Sri Lanka tread too far down the conservative route

While conservatism has worked for Sri Lanka in this series, their dour defensive play on day four in Sharjah neither decisively put defeat beyond them nor, it would appear, did much to revive the flagging interest in Test cricket

A few days ago, in the Emirate just west of Sharjah, a group of cricket administrators unveiled a proposal that would put the Test-match future of Sri Lanka and Pakistan in serious doubt. On day four, in a series already ruled by attrition, the teams produced the least watchable cricket of the tour. The comatose third session, in which Sri Lanka progressed at 1.36 runs an over, was little more than a staring contest featuring 13 grown men. There are pharmaceutical ads that are more compelling.

The few hundred fans that had come to the stadium stared too, only their eyes had long since glazed over. If any new followers of the sport tuned in, they might wonder why Tests between these sides deserve saving.

Sri Lanka were almost certainly the more passive of the teams, and though the players will contend that abrasive battles are an inextricable part of Test cricket, they can hardly claim it is the type of play that will stir the flagging interest in the format at home. They will also hold that Sri Lanka's first away series win since 2000 is much better reward for their fans than risky, aggressive cricket. If the sport is reduced to its scorelines, then perhaps that is correct. But cricket has always been about the journey, not just the destination, as laid out by the two best Tests of 2013, in Auckland and Johannesburg, both of which ended in draws.

Before the Test, captain Angelo Mathews had said this: "We need to play positive cricket once again, because we will try to win it 2-0. We are certainly not going for a draw here, because it sends a negative message to the whole team."

To single Mathews out for hypocrisy here would be grossly unfair, primarily because press conferences with almost any athlete have become an exercise in professional pretense. Even the most dour batsman will speak of "being positive" - a ubiquitous cricketing phrase - because anything less conveys weakness. But the fact is, no one likes to lose. When you're ahead in the series, why bother with winning the match? Sri Lanka have been in control at the close of almost every day since the middle of the first Test, and the prospect of finishing the series on even terms might appear madness to those in the dressing room.

Moreover, an inexperienced Sri Lanka side have largely gained ground by playing conservatively and respecting the limits of their ability. The fast bowlers have not attempted magic balls, nor sought to blast oppositions out. The spinners have found safety in the quicker, flatter deliveries, hoping to build pressure with dot balls. In the Dubai Test that Sri Lanka won, they scored at less than three an over in both innings, effectively challenging Pakistan to change the tempo of the series, if they wish to level it.

But on Sunday, Sri Lanka discovered the perils of treading too far down the conservative route. An uncompromising focus on defence with the bat allowed Pakistan's bowlers the opportunity to settle happily into their work, even though the onus was on them to take quick wickets, having finished their first innings with an 87-run deficit and only five full sessions to play. Three of Sri Lanka's five dismissed batsmen fell offering defensive shots, having earned poor dividends for their time at the crease. Kaushal Silva and Dinesh Chandimal fell to very good balls, but that is hardly unexpected at Test level; if batsmen are to receive unplayable balls destined to do damage, it would seem wise to score off the deliveries that are not so menacing.

Mahela Jayawardene stalled for 15 deliveries on 46, allowing Saeed Ajmal to put men around the bat, as he constructed what was among his most threatening spells in the series. Flat pitches in India recently prompted MS Dhoni to compare bowlers to bowling machines, but to Ajmal, Jayawardene and Mathews - whose 38-run stand spanned 176 deliveries - might have seemed the batting equivalent. Predictably, he got one to turn a little more than Jayawardene anticipated, and ensured Pakistan's slim hopes of winning the Test survived into the fifth day.

It is excusable, perhaps even commendable, that Sri Lanka have taken stock of their personnel and embraced conservatism in the series, largely to good effect. Their gains in the series may even suggest it is a strategy that suits them until key men develop the ability to play attacking, intimidating cricket. But in defending to the point of alienating fans, they have also weakened their grip on the match.

Read More..

No knowledge of draft proposals, says Associate representative

One member of the ICC's Finance & Commercial Affairs committee has said he was not privy to any details about the F&CA working group's draft proposal that recommends a radical overhaul of the world cricket administration.

Bermuda's Neil Speight, an ICC director and Associates & Affiliates (A&A) representative in the F&CA committee, said in an email message that he had "no knowledge" of the proposals reported on ESPNcricinfo on Friday. The "position paper" was made available to a Full Member special meeting in Dubai on January 9 to which, Speight said, "no Associate representative was invited" and so "dissociated" himself from the document and its contents.

The recommendations from this "position paper" will effectively cede ICC's executive power and financial control to the BCCI, Cricket Australia and the ECB.

For the three boards, the proposals included permanent membership of an Executive Committee that would override all other committees, exemptions from a new system of Test match promotion and relegation and the re-vamping of ICC's financial model carving out for them a greater proportion of the ICC's gross earnings.

Speight's comments indicate that not all members of the F&CA were aware of the "working group position paper" proposals. The emai, though, prompted an angry response from one Associate official, who said the details of the proposals and Speight's public statement revealed that A&A interests had not been properly guarded.

In its first formal statement, the ICC pointed out that the recommendations were put together by a "working group" of the F&CA committee, and would be discussed when the ICC Board meets in Dubai from January 27 to 29. They have emphasised in the past that the document given to the Boards of Full Member nations during the January 9 special meeting was not an ICC F&CA committee document and its details were still up for discussion.

Speight's comments puts the focus on the F&CA "working group". This working group, it has been ascertained, was concentrated around the three boards who stand to gain the most out of the position paper draft. It comprised Giles Clarke of the ECB, Wally Edwards of Cricket Australia and N Srinivasan of BCCI, assisted by a clutch of commercial executives: Dean Kino (general manager of legal and business affairs, Cricket Australia), John Perera (commercial director ECB) and Sundar Raman (chief operating officer, IPL). Kino and Raman also form a two-man technical committee in the Champions League T20, one of the world's wealthiest cricket tournaments.

Cricket Australia's only comment to ESPNcricinfo was, "As usual, there are a range of important matters up for discussion at the ICC Executive Board meeting. The outcome of that meeting and any decisions made will be communicated by the ICC. Until that time, we won't be making any comment." On Sunday, Clarke's response to the Observer newspaper about the issue was: "There's not much I can say about a draft. We get through a lot of those." The BCCI has made no comment.

Read More..

Muirhead and Lynn in Australia's T20 squad

Legspinner James Muirhead and batsman Chris Lynn will be in line for international debuts after being named in Australia's Twenty20 squad to take on England. Aaron Finch has been named vice-captain to George Bailey for the three-match T20 series that follows the ODIs, with Cameron White and Mitchell Starc both back in the reckoning along with Josh Hazlewood, Ben Cutting and Moises Henriques.

The most surprising selection was that of Muirhead, 20, who has played only four Twenty20 matches in his career, including only two for the Melbourne Stars this summer for a return of one wicket. However, Muirhead did bowl well in the Prime Minister's XI match against England in Canberra, where he took 3 for 52, and he also played against England in two other tour games earlier in the summer.

"We'll select the 15-man squad for the T20 World Cup in the middle of February and we're looking at spin-bowling options," John Inverarity, the national selector, said. "There are a number of spin-bowling options. Xavier Doherty of course has strong claims, Brad Hogg still has strong claims and we're interested in a legspinner also.

"So we're having a look at James Muirhead this time. He's a young man and he's impressed this season when he's played against England. He's a young man who really puts a lot on the ball and his legbreak turns. He's in the squad for the experience and if he plays I'm sure that he'll be striving to make the most of the opportunity."

The inclusion of Lynn was less of a surprise as he has been one of state cricket's most promising young batsmen for several seasons, and this summer has 197 BBL runs at 32.83. A clean striker of the ball for the Brisbane Heat and Queensland, Lynn also impressed the selectors with his 104 and 61 not out when he was drafted into the Western Australia Chairman's XI that took on England before the first Ashes Test.

"[He] had a difficult season last season and wasn't included in Queensland's first Sheffield Shield match," Inverarity said of Lynn. "He came here to play against England for the Western Australia XI and made a century, and hasn't looked back. He's a fine striker of the ball."

James Faulkner is the only member of Australia's Test squad to tour South Africa who will also be part of the T20s against England, with other senior T20 players such as David Warner and Shane Watson to focus on their Test preparations. Starc will be back for his first internationals since the Ashes tour of England, having missed the home Ashes with a back injury.

"Mitchell Starc has a fine record in international T20 cricket and is an important player in our ICC World Twenty20 campaign," Inverarity said. "It is anticipated that he will be ready to perform by the end of this month."

Twenty20 squad George Bailey (capt), Aaron Finch (vice-capt), Daniel Christian, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Ben Cutting, James Faulkner, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, James Muirhead, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade (wk), Cameron White.

Read More..

Bailey axed, Marsh back in Test squad

George Bailey has been axed from Australia's Test squad after playing in all five Ashes victories this summer, with Shaun Marsh and Alex Doolan included for the upcoming tour of South Africa. Australia's selectors have named a 15-man squad for the three-Test tour, which begins in early February, with Marsh, Doolan, James Pattinson, Jackson Bird and James Faulkner included from outside the Ashes XI.

Bailey was the only incumbent to lose his place after his inability to make a big score in any of the five Tests against England; he finished the series with 183 runs at 26.14. A weakness outside off stump caused Bailey some problems during the Ashes and the national selector John Inverarity said that the South African conditions were unlikely to help him, where he would have had to face Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander, the top two Test bowlers in the world on the ICC rankings.

"I think George's contribution to the Ashes victory was very significant," Inverarity said. "He played an integral role there. It was a wonderful Ashes series and the 11 players knitted together really well and they were a very convincing unit. But going to South Africa, we think George is less suited to there against their attack and we've left him out and bolstered the batting with Alex Doolan and Shaun Marsh.

"[Doolan] has been on the radar for quite some time. We had him on standby in the fifth Test in Sydney and he's now come into the squad of 15. Those of us who have seen us play … he looks a very good player - good technique, time, he plays pace bowling well - so we're hoping that he'll really flourish in this environment."

Doolan, 28, is the only uncapped player in the squad and will be battling with Marsh for a place in the top six for the opening Test in Cenutrion. Doolan had a breakout Sheffield Shield season last summer but this year has managed 391 runs at 39.10. However, his Shield form has been superior to that of Marsh, who this season sits 34th on the Shield run tally with 248 runs at 31.00, including only one fifty-plus score - it was a century - from his nine innings.

Ten days ago, Marsh described his Shield form as "really inconsistent this year" and declared that there were "a lot of guys ahead of me" in the Test queue, but the selectors seem to have disagreed. Marsh has scored half-centuries in the first two ODIs against England, although Inverarity said the squad was picked before Sunday's game, and he does have South African Test experience, having played there on the 2011-12 tour.

"He's in a good space at the moment, Shaun," Inverarity said. "He's playing well. We all know that when Shaun plays at his best, he's a very good player. It seems to us that he's in that space at the moment ... That first Test match that he played in Cape Town, when Australia were eventually bowled out for a very small total. In the first innings, Michael Clarke made a century and Shaun made 44 and played exceptionally well against that attack."

Inverarity said Marsh, Doolan, Bailey and Phillip Hughes were the four contenders for two batting spots. Hughes can count himself unlucky to have missed out given that in the current Shield summer he has scored three centuries, including one double-hundred, and in his five Test appearances in South Africa he has averaged 53.00, including a score of 88 in the last Test Australia played there on the 2011-12 trip.

Hughes was dropped from the Test side after the defeat at Lord's in July, despite the fact he had made an impressively mature 81 not out in the first Test at Trent Bridge when Ashton Agar nearly scored a hundred on debut. Since his axing, Hughes has made 671 first-class runs at the average of 61.00 from 11 innings, including a double-century and two other tons this Sheffield Shield season.

Marsh, by comparison, has scored most of his runs in the shorter formats. Since he was dropped from the Test side in January 2012, he has made 675 first-class runs at 25.00.

The make-up of the attack was less tricky for the selectors, with Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon all the natural choices after their success in the home Ashes campaign. The addition of Faulkner, the perennial 12th man during that series, was no surprise either, which left them choosing two backup fast men from Bird, Pattinson and Nathan Coulter-Nile.

Inverarity said it was a close call but the selectors believed Pattinson could be a valuable member of the squad if he is able to continue making good progress on his return from a back injury. Pattinson made his return to the national side during Sunday's one-day win over England at the SCG.

"He's been making very good progress during the last six weeks," Inverarity said. "Last night I thought he showed some very good signs and we've still got three or four weeks to go. He's on the upward curve and at his best he's a very good bowler."

Test squad Michael Clarke (capt), Brad Haddin (vice-capt), Jackson Bird, Alex Doolan, James Faulkner, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Johnson, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Chris Rogers, Peter Siddle, Steven Smith, David Warner, Shane Watson.

Read More..

Footmarks on pitch crucial to SL chances, says Sangakkara

The footmarks developing on the Sharjah pitch are crucial to Sri Lanka's hopes of winning the series 2-0, Sri Lanka batsman Kumar Sangakkara said. Day three saw the surface play reasonably well for the batsmen, even if it remained a challenging pitch for stroke-making, but Sri Lanka's spinners achieved success by attacking rough areas either side of the pitch.

There has been no unplayable turn or bounce from the footmarks, but on a surface on which the fast bowlers could not generate movement save with the old ball, the rough on the pavilion end of the pitch, in particular, presented hope for effecting dismissals. Pakistan trail Sri Lanka by 137 runs with four wickets remaining.

"There are a lot of rough areas on the wicket and the real challenge is to exploit that rough," Sangakkara said. "For our spinners, it's really important to have a look at where the position of the rough is, and how well they can use it to generate the unpredictable. It's just the third day, so on the fourth and fifth day, it's bound to get worse to bat on. Anyway, scoring is pretty difficult. By getting 400 in the first innings, we put ourselves in a pretty good position."

Rangana Herath pitched well outside the off stump throughout many of his spells on day three, but Sangakkara suggested this was not a stalling tactic from Sri Lanka, who lead the series 1-0. Constant plugging away at that line prompted a reverse-sweep from Ahmed Shehzad, who dragged the ball onto his off stump on 147, and had earlier also accounted for Younis Khan, who edged one down the leg side. Herath finished the day with 3 for 88 from his 31.3 overs - the best returns for his team so far.

"There was rough outside leg, to try and pitch the ball in," he said. "A lot of batsmen don't have the patience anyway when you bowl those kind of lines. It seems negative when you look at it from the outside, but the plan was quite positive - to try and get them to hit against the line, try and get one to turn from off the rough and see whether we can get something happening on that track. When you bowl around the wicket, there wasn't much purchase on it because there isn't much rough in line with the stumps."

Sri Lanka's route to victory will also be marked by damage control and self-preservation with the bat, Sangakkara said, as the onus rests on Pakistan to force the pace in the match. Pakistan had progressed at 2.28 runs an over in the first session of the day, before the scoring rate gathered momentum in the evening, but they will likely have to bat out at least two sessions on day four to establish a first-innings lead.

"If we get a couple of wickets in the morning tomorrow, especially Misbahul-Haq, then we would be able to do quite well in the Test," Sangakkara said. "They were pushing for runs today, trying to get as close as possible to our total but the two wickets at end of the day were very crucial for us.

"Pakistan will have to try and push to get a result, losing 1-0 or 2-0 is going to be the same when you have lost the series. They are going for broke and our job is to try and hold our nerve and absorb the pressure. First of all, we have to limit the damage - runs-wise - and if we do get a chance to bat again, we have to ensure we bat well."

Sangakkara said he had expected the pitch to deteriorate faster than it has by the end of day three, but found no fault in it. The cricket has been attritional throughout the series - owing to the teams' approach as much as to the surfaces - but the pitch in Sharjah has been particularly difficult to score on, without offering much for the bowlers.

"There are different types of wickets. A lot of people have different ideas of what Test cricket should be. What Test cricket should produce is a great contest, whether it's a test of patience or skills of players," he said. "When it's hard to get runs and it's hard to get purchase, to see how well the sides adapt to those situations. Those are signs of good Test players and, on this kind of pitch, maybe there wasn't anything for the fast bowlers with the new ball, but there was reverse swing. There can be a lot more turn in the next two days, so we have to wait and see how it plays.

"By the look of it on the first day, I thought that there would be lot more turn than we have seen on the first two days. Probably the first day turned a lot more, while the top was a bit softer and a heavy roller compacted it, and made it a lot better for batting."

Sri Lanka's fast bowlers have been a vital ingredient in the team's success in the series, and produced long, disciplined spells again on day three, helping limit Pakistan's scoring. Shaminda Eranga took two wickets, both achieved through reverse-swing.

"I think the bowling has been a revelation - especially Lakmal and Eranga. The discipline and the fitness they have shown to last three Tests, bowling very long spells is fantastic," Sangakkara said. "They prepared well, especially Eranga, before coming here. Also on this tour, he worked hard with the bowling coach. Chaminda Vaas has done well with them. They have done all you can ask of them as fast bowlers on this tour, and I think they are incredible for us."

Read More..

Maharashtra lead after Fallah burst

Maharashtra 164 for 4 (Khurana 48, Jadhav 40, Dinda 2-45, Shukla 2-45) lead Bengal 114 (Arindam 37, Fallah 7-58) by 50 runs
Scorecard

Twice before this season, Maharashtra had won the toss, sent their opponents out to bat on greentops, and rolled them over on the first day. On both those occasions - against Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh - their batsmen had backed up their bowlers' efforts by coming out and scoring 400-plus totals.

On the morning of Maharashtra's first Ranji Trophy semi-final in 17 years, the pitch at the Holkar Stadium wore an even coat of green. Rohit Motwani, their captain, won another toss. His bowlers, yet again, exploited the conditions perfectly, and bowled Bengal out in 41.4 overs. The batsmen came out and made a still lively surface and an acclaimed bowling attack look more or less manageable. Maharashtra ended the day 50 runs ahead with six wickets in hand.

On the eve of the match, his 50th in first-class cricket, Samad Fallah had reminded mediapersons that he was closing in on 200 wickets. When Saturday dawned, the left-arm seamer needed nine more to get there. When he bowled Shib Paul, Bengal's No. 11, his tally had risen to 198.

It wasn't the best day for a Bengal batsman to make his debut. Koushik Ghosh, the left-handed opener, realised this when he pushed forward at Fallah in the third over of the morning, to a ball pitched on off stump. The line forced Ghosh to play, and the away-swing produced a healthy tickle to first slip despite the fact that his bat had remained close to his body and his head more or less over the top of the ball.

Fallah changed his angle of approach frequently over the remainder of his spell, but never lost his direction. From left-arm round, wide of the crease, he swung one into the right-handed Abhimanyu Easwaran to trap him lbw. This was the last ball of his seventh over. First ball of his eighth, Fallah went over the wicket to the left-handed Sudip Chatterjee, and speared one into the blockhole for another lbw.

The last five balls of that over, all to Wriddhiman Saha, went as follows: an imploring shout for lbw and the hat-trick (close, but not given); another lbw appeal (close again); a half-steer, half-edge to third man for four; one more lbw appeal (just as loud, perhaps not as close); and an inside-edge that dropped inches in front of short leg.

Fallah bowled two more overs in that spell. At the other end, Anupam Sanklecha and Domnic Joseph were complementing him brilliantly. They didn't attack the stumps quite as much, sticking instead to a fifth-stump line, and tightened the screws on Bengal's batsmen. They took a wicket each, as did Harshad Khadiwale, who tempted Saha to flash at his gentle medium-pace and nick to wicketkeeper Motwani. In Khadiwale's previous over, Arindam Das had attempted the same shot, with almost the same result; Sangram Atitkar had dropped him at first slip.

Fallah cleaned up the rest. Extra bounce consumed Laxmi Shukla, while extravagant inswing did for Arindam - who had played an innings that contained as many plays-and-misses as elegant clips and drives. Sourav Sarkar and Paul, Nos. 9 and 11, slogged themselves out off successive deliveries, leaving Fallah on a hat-trick once more.

When Paul went, bowled heaving across the line, Ashok Dinda at the other end aimed a similar heave at nothing in particular. He had been left not out on 0 off 1 ball. Dinda channeled that frustration into his bowling, leaping higher than ever into his delivery stride, and worked up pace of a sort that none of Maharashtra's bowlers - barring Sanklecha, on occasion - had come close to producing.

Dinda's radar, however, wasn't quite right. His first ball, angled into Khadiwale's pads, was worked away for two. Four of the next five balls were similarly drawn to the batsmen's pads. Khadiwale took a single, Chirag Khurana scored a boundary and a single, Khadiwale hit another four. 

That over set the tone for an opening partnership of 78. Dinda bowled too straight, his new-ball partner Sarkar bowled either too full or too short; Khurana, moving his feet decisively, drove or cut him repeatedly through the off side.

In the first over after tea, Dinda broke the partnership with another ball angled down leg, Khurana getting a tickle to the wicketkeeper. An inducker from Shukla in the next over bowled Khadiwale. Bengal sniffed a chance, and filled the air with chatter. It grew in volume when Shukla curved one into the left-handed Vijay Zol to trap him on the shuffle.

It didn't let up for the rest of the afternoon, but it didn't affect Kedar Jadhav and Ankit Bawne. Jadhav repeatedly walked out of his crease to the seamers, and struck eight crisply- timed fours - mostly whipped off his legs or driven through cover on one knee - before popping a return catch to Dinda. 

Bawne was watchful outside off stump but drove assuredly whenever the ball was pitched up, and had reached 37 at stumps. With him was Motwani, batting on 8. He hadn't yet opened his account when Ghosh dropped him at gully off Dinda. It was a forgettable end to a forgettable first day for Bengal.

Read More..

Shehzad unhappy with Sri Lanka's 'negative' approach

Pakistan might have been conservative with their batting approach on the third day in Sharjah, but their opener Ahmed Shehzad said he was "surprised" by the negative approach adopted by the Sri Lanka bowlers. He stated that the opposition got "afraid" and looked insecure despite having a hefty total on the board.

"I was surprised with their negative approach," Shehzad said. "Although they had 400-plus runs on the board, they had packed the leg side. But yes there are some captains who are aggressive and then there are some who are defensive."

Almost throughout the day, Sri Lanka had six fielders on the leg side, letting Pakistan score only 23 runs in the first hour of play.  

Pakistan still trail by 137 runs with four wickets in hand after what was a lengthy and toiling day for scoring runs. They might have shelved their plan to maintain a run rate of around three but still have a lot to do to think of a win. They crawled for most parts of the day and played with caution in the first two sessions but the final session saw fearless attacking as they piled up 122 runs in 31.3 overs.

"It's Test cricket," Shehzad said when asked about what took him so long to play his natural game. "Whatever the conditions are, you have to play according to that. We were just playing normal cricket, that's it. To build any kind of score it's very important to negotiate the new ball and do well with that. So that was our first plan and to score some runs as well, so yes we did well."

Pakistan lost four of their batsmen to edges behind the stumps. Azhar Ali took a bizarre review, even though he had edged a ball to slips, only to be struck down and Pakistan continued to struggle with their calls on DRS as day three saw all their reviews being unsuccessful.

Sri Lanka are already up 1-0 in the series and they adopted a safety-first approach. Rangana Herath frustrated the batsmen by bowling outside the leg stump with Shehzad facing 85 balls against him and scoring 37 from them. He negotiated well during his hundred but lost his patience and played an unorthodox reverse sweep to edge the ball onto his stumps.

"It was a tough time [in the end], I was trying to accelerate when my wicket fell," Shehzad said. "I was set and was seeing the ball well and tried to keep the scoreboard going, my wicket fell at a very difficult time. I think I should have stayed and scored more runs for the team. Had I not been dismissed, we would not have lost three wickets at a time which is difficult for any batsman.

"We had to move the scoreboard, we had no other choice. We had lost one match, it's a do-or-die match for us. But they can't bowl us out with negative bowling in a proper Test match, it's not possible. They were afraid after lunch that we would go after their bowling."

Along with the acceleration, Pakistan lost four wickets in the final session. Shehzad said he was not very optimistic about the result of the match. "The captain is playing and I hope he knows better than me," he said. "I think we should play two more sessions and equal their score, that's the present target. I think we will play normal cricket and we will try to come back into the match and then go for a result."

Read More..

Williamson, Taylor rebuild after Shami strikes

New Zealand 112 for 2 (Williamson 49*, Taylor 32*, Shami 2-16) v India
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details

India received a rude welcome to New Zealand but his intent to pepper the short square boundaries got better of him, and Mohammed Shami forced the hosts into rebuild mode with a double strike. Rebuild Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor did, going with a boundary for almost 10 overs before opening up to push the run rate towards five an over at the halfway mark.

From the moment Ryder short-armed the last ball of the first over for six over square leg, signs were ominous. He hit two fours in the next over, and went after the short square boundary in the fourth over again. Shami, though, kept the seam upright and the ball right up despite Ryder's intent. To the last ball of the fourth over, Ryder's feet didn't go, the bat turned a little, and he was bowled to make it 22 for 1. Martin Guptill didn't look in the best of touches, and edged Shami in the eighth over for a sharp catch for R Ashwin at first slip.

Williamson and Taylor then batted cautiously. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was allowed to a bowl a quiet and long first spell, 24 in seven overs. Shami went off with a sore back after the two wickets, but Ishant Sharma made a decent start. When Williamson and Taylor took calculated risks in the 15th over, moving inside the line to work Ishant away for boundaries, those were the first hits to the boundary since the end of the fifth over.

New Zealand had made up their mind to shift gears, though. In the next over, Williamson chipped down to Ravindra Jadeja twice, and took four and three wide of long-on. Taylor drove him wide of long-off to reach 4000 ODI runs. Runs began to came freely after that, although Taylor did survive a close lbw shout from Ishant in the 17th over. With five singles in the 19th over, bowled by Virat Kohli, the partnership crossed 50.

Ashwin's introduction didn't have any impact on the partnership as they kept picking up the singles with the odd boundary thrown in. The last 11 overs leading into the halfway mark produced 62 runs.

Read More..

Talha, Junaid shine on dull day

For the second successive day, Pakistan's bowlers struggled on a flat pitch. The team, however, could take heart from the success of their pacers, Mohammad Talha and Junaid Khan

Pakistan bowlers may have started the second day optimistic about their chances of ending Sri Lanka's resistance but had little success as the visitors reached an imposing 428 for 9. While Pakistan's bowlers contained the Sri Lanka batsmen well - conceding only 208 runs in the day - they could grab wickets only after the batting side had managed to build themselves into a position of strength. However, there were positives for Pakistan on the second day, specially the bowling of pacers Mohammad Talha and Junaid Khan.

Talha, bowling in only his second Test after a gap of nearly five years, provided the much-needed breakthroughs on both days and finished with figures of 3 for 99 in 32 overs. He is one of the fastest bowlers in Pakistan's domestic cricket circuit, but was pushed back with the emergence of Mohammad Amir and Junaid Khan. Talha remained on the periphery of national selection for a long time and was left out for the squad for the first two Tests, but his performance showed an eagerness to make the best of an opportunity that came out of the blue.

On an unresponsive surface, Talha experimented a tad too much but though he was short of length, his patience was rewarded with the vital scalps of Prasanna Jayawardene (35) and debutant Dilruwan Perera (95). Junaid, at the other end, charged in throughout the day and was tidy, although he did not get too much movement with the ball. Junaid was Pakistan's most successful bowler, taking 3 for 81 at an economy rate of 2.53.

Saeed Ajmal, on the other hand, struggled again. He had picked up two wickets on the first day, but the Sri Lanka batsmen tackled him sensibly on the second and scored more fluently off him. He was wicketless throughout the day and was left cursing a pitch that did not offer much help. He finished the innings with 2 for 120 in 55 overs. Prior to the Sharjah Test, Ajmal had called for more supportive pitches but as Pakistan's strike bowler, he is expected to take wickets irrespective of conditions.

Like the first day, Pakistan also had a few issues surrounding umpiring decisions, as many reviews ended up in Sri Lanka's favour. Had those decisions been in their favour, Pakistan could possibly have restricted Sri Lanka before the tea break. It may not have made an overwhelming difference but it was better than nothing on a day when the team struggled.

"This is what Test cricket is," Junaid said, after an unproductive day. "We tried hard to extract the best out of the day, but it was a flat pitch. The way the batsmen have batted in last two days, there is nothing much for the bowlers."

Given the current match situation, the onus is on Pakistan's batsmen to show composure in their innings and Junaid was optimistic about the team's chances in the match: "The way pitch is acting, our batsmen can push hard tomorrow to make quick runs to turn the pressure back on Sri Lanka. We are hoping the pitch can do a bit later in the match."

Read More..

Sri Lanka take comfort from new heroes

Fourteen months on from fielding their oldest ever XI in a Test, Sri Lanka have regenerated at great speed and now brought to the fore, a talented crop of youngsters who are bound to leave the fans very excited for the future

Bowlers bowling well, batsmen batting better, Pakistan toiling, Sri Lanka staying patient, earnest line-and-length, flat pitches and attrition. Day two in Sharjah has mimicked so many others in an abrasive series, but for the visitors, there was something new to cheer for.

If Sri Lanka's strategy in dry pitches such as this could be summed up in a phrase, it is probably- bat first, bat big and let the spinners loose. In Sharjah, they attempted a return to that blueprint. Though two of their old juggernauts remained, it was Sri Lanka's new heroes, wielding an unfamiliar mode of operation, who were best at bolstering the team's position. After the long break in Tests, this tour was perhaps always going to be one of discovery, but few would have expected to unearth so much resilience in so many places.

Angelo Mathews is having the series of his career so far. He arrived in the UAE as a captain-in-training but will depart with unequivocal authority in his station, having orchestrated a furious counterattack, a resourceful fightback, and now, a stalling knock that appears to have fenced Sri Lanka's lead in the series. His batting on day two is perhaps not the kind of Test cricket that inspires fans to pay close attention to every ball, but there was no mistaking Mathews' concentration against good Test bowling, despite the docile surface.

The 164 dot balls in his innings show that Mathews was content to refuse what Pakistan did not give freely. Good judgement of both the bowling and the surface were his biggest assets in his vigil, but having arrived in the Sri Lanka team with a taste for aggression, his self-restraint against Pakistan has been remarkable. Until he perished (perhaps suddenly innervated by the prospect of another trip to triple-figures), Mathews had barely touched anything that was not threatening the stumps, save the balls short enough for him to cut.

Grinding his runs out not only helped frustrate the opposition - an emotion manifested most conspicuously in Saeed Ajmal- but it was also a percentage play on a pitch that has shown signs that its deterioration is imminent. Sri Lanka have bossed the series, and did not need to shake its glacial pace. Pakistan must now attack on day three if they are to reel in Sri Lanka fast enough to level the score. And even if they achieve parity in the first innings, a fourth-innings chase to win the match is only likely on the fifth day, when Sri Lanka's spinners will pose significant menace.

Mathews has also inspired calmness in less-experienced batsmen at the other end in this series - another sign of his burgeoning leadership ability. He had put up vital stands with Shaminda Eranga and Dinesh Chandimal in Abu Dhabi, and in Sharjah, helped guide Dilruwan Perera to the highest ever score by a Sri Lanka debutant away from home.

"The wicket is still a little hard to score on, so Angie told me to stay at the crease and that the two of us should try to extend the team's total," Dilruwan said. "I'm disappointed to miss out on 100, especially because not many Sri Lankans have done it on debut. The pull shot I played to get out was the only time I played that shot to a fast bowler. But at the same time, I'm happy about my 95."

Few would have expected Sri Lanka to have earned such a dominant place in the series without a major contribution from the likes of Kumar Sangakkara and Rangana Herath, but players like Dilruwan, Kaushal Silva and the fast bowlers have made surprising leaps to assure fans the future is not as bleak as once imagined. Sri Lanka played their oldest ever Test XI against New Zealand in 2012, but 14 months hence, they appear to be regenerating at speed.

It helps that Pakistan are an opposition they enjoy playing against. In their 13 most recent encounters, Sri Lanka have only lost once, though only the future challenges may be a better barometer.

In this match, Sri Lanka have also benefited from some good fortune via the margin for umpires' call in the DRS system. Three 50-50 decisions went their way on day one, and two more came on Friday as Pakistan exhausted all their reviews. Had an equal share of the contentious decisions fallen Pakistan's way, Sri Lanka might not have managed even 300 in the first innings, particularly if Sangakkara's gloved catch had also not been overlooked and Mathews' return catch on 0 been snaffled.

If Sri Lanka can protect their lead or even go one better, they will leave the UAE satisfied not only with the win, but also with their youngsters who would have all been instrumental in achieving it.

Read More..