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Sudhir Gautam, uber Tendulkar fan, is now rooting for a new sport

Susan Ninan16-Mar-2017Bathed in canary yellow, Sudhir Kumar Chaudhry, better known as Sudhir Gautam, leans forward, his kohl-lined eyes glued to the badminton match on the court below. A giant yellow flag rests beside him. As a smash lands wide, Sudhir jumps up. Grabbing his flag, he waves it fervently from side to side, blowing his conch shell. Spectators seated behind grimace, even attempt a meek protest. But Sudhir isn’t listening. After all, he’s only doing his job.For easily the most recognisable sports fan in the country, associated with its most venerated sportsman – Sachin Tendulkar – this is fresh turf. A familiar presence in the stands at every cricket match featuring the Indian team for over a decade and half now, home or away, Sudhir found himself, at the start of the year, in freezing indoor stadiums for the first time. A new sport and team have been added to his itinerary. Tendulkar has willed it so.In December last year, Tendulkar bought stakes in the Bengaluru Blasters franchise of the Premier Badminton League (PBL). During the first day of India’s Test against England in Mumbai that month, Sudhir was summoned to Bengaluru for a PBL commercial. It was the first time he had missed a day’s play in cricket in 16 years.And so, with a formidable record under his belt – as of early January, when ESPN spoke to him, he had watched 278 ODIs, 49 T20Is and 58 Tests, numbers similar to the playing CV of cricketer Yuvraj Singh – Sudhir made his “debut” in another sport, although Tendulkar remains the connection.”I’m supporting Sachin sir’s team [Bengaluru Blasters] though he is not in the stadium. I have ‘Tendulkar 10’ written on my back, though this is not Team India. I’m very happy that Sachin sir is encouraging sports other than cricket.”I have not asked him for anything till date, but whenever there’s a match outside India, I request him for a pass. He’s never said no. Somehow he arranges everything. He’s my God,” Sudhir says.His bare upper body painted to resemble a human form of the national tricolour, Sudhir was accorded special status by Tendulkar and offered passes for all India matches, no matter in which part of the world they were being played, and turned into a willing unofficial mascot.

“I said I wanted to continue to cheer for the team and carry his name on my body till I die”Sudhir Gautam about Tendulkar, after the 2011 World Cup

“When I first went to the stadium with ‘Tendulkar 10’ written on my back, he liked it. When Sachin sir asked me if I would like to watch more matches, I did not for once think about the graduation exam form that I had filled out. He asked me to appear for my exams first. I was adamant, though. I never expected that I’d watch all those matches.”

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Growing up, the closest Sudhir could get to his idol was a peeling poster in his tiny, dilapidated settlement in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Attempting the Tendulkar upper cut and straight drive, he would often end up being dismissed cheaply in college cricket matches. In 2002 he was picked for a state cricket tournament from his college. Around the same time a local journalist, aware of Sudhir’s fandom, suggested he cycle down to watch the India-West Indies one-day series. Sudhir agreed. The first ODI was to take place in Jamshedpur, 519km away from his home town. As luck would have it, when Sudhir got there for the match, he heard Tendulkar had suffered a hamstring injury and was ruled out of the series. “I was very disappointed,” he says, “That’s when I decided that in 2003 I will travel to Mumbai on my cycle again.”The following year, Sudhir, then 22, cycled for 16 days, from Muzaffarpur to Mumbai, roughly 2000km away, where he finally caught a glimpse of his idol outside a five-star hotel in the south of the city. He threw his cycle to the ground to distract the security personnel before jostling past gathered fans to touch Tendulkar’s feet. His life was never the same again.Not only was Sudhir invited home by Tendulkar and offered a match pass, but just when he was about to return to Muzaffarpur, content with his accomplishments, things took a different turn. After India lost the Wankhede ODI to Australia, Sudhir paid Tendulkar one last visit before heading home. “? [Would you like to watch more matches, Sudhir?],” Tendulkar politely inquired.Skipping his graduation exams, spurning any prospect of a full-time job and distancing himself from his family, Sudhir chose a life single-mindedly dedicated to cheering for Tendulkar and the Indian team across the world. Nearly 14 years later, he has no regrets. “I’ve left three jobs and haven’t completed my graduation till date. But I’m happy.”Gautam with Tendulkar and the 2011 World Cup trophy•Getty ImagesHis first job was that of a railway ticket collector in Hyderabad, following which he took up work at a dairy in Muzaffarpur. He left that job to travel abroad for an India match, digging into his last reserves – his provident fund – to acquire a passport.His travels have taken him across the country and the world, whether by cycle to Pakistan, or as far away as Australia and New Zealand for the 2015 World Cup. “I have friends everywhere, Dubai, Bangladesh or Australia, with whom I stay with during matches. In Pakistan, for instance, I know I’m always welcome at [the famous Pakistani cricket mascot] Cricket Chacha’s house.”Tendulkar not only offered Sudhir passes for the 2015 World Cup but also ensured that he had a comfortable stay. “Since it was my first time in Australia, Sachin sir booked a hotel room for me. If I happen to travel there again, I won’t need to stay in a hotel, because there are Indians everywhere and everyone likes Sachin sir, so I can stay with them,” he says.The high point came in 2011, when India’s won the 50-over World Cup on home soil. After the final, played in Mumbai, Tendulkar, who was making his last appearance in the tournament, asked Sudhir to join the team in the dressing room and then handed him the trophy. “That was an unforgettable moment for me.”Soon after the match, Sudhir poured his heart out to Tendulkar, telling him about the apprehensions he had about his future following his hero’s impending retirement. “I said I wanted to continue to cheer for the team and carry his name on my body till I die.” Tendulkar assured him of his support.When Tendulkar retired in November 2013, that foreboding was brought home by a billboard for a job-search website. Alongside Sudhir’s painted face, the words screamed: “Looking for a new job?” It was an inescapable truth.Today, Sudhir says, people often try to coax him to wear the name of a current playing member of the Indian cricket team, the popular opinion favouring Virat Kohli, over that of Tendulkar, on his body. He shuts them up with little trouble, he says. Last year, when invited to cheer for Virender Sehwag’s side, Gemini Arabians, at the Masters Champions League (MCL) in Dubai, it was suggested that he drop Tendulkar’s name and paint “MCL” in its place. “I asked them to book my return tickets instead,” Sudhir says. Realising that he wouldn’t budge, the team organisers abandoned their request and asked him to stay on.Back in the badminton arena, eyes cast earthwards, Sudhir patiently waits for the questions, hands resting on his knees. A gaggle of curious onlookers quickly gathers around us, mostly selfie-hunters. He obliges them with practised ease. He’s wiry and strikingly bald, save for a pigtail and a small patch of hair in the centre of his head that is trimmed to resemble the physical contours of the map of India and painted in the colours of the national flag. The insignia of the Bengaluru badminton franchise is painted across his chest in red and he sports his idol’s name on his back in sweeping, bold letters, along with the sacred jersey number: 10. Before this, Sudhir had never watched a badminton match.It took him a while to understand the game (which, in this tournament, is played with tweaked rules). “At first I just couldn’t understand what was happening,” he says. “I had no idea how the points system worked. I asked people why they were clapping. But after watching a few matches in Hyderabad, I started to get a clearer idea. Now I’ve begun liking it.”The water colours he uses to paint himself from head to waist for PBL matches can be applied and removed more quickly than the enamel paint he favours for cricket matches, because of its ability to weather longer hours and outdoor conditions. “I’ve been painting myself for 16 years now. Not once have I suffered from any skin infections or allergies,” he says, before explaining why he took to painting his body. “I wanted Sachin sir to notice me. I thought to myself, much like some people paint their cheeks in the colours of the national flag during a match to show support, why don’t I take it a step forward and paint my entire upper body?”

“He’s one of the most visible brands for sport in the country. People know him exclusively as a Tendulkar fan, so that creates a direct connection between him and the spectators”Prasad Mangipudi, executive director of Sportzlive

For his face, Sudhir usually uses water colours – 15ml bottles of orange, white and green, each of which lasts for close to eight matches. As he runs us through his regime with feverish detail, it’s difficult not to wonder what he looks like sans his second skin.”People, I think, know what I look like now unpainted,” he says alluding to his popularity, “My hair and look are distinct.” Enamel paint for his body, which he usually procures in half-litre batches for each series, takes close to six hours to apply, which often means having to give up sleep at night. “Lying down would mess up the paint. Whether I’m staying at a friend’s place or in a hotel room, I sit through the night after my body is painted before a match.”Sudhir is a compelling figure in the Indian sporting landscape, says Prasad Mangipudi, executive director of Sportzlive, which owns the rights to the PBL. “He’s one of the most visible brands for sport in the country. His distinct appearance makes for instant recall. People know him exclusively as a Tendulkar fan, so that creates a direct connection between him and the spectators. In the PBL matches that Tendulkar is not able to attend, it’s almost like Sudhir is cheering on his behalf. He waves the flag, the crowd too joins in and cheers, which in turn spurs players, so if you look at it he can bring about a change in the stadium atmosphere by his presence.”The idea behind the PBL commercial – which shows Sudhir painting himself ahead of a match and Tendulkar referring to him as his “greatest fan” – was to create a flutter and make it memorable, Mangipudi says. Sudhir’s presence in the stands has also set the organisers thinking about ways of enhancing the fan experience for future editions.”We are mulling the prospect of having a fan icon for each team,” Mangipudi says, “The idea is to engage fans to a greater extent, and we are looking into the possibility of running a contest to pick a fan who could maybe sit in the dugout with team members.”Sudhir is mindful of the identity he has carved for himself among sport fans in the country. Heartbroken after Tendulkar’s retirement and probably unwilling to be weighed down by the baggage of memories, he gave up riding his cycle to matches.Little else lights him up like seeing packed stands with cheering crowds. “I want more fans to show up. Today I’m there, but tomorrow I may not be around.”One of the few occasions when he looks up to make eye contact is when the topic of family is broached. “I don’t answer calls from my family.” He last paid a visit home after the Chennai Test in December 2016. “In case of an emergency, if someone in the family dies, I would have to leave a match and go, which I cannot. They know how involved I’m with the game.”Sudhir will turn 36 this year. Seemingly expecting the query, he dismisses the idea of marriage. “I have never thought about it and never will. As long as I’m breathing, I’ll support team India. Marriage will only distract me. That’s unacceptable.”

Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim, Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal and Mahmudullah have lifted Bangladesh from the depths of gloom and doom while setting examples for the next generation

Mohammad Isam10-Jun-2017Five players have formed the core of the Bangladesh team. Shakib Al Hasan, Tamim Iqbal, Mashrafe Mortaza, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah play different roles in the team. In addition to leadership roles, they hold the batting and bowling together. They also deal with the ever-growing expectations, provide a hand on a rookie player’s shoulder, decide what their jersey’s colour scheme should be, and where the team dinner will be held.In essence, these five players have a whole lot of responsibilities in the team, but they are mainly judged by their own performances. Tamim and Mushfiqur had stepped up against England and Australia in the Champions Trophy, but there was greater pressure on Mahmudullah, Mashrafe, and Shakib ahead of the must-win match against New Zealand in Cardiff.They soaked up the pressure and delivered. Mashrafe led superbly before Mahmudullah and Shakib lifted the team from 33 for 4 with a 224-run partnership – the highest for Bangladesh for any wicket in ODIs. Both Mahmudullah and Shakib hit centuries to lead Bangladesh to a memorable win.Having suffered several injuries, Mashrafe isn’t the bowler he was. He predominantly plays as a captain, but continues to prove his critics wrong. He bowled important spells in Cardiff and showed why he is Bangladesh’s second-highest wicket-taker since the 2015 World Cup. In fact, he is the second-highest wicket-taker among active players in ODIs, after Lasith Malinga.Mahmudullah, too, doesn’t quite get the treatment he deserves. His place in the team is perennially questioned: when he does well, popular opinion is that he could have batted higher and when he doesn’t do well, he gets dropped hastily.Both Mashrafe and Mahmudullah have learnt to handle such questions. Shakib, on the other hand, is a certainty in the XI. He is Bangladesh’s best cricketer, the world’s best allrounder, and one of the most experienced middle-order batsmen in ODIs. In fact, he is one of only four batsmen to have batted at No. 5 for more than 100 innings in ODIs.He hardly goes out of form but even when he suffers a dip, Shakib himself is the last person to get worried. Before the match against New Zealand, he had not scored an ODI hundred since 2014 or hadn’t won a Man-of-the-Match award since September last year. But he understands his game so well that he habitually senses that a big innings is around the corner. Most coaches and captains continue to back him.Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah were responsible for another famous Bangladesh win in Cardiff•Getty ImagesShakib’s batting, though, has suffered due to his continuous presence as a lower-order batsman in T20 leagues. It might have increased his range of shots, but has dented his overall approach. Sometimes, he tends to enforce his high-profile image. Looking to get on top of the opposition bowling when they are in control is risky, and Shakib has achieved it with mixed results.Against New Zealand, he rode out the tough period when the ball was still swinging, before opening up and putting the bad balls away. He sensed that Kane Williamson wouldn’t have much firepower in the slog overs and took advantage of it. He had contributed with the ball as well. He did not try to overwhelm the batsmen; instead he kept asking questions with his length and finished with 0 for 52.Having played ten years at the highest level, Shakib has resisted himself from one of the striking traits of Bangladeshi personality: talking. He lets his bat and bowl do that job. They don’t call him Mr. Cool for nothing.Shakib doesn’t indulge in talking himself up, down or on either side of any issue. He doesn’t brag about himself in interviews, despite being one of Bangladesh’s biggest superstars across all spheres. His business interests hardly create a splash while his endorsements are as mundane as those for Indian or Pakistani cricketers.He has had to contend with controversies as well: making a lewd gesture towards the camera which earned him a three-match ban, allegedly beating up a spectator who was bothering his wife in the stands, and threatening to quit international cricket in July 2014.The last two incidents earned him a six-month ban from the BCB that was later reduced, and since then he has gone more into his shell. He, however, doesn’t mince his words, neither does he speak ill of anyone in public. He once pointed out that the Bangladeshi meal isn’t sufficient to develop big hitters. Perhaps, it needs more orange juice, he said, but that’s about it.Mahmudullah wouldn’t even say such a thing, unless it is in the confines of the Bangladesh dressing room. He is known as the lead prankster and in 2012, was outed as the best Gangnam-style dancer in the team. He has a wicked sense of humour, which is never on show in public. He has also been known to be ridden with self-doubt, which was evident during his 18-month drought in 2013-14.He then hit back-to-back centuries in the 2015 World Cup, but still couldn’t quite hold onto to his top-order slot. Instead, he was asked to become a finisher in the limited-overs formats, particularly in the T20s. He aced that role for nearly 12 months but again fell into a slump, starting December last year.Things went from bad to worse when he was dropped for Bangladesh’s 100th Test in March this year. The team management even thought of sending him home from Colombo for a few days to avoid walking on eggshells in the dressing room. Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, later intervened as he was kept in the squad for that game. Subsequently, he was retained in the ODI squad even as there was reports that he was about to be dropped.Another big-match classic: Mahmudullah struck his third ODI hundred in ICC events•Getty ImagesMahmudullah regained some confidence with a match-winning 46 against New Zealand in Dublin last month. Questions about his ability still lingered. He faced only six balls for six runs against England in the Champions Trophy opener before playing a poor shot against Australia’s Adam Zampa and falling for 8. He then produced a sensational hundred against New Zealand and earned himself more breathing space. But Mahmudullah will be wary of complacency.Mashrafe might not sit back and relax either. He has had a rough few months since December last year, culminating in his retirement from T20 internationals.It was said that he had beaten the BCB to the punch by announcing his retirement during the toss of the first T20I against Sri Lanka because there was pressure on him to quit the format.Mashrafe, though, continues to be Bangladesh’s best bowler in ODIs – be it with the new ball or the old one. On big occasions, he can still generate swing and seam movement that often goes unnoticed by batsmen who try to hit out. His lack of pace can also fox batsmen.It is also hard to deny his overwhelming presence on and off the field in the Bangladesh set-up. Mashrafe has to tackle the player-management relationship front on, but striking a balance is hard in an environment that is often riddled with uncertainty He also has to goad the younger members while still bringing the best out of the senior players when they are out of form.Tamim has spoken at length about how Mashrafe took special care of him during the 2015 World Cup. Mashrafe might not do the same with Shakib, Mushfiqur and Mahmudullah because he knows there are other ways to perk them up.He has the knack of accepting brutal reality, and can cope with things not going his way in the field or during meetings in the dressing room or the team hotel. Mashrafe and these four other senior cricketers continue to play with great care and responsibility for Bangladesh, setting examples on and off the field for future generations. They are the embodiment of Bangladesh’s rapid progress, and they still have many miles to go.

And was the Don’s Test average as captain also Bradmanesque?

Steven Lynch02-May-2017Was Misbah-ul-Haq the first captain to be stranded on 99 not out in a Test? asked Rajiv Radhakrishnan from England

Misbah-ul-Haq’s near-miss in the first Test against West Indies in Kingston last week was only the sixth occasion that any batsman had been stranded on 99 not out in a Test match. The only other captain to do it was Shaun Pollock, for South Africa against Sri Lanka in Centurion in 2002-03. There have been only 13 innings of 99 – out or not out – by captains in Tests, and Misbah is the first man to be on this particular list twice: he was dismissed one short of his hundred against New Zealand in Wellington in 2010-11.I noticed that Nuwan Pradeep has taken four wickets in an innings six times in Tests now, but hasn’t yet managed a five-for. Is this a record? asked Hemachandra de Silva from Sri Lanka

There’s still time for Nuwan Pradeep of Sri Lanka to escape from this particular list, but you’re right that so far his 28 Test appearances have brought him six four-fors but no five-fors. Surprisingly, perhaps, it’s not a record: the Australian seamer Wayne Clark, who played ten Tests in the late 1970s, took four wickets in an innings seven times, but never managed a fifth scalp. He took eight wickets in a match on three occasions, including his debut against India in Brisbane in 1977-78. Clark took 28 wickets in that series, a record haul without a five-for: Joel Garner and Malcolm Marshall each claimed 27 against England in 1985-86. Dayle Hadlee of New Zealand and Mike Hendrick of England both took four wickets in an innings five times: Hendrick’s career total of 87 wickets is the most by anyone who never managed a five-for.Chris Gayle recently became the first to make 10,000 runs in T20 cricket, but is he also the leading scorer in the IPL? asked Mahesh Sawnhey from India

As of today, Chris Gayle lies seventh on the list of IPL run-scorers, with 3578, not far behind Robin Uthappa (3774) and David Warner (3832). A little further ahead come Gautam Gambhir (4021), Rohit Sharma (4047), Virat Kohli (4349), and the current leader Suresh Raina (4416). Gayle has scored a record five IPL centuries – one more than Kohli, and two more than AB de Villiers and David Warner – while his average of 42.09 is the best by anyone with more than 1000 runs (Shaun Marsh is next with 2353 at 41.28). And Gayle has also hit 262 sixes, almost 100 more than the next-best, 168 by Raina and Rohit. Out of interest I also looked at the top IPL wicket-takers: Lasith Malinga leads the way on 149, with Amit Mishra next on 131, then Harbhajan Singh with 124, Piyush Chawla 123 and Dwayne Bravo 122.”Pressure of captaincy? You must be joking”•Getty ImagesWhat was Don Bradman’s batting average as captain? And was it the record? asked Jamie Stewart from Canada

Don Bradman’s overall Test batting average famously fell a boundary short of three figures – 99.94 – but he made no such mistake as captain: in 24 Tests, he scored 3147 runs at an average of 101.51. That’s easily a record, given more than two matches in charge: next at the moment is Steven Smith, with 73.27, followed by Stanley Jackson (70.28) and Kumar Sangakkara (69.60). There is one man who averaged more than the Don, but he only stood in for two games. Ridley Jacobs led West Indies in Bangladesh in 2002-03, and scored 91 not out in Dhaka and 59 in Chittagong, for an average of 150 while captain.England’s victory in the fourth Test at Edgbaston in 1981 is best remembered now for Ian Botham’s mopping-up work at the end, which gave England a narrow victory. But what Test record did Bob Willis set in that match? asked James Parker from England

That match at Edgbaston in 1981 came on the heels of the third Test at Headingley, when Botham-inspired heroics led to England’s victory despite following on. Botham finished the Edgbaston Test with a burst of 5 for 1 in 28 balls, which gave England victory by 29 runs, and the lead in the series. The record set by Willis isn’t instantly apparent from our scorecard, which doesn’t show the no-balls delivered by each bowler: Big Bob sent down 28 in the first innings, and 34 in all, which might have been crucial in a low-scoring match in which no batsman made an individual half-century. Some of his no-balls were scored from, which in those days meant no penalty runs were added to the total. The next highest known number of no-ball calls against one bowler in a Test is 33, for the Jamaican pace bowler Patrick Patterson against Australia in Perth in 1988-89 (West Indies’ 72 no-balls in that match is a record for one side in any Test). Wasim Akram sent down 32 no-balls in England’s only innings against Pakistan at Old Trafford in 1992.Post your questions in the comments below

India’s 3-0 series win over Sri Lanka was their first ever clean sweep away from home in a series of three or more Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Aug-2017

Sri Lanka’s worst series results in Test history*

• 0-3 v Australia in Australia, 1995-96

• 0-3 v India in Sri Lanka, 2017

• 0-3 v India in India, 1993-94

• 0-3 v South Africa in South Africa, 2016-17

• 0-3 v Australia in Australia, 2012-13

A rare drubbing in an away seriesAs much as this was written was on the wall at the start of the series, the achievement is put in perspective in the fact that this is India’s first ever clean sweep away from home, in a series of three or more Tests. While Sri Lanka did not help their cause for the best part of the 11 days, they were repeatedly put on the back foot by a spate of injuries through the series. They lost allrounder Asela Gunaratne, their best seamer in Nuwan Pradeep, and finally their most experienced Rangana Herath. The final scoreline would have been no different in all likelihood, but a full-strength Sri Lanka side could have prevented this from becoming India’s most dominant performance in a series away from home.Three Tests, three innings winsFor the first time in 65 years and only the second time in Test history, a three-Test series ended with the same side winning by an innings every time. India dished out spiteful turners which their spinners made the most of, while the Sri Lanka attack, led by a young Muttiah Muralitharan, couldn’t cope as well against India’s top order. It was the series in which Kapil Dev broke the world record for Test wickets, going past Richard Hadlee.The ‘Brownwash’India had won just one of their previous 25 Tests when England visited in 1993. As they landed on Indian shores, offered an early prediction, saying that “current form suggests they are in for a good hiding”. What followed was anything but, as England became the first visiting side to lose every single Test in a series in India. Vinod Kambli smashed a double hundred in Mumbai, and Graeme Hick’s resistant 178 ended in vain. Three big wins, which popularised the usage of ‘brownwash’ in cricketing parlance.Allan Border and Sunil Gavaskar hand over the Border-Gavaskar trophy to MS Dhoni•BCCISpinners hand New Zealand a thrashingIndia’s spinners picked up 41 of the 60 possible wickets to help their side kick-start a home season in which they won 10 of the 13 Tests over a six-month period by handing a 3-0 thrashing to New Zealand. Kane Williamson, the visiting captain and their best batsman, struggled through a series, battling form and fitness issues. He ended up with a single fifty from four innings, and fell to R Ashwin every single time. His numbers were reflective of how New Zealand’s batting line-up fared, as they slipped from one defeat to another against India’s rampant bowling attack.‘Homework-gate’ and other horror talesUntil 2013, India had never swept a four-match series, and it was made all the more special by the fact that it was Australia they beat. The Border – Gavaskar Trophy has been among the most closely fought ones in recent years, and this was a rare one-sided series in which Australia seemed to have lost the plot off the field. Mickey Arthur’s ‘homework-gate’ after the second Test dominated headlines, after which the previously suspended Shane Watson returned to lead Australia in the final Test. It was a rare spell of sustained domination for India, as they humbled a higher-ranked Australian side in familiar conditions.

Bangladesh’s fast bowlers struggled, managing only five wickets over 108 overs in the first Test; only one of them went out of his way to try and break the cycle

Mohammad Isam03-Oct-2017It was first the South African top-order, and then their captain who went after Bangladesh’s pace bowlers in Potchefstroom. Mustafizur Rahman, Taskin Ahmed and Shafiul Islam couldn’t provide early breakthroughs, contain the continuous flow of runs or find a consistent rhythm.They combined to take five wickets in 108 overs, which doesn’t make for good reading, especially when the opposition’s fast bowlers have taken 11 wickets in 82 overs. South Africa’s fast bowlers took a wicket roughly every 45 balls. Morne Morkel and Kagiso Rabada hurried the Bangladesh batsmen with pace and bounce while the visiting trio couldn’t even regularly beat the South African bat.But amid the wreckage of a performance, Mustafizur offered some promise in the second innings. Coming from around the wicket, he had both Aiden Markram and Hashim Amla caught behind cheaply. Markram, however, wouldn’t have been given out had he taken the review. Amla fell trying to guide the ball through third-man. Nonetheless, it was something to hang on to, and Mustafizur provided some sort of a counter.His change of angle also showed to his fellow pace bowlers that thinking a little out of the way can go a long way in moderately unhelpful conditions. Mustafizur is evidently a very different bowler than Shafiul and Taskin, with his combination of cutters and slower balls, but with teams finding out more about his skills through video footage, it is important for a bowler like Mustafizur to find new ways to get batsmen out.What he did to Markram and Amla wasn’t rocket science. Many left-arm pace bowlers do this to cut down the angle for right-handers to drive freely through the off-side field. In Tests, he has used the changed angle from around the wicket to give effect against right-handers. Six out of his 11 wickets of right-handers have come from bowling around the wicket. In this format, he has already bowled 230 deliveries from around the wicket, which is 39 percent of the 588 deliveries he has bowled to right-handers.He has used it much less in ODIs though. Only one out of 27 wickets of right-handed batsmen has come from bowling around the wicket. In this format, he has only ever bowled 36 deliveries from around the wicket, which is 6 percent of the 599 deliveries he has bowled to right-handers.Perhaps he doesn’t need to attack the stumps so often in ODIs , which prompts him to bowl so few from this angle. Batsmen are usually hasty in this format so he’d like to angle them away as much as possible, with the hope of finding an edge or deceiving them with his off-cutters.Taskin Ahmed in his delivery stride•AFPWhile he ended up conceding six boundaries from around the wicket, he was more attacking. In Bloemfontein where there is likely to be a more pace-friendly pitch, bowling from around the wicket, particularly if it is on a good length, could create doubt in the batsmen’s minds.Before Potchefstroom, Mustafizur used this angle the most against Sri Lanka in Colombo in March. In an outstanding spell, he removed the in-form Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal and Dhananjaya de Silva all from around the wicket. On that occasion, he had to create the angle to give the Sri Lankan batsmen something to think about. It ended up being a game-changing spell.It wasn’t as dramatic in Potchefstroom, but it was better than the fourth and fifth stump line used by Taskin and Shafiul. Both these bowlers have looked out of ideas throughout the Test and with Mushfiqur sending out a warning that poor performance will not go unpunished, their days are likely to be numbered. Subashis Roy and Rubel Hossain are in the Test squad, and at least one of them may get the nod.Taskin’s poor form cannot just be blamed on not bowling enough when playing at home. He also lacks in first-class experience – in other words, bowling long spells. He has said in the recent past that bowling in Tests is a new experience for him, and he has also looked lethargic in the field after long spells. While they undergo hard physical training like most Test bowlers, playing experience makes a huge difference.Morkel was the most experienced pace bowler in Potchefstroom while from Bangladesh’s side, it was Shafiul who was playing his 11th Test in seven years. Interestingly, Rabada, who made his Test debut few months after Mustafizur in 2015, has played 21 as opposed to the latter’s seven. Taskin and Duanne Olivier both made Test debuts this year but there is a key difference: Olivier has played 64 first-class matches. Taskin has played only ten; both their first-class careers had begun in 2011.

The India coach was an able leader in his playing days, but he will not be doing his job now if he agrees with everything Kohli feels is good for the team

Nagraj Gollapudi17-Aug-2018In 2014, when Ravi Shastri was appointed team director during India’s previous tour of England , Nottingham was the third venue in his assignment. Shastri arrived, chest out, chin up, stride heavy, voice loud. India, led by MS Dhoni at the time, had already lost the Test series 3-1. The BCCI rang in changes: the head coach Duncan Fletcher was pushed to the background and his team of assistant coaches was replaced by Shastri’s hand-picked personnel.Shastri was under little pressure, considering he had time to establish himself and his philosophy. Four years later, he’s back at Trent Bridge. He is now the head coach, though some might say the power is now in Virat Kohli’s hands. Shastri is still in charge, and this time he is facing his toughest challenge so far.The challenge is not so much that India are losing. The crisis is that most of the Indian batsmen have lost confidence. They have forgotten what they are good at: batting. Ajinkya Rahane, M Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul and Cheteshwar Pujara are all proven batsmen. Rahane and Pujara even have 50-plus averages in different conditions, which puts them among the best in contemporary cricket. Yet all these men have lost control of their game, of their footing, of the basics.It has made Shastri restless. He’s no longer in the comfort zone. He now has to figure out how to restore confidence in his batsmen. To help them focus on the basics. Most importantly, Shastri needs to take charge.For a while now, there has been the impression of Kohli being in absolute control, to the point that his batsmen have had to change the way they usually bat to meet his target of winning at all costs in Test cricket.0:36

India make final Trent Bridge preparations

This, however, has led to insecurity among the batsmen. That is the big difference from past when India suffered big defeats overseas, including on the 2014 England trip. Players back then were not insecure. And that is what Shastri and Kohli need to work on.Last year, when he was brought back to take charge of the team, Shastri said the role of the coaching staff would be to make players comfortable. To put players in a state of mind where they can go and express themselves and play without fear. That is not happening at the moment, and Shastri will admit that.That does not mean Shastri and the coaching staff have failed at their jobs. He needs to have a frank word with all the players, but first he to hear what they have to say without judging them. If they feel insecure about their spot in the team, the position they bat in, the role set for them, or anything else that troubles them, Shastri needs to know that. He can then address the issue with Kohli.Another significant comment Shastri made when he took up the job was that Kohli would be the boss. He was saying nothing new. All great captains have been their own men: Ian Chappell, Clive Lloyd, Imran Khan, Steve Waugh. But all these men were natural leaders. And they had more than one match-winner to rely on.Kohli is a match-winner and leads by example, but as a leader he remains a work-in-progress both on and off the field. England were 87 for 7 in the second innings of the first Test at Edgbaston, leading by 100. Ishant Sharma had taken three wickets in an over that was split by the lunch break. At the other end R Ashwin had bowled an unbroken spell of 16 overs, taking all three top-order wickets. Rookie allrounder Sam Curran, a left-hander, charged Ashwin to loft an easy boundary, after which Kohli removed Ashwin from the attack. Curran was relieved, helped England raise a formidable target, and India lost by 31 runs.Did Shastri agree with Kohli’s decision to take Ashwin out of the attack? Surely, despite being tired, Ashwin could have been coaxed to bowl a few more overs to put pressure on the England lower order and tail, which has three left handers. Then, at Lord’s, did Shastri have a say in India playing two spinners in overcast conditions?India’s coach Ravi Shastri at a practice session•Getty ImagesOne of the reasons Anil Kumble, who was the India coach for a year before Shastri replaced him, reportedly fell out with the captain was because he was constantly in Kohli’s ear. Kumble wanted equal say, which supposedly did not sit well with Kohli. Has Shastri gone the other way?Shastri will not be doing his job if he agrees with everything Kohli feels is good for the team. A difference of opinion makes for constructive thinking. By having a contrary opinion at times, Shastri can also help Kohli grow as a leader.When he was a player, Shastri had been anointed a future leader by Sunil Gavaskar, who made Shastri his deputy for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. Shastri went on to become a very good leader of men. He did that not just by inspiring his players with words, but also with deeds and tactics.On the day he was appointed team director in 2014, Shastri wrote a damning column in the after India’s 3-1 Test series defeat in England. “Five sessions and not five days have been enough to nail them,” Shastri said. “But move on we must. Sit back and watch if these glam boys are ready for penance. If they are prepared to plunge their bare hands into the coal of fire and start from scratch.”So far in this series, India’s batsmen have barely lasted two successive sessions. Will Shastri now sit back and watch the current set of glam boys serve penance, or will he get his hands dirty and help them stand up and deliver?

Along with his incisiveness, Umesh showed his ability to shoulder extra load in the absence of Shardul Thakur, producing a career-best performance against West Indies

Alagappan Muthu in Hyderabad13-Oct-2018Umesh Yadav bowls a lot of balls down the leg side. It’s the price he pays for attacking the stumps, but without it, India wouldn’t be so invincible at home.Delve a little into his statistics, and you realise that he, too, is invincible at home. His strike rate, for example, is better than Kapil Dev’s, and places himfourth on the list of fast bowlers who have played at least 10 Tests in India.His ability to pick up quick wickets was on show in Hyderabad, where he knocked over West Indies’ tail in half an hour, and reserved his best for the centurion Roston Chase. Though Chase had batted 188 deliveries, the Umesh specialty – a straight ball at high pace and swinging into the right-hander – burst through Chase’s defence, and knocked back his middle stump. Of Umesh’s 69 wickets at home, 35 have been bowled or lbw. That’s over 50%.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo before the Tests, Umesh had spoken about a conscious effort to attack the stumps more. “Look, I know I have pace,” he had said. “And pace [If you gain something from pace, you lose something too]. Batsmen have chances to score runs, they just need to time the ball. If you stray on the pads, it’s an easy boundary. So I did some reflection about my bowling and thought that if I keep it wicket-to-wicket and swing the ball from the fourth stump, it will be difficult for batsmen to hit. And even if he goes to hit it, there is only a 50-50 chance of success. But if I bowl half-volleys or very wide, then I don’t give myself a 50-50 chance, it’s much less.”Umesh’s career-best performance came in a match where he was the only fast bowler. For the longest time, he has had to compete with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharama, Mohammed Shami, and now Jasprit Bumrah, especially when India go abroad and find themselves starting at a pitch that is helpful for seam bowling.”It’s very unfortunate that Umesh didn’t get to play much in South Africa and in England,” B Arun, the bowling coach, had said before the Test. “Also, the bowlers who played performed exceptionally well. We look at Umesh as someone who is quick, and we also have a system where we rotate the bowlers so that they remain fresh. And Umesh would definitely be a part of that. And we are extremely confident of what Umesh can bring to the table.”So is he. Even though he is playing only his fourth Tests this year, Umesh steps up to the bowling crease full of energy. As importantly, he is one of India’s best outfielders. “It’s [in the] past and I am looking ahead,” Umesh said on Friday, when asked about being in and out of the side. “I don’t want to dwell on the matches that have gone by. My thinking is that I should try and perform well in the matches that I will be playing from now on. If I keep thinking about the past, then I won’t be able to focus on the future. So focus is on doing well in future games and helping my team.”Umesh had the same mentality when he realised he would have to bowl extra overs on a flat pitch, with Shardul Thakur going off the field with a groin injury. “You can’t really do anything in these situations as this is part of the game. If he is not there, I will have to bowl his quota of overs too, and I knew he was not going to come back. I didn’t want negativity to creep inside. So as much as you discuss and deliberate, if I have to bowl, then I have to bowl. So my thought process was if the team asks me to bowl I am ready for that.”In all home Tests since 2010, India have benefited from 36 five-wicket hauls from a spinner – R Ashwin has contributed 20 of them – but only three from fast bowlers. Umesh joined those ranks on Saturday, and celebrated with a bonus wicket as well, recording the first six-for by an Indian fast bowler at home since Javagal Srinath in 1999. When the second innings starts, he has the chance to become only the third Indian to pick up a hat-trick in Test cricket.

Eoin Morgan’s men have been World Cup front-runners for two years now. But their lack of adaptability on sporty pitches is a concern

George Dobell in St Lucia03-Mar-2019Just ahead of this ODI series, Eoin Morgan called on his England side to show an ability to adapt to conditions. At the time he made the comment, he foresaw a series played on slow, turning surfaces which could test England’s aggressive approach to batting. As it was, most of the series was played on very good batting tracks, with the final match played on a surface offering pretty steep bounce by modern standards.But the principle was the same: Morgan was calling on his side to show an ability to adapt and they failed to do so. While it would be simplistic to dismiss this England team as flat-track bullies, it wouldn’t be totally untrue, either. On flat wickets where the ball neither seams, spins or bounces especially high, England are world beaters.On other surfaces? Well, they were knocked out of the Champions Trophy by Pakistan on a pitch offering help to spin and reverse swing. They were bowled out for 153 by South Africa on a green surface at Lord’s (they were 20 for 6 at one stage) and 196 by Australia on a seaming surface in Adelaide (they had been 8 for 5 at one stage). If they come up against such a surface in a knock-out game at the World Cup – and they did in both the 2013 Champions Trophy final and the 2017 Champions Trophy semi-final – they look vulnerable.”We didn’t adapt,” Morgan admitted afterwards. “It was a terrible batting performance which is a disappointing way to end the series. We need to learn from the experience.”The time for learning is up, though. Well, just about, anyway. England will have named their provisional World Cup squad before they play another ODI and they are committed to the batting line-up that played in this series.They are, in many ways, an admirable bunch. They have improved vastly and expanded the bounds of what we thought possible in this format. On the sort of surfaces which are expected during the World Cup – true, flat and even-paced – they will worry any bowling attack in the world. They have, after all, thrashed the two highest scores in ODI history in the last three years and have four of the five highest totals made in the format since the last World Cup.And perhaps it is inevitable, if you progress at such pace so often, that you will occasionally fall. For, in the 39 completed first innings England have had in ODI cricket since the last World Cup, they have passed 400 four times and won on each occasion. They have passed 300 on 24 occasions and won 19 of those games. And, yes, on four occasions, they have failed to reach 200 and have been beaten on each occasion. If we praise them for their boldness on the days the shots end up in the stands, we have to be very careful about criticising when those same shots end up in hands. This was a drawn series, after all; not a defeat. They have still not lost a bilateral ODI series (so excluding the one-off game against Scotland) since they were in India in early 2017. That’s 10 series with nine victories.Losing the toss was significant here, too. Perhaps due to heavy rain overnight, the pitch started just a little tacky. With England reasoning it would ease during the day, they felt the need to attack in order to set a winning total. This is not a team that tries to limit the extent of their loss; it’s a team that tried to win. Always.Morgan, to his credit, refused to use the toss as an excuse. Reasoning that winning the toss is always, to a greater or lesser extent, an advantage, he knows that England cannot expect to have things – the pitch, the toss, the conditions – their own way all the way through a World Cup campaign.Shimron Hetmyer and Darren Bravo celebrate winning the match•Getty Images”The toss is an advantage across every game we play,” Morgan said. “I might have argued that if we’d lost by one or two wickets, but we weren’t at the races today.”One of the frustrations with this England side is that it seems, with just a little better judgment, with just a little more nous, they could improve markedly. As Morgan admitted, it was clear from the first few minutes that this pitch offered the bowlers some life and clear that England would have to bat accordingly. For reasons that are not clear, they were unable to do so.”It was evident from the first two overs [that we had to adapt],” Morgan said. “You could see it from the changing room. We did have that conversation. But we didn’t adapt. Trying to curb your natural ability, to try to go from high-risk to low-risk and still get a score in the morning that will be good enough in the afternoon, is difficult.”Whose job should that be to gauge what a winning total is on each pitch? Well, this team has been together for a long time now. Every option for the opening position has played more than 60 ODIs and should be able to show the sophistication to know when to take the foot off the accelerator. Joe Root, too, is an experienced player who has scored more ODI centuries for England than anyone else. He should be able to adapt his game as required. Morgan, with more than 200 caps to his name, should also be able to do so.Morgan disputes the suggestion that England are slow learners, however. While he accepts there is a general problem in adapting to new conditions, he felt England have shown improvement on slow, low surfaces and simply haven’t experienced a pitch with as much bounce in it as this.”When we come up in conditions for the first time it has gone wrong,” Morgan said. “When we’ve come back in conditions that are similar to where we’ve made mistakes, we’ve actually played really well. It’s easy to gloss over things like that because when we play well some of our guys make things look quite easy.”We learned from that Champions Trophy defeat. We went away from home and played on slow, low wickets and improved our game from that experience.”These was a surface that we rarely come up against. It was just the bounce. And I don’t think we dealt and adapted with that. We continued to play as if we were on the same pitch in Grenada. A low-risk shot there was high-risk today.”There are other areas of concern. And the England bowlers’ failure to learn to deal with Chris Gayle throughout the series – if anything, he became more destructive as the series progressed – is one of them.Gayle is an exceptional player, of course. But England will come up against several exceptional players during the World Cup and, if their batsmen get the run-filled pitches they want, their bowlers will have nowhere to hide. They have to find a way to at least stem the bleeding. Gayle hit a six every 8.10 balls he faced this series. It’s hard to imagine a World Cup-winning bowling attack allowing that.Where could they have bowled to him? Well, the Hawkeye pitch map for this innings suggests England attempted to bowl three yorkers at him. The two aimed at the stumps were dot balls, while the one aimed down the leg-side, as Gayle attempted to give himself room, was inside-edged to the boundary. They bowled five yorkers at him during his innings of 162 in Grenada, too. None of them went to the boundary and four of them were dot balls. And they didn’t bowl any yorkers on the line of the stumps at him during his innings of 135 in the first ODI. It seems odd that it was not a line of attack pursued more often.”Gayle is probably in the best form of his life,” Morgan argued by way of mitigation. “Our execution needs to be near on perfect and that’s a really good test because we are going to come up against similar players in the World Cup.”So, here they are, on the brink of the World Cup and with lessons to learn with bat and ball. They’ve been the front-runners for this tournament for a couple of years now. But as we get closer to the event, it feels as if the field is starting to close.

Plenty of praise for Kieron Pollard after his sensational 83 in Mumbai Indians’ last-ball win over Kings XI Punjab

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Apr-2019

You legend @KieronPollard55! So proud You are a champion and always will be a champion pic.twitter.com/25cV9x9NNJ

— hardik pandya (@hardikpandya7) April 10, 2019

King @KieronPollard55 pic.twitter.com/3puGuHxZPl

— Mitchell McClenaghan (@Mitch_Savage) April 10, 2019

Kieron Pollard is back to his best .

— ian bishop (@irbishi) April 10, 2019

Surely not!!?!? Love the IPL!!! Unreal from Polly!

— Danielle Wyatt (@Danni_Wyatt) April 10, 2019

One of the best IPL innings ever. This was a single handed effort with judicious use of awesome power. Take a bow, Pollard!#MIvKXIP

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) April 10, 2019

Unbelievable. Incredible Premier League. #Pollard #MIvKXIP

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) April 10, 2019

Woah ! What a game. Pollard playing an innings to remember for a long long time on his captaincy debut #MIvKXIP

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) April 10, 2019

View this post on Instagram

Well play big man was fun to watch! @kieron.pollard55

A post shared by Andre Russell (@ar12russell) on Apr 10, 2019 at 4:00pm PDT

POLLARD THE MONSTER!!!!! what a stellar innings!!! What conviction!!! Best of the best!!! Captain for the day – leading from the front and inspiring!!! Brilliant !!! #MIvKXIP

— Ranveer Singh (@RanveerOfficial) April 10, 2019

POLLAAAAARRRRDDD welldone big fella.. That’s pollard special @KieronPollard55 Enjoy your win brother.. congratulations @mipaltan vs @lionsdenkxip well done @klrahul11 brilliant 100

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 10, 2019

What a thriller this game was. I don’t know if I can handle last ball finishes anymore Well played Mumbai Chin up @lionsdenkxip & congrats for the @klrahul11 #Saddapunjab #MIvsKXIP #VivoIPL

— Preity G Zinta (@realpreityzinta) April 10, 2019

Pollard pollard pollard !!’! Boht hard boht hard boht hard !!!!!! @KieronPollard55

— yuvraj singh (@YUVSTRONG12) April 10, 2019

Calm and composed @KieronPollard55 clean striker @mipaltan

— Rahul Sharma (@ImRahulSharma3) April 10, 2019

Since R Ashwin and Kings XI Punjab were playing, this question had to come.

I wonder if the mankad was an option in the last over.. https://t.co/wdmZJYoHYi

— Eoin Morgan (@Eoin16) April 10, 2019

Also, what’s the longest spell by a fast bowler in a Test?

Steven Lynch20-Aug-2019Has anyone made a higher score than Steve Smith’s 142 at Edgbaston that wasn’t his own highest score of the match? asked Tim Clements from England

That superb double by Steve Smith at Edgbaston earlier this month was only the fourth time a batsman had exceeded 140 twice in the same Test. Andy Flower followed 142 in Zimbabwe’s first innings against South Africa in Harare in 1999-2000 with 199 not out in the second innings, while Tillakaratne Dilshan hit 162 and 143 for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2008-09. But the leader on this particular list is Australia’s Allan Border, the only man to reach 150 twice in the same Test: against Pakistan in Lahore in 1979-80 he made 150 not out in the first innings and 153 in the second.The commentators were getting very worried that Jofra Archer was being overbowled at Lord’s. What’s the longest spell by a fast bowler in a Test? asked Michael Roberts from England

Jofra Archer’s promising spell, during his debut Test, at Lord’s, lasted all of nine overs, seven of them on the third morning. That’s some way from the longest-known spells by seamers: John Lever bowled 31 successive overs for England against Australia in Melbourne in 1979-80 (he finished with 4 for 111 from 53), as did Australia’s Mick Malone, in his one and only Test, at The Oval in 1977, while Kapil Dev’s career-best 9 for 83, for India v West Indies in Ahmedabad in 1983-84, came in one unbroken run of 30.3 overs. Charles Davis, the eminent Australian statistician, also unearthed a spell by the early Aussie “demon bowler” Fred Spofforth, against England in Sydney in 1884-85, that lasted 48 four-ball overs, the equivalent of 32 six-ballers.The longest spell I can find by a genuinely quick bowler is one of 24 overs by Wes Hall of West Indies on the pulsating final day of the 1963 Lord’s Test, which ended with England needing six to win and their last pair at the crease. “Hall, in particular, and [Charlie] Griffith, showed remarkable stamina,” reported Wisden. “Hall bowled throughout the three hours and 20 minutes that play was in progress on the last day, never losing his speed and always being menacing. He took four for 93 off 40 overs in the innings. Griffith bowled all but five overs on the last day.”What is the symbol, like a big golden flower, on the Australian players’ shirt collars in this Ashes series? asked Chris Ricketson from Australia

The collar embellishment is actually a representation of a piece of Australian native art called “Walkabout Wickets”, by Aunty Fiona Clarke, the great-great-grand-daughter of “Mosquito”, a member of the pioneering Aboriginal team that toured England in 1868. According to Cricket Australia, the shirt symbol is a commitment as a team to reconciliation and finding common ground with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.The artwork represents past, present and future Aboriginal cricketers. The large circle represents Lord’s, one of the many famous grounds the 1868 team visited, while the smaller circles signify the team’s various meeting places. The wickets appear with no bails, to illustrate that the game continually moves on. And the flying stumps represent Aboriginal cricketers beating the English at their own game.The Walkabout Wickets artwork, seen here on Travis Head’s right collar, symbolises past, present and future Aboriginal cricketers•Getty ImagesDid Dale Steyn have the best bowling strike rate in Test cricket? asked Joel Pojas from the Philippines

The answer here depends on the qualification you impose. Dale Steyn leads the way for those who took more than 200 Test wickets, as his 439 victims came at a rate of one every 42.3 balls; next are Waqar Younis (43.4), Malcolm Marshall (46.7) and Allan Donald (47.0). But watch out for Steyn’s South African team-mate Kagiso Rabada: so far he has taken 176 wickets at a strike rate of 38.8.If you drop the qualification to 100 Test wickets, then Rabada is second and Steyn fourth. The 19th-century Surrey seamer George Lohmann tops the list: he took his 112 wickets at a rate of one every 34.1 balls. Another legendary England bowler, Sydney Barnes, collected 189 wickets at a strike rate of 41.6.Who was the man who, in his first Test as an umpire, gave Sunil Gavaskar out first ball? asked Hang Zhang from Australia

The umpire who was called into action immediately in his first Test was the jovial England-based Aussie Bill Alley. He confirmed that Gavaskar had been caught behind – by Alan Knott off Geoff Arnold – from the very first ball of the match between England and India at Edgbaston in 1974.Said Wisden: “Alley was the first Australian-born umpire to stand in a Test in England since Jim Phillips in 1905. Moreover, off the first ball of the match Alley gave out Gavaskar caught at the wicket, and off the last ball Engineer leg-before.”This was the first of Alley’s ten Tests in the white coat. He joined Somerset in the 1950s after missing out on Test cricket at home, and in 1961 – aged 42 – became the last man to date to amass 3000 first-class runs in an English season, a feat that will never be repeated unless there is a substantial change to the current fixture list.And there’s an addition to the recent question about England openers from the same county, from Rajiv Radhakrishnan

“The Surrey pair of Mark Butcher and Alec Stewart [who was his brother-in-law at the time] opened the batting for England in Sydney in 1998-99, and in the first two Tests against New Zealand at home the following summer. So they are the most recent pair from the same county, before Rory Burns and Jason Roy, also of Surrey, this year.”Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions