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And what is it about Sharjah that teams need to be wary of as the tournament progresses?

Deivarayan Muthu22-Sep-20204:14

Gambhir: Dhoni batting at No. 7 makes no sense

What went wrong for Super Kings’ spinners?
In short, Piyush Chawla and Ravindra Jadeja simply kept tossing it up in the slot and couldn’t find any dip or bounce to beat Sanju Samson on length. Samson kept swinging through the line and went on a boundary-hitting spree. He took the spinners for 49 off a mere 18 balls.In contrast, Royals’ spinners Rahul Tewatia and Shreyas Gopal didn’t toss the ball up as much and instead pushed it through quicker, therefore not allowing Chennai Super Kings’ batsmen to target them easily. Tewatia unleashed a slider that rushed Shane Watson for pace and had him bowled for 33 off 21 balls. He then slowed down his pace and shifted his lines wider to have Sam Curran and Ruturaj Gaikwad stumped off consecutive deliveries. All of this despite the onset of dew. From thereon, the Super Kings couldn’t prick the ballooning asking rate, despite late blows from Faf du Plessis and MS Dhoni.After the game Dhoni reckoned that the Royals’ spinners had learnt from the errors Chawla and Jadeja had made in the first innings. “There was a lot of dew [in the second innings] and we need to give credit to their bowlers also,” he said. “If you put runs on the board then you’ve seen the first innings what’s a good length to bowl on that wicket and they kept hitting the same area, especially their spinners.”Welcome to Sharjah
Unlike Abu Dhabi or Dubai, Sharjah has smaller boundaries and although there wasn’t much bounce in this pitch, the ball did come onto the bat better here. The square boundaries are only around 60 metres long, which is comparable to the dimensions at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Thirty-three sixes were hit when Royal Challengers Bangalore faced Super Kings at the Chinnaswamy in 2018 – the most in an IPL match. As many sixes were hit in Sharjah, with Samson claiming nine of those. To put things in perspective the first three matches of IPL 2020 in Dubai and Abi Dhabi had produced a total of only 28 sixes.ESPNcricinfo LtdSuper Kings succeeded with only five genuine bowling options in Abu Dhabi, but perhaps it wasn’t wise to go into Sharjah with similarly limited options. After a fast start from Samson and his captain Steven Smith, Royals suffered a middle-order slide – they lost 6 for 47 – but then Jofra Archer cleared the boundary four times in the final over to propel his side to 216, which ultimately proved 16 too many for the Super Kings.What was Dhoni thinking coming so low?
Super Kings were chasing 217 on a Sharjah track that was more favourable to batting than the ones in Abu Dhabi and Dubai were. M Vijay and Shane Watson dawdled to 36 for 0 in five overs as the asking rate shot past 12. Vijay’s dozy run-a-ball 21, in particular, ramped up the pressure on the middle order. With legspinners Tewatia and Gopal bowling in tandem, there was good reason behind pushing the left-handed Sam Curran up to No. 4. He carted two sixes and a four before Tewatia had him stumped for 17 off six balls. However, still there was no sign of MS Dhoni. Gaikwad, the IPL debutant, was then out stumped for a duck next ball. Kedar Jadhav, who was sent in at No.6, struggled for timing as well and only after he was dismissed for 22 off 16 balls did Dhoni come in at No .7.The pitch did get slower, but it seemed like Dhoni was just sitting back and playing for the net run-rate, like he had done with Jadhav in a steep ODI chase against England in the World Cup last year.He left a loopy bouncer from Archer and simply tapped the ball along the ground without showing any attacking intent until the last over. He finally tonked Tom Curran for three successive sixes, but by then the game was up.ESPNcricinfo LtdShould he have displayed similar attacking intent when the game was alive? Maybe he should’ve in hindsight, but the pitch wasn’t as easy as Samson made it look during his 32-ball 74. Du Plessis tried to match Samson’s ball-striking during his 37-ball 72, but he, too, couldn’t get the big shots away early in the big chase; he was on 17 off 18 balls at one point before lining up Unadkat and Archer’s cutters.Going too hard at a smart Rajasthan Royals’ attack on this pitch would’ve left a Rayudu-less Super Kings in danger of being bowled out for a sub-150 score and hence falling way behind the net run-rate, which would’ve hurt them towards the end of the tournament.At the post-match presentation, Dhoni said that the Super Kings needed a strong start if they were to have a proper crack at the target. He also reasoned that he hasn’t had enough game-time to bat up the order.

Watto announces himself as an MVP allrounder

Sruthi Ravindranath23-Apr-20214:41

Gautam Gambhir, Farveez Maharoof and Dinesh Karthik on Watson’s performance

We polled our staff for their picks of the top ten best batting, bowling and all-round performances in the IPL through its history. Here’s No. 5Rajasthan Royals v Delhi Daredevils, 2008″He lost a bit of the edge in the last few games but today he was absolutely fantastic and showed his class. He’s a fantastic all-round cricketer and good enough to be in the Australian team.” – Shane Warne, Rajasthan Royals captainTwenty-six-year-old Shane Watson had endured a tough year. Though he was touted as one of the most promising allrounders in Australia, frequent injuries had left a perpetual question mark over his international future. Then came the 2008 IPL and in those 44 days Watson found his range. One performance showed he had it in him to become T20 allrounder.The Rajasthan Royals, seen as underdogs for their low-budget approach, had become the side to beat as the inaugural IPL season progressed. While lesser-known players put their hands up at crucial moments, most of the Royals’ campaign had been built around Watson. Coming into the semi-final, against the Delhi Daredevils, he was in tremendous form: 392 runs and 13 wickets in 13 games.In the semi-final, he cranked it up a notch. Such was Watson’s performance that the Wankhede crowd rose to its feet to chant his – yes, an Australian’s – name.Shane Watson all but finished the game in his first three overs with the ball•BCCIThe Royals were put in to bat and the openers took them to 65 in seven overs before Watson arrived at the crease with the intention to maintain momentum through the middle overs. He stuck to the brief for the first ten balls, hitting just one boundary. “It took me a few balls to understand the wicket and the bounce, but after that I got into the rhythm,” he said later.Watson then unveiled beast mode. In the 11th over, which brought 21 runs, he hit the inexperienced Yo Mahesh for a four and two humungous sixes on the leg side. With adept timing and footwork, he went after specific bowlers, swinging through square leg and midwicket. He took on legspinner Amit Mishra, who lured him with teasing flight, by getting under a delivery and dispatching it for six over midwicket.His 29-ball 52, combined with Yusuf Pathan’s final flourish, took the Royals to 192. By no means was this an easy target, though with Gautam Gambhir – the tournament’s second highest run scorer – and Virender Sehwag in the opposition, you couldn’t rule out an even contest.No, the chase was not on, considering the kind of day Watson was having.The numbers

67 Percentage (12 out of 18) of Watson’s deliveries that were on the shorter side, which shows he executed the bowling plans to perfection on the day

5 Number of Player-of-the-Match awards Watson got in the 2008 IPL season. He also finished as Player of the Tournament for his 472 runs and 17 wickets

138.64 Watson’s Total Impact – the sum of his batting and bowling impacts – in the match. Daredevils’ Farveez Maharoof, who picked up three wickets in the match, had the second highest of 78.24 points

His opening spell pretty much decided the game. Gauging the amount of bounce the surface offered, Watson kept his length short and beat the batters with pace. In his first two overs, he got Sehwag to top-edge a catch to deep square leg and beat Gambhir repeatedly before having him caught at cover. In Watson’s third over, Shikhar Dhawan pulled a back-of-a-length delivery straight to the fielder at square leg. With 3-0-10-3, the Daredevils’ chase was all but over and they were eventually skittled out for 87.Such was Watson’s impact in the match that his 52 runs were worth 64.03 Smart Runs, and his strike rate of 179 translated to a Smart Strike Rate of 220. His economy of 3.33 in the match was 2.6 in terms of Smart Economy.This performance helped Watson revive his international career, and right as T20 cricket took root, he established himself as a complete, two-in-one player in the format.The Greatest IPL performances 2008-2020

Allrounder slams unbeaten 23-ball 77 to help Northern Warriors ace a tall chase of 146 in the Abu Dhabi T10

Aadam Patel27-Nov-20210:42

Moeen Ali: In T10, the big and strong guys are the successful ones

When the decision came towards the back end of the English summer, it was no real surprise to anyone that Moeen Ali, 34, was calling time on his Test career.Even the prospect of adding an away Ashes victory this winter to his illustrious list of achievements wasn’t enough to change his mind. He insisted that the decision was based on how he had felt during the series against India. A feeling of being unable to “get in the zone.””I just didn’t feel like I was fully wholeheartedly into it,” Moeen had said.Related

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As he belted his way to 77 not out off just 23 deliveries on Saturday night, whilst the Arabian sun set over the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, there was almost a sense of a man just wanting to enjoy whatever remains of his cricketing career. In his typical relaxed nature, Moeen was just getting about doing what he loved best.He played a beautiful knock under a quite beautiful setting, as he and Kennar Lewis, with a devastating 65 off 32 of his own, made light work of a target of 146. The Northern Warriors reached their target against Team Abu Dhabi without losing a wicket and with five balls to spare.It was a stunning partnership that broke all sorts of records: the fastest 50 (16 balls) and the highest individual score (77*) of this edition of the Abu Dhabi T10, both to Moeen’s name; the highest partnership (146) in Abu Dhabi T10 history and the most sixes by a team (15) in a T10 innings.Without the thought of the longer format weighing him down, Moeen seems to be thriving in the UAE. From playing an integral role in Chennai Super Kings’ IPL winning campaign under MS Dhoni, to playing every game for England at the T20 World Cup under Eoin Morgan, here is a man who is perhaps finally feeling a semblance of the stability that he has always desired.”There’s definitely a freedom in my game [after retiring from Test cricket],” Moeen said after taking the Warriors to the highest chase in T10 history. “I know exactly what I need to work on. Previously, I was switching from format to format which was great, but over time it just weighs you down, and I think that was the thing with me.”Mooen’s blitz proved why he was picked in the first round of the Abu Dhabi T10 draft.Moeen Ali – “Previously, I was switching from format to format which was great, but over time it just weighs you down”•Associated PressA couple of nights ago, he opened up to ESPNcricinfo about the challenges he had been facing within the T10 format.”I find this really difficult,” he admitted. “As you can see. A lot of the guys are big and strong and they can hit the ball miles from ball one. I find that a bit of a struggle. In T10, the guys who are successful are the guys that are big and strong.”All it took to change his mind was a match-winning knock against the league leaders and the strongest side of the tournament. Needing 62 off four overs, the game was still in the balance, but Moeen sent six of the next seven deliveries he faced to the boundary, before Lewis smashed two more sixes off Liam Livingstone’s penultimate over to all but seal the victory.”If you asked me a few days ago, I’d have said that T10 is probably not for me as I’m not one of the big guys, but I guess it shows that you don’t have to be big and strong. You just need a bit of power and some timing and today showed me how quickly you can actually score in this format. It was great for my confidence.”Moeen has always been somewhat of a confidence player – someone who has flowed much better with the outright backing of the decision-makers and without the pressure of having a point to prove.At the IPL, he joked that Super Kings could have dropped him after a few games. Yet, a focus on loyalty across the franchise and the support of Dhoni allowed him the chance to flourish. “They’re so calm and clear in what they do. You get the backing here and you want to give it back as much as you can,” Moeen had said after the IPL final.

“You don’t have to be big and strong. You just need a bit of power and some timing and today showed me how quickly you can actually score in this format.”Moeen on his T10 exploits

Moeen enjoyed the rub of the green early his innings with some top edges to the boundary, but it was enough to encourage him to express himself.”Sometimes, those top edges are good because it gets you going and you don’t worry about the strike rate. Sometimes, when you’re going at a run a ball or even when you’re like five off three, you still feel a bit under pressure. I didn’t have that in the back of my mind after those top edges today, so I knew I could just play.”As Moeen shuts the door firmly on the longest format of the game – an experience he admitted he will miss – one wonders what might have become of Moeen’s journey had he not lost his central contract in 2019? Before the Ashes that summer, he had been the leading wicket-taker in the world over the previous 12 months.For now, here is a man content with where he’s at.”I’m really happy I can just focus on white-ball cricket now,” Moeen said.

Jason Roy and Harry Brook’s scintillating hundreds find a place among the top five most impactful performances in the tournament

ESPNcricinfo stats team28-Feb-2022Shadab Khan was the MVP of PSL 2022, according to ESPNcricinfo’s Smart Stats. Shadab had a stellar PSL taking 19 wickets and scoring 268 runs at a strike rate of 162.42. No one in the PSL previously has scored 250 runs and taken more than 15 wickets in a season. If you also consider a strike rate of at least 160, only five players in the leagues across the world have achieved this feat. And he did all this while also leading Islamabad United.Shadab’s best performance, though, came in a losing cause when he picked up 4 for 20 and scored 52 off 32 balls against the eventual champions, Lahore Qalandars.His best batting performance in the tournament was when he scored 91 off 42 balls against Multan Sultans. Chasing a mammoth 218, he walked in during the powerplay when the score was 57 for 2. While wickets fell regularly at the other end, Shadab single-handedly kept United in the chase. He smashed nine sixes and was the ninth batter dismissed in the 19th over. Here, too, United lost the game.Smart Stats, which looks at every performance through the prism of match context and consider the pressure on the batter/bowler before every delivery, tell us that Shadab’s 268 runs were worth 309, while his 19 wickets were worth 17.ESPNcricinfo LtdShadab’s Match Impact of 80 is way ahead of the second-placed Jason Roy, who had a Match Impact score of 65. Roy was the leading run scorer for Quetta Gladiators with 303 runs, at an average of 50 and a strike rate of 170, despite playing only six matches.In a tournament where the conditions were not favourable for the bowlers, Liam Dawson finished the tournament with an economy rate of 6.76 from seven games and had the third-best Match Impact. After that, there’s little to separate Rashid Khan, Fakhar Zaman and Mohammad Haris.Most impactful bowlers
The list of bowlers with the highest Smart Wickets is slightly different from the list of top wicket-takers as Smart Wickets take into account the quality of batter dismissed, their score at the time of dismissal and the match situation at that point. Taking all those factors into account, Qalandars’ captain Shaheen Shah Afridi topped the Smart Wickets tally. His 20 wickets were worth 25 since 12 of the 20 wickets he took were of the top three batters, which opened up many games for his team. Interestingly, he dismissed 19 different batters in the tournament for his 20 wickets.While the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament was Shadab with 19 scalps, it’s Salman Irshad who is second on the Smart Wickets list. His 15 wickets were valued at 18.5; 9 of his 15 wickets were of the top three batters. Irshad dismissed Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, Alex Hales, Shadab and Asif Ali (twice) in the tournament. His wickets also came when the match was well poised.ESPNcricinfo LtdBoth Zaman Khan and Shahnawaz Dahani’s Smart Wickets tally was slightly lower than their actual tally since some of their wickets were of lower-order batters or when the wickets did not impact the result.Best performances in a match
Shadab’s earlier-mentioned all-round show against Qalandars was the most impactful performance of the whole tournament, while his batting heroics against Sultans find a place at fifth spot.Roy’s 116 off 57 balls against Qalandars had the second-best match impact of the tournament. Roy smashed 11 fours and eight sixes to help Gladiators chase down 205 in 19.3 overs.Mohammad Hafeez’s all-round show in the final was the fourth-best performance of PSL 2022. Coming into bat at 25 for 3, Hafeez scored 69 off 46 balls to set the platform for the finishers. With ball, he took the key wicket of Mohammad Rizwan that set up the game for Qalandars.ESPNcricinfo LtdHarry Brook’s scintillating hundred round up the top five. Coming in at 12 for 3, Brook scored 102 from just 49 deliveries helping his team to a winning total of 197 against United.

For a country infamous for its opening woes, Shafique doesn’t just feel like the right answer, but an entire exam being aced

Osman Samiuddin20-Jul-2022It’s fine. You have permission to get all kinds of giddy about Abdullah Shafique. Permission to throw all kinds of stats and facts and nonsense trivia and taunts and boasts out there, to prove that your opener is bigger than their opener.Like this first, which is a good, chunky one: Shafique is now only the second opener after Gordon Greenidge to remain unbeaten in a successful chase of a 300-plus target. Yes, Gordon Greenidge. Here is one that is totally arbitrary but also kind of history-bending: Shafique now sits behind only Sunil Gavaskar, Don Bradman and George Headley in the list of most runs made after six (arbitrary alert) Tests. Yes, Little Master, The Greatest and Atlas (because he carried his team).There’s one for purists: the 524 minutes Shafique batted in this chase represent the longest anyone has batted in a successful fourth-innings chase. Yes, half the time Hanif batted in Bridgetown, but for the win. Then this one for the trolls among you: in his six-Test career so far, Shafique already has more runs in the fourth innings than Salman Butt, Ramiz Raja and Ahmed Shehzad managed in their entire careers.Related

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Shafique's epic 160* leads Pakistan to fourth-innings glory

And this one, which is my favourite already: Shafique has faced as many fourth-innings deliveries in six Tests (922) as it took Virender Sehwag 87 Tests to face. Or, as it took Gavaskar 50 Tests to face. It is a totally meaningless stat because how many balls an opener gets to face in the fourth innings is a consequence of events mostly outside of the control of that opener. But it has massive Big Data Energy.Which, right now, is almost the point of Shafique. He has accomplished feats of such scale, feats that have otherwise taken decades to occur in Tests, feats that have taken batters entire careers to achieve, in such a short span of time that the impulse is to play it down, to dismiss it as the kind of statistical freakery multiple players exhibited early in their careers. It happens.But a competing impulse to pay it every bit – and then some – of attention is greatest in the aftermath of this 160*. Joe Root scored his first hundred in the fourth innings – let alone in a successful chase – in June this year, nearly a decade and 115 Tests into his career. Younis Khan had to jump through the nine circles of hell to become the fourth-innings giant he eventually became, also nearly a decade into his career. South Africa were lucky to amble across some granite out of which they carved Graeme Smith and here’s Abdullah Shafique, nine first-class games old, earnestly strumming covers on his acoustic guitar and saving and winning Tests on the final day of Tests like he’s Younis Khan by day and Atif Aslam by night. In some countries, he may have done enough to have already secured a knighthood.Shafique displayed a 90% control factor, over nearly nine hours across the last two days on a Galle surface difficult for fourth-innings batting•AFP/Getty ImagesIt’s also impossible to not get sucked into some hyperbole because Pakistani openers (*checks notes*).. oh that’s right, PAKISTANI OPENERS. In the last innings, on the last day, of Tests they are in their truest element. Having scored runs in all situations, this is generally their time to fail, the first to fall in what is usually a prelude to disaster or, on the good days, the early jitters that a middle order eases away.Pakistan haven’t had a genuine, living, breathing opener, one they can really believe in and hold on to, one more durable than a cryptocurrency, for so long it’s possible they’ve forgotten what one looks like. Saeed Anwar’s been gone over 20 years which means there’s young adults in Pakistan who don’t know that in cricket, a good batting order begins with a good opener.They’ve had some who have tried hard, bless them. But in those two decades, Pakistan’s five most prolific openers are Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Imran Farhat, Salman Butt and Azhar Ali, who’s not really even an opener.

“Pakistan haven’t had a genuine, living, breathing opener, one they can really believe in and hold on to, one more durable than a cryptocurrency, for so long it’s possible they’ve forgotten what one looks like”

There are some decent numbers between them. There are some good innings too. Some decent careers. But if a collective epitaph were to record their contributions, it might say they were openings into an innings for the opposition, more than openers of an innings. It might be a little cruel sure, but it wouldn’t be entirely inaccurate.In those two decades, there’s not a single Pakistan opening pair that has scored 1000 runs together while averaging at least 40 as a partnership. Nine Full Members feature in that, most of them multiple times, which tells you that the filter benchmarks are not elite. Not a single Pakistan pair. So desperate were Pakistan for an opener that all through last year – true story – they played a specialist slip catcher in that position.Against this backdrop, what does it matter that Shafique’s match-saving 96 against Australia was made on a flat pitch, sorry, great batting track? Or that this 160* was against an inexperienced Sri Lanka attack banking on the guy in his second Test? Fourth-innings runs are like Tough Mudder runs – considerable distances and with obstacles which, in the case of Australia, meant Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon.ESPNcricinfo LtdAnd in Galle, it meant Galle, which is to spin what Sabina Park and Perth used to be to fast bowling. Before this chase, no ground in the world (where at least 20 Tests have been played) was more difficult for fourth-innings batting than Galle.This surface maybe didn’t bite quite as sharply as it can do there and maybe it was slower, but it never stopped doing things. It was never not difficult. But to be able to concentrate for as long as Shafique did, to hold his nerve after being beaten by rippers, blank it out and move on, took plenty of doing. It’s not like he was hurtling into this target, so he had to do that very often, relying entirely on his defensive technique as the means of attack. There was never any real momentum to ride along on, except for a period in the partnership with Mohammad Rizwan. For the last 67 overs of his innings, Shafique hit just two boundaries and one of them was the final hit.A 90% control factor, over nearly nine hours across the last two days on a Galle surface, with just the one rush of blood – possibly because he knew rain was coming – can be sliced in any number of ways, none of which can play it down.Pakistan have been here before with openers, admittedly to far lesser degree of giddiness. Among all the ordinary data for modern Pakistani openers is also the trend which shows that a good number begun brightly. Five Tests in Abid Ali (averaging 69.5), Sami Aslam (43.5), Hafeez (45.88), Imran Farhat (37.11) all felt like the answer. Six Tests in, Shafique feels not like one right answer but an entire exam being aced.And that is why Pakistan is here and why post-Galle – apologies for the comedown – is where it gets real for Shafique. The problem isn’t that Pakistan’s openers don’t start well. It’s that they end badly.

The batters have stumbled in the ODIs and things are unlikely to get any easier

Andrew McGlashan23-Jun-2022Knowing what’s coming is one thing, playing it is something else entirely. There were some smiles from David Warner as he watched deliveries rip past his edge during the 99 he made in Colombo on Tuesday, but Australia’s collapse that decided the ODI series has brought into sharp focus what they will need to combat for the rest of the tour.Warner talked a good game afterwards, despite the series defeat, extoling the positives of Australia being challenged by Sri Lanka’s phalanx of spinners, who bowled 43 overs in the fourth match, ahead of the two Tests in Galle which start next week.”We were always expecting turning wickets so it’s fantastic preparation for us,” he said. “We actually love the fact that they’re playing on the wickets back-to-back… that’s what we want, we can’t get that practice in the nets – the nets are green.Related

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“For us it’s great practice out in the middle with these dustbowls. It’s going to be exciting for the Test matches in Galle because we know what we’re going to get there. This is extreme spin; you don’t usually see these type of wickets.”You only see them here. India is completely different…they’re actually good wickets [in India]. And they turn later on day three or four [of Tests].”Warner was part of the Australia side that lost the Tests 3-0 during the 2016 tour of Sri Lanka. He made 163 runs at 27.16 in a series where only Steven Smith (average 41.16) and Shaun Marsh (average 76.50 from one Test) passed the 30-mark as the line-up was feasted on by Rangana Herath, who claimed 28 wickets at 12.75.There is one ODI remaining, but thoughts are turning to the two Tests which begin next Wednesday. Before the tour, Marnus Labuschange said he had watched how Joe Root found success in Sri Lanka last year when he plundered 426 runs in the two-match series. Usman Khawaja, who has transformed his play against spin after struggling earlier in his career, shapes as a vital player after his prolific returns in Pakistan but it will likely be a steep learning curve for the likes of Cameron Green, Alex Carey and even Labuschagne.Mitchell Marsh, another player who was on the 2016 tour and equaled Warner’s tally of runs across the three matches, believes Australia’s recent T20 World Cup success and the Test series win in Pakistan is evidence of how the batters have improved against spin.Australia’s 1-0 Test series victory in Pakistan earlier this year was a perfect of example of overcoming conditions that required the game to be taken deep on flat wickets•AFP/Getty Images”It’s probably a little bit hard to say that now considering we’re 3-1 down in this series, but I think if you look across the board all our players, especially in the white-ball team, we’ve all gained a lot of experience over the last couple of years and have improved dramatically playing spin,” Marsh said. “It came out in the World Cup, the way we all played, and the Test team has some really good players of spin. Looking forward, the Test series is going to be a great one. We are obviously going to get bunsen burners, so it will be great to watch.”The 1-0 Test series victory in Pakistan earlier this year was a perfect of example of overcoming conditions that required the game to be taken deep on flat wickets. Australia kept using the term that it was a 15-day Test and they won it on the last one. Reverse swing became as much of a deciding factor as spin. However, Galle is likely to be different if recent history is anything to go by. The game could well move much faster.Sri Lanka’s current crop of spinners don’t match Herath and they were poor on the recent tour of Bangladesh: Lasith Embuldeniya, Ramesh Mendis, Praveen Jayawickrama and Dhananjaya de Silva had combined figures of 3 for 536 as the pace bowlers, Kasun Rajitha and Asitha Fernando, secured victory.However, if Australia want a glimpse of what could greet them, the last time Sri Lanka played in Galle is likely a better guide. In two matches against West Indies late last year, Embuldeniya, Mendis and Jayawickrama shared 38 wickets. The quick bowlers sent down just 27 overs across both matches. There is a thought, however, that under new head coach Chris Silverwood that pace may not be quite so forgotten.It will be interesting whether any of the spinners who have troubled Australia in the ODIs are called up. Of the frontliners, only Wanindu Hasaranga has played Tests and he averages 100.75 from four matches. Along with Jeffrey Vandersay and Maheesh Theekshana they are viewed as white-ball specialists. Embuldeniya, with 71 wickets in 16 Tests, has shown glimpses of performing the Herath role, but does not have the same consistency. It is not out of the question that 19-year-old Dunith Wellalage gets a swift promotion.Regardless of selection, whoever lines up for Sri Lanka, Australia know the challenge that will likely come their way. That does not mean it will be any easier. Galle may prove the litmus test of how far their playing of spin has come since 2016.

South Africa fast bowler has had a start to his Test career that few can rival

Shiva Jayaraman19-Aug-2022Kagiso Rabada went three long years without taking a five-wicket haul in Tests, from March 2018 to mid-2021. This was when he was hit by injuries and suffered indifferent form. South Africa were also struggling to find him consistent fast-bowling partners, in that awkward period coinciding with the decline of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander, the men around whom he had cut his teeth.Elsewhere, there was an embarrassment of fast-bowling riches in Test cricket, most particularly with the rise of Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah in Australia and India, and the enduring excellence of James Anderson in England. Rabada’s dip in form coincided with one of the best fast-bowling eras in Test cricket, which worked to amplify the gap between him and the top fast bowlers going around at that time.He was still the top-wicket taker for South Africa, with 67 wickets at an average of 27.20, but the global average for pace bowlers during that period was 27.13. Fourteen other fast bowlers had taken at least as many wickets as Rabada during this period, and 11 among them averaged better than Rabada.This was a time when fast-bowling spearheads were helping their teams win away from home. South Africa, by contrast, had lost all seven of the Tests they played away from home. Rabada himself had taken 20 wickets in these matches at an average of 33.65. All this, and the lack of attention that comes with grabbing a five-wicket haul, created an illusion that the South Africa pacer’s career had fizzled out after an excellent start.Since the tour of the Caribbean in June 2021, where he took his first five-for since the Gqeberha Test against Australia in March 2018, Rabada seems to have found his mojo. In eight Tests since then, he has taken 48 wickets at an average of 16.77 and a strike rate of 34.1. He has added three five-fors to his tally of nine till that return to form in 2018.