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This was an eloquent response to those suggesting that Test cricket should last only four days

George Dobell in Cape Town07-Jan-2020

This five-day Test cricket thing is pretty good

This match provided an eloquent response to those suggesting that Test cricket should last only four days. Absorbing until deep into the final session of the fifth day, it attracted large crowds and included fine displays of steadfast and aggressive batting, spells of intimidating fast and skilful seam bowling, intriguing spells of spin and, most of all, the wonderful ebb and flow that makes this game so special. It was, in short, an excellent advert for the game and strong evidence that it doesn’t require too much tinkering. Administrators meddle with it at their peril.

Winning overseas is tough

Going into this match, England had not won an away Test in a live series (one that was not already decided) against any team other than Sri Lanka or Bangladesh since they were last in South Africa four years ago. And while they may have fancied their chances when declaring shortly after lunch on day four, South Africa kept them in the field for 137.4 overs before victory was finally achieved. By then, there were only 50 deliveries left in the match.England bowled well throughout South Africa’s second innings but, on a surface that had slowed considerably, they lacked the weapons – in particular, perhaps, an attacking spinner – which might have coaxed anything out of the pitch or the Kookaburra ball. As a result, they had to toil relentlessly hard to work their way through the South Africa batting. It was England’s first Test victory in Cape Town since 1957.

There’s only one Jimmy Anderson

James Anderson gave everything he had in this game. Even after it became clear, just before tea on the final day, that he was struggling with a side strain, he was the man his captain called upon to bowl after tea. With pain etched on his face between deliveries, he only managed two overs and may well have worsened the injury. But it was typical of him to try and telling that, even aged 37, he was the first choice in such circumstances.James Anderson receives the plaudits for a wicket•Getty Images

It seems odd to report now but, ahead of this game, there were suggestions that Anderson might be left out. As it transpired, however, Jofra Archer was ruled out through injury and England were not forced into any such decision. But he responded with an immaculate performance. Despite rarely gaining much swing – his outswinger simply refused to move in the second innings – he maintained pressure in every spell and, in the first innings, became the oldest England seamer to take a Test five-for since Freddie Brown in 1951. It is true that several of those wickets included lower-order batsmen but England have been frustrated by such batsmen often in recent times and, on a surface that negated bowlers as skilled Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander, Anderson finished with outstanding match figures of seven wickets for 63 runs from 37 overs. England now face an anxious wait to learn the severity of the problem. And, perhaps, whether Anderson can stand the thought of another stint of rehab.

Stats don’t tell the whole story

A regular refrain from some on social media is: ‘Ben Stokes isn’t that good; his stats are ordinary.’ Whether that point about his stats is true – a batting average of 36 and bowling average of 33 are really quite impressive – the fact is you cannot judge Stokes purely in those terms. In this game, he provided a record five catches in the first innings, an outstanding innings which helped England accelerate towards a declaration in their second innings – a more selfish player might have not have been prepared to risk his own wicket in such fashion – and a display of pace bowling that underlined, once more, his strength and fitness.Ben Stokes celebrates dismissing Vernon Philander to seal England’s victory•AFP / Getty Images

While the wickets didn’t come until late, he troubled all the batsmen with his pace and hostility and perhaps created wickets at the other end with the pressure he built. It was fitting that it was Stokes, when England had tried all other options, who tore in for one final spell and claimed the final three wickets. He was, quite rightly, Player of the Match.

The Vicar takes residence

The manner in which Dom Sibley (the vicar of Sibley, geddit?) batted throughout the second innings suggested England had found an opening partner for Rory Burns. In resisting for nearly 500 minutes, he saw the shine of the ball, wore down the bowlers and eased the role of his middle-order colleagues. This is exactly the requirement an England side rather heavier on aggressors than defenders have had for several years.Dom Sibley reverse-sweeps•AFP

Bess can perform a holding role

Dom Bess out-bowled South Africa’s Keshav Maharaj in this Test. The 22-year-old Bess, called into the squad as injury cover and without a match since September, performed admirably in conceding just 2.29 runs per over (from 27 overs) in South Africa’s first innings and thereby allowing England’s seamers to remain fresh and operate in rotation at the other end. While, in a perfect world, he might have proved more potent in the fourth innings, we probably have to be realistic. This was his third Test and only his 39th first-class game. England couldn’t reasonably have asked for more from him. Fitness permitting, he looks certain to be included in the squad to play in Sri Lanka in March.Dom Bess claimed the crucial scalp of Faf du Plessis•AFP

The Barmy Army are an asset to cricket – and England, in particular

The sad truth is that, in some nations and at some grounds, this wonderful final day may have been witnessed by a handful of spectators. Here, however, the spectacle was witnessed by several thousand thoroughly engaged supporters. Not all were supporting England, of course, but many were and the noise they made and the atmosphere they generated contributed to a wonderfully memorable day. On a more practical level, the fact that England have attracted so many supporters to follow them – some estimates suggest there are 10,000 England supporters in Cape Town – with the economic benefits it brings to the cities they visit helps keep the longest format viable. They probably deserve a bit more respect than they are sometimes given.

William Somerville and Ajaz Patel took three wickets each to help bowl Pakistan out for 156 and seal the series 2-1

The Report by Danyal Rasool07-Dec-2018For all the excuses Pakistan and their support staff come up with, for all the platitudes of disappointment and frustration that will be bandied around in press conferences, no one could justify what has taken place over the past couple of days. Mickey Arthur said after the first Test here in Abu Dhabi that Pakistan cricket had the ability to move on, and it looks like they’ve moved on without learning a single thing from it.A remarkable turnaround from New Zealand produced a result that is more a heist than a series win. After the smash-and-grab in Abu Dhabi in the first Test, New Zealand repeated the formula in the decider, skittling out a listless, spineless Pakistan for 156. For several teams, it would be a match that stood out for years, the poster child for the need to learn lessons. For Pakistan, it won’t even be the most dramatic implosion of this three-Test series, which they relinquished 2-1 to the visitors. It is the second series loss in last three for Pakistan at their adopted home, after going unbeaten here for almost a decade.Where there was class from New Zealand on the fourth day, there was complacency from Pakistan on the third and a capitulation on the fifth. Having blown their chance to bat New Zealand out of the game, they lacked the powers of concentration to see out 80 overs on the final day. Kane Williamson and Henry Nicholls’ partnership alone had spent 24 more overs out in the middle than the entire Pakistan lineup on a fifth day that could not have gone better for Williamson if he had demanded it at a wishing well.Ajaz Patel and William Somerville took three wickets each, with Somerville enjoying a brilliant debut. He can take satisfaction in being the architect of the comeback on the third day after a somewhat toothless start to his bowling career. On day five, however, he looked a completely different bowler, with confidence shimmering in all aspects of his game, tossing the ball up and beating the Pakistan batsmen in the flight. His seven wickets were the fourth-best figures by a New Zealand player on debut, and the glisten in the eyes told of how much it meant to the 34-year-old who had perhaps wondered if such a moment would ever be his.Sarfraz Ahmed and Babar Azam took some control during the middle stages, but nothing short of a wicketless session would do for the hosts. While Sarfraz played in the mould of the player he used to be before becoming captain, he seemed to have found a way to survive in the middle. One wonders why he has lost the confidence to play that way more often, because as things stand, his contributions have rarely amounted to something that advances his side’s cause. Babar’s half-century was a bright spot in a dispiriting series for Pakistan, and a reminder he will have to carry an increasing burden over the weeks and months to come, most immediately in the series in South Africa later this month. When he fell looking to go over the top, Pakistan just had Nos. 10 and 11 at the crease, and the end was inevitable.Getty Images

A chase of 280 had begun with Mohammad Hafeez dropped off the first ball he faced, allowing him to avoid a pair in his final Test. He was castled soon after by a dream of a ball from Tim Southee, pitching on middle and off and shaping away to clip the top of the off stump. Hafeez’s batting career had ended with a moment of cricketing brilliance. Just a shame it didn’t come from him.Any thoughts Pakistan might have had of chasing down New Zealand’s total – and they do seem laughably naïve now – were extinguished soon after, when Azhar Ali edged behind off Colin de Grandhomme. That slowed them down, but the worst was yet to come.Somerville then got rid of Haris Sohail and Asad Shafiq off consecutive balls, blowing away realistic hopes of Pakistan salvaging a draw.
The day had started with New Zealand letting their hair down. In a wildly entertaining mini-session, Nicholls took charge with his unbeaten 126, and with assistance from de Grandhomme and Southee, New Zealand walloped 81 runs in nine overs. It was a final show of dominance from the visitors before they put Pakistan in to bat, a swift lashing to add to the bruises they had inflicted yesterday. Within a day, the situation was flipped completely, and with Pakistan set 280 in 79 overs, a win for the hosts looked impossible.Williamson’s dismissal off the first ball of the day failed to scare the visitors into conservatism, and two fours in the same over sent across that message. Another ten runs off the next, in which Nicholls moved to 99, made it clear that a quick declaration was on the cards. Nicholls’ third Test hundred – his first outside New Zealand – came in the next over, and after that, he too cut loose. The short balls from the fast bowlers were most mercilessly put away, while at the other end de Grandhomme, looking a much freer player, smashed Shaheen Afridi and Yasir Shah for sixes. Yasir removed de Grandhomme and BJ Watling off successive deliveries in response, but even Southee couldn’t be contained here.Pakistan could manage none of the commitment, quality, mental strength or dynamism of the visitors in just about every single moment that mattered across both Tests in Abu Dhabi. It seems a shocking claim, but in truth, they should have walked away with a 3-0 win. Instead, they ceded this series to a side that refused to believe it was beaten against one that, worryingly, looks like it has forgotten how to win.

Ganguly insisted the pink-ball concept, used in India’s Duleep Trophy, needed to be trialled continuously so that India could be ready at some stage to host day-night Tests

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Sep-20172:10

Three things we can learn from pink-ball cricket

Sourav Ganguly, the head of BCCI’s technical committee, sees a future for pink-ball day-night Tests in India despite the board not having made any headway into hosting one in the near future. The Cricket Association of Bengal, of which Ganguly is president, first trialled the concept in June last year when Eden Gardens hosted the Super League final, a local tournament, between two prominent Kolkata clubs.The concept, introduced by the BCCI during the Duleep Trophy in August-September last year, was initially shelved from the 2017-18 domestic season, only to be reinstated. The former India captain, who has been backer of the pink-ball format, intervened by taking the matter up with the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators.”As far as Duleep Trophy is concerned, my view is very clear: How can you kill a tournament? It has to be discussed either in the working committee or the special AGM,” he was quoted as saying by “You can’t chuck away a tournament one fine morning. I do understand the packed calendar, but somehow we have found a window for this and we have to keep on trying to keep it significant.”Ganguly insisted the pink-ball concept, even if not embraced wholeheartedly by the board, needed to be trialled continuously so that India could be ready at some stage to host day-night Tests. He cited the importance of having healthy crowds, which has not always been the case in India for Tests in recent years, as the major reason to continue with the concept.”It’s not about me being a fan of the pink ball,” he said. “The idea is to bring back crowds to Test cricket and that’s the reason the Duleep Trophy is being played under lights and with the pink ball. The first pink-ball Test in 2015 between Australia and New Zealand in Adelaide was house full. The recent Birmingham Test contested by England and West Indies drew big crowds too. So as an administrator, I would like to see packed houses for Test cricket.”

An unbeaten 108 from Ajinkya Rahane pushed India’s lead to 304 on the third day of the second Test in Kingston, but rain made sure India didn’t have a go at the West Indies batsmen on day three

The Report by Alagappan Muthu01-Aug-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details1:21

Manjrekar: Rahane will be proud of his workman-like innings

A Test match can be a bit like a pup: great players can lead it wherever they want. This West Indian XI does not have great players. They have great triers. Captain Jason Holder and coach Phil Simmons put the men on defence – understandable considering the opposition had a fat lead. Their best efforts have taken the Test to a point where the weather can threaten what once looked a certain victory for India. A tropical storm has been forecast to hit the region on the fourth day with India declaring 304 runs ahead and West Indies yet to bat in the second innings.Ajinkya Rahane found himself part of a pattern, one that has been central to India’s success on this tour of the Caribbean. They have batted eleven-and-a-half sessions in this series. And a set batsman had been out there most of the time. Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and R Ashwin began the trend in Antigua. It continued with KL Rahul on day two and Rahane on day three, who went on to score his seventh Test hundred. This is the eighth straight series that he has scored a score of at least 90 in.India were not panicking about the weather. The mountains on the horizon were obscured by heavy cloud. The rain break came 10 overs after lunch and spirited 52 minutes out of the game. Offspinning allrounder Roston Chase took two wickets in two balls and had them eight down soon after play resumed. The run-scoring stayed sedate.Virat Kohli, sipping a hot beverage in the dressing room, was still in his training gear. He was clearly not thinking about the declaration. Perhaps Rahane approaching a Test century away from home had something to do with that. And with only Nos. 10 and 11 for company, he began to farm the strike. This was where West Indies’ discipline paid off. They had given away only 142 runs in 46.1 overs. They made India bat long for a lead they liked.Rahane squirted an outside edge between slip and the wicketkeeper in the 170th over to reach his third hundred in four innings, captured on camera by the coach Anil Kumble and celebrated vigorously by his team-mates. The locals at Sabina Park had something to cheer too when Chase induced a top edge from Umesh Yadav to wrap up his first five-for in his second Test. With a high-arm action resembling Nathan Lyon, he got the ball to dip and bounce. Earlier, Amit Mishra failed to get to the pitch of one and was caught at short leg. Seconds later Mohammed Shami was bowled playing down the wrong line. Chase wore a sheepish grin on day two when he conceded he hadn’t liked going without a wicket on debut. Now he was leading his team off.While it will be debated if India needed to bat on after the first rain break, or if they batted on to let Rahane reach his hundred – he was 83 when the rain came down – the fact remains that India had now batted West Indies out of the match. It remained to be seen if India would give enough time to register their first set of consecutive wins outside Asia since 2006, but they were assured they were not going to lose this one.

Mid-June is arguably too soon to write off a team’s prospects for the season. Nevertheless, the final morning of Somerset’s tussle with Nottinghamshire at Taunton looks set to be a seminal one for the county.

Andrew Miller at Taunton16-Jun-2015
ScorecardTom Abell helped Somerset begin their big chase strongly•Getty Images

Mid-June is arguably too soon to write off a team’s prospects for the season. Nevertheless, the final morning of Somerset’s tussle with Nottinghamshire at Taunton looks set to be a seminal one for the county.Pick off the remaining 127 runs required for victory, having been set a daunting fourth-innings chase of 401 against Nottinghamshire, and the confidence of such an achievement could course through the veins of a beleaguered team. But trip up, having at one stage been cruising on 197 for 1, and it would surely count as the most crushing of their five defeats in seven games this season.Somerset’s fightback was set in motion by their bowlers who, since shipping 300 runs in claiming their first three wickets of the match fought back with spirit to claim 17 wickets for 300 more in 65 subsequent overs. But at 274 for 5, with Jim Allenby and Peter Trego already at the crease, it will be down to those bowlers plus Michael Bates, the wicketkeeper, to haul them over the line.”It’s been an intriguing day’s cricket,” Matthew Maynard, Somerset’s director of cricket, said. “I think we played some excellent cricket today. The old bowling attack have done themselves proud. We did brilliantly to get ourselves into this position and, at the end of the day, we are still in a position where if we can get a couple of partnerships together and see off the new ball, it’s going to be a very tight finish tomorrow.”But a late collapse of 4 for 46 runs in 13 overs left Maynard conceding that Nottinghamshire had reclaimed the initiative going into the final day. “We’ve lost clusters of two or three wickets, where in the past we would have lost four or five,” he said. “I always try and look at the positive side of it. It would have been nice to have lost one fewer wicket in the evening session. That extra wicket just puts us behind in the game.”For all the spirit they showed on a testing day, however, Somerset’s composure proved about as robust as the surface tension on a millpond. For as long as Marcus Trescothick and Tom Abell were in harness, adding 129 for the first wicket with their contrasting but complimentary styles, the size of their chase caused barely a ripple of alarm.Even Trescothick’s departure, caught and bowled by a diving Samit Patel for 65, failed to create the sort of splash it might have done in his pomp five years ago. But the loss of Abell, 17 overs later was another thing entirely. For 307 deliveries, spanning two innings, 148 runs and scarcely a false stroke in six and a half hours of crease occupation, Abell had been a model of technical excellence and restraint, with confident footwork, a composure way beyond his 21 years, and with a sniper’s eye for a scoring opportunity.”He’s got a fantastic temperament and a natural ability, and that’s what distinguishes a lot of real, top players,” Maynard said. “He’s got that in abundance. To bat all the way through one innings and go out there again, for an hour short of three full days on the pitch, it’s a terrific achievement.” But, on 72, Abell succumbed to virtually his first false stroke of the match, a loose drive at Will Gidman to be caught at a very precisely positioned Steven Mullaney at straight mid-off, and the effect was like plunging a tombstone into Somerset’s troubled waters.One over later, James Hildreth, who became the first man to 1000 first-class runs this season in the first innings, chased a wide half-volley to hole out to the same combination for 4, and Somerset lost their third wicket in the space of five overs when Tom Cooper swung wildly to Patel at mid-on to hand a first wicket of the innings – and eighth of the match – to the debutant offspinner, Matthew Carter.Somerset’s reaction to their sudden predicament was not dissimilar to England’s new-found attitude to one-day cricket. Swing hard, swing fast, and slurp up the target before before drowning in the sheer weight of runs.Johann Myburgh proved a qualified success in this approach, thumping eight fours and a six in making 56 from 89 balls before he too fell to Carter via a brilliant, instinctive grab from Mullaney at slip after Wessels had parried the initial edge. But Tom Cooper was less successful. He completed a miserable match with a slogged duck to mid-on.By the close, Allenby and Trego had restored their team’s fragile hopes with a hard-earned 31-run stand for the sixth wicket, although Trego was lucky to receive a life on 9 when Brendan Taylor at slip missed a sharp edge off Ben Hilfenhaus.”Once you’re in it’s a nice wicket to bat on but it’s hard to get in at times,” Maynard said. “We’ve had some good partnerships with the bat, which is key, we need to try and build a couple more tomorrow.” Somerset’s season may depend on it.

Gloucestershire’s chief executive Tom Richardson, the driving force behind the development of their Bristol headquarters, will leave the club at the beginning of September

David Hopps25-Jan-2013Gloucestershire’s chief executive Tom Richardson, the driving force behind the development of their Bristol headquarters, will leave the club at the beginning of September after 12 years in the post.Richardson has presided over good times and bad, including a period at the turn of the century when they were renowned as the best one-day side in the countrry. But it is the development of Nevil Road,in the face of considerable opposition, which will be his legacy.”It is a logical break point as we aim to have completed the development of the pavilion and media centre at the end of July, ” Richardson said. “I have hugely enjoyed my time here and feel privileged to have been involved for so long.Clearly, getting started on the development has been a major lift for the club and I am really pleased to have played a full part in that. There is a real buzz about the place at the moment and whilst in some ways it will be sad not to be involved next year it is time for me to move on.”It remains to be seen whether Gloucestershire’s investment will satisfy their ambition of attracting more international cricket to Bristol. England already has nine international grounds, all scrambling for their share of England cricket and any further expansion of the international calendar is impossible to contemplate.But at a time when the counties remain hopeful that Twenty20 cricket will prove a long-term attraction, especially after a general switch to Friday nights from 2014, Nevil Road’s expansion will give Gloucestershire the opportunity to rediscover their strength in one-day cricket, especially if they can stir Bristol’s sometimes apathetic following into greater support.The expansion of Nevil Road, approved by Bristol City Council in March, included the demolition of the Mound and Jessop stands, provision of 7,500 permanent seats and a 147-room apartment with basement car parking. There will also be a business and conference centre in a new pavilion and a new media centre which will replace the primitive or temporary accommodation in the past.Rex Body, Gloucestershire’s chairman, said: “Tom’s value to Gloucestershire cannot be overestimated, particularly the work he has done on our ground development programme, in at times extremely difficult circumstances.Richardson will retain a link with Gloucestershire by becoming involved in their Youth Trust activities whern he stands down from the chief executive post.

Sulakshan Kulkarni, the Mumbai coach, says Kaustubh Pawar typifies the defiant attitude of Mumbai batsman and says it is nice to have a batsman in the side who is willing to keep the ball on the ground

Abhishek Purohit at the Holkar Cricket Stadium03-Jan-2012Kaustubh Pawar came out to bat at No. 3 yesterday and saw Mumbai lose half their side with 60 runs on the board. A day later, he calmly got forward to ease the final delivery of day two to the long-off boundary to take Mumbai to 346 for 7. It was Pawar’s 322nd delivery, many of which had beaten him. Some of them had him falling to the ground as he looked to avoid them. One of them even hit him on the helmet. But he battled through it all for almost eight hours to end unbeaten on 160 and put his side on top.Pawar, 21, defied a testing Madhya Pradesh attack in the pressure situation of a knockout game in his debut first-class season. More importantly, he did it despite struggling to find rhythm in his batting till he reached three figures. It was the kind of single-minded devotion to the cause that Mumbai needed, and coach Sulakshan Kulkarni hailed Pawar as the quintessential Mumbai batsman. “What is a Mumbai batsman? Someone who can play with that [defiant] attitude,” Kulkarni said. “Someone who can stand all day and make a hundred in 250 deliveries. Pawar is that kind of batsman.”Kulkarni said that Pawar’s presence was vital in a line-up that contains stroke-makers like Suryakumar Yadav and Wasim Jaffer. “The phase that the Mumbai team is currently in, we needed someone like him. We need someone who can hold one end up. There are a lot of stroke-makers in this team. But you also need a player in the Rahul Dravid mould. Kaustubh fits that role.”He has been given that role. Surya [Yadav] is the free bird of the side. He has the mandate to go out and play strokes. Kaustubh cannot do what Surya does, and vice versa.”Kulkarni also said that with the advent of the IPL, batsmen had started to play a lot of shots in the air. Having a batsman like Pawar who was able and willing to bat in the conventional way was a huge positive for Mumbai, he said. “If you observe, he hardly played a shot in the air.
In these times, it is extremely difficult to find a batsman who plays shots along the ground. I can recall only one more name among the current lot who does that: Cheteshwar Pujara. It is extremely valuable to have such a player.”Pawar had had a discussion with his coach before the start of play today with Mumbai 122 runs behind and had assured him that he would not throw his wicket away. “I had told him to hang in there, and he had promised me that he will remain unbeaten at stumps today, which he did,” Kulkarni said.Pawar said his mandate was to tire the MP bowlers out which he was able to do successfully. “There was a little nervousness given the situation we were in. We knew that the first 30-45 minutes would be crucial. I and Hiken [Shah] were able to get through that period. They were bowling well initially but later got tired.”There was no weariness in Pawar’s demeanour though. As soon as he hit the last ball of the day for four, he walked back eagerly with a broad smile towards a grateful Mumbai dressing-room. A maiden double-hundred, which Pawar said he has never made in a “big match”, beckons.

Darren Gough believes there is no way back for Australia in the Ashes series and can’t see them winning a Test regardless of who makes up their bowling attack

Andrew McGlashan09-Dec-2010Darren Gough believes there is no way back for Australia in the Ashes and can’t see them winning a Test regardless of who makes up their bowling attack. The situation has become so desperate for the hosts that there are growing calls for Shane Warne to make a comeback but, while Gough thinks the legspinner would seriously consider it, he says Cricket Australia can’t be seen to be making such a backward step.As England completed their crushing innings-and-71-run victory in Adelaide, a campaign was launched to encourage Warne – who last played Tests four years ago – out of retirement to help salvage the series. Bookmakers have cut their odds on such a move, and a website has been launched to raise money, while Warne himself called the talk “flattering”.”It’s not going happen. If someone rang Shane and said ‘we really need you’ I think he’d probably say yes, but Cricket Australia just aren’t going to do that,” Gough, who struck up a close friendship with Warne during their playing days, told ESPNcricinfo. “They would never ask him because it would be going back on their own statement to back youth. It just won’t happen.”I can’t see how they are going to win a game,” Gough added. “Their best chance is at Perth where their record is very good, but England have got players who all play well off the back foot so they won’t be worried about extra bounce – they’ll actually enjoy it. I just can’t see that they have the bowlers, whoever they pick, to bowl England out twice.”Gough is bemused by the decision to dump Mitchell Johnson for the second Test despite his wicketless display at Brisbane and thinks the selectors will have to immediately backtrack on that call for Perth. Johnson is currently working with Troy Cooley at the WACA, rather than playing for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, and could be one of three players recalled alongside Ben Hilfenhaus and Nathan Hauritz.”The reason they are struggling is because they can’t take 20 wickets,” Gough, speaking at the Red Tractor beef and lamb launch ‘Give the Bird a Break’, said. “They left out their best strike bowler in Mitchell Johnson which was a total surprise to me. He’s the one guy who can bowl a team out and Ricky Ponting knows that and that’s why he has backed him in the media. It will be interesting to see which way they go. They’ll have to bring Johnson back to partner Ryan Harris so they have two strike bowlers.”England will also need to make a change to their attack for Perth after Stuart Broad was ruled out for the rest of the tour with a stomach injury. The three reserve quicks – Chris Tremlett, Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad – will play against Victoria in a three-day match starting on Friday and despite his strong Yorkshire connection, Gough would go with Tremlett for the Test match.”If it had been any other pitch over there I’d have gone for Tim Bresnan but I just think we need that bit of extra firepower at Perth where there’s a touch more bounce,” he said. “You look at history and the guys that have done well there are the tall bowlers – Curtly Ambrose, Courtney Walsh, Glenn McGrath – the guys who can hit back-of-a-length to make the most of the extra bounce and carry. That’s the only reason I’d favour Tremlett. Bresnan is a fine bowler and in any other conditions I think he’d be the man.”I think Tremlett has developed a lot over the last few years and his move to Surrey has clearly helped him. The key for England is to continue to be positive and I think Tremlett is the man who can help them do that in Perth,” Gough added. “He would send out a positive message that England aren’t going to sit back on their 1-0 lead. However, if they come across some flatter pitches later in the series I’d play Bresnan because he bowls good reverse swing and accurately. For this Test, though, they need to replace Broad’s wicket-taking ability.”Gough has huge sympathy for Broad having twice experienced the major disappointment of leaving an Ashes tour. In 1994-95 Gough had produced a fine all-round performance in Sydney with 51 and 6 for 49 but then suffered a stress fracture of his foot, and eight years later returned home without playing a game. “He’ll be distraught,” Gough said. “An Ashes tour is the one you want to play on. I came home from my first Ashes tour and my last – without bowling a ball in 2002 – so I know exactly how he’ll be feeling right now.”Darren Gough is launching the ‘Give the Bird a Break’ virtual Christmas cooking school for men together with Red Tractor beef and lamb. For his recipe videos and top tips visit www.simplybeefandlamb.co.uk/birdabreak

Ricky Ponting believes his pulling will become less risky as soon as his injured elbow heals properly

Cricinfo staff09-Jan-2010Ricky Ponting believes his pulling will become less risky as soon as his injured elbow heals properly. Ponting has been dismissed twice to the shot during the Pakistan series and there have been calls for him to shelve it to extend his outstanding career.However, Ponting, 35, is determined to keep playing the way that has gained him 11,561 runs at 54.79 in 141 Tests. “Wait until I get fit again and we’ll see if everyone is still saying the same thing about it then,” Ponting said in the Sunday Telegraph. “They are such reactive shots, they are instinctive. I’m not sure how people in the past have gone about putting them away.”I think I have been out twice this summer pulling, but it is a shot that keeps bringing me runs so we’ll see how we go with that. But as I said, if I get my elbow right then I think you’ll see me playing with a lot more freedom and not only those shots, but a lot of other shots around the ground as well.”Ponting is having his worst home Test summer in more than a decade after picking up 216 runs in the five games against West Indies and Pakistan. The problems stem from his sore left elbow, which was tenderised by a Kemar Roach bouncer at the WACA last month, and there have also been suggestions that he step down from his preferred No.3.”I read it for the first time the other day midway through the Test match, when all the negative stuff was in the papers about the team and about certain individuals and selecting of the team,” Ponting said. “I haven’t thought about that.”But if the day comes where I think there is someone better in the order to bat at No. 3 than myself, then by all means I will give it some thought, but I still think I’m the best equipped to be batting at No. 3 in the Test side. Hopefully I can show everybody that over the next few weeks.”Ponting has the summer’s final Test on his home ground in Hobart to find some form before the start of limited-overs campaigns against Pakistan and West Indies. He felt the extra rest between the second and third matches would help his elbow.”Where I’ve struggled with it is I’ve had two or three days at a time in between batting days and I’ve just needed a little bit longer than that,” he said. “From where I batted in the second innings in the Sydney Test, I’ll have had about six or seven days without batting. So when I hit the nets on Monday it will be better than it has been in the last couple of weeks.”

The BCCI medical team has told him that the decision is in line with safeguarding his back and keeping the long-term in mind

Nagraj Gollapudi29-Jul-20251:31

What attack should India pick at The Oval?

Jasprit Bumrah will not play the fifth and final Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy at The Oval starting Thursday. ESPNcricinfo has learned that the BCCI medical team has told Bumrah that the decision is in line with safeguarding his back and keeping the long-term in mind.The development is not entirely a surprise, considering the medical team in coordination with Bumrah, the Indian team management, and the selectors had decided he would play only three of the five Tests during the England tour. Bumrah played in the first Test at Headingley, sat out in the second Test at Edgbaston, which India won, and played in the following two Tests at Lord’s and last week at Old Trafford.With Bumrah having not bowled since the fourth morning at Old Trafford, coupled with a three-day break between the final two Tests, India might have toyed with the idea of changing the original plan, especially with a possibility of levelling the series 2-2 with a win at The Oval.Related

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However, a combination of a slowish, flat surface and the workload had impacted Bumrah’s pace in the fourth Test. He picked two wickets in 33 overs, which was the most he has bowled in an innings, and for the first time, his runs column had breached 100. As the series progressed, the number of balls he bowled above 140kph in the first innings of each Test also reduced from 42.7% at Headingley to 22.3% at Lord’s to 0.5% at Old Trafford.Bumrah is currently the joint-second-highest wicket-taker with 14 wickets in the series alongside Mohammed Siraj. After the draw in Manchester, India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir had said Bumrah was available for the final Test, but two days later, India have decided to rest him.Gautam Gambhir chats with Akash Deep during India’s practice session•PTI

Akash Deep likely to replace Bumrah

Who will replace Bumrah was evident at India’s optional training session on Tuesday. Akash Deep, who missed the fourth Test with a groin niggle, found his rhythm easily as he seamed the ball appreciably on the greenish practice pitches. In the second Test at Edgbaston, which was his first Test since Melbourne in December, Akash Deep picked up a ten-wicket match haul, including a career-best 6 for 99 in England’s second innings, extracting movement from a benign surface.In the following Test at Lord’s, though, Akash struggled for consistency, especially bowling down the slope from the Pavilion End. He picked up just one wicket in the Test, but the seamer-friendly conditions at The Oval could help Akash get back in the saddle quickly.Still, Gill and Gambhir will have to deal with finding the right balance in the bowling attack. That it is a challenge is primarily because of the below-par performances from three other fast bowlers who have featured so far in the series: Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Anshul Kamboj. Prasidh has not played since the win in the second Test, while Thakur and Kamboj barely got to bowl after their first spells at Old Trafford.In the absence of Bumrah, Siraj, the only fast bowler to play all the Tests, will once again lead the pace attack. Siraj has bowled the fourth-most overs among seamers this series – 139 – but hasn’t let his intensity down. India will be worried about his workload and fitness but they have little choice other than playing Siraj. Even then, India will have to make a call regarding the third seamer.1:20

Manjrekar: Kuldeep has to come in for the Oval Test

It is likely to be one of Prasidh and Arshdeep Singh, who bowled and batted without any discomfort, showing he had recovered completely from the freak injury he picked up on his bowling hand in the days leading to the fourth Test while trying to intercept a ball on follow-through.With Rishabh Pant ruled out of the Oval Test, Dhruv Jurel will keep wickets and bat in the middle order. Despite the boldness of his batting, which can turn eyes, Jurel’s inexperience, especially of playing in England, might tilt India to focus on retaining Thakur to provide the batting depth. That would mean there will be no room once again for Kuldeep Yadav.India might also believe Kuldeep could be surplus to the requirement, especially keeping in mind the pitch and the cloudy conditions that are likely to play a role during the Test. Two days ahead of the match, the pitch had enough greenish patches, so India could continue with the spin pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar.Apart from that, the bowling numbers at The Oval this domestic season are predominantly favourable to the seamers: fast bowlers have picked up 131 of the 150 wickets in five matches. Surrey have won twice at home with three draws, including the last round against Durham, where the fourth-highest score in county cricket was registered. Surrey made 820 for 9 declared on the back of Dom Sibley’s triple-hundred, but that match was played with Kookaburra balls as part of the ECB’s drive since last year to upgrade the bowlers’ skills.