Paul Edwards at Old Trafford23-Jul-2016Eleven o’clock on a bright, slightly sticky Saturday morning in Manchester. Mohammad Amir runs in from the Statham End and bowls to Joe Root, who is 141 not out. The ball is on a good length but wide of the off stump. Root plays no shot and it passes to Sarfraz Ahmed behind the stumps.And so another day in the grass arena has begun. One ball has been bowled and there are scheduled to be roughly 539 more; or a minimum of 1617 pieces of action if we include the participation of bowler, batsmen and fielder. Some will be faithfully recorded and never mentioned again; others, the dismissal of Ben Stokes, for example, will be reviewed and scrutinised for, perhaps, five minutes.”I wouldn’t care if it was another sport but cricket takes up so much of the day.” With these words the partner of even a club player explains why things aren’t working. Yet for many of its supporters the length of a first-class cricket match is the essence of its attraction. They like the slow accretion of events and the way time imposes its demands. They enjoy their T20 matches – this isn’t an either/or dilemma – but they appreciate a format in which a cricketer’s endurance and mental strength are examined and in which batting for ten hours receives its due reward. It is, for them, truly a ball-by-ball game in which progress can be close to invisible.And so they enjoyed Root’s 618-minute innings and his Jesuitical quest for absolution after his transgressions at Lord’s. Successful Test batsmen are defined by their ability to go on. For them, a century is a junction not a terminus. So it is with Root and it was curious how his watchfulness in facing the Pakistan bowlers in that first session was matched by that of most spectators as they, in their turn, watched the way he began again.For most people on earth, the idea of being watched as they work is inimical; for sportsmen it is essential. And the symbiosis between the crowd and cricketers repays its own close attention. We watch the watchers watching the watched. The applause that greeted Chris Woakes’s first fours – a cut, a cover-drive, a square-drive – were almost celebratory, as if the good times had begun to roll and another drink was, indeed, the order of the day.Root, though, continued to wear a hair-shirt and we were 16 overs into the morning before he found the boundary courtesy of an edge and Younis Khan’s dropped catch at slip. He scored 44 runs in that first, exploratory session and only after tea did he bat as if truly liberated. By then, of course, there were beer snakes and fancy dress; some spectators may have watched the cricket a little less closely than they had in the morning. Stokes and Jonny Bairstow played trampling innings on tired fielders, hoping that weight of runs would earn early wickets. There was less intensity but more fiesta; summer in full, good-humoured riot.Then the declaration and a re-cranking of tension. A new guttural as James Anderson ran in from the Pavilion End. Earlier in the day Anderson’s team-mates, suddenly spectators themselves, had watched from one of the pavilion balconies. But it was not the local hero who made the breakthroughs. That honour fell in large measure to Woakes, whose three wickets were greeted with fresh roars as spectators scraped their plate in the last hour of the day.6.25 on Saturday and the air is a little fresher, the clouds higher. Stokes runs in from the Statham End and bowls to Shan Masood. The ball is on the off stump and the batsman plays it defensively and safely. There is a slightly subdued gasp from the crowd as if the air had been released from a huge balloon. Then ringing applause for the England players as they return to their dressing-room.For Woakes this has been another fine day; his shares on cricket’s stock-market have risen. He has masqueraded as a nightwatchman and reinforced his position as a potent strike bowler at a time when England are not short of them. As the crowd disperses, many are talking about how his bowling has helped make their day memorable.Within fifteen minutes Old Trafford is almost deserted and a few minutes later Pakistan’s players, rucksacks on their backs, are returning to their coach, trooping over the outfield like blue-uniformed trekkers.And so it ends, this gentle, fierce ticking down of 540 pieces of action, the shape of it all collaborative, confrontational, intense. “If you rush, you’ll never get anywhere,” said the man on the gate this morning.

Another transfer window has flown by without swallowing Liverpool into its central hub. Segments of the Anfield fanbase have clamoured for new signings, but it wasn’t to be.

Were Liverpool suffering a more aching hangover from Jurgen Klopp’s painful decision to step down from his manager’s role at the end of last season, transfer-related indignation would be more understandable, to be sure.

However, Arne Slot has hit Merseyside not so much like a duck to water as a wrecking ball to rubble, smashing through obstacles across all four fronts.

Arsenal thrashed Manchester City on Sunday; good stuff Gunners. But they still trail the Premier League leaders by six points, having played an extra match too.

Moreover, Liverpool finished first in the Champions League group phase, have a fighting chance of reaching the Carabao Cup final and meet Championship strugglers Plymouth Argyle for a place in the last-16 of the FA Cup.

It’s all going rather well. Who needs signings, anyway?

Why Liverpool didn't make any January signings

Let’s repeat the overworn line: FSG are prudent, bide their time, will not be pressed into hasty action in the transfer market. It’s sometimes frustrating to absorb this for what feels like all the time as a Liverpool fan, but can we really complain?

Liverpool could do with a left-back, sure, and Ibrahima Konate remains the sole centre-back signing in about six years, but these are problems that require concentrated attention and the best options, and that means waiting until the summer.

Ongoing contract problems also make transfer dealings difficult, for sporting director Richard Hughes would have to go against his employers’ grain to spend heavily on a superstar when the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and/or Trent Alexander-Arnold may yet scribble their signatures onto a new sheet of paper.

But the Reds aren’t averse to strengthening. Notably, top sources such as The Athletic confirmed that Liverpool held an interest in Napoli’s Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who was linked with a transfer to Paris Saint-Germain. However, PSG’s hooks were firmly fixed and intrigue remained exactly that.

Rayan Cherki’s future at Lyon was a hot topic throughout January but he will continue with the Ligue 1 side until the end of the season, when he will have just one year left on his deal.

Liverpool had a vested interest in the silky playmaker, as per reports, but ultimately, again, opted against making their interest something concrete.

There’s no doubt that Cherki is a forward of immense quality, having been predicted to be a “future Ballon d’Or winner” by The Athletic’s Alex Barker.

To be honest, Slot’s Liverpool might be the perfect place for such a rising star, but with Harvey Elliott pushing for an increased role, why would the English club make a signing for a player bearing such a striking likeness?

Harvey Elliott's season in numbers

Elliott’s endured a frustrating campaign under Slot, scarcely featuring over the opening weeks before fracturing his foot with England U21s and missing several months of action.

The 21-year-old has been fit since the end of November but Elliott remains on the fringe of Slot’s plans, afforded chances to impress and influence off the bench but yet to start a single match in the Premier League.

That’s not to say that he hasn’t caught the eye. Elliott was recently hailed for making a “massive impact” when called upon by The Athletic’s James Pearce, scoring in Liverpool’s last two Champions League matches, helping in the top flight and scoring against Southampton in the Carabao Cup, back in December.

The £40k-per-week Elliott is less mobile than Cherki, but both are high-class technicians with the ability to fashion something special out of nothing.

Liverpool’s young maverick has even been described as a “sensational talent” by his former manager Klopp, with his fierce striking ability and cerebral mastery of the playmaking art evidenced after he racked up six assists from just 11 Premier League starts last term, averaging 1.1 key passes per game.

It’s just difficult to imagine a world in which Cherki and Elliott can cohabit in Slot’s Liverpool, both clinching starting berths with the regularity that their talent level deserves.

Goals

0.28

0.26

Assists

0.70

0.48

Shot-creating actions

5.51

7.60

Pass completion

83.5%

76.4%

Progressive passes

8.02

9.49

Progressive carries

2.72

4.79

Successful take-ons

0.63

4.13

Ball recoveries

4.39

4.92

Cherki outperforms Elliott in terms of output when it comes to various ball-playing and -carrying metrics, but Elliott is more incisive with his assisting and more crisp in possession, something that bodes well for his future under Slot’s wing.

It’s also worth noting that the Premier League bears an objectively higher level of competition than Ligue 1, and Cherki would need to adapt to the rigours of English football, likely to nip at his dribbling and creative numbers.

He’s here to stay. It’s sometimes easy to forget that Elliott is still only 21 and has already overcome a number of big injury issues.

Fans want signings and all that, but signing for signing’s sake is not how FSG do things at Anfield. It’s frustrating at times, but the proof is in the pudding. Rivals watch Liverpool with envy.

Liverpool have struck gold on amazing star who's worth more than Zubimendi

Liverpool have hit the jackpot on a current midfielder due to his performances this season

1 ByRoss Kilvington Feb 4, 2025

Everton are interested in completing the signing of a young player who has been dubbed a “wonderful talent”, according to a fresh transfer claim.

Latest Everton news

The Blues built on their momentum from last week’s memorable 2-2 at home to Liverpool, winning 2-1 away to Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday evening.

David Moyes continues to do a hugely impressive job back in charge of Everton, bringing far more positive times back to the club after a doomed period under Sean Dyche. New signings will clearly be needed this summer, however, with some names mentioned as options in recent days.

Burnley centre-back Maxime Esteve has been touted as a target for the Blues come the end of the season, with the 22-year-old part of a Clarets team that has incredibly conceded just nine Championship goals in the whole of the campaign to date.

Meanwhile, West Brom midfielder Tom Fellows was linked with Everton during the January transfer window, but their late efforts to snap him up ended up being in vein. That said, a new update has said that the Merseysiders will once again be in for the Englishman when the campaign reaches its conclusion.

Everton eyeing "wonderful talent" this summer

According to reliable journalist Alan Nixon on Patreon [via One Football], Everton are “keen” on signing Rotherham United teenager Harrison Duncan.

The 16-year-old centre-back, who can also play as a number six, is seen as a player with massive potential, and the Blues could offer him a trial at Finch Farm in the near future. He has received praise from so many in his young career to date, including from Steve Evans.

“He’s a wonderful, wonderful talent, but that’s all he is right now. He’s not ready to be playing against, say, Jay Stansfield, he’s not ready on a regular basis to be playing against someone like Jonson Clarke-Harris.

“You have to think that six weeks ago this kid was 15. He’s not 17 until next August. When we have him up here to train with the boys, it’s really good for him because it will make him better.”

Despite his tender years, Duncan has already made his debut for Rotherham, coming in the EFL Trophy back in August, and it remains his only appearance for them to date. The fact that Everton are eyeing him up suggests that they see him as a future Premier League player, however, and planning for the long-term future is always so important.

The Blues are about to embark on an exciting new era in the club’s history, moving to a new stadium and looking to become a bigger powerhouse in the English game, and signing young players with high ceilings has to be an area of focus.

Moyes pushing Everton to sign £30m ace as potential Branthwaite replacement

Moyes already knows who he wants to replace Jarrad Branthwaite should he leave in the summer.

ByBrett Worthington Feb 16, 2025

Granted, experienced heads in and around their peak are also needed, but if the Blues could acquire Duncan’s signature now, it could prove to be a masterstroke over time.

In what Faf du Plessis called one of his ‘favourite games of cricket’, South Africa kept getting into difficult positions and kept finding a way out of them

Firdose Moonda in Cape Town08-Jan-2018They almost got beaten at their own game. Almost got out-bowled by an attack they may have underestimated, did get out-batted (slightly) in the second innings, and were definitely out-fielded then. But only almost.In home conditions, a largely 10-man South African side took the series lead, but not without flirting with conceding it to a visiting side, who genuinely believed they had what it took to mount a serious challenge. India thought their best chance would come at Newlands, where the worst drought in almost a century was supposed to make it more difficult to produce a pitch with live grass to facilitate pace, bounce and seam movement, rather than on the Highveld. But it rained in Cape Town, five days before the match and during it, and a surface described by both captains as “outstanding” and fair produced a compelling contest that could have gone either way and almost went India’s.When South Africa prepare pacy, bouncy, seaming surfaces for subcontinental opposition, they also prepare that for themselves. Their attack gets the advantage of helpful conditions and their line-up the disadvantage of having to compile innings on that strip. It may be more familiar to them, because they are more used to lively surfaces, but it doesn’t mean it’s any easier, especially when the other side has a bowling pack with variation, as India did.South Africa had the toughest of the batting conditions, mostly by their own choice. They decided to bat first, when there was plenty to assist the pacemen, because they see themselves as a “team that is prepared to take risks to win games of cricket,” according to captain Faf du Plessis, and then ended up batting again on the fourth morning, after the surface had sweated under covers for the entire third day.The latter was unplanned and South Africa would probably have preferred to have been able to bat again over more of the second and third days, when traditionally it is best for run-scoring here, but the swift fall of wickets on the opening day and the weather meant their timing was thrown out and it showed. “This morning was probably the hardest to bat,” du Plessis said. “It felt unplayable.”South Africa lost 8 for 65 under cloudy skies and in humid conditions and were bowled out for 130, which is obviously disappointing, but they were also dissatisfied with their first-innings total of 286. It was a victory to get there from 12 for 3 but the 114-run partnership between du Plessis and AB de Villiers suggested there was more on offer and du Plessis felt at least on their batsmen could have gone on to a more substantial score.”We need to make sure if there are difficult periods, the guys that do get through can make a big impact on the game,” he said. “The partnership was a good one but I felt we could have pushed further. It’s about when you are in, being extremely hungry and making sure you can make a big play for the team.”De Villiers was the only home batsman who did that, in his first real Test since making his comeback from injury and a self-imposed sabbatical, and it underlined his quality. The tempo of his first-innings 65 changed the game while his second innings allowed South Africa to build a match-winning lead. De Villiers was not named Man of the Match – understandable given Vernon Philander’s career-best showing – but he may as well have been. The debate surrounding his inclusion in the team seems to be completely nullified, especially because of the rest of the line-up’s struggles.Aiden Markram, who is also facing his first proper challenge since making his debut, was too late getting his bat down against a swinging delivery in the first innings and wanted to take on a slightly short ball despite being cramped for room in the second, Dean Elgar poked at one and then wafted at another and Hashim Amla, yes even Hashim Amla, played at deliveries he should have left, twice.Amla’s form is quickly becoming a concern. His three centuries last year came against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh at home and though he scored three half-centuries in eight innings in England, his increasing impatience is becoming a worry. There may be an argument for Temba Bavuma, who was left out because of team balance and in favour of de Villiers, to be brought back into the line-up given his tenacity, but that can only happen if South Africa revert to a seven-specialist-batsmen strategy. With Dale Steyn out of the series, it’s possible but with spicier pitches expected upcountry, it may be difficult to decide between Bavuma and another seamer.”There is so much value in both scenarios,” du Plessis said, so ultimately the decision will depend on which of their suits South Africa’s thinks is strongest. Do they want the extra bowler to be able to really run through India, as they did here? Or do they need an extra batsmen in case India run through them, as they did here?BCCIIt’s a tricky set of questions to answer because if South Africa are to dissect where to fault themselves, there could find aspects of both areas of their game which need improvement. The shot selection with the bat has already been discussed but with the ball, there were times when the intensity trickled away. In the first innings, du Plessis spread the field when Hardik Pandya got going, in what turned out to be a damaging innings to South Africa, and in the second, the bowlers fell a little flat for a period when Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma threatened to take the game away. Philander’s dismissal of Kohli sparked them back to life and they wrapped up the result later in the afternoon and though these are not serious criticisms, they are finer points South Africa will want to consider as the series goes on. The same goes for the spot of Keshav Maharaj, given that he seemed so surplus to requirements.Of course, this time the attack was also robbed of one its members midway though the match and South Africa will not plan on that happening again either, which could also influence the future make-up of the squad, and the assessment of this match. It may be redundant to keep returning to how South Africa manage heists without Steyn, but it still needs to be mentioned.Some of South Africa’s most inspired performances have taken place when they are a man down. Most recently, that man has been Steyn. This time, South Africa had more resources at their disposal than on previous occasions because they had four quicks instead of the usual three, but the effect of losing someone mid-match, especially someone with the aura of Steyn, cannot be underestimated. It would have been an easy excuse to fall apart after losing Steyn, but the importance of this series and of stamping their authority at home meant South Africa could not accept that of themselves.And so, with their almost-full-strength XI, they came close to being almost beaten but proved themselves too strong. It’s little wonder the outcome has left du Plessis extremely proud.”It’s not like I scored two hundreds in this game and it’s one of my favourite games of cricket,” du Plessis said. “There was this flow the whole time: India’s on top then South Africa’s on top, then they are taking the game to us and we are taking it back to them. Just as an advert for Test cricket, that’s as good as it gets. There was no boring Test cricket, it was a lot of action. And that’s why we absolutely loved this Test match. And even if we had lost this game, we would have been very disappointed but would have said the way this game was played was remarkable.”

Australian cricket finds itself at a critical juncture, not unlike a few instances in the past, and the results of the next two days in Hobart could have far-reaching effects on the system and players

Daniel Brettig14-Nov-2016Australian cricket’s story is littered with crucible moments; times when the national team has either stood up or flaked out. In the moment, these instances may not seem that important, only gaining resonance through what happens afterwards. Other moments stand out like beacons almost from the second they take place. Whatever is decided at levels above, whatever reviews or appointments take place, the fate rests ultimately with the players.The third dull, wintry day in Hobart felt like one such day and the next two to follow are no less important. Australia are so far behind South Africa they have only slim hope of getting out of Bellerive without a match and series defeat, but it is vital that they show evidence of improvement. The jobs of many, from the chief executive James Sutherland down to the debutant Callum Ferguson, are on the line.How much hinges on all this? Remember the words of the coach Darren Lehmann after Australia were bundled out for 85 on day one. Asked about the future, he did not want to think about the consequences of a hiding. “I’ll probably tell you in a few days,” he said. “Hopefully we fight back really well and the future is bright. We know we’ve got to get better in a lot of areas, we’ve always said that. Even four Tests ago when we were No.1. Now we’re way away from that.”Each of the past five Australian captains have met moments of similar weight – of both the winning and losing varieties. For Allan Border, perhaps the most resonant was day one of the 1989 Ashes series at Headingley, when he came out to bat after a pair of early wickets on an overcast day and played an innings so brazen it included one six cut hard over backward point – back in the day when that shot was almost unheard of. Sixteen years of Ashes dominance were forged that morning.Border experienced the other side towards the end of his career, when he and his team were unable to take a chance to defeat West Indies in a series for the first time in 17 years. A chase of 186 to win in Adelaide was left too much in the hands of the tail, leaving Australia one run short of victory, and Border to hurl his “worry ball” so hard into the dressing room floor that it rebounded to strike the ceiling.For Mark Taylor, a personal turning point did not dovetail with team success, but foreshadowed it. By the time of the second innings of the first Ashes Test in 1997, he had gone 19 innings without passing 50, and a previously happy and dominant team were feeling the strain. Rolled by Darren Gough and Andy Caddick, then clattered to all parts of Edgbaston by Graham Thorpe and Nasser Hussain, Australia started their second innings 360 runs behind.Without a hundred, Taylor’s captaincy would have been at an end, and in the early overs the tension was close to unbearable. But in the company of Matthew Elliott and Greg Blewett, he carved out an “ugly” hundred, adding respectability to the scoreboard and allowing the team enough breathing space to regroup and ultimately win the series. Taylor led the team for another two years.Again in England, Steve Waugh’s captaincy came under enormous pressure during the 1999 World Cup, following on from a surprising 2-2 Test series draw against West Indies in the Caribbean. The team was not happy, Waugh and Shane Warne butting heads, and losses to New Zealand and Pakistan left the team needing to win each of their last seven matches of the tournament or face elimination at every stage. Waugh’s response, most pointedly in a pair of nail-biters over South Africa, was to make critical runs. Warne, by now toying with retirement, overcame doubts about a shoulder still regaining strength after surgery to rip the ball in his former fashion. The World Cup was won, and Waugh stayed on as leader until 2004.Michael Clarke’s leadership tale turned triumphant when Mitchell Johnson was given the ball before lunch on the second day of the Gabba Test in 2013-14•Getty ImagesDespite a winning record overall, Ricky Ponting’s leadership is remembered most for a pair of Ashes defeats. The first in 2005 was said to have swung on Glenn McGrath’s injured ankle, but Ponting’s call to send England in even after he knew he would be without his best pace bowler proved much the more fateful juncture, leading ultimately to the loss of the urn for the first time since Border’s 1989 redemption.Move ahead to 2010-11, and a home Ashes series now viewed as one sided may actually have pivoted on the loss of two wickets either side of the first drinks on Boxing Day. Phillip Hughes and Ponting were prospering well enough in front of a mighty crowd when the former skewed Tim Bresnan to point, before next over the captain snicked Chris Tremlett into the slips. The former coach Tim Nielsen still gnashes his teeth about that one and all the ignominy to follow – it proved to be Ponting’s last Test as captain.Michael Clarke’s leadership tale always teetered between triumph and disaster with little in between. The pivotal point leading to the former came when Mitchell Johnson took the ball just before lunch on day two of the first 2013-14 Ashes Test at the Gabba, worrying out Jonathan Trott as per team plans and sending momentum flooding to Australia. The latter, perhaps harder to isolate, was arguably the second afternoon of the Cardiff Test in 2015, when a series of squandered starts sentenced Australia to an opening defeat in a series they would never lead. Clarke, fighting his own inner battles, was en route to retirement from that moment.So it is that Steven Smith’s men find themselves in the crucible at Bellerive. They enjoyed a far better day on Monday than Saturday, even if Quinton de Kock’s impersonation of Adam Gilchrist gathered impressive depth. The batting spine shown by Smith and Usman Khawaja, in particular, demonstrated a level of self-knowledge about where this team now stands after four consecutive losses and the distinct prospect of a fifth. The heaviness of expectation was not lost on Josh Hazlewood.”Extremely important I think,” he said. “Everyone knows we need to improve and improve quickly. We talk amongst ourselves and everyone knows we need to improve. So I think it’s about everyone individually doing what they can on or off the field, and important to do it as a group as well. Hopefully it happens on the field. We’re obviously a pretty tight group, we play a lot of cricket together and we’re on the road together a lot. Everyone gets along fantastically on and off the field, but now’s an important time to stick together and even be tighter.”Australian cricket has never been richer or better resourced. The national team’s players have never been better paid nor looked after. There are problems with scheduling, and issues of coaching philosophy as it relates to the business of batting. But Australia’s Test team is ultimately in the hands of the players who shape it, through their own skill and presence of mind. The next two days will, once again, tell that tale.

Coach Russell Domingo talks about South Africa’s recovery from the slump they fell into in 2015-16, and what he expects from the coming year

Firdose Moonda15-Jan-2017South Africa have now won three consecutive Test series and sit at No. 3 on the Test rankings. Has the tide turned completely after last summer?
It’s the start of a new era for this team after the trials and tribulations of the past year or so, but we are not the finished article. There is still room for improvement in every department. The next year is a big year for us. We’ve got our rankings back up but we’ve still got work to do. There’s no way we can be complacent after three series.Which areas, specifically, do you want to concentrate on?
Consistency with the bat. Dean Elgar has stepped up in this series with a hundred and two scores over fifty. Before that, there hasn’t been a hot streak amongst one our batters. We are slowly getting there. It’s about trying to get two or three hundreds per series per player. We also have a new bowling attack and we need to find the best balance in our bowling attack.

“South African cricket has got more challenges than most other nations in the world. In terms of finances, in terms of Kolpaks, in terms of the make-up of the team. Yet, we always tend to find ourselves in the top three more times than not, in all formats”

How would you like to see this Test team progress?
We want to play a positive brand of cricket. We want to play an expansive brand of cricket. It will be clichéd to say “fearless”. When opportunities arise, we want to seize the initiative and rather err on the positive than the conservative, and we want to continue to grow that. We are going to make mistakes. Someone is going to get caught on the boundary and you are all going to say, “What the hell is he doing, how can he play that shot?” But that’s cool. That’s the way we want to try and play our cricket.Are you happy with the way the openers have performed?
If you want to have a quality Test team, you need a quality opening partnership and we definitely seem to be moving that way at the moment. Stephen Cook and Dean have got a good thing going. They complement each other really well. They are both gutsy players. The way they played on the first morning here [at the Wanderers] was wonderful. They only put on 45, but it felt like a hundred because of the nature of the wicket.Are these the kinds of pitches you would like to see used for home series?

It depends on who you are playing against. If you are playing against Australia, who are historically not a great team on slower wickets, you might want to play more on coastal conditions. If you are playing a subcontinent team , you want to play them on these types of wickets.In six Tests this season, against Australia and Sri Lanka, Dean Elgar has made 469 runs, with two hundreds and two fifties•AFPAre you concerned about Temba Bavuma’s form?

When the team is winning there’s always going to be one batter that’s struggling for form. That’s just the nature of Test batting. Three Tests ago, Temba probably won the game with Quinton de Kock in Hobart, when he got that wonderful 70-odd and set the game up for us in tough conditions. A Test before that, he also got runs when we were 60 [81] for 5. It’s the nature of international cricket. You can’t have all six or all seven of your batters firing at the same time. When one batter is struggling, it’s important that the other guys contribute.The depth of the talent pool was under scrutiny, not only after injuries to bowlers last year but also because of the spate of Kolpak signings. Are you happy with the resources at your disposal?
South Africa are blessed in that we seem to produce really good cricketers. I have been speaking to the Under-19 coaches and there are some high-quality players in the U-19 side now, who, in a couple of years, can progress to the national side the way a Quinton de Kock or Kagiso Rabada did. We are very fortunate that we have a good schooling system that can produce the young players.Do you think there was an overreaction to the troubles of last summer?

I was saying to someone the other day, and I am not comparing, but South African cricket has got more challenges than most other nations in the world. That’s the truth. In terms of finances, in terms of Kolpaks, in terms of the make-up of the team. That’s just the way it is. Other teams maybe don’t have to deal with it. A team like England. Yet, we always tend to find ourselves in the top three more times than not, in all formats. There’s a lot to be appreciative of about the way South African cricket operates and the way the players go about their business. Not many teams face the sort of challenges we face. Maybe the public at times just expect you to be No. 1 at absolutely everything and it’s just not possible when old, mature, experienced, high-quality players leave and potentially talented players come into the team. The likes of Quinton de Kock, Temba Bavuma, Kagiso Rabada and Stephen Cook, to a certain degree, take a little bit of time before they get to that level. Some of those guys are now getting to that level and that’s why the team is performing better.

“There are some high-quality players in the U-19 side now, who, in a couple of years, can progress to the national side the way a Quinton de Kock or Kagiso Rabada did”

Did you think there was a chance you would lose your job?

I could go tomorrow. Nothing is certain. I by no means look too far ahead in my coaching career. I take it one series at a time. You never know what’s around the corner in coaching. I’ve always felt that the support that I’ve got from the players is the most important thing. If you’ve still got the support of the players, that’s all that matters. I’ve always felt I had that. It’s out of my control, what happens happens.We often talk about the players’ schedules and how packed those are, but coaches are also on the road for long periods of time. We’ve seen Australia give Darren Lehmann a break and split the responsibility. Would you also like some time off?

I am going home for two nights after this Test because if I didn’t go home for these two nights, I might only have had one or two nights until April 4, but when I get back here Tuesday, I am really excited by the group of players I am going to be working with. I am not going to be seeing Faf [du Plessis], JP [Duminy], Hashim [Amla], KG [Rabada]. There are going to be 13 completely new players in the T20 series. They will be so hungry and so desperate to make an impression for South African cricket. And that’s exciting for us. I’ve told our coaches, “Boys, we’ve got to have our A game here because it’s like first day of school for a lot of these guys.” They are so desperate to play for their country and it’s exciting for me to get to work with those types of players.

Most of their personnel struggled against India, but South Africa still have a chance to finish well against another side at the top of their game

Firdose Moonda25-Feb-2018Winning only a third of the matches across all formats against India suggests South Africa have a lot to mull over, and they don’t have too much time to do it. A four-Test series against Australia starts in less than a week, so their focus has to shift quickly and completely away from the white-ball formats where they suffered their heaviest defeats.In fact, South Africa won’t think about limited-overs cricket for at least five months, when they tour Sri Lanka, by which time South Africa would like to be close to finalising a pool of World Cup candidates. That means the experimentation seen against India may have to taper off, and South Africa have to take stock of what they found.Lungi Ngidi is the obvious gem, across all formats. He showed maturity in the Tests and improved his control markedly in the shorter formats. Only injury will prevent him from featuring frequently for South Africa in the future.South Africa also handed out two other ODI caps, the first of which went to Khaya Zondo, who was controversially overlooked for the starting XI despite being in the squad when South Africa toured India at the end of 2015. Zondo’s name has come up often in the time after featuring for South Africa A and has captaining that team and his franchise, the Dolphins. There seems to be an investment on him, as well as a return.Zondo played three matches, scored one half-century and showed a fair amount of fight in a meek line-up. He definitely deserves more chances but may need to do something outstanding to make a claim for the World Cup. Something like what Heinrich Klaasen did.Klaasen struck two match-winning knocks – one in the pink ODI and the other in the second T20 – to make such a name that he was included in the Test squad. His presence around the national set-up extends further than just his current form because he has emerged as the first real challenger to Quinton de Kock.Though de Kock has been dropped before – early in his career and then for the Tests against India in 2015 when Dane Vilas played – since 2016 he has held a hegemonic grip over the wicket-keeper’s role, which became particularly problematic when he lost form. A wrist injury saved de Kock from being dropped, forced the selectors to look elsewhere and allowed them to discover that there is someone else. De Kock will be under a healthy amount of pressure, which every player needs.ESPNcricinfo LtdAt the T20 level, both Junior Dala and Christiaan Jonker were impressive in their early showings. At Newlands, in the T20 series decider, they kept South Africa in the game. Gibson acknowledged that the defeat was likely to hit them hardest. “Losing is never easy to take but when you are missing so many seniors and new players come in and put their names forward, the losses can be hard to take,” Gibson said. “The future seems like it is going to be bright.”The flip side is the disappointment of so many senior players underperforming. Imran Tahir, for so long a matchwinner for South Africa, was ineffective. Hashim Amla only made one contribution of significance in the ODIs. It took JP Duminy until he was named T20 captain to start performing. Neither David Miller nor Chris Morris lived up to their labels as x-factor players.Duminy is thought to be on his last legs, especially after South Africa opted to blood a new, young captain in Aiden Markram in the ODIs. But, even if Duminy is dispensable for the World Cup, the trio of him, Miller and Morris are not.While Miller was not specifically mentioned, Morris has already suffered a consequence for his lack of contributions, as he was dropped from the Test squad. Gibson seems particularly concerned about his consistency and hopes he can find form in the domestic circuit – three more rounds of first-class cricket – and in the IPL.”He has got some work to do,” Gibson said. “He has got some domestic cricket to go and get some consistency in his bowling, especially. He is a match-winner and he is short of that. We had a conversation, myself and him. He just needs to find what type of bowler he wants to become, put practice in that and work to become that person.”Instead, South Africa have opted for Wiaan Mulder, the man Gibson has had his eye on since arriving in South Africa, as an allrounder in the Test squad. But there may not be space for him in an XI that will include Vernon Philander, the person who delivered one of the most pleasing performances in the Tests.Though the celebrations over the Test series victory ceased weeks ago, South Africa will still look back on it fondly, not least because of the way the quicks performed albeit in conditions heavily stacked in their favour. Philander’s came against the backdrop of doubt in his ability and questions over the fitness of the senior seamers.Philander’s fitness concerns caused him to come under siege from his former captain, Graeme Smith. He spent the early part of the summer recovering from a lower back problem that kept him out of the deciding Test against England. He needed a big performance against India to reinforce his reputation. He was the joint top-leading wicket-taker and had the best average against India, a perfect precursor to the clash against Australia.The only thing left for South Africa to consider is the pitches they ask for during the Tests. Only Newlands offered them something they did not complain about. SuperSport Park was slow and took turn. The Wanderers overcompensated and ended up with variable, even dangerous bounce, and three demerit points. Against an Australia pack that will welcome surfaces that assist them, South Africa’s groundsmen cannot afford to make the same mistakes. They need to shut out the team noise, concentrate on preparing good pitches and perhaps good cricket will follow.

An analysis of some of the more technical aspects of the second day’s play between India and England in Chennai

Aakash Chopra17-Dec-20161:35

How Stokes is falling into Ashwin’s trap

Stokes v Ashwin
R Ashwin dismissed Ben Stokes for the fifth time in the series. A batsman should worry if there’s a pattern developing in the dismissals. Stokes has a tendency to plant his front foot down the pitch, that’s why he’s often been away from the line of the ball. The thinking behind the footwork could be to protect the front pad from the straighter ball, but that has caused him to play the wrong line to the delivery that turns away from the left-hand batsman. Most of Stokes’ dismissals to Ashwin have been when the bowler has come around the stumps, and that line should have dictated that the front foot come slightly across.Moeen against the bouncer
Moeen Ali’s dismissal highlighted the importance of having a defensive technique against the bouncer. The trap had been set and Moeen knew it too, but he was unable to defend or avoid them, and so played into the hands of the Indian fast bowlers. It’s almost impossible to hit your way out of a bouncer trap. Moeen’s dismissal also asked a critical question – why had the Indian quicks bowled only two bouncers at him on the first day?1:13

Chopra: Moeen Ali needs to know how to defend a bouncer

Ishant’s full lengths
On the first day, Ishant Sharma dismissed Keaton Jennings with a full ball. On the second he dismissed Jos Buttler with a full ball. But Ishant bowled only four to five full deliveries in England’s 157.2-over first innings. Either he had success with the full ball because it was a rare surprise or there is a case for him to bowl that length more often. I’m tempted to say he should bowl full more often – Ishant’s height and high-arm action pushes the batsman back and a full ball is likely to cause more trouble.Ishant Sharma’s pitch map•ESPNcricinfo LtdIshant and Umesh Yadav conceded only three boundaries in front of the stumps. With the lack of lateral movement and pace off the pitch, it is expected that a fair amount of runs will be scored in front of the stumps. The wagon-wheel, however, suggested that the Indian fast bowlers did not bowl lengths that brought batsmen forward.England’s scoring areas against India’s fast bowlers•ESPNcricinfo LtdThe difference between Ashwin and Mishra
Amit Mishra and Ashwin bowl at a similar pace. Both have accurate pitch maps too. Why is it then, that Ashwin is vastly more effective than Mishra? The reason is fizz off the surface, which is a result of the extra rotations Ashwin puts on the ball. Mishra hasn’t been able to put enough behind the ball and is therefore less effective. Without zip off the surface, Mishra is at his best when the batsmen are playing shots, and that explains his success in limited-over formats.Openers let-off by Cook
The toughest assignment for opening batsmen is a seaming pitch on the first morning of a Test. The second toughest is opening after having fielded for 150 or more overs. Though conditions on the second day might not be as testing, the fatigue after fielding will challenge physical and mental strength. And there are only ten minutes in which to make the switch. Another thing you have to be wary of is believing the pitch is a featherbed because the other team has batted 150 overs. Every innings starts from scratch, so it was surprising to see the field set by Alastair Cook. For both KL Rahul, struggling for form, and Parthiv Patel, having kept wickets for 157.2 and a part-time opener, Cook had fielders at deep point and deep square leg. With 477 runs in the bank, Cook should have attacked more.

Takeaways from the first week of IPL 2018: teams are attacking the first over, and going big in the Powerplay, and DRS has already made a difference

Gaurav Sundararaman16-Apr-2018One week and 12 games into IPL 2018, a few trends have emerged. Here are the key ones, their impact on the results so far, and the effect they could have on the rest of the tournament.ESPNcricinfo LtdAttacking the first over
Until last year, the first over used to be one of the least expensive in an IPL innings, but that is no longer the case. Teams have realised the need to attack from the start. The average run rate in the first over this IPL season has been 8.70 – easily higher than in the first 12 games of previous seasons. The average run rate in the first over in the 2017 season was only 6.53. On five occasions already (till April 15), teams have scored more than 14 in the first over; that happened only twice last year.A team that has not suffered an expensive first over is Sunrisers Hyderabad. Their attack has bowled three of the five most economical first overs this season, a reason they have won all three games.Plenty in the Powerplay
Batting teams have tried to maximise their returns from the Powerplay in the first 12 games. The average run rate in the first six overs this season is 9.38; the highest Powerplay run rate after 12 games in all previous seasons was 8.33 – in 2017. Teams haven’t lost many wickets in the Powerplay this season either: the average runs per wicket is 36.51 so far, the highest at this stage among all editions.Not only is this approach evident in the first innings of the game but also while chasing – irrespective of the target. The average Powerplay run rate in the second innings is 9.55. Nine out of 12 matches have been won by the chasing team and the match has usually been decided in the Powerplay.The middle-over problemA reason teams batting first have struggled this season is because they lose their way in the middle overs. On more than one occasion, teams have looked good for high totals but fallen short by 15-20 runs. The average run rate in the middle overs batting first is 7.64, and teams average 22.32 per wicket.Breaking it down further, teams have scored only 7.13 per over between overs seven and ten, and 8.11 between 11 and 15. The dip in run rate between overs 7 and 10 is largely because several wickets have fallen in the sixth and the ninth overs and impacted the scoring rate.The two times teams scored more than 200 was because of extraordinary hitting at the finish from KKR’s Andre Russell and Royals’ Sanju Samson. Royals scored at 8.55 per over in the middle phase of their innings against Royal Challengers Bangalore, but lost only two wickets and were able to leverage that platform to score 88 runs in the last five overs to reach 217. Teams batting first can’t always expect a flurry of runs at the death, and so they need to do better in the middle overs, especially between seven and ten.For example, Kings XI had an extraordinary Powerplay against CSK, scoring at 12.5 runs per over, but then lost four wickets and scored at 8.77 in the middle overs. Not having a finisher, they managed only 43 runs in the last five overs and fell short of 200.ESPNcricinfo LtdDone in by the googlyMayank Markande, R Ashwin, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Sunil Narine are some of the spinners who have excelled in the first week of the tournament. One delivery that has been especially effective is the googly.Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni have been victims of the wrong ‘un, and the spinners have used this delivery liberally. By the end of the first week, 194 googlies had been bowled for 13 wickets and 232 runs. Markande used the googly better than anyone else, taking five wickets at an economy rate of 5.75. A lot of Indian domestic batsmen have struggled against the googly; they average 18 against the googly, while international batsmen average 15.

Facing Googlies Runs Balls Outs SRIndians 125 108 7 115.7 Overseas 103 93 7 110.8DRS makes its debut in the IPLThe Decision Review System was introduced for the first time this IPL, and it has made a difference. Ashwin used the DRS at a crucial juncture against CSK, when the umpire signalled four runs despite Sam Billings having been hit on the pad. Mumbai Indians also used it successfully against Sunrisers’ Kane Williamson to take that game to the final over. From the data of the first week, most teams seemed to have used the system efficiently.KKR, however, have been on the wrong side of the system, with no decision going their way so far.DRS impact has been seen in the first week itself•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The plays from the first T20I between Australia and Sri Lanka at the MCG

Daniel Brettig17-Feb-2017The first ballNineteen years and 475 senior-level matches after his state debut, Michael Klinger finally got the chance to walk out to bat for Australia, at his old home ground, the MCG, no less. Opening the batting alongside Aaron Finch, Klinger took a moment to look around the ground as he got his bearings, and stood at the non-striker’s end as the acting captain took the first ball of the match. When a single took Klinger to the pointy end, his first assignment was far from the easiest – Lasith Malinga with a new ball. But a ping off his pads for a couple of runs was a more than satisfactory result, as was a composed 38 that gave the hosts a decent start.The cover driveFinch showed attacking intent almost from the first ball he faced, eager to lead the way as Australian captain for the week. He has always been a player of enormous power, and subtlety has not always been a strength. When he tried a switch-hit against Seekkuge Prasanna, he chose the wrong ball, angling down the leg side. Finch’s instinctive response was to try to hit with the angle of the delivery, resulting in what was best described as a left-handed cover drive. Not surprisingly, he failed to make contact, scrambling a leg bye instead.The revengeWhen Asela Gunaratne came on to bowl, Finch was looking for further acceleration. When Gunaratne’s first dibbly-dobbly landed obligingly on a length with enough room for Finch to free his arms, he sent the ball into orbit in the general direction of Richmond train station. Hit to the longer side of the ground given the pitch’s location, it was one of the bigger hits seen at the MCG in quite a while. Yet Gunaratne was not perturbed, mixing up his pace and coaxing a skier from Finch two balls later with a cutter. The bowler’s celebration, having been hammered out of the ground a couple balls before, was justified.The captainMark Taylor famously started his Australian captaincy with a pair against Pakistan in Karachi in 1994. Twenty-three years later, he was in the commentary box as Upul Tharanga began his leadership of the Sri Lanka Twenty20 side in similarly inauspicious fashion. Having won the toss, he was unable to hang onto a pair of catches while in the field, and then when opening the batting he was unable to avoid edging his second delivery – an admittedly superb ball from Pat Cummins. Taylor’s Test ended with the frustration of a one-wicket defeat; however Tharanga’s emotions were rather more positive as Sri Lanka chased boldly for victory.