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Two four-days game in tough conditions tested England Lions. The play-off for an opening berth remained unsettled while Mark Wood emerged from the fast bowling attack

Ivo Tennant in Bloemfontein22-Jan-2015It is axiomatic that the most heartening aspect of England Lions’ two first-class matches on their short tour of South Africa has been Jonathan Trott’s return to international cricket following his stress-related illness. In terms of making an unbeaten double century at Paarl and then a half century at Bloemfontein it has been statistically successful, but then no-one doubted he could still score runs. More significantly, he has enjoyed his cricket and, insofar as anyone can pass judgement on a private matter, has appeared healthy and happy.Nor has he evaded his responsibilities as captain. He is sufficiently media savvy to have perfected the politician’s art of tossing a question back at his interlocutor, but has done so with humour. One question from this correspondent about whether he would like to follow Kevin Pietersen in coming up with an autobiography of his own was met with: “Would you like to write it?” Another, seemingly straightforward inquiry, was met with: “Is that a statement or a question?” In the mind’s eye, Harold Wilson is sucking on his pipe to bide time and clear his thoughts.One or two people came up to Trott and told him they knew his father or a friend of a friend of a friend, or some such connection, and he was invariably polite in response. This, after all, is his homeland. He knows the people, the pitches, even the opposition. Vincent Barnes, his old coach from his teenage years in the Cape and now looking after South Africa A, rather gave the game away when he said Trott had told him he was ready to return to international cricket.Quite when that will be is unknown. Sam Robson is the England opener-in-possession, but he did not excel on the trip in front of Andy Flower and Graham Thorpe. Adam Lyth made 65 in Bloemfontein while wickets were falling around him, but otherwise 7 and 37, and Alex Lees 53 runs in three innings. So Trott could yet be the preferred choice as Alastair Cook’s partner in the Caribbean. As for James Vince, the most successful batsman after Trott through innings of 78 at Paarl and an unbeaten 152 under some pressure at Bloemfontein, and whose cover drive is wonderfully alluring, he is not an opener. He will, though, be given the captaincy in the forthcoming one-day internationals.It would have been ideal for the Lions if they had played in more temperate conditions in Cape Town rather than commute to Paarl (temperatures in the high 30s and 42 degrees on the last day) and then have to leave their Newlands hotel the following morning at 4.30 am to fly to Bloemfontein, where they had to field in the mid to high 30s. It was a chance to give Paarl some much-wanted top-level cricket, but on such a short trip playing in Cape Town would have made sense. There would probably have been more spectators as well.Mick Newell has been in Bloemfontein in his capacity as an England selector, reminiscing about Pietersen when he was Nottinghamshire’s second XI coach: “A quite shy young lad who I thought was going to become an outstanding performer.” More significantly, he talked of the feedback that would be given to each county club at the end of this tour, emphasising that there is no pressure from the selectors in terms of which Lions players should be chosen for which format. “We don’t interfere with the way the clubs pick their teams.”As to the bowlers, the England hierarchy would have learnt little that they did not already know about Liam Plunkett, who took seven wickets. Much the same could probably be said of Boyd Rankin. Mark Wood is the emerging talent, singled out by Temba Bavuma, a century maker in Bloemfontein. He has a short, springy run-up, strong shoulders, and in addition looks as though he will soon be regarded as an allrounder rather than, at present, as a bowler who can bat.As for South Africa A, Theunis de Bruyn, who made an unbeaten 202 in Paarl and 161 in Bloemfontein, is clearly a Test cricketer of the near future. Newell rated Chris Morris, who is accurate and lively, but who is now 27. Rory Kleinveldt, his new ball partner, was the pick of the attack, but will be 32 in March. He is to join Northamptonshire this season.”They wanted me last year, but I had tendonitis in my knee,” he said. “I am absolutely a better bowler now than when I played for Hampshire in 2008, when I had to have a hernia operation. I understand the game better and it will be a challenge for me to adapt to bowling different lengths in England. I shall have at least two months with Northamptonshire as an overseas player, but am nationally contracted so may be required to go back home. Which of the members of their team do I know? Richard Levi. I’m not too familiar with the rest.”

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2015The Australian pacers would go on to inflict more damage, and Glenn Maxwell chipped in with Martin Guptill’s wicket in his first over to reduce New Zealand to 33 for 2•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesMitchell Johnson made it 39 for 3 after he induced a return catch from Kane Williamson•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesHowever, two players – Ross Taylor and the hero from Auckland, Grant Elliott – stood up to the Australian onslaught with a 111-run alliance in 22.5 overs•Quinn Rooney/Getty ImagesElliott frustrated Australia with his blend of deft steers and punchy drives•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesTaylor was scratchy for the most part, but his resilient innings ensured Elliott’s wasn’t a one-man act. New Zealand went into the batting Powerplay reasonably well-placed at 150 for 3•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesBut it began badly for New Zealand, as Taylor was brilliantly caught by a diving Brad Haddin off the first ball of James Faulkner’s over•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesTwo balls later, Faulkner shattered Corey Anderson’s stumps, and sent him back for a duck•Ryan Pierse/Getty ImagesAustralia then dismissed Luke Ronchi, and completed an impressive Powerplay that saw them concede just 15 runs for three wickets. Faulkner’s slower balls then accounted for Elliott, who made 83 off 82 balls. New Zealand’s tail didn’t offer much resistance, and they were bowled out for 183 in 45 overs•Darrian Traynor/Getty ImagesNew Zealand got an early breakthrough through Trent Boult, who snaffled a caught-and-bowled chance offered by Aaron Finch in the second over•Mark Kolbe/Getty ImagesDavid Warner remained unaffected by the setback, and smacked 45 off 46 balls before falling to Matt Henry•Darrian Traynor/Getty ImagesThere was a sprinkling of good fortune, too, as Steven Smith watched a ball kiss the stumps but not dislodge the bails•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesMichael Clarke, playing his last ODI, smashed 74 off 72 balls before being dismissed with nine runs to get. He put on 112 runs along with Smith to quell New Zealand’s challenge•Mark Kolbe/Getty ImagesIt was only a matter of time before Smith pulled Matt Henry to hit the winning boundary – and let out a victory cheer•Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesAustralia completed their seven-wicket victory with 101 balls to spare, and clinched their fifth World Cup title•Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

The cricketing landscape has changed in Switzerland with the introduction of pink balls from the 2015 season

Rajan Thambehalli12-Jun-2015Cricket in its traditional form was and is primarily played with red leather balls. Cricket balls through the ages were red because the ball manufacturers in 18th-century England preferred red dyes. The use of red balls carried on for generations until the advent of day-night limited-overs games, for which white balls were introduced.In 2009, the MCC made a recommendation to experiment with pink balls, and since then quite a few matches have been played with pink balls on a trial basis.A women’s international game between England and Australia, as part of a Pink Sunday programme in support of a breast cancer campaign, happened to be the first time pink balls were used in international cricket. In the last six years, there has been a first-class match between Durham and MCC played under lights in Abu Dhabi, a first-class match in the Caribbean and recently Cricket Australia has been at the forefront in experimenting with the combination of pink balls, white clothing and day-night first-class cricket. It even had trials with the broadcaster last year and it is likely that international cricket would witness another revolution – the first day-night Test.Cricket Switzerland too has embraced pink-ball cricket starting from the 2015 season. Switzerland doesn’t have the luxury of cricket-only grounds with sightscreens, and the background can often be white buildings, red-brick housing, mountains or forests, which are green in the summer, and brown or red in spring and autumn.This background makes it difficult for batsmen and fielders to spot the red ball. The white alternative is better, but still not ideal as the infrastructure at public schools and sports complexes are often white or grey, which means that the white ball may not stand out. Also, the white ball tends to be of a lower quality compared to the red, and thereby quickly loses its shine and colour – it turns grey – on the rough, artificial surfaces in Switzerland.Once Switzerland got over the jokes about using pink balls, the trials, which lasted for over a year, showed the technical advantages of using the pink ball. Led by the Cricket Switzerland president and ably supported by clubs and other committee members, the idea of pink balls and its experimentation went ahead smoothly.The pink ball swings like the red ball and the one used, manufactured by Duke, retains its shine and shape longer than the white ball. Batsmen and fielders see it better, spectators find it easier to follow and ageing umpires also find it easier to judge.Cricket Switzerland believes in maintaining the traditional aspect of the sport, such as playing in whites. However, for practical purposes, like in this case turning to pink balls, it is simply a case of discovering a winning formula.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

At a time when opportunities for Associates at major ICC tournaments are shrinking in alarming fashion, the competitive depth of Associates has never been greater

Peter Della Penna in Malahide24-Jul-2015Quite often the message put forth from those at ICC level is that there aren’t enough competitive teams in world cricket to justify expanding the tournament field for major events. In February, ICC chief executive David Richardson said there were only six teams capable of winning the World Cup and reiterated more or less the same thing this week in Dublin to justify shrinking the 2019 event to 10 teams.Even at the Associate level, similar views have held firm, that Afghanistan and Ireland are the only truly competitive Associates. That stance is supported by the ICC’s decision to put those two countries on the ODI rankings table while ignoring the other four Associates with ODI status – Scotland, UAE, Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea. Even the MCC World Cricket Committee’s recommendation of a 12-team World Cup reinforces this view that none of the other Associates are competitive.The evidence provided at this month’s ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier totally flies in the face of that. At a time when opportunities for Associates at major ICC tournaments are shrinking in alarming fashion, the competitive depth of Associates has never been greater.Group A saw wild fluctuations in permutations from match to match. The Nepal side that finished third at the previous qualifier and won two matches at the World Twenty20 in 2014 finished bottom of its group in Ireland just 16 months later. Ireland had a 21-match winning streak at the tournament not only broken but turn into a two-match losing streak at the hands of Papua New Guinea and Hong Kong. The co-hosts managed to sneak in through the back door into first place with a bit of help from other results.Even for two teams that didn’t reach the knockout stage, there was much to crow about. Jersey upset Hong Kong on the opening day and after a win over Nepal, still had a mathematical chance of reaching the playoffs heading into their final group match against Ireland. Some outsiders were snickering at USA after fast bowler Hammad Shahid predicted a top-two finish, but the joke was on Hong Kong and PNG after USA beat both ODI nations in the last two days of group play with PNG’s loss costing them a place in the World Twenty20.In Group B, played in Scotland, the shakeup in results was just as dramatic. Four months removed from a gritty but winless performance at the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, UAE couldn’t even reach the playoffs. Afghanistan had been to three straight finals against Ireland in the T20 Qualifier but had to scrape through an elimination showdown with PNG just to clinch a spot in India and a slot in the fifth-place playoff.No greater piece of evidence shows the strength of depth in Associate cricket than the performance of Oman. The Middle Eastern nation went winless in group play on their last trip to the qualifier in 2012 and they sit in Division Five of the World Cricket League, ranked 29th in the world. Yet, they beat Afghanistan and Netherlands in Scotland before upending Namibia in a thrilling chase at Malahide to clinch a spot in India.Cricket administrators pride themselves on declaring cricket the second most popular sport, which is true by pure volume of eyeballs watching thanks to India, but in terms of breadth of expansion, they are still light-years away from matching soccer. For all of FIFA’s administrative foibles, no one can accuse them of running an exclusive tournament and denying opportunities for expansion into emerging markets.Even though Richardson argues that only six or eight countries are competitive enough to win a trophy in cricket, the same could easily be said in soccer. Only eight countries have ever won a FIFA World Cup – Argentina, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Uruguay. Even at Brazil 2014, the four semi-finalists – Brazil, Germany, Netherlands and Argentina – fell in line with pre-tournament expectations.But that didn’t stop FIFA from inviting 32 teams to participate. One of the most entertaining matches of the tournament was a see-saw affair between Australia and the Netherlands, the lowest ranked team in the tournament field at number 62 versus the 15th ranked team who went on to the semis. Only nine countries outside of Europe and South America have ever even reached a FIFA World Cup quarter-final – USA, Cuba, Cameroon, Costa Rica, Ghana, Mexico, North Korea, South Korea and Senegal – yet if UEFA president Michel Platini had his way, he’d expand the tournament to 40 or even 48 teams.There is no desperation from FIFA to get Brazil on television nine times in order to make a profitable event. Meanwhile, the ICC continues to be at the mercy of the BCCI in order to stay out of the red on the balance sheets when it comes to the formats for cricket’s world events. FIFA understands though that the festival atmosphere of the group stage can be a successful recipe for keeping eyeballs tuned in and is just as important if not more so than who winds up in FIFA’s final. In the long-term, that will pay off more for everyone involved.This ICC World Twenty20 Qualifier has been the most exciting one yet. Very little deadweight, plenty of upsets, and enough parity between the participants to keep the result in doubt up until the final ball is bowled as was the case between Hong Kong and Afghanistan. It has made for a wonderful party over the past two weeks, with enough pop left in store for the semis and final on Saturday and Sunday and shown that the depth is there for more teams to compete at a higher level.During their victory celebrations on Thursday that carried on near the north boundary at Malahide, Omani left-arm spinner Aamir Kaleem sang out improvised lyrics in Urdu while the team responded with the English chorus, “World Cup! India! 2016!” Derek Pringle, Oman’s technical consultant, shouted out above the melody to one of the other management staff nearby, “This sure sounds like a number one hit to me!” Sadly, the Full Members are making Oman and the other Associates turn the music down.

Having lost both the T20 & ODI series to South Africa, India are in post-mortem mode. In this wide-ranging analysis, Sanjay Manjrekar reflects on five areas of concern

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Oct-2015Pace-bowling concerns
India’s pace attack lacked wicket-taking ability and leaked runs, especially in the final ODI in Mumbai where Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma went at over 10 runs an over.1:33

Manjrekar: India’s pacers have limited talent and have to be smart

Where is the next allrounder?
While there have been bits-and-pieces players who have been used as allrounders, India are still searching for a genuine allrounder.1:34

Manjrekar: India have not found a genuine allrounder

Middle-order muddle
India chopped and changed batting positions during the ODI series, which left their line-up unsettled.2:02

Manjrekar: Rohit can be a middle-order option

Raina’s future comes under a cloud
Suresh Raina, having managed only 68 runs, including two ducks, failed when India needed him to fire in the death overs. Raina was hurried by pace and his short-ball problem continued.1:45

Manjrekar: Raina continued to struggle against the short ball

What will be the impact of the ODI series on the Test series?
South Africa will be confident after winning both the T20 and ODI series, but will be challenged on turning pitches.1:11

Manjrekar: South Africa will be challenged on turning pitches

Stats highlights from the fifth day of the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies in Colombo, where the hosts registered their first series win in 2015

Shiva Jayaraman26-Oct-20150 Tests won by West Indies out of the 11 they have played in Sri Lanka. There are only three other instances of a team failing to win a single away Test in ten or more matches in any country. Sri Lanka themselves haven’t won a Test in India or Australia from 17 and 11 Tests respectively. Bangladesh have no wins from the ten Tests they have played in Sri Lanka. For West Indies, Sri Lanka remains one of the two countries where they haven’t won a Test. They have lost both the Tests they played in the UAE against Pakistan.3 Number of Sri Lanka players who have won more Man-of-the-Series awards than Rangana Herath, who won his third award in this series, equaling Mahela Jayawardena’s tally. Muttiah Muralitharan leads this list with 11 such awards. Kumar Sangakkara and Aravinda de Silva won four each. Herath was the leading wicket-taker in the series with 15 wickets at an average of 16.13.3 Number of series Sri Lanka had lost between their previous win and this. They had last won 2-0 against Pakistan at home in 2014. After that, they had lost all the three series they had played, 0-2 in New Zealand and 1-2 to both Pakistan and India at home.2010 The last time – before Milinda Siriwardana in this match – a Sri Lanka player hit at least one fifty and took five or more wickets in a Test. Lasith Malinga had hit 64 in the first innings against India in Galle and had taken seven wickets in the Test. Overall, Siriwardana’s was only the ninth such instance.12 Number of times West Indies have been dismissed for fewer than 200 in 42 Test innings since 2013, the most by any team in Tests during this period. They were dismissed for 163 and 171 in this Test. West Indies’ frequency of getting dismissed for fewer than 200 once in every 3.5 innings in this period is better only to Zimbabwe’s frequency of once in 2.5 innings.6 Fifty-plus scores by batsmen in the fourth innings of Tests at the P Sara Oval before Darren Bravo’s 61 in this innings. The last time this was achieved here was in 2010, when VVS Laxman and Sachin Tendulkar got 103* and 54 respectively helping India successfully chase a target of 257 set by the hosts.2005 Last time, before this, a Test in Sri Lanka that ended in a decisive result had two or fewer fifty-plus scores. On that occasion too, West Indies were involved and only one fifty-plus score – a 157 by Sangakkara – was scored. Including this Test, this has happened only six times in Tests in Sri Lanka that have not ended in a draw.9 Second-innings fifty-plus scores by Darren Bravo including his 61 in this Test. Bravo has made 1422 runs in the second innings at an average of 50.79, which is higher than his first-innings average of 33.82. Among batsmen with at least 1000 runs in both first and second innings, Bravo’s difference of 16.97 runs between his second and first innings averages is the fourth highest. Angelo Mathews is third on this list with an average difference of 19.63 between his second (1673 runs at an average of 64.35) and first innings (2236 runs at an average of 44.72).2005 The last time an overseas top-order (No. 1 to No. 7) averaged worse in a Test series in Sri Lanka than West Indies’ in this one. Bangladesh’s top-order had averaged just 17.42 in two Tests on that occasion. In another series in 2005, West Indies had also done worse, averaging just 18.44 in two Tests.60 Runs added by Shai Hope and Darren Bravo for West Indies’ second wicket – their highest partnership in the match. Before that, West Indies had added a highest of 39 runs between Marlon Samuels and Kraigg Brathwaite for their fourth wicket in the first innings. However, it was all downhill for West Indies after that stand, being bowled out for 171 with the next eight wickets adding only 91 runs.

Kumar Sangakkara and Chris Gayle’s respective teams are at different stages on the points table but both players will be keen to lift their side through to the knockouts stage of the BPL

Mohammad Isam05-Dec-2015To compare Chris Gayle and Kumar Sangakkara in T20s might seem unfair but there’s little doubt about how important they are to their respective sides, Dhaka Dynamites and Barisal Bulls, in this season’s Bangladesh Premier League. Sangakkara leads Dhaka, while Gayle will appear for Barisal Bulls for the first time on Sunday and their presence has also served to boost the profile of the tournament.Among the foreign players, Sangakkara is the BPL’s second-highest scorer this season and seems to be Dhaka’s best bet if they are to finish the league stage at a stronger position. Behind the stumps he has not looked any less sprightly and, as captain, he has given confidence to some of the uncapped local players.Dhaka, however, are in fourth place with eight points and while they are not out of the race for the knockouts stage, they would have liked a more assured place after the Chittagong leg. Sangakkara admitted the team could have had four extra points from their last two games, but were thwarted by Evin Lewis and their own play against Comilla Victorians. He has urged the local players to step up.”There are a couple of games we probably should have won against Comilla and Barisal,” Sangakkara said. “The magnificent innings from Lewis took the game away from us and a few mistakes cost us the game against Comilla. In T20 cricket, you just need to get back on the horse and go out and play positive cricket.”I am pretty happy with the form I am in, and the runs I have scored. I think we have enough good batsmen in the side. We just need some of the local boys to fire and I have all the confidence in them. I think they are some of the best in Bangladesh. We have to give them an opportunity.”Barisal, meanwhile, are in second place with five wins in six games, and have presented Gayle with a better scenario than the one Sangakkara is facing. Gayle, who underwent back surgery earlier this year, will be playing his first match since July and was happy that he will be under less pressure after Barisal’s early progress in the competition.”It is good to be back (in Bangladesh). I always do well when I play here and the team is also doing well. So it’s a bit of pressure off me,” Gayle said. “The game will be my first since I returned from the injury so I am looking forward to the game tomorrow. I will try and gain same momentum from my personal point of view and at the same time, the team is second place so that’s more important.Gearing up for his first game with Barisal Bulls, Chris Gayle said the side’s early progress had taken the pressure off him•Caribbean Premier League”We need to make give ourselves a chance to reach the final. I have practised with the team today after such a long time, the preparation went well today and now I’m looking forward to the game tomorrow.”I am doing okay. I played my last match which I think was in July in the CPL. I need to come back slowly as well. I am looking forward to entertain the fans as well. I don’t know what’s going to happen in the first game but at the same time I am going to enjoy it and be happy to be back in the middle again. Hopefully will have a longer career ahead, entertain people and go around the world as much as possible.”Gayle comes at a time when the Barisal have almost solved the top-order problem they faced earlier in the tournament. Lewis, who was only given a chance in Chittagong, has shown the way with his explosive style, particularly his century against Dhaka. Gayle said his presence was an added advantage to the team, already well-served by Lewis and captain Mahmudullah.”I haven’t seen the game on television but I have been following the scores on the internet,” Gayle said. “The guys have been doing well and the bowlers are winning most of the games. Like I said the batters – Lewis got a hundred which is fantastic from an opening point of view. I will hope that will continue and hope that there will be more big centuries for the team and himself.”I am sure we have the match winners, the captain Mahmudullah, he has been in the international side and brings in the experience in the team. I have just added to the team to make it a plus for the team, I am looking forward to share my views and experience with the guys, be in the dressing room with new guys, something new for me. Looking forward to start from scratch.”Meanwhile, Sangakkara’s impact can be seen in the way he interacts with players during training, at the hotel and during matches. He has been encouraging of players like Mustafizur Rahman and Nasir Hossain, and has backed Nasir despite his lack of form in this season’s BPL.”He has done well with bat and ball but I am sure he would liked to have scored a bit more runs and finished a game or two. He is a good player. As an icon player I know how he takes pride in how he trains and how he goes about his performance in the match. I have absolutely no issues with Nasir. I think he is one of the best players in Bangladesh. We are very, very happy to have him,” Sangakkara said of Nasir.

Vusi Sibanda chose calculation over impulse during his first T20 international half-century – an innings sprinkled with his favourite stroke – and it worked well for him and his team

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur08-Mar-20161:10

Room for improvement in our fielding – Sibanda

It was the fourth over of Zimbabwe’s innings. Vusi Sibanda had faced five balls till then, and had sent two of them skimming back over the Hong Kong bowlers’ heads. Clean, crisp, effortless lofted drives. Now Haseeb Amjad dropped one slightly short. Out came the pull.It isn’t certain how many of the 182 – approximately – spectators at the VCA Stadium sat up a little more alertly at this moment, for Sibanda has a somewhat uneasy relationship with the pull. He connected crisply with this one, hitting it in the air but safely wide of the man at midwicket.In the commentary box, Pommie Mbangwa definitely got off his seat. “Good shot,” he yelled. “That’s his favourite!”So it is, just as cheesecake is for certain dieters.Sibanda has been out caught 103 times in international cricket. ESPNcricinfo has ball-by-ball descriptions of 80 of those dismissals. Of those 80 lovingly described dismissals, 20 have come about with Sibanda playing the pull. He loves the shot, he can’t help playing it. He scores a lot of runs with it, but it also gets him out a lot. Once, during a home Test-and-ODI series against Bangladesh in 2011, he was out pulling three times off the same bowler – Rubel Hossain.Haseeb Amjad, though, was bowling at around half Rubel’s pace, and on this Nagpur pitch anything remotely short was sitting up, waiting to be swatted into the leg-side gaps. Three balls later he sent down another short ball, and Sibanda swiveled and forced the square leg umpire into an ungainly crouch.Later, in the ninth over of Zimbabwe’s innings, Sibanda picked up another pulled four, this one the best of the lot, his weight still on the front foot while dispatching Aizaz Khan in front of square. Once again, a safe shot, its execution owing far more to calculation than impulse.Calculation over impulse was an overwhelming feature of Sibanda’s 46-ball 59, his first half-century in T20Is. For a batsman with a wide range of shots, against a modest bowling attack, his wagon wheel showed impressive restraint on a slow pitch. He hit five fours and two sixes, and all of them were the result of two shots: the pull against anything short, and the lofted straight drive when it was pitched further up. Otherwise, given the slowness of the surface, he was content letting the ball come on and showing a full face to push the ball down the ground or work it off his pads. Only one of his scoring shots came behind the wicket.The restraint was vital to Zimbabwe, who needed someone to tide them through a difficult period when they lost a heap of wickets, some of them carelessly. It was also surprising, coming in the 16th year of an international career full of promising starts and rash dismissals. While it is utterly premature – and perhaps ill-advised – to think Sibanda may have turned a corner at this stage of his career, it must be noted that he has made three 40-plus scores in five T20 innings since his latest comeback during the tour of Bangladesh in January.”It’s possibly more to do with mindset,” Sibanda said, when asked if he had changed his game in any way. “Also, I just want to achieve a little bit more than I did in the past, and [I’m] just focusing on my game a little bit more than I did before. Hopefully it pays off in the future.”Maybe the more time you play, the more you understand your game, and now I’d like to say I’m getting to know myself a little bit more.

When Kieron Pollard came out to bat, having already given RCB a foothold with the ball, the game could have gone either way; he made sure it was Mumbai’s with a dominant show on a tricky pitch

Deivarayan Muthu in Bangalore12-May-2016Kieron Pollard is among the most powerful finishers in the world. Mumbai Indians’ batting coach Robin Singh had recently said that Pollard’s role is to give the opposition the “jitters”. When he walked out to bat at 79 for 3 in Bangalore on Wednesday night, it might have been his team experiencing the jitters, with their asking rate having climbed to 10.42 in a chase of 152. That might have been stroll on an easy-paced, hit-through-the-line Chinnaswamy surface. But here they were presented with a slow surface that offered grip even to the new ball.Pollard had found that grip as well, earlier in the evening, in the only over he bowled – the 18th of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s innings. But he had become too predictable, sending down slower ball after slower ball, and leaked 22 plus a leg bye. This meant that the hosts boosted their total to 151 for 4 from 98 for 4 in 15.3 overs.But Pollard recovered from that onslaught with one of his own. He finished the match for Mumbai with an unbeaten 35 off 19 balls. Twenty minutes before his 29th birthday, Pollard was celebrating in the middle with Jos Buttler.This was still anyone’s game when Mumbai were 84 for 3 in 14 overs. Shane Watson, Royal Challengers’ in-form bowler who had three overs left at that point, bowled the 15th over. He marginally missed his yorkers and offered width, and Pollard clouted a flat six over long-on and followed it with a punchy drive to the right of sweeper cover for four.AB de Villiers claimed a stunning catch in the 16th over to get rid of Ambati Rayudu for 44 off 47 balls, but that did not stop Pollard from attacking Watson again to grab hold of the game. Having ducked under a loopy bouncer, which was called a wide, Pollard launched a full ball over long-off for his 400th six in T20s off the first legal ball of the 17th. He then sliced and whipped Watson for successive fours to bring the equation down to 26 off 18 balls. Pollard had flayed 26 off 10 balls from Watson to take the pressure off Buttler, who later showed off his hitting range as well.Things did not go quite as well with the ball for Pollard. When Rohit Sharma eventually turned to him, both fine leg and third man were inside the circle and Pollard dropped hints that he was going to bowl slower balls or cutters. His first ball was floated outside off at 105kph and KL Rahul, having waited for the ball to arrive, swatted it over square leg for six. Rahul deflected the next one off his pads for one and then Sachin Baby threw his bat too early at a cutter for a dot. He adjusted, waited more patiently for the next two balls and clubbed them both for sixes. Baby capped the over by pulling a short, slower ball to the square-leg boundary. Pollard was left seething, but then he redeemed himself with the bat.Mumbai will want him to do more of the same with the bat and better with the ball as the tournament reaches its climax. Before this game, Pollard had hit a 17-ball half-century against Kolkata Knight Riders, but by the time he had come in Rohit’s own half-century had already ensured that game was Mumbai’s. He has had little else to contribute this season, with 168 runs in nine innings and having conceded 81 runs from six overs.That his bowling and fielding have not been at full tilt is perhaps because he is returning from a lengthy injury lay-off; a knee injury ended Pollard’s Ram Slam T20 Challenge last year and then forced him out of the subsequent Big Bash League and World T20. He will know that Mumbai also have Corey Anderson, who could be similarly unstoppable with the bat if he gets going and perhaps offers more with the ball than Pollard. The New Zealand allrounder has been on the sidelines for all 11 Mumbai games so far. Pollard will know he needs to find more consistency to keep justifying his place in the XI. With the bat on Wednesday, he did state a solid case to stick with him.

ESPNcricinfo picks eight talking points from DPL 2016

Mohammad Isam23-Jun-2016The tightest title race in decades
There is little doubt that Dhaka Premier League is Bangladesh’s most competitive domestic tournament, but over the years it had been two to three clubs vying for the title till the very end. This year, however, all six Super League teams had a fair shot, something that had not happened in this league for the last two decades.Victoria Sporting Club were highly impressive throughout the campaign, in spite of being dogged by player payment issues. Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club and Legends of Rupganj were always in the hunt with their experienced teams. Even when it was clear that Abahani Limited and Rupganj were the top contenders in the final week, Doleshwar kept pegging away and ended up as runners-up while Abahani became champions.Ill umpires halt match
Umpires Tanvir Ahmed and Gazi Sohel walked out of the Abahani-Doleshwar Super League game on June 12, citing illness, and the game wasn’t played on the reserve day, June 13. Nine days later, the BCB decided to award both teams a point each and declare the match a no-result.The umpires had got into a heated exchange with Tamim Iqbal, Abahani’s captain, after Tanvir turned down his side’s stumping appeal. While the umpires’ walkout was unprecedented in Bangladesh’s domestic cricket, it was just the tip of the iceberg of umpire-related controversies in the DPL.The umpiring, generally, was poor this season, with elementary mistakes like forgetting to use two balls from both ends, and getting confused with Powerplay regulations, being committed. Both these incidents happened in the same match. There were many controversial run-out, stumping and no-ball decisions too. Questions were also raised of BCB’s umpires committee, who appointed low-graded umpires for important matches.Allegations of unfairness
There were also allegations of unfairness levelled at the Cricket Committee of Dhaka Metropolis, the BCB committee that runs the league. The Abahani-Doleshwar first-phase game was shifted to the BKSP-3 ground from Mirpur on short notice. Abahani played eight of their 16 matches at that venue.The BCB will investigate allegations that the BKSP-3 groundsmen didn’t cover the pitch properly ahead of the Brothers Union-Rupganj game that was eventually abandoned. They will also investigate the CCDM’s changing the date of the Gazi Group Cricketers-Victoria Sporting Club match.New helmets need to be adopted
Suhrawadi Shuvo’s blow to the back of his neck was a reminder to Bangladeshi batsmen to be more aware about adequate protection. Newly designed helmets with stem-guards are the need of the hour, and many players who are not centrally contracted by the BCB are now looking to buy one. Comfort is certainly an issue but as Tamim said on the day Shuvo got hit, comfort is a small price to pay for being safe.Suhrawadi Shuvo’s blow to the back of his neck served as a reminder about player safety•BCBThe Mashrafe show
Mashrafe Mortaza might be one of Bangladesh’s best captains in the modern era, and despite the fact that he has lifted several domestic trophies, clubs this time were reluctant to pick him in the draft. Kalabagan Krira Chakra did so towards the end and Mashrafe produced a stellar performance. He finished with 22 wickets at an average of 20.22 and claimed a six-wicket haul against Rupganj. He also struck a 50-ball century against Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club.The rise of the offspinning allrounder
Bangladesh has produced several left-arm spinners over the years, but this season a few right-arm offspinners made their case. While Bangladesh allrounder Mahmudullah lived up to the billing of the draft’s No 1 pick with 21 wickets in 11 matches, the likes of Mosaddek Hossain, Nahidul Islam and Habibur Rahman were among the offspin-bowling all-rounders to have made a mark.Mosaddek led Abahani’s charge to their 18th title by scoring 622 runs at an average of 77.75 and claiming 15 wickets in 16 matches. Rupganj’s Nahidul showed his flexibility by regularly changing his position in the batting order, and was willing to bowl at any time of the innings. Habibur didn’t sparkle with the bat, but he took important wickets and even opened the bowling with his offspin.Player-payment issues
Victoria’s players had threatened to meet the BCB after their scheduled payment wasn’t made by club officials. They were promised 60% pay during the Super League, which they did not receive. The players wanted to go to the BCB again but that plan had to change after Shuvo got struck in the back of the neck against Abahani in Mirpur. Players from two other clubs have also complained of not being paid on time.Earlier this week, the BCB gave the clubs 72 hours to pay up or they would face action. Unpaid players would be paid by the BCB, the board confirmed.Slow to catch reported bowlers
BCB had laid a out plans of catching bowlers with suspected actions but it took them two months, almost the entire length of the league, to form the bowling action review committee.In the league’s first week, as many as seven bowlers were reported with Gazi Group’s Mustafizur Rahman reported twice. The final number couldn’t be determined but all these reported bowlers kept playing the matches.