ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2016But Ross Taylor, resuming on 38, carried on strongly and raised his 14th Test century•AFPTaylor was supported brilliantly by wicketkeeper BJ Watling as New Zealand dominated the first two sessions, plundering 108 and 120 runs respectively•AFPSikandar Raza ended the 253-run sixth-wicket partnership, forcing Watling to fetch a pull from outside off and hole out to deep square leg. Watling had made 107•AFPKane Williamson called for the declaration after Watling’s dismissal with New Zealand on 576 for 6. Taylor remained unbeaten on 173 with the lead having stretched to 412•AFPZimbabwe’s woeful day continued with the bat too as Trent Boult struck thrice within his first two overs, reducing them to 17 for 4•AFPSikandar Raza struck 37 rapid runs and added 69 for the fifth wicket with Craig Ervine. Ervine remained unbeaten on 49 and carried Zimbabwe to 121 for 5 at stumps, still 291 behind•AFP

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jul-2016After Voges chipped a return catch to Rangana Herath, Mitchell Marsh and Smith added 43 as Australia chipped away at the target•Associated PressHowever, Sri Lanka’s spinners struck thrice just before lunch to leave Australia tottering at 141 for 7 at the break•Associated PressPeter Nevill and Steve O’Keefe, batting with a hamstring injury, resisted with a four-run stand off 178 balls•AFPHerath’s nagging accuracy, though, was too good for Australia. Before the tea break, he picked up the last wicket to finish with match figures of 9 for 103•AFPSri Lanka won by 106 runs – just their second Test win against Australia – to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series•Associated Press

The stats highlights from Dhaka where Jake Ball and Ben Duckett enjoyed notable debuts

Shiva Jayaraman07-Oct-2016 0 Number of England bowlers to take a five-for on debut in ODIs before Jake Ball. The previous best by an England bowler on debut was Adam Hollioake’s 4 for 23 against Pakistan at Edgbaston in 1996. Ball’s 5 for 51 are the fourth-best figures by an England bowler in ODIs in Asia and only the fifth five-wicket haul. Ball is the 14th England player to win the Man-of-the-Match award on debut. 17 Runs for which Bangladesh lost their last six wickets – equals their seventh-worst collapse in ODIs. They looked set to win the match at 271 for 4 in the 42nd over before Ball’s twin strikes triggered the collapse. Their worst had come against India at the same venue in 2014 when they lost their last six wickets for just nine runs in a low-scoring game. 1 Number of centuries by England batsmen at No. 5 or lower in ODIs in Asia before Ben Stokes’ 101 in this match. Eoin Morgan had made 110 not out against Bangladesh at the same venue in 2010. This was Stokes’ highest score in ODIs passing his 75 against Pakistan in Cardiff earlier this year. 165.78 Jos Buttler’s strike rate in his innings of 68 – the seventh time he has made 50 or more runs in a ODI at a strike rate of 150-plus. Overall, including the seven innings from Buttler, there have been only 21 such innings by England batsmen in ODIs. 4/55 Adil Rashid’s previous best bowling figures in ODIs, which had come against New Zealand at Edgbatson in 2014. His 4 for 49 in this match was his best and the third four-wicket haul he has taken in ODIs. Rashid’s figures in this match were also the sixth-best by an England spinner in ODIs in Asia. 2 Number of England batsmen younger than Ben Duckett who have made fifty or more on their debut in ODIs. Ben Hollioake was just 19 years and 195 days old when he made 63 on his ODI debut, against Australia in 1997. Andrew Flintoff made 50 at the age of 21 years and 122 days against Pakistan in 1999. Duckett was 21 years and 356 days old. 95.10 Duckett’s batting average in List A matches in 2016; he has made 951 runs from 12 innings at a strike rate of 112.67 with three hundreds and five fifties. Duckett made a double-hundred against Sri Lanka A batting at No. 3 for England Lions earlier this year: only the second ever by a non-opener in a 50-over List-A match. 5 Number of stands of 150-plus for England in ODIs in Asia before the 153-run partnership between Duckett and Stokes in this match. This was also only the seventh 150-plus stand for England for the fourth wicket in ODIs. 136 Wickets by Shakib Al Hasan in ODIs at home – the second highest by any spinner in ODIs at home after Muttiah Muralitharan’s 154 wickets in Sri Lanka. Shakib went past Shane Warne’s tally of 134 wickets at home when he dismissed Jason Roy. Overall, only three other bowlers – Shaun Pollock (193 wickets), Brett Lee (169) and Glenn McGrath (160) – have taken more wickets at home in ODIs than Shakib. 0 Number of times England had made a total of 300 or more from eight ODIs in Bangladesh before this. England’s previous highest total in Bangladesh was the 284 for 5 which they had made against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2010. 1 Number of instances of a Bangladesh batsman making a hundred in a chase of 300 or more runs before Imrul Kayes. Tamim Iqbal scored 154 while chasing a target of 313 against Zimbabwe in 2009. This was Imrul’s first ODI hundred since February 2010 when he had made 101 against New Zealand in Christchurch. Between the two centuries, Imrul had played 49 ODI innings- the most by a batsman in the top three in this period without getting a hundred. 2 Number of instances of a Bangladesh batsmen at No. 6 or lower who have made more runs in a chase than Shakib in this match. Nasir Hossain had made 100 against Pakistan at the same venue in 2011-12 and Alok Kapali scored 89 not out in 2002-03, both of which also came in a losing cause. This was Shakib’s highest score against England in ODIs and his second fifty against them. Before this innings, he had made 182 runs against them at an average of 22.75.

The DRS was a vital component of the Chittagong Test – with a record 26 on-field decisions being reviewed by the players – and Kumar Dharmasena was especially in the spotlight

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-20161:29

Dobell: ‘Without DRS this would have been a farce’

As a former offspinner, Kumar Dharmasena would have enjoyed bowling on the Chittagong pitch. But it was a tougher job umpiring. With the ball spinning and spitting, it was a demanding match for the on-field officials and Dharmasena’s decisions were constantly challenged. In total 16 of his calls – out and not out – were reviewed with eight overturned, which set an unwanted record of the most reversed decisions for an umpire in a single Test.26.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, another big appeal, this time the finger goes up! Moeen has been dicing with danger, hit on the pads again and Kumar Dharmasena likes it – but England review. Shakib was bowling from over the wicket, the ball again spinning in to the southpaw, as with the review off Taijul… Moeen this time playing the sweep and struck on the front pad. Don’t think there was bat/glove on this… Or is that a murmur on Ultra Edge? Yes, it would appear so: S Ravi is convinced, anyway. A scrape of bat tape on it and the decision is overturned!28.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, that’s much better! Tossed up, pins Moeen on the front pad, and up goes the finger! Moeen has reviewed, again, but this looks adjacent … the DRS parameters have been tweaked in favour of bowlers, so if this is clipping, it is out … the tension is unbearable …but it is missing! Spinning too much … golly28.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, another sweep, another appeal, another review! Well this is extraordinary. Umpire Dharmasena’s finger is incredibly itchy at the moment – he has raised it three times in six balls! – but this one looked as though it was outside the line. There’s no bat involved … and indeed, it is outside the line!102.1 Taijul Islam to Broad, no run, huge appeal as Broad is bashed on the pads, sharp spin but was Broad outside the line? He reviews…. Dharmasena has had another shocker, I’m afraid. That was missing leg stump!ESPNcricinfo Ltd68.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Rashid, OUT, gentle lbw appeal here, Rashid defending with bat next to pad… Mushfiq asks his bowler if it was pad first and then, with a grin on his face, asks for the review. It’ll be close if it was pad then bat… Lots of rocking and rolling on the replay, looks like it did kiss the front leg before thudding into the bat, so we go to Hawk-Eye, impact in line and hitting middle stump! Another decision is overturned, Shakib has a five-for and England are eight down42.6 Ali to Tamim Iqbal, no run, turn and bounce, taken by Root diving to his right at slip, Dharmasena gives it! Tamim, however, reviews straight away – because why not? – and the initial replay suggests it might have come off his upper arm. It was an excellent low catch as the ball diverted past Bairstow, but went quite slowly, as if off something softer (and it turns out fleshier) than the bat. Yep, S Ravi concludes there was no bat or glove involved, checks the lbw just to be sure and then overturns yet another on-field decision! Who’d be an umpire, eh?27.5 Batty to Mominul Haque, OUT, down on one knee to sweep, and England review! Batty is adamant that there’s something in this … is it lbw, or an under-edge to bat-pad? Doesn’t seem to be bat involved … the bat hits the ground, but not the ball. Over to HawkEye then, did it pitch inside the line of leg stump? It hit! A huge roar from England as they watch the replay on the big screen, and England have their third wicket!81.1 Stokes to Taijul Islam, OUT, on the stumps, flicks the pad playing across the line, loops past the diving Bairstow… Stokes wanted the lbw and England have reviewed (they were topped up at 80 overs remember). Looked a bit speculative to me but here we go… Past the inside edge, struck in line, Hawk-Eye has it hitting leg stump! England are ecstatic, I thought they had gambled but Stokes just had a feeling it was adjacent and Taijul has to go! In this match of reviews, another dramatic reversal!It is worth noting that the last of those overturns, Taijul on the final morning, was only changed to out because of the new DRS protocols which effectively widened the stumps.

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2016But he was bowled on the sweep by Imad Wasim•AFP… who added the scalp of Jason Roy in a brilliant opening spell•AFPJoe Root attempted to improvise as the boundaries dried up•AFP… but Hasan Ali dismissed him for 6•Getty ImagesGetty Images… where the substitute, Amad Butt, took a well-judged catch•Getty Images… before Wahab Riaz had Eoin Morgan caught behind in a fiery spell•Getty ImagesBabar Azam had to be carried off the pitch after twisting his ankle•AFPPakistan’s fans were out in force at Old Trafford and made their presence felt•Getty ImagesIn reply, Sharjeel Khan laid into England’s bowlers•Getty Images… blasting a 30-ball fifty•Getty Images… while Khalid Latif finished unbeaten on 59 from 42 balls•Getty ImagesEoin Morgan led his dejected team from the field•Getty ImagesBut a nine-wicket win was the perfect way for Pakistan to sign off a memorable tour•Getty Images

The DRS was a vital component of the Chittagong Test – with a record 26 on-field decisions being reviewed by the players – and Kumar Dharmasena was especially in the spotlight

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Oct-20161:29

Dobell: ‘Without DRS this would have been a farce’

As a former offspinner, Kumar Dharmasena would have enjoyed bowling on the Chittagong pitch. But it was a tougher job umpiring. With the ball spinning and spitting, it was a demanding match for the on-field officials and Dharmasena’s decisions were constantly challenged. In total 16 of his calls – out and not out – were reviewed with eight overturned, which set an unwanted record of the most reversed decisions for an umpire in a single Test.26.5 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, another big appeal, this time the finger goes up! Moeen has been dicing with danger, hit on the pads again and Kumar Dharmasena likes it – but England review. Shakib was bowling from over the wicket, the ball again spinning in to the southpaw, as with the review off Taijul… Moeen this time playing the sweep and struck on the front pad. Don’t think there was bat/glove on this… Or is that a murmur on Ultra Edge? Yes, it would appear so: S Ravi is convinced, anyway. A scrape of bat tape on it and the decision is overturned!28.2 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, that’s much better! Tossed up, pins Moeen on the front pad, and up goes the finger! Moeen has reviewed, again, but this looks adjacent … the DRS parameters have been tweaked in favour of bowlers, so if this is clipping, it is out … the tension is unbearable …but it is missing! Spinning too much … golly28.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Ali, no run, another sweep, another appeal, another review! Well this is extraordinary. Umpire Dharmasena’s finger is incredibly itchy at the moment – he has raised it three times in six balls! – but this one looked as though it was outside the line. There’s no bat involved … and indeed, it is outside the line!102.1 Taijul Islam to Broad, no run, huge appeal as Broad is bashed on the pads, sharp spin but was Broad outside the line? He reviews…. Dharmasena has had another shocker, I’m afraid. That was missing leg stump!ESPNcricinfo Ltd68.4 Shakib Al Hasan to Rashid, OUT, gentle lbw appeal here, Rashid defending with bat next to pad… Mushfiq asks his bowler if it was pad first and then, with a grin on his face, asks for the review. It’ll be close if it was pad then bat… Lots of rocking and rolling on the replay, looks like it did kiss the front leg before thudding into the bat, so we go to Hawk-Eye, impact in line and hitting middle stump! Another decision is overturned, Shakib has a five-for and England are eight down42.6 Ali to Tamim Iqbal, no run, turn and bounce, taken by Root diving to his right at slip, Dharmasena gives it! Tamim, however, reviews straight away – because why not? – and the initial replay suggests it might have come off his upper arm. It was an excellent low catch as the ball diverted past Bairstow, but went quite slowly, as if off something softer (and it turns out fleshier) than the bat. Yep, S Ravi concludes there was no bat or glove involved, checks the lbw just to be sure and then overturns yet another on-field decision! Who’d be an umpire, eh?27.5 Batty to Mominul Haque, OUT, down on one knee to sweep, and England review! Batty is adamant that there’s something in this … is it lbw, or an under-edge to bat-pad? Doesn’t seem to be bat involved … the bat hits the ground, but not the ball. Over to HawkEye then, did it pitch inside the line of leg stump? It hit! A huge roar from England as they watch the replay on the big screen, and England have their third wicket!81.1 Stokes to Taijul Islam, OUT, on the stumps, flicks the pad playing across the line, loops past the diving Bairstow… Stokes wanted the lbw and England have reviewed (they were topped up at 80 overs remember). Looked a bit speculative to me but here we go… Past the inside edge, struck in line, Hawk-Eye has it hitting leg stump! England are ecstatic, I thought they had gambled but Stokes just had a feeling it was adjacent and Taijul has to go! In this match of reviews, another dramatic reversal!It is worth noting that the last of those overturns, Taijul on the final morning, was only changed to out because of the new DRS protocols which effectively widened the stumps.

Chasing 258 to beat Zimbabwe in Bulawayo, West Indies needed four runs off the last over, with five wickets in hand. Could Donald Tiripano somehow deny them?

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Nov-201649.1 Tiripano to Holder, 1 run, fuller ball outside off, drills it to sweeper cover. Singles will do it for West Indies49.2 Tiripano to CR Brathwaite, OUT, kind of a needless shot with three needed off five. It was a slower ball from Tiripano. Legcutter on a length and Brathwaite tries to swat it with a flat bat. It was a low percentage shot and he skews it to long-on, much to the delight of a large section of the crowd
Ashley Nurse is the new man in, but Holder on strike as the batsmen had crossed over.49.3 Tiripano to Holder, OUT, oh, what terrible luck. Run out at the non-striker’s end. It was a fuller ball and Holder makes good connection on the forward push and the ball goes on the bounce towards the bowler who tries to stop it with outstretched hands. But it goes off the finger and crashes into the stumps with Nurse out of the crease as he was backing away. What drama!
49.4 Tiripano to Holder, 1 leg bye, back of a length, outside off, looks to play across the line but it brushes the thigh and goes fine of short third manTwo off two. Zimbabwe’s players get together for a chat.49.5 Tiripano to Carter, 1 run, chance at deep square leg, did it carry to Chibhabha? It was a legcutter on a short of good length and Carter pulls it. It seems like it carried to the fielder who makes a brilliant effort as he dives forward. Unfortunately for Zimbabwe, he does not manage to grab it. But a superb effort as he did not allow the ball to go to the boundary. Those catches are always tricky and it is easy to miss the catch and let the ball escape from in between. Scores level now.49.6 Tiripano to Holder, OUT, unbelievable scenes at Queens. What a match! Zimbabwe are leaping in joy an why wouldn’t they! This has been a remarkable fightback. But let’s not forget to give credit to the bowler. What a superb delivery under pressure. Fires it very full and outside off, just around the line forcing the batsman to reach out. Holder can’t make contact but Carter sets off for the run from the non-striker’s end. The wicketkeeper has a shy at the stumps and Carter is caught short. An inch outside and it could have been a wide. A perfect last delivery and full marks to Tiripano

Despite their contrasting batting styles, Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock showed the temperament to spend time in the middle, underlining a key difference between the two sides

Firdose Moonda in Hobart14-Nov-20160:33

‘De Kock’s consistency fabulous’

South Africa got an early sighting of the future on the third day of the Hobart Test and the good news is that it appears bright. In Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock, they have a middle-order pair who balance caution and creativity, and at 26 and 23 years old respectively, could serve them for at least the next five years.Both have roots in Johannesburg, the city of gold, where they each attended prestigious sporting schools – Bavuma was at St Davids, de Kock at King Edward VII – and played for the Lions. But it is here in Hobart, some might say the city of cold, where their Test tryst has truly blossomed. They put on 144 together, the highest sixth-wicket partnership by a visiting team at the Bellerive Oval, and stretched South Africa’s lead to what may turn out to be a match-winning one.Quinton de Kock on…

His partnership with Bavuma: “We have grown up batting together. We understand each other well. We are good friends. We get along well too. It’s nothing new to us. We were just going about our business and we respect the way each other bats.

Facing spin: Nathan [Lyon] is a quality bowler. It’s just one or two shots that flew into my head that I played. Instinctive shots. He bowled really well to me. To be a spinner in Australia is not easy. You must understand he has done exceptionally well and you must respect that.

Dean Elgar’s dropped catch: I just saw Dean duck. I didn’t know whether to laugh or to do what at that point. He is a great slip fielder. He can make mistakes. He is going to take some blinders. He will take one or two key catches.

South Africa’s chances of winning: We are fairly confident, but it’s not going to be easy. They are batting really well. We’re going to have to see what happens tomorrow. Usman has a good game plan and Steve Smith always does well. There’s a lot of work ahead.

In a morning session that ground Australia’s attack down, Bavuma and de Kock underlined the difference between the two sides. It’s not just that South Africa’s batsmen have the temperament to spend time in the middle, it’s that their newer batsmen do. Australia’s middle-order has not yet shown that temperament. It isn’t the first time on this tour that Bavuma and de Kock have done this – in Perth, South Africa were 81 for 5 when the pair come together and added 71, which helped the visitors move to 242.In Hobart, when Bavuma and de Kock came together on the first day, South Africa were already ahead. They had recovered from 76 for 4, when Bavuma had walked in to bat, to 132 for 5. Bavuma was on 28 off 51 balls, had survived a few early scares and earned the praise of former South Africa captain Graeme Smith. “I love Temba Bavuma, keep going big man,” Smith tweeted.If South Africa were to extend their advantage, Bavuma needed a partner and that’s where de Kock was crucial. They complemented each other perfectly.Bavuma has already shown an appetite for a fight. In Perth, he spent two hours and 17 minutes helping Faf du Plessis save South Africa from a first-innings collapse. He has an ability to absorb pressure.De Kock has the capacity to transfer pressure back to the bowler. He is an energetic player who does not allow anyone to dictate his approach. Perhaps, he has a bit of the David Warner license to play his natural game, but he does not abuse that. He is inventive, risk-taking and quick-scoring.With a stubborn batsman at one end and a busy one at the other, Australia spent the morning session under the pump. They were able to make things look more difficult for Bavuma, especially in Mitchell Starc’s opening spell. He moved the ball away, probed the area outside off stump, trying to incite the drive, but Bavuma was not tempted. He is a compact player with a tight technique, who makes the opposition work for his wicket. Josh Hazlewood almost claimed it – he got a ball to kick up and Bavuma nearly played on while trying to fend it. He survived and got two off the next ball to reach his second fifty on this tour.De Kock had begun the day 10 runs behind Bavuma, but caught up quickly. His fifty came off 70 balls, and then he surged past Bavuma. While Bavuma fought through the 50s, de Kock raced to 80. He created run-scoring opportunities by playing late, piercing gaps and maintained a consistent scoring rate throughout his innings. De Kock’s first fifty had taken him 70 balls and the second took 69. “Instinctive shots” is how he described what he did on Monday.Compare that to the 119 balls Bavuma faced for his fifty, and you have an idea of the difference between them. For a team, having two players of this calibre is ideal and the results are showing.In this year, de Kock has scored 560 runs in six Tests at an average of 80.00, while Bavuma has accumulated 465 runs in seven Tests at 58.12. Hashim Amla – 611 runs at 55.54 – is the only South Africa batsman to have scored more runs in 2016.Quinton de Kock and Temba Bavuma’s 144-run stand was the highest for the sixth wicket by an overseas pair in Hobart•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesAmong de Kock’s knocks was a maiden hundred in Centurion and five successive scores of fifty or more, including this century. His consistency has cemented him in the Test XI and comparisons with the best are mushrooming. The most notable one is with Adam Gilchrist, and now that de Kock has scored a second Test century, on Gilchrist’s birthday and at the same ground where the former Australia wicketkeeper scored his maiden hundred, those could continue. He maintains it’s not something he is trying to do.”I don’t try and be like him. That’s just the way I play. I don’t see myself being like him. I just see the ball, hit the ball. I have my own game plan. Some days, I can get off to a good start and keep a good momentum. Some days, I have to grind it out,” de Kock said.On other days, Bavuma does the grinding. He has been spoken of as a batsman similar to Gus Logie, partly because of his height, mostly because of his fight. By lunch, Bavuma had faced 201 deliveries. Australia’s entire first innings lasted only 197.With Bavuma and de Kock coming of age, South Africa could have a few selection headaches when a fit AB de Villiers returns to the XI. One possibility is for de Kock to move to the top-two, especially if Stephen Cook keeps misfiring. but with concerns surrounding workload, it may not happen. Another solution is to leave Faf du Plessis and JP Duminy to fight it out, but with du Plessis making a strong case to stay on as captain, that may also prove tricky. For now, it’s a problem South Africa won’t mind having.

England embraced their inexperience in India to reach the final of the World T20 last year, but they’ll need a subtle shift of approach in the forthcoming ODIs

Arun Venugopal in Pune14-Jan-2017When England arrived in India for the World T20 last year, 10 of their 15 players had no experience of playing senior cricket in the country. To Eoin Morgan, the England captain, the “naïvety with a huge amount of talent” wasn’t a bad thing. He believed – and rightly so in hindsight after reaching the final in a high-powered campaign – that his players were better off not being scarred by previous defeats in India.A year on, England have arrived in India for three ODIs and as many T20Is, minus the naïvety but with the talent intact. Morgan said his team would this time draw confidence from the familiarity of the terrain – a few players were with the Test squad, and Jos Buttler partook of the IPL last year – and feed off the good memories from the World T20.”Coming to that tournament [World T20] in particular, this group of players had never played cricket in India,” Morgan said at a press conference on the eve of the first ODI. “I think there were four of us who’d toured here before and, having toured here and done well, we’ ve overcome the mental battle [particularly when] some pitches just don’t turn and some do.”You’ve to be responsive and stay in the moment as long as you can, and react as best you can to those circumstances. I think it worked for us in that tournament, and hopefully it’ll work for us throughout this series.”Morgan also drew inspiration from South Africa’s and New Zealand’s performances in the ODI series against India, and said that beating India wasn’t an impossible task.”Recently, South Africa turned India over, New Zealand pushed them close,” he said. “It’s nice to be about to come to a country where there is a huge hype and expectation on the series, not necessarily on us, but even if it was on us, the emphasis has always been internally as a side, and I’m trying to get them all set. One of the biggest challenges here is adapting to conditions.”When asked how the players who were part of the Test squad that suffered a 4-0 thrashing approached the series, Morgan pointed to the fundamental reason for playing the game – the love of it.”Regardless of how they’ve done [in Tests], the guys really look forward to how they play the 50-over and T20 game,” he said. “It’s a nice way to play cricket, regardless of whether you win, lose or draw – with that attitude you had as a kid. You wake up on the weekend and all you wanted to do all day was play cricket. You’d look out the window and hope the sun was shining. So, that kind of attitude is very important.”England’s attitude to white-ball cricket in the last two years, though, has been characterised by high-decibel ball-striking, led by the likes of Joe Root and Buttler. Since their first-round exit in the 2015 World Cup, England have won five of their seven ODI series, with their batsmen at the forefront. They have had six 350-scores, including the highest-ever total in ODI cricket at Trent Bridge. England also have the highest run-rate among all teams in that time: 6.25.Unlike what Brendon McCullum did with his New Zealand side, however, Morgan was careful not to qualify his team as a “fearless unit”. This team instead, according to Morgan, wanted to stay true to its character, and was comfortable doing its own thing.”The group of players that we have are very outgoing, very expansive and very explosive, and do what they say they’re going to do,” he said. “They can stick to their natural game, which is quite an aggressive game. Trying to be somebody else, or trying to be a different team, doesn’t work for us.”England’s rat-a-tat batting approach is not without its share of risks, though. The two tour games ahead of the series saw England’s wheels coming off in the middle overs after the batsmen refused to lower the gear. England went from 106 for 1 to 191 for 5 before eventually completing a successful chase of 305 in the first game, then lost eight wickets for 88 runs to post a sub-par 282 on a good batting track in the second.India’s captain Virat Kohli was quick to spot the trait, and said England’s approach would prove counter-productive if it wasn’t tempered with strike-rotation.”I’ve always felt, to be a consistent performer in the ODI format you need to understand strike rotation as well. You just can’t go with one sort of momentum,” he said.”Against a side like that, you need to be more aggressive in terms of wanting to pick up wickets. If you think of bowling dot balls, they can feed on that – that is something I’ve observed. It just takes one mistake to change the mindset completely about being offensive, and then things can turn around pretty quickly.”It’s going to be interesting how hard they come initially, but as I said, in ODIs we’ve seen it a lot of times that, when teams start off really well in the first 10, they really dominate and, once you lose two-three wickets in the middle phase, unless you know how to rotate the strike, it gets very, very difficult.”Morgan said he didn’t want to limit his batsmen’s instincts, but admitted it was a tricky balance between batting aggressively and settling for singles. “Some guys find it easier than others when they fall in and out of form,” he said. “You can play smart cricket and you can pat somebody on the back and be 10 overs, none for 45, and you say ‘yeah, that’s really smart cricket’. But then you lose the game by 50 runs.”

Sarah Aley does not do fancy or flashy. Reliability is more her thing, and she put that trait on display once again in the WBBL final

Melinda Farrell at the WACA28-Jan-2017Sarah Aley has big hands. They’re so big, they’ve inspired a nickname. “Mitsy”, her team-mates call her.The other reason she has earned the moniker is that those big mits are safe. A reliable fielder, a reliable team player. A big ticker, too.Aley has rarely been the headline act in a hugely successful New South Wales side bursting at the seams with Australian representatives. Her only national call-up till date came much earlier in her career, in an Under-23s side. She is a reliable workhorse who bowls medium pacers – nothing too fancy, just accurate and consistent. She bowls them in a WBBL competition that boasts the likes of international stars Ellyse Perry, Anya Shrubsole, Katherine Brunt, Deandra Dottin and Marizanne Kapp.And yet it’s Aley who has finished top of the wicket-taking pile in the second season of the WBBL. It’s Aley who has taken the most scalps overall in the competition’s young history. And it’s Aley who is beaming and holding the Player of the Match trophy after taking four Scorchers wickets in the final, leading the way for the Sixers to claim the title.

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Scorchers captain Suzie Bates had captained her side admirably after sending the Sixers in to bat. Clever field placing and accuracy from Anya Shrubsole, in particular, starved the dangerous Alyssa Healy of the strike and stifled the rest. Healy knew they didn’t have enough runs on the board and told her players at the break they were going to have to scrap to defend their modest total of 124.The Scorchers’ top three have been tough to remove, they’ve been the backbone of their batting success. Ellyse Villani had been involved in three of the top six partnerships in the competition with either Nicole Bolton or Bates. She and Bolton set about building and then cruising to 37 in the first five overs before Healy brought Aley into the attack.Bolton steered the first ball down to third man for a single, giving Aley her shot at Villani. The Scorchers’ opener is a player who doesn’t like to get tied down and Aley knew if she could pin her down, Villani was like to come down the track and attack. After four accurate dot balls, Villani did just that, picking out long-on. The Scorchers were no long cruising.After 18 overs the game was very much in the balance; the Scorchers needed 25 runs off the remaining two overs but had the powerful Katherine Brunt at the crease. Healy brought Aley, who had also picked up the wicket of Heather Graham with her trademark slower ball, back into the attack. She repaid her captain with two wickets off the first two balls of the over: Chloe Piparo missing an attempted ramp shot and Shrubsole beaten by a slower full toss. All four of Aley’s wickets were slower balls. She bowled 12 in her final three overs, virtually all spot on.”I think this is the best I’ve ever bowled,” Aley said after the match. “I had a pretty good WNCL season with the [NSW] Breakers so I wanted to translate it into the WBBL.”It [winning] is absolutely fantastic. Obviously after last year we know how the Scorchers are feeling because we went through it. For us to scrap and fight for the win, we knew 124 probably wasn’t enough, but we knew what we had to do, we have done it before, and everyone did their job and dug really deep.”

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Female players have nearly always retired much earlier than their male counterparts, the amateur nature of the game forcing women to choose between finding a career that pays them a living wage and playing for little or no financial award. In her late 20s and struggling with injury, Aley was facing that choice when Cricket Australia brought in contracts for state players – it was still not enough for her to leave her job finding clinical placements for students at the University of Sydney. But the extra money brought in for the WBBL, and New South Wales’ landmark decision to pay all contracted players a living wage, means Aley can now work four days a week instead of five.”The reason for it was so that we could be the best athletes possible,” Aley said. “More funding and pay helps us train more – fitness, skills, things outside that, to make you a better person as well.”I have a full-time job as well as a full-time cricket career, which is what it has become this year because we have more expectation on us in terms of training and what we need to do outside the playing field. It could extend my career if it means I can work less, so we will see what happens. Next year will be interesting with negotiations with the MOU and stuff like that. We will see what happens but I am enjoying cricket at the moment and hopefully that continues.”Aley finishes the season way out in front: 28 wickets at an average of 11.75 and a strike rate of 12.30. It would seem logical, despite her age – 32 – that she be in contention for Australia’s three-match T20 series against New Zealand – whose captain Suzie Bates was warm in her praise of Aley after the match – if not the Women’s World Cup in England midway through the year. If the call-up came, it would be a reward for a player who has persevered through injury and meagre financial returns.”Some might call me a bottle of red wine, getting better with age. I have pretty much been hanging on by a thread for most of my career, having a back injury and things like that,” Aley said. “If it came about, I’ll see what happens and do what I can but I will just savour this win for now.”