Whether it is 38 for 4 or 150 for 2, VVS Laxman doesn’t let the match situation affect his batting

Sriram Veera at the Kensington Oval28-Jun-2011It’s mesmerising to watch VVS Laxman bat in a crisis. He doesn’t counterattack. He doesn’t go into a shell. He bats normally. As if one can bat normally in crisis. Laxman does. He really does. That’s his greatness. Laxman doesn’t have the best leave in the business. He doesn’t have the best defence in town. He doesn’t have the best counter-attacking instinct in the game. Yet, he is man for a crisis. It’s his mind that sets him apart.A glimpse at other great batsmen in crisis makes that contrast stark. You can feel the entire gravity of the situation when Steve Waugh and Rahul Dravid bat; they drag you with them into their fight.You can sense the effort Tendulkar puts in to show that there is no pressure out there and that he is in control. The signature self-nods increase, he tries to blank out the emotions from his face and you can feel him trying to be in total control. With Brian Lara you can see the imperious mind trying to dominate the situation. Dravid defends, Tendulkar tries to find a balance and Lara imposes himself. Laxman just bats.Tuesday was no different. Some of his younger partners looked out of depth, a senior partner got out to a peach and Laxman just batted. It wasn’t, as you would expect, without its little struggles. When Laxman is batting, his constant inner-struggle as a batsman is about leaning forward. He doesn’t move his front foot much; with his eye-hand coordination and wristy skills, he doesn’t have to. He just tries to lean his upper body forward. Occasionally, as in the first innings of the first Test, it doesn’t work.You can see the effort to lean forward in his stance with the shrug of that front shoulder, you can see it in his stretches between deliveries and you can see it in his occasional struggles. Fidel Edwards slung a few full deliveries. Laxman couldn’t quite lean forward but adjusted his wrists to cover the line. A couple ran off the inside edge, a few rolled away to the off. Edwards stood down the track and stared down. Ravi Rampaul had his hands on his head at mid-off. It’s the closest Laxman came today to offer any sort of hope to West Indies.With Laxman, in these moments of discomfort, there were, as ever, no visible self-admonishments, no deliberate walks to square-leg, no return-stares at the bowlers and no verbals. Nothing. He just batted. The score could have been 150 for 2 for all you know. He stayed in his cocoon with his small routines. He constantly re-marked his guard with the bat, tugged his left hip with his left hand, touched his thigh pad, adjusted the peak of his helmet and made every effort to lean forward while in his stance. Every now and then, he kept stretching. Constantly, he went down the track to tap the pitch with his bat. Tap. Tap. Tap. Often, while at the non-striker’s end, he stood in front of stumps and got into his batting stance and leaned forward. And then on to the next ball. Waft. Flick. Punch. Leave. Tap, tap, tap.West Indies nearly gave up. The short balls came up more often and he dismissed nearly every one of them with his nonchalant pull. In many ways, it’s a shot that reflects his calm mind. The wristy flicks showcase his artistry – there was one off Devendra Bishoo when he flicked from outside off, and against the turn, through midwicket. The on-the-up punch through off reflects his skill but it’s the pull that tells us about his unruffled mind. He doesn’t pull with a smashing authority like a Viv Richards or a Ricky Ponting. He is not trying to impose himself out there like them. ‘Don’t you dare bang it in short to me’ is not his style. He just nonchalantly swivels back and wafts it from his presence. You want to bowl short to me? Really? Are you sure? Okay, here goes. Waft. Four. Tap, tap, tap.As the day went by all his signature shots made an appearance. The flicked on-drive through mid-on off Rampaul, the casual glide off the hips off Darren Sammy, the delicate steer past gully against Edwards and of course those flicks against the turn to Bishoo. In the end, he fell, failing to keep a cut down, but he had lifted India out of shambles. Laxman doesn’t snarl. He doesn’t muscle. He doesn’t impose. He doesn’t hustle. Laxman just bats.

Dustin Silgardo picks his favourite IPL moments of 2011

Dustin Silgardo30-May-2011The Malinga warning shot
In the first game of the IPL, the bright orange shoes that some of the players wore caught the eye. From then on batsmen’s shoes played the role of targets for Lasith Malinga’s scorching yorkers. He set the marker down with his second ball of the tournament, fired in at the base of David Warner’s stumps and sending the bails on a long-haul flight. Such was the threat Malinga posed that Virender Sehwag, for whom maidens are an alien concept, played one out in Malinga’s next over. By the end of the tournament, Malinga had taken 28 wickets and the purple cap had been remodelled into a purple hat.The destruction of gravity
The front end of the tournament was played in the haze of a World Cup hangover, and nothing seemed worse affected by the visible tiredness in some of the players than the standard of fielding. Catches went to ground with a Kamran Akmal-esque regularity in the first week. Then, at the Wankhede Satdium, Kieron Pollard pulled off one of those juggling acts on the boundary that have become to the IPL what the rabona is to football. Pollard sprang up to clutch a Ravindra Jadeja shot that seemed destined for a six, then realising he was going to land outside the field threw the ball back in and got up quickly enough to restrict the batsmen to a single. That match had a century from Sachin Tendulkar, Davy Jacobs standing up to Malinga and a remarkable chase from Kochi Tuskers Kerala, but it was the leap from Pollard that exemplified the flair element the IPL boasts off.The bold prediction
It wasn’t quite the equivalent of Shane Warne tweeting the India-England World Cup match would end in a tie, but for Mahela Jayawardene to say his Kochi team could defend a score of 130-140 in an IPL match was certainly perceptive, considering the tournament is moulded to serve up high-scoring thrillers. Jayawardene calmly gave notice of what his side were targeting after Kolkata Knight Riders had put them in. They never seemed in a hurry on their way to 132, and sure enough they defended it by six runs.Atlas’ shrug
Virender Sehwag may not have been entrusted with holding up the sky, but he certainly had the entire weight of his Delhi Daredevils team rested squarely on his shoulders. The early part of the tournament hadn’t gone well for him and he found his troubles compounded by a minefield of a pitch in Kochi. As Sehwag stood at the non-striker’s end he watched a ball from Sreesanth shoot along the ground and bowl his opening partner David Warner. Sehwag turned to the umpire and held his arms up in protest. Rather than give in to frustration though, he shrugged off the situation and composed himself to build a masterful 80 – an innings that despite Chris Gayle’s later belligerence stands out as the classiest of the tournament. Justification of that statement is in the reading of the scorecard, which will tell you no other batsman in the game got past 31.The tuk-tuk train
Chris Gayle came into the IPL with a point to prove. He had gone unsold in the original auction and was then left out of the West Indies squad for the first two one-dayers against Pakistan, before Dirk Nannes’ injury opened up a spot at Royal Challengers Bangalore. No wonder then than his first few innings carried with them an undertone of vengeance, mercilessly unleashed on whoever his opponents were. By the time Bangalore played Kings XI Punjab at home, though, he was just enjoying it. After smacking 107 off 49 balls, Gayle celebrated each of his three wickets by flapping his arms around, punching the air and chugging around like a locomotive. The “tuk-tuk train” celebration, he called it. It didn’t run out of steam till the final.Dada returns
The silence when Sourav Ganguly’s named was called at the auction was treated as a snub not just to the man but to the nation’s ethos. How could the man who had lent teeth to the lambs of Indian cricket, the man who had left Steve Waugh waiting at the toss, the man who had whirled his shirt around his head on the balcony at Lord’s be left out of a tournament that claimed to be the Premier League. When “Dada” finally played his first game for Pune Warriors, after joining them as a replacement for Ashish Nehra, one fan was so overcome with emotion he ran on to the field in Hyderabad and fell at Ganguly’s feet in reverence.Warne’s last hurrahKnowing it was his to be his last tournament as a professional cricketer, Shane Warne attempted to encapsulate his entire career into the six weeks. Moments of brilliance were marred by a controversy regarding the Jaipur pitch that eventually saw him fined $50,000 for a spat with Rajasthan Cricket Association secretary Sanjay Dixit. In his farewell match, against Mumbai Indians, it looked until his last over that Warne’s exit would be anticlimactic. Then, in the 20th over of Mumbai’s innings, Warne reminded everyone of why most rate him as the best legspinner of all time. He got Rohit Sharma to top-edge a slog-sweep, only to see the chance put down; then he had James Franklin driving uppishly at a googly. With the fourth ball, he drew Rohit out, beat him with flight and turn, and grabbed his last wicket in cricket.The timely washout
Despite having added two more teams, leading to a longer tournament, the IPL managed to go to within a week of its close without a completely meaningless match being played. That record was set to be spoiled in Delhi, where the last-placed hosts were to take on the ninth-placed Pune Warriors in a dead rubber. As if the gods themselves were determined to maintain the IPL’s reputation for constant competitiveness, the heavens opened and washed out the inconsequential game with just ten overs bowled.R Ashwin delivered Royal Challengers Bangalore the knock out blow in the final, snagging Chris Gayle for a duck•AFPThe Javed Miandad moment
Until its last week, the IPL had been fairly kind to supporters’ hearts, with nerve-wracking finishes in significantly rarer supply than previous seasons. The last match of the IPL seemed set for a facile end as well, with Mumbai needing an improbable 44 runs off 18 balls to deny Kolkata a place in the top two. Even though they knocked off 23 of those in the 18th and 19th overs, with 21 needed off the last over Kolkata fans were still looking calm. Then, James Franklin got away four boundaries off L Balaji, through a combination of skill and luck, and it came down to four needed off one ball. Balaji, who had a solid tournament till then served up a Chetan Sharma-esque full toss on middle stump, and Rayudu sent it into the stands at midwicket.The sickening blow
The term violent is used loosely in the IPL, to describe particularly quick knocks or shots that travel a distance. But what happened to R Ashwin in the first Qualifier really was brutal in the true sense of the word. In the 18th over, Saurabh Tiwary stepped down the wicket to him and hit one back with such ferocity Ashwin didn’t have time to either set himself for a return catch or get out of the way. He was hit on the head so hard the ball ricocheted all the way to long-off. Ashwin looked dazed, but luckily wasn’t badly hurt.Pollard gets Pollarded
In the group stage, Kieron Pollard had nearly taken the catch of the tournament against Kochi. In the Eliminator, with Mumbai already on the brink of defeat, he had to watch as Abhimanyu Mithun bettered his effort by actually holding on to one that seemed destined for six. Mithun set himself at long-off, even as the Mumbai players made way for the ball to land in their dug-out. Realising that if he jumped, he would lose balance and fall backwards over the rope, Mithun leaned back and contorted his body in a way that he held on to the ball and managed to stay just inside the boundary. Pollard could only shake his head.The final blow
With 205 on the board in the final, Chennai could already smell a second IPL success. One thing, though, was keeping premature celebrations in check. Chris Gayle, with 608 runs in the IPL at an average over 70 and strike-rate of almost 200, was opening for the opposition. R Ashwin, so often given the new ball by MS Dhoni was charged with getting rid of Gayle early. He spun two sharply past Gayle, and with the fourth ball of the over had Gayle edging one that skidded on. Chennai knew that was the killer blow, and Suresh Raina came charging from midwicket to rugby tackle Ashwin in celebration.

During his 14-year reign as the South African keeper, Boucher has had at least six frontline challengers. Only two remain standing

Firdose Moonda11-Jul-2011During his 14 years in possession of the South Africa wicketkeeper’s gloves Mark Boucher has established a personal empire over the berth. No other player has seriously threatened to displace him from the national side; most who tried fell by the wayside, their growth stunted.Some went away, like Nic Pothas and Kruger van Wyk. Others, like Wendell Bossenger and Ahmed Omar, were let down by the system. A few, like Thami Tsolekile and Morne van Wyk, have stayed and are still plugging away, hoping for a chance to challenge the champion again. The reality is that not one of them has stood out as a likely successor.Not that Boucher himself felt that way. “It was like being in a bubble that you don’t want to burst,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “I never took anything for granted, and I knew that to keep my place I had to perform all the time. I never felt that my spot in the side was cemented.”It’s that belief in the impermanence of his spot that pushed Boucher to stay above the competition. “I was criticised big time when I started. People thought Nic Pothas should have taken over. I had a good season with the bat then, but I knew my keeping wasn’t up to scratch.”In 1997, Pothas was Boucher’s only direct competition, and he had the support of many pundits. For five years after that, Pothas stayed in South Africa, but as Boucher got bigger and better and Pothas’ opportunities smaller, he packed up. He joined Hampshire in 2002 and qualified for England five years later. By then he was 34, competing with the likes of Matt Prior, Chris Read and Geraint Jones, and his international future had all but disappeared. His county career is coming to its end, but with distinction. He has scored over 800 runs in every one of the eight seasons he has spent at Hampshire, and is currently being rewarded with a benefit year.As Pothas was on the brink of sailing off, Kruger van Wyk was making his debut. Only a little over five feet, Kruger was the embodiment of dynamite in a small package. He came from the assembly line of adept sportsmen at the Afrikaans Hoer Seunskool (Affies) and was in the same team as AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis and Jacques Rudolph. “We really created something special during an era at Affies where we were very keen to dominate cricket at schoolboy level, and we had some great players,” he said.Kruger van Wyk was the spirit of Northerns Cricket for seven years, known for his athleticism, effervescence and enthusiasm. “It was my job to be energetic, to be very neat, to be able to make a difference and try and win games with the gloves and the bat when the opportunity presented itself.” He was a stylish batsman, a hard worker, and a natural with the gloves. He was picked for South Africa A on several occasions but was never able to make the leap up to the national side. “I knew Boucher was doing very well, and I knew that it would be very hard to get a chance while he was there. It might just be a case of being in the right place at wrong time.”In July 2006, Kruger followed his coach Dave Nosworthy and ex team-mate Johann Myburgh to New Zealand. “I saw a great opportunity for me to be challenged in a new environment, and it was a chance I just couldn’t say no to. I wanted to test my skills in different conditions.” Kruger admits that while he was playing in South Africa’s franchise system, “Boucher was the man for the job” at national level. He couldn’t see a way in so he went out to avoid having the door banged shut on him.Bossenger was not so fortunate. He played his cricket in Kimberley, for Griqualand West, a small team in small place, which made it difficult to get noticed. Despite averaging in the high 30s for most of his first-class career, he was frozen out of professional cricket when the franchise system formed in 2004-05. Griquas merged with Free State to form the Eagles, and Bossenger was not contracted.”It was hard at the time, but you can’t be bitter about it,” he said. “I was 27 then and I had to make a decision – am I going to chase this and look for another franchise, or go in another direction?” He chose not to go on the prowl for a place elsewhere. Griquas were then reduced to an amateur side and Bossenger operated as a player-coach. “I felt I had a lot to give and so I tried to mentor people.” He currently works as coach of the Griquas side and the CSA colts, and is content with the way things panned out.Bossenger said he was told by friends that perhaps the reason for his exclusion when the Eagles were formed had something to do with race, and that he lost out on a contract because the franchises felt compelled to sign up a certain number of players of colour. He said that if that was the case, he did not mind. “At that stage transformation was the most important thing in South African cricket, much more important than me getting a franchise contract.”Bossenger’s reference to race carries no animosity. Instead it has the understanding of the very real problems South Africa faces, not just in sport. There is a definite and much-needed push, to give opportunities to people from previously disadvantaged backgrounds, but the application sometimes goes awry, as Omar claims happened in his case.

“In the old days the keeper was the guy who had to shout and scream a bit behind the stumps. But now he is one of the leaders of the team. He has to have a good cricket brain and be a lot more involved in the game, much like a catcher in baseball”Morne van Wyk on the changing role of the wicketkeeper

Omar toured with Boucher at the Under-19 level, and was touted as the next best thing to hit Gauteng cricket. He was contracted by the team and played under coach Ray Jennings but was dropped after one first-class game, in which he took three catches. He was brought back into the side in 2003-4, and played sporadically for the next two years, despite being a contracted player.”I was never given any answers for what was happening,” he said. “I wrote letters to the board and the selection panel but every time I questioned what was happening I was told I had an attitude problem. I felt the administration was dishonest at the time and they set me up to fail.”Omar walked away from cricket completely to concentrate on his security business. His tales reek of sourness and were it not for the well-documented racial problems at Gauteng cricket, they would have just come across as complaints from a bitter man.Gauteng can redeem themselves with Tsolekile, who they rescued from an office job in the Cape to help revive his career. Tsolekile, who is also a national hockey player, came closest to replacing Boucher when he toured India in 2005, when Boucher was dropped from the side. But after three Tests, Tsolekile was deemed not good enough. “I thought I was fully ready at the time, but in hindsight I wasn’t. Boucher was the better all-round cricketer,” he said.Tsolekile wanted to work on his batting, but in a formidable Western Province (WP) line-up he was never able to bat higher than seven or eight. “We had guys like Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince in the side, so there was no opportunity to bat higher,” he said. He became known as an exciting lower-order player, not a hardworking grinder like Boucher. In 2007 he lost his contract with the Cobras because of “personality problems” with the then-coach, Shukri Conrad. He took up a job in the WP Cricket Association administration department but “at 27, I didn’t want to sit in an office”.Gauteng approached him two seasons ago to play for their franchise, the Lions, and he has since moved to Johannesburg, where he has captained the franchise, the South African A side, and excelled with the bat. “If I didn’t still have ambition to play for South Africa, I wouldn’t be playing for the Lions,” he said.Like Tsolekile, Morne van Wyk is also still playing, and he still believes he has a few years to give to the national team. Having been a part of the World Cup squad, Morne is positive about his chances of playing more regularly for South Africa because of his experience as a top-order batsman. “If you have a keeper who can bat higher up the order, you have the option of playing an extra allrounder or bowler,” he said.Having been a professional cricketer for the last 14 years, Morne said he has been able to evolve with the process of wicketkeeping and so understands its nuances well. “In the old days the keeper was the guy who had to shout and scream a bit behind the stumps. But now he is one of the leaders of the team. He has to have a good cricket brain and be a lot more involved in the game, much like a catcher in baseball.”Currently the person who is able to do that best is still Boucher. “The hunger is still there,” he said. “I have been training really hard and I’m the fittest I’ve ever been. I have not given up on playing for South Africa in all formats.”That should be taken as a warning by those eyeing a berth in the limited-overs formats, like Heino Kuhn, Davy Jacobs and Daryn Smit. They have to knock down the champion before they stand a chance, and as Bossenger put it, “It should be difficult to play for South Africa.”

Plays of the day from the 1st day of the 3rd Test between England and Sri Lanka at the Rose Bowl

Andrew Miller at the Rose Bowl16-Jun-2011Call of the day
It’s possible that Mike Atherton didn’t mean to sound snide during Sky’s live coverage of the toss, when he declared to the viewing public: “A loud call of heads from Kumar Sangakkara”. But given what had happened on the last occasion when Sangakkara lined up as Sri Lanka’s captain, there was perhaps a good reason to clarify. At Mumbai in April in the World Cup final against India, his mumbled decision at the toss was drowned out by the expectant crowd, and in the confusion, the match referee Jeff Crowe ordered a retake. There was no such get-out this time around, and as Sangakkara ruefully admitted afterwards, he too would have bowled first in juicy overcast conditions.Decision of the day
He took his time to find his best rhythm, but right from the start of his spell, James Anderson’s lateral movement provided a threat that Sri Lanka had not encountered at any stage of the Lord’s Test. Sure enough, in the fifth over of the day, he looked to have prised the opening. A cracking delivery exploded off the seam past the edge of Tharanga Paranavitana’s bat, and looked to have grazed something on the way through. Umpire Aleem Dar, however, was unmoved, and the evidence available to England’s review provided no reason to disagree. Midway through the subsequent over, however, the Snickometer ground into life, and suggested that there might indeed have been the faintest of nicks. Either way, a howler had not been committed by Dar, and therefore justice had been seen to be done.Shot of the day
Kumar Sangakkara is as eloquent at speaking as he is elegant at batting, and later this summer he will prove that point when he gives the MCC’s annual Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s. At the Rose Bowl, however, he has struck a bum note on both counts. During the captain’s press conference on Wednesday, not even he could find a way to hide his evident displeasure at being handed back the captaincy, and the shot that produced his wicket today was typical of a man whose mind wasn’t entirely on the game. A touch of width from Anderson and a wild yahoo outside off, and Sangakkara’s unworthy record in England became that little bit worse still.Blows of the day
At Lord’s, Matt Prior endured a grim time behind the stumps, as England’s wayward seamers flung 25 byes past his gloves, most of them far out of his reach down the leg side. Today, however, the threat was not so much to his figures as his face, as first Chris Tremlett and then Stuart Broad found extra lift and movement to leave their keeper scrambling to readjust. The ball from Broad was particularly potent, as it jagged first one way then curled back wickedly the other, and Prior did well not to wear the ball on his cheekbone as it deflected away for two byes.Delays of the day
Late last month, a match at the Rose Bowl was interrupted when police marksmen were scrambled to tackle a stuffed toy tiger that had been abandoned on a neighbouring golf course. An interruption of such newsworthiness would have been a godsend for the ground today, but sadly, on the biggest occasion in its ten-year history, the delays endured were of a much more prosaic nature. A prolonged morning deluge was followed by extended showers around the lunch and tea intervals, both of which were long enough to include five-course meals and a post-prandial snooze. But in the end, the crowd got their money’s worth. Just about.

After completely dominating India at home, England will look to seal an elusive ODI series triumph in India against a highly-depleted side

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan13-Oct-2011Before the Test series in 2001, Steve Waugh aptly labelled India as his ‘final frontier’ because Australia had failed to win a Test series in India for 32 years. Considering that England are yet to win a single ODI series in India since 1984, Alastair Cook may be prompted to describe India similarly. England, who have been outstanding in Tests in the last few years, have failed to transfer the form to the ODI arena. Their performances in the limited-overs format have been highly erratic. However, in between two 6-1 defeats to Australia in 2009 and 2011, they won six ODI series including two tightly-fought series against Pakistan and South Africa. The story was different, however, in the World Cup in the subcontinent, where they played exceptionally to defeat South Africa and tie the game against India, but shockingly lost to both Ireland and Bangladesh. Following a crushing ten-wicket loss in the quarter-final, England reversed their ODI fortunes by winning two home series against Sri Lanka and India.Since 2000, India boast an outstanding ODI record at home losing only four of 19 bi-lateral series (minimum three matches in series). However, given their recent domination of India and the fact that the hosts are plagued with injuries, this definitely represents England’s best chance to grab an elusive series win.Overall, India have the edge in head-to-head clashes winning 38 matches to England’s 33. India have by far been the better side in matches played at home since 2000 winning 14 and losing just four. They have also dominated England in global tournaments winning four of the previous five meetings. England, however, have the better win-loss record (10-6) in ODIs played since 2000 in England. The extent of each team’s dominance in home matches is reflected in the average difference and run-rate difference factors. While England have a positive run-rate difference of 0.42 and average difference of 9.65 in home ODIs, the corresponding figures are 0.40 and 10.65 in favour of India in matches played in India and neutral venues since 2000. Since 2007, the teams have played each other 18 times with England winning seven and losing eight. While England won both the home series by margins of 4-3 and 3-0, India cantered to a 5-0 win in their home series. In the only other match played between the two sides during the World Cup in Bangalore, the teams played out their first ever tie in head-to-head contests. Perhaps the best indicators of the close nature of recent ODIs are the extremely low values of the average difference (0.87) and run-rate difference (0.13).

England’s ODI record against India

VenuePlayedWonLostBat avgBowl avgRRERAvg diffRR diffin England (overall)33181137.4931.615.124.775.880.35in India (overall)35132129.5435.735.085.27-6.19-0.19In England (since 2000)1910641.2231.535.765.349.690.42In India & neutral venues (since 2000)2141627.1337.785.195.59-10.65-0.40Overall since 2007187836.9336.065.865.730.870.13England have improved considerably in their away record in most countries since 2007. Between 2000 and 2006, they failed to win a single ODI in Australia and had a similar record in Sri Lanka. However, since 2007, they have won four ODIs in Australia and three in Sri Lanka. In the same period, they also have a winning record in South Africa and West Indies. India, though, has proved to be a major hurdle for England. Between 2000 and 2006, they had a 4-9 record in ODIs in India but since 2007, they have lost five and tied one game. In the 2008 series, they went down 5-0 in the first five matches before the last two games were abandoned. When the ODI performance since 2000 in various countries is compared, their struggles in the subcontinent are evident. Their average difference and run-rate difference are the worst in Sri Lanka (-13.81 and -0.88). The corresponding numbers in India (-9.68 and -0.30) in the same period are also quite discouraging. England, who have won seven of their last eight bi-lateral series (three matches or more), will definitely seek to erase their abysmal record in India in the upcoming series.

England’s away record since 2000 (min ten matches played)- not including Zimbabwe & Bangladesh

OppositionMatchesW/L ratioBat avgBowl avgBat RRBowl RRAvg diffRR diffAustralia190.2625.4738.074.785.29-12.60-0.51India190.2827.2836.965.265.56-9.68-0.30Sri Lanka100.4219.1732.983.684.56-13.81-0.88New Zealand100.5026.8232.894.565.25-6.07-0.69South Africa150.6231.6829.204.934.902.520.03West Indies111.5031.2533.575.355.46-2.32-0.11Kevin Pietersen, who was not part of the England team that beat India 3-0 in the home ODI series, has had a horrendous run in ODIs in the last two years. He has managed only two fifties and averages just 22.86 since the beginning of 2009. However, among England batsmen, he has the best record in the subcontinent. He has scored over 1000 runs at an average of 41.75 and a strike rate of 88.98 with his only century coming in the last series in India. Jonathan Trott, on the other hand, has not had any issues whatsoever with his batting form. Since his debut, he has been England’s model of consistency in both Tests and ODIs. In just 35 matches, he has scored three centuries and 14 fifties including five half-centuries in the World Cup.Jonny Bairstow, who scored a crucial 21-ball 41 on debut in England’s win over India in Cardiff, cracked a century in the tour game to boost his chances of making the XI. Alastair Cook, who recently took over the ODI captaincy, has had a remarkable turnaround in ODIs. Between his debut and the end of 2008, he had an average of 30.52 and a strike rate under 70. However, since 2009, he averages 56.63 with a superb strike rate of 94.53.

Batting stats for England batsmen

BatsmanAvg/SR (subcontinent since 2000)100/50 (subcontinent since 2000)Avg/SR (overall since 2009)100/50 (overall since 2009)Kevin Pietersen41.75/88.981/822.86/85.320/2Jonathan Trott60.28/80.840/551.48/78.353/14Alastair Cook35.77/70.610/356.63/94.531/5Ian Bell29.09/73.430/331.20/76.890/4Ravi Bopara33.40/72.130/332.55/79.180/2Yuvraj Singh, the player of the tournament in the World Cup and the leading run-getter in the home series against England in 2008, was one of the casualties on the ill-fated England tour. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, also nursing injuries, will be missing from India’s batting line-up. All three have scored over 1000 runs in ODIs against England and their absence will be a major blow to India who are seeking a quick reversal in fortunes after the drubbing in England. MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina, who had a very ordinary time in the Tests in England, found some form in the ODIs, and will undoubtedly be the key in India’s middle order. Virat Kohli and Gautam Gambhir, who are second and third on the list of India’s leading run-getters in the last two years, will be crucial at the top of the order in the absence of Sehwag and Tendulkar.

Batting stats for Indian batsmen since 2009

BatsmanMatchesRunsAverageSR100/50MS Dhoni66235054.6583.273/16Gautam Gambhir50191145.5091.394/12Virat Kohli59218844.6583.576/15Suresh Raina70170136.1997.921/9Parthiv Patel1447736.6982.520/4India has always been a challenging venue for overseas bowlers. The flat tracks and small size of most venues make it virtually impossible for any bowler to rein in the scoring rate. Australia’s bowlers have been the exception in ODIs played since 2007. Their pace bowlers have picked up 78 wickets at an average of 32.83. In contrast, England’s fast bowlers, however, have struggled picking up 23 wickets at an average of 48.82. Tim Bresnan, another in-form bowler for England in the home series against India, impressed with a five-wicket haul in the tied game in the World Cup in Bangalore. Jade Dernbach’s pace variations could be handy on pitches that are generally expected to favour the batsmen. The presence of Graeme Swann and Samit Patel does add an extra dimension to the squad although Indian batsmen are less likely to be troubled by spinners in home conditions.Zaheer Khan, India’s best bowler in the World Cup, missed the whole of the England tour with an injury sustained in the first Test. In his absence, the Indian bowling hardly posed a threat to England in the Tests and ODIs. In the upcoming series, Praveen Kumar will lead a highly-inexperienced bowling attack. Sreenath Aravind, who had the most expensive bowling analysis in the Champions League Twenty20, is one of the new faces in the squad along with Varun Aaron and Rahul Sharma. The England batsmen did face a few problems against R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the recent series and are likely to be tested even more on slow tracks that will favour the spinners.The Rajiv Gandhi stadium in Hyderabad, the venue for the first ODI, has hosted one day-night game so far. In 2009, faced with a huge target of 351, Sachin Tendulkar scored a remarkable 175 but failed to prevent Australia from sneaking a three-run win. Among the other venues, Mohali remains the one that has clearly favoured the team batting first. In nine day-night matches at the venue, six have been won by the team batting first. The record of chasing teams has been better in Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. Pace bowlers have found the pitch in Mohali most conducive (104 wickets at 26.77) and on the other hand, spinners have been most successful in Mumbai (23 wickets at 26.82).

Venue stats (day-night ODIs since 2005)

VenueMatchesWins/losses (batting first)Avg (1st inns)Avg (2nd inns)RR (1st inns)RR (2nd inns)Pace (wickets/avg)Spin (wickets/avg)Mumbai41/330.7431.444.974.8032/35.4023/26.82Kolkata41/233.7349.765.345.5126/37.4210/53.10Mohali96/328.6027.285.125.09104/26.7728/41.28Delhi51/427.1635.484.784.6836/31.6929/31.68

Terry Alderman was nicknamed ‘TMO’ on the 1989 Ashes tour because he seemed only to play in the Tests. Is Ryan Harris on his way to earning a similar label?

Daniel Brettig04-Oct-2011A certain amount of irony accompanied the unveiling of Australia’s new team uniforms for this summer. While the Test captain Michael Clarke and the Twenty20 leader Cameron White fitted the profile for their strips, conservative cream and bolshy black respectively, Ryan Harris made for a more wistful sight in the canary yellow of the touring ODI kit.Harris, despite a startling 41 ODI wickets at 16.12 in 17 matches, has not been selected for either of the most recent Australian limited-overs engagements, as the national selectors direct him towards the Test match duty that appears the best fit for his skiddy, swinging pace. He proved himself worthy of the commission with an outstanding shift in Sri Lanka, where his aptitude with the new ball was such that he can now be regarded as the Test team’s most valuable, if fragile, bowling commodity.A hamstring strain stopped Harris from playing in the third Test, but he has recovered soundly, and will make a domestic limited-overs appearance for Queensland before the Tests in South Africa next month. Whether or not Harris will ever again wear the uniform he modelled at a Sydney shopping centre on Tuesday is less clear.”I thought that when I put it on actually,” Harris said of his cloudy ODI future. “I’ll hopefully be wearing it again over the next summer, but we’ll let the selectors decide that. It’s just about the amount of cricket I’m going to play, hopefully once I get up and going and stay fit that’s going to be the time for them to seriously consider me I guess.”For now it is about getting right for South Africa and playing some good cricket over there again and getting myself staying fit. I had my first bowl yesterday and everything was good, I’d been running last week and that was fine, so everything is on track. I was pushing to play the opening rounds of state cricket, but the physio has held me back a bit just as a precaution. There’s a one-dayer before we go to South Africa for the Test tour, so hopefully I’m a part of that.”Sri Lanka was a most significant tour for Harris, but its gains will be fleeting if he cannot add to the fitness base he took to the subcontinent. Having built himself up slowly after an ankle fracture ended his Ashes series last summer, Harris’ conditioning is still short of where he would like it to be, as evidenced by the hamstring complaint.”For me it was a big thing because I hadn’t played much cricket,” Harris said. “I’d come off a couple of injuries. But for me to go over and bowl as well as I did, I surprised myself. They were on tougher, flatter wickets, so to go over to South Africa where conditions are going to be more suited to my sort of bowling, it is definitely going to be a major positive for me.”Definitely [they made the right call to not play third Test], I want to play every game I can so I’ve got to push to do that, but I need to listen to the people that know about injuries and that sort of stuff and how bad the injuries can get. It was right to miss that Test, and if I look at myself now by the time South Africa comes I’ll be 110% fit.”The balance Harris must strike between his training and management of a degenerative right knee problem is a delicate one, though his most recent visit to his Melbourne surgeon showed virtually no deterioration in the joint. He and Cricket Australia’s fitness and medical staff are presently working out how best to prepare Harris for the schedule ahead, as Australia are slated to play no fewer than 11 Test matches by the middle of 2012.”We’re just trying to work out what’s going to be the best,” Harris said. “I haven’t done a lot of running over 50 metres, so I’m lacking a little bit of conditioning in my legs. I’ve got a good base over in Sri Lanka, I didn’t bowl a lot of overs but enough to get myself feeing good, and I’ve been doing a little bit of running last week which has kept that base and improved on that.”I’ll chuck some bowling in this week and next week and it’s going to improve again. I’ve just got to do the shorter stuff I need to get some miles in my legs to get myself stronger, which I’ll do, and come out feeling a lot more confident about it.”I don’t want to rest, I’ve made that pretty clear, I want to play every Test I can. I feel as though, once I get some games of cricket under my belt again I’ll feel stronger and more confident that I’ll be able to stay fit at the top level. I don’t want to be missing cricket, I’m 32 in a couple of days, so I want to be playing as much as I can.”Michael Clarke and others have spoken about the building of a strong Australian squad, with bowlers capable of stepping up as required, but Harris is not a believer in the concept of rotating bowlers for Test matches. Irrespective of his physical condition, Harris wants to play whenever the opportunity arises.”If I’m asked to sit out a game I’m disappointed,” he said. “Rhythm for me is huge, when I’m going I just like to keep bowling and bowling. If the selectors say we have to sit out, we have to sit out. I don’t feel as though being rotated will help me, but if that’s what they say, that’s what I’ll do.”I don’t think it [rotation] is a great thing. In one-day cricket maybe, there’s a lot of one-day cricket, but rotation in Test cricket is not great, that’s just my opinion. I’ll play no matter what, it is probably them sometimes stepping in to say it is probably best that I rest. But I find it hard to stop-start, stop-start, I want to play, keeping playing and get my rhythm going.”With that that at the moment get some confidence in my body and know I can play back-to-back or three or four games in a row, rather than playing two, missing two and getting back again and working back up to that level. That’s something I’ve spoken to the medical staff about. They’re confident if I can get up and going and put some games together, they’re confident I can get through.”The issue of management is a happier one given that presently the Australian attack looks in fine fettle, having accomplished a difficult task with honours in Sri Lanka. Harris has played in South Africa before, during the 2009 Indian Premier League, and reckons the full length he and his team-mates pursued on the subcontinent can meet with even richer rewards on grassier surfaces.”We bowled reasonably full in Sri Lanka and it’s probably going to be something similar I reckon,” Harris said. “You want to be trying to get those bowleds and lbws, so bowling short of a length, you get balls going over the top and you’re sort of bowling for the nicks.”Thinking about it I’m pretty sure the lengths are going to be pretty similar to what we bowled in Sri Lanka, and hopefully we get the nicks but also the bowleds and the lbws. They’re different wickets so we’ve got to make fine adjustments to what we’re doing. But as a bowling unit over in Sri Lanka we spoke a lot and we gelled. We had a great partnership happening.”Trent [Copeland] came in and did his bit on those wickets and bowled very well. If you look at the way he bowls, to get a bit of grass onto the wickets in South Africa he’s going to be even harder [to face]. There’s going to be minor adjustments, but I’m confident as a group that we can make those adjustments and be as successful.”

England showed, for all the bluster about their improvement against spin, that it remains their Achilles heel

George Dobell in Dubai19-Jan-2012So, were Pakistan wonderful or England wretched? The answer, as ever, is a bit of both. But, at the risk of incurring the wrath of a nation, there may be more truth in the latter than the former.Let’s be clear: Pakistan utterly outplayed England. They have, despite losing several top players to the spot-fixing debacle, quickly redeveloped a solid side that should prove highly competitive in any conditions.They have a solid opening partnership – neither India or Australia ever neutralised England’s seamers so effectively – a strong pace attack leader in Umar Gul, two wise old middle-order batsmen, a sparky keeper who produced a key innings in this game and a very good spin partnership. Most of all, they have a leader in Misbah-ul-Haq who pervades calm authority. Who inspires and unites. Who provides solidity and security. After years of superstar individuals, Pakistan have a team.It would be a gross injustice if any of the gloss were to be taken off this result by mealy-mouthed slurs of Saeed Ajmal’s action. It has been cleared by the ICC and drawn no complaints from other opposition. Indeed, none of the current England team have complained, either. England, surely, would do better to learn from Ajmal than moan about him.But Ajmal will bowl better and take far fewer wickets. England, with all the pre-series talk of teesras and doosras ringing in their ears, looked paralysed with fear against him. They showed, for all the bluster about their improvement against spin, that it remains their Achilles heel. The ball hardly turned in this match but Ajmal, with his wonderfully subtle variations of pace and ability to move the ball just a little both ways, panicked the tourists like a dog running through sheep. Heaven help England when they are confronted by a track that turns square.Some sense of perspective is required. England haven’t lost a Test since December 2010 and, even during their ascent to the No. 1 Test ranking, there were moments – Perth, for example – when they imploded spectacularly. It is not wise to read too much into one result. As ever, the real test of a side is how they respond to adversity.The alarm bells are ringing loud and clear, however. Since December 2001, England have played 22 Tests in Asia and won just five. Even that modest record flatters them, however. Four of those Tests – and four of those wins – came against Bangladesh. Remove them from the equation and England record is quite gruesome: just one win in 18 and eight losses. That is not No. 1 form, is it?England’s success has come on surfaces quite different from this and, in the next year, be it in the UAE, Sri Lanka or India, they will play on plenty of pitches that favour spinners far more. The track in Dubai hardly turned and they had first use of a blameless pitch.Were they unfortunate? Not really. While it’s true they lost three top-order wickets to what might be termed leg side strangles, each of those was lost to a poor shot. They would be deluding themselves if they hid behind such trifles.Forget about the Monty Panesar debate, too. It was not England’s bowling that let them down here. Quite the opposite, actually. It was their batting. Monty’s inclusion would not have made not a jot of difference.The real damage was inflicted – or self-inflicted – on the first day. England froze in the spotlight and handed Pakistan an initiative that was never returned.Yet their batting in the second innings was no better. To lose two men – Kevin Pietersen and Stuart Broad – to catches on the boundary in these circumstances was remarkably irresponsible. Broad’s shot, with his side seven wickets down and 11 runs behind, was breathtakingly poor. And Pietersen’s was worse.But what is more of a concern: men who throw their wickets away, or men who are rendered hapless in these conditions? For while the former should be easily mended, the second might not be. Ian Bell’s complete bafflement against Ajmal’s doosra in both innings should be of particular worry. Andy Flower has a great deal to ponder in the coming days.Pakistan’s only concern is that many of their key players are not young men. Ajmal and Younis Khan are 34, Misbah is 37, Mohammad Hafeez, Taufeeq Umar, Aizaz Cheema and Abdul Rehman are all the wrong side of 30.But such concerns can wait. For now, Pakistan deserve all the praise coming their way and can look to the next couple of years with great confidence. It will now take a monumental effort by England to deny them in this series.

With 59 first-class wickets this season, Ashok Dinda has grown by leaps and bounds. A recall to the Asia Cup could be his second coming

Abhishek Purohit01-Mar-2012″You look like a table-tennis player but you bowl so fast,” a reporter told Ashok Dinda during the Duleep Trophy final in Indore in February.Dinda only smiled in return. Over the years, the Bengal fast bowler has become used to such expressions of surprise as people wonder how, with cricket ball in hand, he gets so much out of his slightly-built frame.What is obvious when you watch Dinda bowl is the extreme effort that he puts in. Starting from the exaggerated leap in delivery stride, which makes him look more a long-jumper than a fast bowler. You inwardly cringe, thinking about the pounding his knees must be taking as he lands on the bowling crease. Not that Dinda shows the slightest sign of discomfort. He just smiles, at the batsman’s discomfort, after beating them with his skiddy short-of-a-length deliveries.That effort brought Dinda 37 wickets, the second-highest in the 2011-12 Ranji Trophy. All those wickets were for Bengal, easily one of the low-profile domestic sides in the Elite league. That darling of Indian fans, Irfan Pathan, made the national squad to Australia for the ODI tri-series.Being ignored for a tour on which the bouncy pitches would have suited his hit-the-deck style of bowling must have hurt. Dinda responded by taking 22 wickets in three games to take East Zone to their maiden Duleep Trophy title and lifting his tally to a staggering 59 for the first-class season.This time the overdue national call-up arrived – helped by injuries to Zaheer Khan and Umesh Yadav – with a place in the ODI squad for the Asia Cup in Bangladesh. The last of Dinda’s five ODIs for India was also in the Asia Cup, in June 2010.How has he changed as a bowler between the two editions of the tournament?”There is more control. I am reading batsmen better now. My line and length have improved,” Dinda told ESPNcricinfo. “My confidence levels are very high. The support system around me is very strong. Friends, family, my coaches, all of whom have been very supportive.”Dinda looks to bowl fuller now than the consistently shortish length he used to earlier. It is still not driving length, though, and that makes him difficult to play with the bounce he generates from his leaping action.The characteristic leap made Dinda instantly recognisable during the first edition of the Indian Premier League in 2008, when he played for Kolkata Knight Riders under Sourav Ganguly, who recently called him the best fast bowler in the country at the moment.Dinda has backed up such claims with an outstanding season, in which he was required to shoulder a lot of responsibility, both for Bengal and East Zone. “I was the main bowler and had to perform if we were to take 20 wickets,” Dinda said. “I have bowled a lot of overs this season.”He bowled 25 overs in Central Zone’s second innings in the Duleep final. He charged in for his 150th delivery with the same energy as his first. The East Zone fielders did not make his job any easier, dropping numerous chances. Unlike his bowling partners, though, Dinda did not let out his frustration with cries of anguish. In fact, it did not seem that he was frustrated. He would just smile broadly, first at the culpable fielder, then at the batsman, and turn around to go back to his bowling mark. There would be the same, whole-hearted effort in the next delivery. How does he keep himself going with that pint-sized body?”I have always maintained that size does not matter,” Dinda said. “It is the effort that counts. You have to ensure that you get good sleep, around seven-eight hours. You also need good gym sessions, for each muscle has to be tuned well.”If Dinda can put in the same effort and more in the Asia Cup, India has everything to gain.Edited by Kanishkaa Balachandran

Super Kings had a mixed 2012, with more lows than highs, yet they almost won their third IPL title in a row

Nikita Bastian28-May-2012

Where they finished

Second. They were chasing a hat-trick of IPL titles on Sunday at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, but came up against a determined Kolkata Knight Riders. It did not look as though they would even go that far after a shoddy showing in the league stage, but fortune put them in the playoffs and, in familiar territory, they almost made it count.

Key player

Super Kings’ strengths have always been their batting and spin bowling. The fast-bowling cupboard has often looked bare. Yet, in 2010*, when the team was struggling, it was the arrival of Australia quick Doug Bollinger mid-way through the season that galvanised the team. Similarly, this season, just when it looked like their campaign was coming apart, another Australia fast bowler Ben Hilfenhaus arrived from the West Indies and quickly settled in to become an important cog in the Super Kings set-up.Hilfenhaus had missed the previous IPL with injury and, debuting this year, he faced a set-back in only his second game: Super Kings had all but won the match against Mumbai Indians, when Hilfenhaus produced two full tosses and a length ball for the final three deliveries, letting Dwayne Smith knock off the 14 runs his team needed. But Hilfenhaus wasn’t to be shaken. In the next game, against Rajasthan Royals, he produced figures of 4-1-8-2 (the ‘2’ being the wickets of Shane Watson and Rahul Dravid), and then destroyed Delhi Daredevils with a spell (3-0-14-3) that accounted for Virender Sehwag, David Warner and Naman Ojha.It took Hilfenhaus only nine games to take as many wickets as R Ashwin, who is arguably Super Kings’ most dependable bowler over the last three seasons. And those 14 wickets came at an average of 16.64 and economy rate of 6.85. In the final, Hilfenhaus cleaned up Knight Riders’ lynchpin Gautam Gambhir in the first over of the chase, beaten by a slower one, and then claimed the well-set Jacques Kallis in a tight finish. Much like against Mumbai Indians though, two full tosses at the very end cost his team.

Flop buy

Super Kings bought one player at the 2012 auction: Ravindra Jadeja. They had spent their full purse on him, making him the IPL’s newest two-million dollar man. Billed as an allrounder, he bowled more than two overs only six times in 18 games. In the second qualifier and the final, he neither batted nor bowled. And when he did get his chance to contribute in either department, he did nothing much of note. He finished with 191 runs and 12 wickets – of which 48 runs and five wickets came against Deccan Chargers. The Chargers game apart, the only game-changing hand he played was against Royal Challengers Bangalore: he managed to edge away the final delivery for four to third man, to seal Super Kings’ thrilling chase of 206.

Highlights

“We know how to win trophies,” Albie Morkel had said during the last stage of the league games, when it looked like Super Kings might not progress. “I think we need the luck element and we will be all right.” Fortune might have put them in the final four, but once there, they justified their place. In the eliminator against Mumbai Indians, they looked a completely different side to the one that bumbled through the league phase. The batting and bowling clicked together and, more crucially, Super Kings showed the tenacity they have come to be associated with in testing situations. They were 2 for 1, before Michael Hussey and S Badrinath rallied, and MS Dhoni and Bravo counterattacked to carry the side to 187, a total that proved way beyond the reach of a powerful Mumbai Indians line-up. That performance breathed new life into their season, and suddenly many rated them as favourites for the title once more.

Lowlight

Yes, nothing could hurt much more than losing the final, but it was another defeat that left Super Kings in a much worse position. The team is used to a last-minute scramble to make the playoffs, and up until this year’s match against Kings XI Punjab in Dharamsala, was used to coming out on top in such situations. But a batting failure meant they had only 120 to defend on the small Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association ground, with the rarefied atmosphere. If Super Kings hoped to pull off a heist, Adam Gilchrist, returning from a month-long injury layoff, squashed all such thoughts with an unbeaten 64 off 46. It looked, then, that Super Kings, the defending champions, had failed to make the IPL playoffs for the first time in five seasons.

Verdict

Super Kings had a mixed 2012, with more lows than highs, yet they almost won their third IPL title in a row.In the league phase, they played arguably their worst cricket in five seasons. The batting, despite power-hitter-packed middle order, repeatedly failed to finish strongly. That meant, once again, Super Kings needed to win four of four to shore up their chances of progressing. And just when it looked like that is what they would do – they had beaten table-toppers Delhi Daredevils and Knight Riders in consecutive games – the Dharamsala flop happened.Yet, things fell into place. The three other results they were waiting on, amazingly, went their way, and Super Kings sneaked in as the fourth team. And suddenly, Super Kings were back in their champions avatar. After the high of the eliminator, against Daredevils in the second qualifier, they were ruthless. M Vijay produced that one game-changing innings he tends to play every season, and, with the runs flowing, a listless Daredevils quickly faded out of contention. In the final, but for the spirited Manvinder Bisla – or even despite him – Super Kings could have edged home. Still, after the sub-standard showing in the league stage, Super Kings will take second.The one area where Super Kings consistently outdid their opposition this season was fielding. If you look at their line-up, you’d probably say the only fielding liabilities are Shadab Jakati and Ashwin, and when you saw these two throwing themselves at the ball to stop a boundary (think Jakati in the final) and diving forward to claim a catch (think Ashwin’s catch to dismiss Shane Watson), you knew you were up against it in the field. Seeing as they make so few changes to their squad, it’s an element of their IPL season they’ll be hoping to carry into Champions League T20 this October.*10.40 GMT, May 29: The article had said 2012, this has been changed.

West Indies’ in-form batsman did not have James Anderson to spar with this time, but still found himself in the middle of spicy battle at Edgbaston

Nagraj Gollapudi at Edgbaston09-Jun-2012There has been a lot of talk about Kevin. Let’s talk about Marlon instead. No, not Marlon Brando, but an equally cool namesake – Marlon Samuels. Born in Kingston, Jamaica; returned recently from wilderness, having served a two-year ban for reasons well-known. Now, in the latest phase of his Test career, he is the highest run-maker in this series.Not only has he let his bat talk, but Samuels has also shut up opposition using clever retorts to hit back at the bowlers. At Trent Bridge he arm-wrestled with England’s best bowler, James Anderson, and scored valuable points. This time, with Anderson on the sidelines, he ran his sharp tongue through England’s second-line of fast bowling comprising Graham Onions, Steven Finn and Tim Bresnan.The most enthralling contest of the first day’s play (on the third actual day) of this rain-affected Test was undoubtedly Samuels against Onions. West Indies’ best batsman against the best county bowler in England. Onions was himself returning to Test cricket after more than two years out. He bowled an honest pace, quickly found his rhythm and troubled the fragile West Indies top-order. Even Samuels could take just two runs in the 18 deliveries he faced from him.But where Samuels scored was in distracting Onions, who briefly lost his focus getting into a verbal exchange which only inspired the Jamaican to regain his advantage. Just as he had done in the previous three innings in this series, Samuels was playing a lone hand at one end as the rest of the batsman struggled. He had almost sprinted in Rafael Nadal-style into the middle even before Darren Bravo, the man he was replacing, had made the exit. He was keen to resume battle.Once again he eased into his stride against Graeme Swann. It would not be unfair to say that Samuels, on current form, could play the offspinner even in his sleep: Samuels has faced a total of 191 deliveries from Swann in this series and he has managed 131 runs.In the second innings at Lord’s and then at Trent Bridge he attacked Swann by lunging forward to defend comfortably, pushing into the gaps effortlessly and using his feet with freedom. His message, it seemed, to the best spinner in the world was: “I am as good as you.” Today was no different.Again, though, it was hard finding support from his partners. Assad Fudadin, making his debut, had started encouragingly, but got stuck for 28 deliveries and 34 minutes in moving from 27 to 28. He lost his focus and lost his wicket. Narsingh Deonarine, also playing his first Test of the series, succumbed to a sharp lifer from Onions no long afterwards which included some theatrical celebrations in Samuels’ direction. The umpire Kumar Dharmasena had, by now, had a quiet word. It was all motivation to Samuels.Two overs before the tea break he stepped out and lofted Swann high over long-on and then punched a cover drive for four to get another half-century. Animated celebrations followed, as he waved the bat like a hand fan across Edgbaston and then pointed it specifically in the direction of Onions who was standing in the deep.After stumps, Samuels suggested Onions had not learned from England’s experience at Trent Bridge when the harder the fast bowlers tried to distract with verbals the more focused he became. However he refused to agree that the England attack was second-string in the absence of Anderson and Stuart Broad. “Why would you call it a second-string when you got the so-called best county bowler, which is Onions,” he said.Then asked to give an appraisal of Onions, Samuels lived up to type. “Onions? Well, he has the a few things to say. Give me back Jimmy Anderson. I don’t like Onions. I don’t use it in my food.”In the recent years of England’s dominance at home there have been few batsmen who have flourished against one of the strongest bowling attacks around. Since the 2005 Ashes, if you take batsmen who have scored at least 300 runs, Samuels is second in the averages to only Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who has played four more matches and six additional innings.Chanderpaul was ruled out here due to a side strain and is in the winter of his career. Samuels has shown he can take over the responsibility by making sure that each time he walks back to the crease he applies himself. A hallmark has been his watchfulness. ‘Soft hands approach and playing late’ could have been written on his landing card when Samuels arrived in the country. He admitted that he left alone “six to seven buckets” of balls. As the coaches like to say there are always plans in place, what matters is execution. That is the biggest problem with West Indies batsmen. Except for Samuels.An over before the new ball was taken Samuels was beaten for the first and last time in the day as Tim Bresnan moved the ball sharply into his pads to catch him in front. Samuels, more in hope, opted for a review, but it proved in vain as he was just caught in line with off stump.He deservingly walked back to a standing ovation. Earlier this week, Darren Sammy said West Indies would like to win the final Test for pride. That might not be possible considering only two days of play remains, but what Samuels has made probable is a draw and avoiding a whitewash. West Indies have lost the Test series, but they will talk about Marlon.