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ESPNcricinfo staff18-Dec-2015Tim Southee responded quickly by sending back Sri Lanka’s openers in successive overs•Getty ImagesDinesh Chandimal and Udara Jayasundera then revived Sri Lanka’s innings with a 71-run partnership before Jayasundera was run-out for 26•Associated PressDoug Bracewell soon had Chandimal caught behind, three runs short of a brisk fifty, as Sri Lanka stuttered to 121 for 4•Getty ImagesMilinda Siriwardana then combined with captain Angelo Mathews to forge a solid partnership, taking Sri Lanka to 198 for 4 at tea•Getty ImagesThe pair took their stand past 100, as both batsmen crossed fifties soon in the third session of the day•Getty ImagesTrent Boult then led New Zealand’s fight back with quick wickets before rain brought a premature end to the day’s play. Sri Lanka ended day one on 264 for 7 with Mathews unbeaten on 63•Getty Images

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2015Root’s frustration at missing a hundred showed as he left the field•Getty ImagesBen Stokes did not last too long, caught attempting to reverse sweep Dane Piedt•AFPPiedt also had Moeen Ali lbw on his way to his first Test five-wicket haul•AFPEngland maintained their momentum, however, thanks to a run-a-ball half-century from Jonny Bairstow•Getty ImagesHaving been set 416 to win, South Africa got off to a good start through Dean Elgar and Stiaan van Zyl. They put on 53 before van Zyl was bowled through the gate•Associated PressStokes was the bowler to break through – worth a salute from Root•Getty ImagesSteven Finn removed Hashim Amla and Dean Elgar in quick succession but AB de Villiers set about the resistance•Gallo ImagesHe was given a life on 33, however, when Bairstow missed a tough stumping chance off Moeen•Getty ImagesDe Villiers and du Plessis spent almost 24 overs holding off England•Getty ImagesBut Finn made sure they finished the day with a spring in their step by removing du Plessis in the final over•Getty Images

Ziyaad Abrahams is one three South African bowlers to have taken six-wicket hauls at the youth level. He idolises Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Shaun Pollock, but hopes his career will follow the path of another young South Africa seamer

Mohammad Isam02-Feb-2016South Africa’s Ziyaad Abrahams says that he bowls medium-fast, but when you see him run off the 14 steps, stretch his arms out to the fullest and deliver the ball with a marginal sling and a hard pump in the follow-through, he seems much quicker.In the game against Namibia, Abrahams tried as hard as the other South Africa bowlers to defend a small total but it was his off his bowling that Fritz Coetzee took the sharp single to win Namibia the game, and leave Abrahams in his haunches.Abraham had bowled 8.3 overs with enough effort, taking 2 for 18. But that was not enough, and as he walked off with the cap pulled down on his face, you could make out that he was spent for the day. He went wicketless against Scotland, bowling six overs for 18 runs. He seemed like a patient bowler.Abrahams comes across as a patient an upright young man. He has taken inspiration from Kagiso Rabada’s performance from the 2014 Under-19 World Cup. Like Rabada, he is one of three South African bowlers at this level to take six-wicket hauls. Growing up, it was Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis who gave him goosebumps with their late swing and yorkers, after which he followed Shaun Pollock closely. His bowling action, though not intended, has mild similarities with Pollock in the way he extends his non-bowling arm high up.About two years ago, Abrahams was lucky to spend a few hours with Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir at the Boardwalk Hotel in Port Elizabeth where over pastas and curries, they spoke about cricket and what it is to be a humble person. Amla later spent some time with the Under-19 squad in 2015, talking personally to each player. But for Abrahams, that dinner gave him a sense of what it is like playing at the highest level.”About two years ago, I had dinner with Hashim Amla and Imran Tahir,” Abrahams told ESPNcricinfo. “We were just chatting about how it is being up there. They said hard work will always pay off. I think the way he [Amla] dresses himself towards the game, how humble he is. Taking the logo off, that just shows the respect for him. The others look up to him also. I asked them a few questions. They are very humble people. They always make their namaaz five times a day.”Abrahams comes from a family of cricketers with his father, brother and uncle all having played in Port Elizabath, his childhood home. He started off as an offspinner and then tried leg-spin before his father told him to bowl pace.”I started off playing soccer at the age of three. I grew up with sports. My dad and uncles played cricket. They played for Western Province and Eastern Province. I grew up in Port Elizabeth. I played my first senior game at the age of 10. I was fortunate to play with my dad. I started off as a right-arm offspinner but four years ago I switched to pace bowling.”My father is also an opening bowler. I have a brother who played a part in my career. His name is Shaakir Abrahams and he bowls left-arm spin. They stay in Port Elizabeth at the moment. I moved out of Port Elizabeth to Cape Town when I was in Grade eight. I bowled legspin in that first year in Cape Town so my dad suggested that I bowl pace because I was quicker and stronger than the other boys in the first team of my school, the Western Cape Sports School. I picked up lots of wickets for them.”Abrahams made it to the South Africa Under-19s through good performances for the Western Province Under-17s team for whom he picked up 12 wickets in a tournament in Stellenbosch. Then, in Gauteng, he was the leading wicket-taker with 15 scalps.”My strength is to hit the areas. I think more or less, hitting the good lines, keeping the pressure building and bowling my yorkers in the death overs. This is what I am good at,” he said, and he was quite accurate in the self-assessment.Abrahams’ immediate aim after the Under-19 World Cup is to get a contract in South Africa’s franchise cricket. He dreams of playing for South Africa one day, and said that he was inspired by how Rabada made it to the national team soon after playing the Under-19 World Cup. The lessons from his dinner with Amla and Tahir would also be handy. Maybe if he can ride high like Rabada, there would a few more of those dinners.

Entrusted with the captaincy in all three formats, Luke Wright will demand high standards and unstinting effort to make the sun shine again in Hove

David Hopps07-Apr-2016Feed off Luke Wright’s energy and optimism and it is tempting to believe even at your lowest moment that anything in life is possible. Donald Trump could be nice to women, Panama would still be famous only for its canal and, yes, Sussex are about to emphatically arrest a decline which last season saw them relegated in the Championship, finish bottom of their group in the Royal London Cup and fail to reach Finals Day when David Willey gave them a pummelling in a home quarter-final.Sussex’s recovery, it has to be said, is by far the most likely of the three, but even this possibility is far from automatic. Worcestershire, Essex, perhaps even Kent, all have potential to question their favourites’ rating in a Championship Division Two season where only the top side is promoted.Sussex face questions. An ambitious cricket budget last summer brought failure and a heavy loss. A fine stalwart, Mike Yardy, has retired and James Anyon has followed with the season only a few days away, an always vulnerable fast bowler’s body unable to take any more. Most jarring to all at Hove was the tragic death of Matthew Hobden in Scotland as he celebrated New Year, robbing the county of a promising fast bowler and a fine companion.Time then for one of county cricket’s most positive figures to take charge: a man who openly accepts that “selfishness” can naturally take hold when a player is trying to forge an international career or make decent money in IPL or the Big Bash, but when that career is as good as spent it can be replaced by a powerful desire to return the favour to the county side that provided their opportunity. As with Ian Bell, skipper of Warwickshire this summer, it is good to see England players make this transition.Wright is already asserting himself, so critical of Sussex’s weak fielding last season and the excessive sense of entitlement amongst some younger professionals that it can be seen as a tacit criticism of the faltering later period under Mark Robinson’s 11-year reign as head coach.An abiding memory of Wright: a training session somewhere up country in India; a sultry day, a low point of the tour, the coach Duncan Fletcher ignoring the media in the lift, yet always Wright’s sheer exuberance in training. Chase this; catch that. Find the most enthusiastic ball-chasing dog on the planet and his tail would droop with exhaustion long before Wright would be spent. Sussex, valuing such energy, have made him captain in all three formats – quite rare these days – inviting the suspicion that even he could be weary by September.

“People moaning about not playing when they are averaging 30 in the seconds – that’s not good enough. Come to me when you’re averaging 80 in the second team”

“I think my kids will break me before these boys break me,” he said. “It’s going to be something I’ve got to manage but I try to move on quite quickly and even as a player I’ve never been a kit thrower or anything like that. I’m pretty good at letting things go once I get home. Glass of red and move on.”Ed Joyce, his predecessor, a heavy county run-scorer and international with Ireland and England, probably found it harder to let go as Sussex’s marked decline in Robinson’s last season as coach took hold. “Ed’s a deeper thinker,” Wright smiled. A mid-season defeat against Durham at Arundel, when Ajmal Shahzad’s comeback lasted only four overs, and a loss against Hampshire at Hove – the team who eventually condemned Sussex to Division Two – were two critical junctures.”Talking to Joycey when we were struggling I knew potentially he might step down, but I wasn’t exactly encouraging the lads to nick off so we went down,” he said. “I knew that if the captaincy came up, I was willing to listen if they wanted to talk to me and luckily they did.”County cricket is packed with off-season New Zealand players this summer, some identified as T20 joy bringers such as Brendon McCullum and Mitchell McClenaghan at Middlesex, some like Tom Latham around in all formats for Kent for the bulk of the season. Ross Taylor is in the second mould, signed until late July after Steve Magoffin, the veteran Australian metronome, secured a UK passport and freed up an overseas spot. Wright expects Taylor to be an influential figure.”It’s my first time of really doing it full on, and I’m learning on the job as well. Ross Taylor is one of the best people to learn off and I think bowlers should be setting their fields most of the time anyway. If I’ve got to set them then it’s a bit of a worry to be honest.”Another Kiwi, Stephen Fleming, coach of Melbourne Stars’ in the Big Bash, has also had a major influence on Wright’s approach. “He was amazing: in terms of a T20 coach, he was almost the best I’ve ever worked with. He was so relaxed but with man management and planning for games he was very, very good.”But to propose a player who could have most influence on Sussex’s cricket this season it is hard to look past Danny Briggs. While Wright exudes energy, Briggs floats around, a gentle, slender surveyor of the scene. If there is bitterness about his move from Hampshire, he is not one to show it. Hampshire were variously taken by the all-round talents of Liam Dawson (so, too, were England in naming their World T20 squad) and the legspin promise of Mason Crane, Briggs lost his place in all but T20 and had the nerve to request a move a year before his contract ended.There was a time when Briggs’ graceful left-arm spin would have been predicted to figure in the World T20 that has recently departed India’s shores; he postponed his wedding in 2012 to join England’s squad for the tournament in Sri Lanka. But the last of his six T20Is came in Hobart more than two years ago – a young player not quite battle-hardened enough to make it.Danny Briggs on…

Leaving Hampshire
“The second half of the year was fairly frustrating – I missed 50-over games and four-day cricket on pitches I thought I could have bowled well on. I was playing T20 cricket and not a lot else. I had a year left with Hampshire but I spoke to them and they were happy for me to look around and luckily Sussex came in pretty much straightaway.”
England aspirations
“It is such an amazing feeling to play for your country and you want more and more of that but it is also good that in county cricket I have had time in the last couple of years to improve. I know that if I can put a few good years in and contribute as much as possible with the ball and hopefully a bit with the bat then hopefully I can stake my claim again and second time around it will be a lot more successful.”
The secret of T20 success
“A lot of it is momentum. In the group stages you find a formula – who is bowling when and who is batting where. I think with Hampshire we probably found that most years. You still have to be a little bit flexible when things don’t go quite right but when you have momentum you tend to win the close games. Our aim at Hampshire was to get through to a quarter-final and back ourselves. And then if someone performs you are through to a finals day. Get to finals day and anything can happen.”

For all that, he has colossal experience, at 24. Hampshire have figured in six successive Twenty20 Finals Days and Briggs has been at the heart of that record. Wright is convinced that Sussex have signed a bowler who can change the shape of their season.”Danny is a great signing. He’s one of those players that I have found an absolute pain in the backside playing in white-ball cricket. He’s hard to get away… he’s just smart. You forget he’s 24 – he’s like a 30-year-old bowler in a young man’s body, because he just knows what to do, and makes you take tough options.”At Hove, you target down the hill a lot and whoever has to bowl that end has the tough job and he managed always to deal with that. I think Hampshire will miss him. They’ve had a lot of white-ball success and a lot of that has been down to Danny’s bowling. Even watching him going about his four-day bowling, he’s smart, you know he’s going to go at two per over on any wicket, but I think he’s got more than that.”He’s given up more money to come here and play. It shows his desire to improve and play. It would have been easy to just sit there and play white-ball cricket but he’s wanted to learn, especially in four-day cricket. He’s one of those guys I’ve wanted to play with again for a long time so as soon as the chance came up, we took it.”The retirement of Yardy, influential not just as a batsman but as a defensive left-arm spinner in limited-overs cricket, was another consideration. “When we’ve done well, Yards has been a huge part of it so to get a like-for-like was massive for us.”Wright’s demands with regard to personal fitness will be unyielding. This is part of his own make-up, but it is also a reminder of his time as a young professional under Sussex’s then director of cricket, Chris Adams, who supervised one of the most productive periods in the county’s history, skippering them to three titles between 2003 and 2007. Adams’ star has waned – Sussex resisted his return in a coaching capacity despite his unhidden enthusiasm for the role – but his influence on Wright lives on.”We are going to have to look at younger guys and they will have to improve because on the financial side – you see what money we lost last year – we can’t go out and there like Surrey and others and just sign people,” Wright said. “We will have to produce better within.”I’m happy to play youth, as long as they’ve earned the right to play. In the second team, the results weren’t good enough. People moaning about not playing when they are averaging 30 in the second team. Sorry that’s not good enough. Come to me when you’re averaging 80 in the second team.”I’ve had huge issues with this. I was brought up on the idea that you had to churn massively to even get a look in. Knock on Grizz’s [Adams’] door and ask if you can play and he’d laugh at you if you were averaging 40. It’s not good enough. Going into club cricket, asking around who’s done what and people saying I got 20 or 30 – that’s not what we are trying to breed.”Wright’s condemnation stretches to Sussex’s fielding. Only Magoffin, a senior seam bowler whose skill is extending his career beyond the norm, will be partially exempt from high expectations. “Fitness and physicality is important. Our fielding has been awful, and it’s hard to win things if that’s the case. Sometimes you naturally get athletes coming through your academy and sometimes you don’t. But it’s about making yourself as good as you can be.”As a club we’ve always driven massively on work ethic and making you the best you can be and I didn’t think we had done that for the last few years. In fielding everyone can improve – you’re not going to suddenly turn everyone into Jonty Rhodes but for young lads coming through we’ve said it’s not acceptable to be a passenger.”The captaincy has come at a great time for me. The majority of my career was just spent hunting down an England place, or preparing for the next tournament or the next series, and you’re always quite selfish when you’re doing that. When you’re not involved with England for a few years you look for that next thing to get you going and captaincy was good for me last year. I loved it. The club has given me everything I could have dreamt of, and now I want to get us back fighting where we should be.”

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Jun-2016Danushka Gunathilaka’s one-handed six gave Sri Lanka a lively start•Getty ImagesBut he was caught behind off Liam Plunkett for 22•Getty ImagesBruce Oxenford wore an arm shield for the first time in international cricket•Getty ImagesLiam Plunkett picked up his second wicket when Kusal Mendis was lbw•Getty ImagesJason Roy pulled off a brilliant run out to remove Kusal Perera•Getty ImagesDinesh Chandimal helped rebuild the innings with a half-century•AFPUpul Tharanga made a valuable fifty from No.7 to lift Sri Lanka to 254•Getty ImagesAlex Hales started brightly in England’s reply•Getty ImagesAs did Jason Roy at the other end•AFPHales continued his fluent form with his sixth half-century in seven ODIs•Getty Images… and soon turned that into his third ODI hundred•Getty ImagesRoy worked the angles in a record-breaking opening stand, England’s highest in ODIs•AFPRoy’s second ODI ton swiftly followed•Getty ImagesThe pair walked off after completing the highest successful chase without losing a wicket to put England 1-0 up in the series•Getty Images

New Zealand’s plan to undo Virat Kohli at Eden Gardens was rather obvious, but India’s captain could not remain patient long enough to beat it

Sidharth Monga in Kolkata30-Sep-20160:49

WATCH – Wagner bowled nine balls at Kohli, all of them were short and well directed

Test sides bowl with plans to get batsmen out. The field, your history with certain bowlers and certain dismissals, the bowler’s strengths, and your own habits usually indicate what that plan is. Rarely does the plan catch you by surprise. So the big screen at Eden Gardens did not need to show Virat Kohli’s dismissal in Kanpur just after Neil Wagner had bowled his second bouncer at India’s captain. From the end that that Wagner was bowling those bouncers, the High Court End, the big screen was right in Kohli’s eye line at long-off. It is possible he saw it too. Wagner bowling short with a deep fine leg and a deep square leg, right between his chest and his shoulder, Kohli hooking and top-edging it for an easy catch. They might as well have played Kohli under-edging a hook in Auckland to a ball wide enough to be cut.It was no secret, what the plan was. Bounce him, deny him, then bowl the sucker ball. If he wants to take the short ball on, you have the field. This time a forward and a backward short leg to go with deep fine leg and deep square leg.Different batsmen deal differently with plans. Some prefer to see that period out; let the bowlers give their best, absorb everything they have got, and then take on lesser or tired bowlers. Some hate to allow bowlers to bowl to a plan. They want to defeat the plan. The batsman’s ego then takes over. Kohli usually falls in the second category, which is why New Zealand felt they could play on his patience.To be fair to Kohli, both times in Kanpur he came out in situations where he could attempt to dominate. Perhaps the situation of the innings made him play the shots he did. Here he was going to show more patience, having walked in at 28 for 2 on a pitch helpful enough to quicks, thereby allowing the New Zealand bowlers to bowl to a plan. One of the reasons you felt this patience was going to be short-lived, though, is Kohli’s insistence on not letting the bowler dominate.The other big reason was that “between chest and shoulder” is Wagner’s “top of off”. And he is a beast when it comes to fitness and endurance. He has the field, and he can bowl to that field for long periods. You feel he will tire at some point, he doesn’t. Once, in Christchurch, he took six wickets with bouncers after Australia had dominated their way to 356 for 2. None of his first five wickets was a fend, they were all aggressive shots. The batsmen had just tired of ducking and weaving. Wagner hadn’t tired of bowling bouncers. Add to that that Kohli has that batsman’s ego, which hates it when the bowlers think they have an obvious plan.Virat Kohli has had a run of poor scores since his 200 in Antigua•BCCISo started this great dance. Wagner bowling bouncers. None of them to be sanctioned by the umpire. Kohli looking to show patience – for how long, you wondered. Duck. Duck. Replay on big screen. Fended in front of rib cage. Get inside the line with the short ball worryingly following you. Behind the line to fend. Another duck.Six balls were enough. Having watched Mitchell Santner tie Pujara up at the other end, Kohli pulled the first ball of Wagner’s next over, but he was on it too late and was lucky the mis-hit didn’t go to hand. Two more bouncers followed in that Wagner spell. Kohli ducked one, and then rose to his toes to fend off the other.With nine bouncers bowled to Kohli, with the batsman on 4 off 22 balls, New Zealand thought Wagner had done his job. Wagner had softened the joint with many blows, now a precision artist was required to break it. Enter Trent Boult. For a moment, when he drove beautifully off the first ball he faced from Boult, it seemed like Kohli had seen off the tough period. The bowler corrected his length for the next two balls, denying Kohli the drive, and then bowled the sucker ball that was part of the original plan. Short of driving length but full enough to draw the batsman forward, wide outside off, away from Kohli’s reach.Teams have always tried to get Kohli out by denying him outside off, bowling out of reach of his cover drive. Kohli doesn’t want that to happen. On flatter pitches he bulldozes that plan, as he did in Australia. This is not to say that his way is always the wrong way or the right way. Arguably you need different characters in the team, who handle bowlers’ plans differently. As Kohli said a day before the match, as cricketers all you can do is prepare the best you can because of the amount of luck involved in the game.The shot that Kohli eventually played, there was no way he could have controlled it. Now it was all down to luck. Perhaps the edge would go too fast. Too high. Perhaps the man at gully would drop it. Perhaps the bowler has overstepped. Through his impatience and shot selection, Kohli had brought luck into it. It did not go his way. New Zealand celebrated a plan well executed.

Graham Napier hobbled out of his last match at Chelmsford knowing that he had given his all in two decades as a one-club pro

Alan Gardner20-Sep-2016Graham Napier is sitting on a bench by the River Gate at Chelmsford, discussing his 26-year association with Essex County Cricket Club. He has been trying to play down his status as an ECG hero – “Gooch, Irani, Prichard, Law, they’re the legends of Essex” – but when a supporter spots Napier and makes a beeline for a handshake and a fare-thee-well, the esteem in which he is held is immediately clear.”Excuse me, this is important,” says the man, before turning to address Napier. “Thanks for all you’ve done, wish you well in the teaching, going to miss your bowling tremendously.”Asked to sum up Napier’s importance to the club, beyond the obvious all-round attributes, he adds: “He’s an Essex boy through and through and always has been, and that’s why the members appreciate him.”Essex, like Yorkshire, set great store by their own, and in Napier’s final match as a professional, against Glamorgan last week, the XI comprised nine players who came up through the club. Few have as ardent a following as Napier, a crowd favourite whose capacity for blockbuster feats in an Essex shirt was matched, perhaps, only by his modesty. According to his team-mates, he is known as the “King of Colchester” or the “Prince of Chelmsford” and a stroll in his company involves multiple diversions to clasp hands and pose for selfies, though he looks faintly embarrassed by all the attention.”I’m not a celebrity or superstar,” he says. “I’m just a normal bloke who happens to play cricket for a living, and do very normal things. The nicest part about this week has been walking around the ground and members coming up to you, shaking your hand and saying, ‘Thank you for the entertainment.’ We’re in the entertainment business and if I’ve entertained them, it means they’ve been satisfied when they go home.”There is no doubting that Napier entertained. Wielding his Worsop Stebbing like it was Mjölnir and bustling in to deliver magnetic toe-crushers, Napier was one of the most compelling cricketers on the county circuit. Having signalled that this would be his final year, ahead of setting up a cricket academy at the Royal Hospital School in Suffolk, he led the wicket-taking lists for Essex in all three formats and even signed off at Colchester, where he grew up, with the seventh first-class hundred of his career.His feats in the Championship carried the most significance, as Napier’s 63 wickets – with one round of the season to go, no fast bowler in either division has taken more – went a long way towards ensuring Essex would be promoted as Division Two champions. His last appearance at Chelmsford may have been interrupted by one final injury, but as he limped off with another four scalps under his belt (it would have been five but for a dropped catch in the gully), Essex were well on their way to gathering the bonus points they needed to finally return to the top tier after a seven-year absence.

“My bowling action, my mentality and approach is that I have to give it everything, batting, bowling, fielding. The physicality of it all, that’s the reason I can’t keep doing it”

Napier’s calf is strapped up on the final day of the Glamorgan match as he sits and contemplates the possibility of batting one more time. His captain, Ryan ten Doeschate, described him earlier in the match as a player who “writes his own scripts”, and now, with Essex wobbling in pursuit of a target of 264, there is the tantalising prospect of him hobbling out to bludgeon the winning runs. However, after playing in 14 out of 15 matches (and 32 of 40 in all competitions) he is satisfied that he has given all he could to the cause.”The irony is, injuries have plagued my career, but they’ve also kept me going,” he says. “This one, it’s about the eighth time I’ve had this injury in both legs, so it’s just a gentle nudge in the back, saying, this is why you’re retiring, don’t have any other aspirations to keep playing.”I want to go out knowing there’s nothing else to give physically, and that’s the way it’s worked out.”Injuries may have prevented Napier from spending more time on the field – though 9916 runs and 953 wickets across the three formats is no small return for a player signed on a YTS contract after deciding he was too short to pursue a career as a goalkeeper with Ipswich Town – but they also drove him to greater heights. Having a screw inserted into his back after a stress fracture early in his career took away the pain of bowling and allowed him to remodel his action, with the help of Geoff Arnold, in pursuit of the extra pace that gave his late-swinging yorkers such venom.That motivation and commitment to fitness allowed him to be increasingly effective the older he got. In 2013, aged 33, Napier averaged 49.75 with the bat while taking 50 first-class wickets in a season for the first time; the following year he eclipsed that effort with 52 at 15.63. This season, with changes to the toss regulations meaning fewer cheap bags for seamers, he has gone better still.Like the great entertainers, Napier will sign off with Essex fans, in particular, wanting more. But he has earned his rest.”My whole mentality is all or nothing. I couldn’t just run up and try and put the ball on a line and length, it just doesn’t work for me – it has to be all or nothing. My bowling action, my mentality and approach is that I have to give it everything, batting, bowling, fielding. And that’s part of the reason, the physicality of it all, I can’t keep doing that. I can’t wake up in the morning and not make it down the stairs. And at some point, it’s going to do a lot of damage, so in the long run: enjoy the season, have a great year and get out whilst I’m on top.”The top of his game was not quite enough to win Napier an England cap – the closest he came was being an unused member of the 2009 World T20 squad – but he did achieve something far fewer Englishman can lay claim to, after his extraordinary 158 from 58 balls as a pinch-yourself hitter in 2008 helped earn him an IPL contract with Mumbai Indians.”Everyone sets out to play for their country at some point, in my case I got as close as you can – I carried the drinks without actually playing for the team,” he says. “It would have been lovely to have worn the shirt and played for England, but at the time there were players that were better than me, and they picked what they thought was the best team, and sadly for me I never got to play.”But that’s cricket and I don’t regret anything. I’ve given everything to everything I’ve ever done and it’s the one accolade I didn’t achieve that I’d have liked to, but I’m quite content with the way my career’s gone.”Napier will be remembered at Essex for his exploits with bat and ball•Getty ImagesNapier’s quiet satisfaction seems at odds with his tub-thumping exploits – from smashing what was the second-highest individual score in T20, to hitting another sweet 16 sixes in a first-class match (both world records at the time), to taking seven wickets in a 40-over game, including four in four balls and requisitioning Ricky Ponting’s middle stump – but he has always been happiest to let his cricket do the talking.”They’re little highlights in a career. I’m very lucky that I’ve had those moments to cherish. But just playing cricket here at Chelmsford – I think it’s a special place. We’re a small club compared to a lot of others but we’ve got a big heart – supporters and as a side. We get well supported in Championship cricket through to T20, and when you play in front of a good crowd supporting cricket as well as us, it’s fantastic.”There is “huge sadness” at taking his leave, having been involved with the club since the age of ten, but he goes out with a Division Two winners medal to add to the 2008 FP Trophy, and National League titles in 2005 and 2006. “That’s the icing on the cake, the cherry on the top, to win it when only one team goes up and two down,” he says.He also has another nickname, one he is happier to admit to. “Aaron Beard, one of our youngest players coming through, he’s started calling me ‘Dad’ because I moan at him like a dad, trying to just get him fast-tracked as quick as possible, with the knowledge and skills I’ve gained.” Napier’s departure – and that of David Masters, who also announced his retirement on the final day against Glamorgan – means there will be big boots for the next generation of Essex boys to fill.There was, in the end, time for one more innings at Chelmsford, though no fairy-tale finish. Napier’s work was already done. The King has left the building.

England were facing an uphill task after losing five first-innings wickets and may face a decision on whether to persist with Ben Duckett

George Dobell in Visakhapatnam18-Nov-20162:28

Compton: Duckett doesn’t seem to fit in at No.4

For much of the day it seemed the school girls in the stands in Visakhapatnam were screaming for their heroes in the India team. But as the last session unfolded, with England losing three top-order wickets for eight runs at one stage, the thought occurred that they might have been screaming in horror at England’s prospects in this match. Perhaps the pitch of the screaming had changed or perhaps, after several hours subjected to it, the mentality of those listening had.Or maybe the noise was just the soul of the England team. For England are in desperate trouble in this game. Already, with only two days of the game gone, they need a miracle of biblical proportions to save them. Rain won’t come to their rescue – it’s not due to rain here until January – and, it says much for their predicament, that their best hope of saving this game really might be a plague of locusts. Or, seeing as it is Vizag, dogs.It would be disingenuous not to acknowledge that losing the toss in these circumstances is a substantial disadvantage. India took advantage of the pitch at its best for batting and England were condemned to replying as the deterioration began. Already, some good-length deliveries that batsmen might expect to play at hip height are scuttling along the deck and some deliveries are turning sharply. It will only grow more difficult for batsmen. It is fiendishly tough and any criticism of them has to be tempered by that knowledge.There’s no future in feeling sorry for themselves, though. Such challenges are part of the experience of touring India, just as dealing with green pitches is part of the challenge of touring England. England won the toss in the first Test in Rajkot – albeit not with just such disproportionate consequences – and they may yet win a toss later in the series with similar results.Besides, it would be quite wrong to accept the inevitability of future events from the moment the toss is taken. Had England placed a better fielder for their hook trap and had they placed a gully for the second new ball, it is entirely possible India’s total would be substantially smaller. You have to give the India batsmen credit, too. Virat Kohli has long been established as a great limited-overs player and he is well on the way to proving his class in the longest format. At times, he looks almost impossibly good. You suspect his bat will cause England a lot more pain before this series is done.Most of all, England had the opportunity to bat on the second afternoon when the conditions might be termed tricky rather than impossible. They had the chance to show they had learned from Dhaka, taken confidence from Rajkot and were able to put all that into action.There were some encouraging moments. Haseeb Hameed dealt comfortably with some good pace bowling by India’s seamers – including a few more short balls – and Ben Stokes demonstrated his tighter technique against spin. And there was the sight of Joe Root playing the ball off the back foot with a straight bat to try and adjust to the spin and variable bounce. For a while, he did it very well.

“Wherever in the world you go to, there will always be something different to your home. The best players in the world adapt quickly”Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach

But Test cricket isn’t about batting nicely for a while. It is not about cameos and half-centuries. And Root knows that as well as anyone.His dismissal here – attempting to hit R Ashwin over the top but instead finding the fielder at long-off – probably looked worse than it was. Kohli had just moved long-on to mid-on and the previous ball had spun pretty sharply into Root’ pads. So the shot was just about on and, had it proved successful, we might have praised Root’s positive intent and his refusal to allow Ashwin to settle.Instead, Ashwin persuaded the ball to drift away from the bat (it may have been natural variation, but he is a terrific bowler so let us give him the credit) and Root was only able to make contact with the outside third of his bat. It didn’t look pretty but it wasn’t such an unreasonable ploy. And perhaps we have to remind ourselves that Root is only 25. He will not need telling that the risk-reward ratio was not good. He will not need telling that this was a day for nudges and rotation and defence rather than such counter-attacking.That was exactly the message of Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, at the close of play. “When a high-quality player like Joe gets to fifty and gets out, it is massively disappointing,” Farbrace said. “And it looks a whole lot worse when you get out that way. But if he hit that one bounce for four down the ground then we say ‘great shot’.”But this is a time when Joe will look back and say he could have done things better. He does not need telling.”Nor will Alastair Cook – who was the victim of a magnificent delivery that looked as if it was passing outside off stump, but crept back and beat his forward push – or Moeen Ali, who thought that coming down the pitch would save him from not knowing how much the ball would spin but became the latest victim of a DRS decision that would never have been out a few years ago.There will be more worry about Ben Duckett’s dismissal. For the third time in six Test innings he fell in strikingly similar fashion: placing his front foot on – or even outside – leg stump and nowhere near the pitch of the ball to allow himself the opportunity to hit an offspinner through the off side, he was bowled when the turn took the delivery away and into the top of off stump. He was bowled in similar fashion by Mehedi Hasan in Chittagong and edged to slip off Ashwin in Rajkot.It was always asking a lot of Duckett to cope with the spin on this tour. Spin plays a peripheral part in the lower division of the County Championship – only one spinner in the entire division managed even 25 wickets in 2016 and that was his Northants team-mate, Rob Keogh – and he will never have experienced conditions like this. Or bowlers so adept at exploiting them.But Farbrace was having none of that. Pointing to Stokes as an example of a man who has learned to deal with such challenges, Farbrace insisted Duckett had to “find a way” to cope.Ben Duckett again struggled facing the offspin of R Ashwin•AFP”Wherever in the world you go to, there will always be something different to your home,” Farbrace said. “And the best players in the world adapt quickly. That’s why Root and Cook have runs all around the world. Now Stokes is showing he has got the capacity to adapt and play in different conditions.”Our younger players have got to find a way to adapt cope with the conditions. And of course we would love to have more spinning wickets and more spin bowlers in England. That’s something we are always looking to address. Same as Australians are looking to address the swinging and seaming ball. Every team around the world are always looking at ways to improve the way they are playing.”We are not panicking over Ben but we know, and he knows, that he has to find a way to cope. It is a massive step going from playing for Northants to facing Ashwin on a wicket in India that is turning and bouncing. You have to be able to adapt your game or any chink in your armoury, top players exploit it.”It leaves England facing a tricky decision. Should they replace Duckett for the third Test or stick with him in the hope he can improve his technique during the course of the series? Both actions risk damaging his confidence, but England’s only other options on the tour are Jos Buttler – who has played only one first-class match since he was dropped a year ago – and Gary Ballance, who was dropped in Rajkot after a grim run of form.While recent history would suggest England will give Duckett more opportunities – James Vince, for example, was given seven Tests to prove himself without making a half-century – it is asking a great deal to tinker with his technique during such a condensed Test series. Aged 22, he has the time – and the talent – to reinvent himself. He also has the second innings.”He’s practised extremely hard,” Farbrace said. “He has had long sessions against spin and he has made an adjustment already on this trip. But the danger is you don’t want to be offering too many changes to a young player. You brought him into the side because he is talented, because he has got runs, and you have to trust him to play his way.”He’s also got to trust himself to … have a solid defence so that when you do get a bad ball, you can put it away. Getting 13s, 15s, 20s, 30s are not good enough. He knows that. But he’s got to find a way of improving and keep working on his defensive technique.”Most all, Farbrace made it clear that he would accept no excuses from any of the England side. There are bound to be challenges like this in India. England either learn to deal with them or they settle for a place among the also-rans of world cricket.”There’s no point bleating and making excuses,” he said. “We didn’t show enough fight. Those are times when we need to show a bit more resilience and get stuck in. It was a bad session. We have to find a way to cut that out if we’re serious about being one of the best teams in the world.”

Of all the things South Africa would have expected to find in New Zealand, spin success was unlikely to be among them

Firdose Moonda19-Mar-20173:08

‘I rely on my consistency’ – Maharaj

After two Tests and with the series safe, it’s South Africa’s left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj who is the leading wicket-taker after collecting the best figures by a visiting spinner at the Basin Reserve and the second-best overall. And he was not the only slower bowler to make an impact. He shared a dozen wickets with JP Duminy – whose bowling was thought to have regressed – to leave New Zealand’s plans of preparing less seamer-friendly surfaces in disarray and provide reward for South Africa’s years of quiet investment into developing their spinners.After the Wellington victory, South Africa’s spin consultant Claude Henderson spoke about Maharaj’s growth, the role of the spinner in South Africa and the chances of a three-pronged spin attack in Hamilton.Were you surprised to see spinners do well in New Zealand? We knew the wickets were going to be slow. We didn’t know it was going to spin that much. We’ve seen Keshav bowl well on wickets that didn’t turn, go back to Perth, so he’s always going to be in the game. There’s more assistance here – maybe not as much bounce but more turn out of the pitch. He has had great support, good runs on the board and he is improving as a bowler.How does Maharaj understand his role in the team? Is he expected to operate as a containing bowler and regard any wickets as a bonus or does he have a licence to be more aggressive if the situation calls for it? In Test cricket, if you have got the ability to stop the game, it makes you quite an accurate bowler. I believe good spin bowlers can bowl on any deck. He has technically improved a lot over the last 12 months. It’s asking a seamer, look the wicket’s green, now go and take me five wickets, rather than get the ball in the right areas and the rest will happen. You are trying to get them in the right mental state to say let’s just build pressure. If you do that, you will be in the game anyway. There’s never expectation to take wickets, even on day five. I chat to the spinners to take the pressure off them and say if you build pressure on these wickets, with people around the bat, things will happen. Whether it is day one, day three, day five with people around the bat and defensive fields, you’ve still got to stop the game. That’s the simple secret to Test cricket; you’ve got to create pressure. To do that you have to be technically good enough and mentally understand what’s going on. And have a good captain. So far, things have gone our way. There are days when things don’t go your way, then you have to have a plan B and plan C.What does Maharaj offer the South African team that some of the other spinners in the recent past have lacked? All spinners are different. What’s impressed me is his mindset. He is quite mature, he has done his time in the nets growing up as a spinner. He understands what’s needed at certain times, which is important. I’m not saying the others didn’t but he is technically very good. And he is a grinder, he is a fighter. Who would have said when Dale [Steyn] broke down in that gale force wind, he would hold the game for us? You need to be strong to do that but also understand the conditions and have the plan and the ability to do it. I won’t say he is better than the others but I think his arrival is exciting for South African cricket. He has taken his opportunity and he has done really well. You don’t have to always have four or five wickets in the bag to be a good spinner. You can bowl 40 overs, take 1 for 80 and be a good spinner. He has understood the conditions, what the team needs and just come through.Claude Henderson on Maharaj: ‘You can bowl 40 overs, take 1 for 80 and be a good spinner. He has understood the conditions, what the team needs and just come through’•AFPSouth African cricket has produced more quality spinners recently than at any other time and it seems they feel more at home in what has traditionally been a seamer’s environment. Why do you think that is the case? They have changed the policy at youth cricket, to bowl more spin in their competition. T20 has obviously helped as well because we all know in T20, successful teams will have one or two good spinners in the team. Our conditions are sometimes not in favour of spin but we play a lot of ICC tournaments in the subcontinent. We also play a lot of other cricket in the subcontinent. The other point I want to make is that there is no Jacques Kallis and because of that you need somebody in the Test side to be able to hold the game in any conditions – whether its day one at the Wanderers or day four in India – you need somebody to bowl those overs and grow into it. It’s fantastic to see that the spin culture is growing. It’s important that keeps growing and the right messages gets sent to those spinners coming through.South Africa’s last proper dalliance with spin was in the India series at the end of 2015 when they lost a first series away from home in nine years. Given the progress they have made in developing spin bowlers and playing spinners and do you think they would be better equipped for a trip there now? We don’t know. I would love to see Keshav one day go to India. I don’t think he has had a wicket yet that assisted him a lot but the same messages will be there – to stop the game and to build pressure. That trip we had to India was a tough one. I haven’t seen games where there were 20 wickets in three days, twice. It was a good experience for us but I don’t think it’s anything like what we see now in the tours India have hosted against New Zealand and Australia. We’ve always been good players of spin so that was different for me. Our boys play a lot of cricket in the subcontinent now, these boys know how to play spin.With Dane Piedt added to the squad ahead of the Hamilton Test, South Africa could go into the match with three spin options, including JP Duminy. Do you see that happening? The management and selectors thought the last venue would spin as we saw in the one-dayers and New Zealand have got a few left-handers in their team so Dane is just giving us another option. We don’t know if he is going to play or not but it will be nice to have him around. He has done very well for Cobras. We all know he is a good bowler. And then with JP, the nice thing about JP is that he is batting in the top six as well so that helps. The option is there to go in with the two spinners and JP but we will see when we get there.

Twitter reactions to Kuldeep Yadav’s memorable first day in Test cricket, on which he took 4 for 68

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Mar-2017In a series filled with surprises, India sprang another one in Dharmasala by handing a debut to left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav. His former state team-mate Mohammad Kaif had no doubt it was the right move.

Prediction – Kuldeep Yadav will have a great debut. Aussies should struggle to read him. Best wishes to Team India.#IndvAus

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) March 25, 2017

After Australia raced to 131 for 1 at lunch, another expert Aakash Chopra placed his faith in Kuldeep.

Kuldeep is my Man for this innings…hope he starts after lunch and gets an extended spell. #IndvsAus

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) March 25, 2017

Kuldeep responded in the second session with some ripping deliveries that earned him praise from some of the greats of the game. First he dismissed David Warner to end a rapid century stand with Smith, then he got one to drift away before spinning in to have Peter Handscomb bowled and followed that up with a perfect wrong ‘un to send back Glenn Maxwell.

I am impressed with @imkuldeep18's variations and the way he has started. Keep going strong, this can be your match to shine.

— sachin tendulkar (@sachin_rt) March 25, 2017

This has been a magnificent spell of bowling from the young man Kuldeep

— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) March 25, 2017

The uncommon sight of a left-arm wrist spinner showcasing control and an array of variations had many excited.

New mystery guy in the house @imkuldeep18 #Magical. On the other hand brilliant hundred from smith.

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) March 25, 2017

Wonderful beginnings for a debutant.. 2 very good wickets &the way he has bowled.. Way to go.. God bless #KuldeepYadav

— Kartik Murali (@kartikmurali) March 25, 2017

This is a fairy-tale debut for Kuldeep Yadav. Always something extra with the wrist spinner. And he can bat!

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) March 25, 2017

Superb spell by @imkuldeep18 , emphasises the importance of a wrist spinner on batting tracks. Brilliant

— Deep Dasgupta (@DeepDasgupta7) March 25, 2017