All posts by csb10.top

Match facts

Delhi Daredevils v Royal Challengers Bangalore
Dehi, May 14, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)

Head to head

Overall: Royal Challengers have an emphatic 12-6 record over Daredevils.This season: One of Royal Challengers’ two wins this season was against Daredevils at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Kedar Jadhav’s sublime 69 helped the hosts post 157, which, despite Rishabh Pant’s 36-ball 57, was 15 runs too much for Daredevils.

Form guide

Delhi Daredevils (sixth): defeated Rising Pune Supergiant by seven runs, defeated Gujarat Lions by two wickets, lost to Mumbai Indians by 146 runs
Royal Challengers Bangalore (eighth): lost to Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets, lost to Kings XI Punjab by 19 runs, lost to Mumbai Indians by five wickets

In the news

AB de Villiers left for national duty after Royal Challengers’ match against Knight Riders last Sunday, and it remains to be seen if Shane Watson, who confessed this season was his poorest at the IPL ever, returns to the XI.Daredevils included only three overseas players in the side that beat Rising Pune Supergiant, with Shahbaz Nadeem replacing Carlos Brathwaite. Considering Nadeem’s tight bowling against them – he took 1 for 21 – at Feroz Shah Kotla on Friday, chances of an unchanged XI for Daredevils are high. Australian fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus is yet to play a game this season.

The likely XIs

Delhi Daredevils: 1 Sanju Samson, 2 Karun Nair, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Corey Anderson, 7 Pat Cummins, 8 Amit Mishra, 9 Zaheer Khan (capt), 10 Shahbaz Nadeem, 11 Mohammed ShamiRoyal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Mandeep Singh, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 Shane Watson, 5 Travis Head, 6 Kedar Jadhav (wk), 7 Pawan Negi, 8 S Aravind, 9 Samuel Badree, 10 Aniket Choudhary, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal

Stats that matter

• Royal Challengers are the only team this season to score at a run rate of less than 8.00. Their average partnership of 18.50 runs per wicket is also the poorest among all teams. The second-worst batting average, 23.77, belongs to Daredevils.
• Royal Challengers and Daredevils have been the two least successful teams in the Powerplay this season, having scored at a run rate of 6.90 and 8.23 respectively at the expense of 25 and 24 wickets in that phase. Royal Challengers have also been the slowest in the slog overs – they have scored at a run rate of 8.44 and lost 33 wickets, the joint-most by any team.
• Daredevils’ inconsistency this season reflects in their being the only team to score more than 195 runs three times while being bowled out under 70 on two occasions.
• Daredevils have been particularly poor – with both bat and ball – between overs six and 15. They have lost 37 wickets, the second-most by any team, and have played out the most number of dot balls – 268 out of 694 deliveries – in the middle overs. During that period, their bowlers have taken only 24 wickets – only one more than bottom-placed Gujarat Lions.
• Only seven half-centuries have been scored by the top four batsmen in either side, at an average of less than 25 – the lowest among all teams. No other team’s top four averages less than 29.
• Royal Challengers’ batsmen have been dismissed 53 times for single-digit scores – 15 more than Daredevils. In comparison, Sunrisers Hyderabad have had the least number of such dismissals: only 19 single-digit scores this season.

Match facts

Mumbai Indians v Rising Pune Supergiant
Monday, April 24, 2017
Start time 2000 IST (1430 GMT)3:38

Agarkar: Will pick Malinga ahead of Johnson

Form guide

This season: Steven Smith and Imran Tahir played leading roles in securing Rising Pune’s seven-wicket win against Mumbai in their season opener.Overall: Rising Pune have a 2-1 win record against Mumbai including their match this season.

Form guide

• Mumbai Indians: (first) beat Delhi Daredevils by 14 runs; beat Kings XI Punjab by eight wickets; beat Gujarat Lions by six wickets

• Rising Pune Supergiant: (fifth) beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by six wickets; beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 27 runs; lost to Lions by seven wickets

In the news

An unwell Lasith Malinga missed the match against Delhi Daredevils. His replacement Mitchell Johnson stepped up well for Mumbai in his first appearance this season, bowling tightly to complement Mitchell McClenaghan’s onslaught in the Powerplay. Malinga trained with the team on the eve of the match and is likely to be available for selection. Johnson’s slot may hence be the only one open to change in an otherwise settled Mumbai line-up. The pitch looked dry on Sunday could assist the fast bowlers again on Monday. It is understood Mumbai were bothered by the pace in the track against Daredevils and spoke to the groundsman about it on Sunday.For Rising Pune, Faf du Plessis batted extensively in the nets a day before the match but it’s hard to find an overseas player he could replace easily.

Likely XIs

Mumbai Indians: 1 Jos Buttler, 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Rohit Sharma (capt), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Krunal Pandya, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Mitchell Johnson/Lasith Malinga, 10 Mitchell McClenaghan, 11 Jasprit BumrahRising Pune Supergiant: 1 Ajinkya Rahane, 2 Rahul Tripathi, 3 Steven Smith (capt), 4 MS Dhoni (wk), 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Manoj Tiwary, 7 Dan Christian, 8 Washington Sundar/Rahul Chahar, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Jaydev Unadkat/Ankit Sharma, 11 Imran Tahir

Strategy punt

How should Pune keep Mumbai’s most prolific batsman this season quiet? By bowling length deliveries to Nitish Rana outside off. So far in the tournament, he has scored 102 runs off 96 such deliveries. He has shown deftness at handling the short ball, however: smashing six sixes in a tally of 50 runs from 17 deliveries.

Stats

• The second-most successful opening pair in this IPL, Jos Buttler and Parthiv Patel, has added 263 runs at an average of 37.57 and has opened in all the side’s games so far. The continuity is in stark contrast to the previous season when Mumbai used five opening pairs that tallied 225 runs. In the current season, Mumbai and Sunrisers Hyderabad are the only two franchises to have used the same opening combination in all games so far.
• Pune would look to bring in spin early to counter Mumbai’s openers. Buttler, for instance, has a scoring rate of 10 per over against pace in the Powerplay (165 runs off 107 balls) but has faced only eight deliveries from spinners in that phase in the IPL. Parthiv has a scoring rate of 9.47 (110 runs off 76 balls) against the quicks, which drops to 6 per over against spinners (15 off 18 balls) in the Powerplay. In their opening match, Parthiv, Buttler and Rohit fell to Imran Tahir for a total of 60 runs.
• Rohit Sharma’s overall record against legspin in the IPL: 449 runs off 404 balls with 17 dismissals. That accounts for over 15% of his dismissals overall in the IPL. In terms of batsmen dismissed most number of times by legspinners, only Suresh Raina ranks ahead of Rohit with 18 dismissals.
• Steven Smith’s favoured opposition in the IPL has been Mumbai. Overall, in seven matches against them from 2012 to 2017, he has scored 272 runs at an average of 68 and a strike rate of 144.68. Of the current Mumbai attack, he has lost his wicket only to McClenaghan and Jasprit Bumrah – once each.
• Mumbai are on the verge of their best winning streak in the IPL, having currently won six consecutive games. The last time they won six straight games was in the inaugural edition in 2008.

Grant Elliott, the New Zealand allrounder who played a starring role in his country’s run to the World Cup final in 2015, is to announce his retirement from international cricket.Elliott will sign for Birmingham Bears as a Kolpak registration, joining fellow New Zealanders Jeetan Patel and Colin de Grandhomme at Edgbaston, but will play in the NatWest Blast only.While Warwickshire’s director of sport, Ashley Giles, stated that Kolpak registrations were “not a favoured option for me” when he rejoined the club, he did also say “never say never”.Giles said: “Grant has proven himself as a match-winner on the biggest stage. He top scored in the final and semi-final of the ICC Cricket World Cup in 2015 and he has a wealth of T20 experience, having played in several of the world’s leading competitions.”Securing Grant, and the earlier addition of Colin de Grandhomme, gives us the additional batting firepower that we wanted to complement a strong top order. He also gives us even more options with the ball and has good experience of English conditions.”As a teammate of Jeetan, we know that Grant has great character and he will play an important role in developing the younger members of the squad. He will be a proud Bear and we look forward to welcoming him to Edgbaston in July.”At the age of 38, Elliott’s decision is understandable. He has already retired from ODIs and has not played for New Zealand since their defeat by England in the World T20 semi-final exactly one year ago, but remains a sought-after T20 specialist.Most recently, he was playing for Lahore Qalanders in the Pakistan Super League, where his final-ball six against Islamabad United, and subsequent bat-drop, attracted global headlines.Born in Johannesburg, Elliott emigrated to New Zealand in search of new challenges in 2001, and played the first of his five Tests against England at Napier seven years later. He also featured in 16 T20Is, but it was in the 50-over format that he forged his international reputation.In all, he played 83 ODIs, starting with a central role in New Zealand’s 3-1 victory in England in 2008, but reaching its zenith on an unforgettable night at Auckland in the 2015 World Cup, when he struck the final-over six off Dale Steyn that propelled New Zealand into their first World Cup final.Though they finished the tournament as runners-up, beaten by Australia in the final at Melbourne, Elliott top-scored for his team with 83 from 82 balls, to cement his cult-hero status among New Zealand’s supporters.The boss: Grant Elliott smashed a six to win the 2015 World Cup semi-final against South Africa•Getty Images

Afghanistan’s Dawlat Zadran and Mohammad Nabi have been warned by the ICC for breaching the Code of Conduct in two separate incidents during the side’s inning and 172-run win over Ireland at the ICC Intercontinental Cup in Greater Noida last week.Dawlat fired a throw that hit Peter Chase, Ireland’s No. 11, on his leg in the first innings. The action was deemed offensive as Chase, firmly inside the crease, wasn’t trying to attempt a run. In addition to the reprimand, Dawlat also had three demerit points against his name.Nabi, meanwhile, was found guilty of breaching a code that deals with “conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game.” The incident occurred early in Ireland’s first innings when he appealed and celebrated a catch that popped off Andy Balbirne’s bat even though he had clearly grassed the opportunity.No formal hearing was needed since both players accepted the sanctions proposed by Graeme La Brooy, the match referee. Nabi was given one demerit point for the offence.Four or more demerit points within a 24-month period will be converted into suspension points. Players with two suspension points against their name stand to earn a ban from either an ICC Intercontinental Cup match, two ODIs or two T20Is, depending on whichever comes first.

Max Holden and George Bartlett earned a select place in the history of England Under-19s cricket as they extended their marathon partnership on the second day of the first four-day match against India in Nagpur.They were finally separated after a stand of 321 in 82 overs, a new record for any wicket for England which has only been beaten once in all international Under-19 cricket, in 2001 by an Indian opening pair including Gautam Gambhir who put on 391 against an England attack including Monty Panesar and Chris Tremlett, and captained by Ian Bell.Bartlett was the first to go, stumped for 179 off 249 balls including 25 fours and three sixes. That became the highest score by an England Under-19s batsman overseas, beating 170 by Nasser Hussain against Sri Lanka in Kandy in 1986-87.There are still 10 batsmen ahead of Bartlett in the all-time England list, but all of them made their runs on home soil – including his Somerset seniors Marcus Trescothick with 206 against India at Edgbaston in 1994, and James Hildreth against Bangladesh in Taunton a decade later.After Bartlett’s dismissal, Holden batted on, for almost 20 more overs and into a fifth session, until after eight hours and 47 minutes at the crease the opener was finally dismissed for 170 – leaving him joint second with Hussain on England’s overseas list.Still the agony wasn’t over for India as Delray Rawlins, the Sussex allrounder who had been England’s batting star of the one-day series ended unbeaten on 70 from 94 balls before Holden declared on 501 for 5 – England’s second highest total against India in Under-19 cricket, and the third highest by anyone in India.

Yuvraj Singh, who spent three years out of India’s ODI side, marked his return with his career-best score – 150 off 127 balls – in his 295th ODI, against England in Cuttack. Once he reached his century – his first since the 2011 World Cup in India, where he was Man of the Tournament – Yuvraj thumped his chest and grew emotional. The 35-year-old pressed on to make 150, before edging behind in the 43rd over. His knock was instrumental in launching India from 25 for 3 to 381 for 6, and Yuvraj rated it as probably one of his best.”Probably, one of my best – my highest score in ODIs,” Yuvraj told Star Sports. “The last time I got a hundred was the 2011 World Cup; I am pretty happy that I played a good innings.”I just tried to get a partnership. They [England] bowled really well upfront and we just wanted to rotate the strike and get into the rhythm, and take our time. There was a lot of time. I just wanted to play down the ground and not take many risks.”Yuvraj saw off Chris Woakes’ threatening opening burst (5-3-14-3) and rebuilt the innings with MS Dhoni before unfurling a gallery of shots, including the lofted drive over long-off and the pick-up flick over midwicket. Yuvraj credited his touch to a prolific run in the Ranji Trophy: he scored 672 runs in eight innings at 84, including a career-best 260 for Punjab against Baroda at Feroz Shah Kotla in October last year.”I think [in] the whole domestic season I had been batting well,” Yuvraj said. “I have been hitting the ball well. I have worked hard on my fitness and my batting. Even in the last game I was hitting the ball well. I knew if it’s my day… I just told Sanjay Bangar the way I’m hitting the ball I think I am going to score big. Whatever the stage is, we try to be positive, that’s the reason why me and Mahi were able to get the rhythm going.”Yuvraj Singh wound the clock back with a stylish century•Associated Press

Yuvraj lauded his former captain Dhoni with whom he added 256 in 38.2 overs for the fourth wicket. Ahead of the series, Yuvraj had said he was looking forward to “batting fearlessly” with a freed-up Dhoni, and on Thursday he reiterated that Dhoni was still a key cog in the middle order, despite relinquishing the limited-overs captaincy.”He [Dhoni] played a great innings,” Yuvraj said. “He is the most experienced middle-order batsman in the team. He is also a sensational captain. He was more free today, the way he was batting. I have always said when Mahi is not captaining he is more free and you saw the result today.”Later, at the post-match press conference, Yuvraj elaborated on how the pair had gone about building the partnership: “We two were the most experienced players in the team. He realised that I was getting boundaries. He was just there rotating the strike and our first target was to make a 50-run partnership. After that we wanted to take our partnership further to 100 runs.”Yuvraj also admitted there was a time after his battle with cancer where he thought “whether he should continue or not”.”I came back after recovering from cancer, the first two-three years were very hard,” he said. “I had to work hard on my fitness and I was in and out of the team. I was not able to get a permanent spot. There was a time when I was wondering whether to continue or not to continue. Never giving up is my theory. I knew time will change.”I don’t think about who’s reacting to what nor do I read newspapers. I don’t watch TV too. I try to focus on my game and prove a point to myself that I’m still good enough for international cricket.”

USA have picked three uncapped players – Ali Khan, ambidextrous spinner Prashanth Nair and Abdullah Syed – in their 14-man squad for ICC WCL Division Four in Los Angeles from October 29. The same squad will also take on Canada in the three-match Auty Cup series from October 13 in Los Angeles.Khan, a fast bowler contracted to Guyana Amazon Warriors in the Caribbean Premier League, emerged onto the USA national scene via the open trial process conducted by ICC Americas last September in Indianapolis. The Dayton, Ohio resident was also included in a 15-man USA and Canada combined ICC Americas squad that participated in the WICB Nagico Super50 in January.

USA squad

Danial Ahmed, Timroy Allen, Alex Amsterdam, Fahad Babar, Akeem Dodson (wk), Elmore Hutchinson, Ali Khan, Prashanth Nair, Timil Patel, Srini Santhanam, Jessy Singh, Nicholas Standford, Abdullah Syed, Steven Taylor

Two other players included in USA’s squad for the first time are dual-spinner Nair and hard-hitting batsman Syed, both from New York. Nair was injured on the first day of USA’s five-day national squad camp in Indianapolis earlier this month, dislocating his left thumb during fielding drills and was unable to bowl. However, he impressed the selectors during the team’s seven-day camp in July and August in Florida, taking wickets with both arms against a CPL Invitational XI.Syed was not in USA’s preliminary 30-man squad announced in July, but earned an invitation to the 22-member squad camp in Indianapolis earlier this month after a pair of blistering cameos playing for a New York XI against a touring Marylebone Cricket Club side. He cemented his place in the final squad by striking 71 off 89 balls in an intrasquad trial match, the highest score by any USA player during the camp.”I have been pleased to see the application of the USA players to date. Indianapolis was a great camp and it was good to see the squad work hard together to drive performance standards and expectations,” USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake said at the announcement of the squad. “I’m excited to be working with these players over the next month as we build towards our goal of winning on home soil. We hope the USA will get behind the players and support their efforts.”Alex Amsterdam, Nicholas Standford and Jasdeep Singh are also set to make their debut 50-over appearances for USA during the Auty Cup and Division Four. They were all part of USA’s World T20 Qualifier squad in Ireland last summer. Amsterdam made 73 off 87 balls on List A debut in January for ICC Americas against Barbados in the Nagico Super50.The two other inclusions are Timroy Allen and Akeem Dodson. Allen, 29, has not played for USA since a falling out with then coach Robin Singh while serving as vice-captain for USA at the 2013 World T20 Qualifier in the UAE. However, he made a comeback last year at the Indianapolis Combine and earned a contract with Jamaica Tallawahs, making six appearances this summer for the 2016 CPL champions. Dodson was USA’s leading scorer at the 2015 World T20 Qualifier in Ireland and Scotland.Former captain Muhammad Ghous (right) has been excluded from USA’s 14-member squad•ICC/Sportsfile

Among the six returning players from USA’s WCL Division Three squad in 2014 is Fahad Babar, who was the team’s leading scorer at that tournament with 247 runs at 49.40. Babar scored 59 off 35 balls against a CPL Invitational XI in Florida and scored an unbeaten century in an intrasquad trial match a few days later. Also included is Steven Taylor, who played six games for Barbados Tridents in this year’s CPL.The most notable exclusion was Muhammad Ghous, who had been struggling to retain his spot after captaining USA at the World T20 Qualifier last summer in Ireland. Ghous took 3 for 20 in 10 captaining a New York XI against the MCC tourists early in September, then claimed figures of 3 for 22 for USA against the MCC in Indianapolis, but didn’t do enough after poor performances in Ireland and at the 2014 Division Three in Malaysia.”It is encouraging that there is strong competition for spots,” USA selection chairman Ricardo Powell said. “Some very good players have missed selection on this occasion but those players and even players who may have missed selection in the initial squad of 30 will have an important role to play in the future of USA cricket. The selection panel is confident we have a strong team, a good mix of experience and some new players who will make their USA debut. We wish the group and coach every success in our bid to win the World Cricket League Division Four.”Perhaps the most surprising omission from the final 14-man squad is Ravi Timbawala, who was the second-highest scorer at the team’s seven-day camp in Florida behind only Babar. Timbawala, 27, was also the only specialist batsman in the 22-man squad who plays his home club matches at Woodley Park, the suburban Los Angeles venue hosting both the Auty Cup and Division Four.Seven Woodley Park local league players were in USA’s initial 30-man squad, but only two – Timil Patel and Elmore Hutchinson – made the final 14. Left-arm seamer Hutchinson and legspinner Patel currently sit atop the wicket-takers list in Division One of the 2016 Southern California Cricket Association 45-over league.USA will be competing in Division Four with Bermuda, Denmark, Italy, Jersey and Oman. The top two teams in the single round-robin tournament will be promoted to WCL Division Three, due to be held in the first half of 2017. No captain was named to replace Ghous for USA, with a decision to be taken at a later date.

Sri Lanka’s regeneration has begun quicker than he had expected, coach Graham Ford said, in light of several encouraging individual performances. Ford had taken up the role at a particularly low ebb for a rebuilding Sri Lanka team, and has since overseen a poor World T20 campaign, and a woeful tour of England.However, having now defeated the top-ranked Test team at home, Sri Lanka believe they have unearthed talented prospects. With Kusal Mendis and left-arm wristspinner Lakshan Sandakan having impressed earlier in the tour, middle-order batsman Dhananjaya de Silva has also made a mark in Test cricket, with a stylish maiden hundred on Saturday. All three players are 25 years old or younger.”In one of the first press conferences that I had when I took over again, I said that you just can’t put a time frame on how long the rebuilding process will take,” Ford said. “But the way some of the young guys are starting to put in high-quality performances – I wasn’t expecting that to happen as quickly as it has, against such high quality opposition.”One of the beauties of selecting young guys is that even if they fail, you’ll get some return. If you make the investment you will get something back down the line. Older guys, who are perhaps past their best – when they fail, you’re not going to get much back. I think that’s been a view of the selection panel as well. It’s been exciting to see and I’m a little bit surprised to see them doing as well as quick they have. But we’ve still got a long, long way to go. They will still disappoint us from time to time. But with the attitude that they’ve got and the work ethic, we’ve seen some exciting signs for the future.”Ford was also impressed with the responsibility assumed by Dinesh Chandimal in the first innings of the current Test. He had arrived with the score on 24 for 4, and quickly saw it slip to 26 for 5, before forging a 211-run stand with de Silva. Chandimal’s innings was notable for its length. Often an attacking batsman, he faced 356 balls for his 132, stitching important stands with Dilruwan Perera and Rangana Herath after de Silva had been dismissed.”Chandi’s probably enjoyed the other fine innings that he’s played, but this was probably the most valuable innings he’s played,” Ford said. “I know he played a blinder against India sometime back, but this one for temperament and fight in difficult conditions goes down as his best hundred.”Chandi’s certainly showed a lot of maturity and he helped Dhananjaya through that big innings of his. Batting in those circumstances is not fun at all. I think Chandi took on the hard work, which shows great maturity. It’s something that the team are talking a lot about – about doing the hard work for the rest of the team, doing the hard work for their mates. Chandi showed a real example of that, digging in and fighting really hard.”Sri Lanka have experimented with their batting order over the past three months, first batting Chandimal at No. 4, before moving Mendis there. Kusal Perera has also had a promotion to No. 3, and Ford said the changes may not end there. De Silva has been talked about as an opener, since he has fulfilled that role for his first-class club successfully.”I think the batting order is still a work in progress. Some of these young guys that are batting in the lower order are top-order players. They may in time be moved up the order. That’s something that we’ll have to think long and hard about.”

Of all the revealing moments in Joe Root’s innings, it was perhaps the irritated swish of the bat upon his dismissal that was most revealing.We have become accustomed to Root displaying frustration in such circumstances. He came into this game having converted just one of his previous eight scores of 50 into a century at Test level, after all, and having suffered what he described as “two poor dismissals” at Lord’s.But this time he had scored 254. He had batted for more than 10 hours. He had registered the 15th highest score in England’s Test history and the third highest by an England No. 3. He had shown he had learned all the lessons from Lord’s – his first Test in his new role of No. 3 – and batted his side to a dominant position. You would think he might feel quite pleased with himself.But instead he was frustrated. Frustrated at the manner of his dismissal and frustrated to tear himself away from the fun.Such an insatiable desire for runs bodes well for Root and England. It suggests that, after a phase of his career where he has been content to produce attractive cameos and fluent half-centuries, he is developing the hardness to complement his talent. The discipline to maximise it and make it count. The hunger that has been a characteristic of the most successful – not necessarily the most talented – batsmen in Test history.Root knows that scores of 70 rarely win Tests. They might on occasions but, generally, on surfaces such as this, they are insufficient.He knows, too, that this team need more from him. They are a bit too flaky, a bit too fragile for him flirt and flicker. He is required to provide substantial contributions.So, after the setback at Lord’s, he returned to the nets and worked on minimising risk. He reminded himself to play straighter, leave more outside off stump and make a point of rolling his wrists on any pulls or slog-sweeps to ensure the ball was played into the ground. If that meant some strokes brought singles rather than boundaries, that was fine.”I wanted to nullify those Lord’s dismissals from my game,” Root said. “That’s why I was so revved up when I reached 200. It seemed like reward for all the hard work. It was pleasing to make one count.”Some context is required for this innings. It has come on another disappointingly slow pitch, for sure. But it has also come against a fine attack with Mohammad Amir bowling far better than his figures suggest and a legspinner who is both No. 1 in the Test bowling rankings and who claimed 10-wickets against England in the previous Test on a pitch that offered him little better. Let’s not always find reasons to diminish excellence. Brian Lara’s two highest scores were made on flat tracks; Matthew Hayden’s 380 against a modest attack. This was a fine innings from a special young player. Don’t be fooled by how easy he made it look.Joe Root takes in the standing ovation for his innings•Getty Images

It was arguably England’s best innings from a No. 3 batsman for almost six years. Perhaps since Jonathan Trott’s 168 not out against Australia in Melbourne in late 2010 or maybe his 184 in the famously overshadowed Test against an excellent Pakistan attack at Lord’s earlier the same year. By comparison, Nick Compton contributed 296 runs in the seven Tests (13 innings) he played in his second spell in the side as England’s No. 3.The key difference between this England innings and the two at Lord’s was not the bowling or the pitch. Neither are as different as the scorecards might suggest. The key difference was the English batting.While at Lord’s England were impatient and ill-disciplined, here they – or at least Root and Alastair Cook – played straighter and left better outside off stump. That drew the sting out of the Pakistan bowlers and exploited the dangers of playing a four-man attack in back-to-back Tests. Root, in particular, did his demanding batting on the first day and reaped the rewards on the second.He has so many strokes – Grant Flower, the Pakistan batting coach, described him as “brilliant” after play – that he will rarely be bogged down. And, if there were times he seemed to settle for accumulation rather than savagery, that should probably be interpreted as maturity. Sachin and Bradman didn’t always thrash boundaries; they appreciated the value of low risk, long-term batting. Just about all the greats have.”He made it look simple, left a lot and played the patience game,” Flower said. “And he has great shots to go with that.”Odd though it sounds, Root’s problem in recent months may have been that his form was almost too good. With so much time and so many strokes, his issues have come more with choosing his options rather than being dismissed by deliveries too good for him. In this innings at least – and as he pointed out, he is only three innings into his new role so it is too early to make conclusions – he restricted himself to safer strokes and high-percentage options. James Vince could learn much from watching Root’s development.The identities of those involved the last time two of England’s top three made centuries in a Test innings is revealing. They were Nick Compton and Trott (and New Zealand were the opposition in early 2013); two men who focused on crease occupation first and fluency second. For the first time in some months, England’s top-order took a similar approach in this innings with Root showing that he was quickly adapting to the differing demands of batting at No. 3.Trott always had some reservations about batting at No. 3. He felt that No. 4 was his natural position – he continues to bat there for Warwickshire – and felt that coming in a place higher up the order made far more difference that is generally appreciated. It forced him, he believed, to leave more balls and bat with a more defensive mindset. Having done it for a while, he was no longer able to rediscover the fluency.Maybe it was the same with Root here? Having made an effort to tighten up on day one – to leave more balls and play straighter – he struggled to find another gear when the time came to accelerate. He wasn’t bogged down, exactly, but he could not match the fluency of Chris Woakes in the morning or Jonny Bairstow in the afternoon.But if the new Root is a slightly less flamboyant spectacle, it will be a price worth paying for England. For too long – since Trott’s decline and barring Gary Ballance’s bright start – England have been reliant upon their long middle-order to help them to reasonable totals.Root’s promotion promises to stop the rot before it starts and provide the middle order with the protection it requires to flourish. And this innings, coming after one Test where he struggled to adapt to the different demands of the No. 3 position, suggests he is learning fast. It’s still premature to call him a great batsman, but he may be the closest thing to an English-born one since Graham Gooch and David Gower. And, by the end of his career, we may well have to go much further back than that to find his equal.

ScorecardBen Slater struck his first limited-overs hundred [file picture]•Getty Images

Ryan Pringle’s brilliant maiden century for Durham was in vain as Ben Slater’s first limited-overs hundred powered Derbyshire to a seven wicket Royal London One-Day Cup victory at Derby.Pringle’s superb 125 from 101 balls was the highest score by a Durham No. 8 in List A matches and saved his side from humiliation after they had collapsed to 75 for 7.Usman Arshad helped Pringle add 62, a Durham eighth wicket record in List A cricket, as the visitors recovered to 216 with Shiv Thakor and Andy Carter both taking three wickets for the Falcons. “Still 100 runs short,” Pringle later estimated.But Pringle’s heroics were countered by Slater who marked his first 50 overs game for Derbyshire with119 from 137 balls as the Falcons eased home with 8.2 overs to spare.Durham had started strongly with Mark Stoneman taking four fours from Carter’s second over but the innings disintegrated in the face of some disciplined bowling on a two-paced pitch.Phil Mustard was bowled playing no shot at Ben Cotton whose opening seven over spell cost only 10 runs and exerted pressure which forced some poor shot selection.Carter had the last word when Stoneman sliced to backward point and Graham Clark miscued a pull to midwicket as Durham limped to 38 for 3 from the opening powerplay.The slide continued when Scott Borthwick was superbly caught by Neil Broom at second slip as he tried to run Thakor to third man and Paul Collingwood played across the line in the next over.Calum MacLeod chopped Thakor into his stumps and Keaton Jennings reverse swept Matt Critchley to gully to leave Durham in disarray after 25 overs but Pringle and Arshad began a fightback that started slowly and then moved into overdrive as Pringle launched a thrilling assault.After Pringle completed his maiden List A 50 from 59 balls, Arshad was lbw to Thakor but Pringle was now playing some inspired cricket and tore into the bowling with a salvo of powerful strokes.Cotton was driven for four and lifted over long on for six before Carter was dispatched over the long off boundary in the next over.Pringle drove Critchley down the ground for another four and two balls later, lifted the leg-spinner high over long on to reach an outstanding hundred which had transformed the contest.He pulled Alex Hughes for his fourth six before he drove over a full length ball from Carter but his stand of 62 from 37 balls with Chris Rushworth had set a Durham 10th wicket record against Derbyshire and given his team a chance.But any momentum Pringle had established was quickly removed as Godleman and Slater took 62 from 10 overs and the opening pair continued to cruise with Godleman hoisting Borthwick over long on for six.Although Godleman edged a drive at Arshad who also pulled off a stunning catch at mid on to remove Hamish Rutherford, Slater accelerated towards his century with two fours and a six from a Borthwick over before holing out two balls short of Derbyshire’s second win in the North Group.Slater said: “Probably over the last year or so I’ve not kicked on when I should have done so it’s been a long time since I last got a hundred for Derbyshire in the first team so it’s good to get over the line again, a weight off my shoulders really.”