England’s inability to crack Australia’s lower-order, or shore up their own, is the biggest indicator of the gulf between the sides

Daniel Brettig in Perth17-Dec-20170:57

Australia channeling the Mitchell Johnson ‘snowball effect’

Wickets fall fast at the WACA Ground. Australia have beaten England here in two and a half days (1998), and lost to West Indies even faster than that (1993).Even in the ground’s more recent, less lively years, the extra bounce means it is still a difficult place to start an innings, often resulting in days of free and rapid scoring that are followed by sessions in which the bowlers dominate. So when Australia gave up 3 for 12 early on the fourth day it could quite easily have been expected to be followed by another three rapid wickets and the cessation of the innings.James Anderson, after all, was moving the ball through the air and off the seam, the WACA Ground’s cracks were opening up, and Australia’s bowlers were impatient to set about England’s second innings. But instead of the procession continuing in more typical WACA fashion, a crowd of 18,688 witnessed the maintenance of a theme dictated more by the nature of this Ashes contest than the locations at which it has so far been played.Pat Cummins has so far been a thorn in England’s side when batting in each first innings, and in the company of a doughty wicketkeeper in Tim Paine he was to be one again. Despite numerous balls snaking along the ground or deviating sharply off the cracks, Cummins made it to 41 in adding 93 with Paine, extending Australia’s innings until it became their highest Ashes tally since Cardiff in 2009, while also keeping England’s fielders on their feet for another 21 frustrating overs.As a batting talent, Cummins has plenty to offer, as he has now shown in numerous pressurised situations, whether it be shovelling the winning runs off Imran Tahir at the end of his storied Johannesburg debut in 2011, hitting out in a narrow loss to Bangladesh earlier this year, or repeatedly foiling England’s attempts to push further into the Australian tail. Mitchell Starc had no qualms recently in saying he was happy for Cummins to move up the order, while the bowler himself has commented this series on his strong desire to keep England’s bowlers out in the middle for extended periods, the better to aid the overall team cause.All this is indicative of a team operating in sync, as batsmen and bowlers alike see their role as making as many runs as possible while discomforting the opposition, and of a lower order enjoying the fact that those above them are making runs that mean things are not quite so hot when it is eventually their turn to bat. When looking for areas of required improvement ahead of this Ashes series, greater effectiveness from the middle order and tail was high on the list of the coach Darren Lehmann, with the displays of Shaun and then Mitchell Marsh at No. 6 aiding Paine and in turn Cummins to contribute further.However there is another side of the lower-order tale, which involves looking across at the state of England’s bowlers with the bat. Just as surely as Cummins’ confidence has grown across the series, so too has that of Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad and James Anderson ebbed away. Moeen’s difficulties in dealing with bounce have gradually compounded against both spin and speed, while Broad and Anderson have grown increasingly hesitant about spending too much time exposed to Australia’s pacemen.Pat Cummins piles into Moeen Ali’s offspin•Getty ImagesAs a younger player, Broad was very much in the Cummins mould, showing plenty of talent for shotmaking but also a willingness to hang around. His batting peaked at the age of 24 with an extraordinary innings of 169 from No. 9, the same spot occupied by Cummins, against Pakistan at Lord’s. But time, several ugly blows including a sickener from Varun Aaron in 2014, and the mental hurdle of Australia’s greater velocity have all compounded to have him looking less and less likely to pose a problem.Anderson, meanwhile, is nowhere near as capable, but has in the past been willing to hang around when required – such as at the end of the aforementioned Cardiff match in 2009 when he and Monty Panesar secured the most fortunate of draws. Yet even when asked earlier in the series about his prospects if required to help conclude an unlikely fourth-innings chase in Adelaide, Anderson could say he was only good for around 10 runs needed.The sight of Broad and Anderson flailing about at the conclusion of England’s first innings on day two was a source of considerable satisfaction for the Australians, for it proved they had once again imposed a sense of trepidation in England’s tail that outstripped any desire to hang around for the good of the team. Certainly Josh Hazlewood saw it that way, and contrasted it directly with what Cummins had been able to provide.”We work hard on our batting all the time and I think we’ve seen Patty Cummins especially this year hang around with a batter or with the tail and score some useful runs,” Hazlewood said. “We pride ourselves on that and we’ve made their tail feel very uncomfortable and they were obviously a bit sore the day before yesterday, they didn’t want to be out there and we’ll continue to use the same method we have been. We saw with Mitchell Johnson last time it just kept snowballing as the series went on, so we’ll keep continuing to do that and hopefully have the same results.”Australia had been very eager to remind both themselves and England of 2013-14 in the lead-up to this encounter, to the extent that the captain Steven Smith said he wanted to have some of the older visiting players to be thinking “oh not this again” after their difficulties four years ago. While the personnel on both sides is different, the lower-order theme has been remarkably similar, this time personified by Cummins where last time it was largely the work of Brad Haddin, now the team’s fielding coach.At the same time, England’s dressing room conversations can only be guessed at, but the recollections of Graeme Swann give some idea of how things deteriorated in terms of how other viewed the bowlers’ attitude to batting. “[Graham] Gooch had a go at me and Broady for not scoring many runs,” Swann told the BBC.”And as Stuart pointed out very succinctly, we go in at eight and nine for a reason. If we go in at 300 for 6, we’ll get you another 100 runs. If we go in at 80 for 6 and Johnson’s only bowled three overs, we’re not, mate. And that wasn’t taken well. ‘Don’t blame our batsmen, it’s your fault, you’ve got to chip in down the order’. The wheels had fallen off: who can we blame?”Add to all this the missing heft of Ben Stokes, and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that England’s lower order is not just a source of trouble for the tourists, but a symptom of wider issues within. Equally, its under-perfomance relative to Australia means that the hosts are not fretting much at all about the unseasonal rain that has descended on Perth towards the end of this Test. All available evidence suggests they need only one or two breakthroughs to quickly roll up the rest, as so much WACA Ground history dictates.

With teams focusing on ODIs, given the upcoming Champions Trophy, and the next World T20 possibly three years away, there is a distinct lack of context to Friday’s New Zealand-South Africa match

Andrew McGlashan in Auckland16-Feb-2017New Zealand and South Africa are singing from the same hymn sheet: one-off T20s don’t have much meaning. There are caveats, and clichés, thrown in – playing for your country, putting on a show, building momentum – but the bottom line is that it is hard to stack much relevance on a standalone 40 overs of cricket before switching to another format.Context to world cricket is a hot topic at the moment after the recent round of ICC meetings in Dubai, which went a long way towards redrawing the shape of the international schedule. New Zealand are the No. 1-ranked T20 side, and while they are rightly proud of their standing, it does not come with the kudos of South Africa’s top spot in ODIs or India’s in Tests.”You always want more meaning on anything you play in, and if you could extend the series, it probably would give it that,” Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s captain, said. “But at the same time, with the schedules, it isn’t that easy to do. We have a big one-day series after this, followed by big Tests, so it’s just the nature of the beast.”Both these sides have recently come off three-match T20 series – New Zealand beat Bangladesh
3-0 and South Africa lost 2-1 to Sri Lanka – which gave the players involved a chance to sink their teeth into the format rather than a fly-in, fly-out meeting.While there is a considerable overlap between T20 and ODI personnel, there are some for whom the shortest format is their one international chance: Colin Munro, for example, has been dropped from the New Zealand one-day squad but remains in the T20 set-up.Imran Tahir, the South Africa legspinner who is the No. 1 bowler in both white-ball formats, believes one-off matches make it harsh to judge a player. “More would be fair – at least three games or maybe two,” he said. “In one game you might get rain and play a 5/5, so another game or two would be nice. Guys need an opportunity to perform. If you have two-three games you have a better chance to show what you can do, unlike missing out in one match.”The next World T20 is not scheduled until 2020 – the chances of another being slotted in during 2018 appear to be receding – and in the first part of this year teams are focused on their preparation for the Champions Trophy in England.”When it comes closer to World T20 time, teams tend to play a lot more T20 cricket,” Williamson said. “At the same time you are in competition for your country and you want to play well. I think it’s important that the T20s are worked into tours and they can carry a bit more weight when it comes closer to the World T20. It’s just natural there is more focus on certain formats in certain years.”Imran Tahir: “In one game you might get rain and play a 5/5. Guys need an opportunity to perform. If you have two-three games you have a better chance to show what you can do”•Associated PressThe growth of T20 has come on the franchise scene rather than international cricket. The IPL, BBL and CPL are currently the big three, and they are joined by the PSL and BPL. Later this year South Africa will launch a league and in 2020, English cricket will begin its new T20 tournament.On Monday the IPL auction will take place in Bangalore. Some cricketers will become rich, others will think they could perhaps have gone for more, some will be left disappointed not to get picked up at all.Last year Chris Morris, the South Africa allrounder who is part of their squad for this tour, was one of the surprise big buys when he was bought for $1 million by Delhi Daredevils, and there will be plenty of players looking their phones as the gavel comes down next week. Tahir, who was released by Delhi, and so is back up for auction, insisted that whatever sums of money float around, it will always remain South Africa first for him.”It’s somewhere in the back of my mind. The T20 is another opportunity to play for South Africa, which is more important for me. I really mean that. Everyone is aware of the auction. I’ve been released from Dehli Daredevils, so I have nothing to lose. I might get it, I might not. But as long as I keep winning games for South Africa, that’s more important for me.”There are 19 New Zealand players in the auction, including 20-year-old Glenn Phillips, who is set for his international debut on Friday, but Williamson, who was retained by Sunrisers Hyderabad, is adamant it won’t prove a distraction.”You never quite know what will happen, it’s often a hard thing to read – who might go for what – but it’s a fantastic opportunity, especially for those involved for the first time. But at the same time it’s something you can’t control and our focus remains on the cricket we have here.”

The punishment meted out to David Warner, Cameron Bancroft and Steven Smith is the most severe in cricket’s history with ball tampering. Here are seven other confessions from the past

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Mar-2018

Nuwan Pradeep may come across as meek more often than not, but he has the ability to make the world take notice with his bowling, the way he showed on the second day

Andrew Fidel Fernando at the Wanderers13-Jan-2017If Nuwan Pradeep has ever had a word with a batsman, it is possible his voice did not carry to the other end of the pitch. Chances are, it has never happened anyway. Not only is Pradeep perhaps the most withdrawn man in international cricket (he has played 23 Tests, but how many times have you heard him speak?), he is also a sporadic presence in this XI, and so, rarely capable of building himself up to some professional confidence.

Why Mathews took the new ball

Angelo Mathews bowls with the new ball ahead of some frontline quicks because Sri Lanka are more confident in Mathews’ ability to hit the right length, bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake has said. Mathews has routinely been the first-change bowler this series, and had also taken the second new ball in the first innings of the Johannesburg Test.
“Well what we think is that we need to hit the right length with the new ball,” Ramanayake said. “Angelo is one of the guys who hits right length consistently. That made us think to give the new ball for him and he has been successful. Lahiru Kumara tends to bowl shorter and he likes the bouncer a lot. But with the new ball we are looking at someone who could bowl that good length.”
However, of the seamers who have played at least two Tests this series, Mathews has the worst wicket-taking record by a distance. He averages 64.50 for his two wickets, while Kumara and Nuwan Pradeep average 26.45 and 43 respectively.

That he’s injury prone is not even slightly his fault. Pradeep comes from difficult circumstances, and coaches have suggested there was a lack of protein in his diet during adolescence.But however the problems have come about, Pradeep’s hamstrings now almost audibly twang with each bouncing step towards the bowling crease, so perpetually close are they to snapping. Such are the travails of Pradeep’s life. Even when he is fit, he sometimes does not make the XI, especially at home, where Sri Lanka sometimes only deploy seam bowlers in order to protect themselves from nastier questions about the state of the pitch. Pradeep comes to us intermittently, and sometimes unexpectedly, like a substitute teacher in high school – never really sure about his position, but grateful for the chance to be there.Sometimes he is so mild mannered, by the end of the period kids are hanging off the ceiling by their underpants, and have tattooed rude pictures on each other.But on other days, such as this one, Pradeep picks up the pointer, slams it on the desk and makes the world take notice. The Sri Lanka staff room remains an unhappy place, as it has been throughout the series, but thanks to the bowlers – Pradeep and Lahiru Kumara in this innings – they will avoid being sacked en masse when they face the higher ups.Nuwan Pradeep claimed four wickets for one run in the space of 18 balls•Gallo ImagesHe had begun on day two as meek as ever – short and wide to Faf du Plessis, and duly thunked to the square fence. He’d concede another four that over, but upon his return to the bowling crease, Pradeep was strikingly changed. The first ball of his second over pitched on off and veered sneeringly away from du Plessis’ bat. The next one was almost as good. The third delivery squared him up to take his edge, and suddenly, while Pradeep’s larynx remained as still as ever, but man, had his bowling had found its voice.In an 18-ball burst beginning with that du Plessis wicket, Pradeep was transformed from subdued substitute to the kind of headmaster that has a nose which smells contraband chewing gum from miles away, and a stare that makes students wet themselves. There were cynical, threatening, whispers from the ball, as it beat edge after edge; his co-faculty members in the slips howling their appreciation of the dressing down this unruly South Africa batting order were receiving. These batsmen had run amok this series. Pradeep took four wickets for one run, bowled a brute that pounced off a length at Vernon Philander, and gave Sri Lanka some satisfaction, short-lived though it turned out to be.But as it so often happens in the teaching world, after lunch Angelo Mathews came in like a school director attempting to piggyback off Pradeep’s excellent work, opening the bowling from Pradeep’s end. When Pradeep finally got the ball in hand and tail-end batsmen to bowl at, he found himself completely under-resourced – he squared Wayne Parnell up and took his edge, but only one slip was in place to a bowler in sublime rhythm. The diving man at first slip couldn’t hold the chance.”I was hoping Pradeep will take five wickets in an innings, because he hasn’t done that before in Test cricket,” bowling coach Champaka Ramanayake said. “He bowled pretty well in the last game also, though he didn’t pick up any wickets. Today morning he hit the right length consistently. Hopefully he will get more wickets in the second innings.”There may not be much of a second innings, of course, with Sri Lanka 80 for 4 already, and South Africa’s quicks smelling blood on a pitch that is still very quick. But at least before the mandatory collapse set in, Pradeep’s 18 balls provided a sliver of Sri Lanka dominance. It was probably their best patch of play in the series, and all the sweeter for having come from the mellowest man on the staff.

Hashim Amla put on a special act at the Wanderers but needed some support. He found it in unlikely quarters

Firdose Moonda in Johannesburg25-Jan-2018It’s so tough batting at the Wanderers that only one South African batsman got into double figures, and not without a fight. Hashim Amla had to adjust his technique, shuffle across his stumps to minimise the probability of being dismissed lbw, and he survived three reviews and a blow to the ribs in compiling 61 runs in a mixture of fortune and finesse. And while it’s true that Amla held South Africa’s innings together, he did not do it on his own.Two South African bowlers also got into double figures and their efforts cannot be put down to luck. Kagiso Rabada and Vernon Philander dragged South Africa to a slender advantage on a surface that is smouldering for batsmen on both sides. Between them, Rabada and Philander spent more time at the crease (205 minutes) than all South Africa’s other batsmen put together aside from Amla (152 minutes), and faced more balls.Ordinarily, that might be put down to circumstance, things like an old ball, tired bowlers, the opposition losing focus, a flattening pitch. Not this time. The pair were in the thick of things, against a swinging ball, lively bowling, an Indian attack that sensed an opportunity to get their own back, and a pitch that is not becoming any easier to bat on with cracks widening and uneven bounce.Rabada batted from the third over, when Aiden Markram was dismissed on the first evening. The first ball he faced swung away from him, the second moved in and struck him high on the pad and he still had to face eight more before he the day was done. Rabada’s job, however, was not.Technically, if Rabada only lasted a few minutes on the second morning, no one would have had too much to say. Realistically, after Bhuvneshwar Kumar delivered an opening over that squared Dean Elgar up once and beat him four times with seam movement away, if Rabada had hung his bat out and edged, no one would have had too much to say. But Rabada was made of sterner stuff.He watched an Ishant Sharma ball whistle past him and knew that he couldn’t quite catch its tune. He watched another pitch outside leg and then pass over middle and off. Maybe he didn’t watch that as such. Maybe it just caught the corner of his eye. He watched a third aimed at his off stump and got his bat down in time to keep it out, but then watched the ball take the edge and zoot past third man. He probably watched his own chest rise and fall as his heart beat faster knowing he was still there. And it would not have slowed down.Rabada was beaten three more times in an over by Ishant before he was able to leave with some certainty but there was never a stage of his innings where he was allowed to settled. Ishant continued to beat him, even with an offbreak on one occasion, before Bhuvneshwar tested him with a fuller length. The slip cordon predicted Rabada would not last long. They were wrong. Somehow, he batted until 11.53, seven minutes before lunch, taking his total time in the middle to two hours and 10 minutes. That’s more than a session. And in that time, Rabada played four of the best shots by anyone across the last two days – a flick off the pads, a strong square drive, a whip through midwicket and a loft over extra cover. Even Amla was impressed.”He doesn’t bat for as long as that ever, so he got to a time where he was like, ‘What do I do now?'” Amla said when asked if some of Rabada’s classier shots were influenced by him. “On a wicket like this, an element of fortune comes in and there are plays and misses all the time. We saw a few flair shots towards the end there. He had good intensity. If there was a bad ball, he tried to hit it.”Exactly the same can be said of Philander, and we should hardly be surprised. With seven Tests fifties to his name, Philander has done enough to be considered an allrounder. He pulled the third ball he faced – a bouncer meant for his chest, delivered by the bowler that had beaten his captain for pace, for four.Philander played with more intent than Rabada and, in so doing, dispelled some of the recent discontent that had been swirling around him. Despite being exceptionally skillful in his execution of seam movement, Philander has been criticised for the fitness concerns that became particularly problematic in England, when he fell ill at The Oval and then missed the deciding Test in Manchester with back spasms.Then, Graeme Smith said that unless Philander concentrated on his conditioning, his career would be in danger of waning fast. Today, Smith, gave Philander the highest praise when he compared his back-and-across to Jacques Kallis’. “I saw the comparison with Jacques Kallis on the screen, and we do call him ‘Woogie’ [Kallis’ nickname],” Amla said. “He prizes his wicket and he has matured into a good batsman.”Philander’s most eyecatching stroke was the high-elbowed back-foot drive but his best moment was two overs’ earlier, when he was struck on the glove. Philander required on-field treatment and carried on; the Philander who had been in Smith’s firing line might have required more assistance, maybe not even carried on. This Philander, the Philander playing in his 50th Test, had the right kind of guts and played an innings of great value for his team.Ultimately, Rabada and Philander’s runs may be needed as much as what they might do next. India are already 42 runs ahead and have already had lower-order efforts of their own. Though India don’t know what a safe target to set may be, given that neither side has topped 200, anything much more would be a tough ask. Amla remained positive but if South Africa are to chase something more significant, he will need a lot more help to get there. “It’s evenly poised. Anything can happen tomorrow morning. Even if we have to chase 300, that’s fine, we are going to do our best to get there,” he said.

Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy have been rather underwhelming on the tour of New Zealand

Firdose Moonda in Hamilton22-Mar-20170:53

The search for form in South Africa’s top order

If batting problems are the subject under discussion in this series, New Zealand are the side worse off. They have a misfiring opener in Tom Latham and are without their most experienced player, Ross Taylor. But South Africa are not without issues. Despite the coming of age of Dean Elgar, the nuggety approach of Temba Bavuma and the sensation that is Quinton de Kock, they have three senior players – Stephen Cook, Hashim Amla and JP Duminy – who desperately need runs.”All batting units at international level will have one player struggling for form but that’s okay because you can’t just be relying on that one player,” South Africa coach Russell Domingo said. “That’s why it’s a batting unit and that’s why it’s a team – the team has got to try and help that player get out of those slumps. We’ve got maybe two or three players who are feeling that pressure at the moment. That’s a little bit of a concern. It’s always easier to just have one but when you’ve got two or three who are maybe searching for a bit of form, a bit of runs, it does become more challenging.”

Stephen Cook

Scores on this tour (Tests only): 3, 0, 3, 11
Innings since last hundred: 7
Hundreds this season: 2Stephen Cook’s judgment around the off stump has been suspect•AFPThere is no getting around the fact that Stephen Cook does not score pretty runs, but now he has added ugly dismissals to his CV as well. He has been the first man out on all four occasions in this series and to the same kind of delivery – the outswinger. He has both left the wrong ball (first innings in Dunedin) and gone fishing after it (both innings in Wellington). And though he would have survived had he reviewed the caught behind in the second innings of the first Test, one can’t help but wonder for how long?Cook looks increasingly edgy at the crease, perhaps even worse than he did in Australia, where his first four innings yielded 75 runs. He could be banking on the knowledge that he came through that rough patch and scored a century in the second innings of the day-night Test in Adelaide and topped that up with another at home against Sri Lanka. Judging by how he hit the nets on Wednesday, when only fielding drills were compulsory, Cook seemed to know he couldn’t rely on those statistics for too long.”He hits more balls than anyone else in the world so he is going to be here even if no-one is allowed to be here,” Domingo said.Cook might not lose his spot just yet considering the only reserve batsman in the squad is Theunis de Bruyn, who usually plays in the middle order. Quinton de Kock moving up seems unlikely as well, given his responsibility as wicketkeeper. And as far as future prospects go, Aiden Markram, the 22-year-old opener with an average of 41.38 from 28 first-class matches, may need a little more time to mature.

Hashim Amla

Scores on this tour (Tests only): 1, 24, 21, 38*
Innings since last hundred: 4
Hundreds this season: 1Hashim Amla has looked better as the tour has gone on, but he doesn’t have that big score yet•Getty ImagesIt might be sacrilege to even suggest Hashim Amla is losing his touch but an unusually lean season says something needs addressing. He has struggled with footwork (first innings in Dunedin, when he was bowled through a bat-pad gap) and concentration (soft dismissals in the second innings in Dunedin and first in Wellington) issues, which could be the consequence of limited-overs cricket affecting his Test match play.Amla gave up captaincy last January, in the same match that he scored a double-ton. Another century two games later hinted that he had been freed up, but a lean tour of Australia and struggles against Sri Lanka – broken briefly by a hundred in his 100th Test – brought the doubts back. Amla has looked better as the New Zealand series has gone on, and given his sterling record in England, where South Africa play next, they will not even consider going without him.

JP Duminy

Scores on this tour (only Tests): 1, 39, 16, 15*
Innings since last hundred: 4
Hundreds this season: 2JP Duminy has been getting out to both the short and the full balls•AFPJP Duminy began as a Test player with immense promise but somewhere along, he has turned into one that frustrates the fans. After 44 matches, he still averages under 35 and his six hundreds are spaced out through significant periods of under-performance.Duminy has had a poor tour of New Zealand, across formats. In the Tests, he was bounced out on the pull (first innings Dunedin), pinned in front playing all around an inswinger (second innings Dunedin), caught off a half-volley (second innings Wellington) and he has no excuses.Since AB de Villiers’ absence, Duminy has been promoted to No. 4 and he had early success, scoring a cathartic century against Australia in Perth. He revealed he had considered retirement last summer but was persuaded to stay on by then-selector Ashwell Prince, and Faf du Plessis has not stopped praising his game since. Duminy went on to score a century against Sri Lanka too but has not been unable to build on those innings. Although, his bowling adds to his value, it will not be enough to keep him in the side if his low scores continue. If de Bruyn is to come into the XI, Duminy is the likeliest man to make way.Two days ago, Duminy opted out of the IPL so he could have a little more time to work on his game, a sign of commitment to the national cause”He has made that decision based purely on freshening up from the mental aspect side of things but also family commitments. I suppose in the long run it is in the best interests of JP Duminy and also South African cricket,” Domingo said.Unless the results start to show soon, Duminy may end his career as a nearly-man and South Africa will have to look elsewhere.

Only two other Sri Lankan openers have carried their bat in a Test innings

S Rajesh12-Jul-20184 – The number of Sri Lankan openers who have carried their bat in a Test innings. Dimuth Karunaratne joins Sidath Wettimuny (63* v New Zealand, 1983), Marvan Atapattu 216* v Zimbabwe, 1999) and Russel Arnold (104* v Zimbabwe, 1999) in this elite group.ESPNcricinfo Ltd55.05 – Percentage of Sri Lanka’s runs scored by Karunaratne on the opening day of the Galle Test. Only seven others Sri Lankans have scored a higher percentage of runs in a completed Test innings. Asanka Gurusihna’s 63.4% (52 out of 82) against India in Chandigarh in 1990 is the highest.3 – Number of Sri Lankan batsmen to have made a hundred in their 50th Test. Prior to Karunaratne’s 158 not out, Sanath Jayasuriya made scored 188 in his 50th Test, against Pakistan in 2000, while Tillakaratne Dilshan scored a century in each innings 162 and 143 against Bangladesh in 2009.ESPNcricinfo Ltd8 – Number of Test tons for Karunaratne, all as an opener. Among Sri Lankan openers, only Marvan Atapattu (16) and Jayasuriya (13) have scored more hundreds.7 – Number of countries against whom Karunaratne has at least one Test century. . The only ones against whom he hasn’t got one yet are Australia (highest of 85 in 12 innings), and England (highest 50 in 10 innings).3 – Instances of Sri Lanka’s ninth and tenth wickets adding 40-plus runs in a Test innings. The two such previous instances were in 2012 (against England, also in Galle), and in 2007(against Australia in Hobart).43.4 – Overs of spin bowled by South Africa in the Sri Lankan innings. In the first 80 overs of a first innings since 2002, there have been only two instances of South Africa’s spinners bowling more overs than this, and both were in the 2015 series in India: in the Delhi Test, the spinners bowled 46 of the first 80 overs, and in Nagpur they bowled 45.1 overs.

da wazamba： A position often heavily scrutinised in Enzo Maresca’s system at Chelsea are his wingers, who are tasked with holding the width in the early stages of build-up, pinning opposition fullbacks and looking to isolate them 1v1 at any given chance.

da mrbet： However, the profiles of wingers Chelsea currently have at their disposal aren’t the exact archetype Maresca would favour, apart from Noni Madueke who fits the bill.

Pedro Neto and Jadon Sancho are slightly different in style, therefore offering a plan B when needed.

Chelsea looking to improve their attack

Adding another direct type winger who is more akin to Madueke on the opposite side could take Chelsea to another level next season, giving them directness on both flanks to force the issue and create high xG chances.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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So, it will come as no surprise to learn they’re after one of the finest wingers in European football right now.

Indeed, according to reports from Spain, Chelsea are one of three teams who are ‘ready to make a move’ for Barcelona forward, Raphinha, with the Blues identifying the Brazilian winger as a “priority target”. The other two clubs interested are Manchester City and Saudi side Al Hilal.

The Blues were in for Raphinha back in 2022 prior to his move to Barcelona, with the Brazil international opting to join the Spanish outfit instead after leaving Leeds United for a fee of around £55m.

Raphinha has made 49 appearances for the Spanish giants in all competitions this season, scoring 30 goals, providing 21 assists and totalling 3,952 minutes played.

Barca are still on for the treble this season, and achieving this could see the 28-year-old become the front-runner for the Ballon D’or.

How Raphinha could benefit Cole Palmer

Cole Palmer has found himself in a bit of a rut this second half of the season, still having 14 goals and nine assists in 39 appearances this campaign, but going without a goal for the past three months, last scoring against Bournemouth back in January.

This campaign has been very different for the 22-year-old star, often being man-marked and focused on by opposition pressing schemes, limiting his time and space on the ball.

One thing that could help to open up those alleys of space Palmer loves to operate within is the addition of more relentless runners, something the Blues have missed at points this season. This is where Raphinha comes in.

Raphinha vs Cole Palmer in 24/25

Stats (per 90 mins)

Raphinha

Palmer

Goals

0.68

0.39

Assists

0.48

0.22

xG

0.56

0.52

xAG

0.48

0.30

Progressive Carries

3.24

4.66

Progressive Passes

3.31

6.26

Progressive Passes Received

10.8

5.28

Shots Total

3.68

3.60

Key Passes

3.03

2.49

Shot-Creating Actions

5.49

5.80

Successful Take-Ons

1.61

1.44

Stats taken from FBref

When looking at the Brazilian’s underlying numbers alongside Chelsea’s central creator, you can see the former receives 10.8 progressive passes per 90. This is a big indicator that he is a focal point and outlet for Barcelona, often looking to penetrate the opposition’s defensive line with runs in behind.

This is exactly what Palmer needs in order to stretch the spaces between the opposition’s first two lines of contact, the first being their forwards/midfielders in the pressing unit, and the second being the defensive line.

Raphinha has even been labelled as “the best player in the world” this season by Statman Dave, and his incredible willingness to be direct and run beyond is one of his key characteristics as a player. Not to mention he’s scoring by the bucket load and creating heaps of goalscoring opportunities for his teammates.

Palmer has looked at his best when linking up with Nicolas Jackson and Madueke this season, Chelsea’s two most relentless runners in the front line, willing to run in behind in order to create space for the England international.

As a result, another with Raphinha would only benefit the England international, making it harder for teams to cut off his preferred zones of space.

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A win is vital for the home side if they are to retain hopes of reaching the final

AAP03-Mar-2024Daniel Hughes and Oliver Davies struck fighting centuries to give New South Wales a chance to secure victory in their Sheffield Shield encounter with South Australia in Sydney.NSW went to stumps on day three with an overall lead of 178. Hughes (114 off 180 balls) and Davies (116 off 166 balls) were the standout performers on Sunday.Related

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Given NSW entered the penultimate round in fourth spot, they will fight tooth and nail to secure an outright win on Monday in order to keep alive their hopes of reaching the Shield final.”I think we’ll look to bat on a little bit in the morning, and try to get that lead upwards of 220ish,” Davies said. “I think it’s a 104-over day tomorrow, so [we will try to] give ourselves 90 to 96 overs to try to rock and roll them.”Hughes started Sunday on 71, and brought up his ninth first-class century during the morning session before his knock was brought undone by a sharp diving catch by Jake Lehmann.When NSW slipped to 213 for 4, the Redbacks had a chance to get themselves back into the contest. But the door was slammed firmly shut as Davies, Moises Henriques and Jack Edwards all dug in.Chris Green and Ryan Hadley made it to stumps, and will look to pile on some quick runs on Monday.Nathan McAndrew was the pick of the Redbacks bowlers with 3 for 63 to lift his season tally to 40 wickets, while Ben Manenti snared 2 for 114.”It was a tough day,” Manenti said.  “I thought we toiled pretty hard all day. Credit to Hughesy and Ollie, they batted well and got nice hundreds, and were chanceless. The wicket flattened out, so I think it will be a good wicket to bat on tomorrow.”For 23-year-old Davies, it was his second Shield century of the summer.”To not be picked at the start of the season to scoring my second century, it’s a very good feeling,” Davies said.  “Hopefully I can keep carrying this on.”I felt really good out there. I waited for bad balls, and thought I batted very well. I thought I was a lot more patient than I am in most other innings.”

With three matches left to play in the Premier League this season – on top of an FA Cup final in the middle of May – Manchester City still have a chance to cling onto some crumbs of pride from a sobering campaign.

Indeed, Pep Guardiola’s men are now only three points off being on the same points total as Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal in second, whilst a FA Cup final victory at Wembley versus Crystal Palace would be an impressive hat-trick of successes for the Spaniard in the esteemed competition.

Restoring some pride now could also set City up for a Premier League title chase when the ball gets rolling for the eventual 2025/26 season, with the upcoming transfer window further giving the Citizens apt time to rebuild before going again.

Manchester City's midfield rebuild

Guardiola has already started to add new flavours to his regimented City side, seen in seven-goal hero Omar Marmoush immediately making an impression on the English game after a statement January move.

With Kevin De Bruyne exiting the building this summer, the midfield is in slight need of a revamp too, leading to City now being linked with players like Morgan Gibbs-White and now Barcelona ace Frenkie De Jong to bolster centrally.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

As per reports from Spain, the Dutchman is an in-demand figure from a whole host of Premier League outfits, with Liverpool, Man CIty and Arsenal interested in signing the 27-year-old.

It’s further stated that a £34m bid could be made by Arne Slot’s title-winning Reds to try and tempt De Jong to Anfield, but City and the Gunners are still closely monitoring the Barca star’s situation to see if they can steal his services.

If De Jong can recapture the heights of his Ajax best at the Etihad, picking up such a talent for £34m will go down as a sterling bargain, with the 27-year-old also a potential upgrade on an ageing Gundogan if everything goes swimmingly.

Why De Jong could be a Gundogan upgrade

Before delving deeper into why the Dutchman might well be an inspired pick-up, it’s only right to look back at Gundogan when he was at his unbelievable peak in England.

After all, the German veteran hasn’t just fluked his sensational tally of 62 goals and 43 assists from 351 first-team appearances, but his numbers have been on an unfortunate slide this campaign.

Only five goal contributions have come his way in the Premier League this season, with De Jong amazingly only one off his ex-Borussia Dortmund’s counterpart’s total for the campaign back in La Liga.

This is a surprise considering the Barca number 21 has had many an injury setback to endure in the Camp Nou dressing room of late, but an impressive two goals and two assists have still managed to come his way, even as a mere seven league starts have been handed to him.

Games played

75

98

Games scored

6

13

Assists

6

18

Pass accuracy *

91.6%

87.3%

Progressive carries

3.37

2.20

Progressive passes

9.56

6.19

Passes into final 3rd

9.73

5.21

Tackles won

1.08

0.64

Aerials won

1.10

0.47

However, it’s over the last few seasons where we can really see the difference between the two players. Described by former Barca boss Xavi as “one of the best midfielders in the world”, he’s notably a more progressive passer and dribbler, with that no doubt a key attribute as Guardiola aims to refresh and rebuild his midfield.

Gundogan has, of course, displayed his class in the past for his current employers, but it does feel as if he’s reaching the end of his playing days now.

Whereas, De Jong – who has amassed 42 goal contributions and counting in Spain – has plenty of room to grow and impress, especially if he’s soon supplying the likes of Marmoush and Haaland with chances galore up top.

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