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There were clunking buses, trumpeting trains and screeching political speeches in Galle, but Dinesh Chandimal unleashed his own brand of reverse-slapping pandemonium

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle14-Aug-20151:45

‘Rotated strike earlier than India thought’ – Chandimal

Government buses clunk their way around the fort in Galle, while trains trumpet into the station nearby. At an election rally on Friday, the shrieking speech from the podium runs away like a locomotive as well. To the east, a top offspinner is reverse-slapped against the turn. To the west is an angry sea. There is noise. It is mayhem. This is Sri Lanka.The day had begun with a whimper. Dhammika Prasad was bounced first ball, and left the field wringing fingers. When Kumar Sangakkara and Angelo Mathews set out sleepily, as the town awoke around them, they took a few overs to warm their arms. A few minutes were required for eyes to adjust to the bounce and for feet to begin moving to the beat of the pitch. They were off soon enough. Mathews socked Ishant Sharma through mid off, then crashed him to deep midwicket. Sangakkara clipped Varun Aaron to the fine leg fence. Next ball, he did it again.When the two men had a small partnership cooking, a small crowd built up atop the fort. They craned their necks to see the ball. Mathews and Sangakkara have both made galactic strides in Tests, hitting more runs than any other batsmen in the past three years. Sri Lanka were still light years behind in the match, but while they were at the crease, hope was not yet lost. The day was heating up. As Sangakkara lifted Harbhajan Singh down the ground and Mathews clattered R Ashwin behind point, so was the contest.Atop the fort, supporters winced when Sangakkara was snaffled at slip for 40. Ajinkya Rahane has caught and fielded like he is made of elastic all game. Fans grit their teeth when Mathews was caught off a spinner close in, next over. He had been out in similar fashion in the first innings.There was an early glimpse of chaos from Dinesh Chandimal’s bat. He fetched a ball from well outside off stump and put it behind deep square leg for four. He should have been out three balls later had the umpire detected a thin edge. Before long, Lahiru Thirimanne had survived a bat-pad catch as well. The parade of Sri Lankan wickets was giving way to madness. Virat Kohli was just mad. Had Nigel Llong met his stare, he might have required counselling.After lunch, Chandimal was pandemonium, just like the city around him. First ball, he walloped four with the sweep, which has been getting batsmen in trouble through the match. India’s spinners had run riot with the bounce they got from this pitch. Now it was Chandimal who was bouncing out to them, drilling balls through midwicket, and swinging others over square leg, while fireworks from the rally exploded above him, and kites took flight from the fort.’It [reverse-sweep] is not a shot I’ve played in school cricket, club cricket or international cricket before’ – Chandimal•AFPBy the time he was crashing Ishant through point and slashing him over the slips, men and women who had come dressed in party green for Sri Lanka’s prime minister, had crossed the road and lined the venue’s banks. The man they have come to see preaches of law and order, but they are in thrall of Chandimal’s anarchic manifesto instead.Before tea Kohli plugs up the leg side, thinking surely logic prevails and he top edges one of those damned sweeps. Now lost deep in a world of chaos, Chandimal finds an even more manic route. Soon, he is reverse-hitting Ashwin past cover. A grey langur bounds clean past the pitch. The batsman reverse-clobbers Harbhajan for six. The wheels have come off reality. Spacetime is being warped. The crowd is going insane.”I should say about the reverse sweep that it’s not a shot I’ve played in school cricket, club cricket or international cricket before,” Chandimal said. “But every time we have practice I’ve practiced the shot. I thought the best time to play it would be today. It worked well. Even before I went out, I thought I would sweep and reverse sweep the bowlers.”It wasn’t so long ago that Chandimal failed so emphatically in a Galle Test, he was packed off to an A team tour in England, mid-way through a Test series. It wasn’t so long ago that he was made captain of the T20 team, then axed from it altogether during a World T20 campaign, in which he could barely pierce the infield.Through all the chaos in Chandimal’s own life, through the close escape from the tsunami, through the political wrangles at Sri Lanka Cricket which affected him most from among the young players, Chandimal has won through. On Friday, he won through with his team with chaos of his own making. He made 51 of the 65 runs produced by the last three stands.India are still firm favourites to win the match, but in three hours on Friday, Chandimal gave the hosts a chance. He spurred noise. He made mayhem. He inspired Sri Lanka.

How much of a factor will Indian pitches be in South Africa’s quest to extend their winning streak on the tour to Tests? Sanjay Manjrekar weighs in on their challenges

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Nov-2015South Africa and the possibility of a rank turner
The losses in the T20 and ODI series may make India desperate enough to roll out rank turners in at least one of the matches of the upcoming Test series and Manjrekar feels South Africa don’t have enough experience on these kind of tracks.2:06

Manjrekar: India likely to dish out turners

Running out of pace?
Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander form the backbone of South Africa’s attack, but Manjrekar feels that the nature of the pitch and lack of assistance from conditions could hamper Morkel and Philander’s effectiveness.2:50

‘Morkel, Philander may not be the force they are expected to be’

Japan’s stunning victory over South Africa at the rugby World Cup is a timely reminder of everything that cricket’s introspective rulers are turning their backs on

Tim Wigmore24-Sep-2015To see Japanese and locals united in delirium on Brighton Pier last week as they celebrated Japan’s victory over South Africa in the rugby World Cup was to be reminded of the best of sport. As 30,000 spectators cheered Japan on to defeating the Springboks, it provided a glorious start to the eighth World Cup in the sport.To cricket fans the spectacle was simultaneously intoxicating and deeply grating. For as thrilling as Japan’s victory was, it was a reminder of what is being lost from the cricket World Cup, when the next two events contract to ten teams.To English cricket fans the contrast is particularly salient. Led by Giles Clarke, the ECB has been vehemently opposed to the notion of more than ten teams appearing in the World Cup, even arguing against a pre-qualifier, akin to the first stage of the World T20, being held in England just before the main event. Japan provided one of the most engrossing sights in all sport in 2015, but a side with their world ranking of 13th has scant chance of making cricket’s showpiece events in 2019 and 2023.Three months ago the ICC declared its ambition to establish cricket as the “world’s favourite sport” by 2023 – admirable words, certainly, but hard to reconcile with the current will of those running the sport. Indeed, the pulsating early days of the rugby World Cup have shown that perhaps cricket should be anxious about holding onto second place.Participation numbers for cricket received a huge boost in Ireland after the 2007 World Cup•Getty ImagesUntil 2015 Japan’s World Cup history – played 24 but won only one, with a net points difference of minus 731 – made for sobering reading. In the pantheon of cricket Associates they were more Bermuda than Ireland.It would have been easy to give up on Japan. Instead World Rugby redoubled its efforts, sending coaches and expertise to Japan, creating the Pacific Nations Cup in 2006 to give meaningful competition in the region and even awarding the 2019 World Cup to the country. The upshot, as coach Eddie Jones said after the toppling of the Springboks, is that the best young Japanese athletes will now be more inclined to choose rugby over competing sports.An inclusive attitude to the World Cup is at the core of World Rugby’s strategy for expanding the sport. Participation in the World Cup not only spurs children to take up the game – in Uruguay 25,000 more children are playing than a year ago after they qualified for the World Cup – but also allows emerging nations to cultivate financial support.Indeed, part of the rationale for a 20-team World Cup is to help developing countries become less dependent upon the largesse of World Rugby. Canada and the United States are prime examples: in the last decade, the proportion of their revenue that comes from World Rugby, rather than outside sources, has fallen from almost half to 10%. “Being in the World Cup is a huge boost to those countries being able to bring in a range of sponsors,” says Morgan Buckley, General Manager Development for World Rugby.The ECB is being short-sighted by not allowing some 2019 World Cup matches to be hosted in venues like Edinburgh•Getty ImagesWorld Rugby views the return of rugby to the Olympic Games, after 92 years, as the next stage in its development. “If you’re an Olympic sport it opens the doors into ministries of education and rugby can be on the curriculum,” explains Buckley. “When rugby is shown on every TV screen next year people will really see rugby in a new light.” Olympic status will be a particular boon for women’s rugby.Already the impact of rugby’s vision is becoming apparent: the total number of players beyond the ten Tier One nations more than doubled, from 1.45 million to 3.25 million, between 2012 and 2015. This is globalisation at high speed. And it has come not in spite of rugby’s traditional powers but largely because of them. As in cricket, elite rugby nations are not immune to self-interest. But unlike in cricket, they have the foresight to recognise that spreading the game provides the best guarantee of their wealth in the long-term, as Buckley says. “They realise that having a global World Cup, with the TV deals that are done in Asia and throughout the globe, benefits everybody.”Many at the ICC share World Rugby’s expansionary zeal. Some of the results here are startling, too: the number of cricketers beyond the Test world rose from 500,000 to 1.4 million between 2010 and 2015. But, for all the brilliant work of the ICC’s Global Development Programme, it is the pull of playing in the World Cup that has underpinned the self-betterment of many of those beyond the Test elite. After their dramatic entrance onto the world stage in 2007, Ireland rapidly attained heights unimagined in the 275 years in which cricket had been played in the country: participation numbers have quadrupled since, and the Irish government, on both sides of the border, has been suitably impressed. Unyielding determination to get onto the world stage, and show the globe a different side of the country, has inspired Afghanistan’s journey.All Blacks players play rugby with Japanese schoolkids in Tokyo, 2013•AFPThe Associate world is no longer just about these two nations: two other Associates, the Netherlands and Hong Kong, toppled Full Members at last year’s World T20. This success represents vindication for the vision of the late Jagmohan Dalmiya in creating the Champions Trophy in 1998 as a tool to bankroll funds for non-Test-playing countries.Yet cricket now seems content to put up the white flag on its global ambitions. It is not only the cricket fraternity who notice the ICC’s myopia in contracting the World Cup, disingenuously presenting the World T20 as a 16-team event rather than a ten-team tournament with a qualifier tacked on, and shunning the Olympics. Governments have paid heed too. While rugby has benefited from sizeable investment from governments, including in China and the US, after joining the Olympics, cricket’s rejection of the Games makes funding cricket altogether less appealing. The Irish Sports Council have let it be known that it would be highly likely to increase funding for cricket if it became an Olympic Sport. As Ireland attempts to get financial support from the government to build permanent stands at grounds, it will not pass unnoticed either that while the ECB allowed Ireland, the Netherlands and Scotland to host matches in the 1999 World Cup, it has made it clear it will not do so again in 2019.For cricket, the fear is short-term greed will have a deleterious long-term impact. As football continues to expand, rugby and cricket compete for attention underneath. It should be an unfair battle. The ICC has the capacity to do far more than World Rugby to grow the sport: between 2007 and 2015 the ICC generated profits of $900 million, around $500 million more than World Rugby; the ICC expects to double its figure between 2015 and 2023.Rugby in Rio: a sport’s presence in the Olympics has a knock-on effect in participation, government funding and sponsorship•Getty ImagesYet by diverting more revenue to Australia, England and India than the other 103 ICC members combined, cricket risks “losing the inherent trust of the public,” believes the sports ethics campaigner Jaimie Fuller. “If the consequences of this are that they lose their very valuable place in the pantheon of sports rankings then they will deserve all they get.”In March Andy Balbirnie scored 97 in Ireland’s thrilling victory over Zimbabwe in the World Cup. He has watched World Rugby’s inclusive attitude jealously.”These Japanese players are heroes and that is what this rugby World Cup is doing – creating heroes. The ICC has such an opportunity to do the same,” he says. “For Associate players to become heroes they need to show off their skills on the biggest stage, which is a World Cup. Cricket will miss out on the underdog story that we all love no matter what the sport.”As rugby eyes establishing its World Cup among the top three sports events in the world – behind only the football World Cup and Olympics – cricket should be wary. The myopia, greed and short-termism of cricket’s ruling elite, led by the guilty men running the game in Australia, England and India, risks grave consequences for the sport’s well-being. It might not only be rugby that leaves cricket behind.

Stats highlights from the seventh round of Ranji Trophy games

Bharath Seervi18-Nov-2015295 Target chased down by Mumbai in the fourth innings against Railways. This is their highest successful run-chase in the history of Ranji Trophy. Their previous-highest was 286, against Baroda in 1994-95; having won that game by five wickets, primarily due to to Manoj Joglekar’s 114 and Sachin Tendulkar’s 97. This is their third win this season, this being the second by successfully chasing targets in the fourth innings – they also chased 236 to win by one wicket against Tamil Nadu in the third round.781 Shreyas Iyer’s aggregate this season, which is the highest by any batsman after seven rounds. In nine innings, he has six 50-plus scores, including 57 and 91 against Railways in this round. His scores before this game were 15, 200, 12, 83, 171, 13 and 137. In both of Mumbai’s successful run-chases he has made vital contributions – 83 against Tamil Nadu and 91 against Railways. His strike rate of 99.49 is also the highest by any batsman who has scored 150-plus runs this season. He has hit the most fours (84) and second-most sixes (19) this season. He was Mumbai’s highest run-getter in the last season as well.255* Natraj Behera’s score in the first innings for Odisha against Haryana, which is the second-highest score for Odisha in first-class cricket. The highest is 300 not out by Shiv Sunder Das against Jammu and Kashmir in 2006-07. Das also made 253 against Bengal in Baripada in 2001-02, which is the third-highest for Odisha. Behera’s unbeaten 255 is also the highest score in this Ranji Trophy season, going past Paras Dogra’s 227 in the previous round for Himachal Pradesh against Services.3 Number of outright wins for Assam this season – they beat Delhi by five wickets in their latest match, having already won by an innings and 152 runs against Rajasthan, and by six wickets against Haryana. This is only the third season where Assam have won three or more matches. They won three in 2008-09 and five in 2014-15.0 Number of losses for Delhi this season before their five-wicket loss to Assam. They had won three and drawn three of the first six matches. They still top Group A with 24 points.1 Number of bowlers who have taken a hat-trick for Vidarbha in first-class cricket before Umesh Yadav’s against Rajasthan in the latest round of matches. Pritam Gandhe took two hat-tricks for Vidarbha, against Rajasthan in 1993-94 and against Services in 2008-09.245 Number of runs added by the Baroda openers Kedar Devdhar and Aditya Waghmode in the first innings against Punjab. This is the highest opening partnership in this season so far; surpassing the 213 added by Aditya Shrivastava and Jalaj Saxena for Madhya Pradesh against Tamil Nadu in the second round.529/6 Odisha’s total in the first innings against Haryana – their first 500-plus total since making 552 for 7 against Jammu and Kashmir in 2006-07.4 Number of centuries for Bengal’s Sudip Chatterjee this season – the most by any batsman. He has scored 145 against Karnataka, 116 against Delhi, 116 against Vidarbha and 147 against Maharashtra. There are six others with three centuries so far.8000 Dinesh Karthik’s first-class run aggregate. He reached the milestone with an unbeaten 38 in the second innings of Tamil Nadu’s game against Uttar Pradesh, just before the match ended in a draw. He averages 41.02 in his first-class career. Incidentally, he has exactly 1000 runs in Tests, 100 runs in T20Is and has faced 2000 balls in his Test career; thus his Test strike rate is a round figure 50.00 as well.5000+ First-class runs for Robin Bist and Faiz Fazal. Bist reached the landmark when he reached 99 in his innings of 101 for Himachal Pradesh against Saurashtra, while Fazal achieved it during his knock of 19 for Vidarbha against Rajasthan.145* Suresh Raina’s score in Uttar Pradesh’s game against Tamil Nadu, his ninth century and his third-highest score in Ranji Trophy. During his innings he went past 4000 runs in Ranji Trophy, and 6000 in first-class games.5069 Aggregate runs for Abhinav Mukund in the Ranji Trophy. He reached the 5000-run milestone during his second-innings knock of 71 against Uttar Pradesh. He averages 50.69 in his Ranji Trophy career.252 Praveen Kumar’s wickets tally in first-class matches. He completed 250 first-class wickets when he dismissed Dinesh Karthik, in Uttar Pradesh’s game against Tamil Nadu.

Mostly the Asia Cup has gone by without creating much of a ripple, and this time too it’s being served as an appetiser before the main course – the World T20 – but in a new format

Mohammad Isam23-Feb-20165:13

Who are the Asia Cup favourites?

For years, there has been monotony about the Asia Cup. The contest has usually been exclusively between the Test-playing nations with one or two Associate nations being added on occasions to give it a wider appeal. Mostly, it has gone by without creating too much of a ripple. This year will be the Asia Cup’s 13th edition and to keep its relevance, the tournament has gone T20, a format that has usually brought teams closer in contests and is now expected to give everyone a chance in this usually predictable competition.The changed format was, however, down to its timing and proximity to the World T20. Since it is scheduled to end a few days before that major event, it was felt to be convenient for every team to use it as a warm-up tournament. The conditions in Fatullah and Mirpur would be similar to what most of these teams would face in India during the World T20, and in any case most of these teams don’t really play a lot of T20 internationals, so this would be a proper exercise to gear up ahead of a major tournament.

ACC currently being run by two staff members

The ACC is currently being run with two staff members – events manager Sultan Rana and finance director Thusith Perera.
“There is a lot of restructuring at the ACC,” Rana told ESPNcricinfo on the eve of the Asia Cup. “At the moment, we have cut down the staff. Obviously we have all the support from the Test-playing countries. I gather that they are trying to revive some of its activities, which we were used to carrying out, like the development of cricket. I hope we are able to do it again. We have been doing it for the last 12-15 years. The contribution of the ACC is clearly shown in the four Associate teams that are playing ODIs.”
Rana said that there will be Asia Cup for the Under-19s and women while they are also hoping to hold a tournament for emerging nations which was part of Anurag Thakur’s plan to revive the ACC.
“We will be having Asia Cup for U-19s, women and emerging teams championships in which the A team from the Test-playing nations will participate with four Associate countries in a one-day competition.
“ACC is still there in the original form. We have all the Test-playing countries who are in the executive board. It is only the office. We have shrunk, you can say.”

Given the circumstances, defending champions Sri Lanka would welcome the Asia Cup. They are no longer the team of 2014 when they won both the Asia Cup and World T20 so a lot would now depend on how quickly they can gel and take momentum from this tournament into the World T20. Lasith Malinga, Angelo Mathews, Nuwan Kulasekara and Rangana Herath are important players in the team which is mostly youth-focused though Tillakaratne Dilshan would remain the batting leader.Sri Lanka’s richness in spin-bowling allrounders will be fulfilled by newcomers Milinda Siriwardana and Shehan Jayasuriya and they will also have Thisara Perera and Dasun Shanaka as pace-bowling allrounders. They will also hope that Dushmantha Chameera will carry his pace and movement from India to Bangladesh.India, who beat Sri Lanka in the recent T20 series at home, would be the favourites in the tournament although they haven’t made it to the Asia Cup final in the last two editions. This time, they will bank heavily on their top-order batsmen and spinners, and try to get a closer look at allrounder Hardik Pandya and left-arm spinner Pawan Negi while also give game-time to veterans Ashish Nehra and Yuvraj Singh. India will have to ensure that their pace attack and middle order get enough exposure and with it confidence ahead of the World T20.Hosts Bangladesh have a lot to play for, given their lowly T20 value. This is one format they haven’t cracked mainly because they hardly play T20s even at the domestic level. This time, however, they will be equipped with experience in the BPL and the six T20s against Zimbabwe in November and January. They have some new T20 match-winners in Mahmudullah and Sabbir Rahman but they will be without Tamim Iqbal, who did very well in the PSL, because of paternity leave.The PSL was also useful for Pakistan to pick their World T20 and Asia Cup squads. The likes of Sharjeel Khan and Mohammad Sami will add to Shahid Afridi’s reserve of experienced players like Mohammad Hafeez and Shoaib Malik. Mohammad Amir will remain the team’s biggest attraction after having played the bilateral series against New Zealand, and the BPL and PSL.The Asia Cup is already a success story for UAE who made it to the main stage by winning all three of the qualifying matches. Rohan Mustafa, Mohammad Naveed, Mohammad Shahzad and Mohammad Kaleem did well against Oman, Afghanistan and Hong Kong, and this tournament will be their showground in their quest to become a fully professional side. They will also be the only side in the Asia Cup who will not be looking ahead to the World T20.This edition of the Asia Cup will also be the first under the downsized Asian Cricket Council, who shut down operations in their Kuala Lumpur headquarters last June. They were supposed to become just ACC events but in October last year, BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur said that the ACC should be revived and as a first step, the Centre of Excellence is being set up in Dharamsala in India.A shrunk ACC running a tournament that has historically lacked a major impact might be stretching it but the Asia Cup hopes to remain relevant. Even if this time it is being served as an appetiser before the main course. It will be a similar situation in 2020 while the 2018 event is likely to feature ODIs. This, the first Asia Cup in T20 format, will say a lot about its survival in the consciousness of those watching, and those playing.

Also: the most matches in each format without experiencing a win. And is there a player with the initials LBW?

Steven Lynch24-May-2016Has any England bowler managed a cheaper ten-for in a Test than James Anderson’s 10 for 45? asked Malcolm Roberts from England

James Anderson’s 10 for 45 against Sri Lanka at Headingley last week comes in sixth overall on this particular list. The table is headed by Australian left-arm spinner Bert Ironmonger, who was nearly 50 when he took 11 for 24 on a helpful pitch against South Africa in Melbourne in 1931-32. In second place, with scarcely credible match figures of 33-21-27-10, comes Glenn McGrath, against West Indies in Brisbane in 2000-01. The only cheaper ten-fors for England both came against South Africa, in some of their earliest Tests: Johnny Briggs took 15 for 28, with no help from a fielder, in Cape Town in 1888-89, while George Lohmann scalped 15 for 45, with 8 for 7 in the second innings, in Port Elizabeth in 1895-96.There were nearly three Test-free months before England’s series against Sri Lanka. Was this a record for recent years? asked Daniel Gerrard from England

The last Test before England and Sri Lanka got under way at Headingley last week was the one between New Zealand and Australia in Christchurch, which finished on February 24. That gap of 84 days, caused mainly by the World T20, was the longest since… last year, when there were 93 days without a Test between early January and mid-April, thanks to the 2015 World Cup. There have been some other gaps longer than the recent one during the build-up to and playing of World Cups and World T20s.In the last 50 years, the longest period without a Test somewhere was in 1970, when the cancellation of South Africa’s tour of England (and its replacement with an unofficial series against the Rest of the World) meant there were no official Test matches between mid-March and the end of November, a total of 262 days. The next-biggest gap soon followed: there were 176 days between the last Test in England in 1971 (India’s historic win at The Oval) and the first match of New Zealand’s tour of the West Indies, in February 1972.There have been two long barren spells caused by world wars: there were no Tests for nearly seven years between March 1914 and December 1920, and another long gap between September 1939 and March 1946. Apart from that, the longest gap between matches since Test cricket began in 1877 is 849 days – about two years and four months – between the end of the Ashes series in England in August 1899 and the start of the next one Down Under in December 1901.Who has played the most matches in each of the three international formats without ever winning? asked George Richardson from New Zealand

A New Zealander leads the way here in Test matches: Bert Sutcliffe, one of their greatest batsmen, played 42 Tests between 1949 and 1965 without ever finishing on the winning side. New Zealand did win the odd match during his time, but he always managed to miss those games. The Zimbabwean left-arm seamer Bryan Strang comes next – he played 26 Tests without ever winning one. Three Bangladeshis head this sorry list in one-day internationals: Al Sahariar played 27 ODIs without winning one, Sanwar Hossain 27 and Hannan Sarkar 20. Next comes Bermuda’s Malachi Jones (12), then three players on 11 – Travis Dowlin (West Indies), Alester Maregwede (Zimbabwe) and Roland Lefebvre (Netherlands). The (non) record-holder in T20Is is Zimbabwe fast bowler Kyle Jarvis, who played nine T20Is without winning one; Jeffrey Vandersay has so far taken part in six for Sri Lanka without tasting victory.Mohammad Azharuddin is the only non-Australian to score centuries in his first and last Tests•John Macdougall/AFPMohammad Azharuddin scored a century in his first and last Tests – has anyone else done this? asked Krishnan from India

Mohammad Azharuddin made 110 in his first Test, against England in Calcutta in 1984-85, and 102 in his 99th and last match, against South Africa in Bangalore in 1999-2000. Only three other batsmen have done this, all of them Australians: Reggie Duff scored 104 on debut in Melbourne in 1901-02, and 146 in his final Test, also against England, at The Oval in 1905; Bill Ponsford made 110 in his first Test, in Sydney in 1924-24, and 266 in his last, also against England, at The Oval in 1934; and Greg Chappell started with 108 against England in Perth in 1970-71, and finished with 182 against Pakistan in Sydney in 1983-84. Another Aussie, Shaun Marsh, is also on this list, probably temporarily – although he has not appeared since being dropped after hitting 182 against West Indies in Hobart last December (he made 141 on debut, against Sri Lanka in Pallekele in 2011-12). This excludes the unfortunate pair of Andy Ganteaume (West Indies) and Rodney Redmond (New Zealand), who scored centuries in their only Test appearances.I was marvelling at the Sri Lankan players’ initials, and wondered if any bowler ever had the initials LBW? asked Henry Porter from England

There hasn’t (yet) been an international bowler with these promising initials. The huge Cricket Archive database – which includes many minor games – does throw up two: LBW Taylor, who played for Otago’s youth teams in New Zealand, and LBW de Grooth from the Hague CC in the Netherlands. Taylor didn’t do any bowling in the matches that have made it into their records, but happily Luwe de Grooth did. And in the Flamingo Juniors tournament final in Deventer in August 2000, the equally splendidly named S Wolf was lbw LBW de Grooth for 5.In connection with last week’s question about Test debutants sharing the same birthdate, how often has it happened in any Test? asked Michael Sutcliffe from England

Apart from the debut one mentioned last time – Nat Thomson and Ned Gregory in the very first Test of all in Melbourne in 1876-77 – there have been only nine other instances of two players in the same Test side sharing the same date of birth. There are no prizes for guessing that the Waugh twins head the list: they played 108 Tests together after Mark’s debut in 1990-91. Men’s Test cricket’s other twins – Hamish and James Marshall from New Zealand – played five matches together in 2005. The unrelated same-day pairings, with the number of matches they played together in brackets, are David Boon and Dave Gilbert (eight for Australia), Greg Blewett and Matthew Hayden (six for Australia), Patsy Hendren and Ernest Tyldesley (five for England), Naved-ul-Hasan and Yasir Hameed (five for Pakistan), Jack Crapp and Jack Young (four for England), Ashok Malhotra and Shivlal Yadav (three for India), Al-Amin Hossain and Rubel Hossain (three for Bangladesh), and Bobjee Narasimha Rao and Yashpal Sharma (two for India). The one that caused the question in the first place – Jake Ball and James Vince – didn’t happen last week, after Ball was left out of the 12 for the first Test against Sri Lanka at Headingley.Send in your questions using our feedback form.

The discipline displayed by Joe Root and Alastair Cook proved that highlights packages are not the best means of judging the merits of Test cricketers

George Dobell at Old Trafford22-Jul-2016In the aftermath of defeat at Lord’s, it was suggested that future England teams could be selected by the use of video highlights.This, we were told, would empower the England team management to pick players without the filter of other selectors.But imagine you were to watch a highlights package of England’s batting on the first day at Old Trafford. As well as Joe Root’s gorgeous back-foot drives – surely among the most beautiful strokes in contemporary cricket – and Alastair Cook’s straight drives – a less characteristic stroke – you would also have seen four sparkling boundaries from James Vince. One of them, a cover drive off Yasir Shah, was as pretty a shot as was seen all day. On such evidence, you could be forgiven for concluding that Vince was every bit as good a player as the other two.But it’s not the good shots that make the difference. Most professional batsmen can put away the half-volley and long-hop. Many boundaries look attractive.What separates the good – and they’re all good players – from those good enough to make it at Test level is the judgment of when to play and when to leave; when to attack and when to defend. As ever with Test cricket, it is as much the shots that are not played, as those that are, that make the difference.So, a highlights package might not include the many deliveries that Root left outside off stump. They might not show him taking a short ball on the shoulder when he realised that, should he attempt a shot, he risked pulling the ball to the two men out for the stroke. They might not illustrate the extra discipline and patience he showed when he swept or pulled – both shots brought his dismissal at Lords; both shots here were studiously played into the ground – or the fact that both men played straighter than in the first Test, or that, in Cook’s case, he played his forward defensive strokes with increased conviction to ensure he did not nick off in the same manner as Lord’s. Defensive shots and leaves tend not to make highlights packages.But they are the moments that make the difference. And as Vince, Alex Hales and Gary Ballance reflect on their performances here, they could do a lot worse than learn from the examples provided by Cook and Root.Hales, to be fair, was beaten by a fine inswinger. Albeit one that passed through a gap between pad and bat so large you could reverse a Winnebago through it. But perhaps the reason for Hales’ reluctance to get forward was an incident a few balls earlier when he had, on 6, sliced an attempted drive to gully and been fortunate to survive. Determined not to be lured into a similar error, he found his feet glued to the crease.Alastair Cook and Joe Root anchored England with a stand of 185•AFPThe worrying aspect of Vince’s Test experience so far is that he does not appear to be learning. Just as he departed at Lord’s, chasing one angled across him and slicing an attempted drive to slip, so he fell here. To make matters worse, he had already survived a chance to slip on 6 as a result of the same loose shot. He just makes it too easy for the bowlers.Ballance fell trying to chop a back-of-a-length delivery down to third man. Perhaps surprised by the extra pace of the new ball, his angled bat resulted in a deflection on to his stumps. A straighter bat, a more defensive shot and he would be resuming on the second morning.As it is, Chris Woakes will be the man walking out to bat next to Root. While Woakes’ promotion to No. 6 as nightwatchman (the position in which he made his Test debut in 2013) is, on one hand, frustrating – it leaves Moeen Ali batting at No. 9 – it was also understandable. He arguably has the tightest technique of any batsman outside the top three. Almost immediately upon arriving at the crease, he played an identical delivery to the one that dismissed Ballance straight back down the pitch: the benefits of a straight, dead bat might not make a highlights package, but they can make the difference in a career.Most of all, this was a day that showed England’s continuing reliance upon Root and Cook. Both men showed they had learned the lessons of Lord’s and both men showed a willingness to accept the responsibility that has been thrust their way and the desire to work for their runs. As Cook put it, they have talked about being the leaders in this batting line-up; here they backed up their talk with words.”As captain you might talk a little bit more than the other players,” he said. “So sometimes it’s nice that the actions back up some of the words you’ve been saying.”Cook will never play a drive with the fluency of Vince. But he now has 29 Test centuries. The message for Vince is pretty clear: Test batting is more about denial than dashing. If he can’t tighten up, if he can’t demonstrate the patience required to graft for his runs; if he can’t learn, much of his future batting will be done at county level.”The ways I got out last week weren’t the best,” Root agreed, “So it was nice to speak about things within the group and then actually go out and deliver it. It’s one thing saying it, and another going out and proving it to the rest of your team-mates.”I worked really hard today to graft. Maybe I didn’t score at the rate I have done previously over the last couple of years, but if that’s what it’s going to take to score big hundreds that’s what I’m going to have to do. I’ve felt in good touch all summer, but I’ve found some stupid ways to get out.”Looking back at last week, there were two quite reckless shots. You want to learn from that, and make sure you don’t make those mistakes again. I was trying to take as much risk out of my batting as possible.”Some caution is required while assessing this England total. This is a good batting surface and Pakistan, in chasing wickets, did not bowl with the discipline required to flourish. England are still at least 150 short of a commanding first-innings total. But they do have a platform and they do have Root and Cook and a whole lot of leaving and defending to thank for it.

Stats preview of the three-Test series between Sri Lanka and Australia, which begins in Pallekele on Tuesday

S Rajesh25-Jul-20164 Tests that Australia have won in their last six appearances in Sri Lanka. In 2004, they swept the series 3-0, and took the three-Test series 1-0 in their next visit, in 2011. The last time Australia lost a Test in Sri Lanka was at Kandy in 1999. Australia’s overall record of 6-1 is easily the best win-loss record for any overseas team in Sri Lanka.1-10 Australia’s win-loss record in their last 15 Tests in Asia, since the start of 2008. During this period, they have lost 2-0 to Pakistan, 4-0 to India, and 2-0 (twice) to India.4-10 Sri Lanka’s win-loss record in their last 15 Tests, since December 2014. During this period they have lost home series against Pakistan (2-1) and India (2-1), and away series in England (2-0) and New Zealand (2-0, twice). In this period (December 2014 onwards), their win-loss record in Tests poorer than all teams except West Indies and Bangladesh.4 Home Tests lost by Sri Lanka in 2015, the most-ever in a calendar year. They lost twice each to Pakistan and India.45.03 Australia’s bowling average in Asia since the start of 2008; in 15 Tests they have taken 207 wickets, an average of 13.8 wickets per match. In 46 home Tests in the same period, they have averaged 30.68 runs per wicket, and 17.8 wickets per Test.Nathan Lyon has been in fine form over the last year, taking 57 wickets in his last 15 Tests at an average of 26.17•Getty Images52.63 Average for Australia’s spinners in their last 15 Tests in Asia, the worst among all teams since the start of 2008. Nathan Lyon has conceded 49.11 runs for each of his 26 wickets in Asia, though he did better in Sri Lanka, taking eight wickets at 36.87. His recent form has been superb too: in 15 Tests since June 2015, he has taken 57 wickets at 26.17.1 Century for David Warner in 12 Test innings in Asia – 133 against Pakistan in Dubai in 2014. He averages 36.16 in Asia, against a career average of 50.06.24.11 Rangana Herath’s bowling average in home Tests in the last two years: in 11 matches, he has taken 67 wickets, with six five-fors and two ten-wicket hauls. He also has a good record in home Tests against Australia, taking 26 wickets in five games at an average of 28.07.31.07 The batting average for Sri Lanka’s top seven batsmen in Tests since December 2014, lower than all teams except West Indies. Australia’s top seven have averaged 53.15 during this period, the highest among all teams. For Sri Lanka, Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews have averaged more than 40, but Kaushal Silva has averaged only 26.79 in 24 innings, and Lahiru Thirimanne 22.30 in 22 innings.28.03 Sri Lanka’s average opening partnership since December 2014, lower than all teams except Pakistan and West Indies. Australia have averaged 58.38 for the first wicket in the same period, with nine century stands in 35 innings, compared to Sri Lanka’s one in 29.377 The target chased down in the fourth innings by Pakistan in the most recent Test in Pallekele, which is also the venue for the first Test of this series. On that occasion, Pakistan won by seven wickets after conceding a 63-run lead. The three previous Tests in Pallekele were all drawn.

Selection hijinks, franchise movies, air travel, and more coffee than you can shake a stick at

Alex Bowden28-Oct-2016Social media’s supposed to be all about cat pictures.

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But that’s pretty much the only one that’s ever qualified for this column, so let’s crack on with the usual business of making fun of Kevin Pietersen.

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Taken in isolation, that’s ambiguous, but we know what he means by now. For some reason Kevin Pietersen is petrified that you won’t comprehend just how much he likes coffee.

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We really feel like we’re missing something with KP’s coffee-related Twitter output. Is it some sort of cry for help?Like KP, Shane Warne is unafraid of repeating himself. He clearly thinks that if something’s worth saying, it’s worth saying three times.This is the kind of lofty message he feels he needs to drive home.

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June 2015, April 2016 and October 2016. The gaps are shortening. The references are coming more frequently. It feels a little like we can chart Warne’s mental well-being by this, but we’re not entirely sure what we should conclude.If KP’s hotel experiences this week have seemingly just revolved around the drinking of coffee, Jimmy Neesham’s have been less straightforward.

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We’re also going to assume that ‘s Charles Dagnall was in a hotel for this exciting moment.

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This development was unexpected too.

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The following is less surprising, except insofar as it’s been a while since this particular restaurant got a mention. New theory: it was only the previous generation of cricketers who were so obsessed with Nando’s.

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We mustn’t judge.

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Trite! That’s our instant, knee-jerk response to that.Wrong form of transport, but you have to forgive him.

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We’ve all had one of those 12-seater bus moments, after all.Somewhere in the world, there is always a cricketer complaining about air travel.

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At least he can pretty much guarantee that he’ll always be able to get a coffee at the airport. Maybe that realisation is what later led him to embrace air travel.

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Join us in a fortnight when we’ll hopefully be able to bring you more of KP’s innovative airline rating criteria.

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2016Craig Ervine then fell for a duck, which added to Zimbabwe’s collapse. From 68 for 1, they became 100 for 6•Associated PressSean Williams laid the groundwork for Zimbabwe’s fightback, making 40 off 92 balls, before falling to Rangana Herath in the first over of the last session•Associated PressWhen Herath had Donald Tiripano lbw for a duck, Zimbabwe were 145 for 8•AFPCremer survived a nervy moment when he flicked one in the air to the right of short leg. He went on to soak up 144 balls for his 43•AFPHerath, though, found a way past Cremer as Sri Lanka sealed a 225-run win in the last hour•AFPDebutant Carl Mumba was left stranded on 10 off 62 balls•Associated Press