on myself,” he told the media after that match. And yet, the evidence of his tournament tells another story. It’s not simply the runs that Buttler hasn’t made, or the lack of speed in his scoring rate (106 from 113 balls all told, at 15.14). It’s the lack of surety in his strokeplay that speaks most loudly. His indecision in the channel outside off has resulted in three caught-behinds and one inside-edge onto his stumps out of seven dismissals, and with all of his focus on that weakness, he hasn’t yet produced a single scoop, paddle or reverse sweep – three of the staples of the 360-degree game. In fact, he hasn’t looked this bereft at the crease since his agonising Ashes tour in 2021-22… and that was the last time he ever put himself forward for Test cricket.No-one epitomises the levels of vein-popping hunger in the Netherlands’ ranks quite like Roelof van der Merwe, one of the most pugnacious competitors ever created. He turns 39 on New Year’s Eve, but still bounds through every contest with an infectious optimism, allied to deep levels of skill and resolve. His stunning catch at point in the T20 World Cup sealed a famous victory over South Africa last year, and he was their heartbeat again as they completed the double in Dharamsala last month. His vital 29 from 19 at No. 9 gave his captain, Edwards, the belief to post a defendable total, before his left-arm spin closed down South Africa’s hopes with 2 for 34. And, as a proven winner with Somerset on the county circuit – including in this year’s T20 Blast – there is nothing about English cricket that holds any fears for him. Particularly at this anxious juncture of his opponents’ evolution.Scott Edwards: Champions Trophy qualification “adds a massive element to these two games”•ICC via Getty Images

Team news – Ben Stokes could sit this one out

Mark Wood will miss out with a left knee niggle, after wearing a brace during his exertions against Australia, which means Gus Atkinson could be in line for a recall after his solitary outing against South Africa last month. Brydon Carse, Reece Topley’s stand-in, is another alternative. Meanwhile, Ben Stokes’ various ailments could cause him to sit this one out, now that World Cup qualification is off the table. Either way, Harry Brook is certainly worth of a recall. Quite apart from being the future of the team across formats, he is the only specialist batter in the squad with a strike-rate above 100.England (probable): 1 Jonny Bairstow, 2 Dawid Malan, 3 Joe Root, 4 Ben Stokes/Harry Brook, 5 Jos Buttler (capt, wk), 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 David Willey, 10 Gus Atkinson/Brydon Carse, 11 Adil RashidMax O’Dowd and Wesley Barresi are likely to get another chance to settle as a new opening pair after the omission of Vikramjit Singh against Afghanistan. Saqib Zulfiqar was the weak link in the bowling attack in that same match, and may make way for fellow legspinner Shariz Ahmad.Netherlands (possible): 1 Max O’Dowd, 2 Wesley Barresi, 3 Colin Ackermann, 4 Sybrand Engelbrecht, 5 Scott Edwards (capt, wk), 6 Bas de Leede, 7 Logan van Beek, 8 Roelof van der Merwe, 9 Shariz Ahmad, 10 Aryan Dutt, 11 Paul van Meekeren

Pitch and conditions

There have been three World Cup matches to date in Pune, none of them especially close, although the evidence of two unfazed run-chases by India and Afghanistan is that middling scores of 250-odd are insufficient when batting first – South Africa fared rather better in the third game, in putting 357 for 4 on the board in their hefty win against New Zealand. England have some recent experience of this venue, having played three ODIs on their 2020-21 tour of India. They lost the series 2-1, but overhauled an imposing 336 with 39 balls to spare in game two, thanks to a Jonny Bairstow hundred and 99 from 52 from Stokes.3:09

Hopkinson: England struggled with executing under pressure

Stats and trivia – unlikely rivalry on the global stage

• England have not lost to Netherlands in six previous ODIs, three of which have come at World Cups, in 1996, 2003 and 2011.
• In all global tournaments, however, the rivalry is significantly more intense. The teams have met twice more, at the T20 World Cups in 2009 and 2014, where Netherlands pulled off shock victories on each occasion.
• Buttler needs another 71 runs to reach 5000 ODI runs, in 151 innings. That, however, would be eight more runs than he has managed in his last six innings of this tournament.
• David Willey, who has confirmed his retirement from international cricket at the end of the World Cup, needs five more wickets in a maximum of two games to reach 100 in ODIs.
• Bas de Leede, with 11 wickets, has struck more times in this tournament than any of England’s bowlers. Adil Rashid has been England’s best on show, with ten wickets at 30.40, but that mark has been matched by two further Netherlands bowlers, Logan van Beek and Paul van Meekeren, and at better averages too.
• England have lost five ODIs in a row, emulating their losing streak from this time last year against Australia and South Africa, as well as previous such streaks in 2011 and 2014. However, they have not lost six in a row since the 2009 home series against Australia, which eventually finished 6-1 after a consolation victory in game seven.

Quotes

“I’m not quite sure why I’m the man to explain. I think that I’m an assistant coach with the England team.”
“England are world champions. In South Africa, where I’m from, there’s a famous saying: ‘Never underestimate a wounded buffalo.”

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Oct-2016PAKISTAN’S DECADE-WISE RESULTS128 Tests won by Pakistan, out of 399. At the same stage in their Test history, four teams had more wins – Australia (176), England (160), West Indies (146), and South Africa (144). India had 87 and New Zealand 80.57 Away Tests won by Pakistan. In terms of win-loss ratio, Pakistan’s 0.678 (57W, 84L) is fourth, after those of Australia (1.203), England (0.877) and South Africa (0.825). (Away Tests excludes those played in neutral venues.) However, their ratio is by far the best among Asian teams.AWAY RECORDS OF TOP THREE ASIAN TEAMS——PAKISTAN CAPTAINS WITH MOST WINS2.33 The win-loss ratio for Javed Miandad, the best among Pakistan captains who have led in 15 or more Tests. The next best is Mushtaq Mohammad, with an 8-4 record in 19 Tests.13 Pakistan captains, out of 14 who led in at least 10 Tests, with at least as many Test wins as losses. The only exception was Intikhab Alam – one win, five losses in 17 Tests.11 Away Test wins under Misbah-ul-Haq’s captaincy, the most for any Pakistan captain. Saleem Malik and Wasim Akram are next with six wins each, followed by Imran Khan, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis (five each).——PAKISTAN’S RECORD BY OPPOSITIONPakistan have won more Tests than they have lost against all opposition teams except South Africa, Australia and England.——PAKISTAN’S PACE GEMS3 Pakistan fast bowlers who have taken 350-plus Test wickets at averages of less than 24. Overall, only ten fast bowlers have achieved this feat, and no other country has more than two such bowlers.60 Percentage of Pakistan’s wickets that have been taken by pace bowlers; they have averaged 30.47 runs per wicket, compared to 33.20 for the spinners.——BEST AND WORST SEQUENCES24 Most Test wins for Pakistan in any sequence of 50 successive Tests; their best win-loss record in this sequence was 24-12, in the period between 1990 and 1998. Their most defeats in a 50-Test sequence is 23, in the 2004-2010 period.6 Pakistan’s longest sequence of successive Test wins, between May 2001 and February 2002; they won against England (1), Bangladesh (3) and West Indies (2). Their longest sequence of defeats is 5, between November 1999 and March 2000.16 Pakistan’s longest sequence of consecutive Tests without defeat, between November 1986 and April 1988. They won 4 and drew 12 during this period.——MOST MAN-OF-THE-MATCH AWARDSOnly two players have won more Man-of-the-Match awards than Akram – Jacques Kallis (23) and Muttiah Muralitharan (19). Shane Warne has also won 17.In away Tests for Pakistan, Akram has won 12, while the next best is 6, by Imran and Younis Khan.MOST MAN-OF-THE-SERIES AWARDSOnly two players have won more Man-of-the-Series awards than Imran – Muralitharan (11) and Kallis (9). Hadlee and Warne also have 8 each.

If you were a part of the ICC’s pitch-monitoring process, what would you clamp down hardest on?

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Dec-2017

The career of England’s leading run-scorer epitomises an era in which English cricket has been divorced from popular culture, and the ECB are now paying the price

Andrew Miller30-Apr-2018Alastair Cook entered the assembly hall at Rusthall Primary School through a guard of honour of plastic bats. He watched, on the school projector, a brief re-run of his winter’s undoubted highlight, that Ashes-best 244 not out at Melbourne. And then, after a lively Kwik cricket session in the playground, he was presented with a cake to commemorate his achievement in passing 12,000 Test runs.It all added up to a nice, low-key but upbeat, opportunity for England’s former captain and record Test run-scorer to re-enter the limelight of another English cricket season.But he did so against a backdrop of clanking and whirring from the machine of which he has been such an integral cog for the past 12 years and 154 Tests – and to judge by its most recent permutations, that machine appears to have rendered Cook’s particular skill-set nigh on obsolete.”The Hundred” is the format that the ECB believe is going to appeal to their elusive next generation – 100 balls per innings, in which to biff as many runs as possible, with the whole match done and dusted in the space of two and a half hours.”I’ll have a hack!” Cook joked. “Everyone laughs when I say that I’ve got a T20 hundred. It’s deeply unfair.”But Cook knows, just as most of cricket’s existing fans know, that this new format is not about him, or even them. The sort of 14-hour epic that Cook compiled in Abu Dhabi three winters ago counts for little in the current climate, not to mention the 94 occasions in 279 Test innings in which he has used up 100 or more deliveries without any assistance from his team-mates.Admittedly, in his most recent series, in New Zealand last month, Cook veered rather closer to the zeitgeist, being dismissed four times in the space of 65 balls, en route to a career-low series average of 5.75.But it’s hard to imagine that either those highs or those lows will have made the blindest jot of difference to the gaggles of kids staring up at him from the assembly-hall floor with a mixture of awe and bewilderment.”Do you think they knew who you were?” asked one of the journalists afterwards.”They’d been told well!” Cook replied, not even for a split-second protesting the bitter implications of that question.For English sport cannot have produced many more anonymous titans than Alastair Cook – a man whose international career began the very winter after English cricket’s great farewell to relevance in the 2005 Ashes, and which could yet come to an end before the summer of 2020, when the sport’s reboot – including a partial return to free-to-air television – will come to fruition.

Not a single one of the 12693 deliveries that Cook has faced in his record 82 consecutive home Test appearances has been shown on terrestrial television

And in between those two dates, not a single one of the 12693 deliveries that Cook has faced in his record 82 consecutive home Test appearances – dating back to his home debut against Sri Lanka at Lord’s in May 2006 – has been shown on terrestrial television. Regardless of his at-times superhuman feats of longevity, he’s become an inadvertent advert for a sport that has been allowed to drift away from popular culture.Does it bother Cook that his efforts have gone unnoticed by so many for so long? “Not with my batting!” he joked. “But people are aware of that and they do need to get it more accessible, and that is the next stage. The financial state of English cricket is far healthier now than it was on terrestrial television, but one thing that’s different now is that people don’t watch games, even football, they watch 10-minute highlights of it on their phone the next morning, and that is one thing cricket has to consider.”That abundance of choice is a challenge for all sports administrators, but it feels particularly acute for cricket – a sport which fewer than three in five children currently name among their top-ten favourite activities. And among the many shocking revelations that jolted the ECB into its brave new world of panic-revolution, the realisation that Cook was less well known among kids than the wrestler John Cena was perhaps the most visceral.In fact, when the kids of Rusthall Primary were asked, during their assembly, to name some other famous cricketers, the three answers they came up with were: Joe Root (thank God), Andrew Flintoff (who retired from Test cricket in 2009, before most of those present had been born) and “my daddy!” … which was cute, but seriously, would Messi, Neymar or even Lizzy Yarnold have elicited such a blank reaction?To be clear: Cook’s lack of a public profile is a symptom, not the cause. For the most part his anonymity has served him well – both as a batsman out in the middle, where his precise role has been to draw the heat and leave the attention-grabbing to other more flamboyant colleagues, and off the field too. He’s avoided social media throughout his career and, unencumbered by fame, takes pleasure in being able to return to his family farm between tours, most recently of course to help out with the lambing season.But despite his diplomatic response to “The Hundred” initiative – (“I did read the email briefly … it’s intriguing, it’s interesting”) – Cook would be entitled to feel ever so slightly cheesed off at the speed with which everything he’s held dear throughout a career of intense dedication is being allowed to slide from prominence.Let’s not forget, it wasn’t so long ago that the ECB (under different management, admittedly) were touting Cook’s unquestionable decency as the gold standard for their sport. Of course, this manifested itself in another cack-handed PR shambles, with Cook forced to live down Giles Clarke’s cloying accolade that he and his family were the “right sort of people”, as well as face down the very personal vitriol that came his way when Kevin Pietersen’s excommunication was allowed to be dressed up as the captain’s personal decision.Alastair Cook plays cricket with schoolkids during a Chance to Shine / Yorkshire Tea event•Getty ImagesBut the mistakes that were made four years ago – in particular, that preference for “ethic and philosophy” over engagement and activity – feel as though they are now being rectified through a wild lurch down an alternative path, one which has placed participation at the absolute heart of everything the board is now setting out to achieve.To be fair, most of that work can only be considered a good thing. Take this very school visit, for instance, with Cook appearing as an ambassador for Chance to Shine during the launch of the 2018 Yorkshire Tea Cricket Week. Chance to Shine has been undertaking vital community projects for 13 years now, reintroducing cricket to millions of children in the country’s state schools, and last summer it was joined by the launch of the ECB’s All Stars Cricket initiative, which for £40 offers five- to eight-year-olds weekly introductory sessions during the summer months, and their own backpack’s worth of kit, including bat, ball and named shirt.All of which is worthy in the extreme. The concern, however, is that in the course of their detailed market research, the ECB have lost any confidence that cricket is a game worth promoting in its own right. Hence the birth of The Hundred, a rather transparent attempt to cultivate those delicate shoots of engagement, and nurture them using a form of the game that has been stripped of any scary detail.It’s a “simple” format, was the somewhat clunky explanation from Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, designed to appeal to “mums and kids”. And last week, Eoin Morgan, the one-day captain, went even further than that, claiming that the point of the product is to “upset people that already come to a game”.That, however, is looking like the easy part of the deal. With two years to go, the biggest challenge for the ECB will be ensuring that their new customers are suitably enthralled by the fare that’s placed before them. Which partially explains the board’s peculiar jockeying for position throughout a pretty dismal winter – Tom Harrison’s insistence that the game is in “good shape” in spite of a 4-0 Ashes drubbing; the desperate desire to rehabilitate Ben Stokes “on the field” after his Bristol misdemeanours, and the paranoia about the players’ off-field behaviour in Australia.But where all that leaves Cook’s ambassadorial duties, beyond the paleontological fascination of being a living relic, is a determinedly moot point. At a time when the sport is crying out for role models, he offers everything you could hope for in a hero … except for everything that the ECB are trying to sell through their new whizz-bang format.And as a consequence, he’s not holding his breath for a new generation of Alastair Cooks to come rushing into the game. “I doubt that,” he said. “There’s a bit of thing at the moment about white-ball skills, and it’s going to be very hard to talk kids into – why would you at this precise moment in time, put yourself through the stresses and strains of a five-day game, when there’s the three-hour crash-bang-wallop… there’s more incentive for that.”He’s not the type to grumble – not publicly at least. But, at this late stage of his career, Cook is entitled to begin to wonder. What on earth is going to become of his legacy?

Aakash Chopra breaks down some of the technical talking points from Chepauk

Aakash Chopra18-Dec-2016Parthiv and the right length
The toughest thing to figure out for a fast bowler while bowling to Parthiv Patel is the right length. His stature allows him to go on the back foot quickly and, while he doesn’t get close to the ball when it is full, he is adept at playing on the up on the front foot. In addition to that, he is comfortable opening the face of the bat to get singles. The ideal length is to make him drive but the lack of lateral movement off the pitch makes it a difficult to go fuller often. The seamer’s pitch-map to Parthiv suggests that England’s bowlers tried too many things without sticking to any one method for long enough.Rahul and the impact of the IPL
KL Rahul’s young Test career can be divided in two halves — before and after the IPL. There has been a visible change in his approach after his successful season with RCB in 2016. Before, his strike rate in Tests was 47 but post-IPL it has shot up to 62 runs per hundred balls. The average number of balls he takes for a boundary stroke has also come down to 12 from 18. He started the second day in Chennai with two lofted shots against Liam Dawson and went on to reverse sweep Moeen Ali. While the world has moved back to more orthodox Test openers (David Warner is the only aberration), Rahul is taking a different path. In Tests, the technical aspect of batting overshadows the mental side of it but Rahul is highlighting the role mindset plays in the course you take. He hasn’t made any technical changes to bat more fluently–it’s just the mindset that has changed in last six months.Rashid fits a season into a tour (almost)
The criticism of England’s spinners has been about their accuracy, which imperative for penetration. While Indian pitches are spin-ready, the conditions still demand a spinner pound the same area ball after ball, over after over. Adil Rashid is England’s most successful bowler in this series but his economy rate suggests that he hasn’t been able to build enough pressure. Rashid has bowled 274.3 overs on England’s Asian tour, spread over nine weeks – almost as many as the 293.2 he sent down for Yorkshire in the county season (although his involvement was limited by England call-ups). Bowling at the highest level demands takes a lot out of your body and, perhaps in part due to his increased white-ball role, it seems Rashid isn’t used to this kind of workload.Ben Stokes removed Cheteshwar Pujara but only bowled seven overs on the third day•Associated PressCook’s problem of plenty
Ben Stokes didn’t bowl a single over in the first session. He bowled four in the second session and picked up a wicket in those 24 balls. After tea, he bowled three more overs before disappearing until the end of play. Right through this series, Alastair Cook hasn’t utilised his resources well. Having lots of options puts you in an enviable position but that can also cloud your decision-making with regards to using them judiciously.Rahul v Spin
Most good players against spin are either very nimble on the feet or use the sweep shot well. Rarely do you see players who are quick to go down the pitch and also are equally comfortable in employing the sweep shot, and Rahul is from that rare breed. In fact, there are very few Indian batsmen who prefer the sweep to tackle spin, let alone playing the reverse-sweep. He is not just eager to dance down the pitch but also has a fair amount of control on all variations of the sweep shot. Rahul’s overriding thought while facing spinners is to look for scoring opportunities, even if that meant taking a few risks.

Stats analysis from the second day in Centution where R Ashwin finished with four wickets and South Africa were bowled out for 335

Bharath Seervi14-Jan-20181 – Better bowling figures by a spinner in the first innings of a Test in Centurion than R Ashwin’s 4 for 113. Graeme Swann had picked 5 for 110 at the same ground in December 2009, the only figures better than Ashwin’s. Apart from these two instances, no other spinner has managed more than two wickets in the first innings of a Centurion Test. Ashwin bowled 38.5 overs in this innings, the third-most by a spinner in the first innings in a Centurion Test. No other India bowler sent down more than 22 overs in the first innings of this Test.2 – Four-wicket hauls for Ashwin in Tests outside Asia excluding the West Indies and Zimbabwe. The first, before this match, was 4 for 105 at the SCG in 2014-15. He is yet to take a five-wicket haul in the 11 Tests he has played in Australia, England and South Africa.94 – Percentage of deliveries Ashwin pitched at good length – 219 out of 233. Only 14 of his 233 balls were at other lengths. Of those 219 deliveries, 81 were outside the off stump and that’s were all his four wickets came from. He pitched 119 good-length balls on the stumps. Thus, 200 out of his 233 deliveries (85.83%) were pitched at good length and landed either on the stumps or just outside the off stump.543 – South Africa’s average score in Centurion in the last five instances when they have batted first. They had scored over 400 on each of the five instances and weren’t dismissed by the oppositions in two of those. Theirs scores were 418, 409, 552 for 5 decl, 475, 481 for 8 decl. However, they put together only 335 this time. They had at least one centurion in each of the last five times they batted first at the venue, but not this time.100 – Wickets for Mohammed Shami in Tests. He became only the seventh India fast bowler to take 100 or more Test wickets. He got there in his 29th Test, which is the third-quickest among the seven after Kapil Dev (25 Tests) and Irfan Pathan (28).1912 – The last time South Africa opened the bowling with a spinner in their first innings, which was by Aubrey Faulkner against Australia at Old Trafford. Keshav Maharaj became the first since then and only their third overall. George Rowe had opened twice in the first innings in 1896 and 1902.