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The difference between Chris Gayle and the next-best on key parameters indicates his excellence in the format

S Rajesh18-Apr-20172478 The difference in aggregate between Chris Gayle and the next-highest in the T20s – Brendon McCullum is in second place with an aggregate of 7596. To put that aggregate difference in perspective, the difference between the aggregates of McCullum and the 20th-ranked Mahela Jayawardene is only 2069.284 The difference between the number of sixes hit by Gayle and the next-highest in T20s – Gayle has struck 743 sixes, while Kieron Pollard is second with 459. The difference between Pollard and the 20th-ranked Cameron White is only 247.

74.8 Percentage of Gayle’s T20 runs which have come in boundaries – he has hit 769 fours and 743 sixes. Among batsmen with at least 4000 T20 runs, the next-best percentage is Virender Sehwag’s 69.7.

18 Number of different teams for whom Gayle has played T20s. Apart from West Indies, they are: Barisal Bulls (also named Barisal Burners), Chittagong Vikings, Dhaka Gladiators, Jamaica, Jamaica Tallawahs, Karachi Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Lahore Qalandars, Lions, Matabeleland Tuskers, Melbourne Renegades, PCA XI, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Somerset, Stanford Superstars, Sydney Thunder and Western Australia.15 T20 hundreds for Gayle in the period between 2011 and 2015, from 174 innings, which is an average of 11.6 innings per hundred. In the period before 2011 he scored one century in 51 innings, and since 2015 he has scored two in 56 innings. During the five-year period between 2011 and 2015, no other batsman scored more than five hundreds; the next-best was Michael Klinger with five.6 Consecutive calendar years – from 2011 to 2016 – in which Gayle struck at least two T20 hundreds. Before 2011, he had hit only one T20 hundred.

1 Batsman with a strike rate better than Gayle’s 149.56, among the 49 who have scored 4000-plus T20 runs: Pollard has a strike rate of 151.72.43.6 Dot-ball percentage for Gayle. Among batsmen with 4000-plus runs, only two batsmen have a higher dot percentage: Dwayne Smith (46.5), and Lendl Simmons (45.8). (For matches where ball-by-ball data is available.)

The allrounder has never grumbled about whatever role he has been given in the Test side and his 100-wicket milestone was a fitting reward

George Dobell at Lord's07-Jul-2017Moeen Ali isn’t really a ‘Talk nah’ sort of guy.If he was, he might have wandered over to his new captain, Joe Root, and asked ‘Who’s your first spinner now?’ after the wicket of Hashim Amla. He had heard his bowling described as an “add-on” ahead of this match by Root, after all, and seen Liam Dawson promoted to first spin option.Or he might have slammed down his bat after his 87 and pointed out the injustice of his demotion from No. 4 to No. 7 in the batting order since England’s last Test. He had scored 190 runs in Chennai (146 in the first innings and 44 in the second), after all.But he isn’t that sort. So instead of basking in the glory of some really quite remarkable statistics – on Friday he became the quickest (in terms of Tests played) England-born allrounder in history to achieve the milestone of 2,000 runs and 100 wickets, also reaching the landmark quicker than undisputed greats such as Garry Sobers, Jacques Kallis, Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Kapil Dev – he laughed at the absurdity of such a state of affairs.”In my garden I was better than Sobers,” he joked as he thought back to childhood games and what must have seemed unachievable feats. “If someone had said I’d play more than one Test I wouldn’t have believed it. I would never have thought I’d have 100 Test wickets.”Maybe that modesty has counted against him at times. During the Dhaka Test in October, Moeen claimed a crucial wicket – that of the well-set Mominul Haque – on his way to a five-wicket haul and afterwards was asked whether it was a cleverly-disguised arm-ball.”Nah,” he answered. “It was a normal ball. It just didn’t spin.”It was similar here. Asked if he was excited by the apparent turn on offer from this surface, he answered “No, if I get too excited I’ll just start bowling pies again.”It was wonderfully honest, of course. Miles away from the bragging we hear from some sports stars and a reminder of the fine role-model Moeen provides in every way. And that’s admirable in itself. But whereas the likes of Shane Warne might have taken such moments to build the mystery of his art – talking of different types of leg-breaks, sliders or googlies – Moeen was happy to be taken for what he is: a decent bowler doing his best in a job he never thought he would find himself doing. This is not a golden era for English spin for many reasons we need not revisit and Moeen has sometimes suffered for being the best the nation has to offer right now. If there’s better out there on the county circuit, they are not making it especially obvious.Statistics don’t always tell the full story, of course. This latest one, for example, doesn’t tell you that Moeen would need to take 100 more wickets in his next four-and-a-half Tests to equal Botham’s record of 2000 runs and 200 wickets from 42 Tests. It doesn’t tell you that Moeen’s batting average is more than 20 lower than Sobers’ and his bowling average his almost 20 higher than Hadlee’s. Nobody, anywhere, is suggesting he is better than either or any of them.But that doesn’t mean he is not a hugely valuable player for England. Or a hugely versatile one who has batted everywhere from No. 1 to No. 9 in the order and never given so much as a grumble when he has been the one obliged to move out of position for the good of the team. He even managed a little smile when Stuart Broad, another man who enjoyed a terrific all-round day, took a shy at the stumps in the final over and conceded four overthrows off Moeen’s bowling. Imagine roles were reversed…Moeen’s bowling has several positive qualities. Most noticeably, he bowls quicker than most spinners. He also spins the ball more sharply than most, gains more drift than many and has an equable temperament that seems capable of withstanding those days when the batsmen get on top of him. He’s never carried away and never down on himself. “Pressure?” he responded to a question about how he was feeling going into this game. “I don’t feel pressure at all. It’s only a game of cricket…”He’s not perfect, of course. He does not have the accuracy or control of the very best spinners, he does not have the variation or subtly of some and he is still learning ways to out-smart well-set batsmen over the course of a spell. There were times, particularly when he was bowling against the best Pakistan and India batsmen, when he didn’t look as if he had a lot of confidence in his ability to make the breakthrough.ESPNcricinfo LtdHe takes more top-order wickets than might be imagined, though. Of those 100 wickets, 34 have been batsmen in the top three, 18 have been those batting at four and five and 18 more have been those batting at six and seven. That’s 58 from the top six and 70 from the top seven. They include David Warner and Mohammad Hafeez four times each, Misbah-ul-Haq and Ajinkya Rahane three times each and Kumar Sangakkara, Steven Smith, Younis Khan, Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara twice each. There aren’t too many cheap wickets there.He’s had to reinvent himself on the way. When he was first selected, in 2014, it was partly with a view to utilising his doosra – at the time a huge weapon for Saeed Ajmal and apparently accepted by the ICC. But within a few months that was effectively outlawed and Moeen was obliged to add pace and bite to his bowling and rely on the somewhat more prosaic qualities of drift and turn and natural variation.At first he prospered as a bowler as batsmen tried to thrash him out of the attack. Think of the start of the Ashes in 2015: Smith and Warner looked as if they wanted to annihilate him at Cardiff. But he kept his head and got his men and gradually sides realised that the best way to play him was not to go after him, thereby offering him an opportunity, but to sit back, milk him and wait for the release ball. His bowling average since the start of 2016 – 51.20 – reflects the greater struggle that wicket-taking has become.It may be that Root’s captaincy frees him a little. Root has told him to attack more and worry about conceding runs less. He has told him Dawson is around to do the holding job and Moeen is given licence, with bat and ball, to attack. It might just work.The success of his batting has been less of a surprise. From almost the time he could hold a bat he was impressing in clubs around Birmingham. And while he might never be the most consistent or reliable, much the same could be said about David Gower. Quietly, Moeen is putting together a decent record as a Test batsman, here falling 13 short of what would have been a fifth century in his most recent 14 Tests. The average is creeping up. So is his assurance at the crease. In the same period – since the start of 2016 – his Test batting average is 48.54 He is a hell of a player to come in at No. 7.You suspect he would rather bat higher. But he’s far from ego-centric and he understands the reason why first Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler and now Jonny Bairstow have been promoted ahead of him. He won’t moan. He won’t cause any discomfort in the dressing room or on tour. He knows that England’s all-round depth – the presence of Stokes and Chris Woakes and him – give England a depth with bat and ball that must be the envy of most sides around the world. He knows – they all know – that such depth can take them places.Besides, deeds are often more eloquent than words. So when Amla was beaten by a sharply turning offbreak – the first ball Moeen had bowled to him – there was no need to say anything more. And when he smashed Morne Morkel through the covers or flicked Vernon Philander through midwicket, there was no need to tell anyone what a fine batsman he is.This England camp know they have a gem in Moeen. They know they have a man who can fulfil almost any role with the bat and who will be unflustered with the ball whether he’s bowled India out in a Test or been hit out of the ground in the UAE. They know that, on good days and bad, he’ll be upbeat and calm in the dressing room and committed and capable on the pitch. He’s not underestimated by them at all and maybe, as the cheers for his wickets and the ovation for his runs suggested, he’s not underestimated by England supporters, either.Moeen Ali isn’t really a ‘Talk nah’ sort of guy. And he’s all the better for that.

After bowling 10 overs together in Kolkata, Ashwin and Jadeja were back to their tactics of threatening both edges of the bat, and targeting the stumps at all times for bowled and lbw dismissals

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Nagpur24-Nov-20172:27

‘Ashwin and I played supporting roles’ – Jadeja

What does Lahiru Thirimanne hate more than anything else? On Friday, the answer seemed to be “getting out lbw to offspin”.

‘Wicket had grass but not bounce, swing or conditions of Kolkata’ – Jadeja

After all the expectations of another green and seamer-friendly pitch for the second Test too, Ravindra Jadeja clarified that the conditions at the VCA Stadium were not the same as they were at Eden Gardens.
When asked if there was less help for fast bowlers in Nagpur compared to Kolkata, he said: “No, it seems so because there was too much help for pacers in Kolkata. There was a lot of help from the wicket there so you guys must have felt that every ball will yield a wicket but that was not the case over here because this wicket had grass but not the bounce or swing or the overcast conditions in Kolkata.
“That’s why we didn’t get much help compared to Kolkata but the two [Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav] bowled well in the first session. We didn’t give too many runs in the first session, they bowled as per the field set for them.”

He began his innings in the fifth over of the day, and stayed at the crease until the 25th. In that time he faced 21 balls from R Ashwin, all from round the wicket. Thirimanne’s response to each of them seemed to be built around making sure that his front pad wasn’t in the way of the ball in the event that it didn’t turn, and instead went with the angle into his stumps. Each time he needed to get on the front foot, he planted it straight down the pitch, and never across towards the line of the ball.Ashwin was clued into this, and every now and then floated one wide of off stump to invite the drive, and invite that front pad to move across a little. He had three fielders to protect the drive: cover, short-extra cover, mid-off.Thirimanne, however, refused to move his front pad across, and he ended up having to reach for the ball. Each of his drives went to backward point: sliced, steered, never really stroked with a straight bat.Over after over, when he was on strike to Ashwin, Thirimanne kept blocking the regular off-stump line and hitting the wider ones to backward point.At the other end, he barely scored a run against Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma, who bowled round the wicket to him with six fielders on the off side: two slips, backward point, catching cover point, catching mid-off, and a deepish cover between the two. The two quicks landed everything on a good length, barely ever straying towards the pads of Thirimanne or Dimuth Karunaratne, the two left-handers in the middle. Dot ball followed dot ball followed dot ball.During Thirimanne’s time at the crease, Sri Lanka scored 24 runs in 20.1 overs. Thirimanne made nine of those runs, off 58 balls. When it arrived, his dismissal seemed inevitable. Ashwin moved silly point to short leg, and perhaps mindful of that fielder’s threat if he kept defending with bat in front of pad, Thirimanne went for the hard, square sweep. Once again, however, Thirimanne didn’t get his front pad across, and when he missed, he left an unimpeded path between Ashwin’s slider and the stumps. Bowled, while looking to guard against lbw.Bowled and lbw was the story of the day, particularly against India’s spinners. Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja shared seven wickets, and five were either bowled or lbw. Four of them were the result of natural variation.Ashwin flicked the edge of Dasun Shanaka’s off stump with a beauty that slipped past his outside edge, continuing on with the round-the-wicket angle. In his previous over, he had ripped one into Shanaka from virtually the same spot on the pitch, and an inside edge had flown just wide of leg gully.Jadeja’s dismissals of Angelo Mathews and Dilruwan Perera were classic Jadeja wickets: Mathews trapped half-forward, Perera trapped on the back foot, by balls pitching on the perfect length and skidding on with the angle. Both times, Jadeja’s pace and trajectory gave the batsmen no chance to recover.This, of course, is how Ashwin and Jadeja operate on the subcontinent. Threaten both edges of the bat, threaten the stumps at all times. Before their tour began, Sri Lanka will have expected this to be their biggest test.Instead, they only faced 10 overs of Ashwin and Jadeja in the first Test, on a green Eden Gardens pitch built to India’s specifications. Here, too, at the VCA Stadium, an unnatural amount of grass – imagine how the South African tourists of 2015 may have chuckled looking at this pitch – topped the surface. This was meant to be round two of India’s preparation for their tour of South Africa.Ravindra Jadeja and Virat Kohli celebrate Angelo Mathews’ wicket•BCCINagpur isn’t Kolkata, however, particularly with regards to weather and overhead conditions, and grass can only do so much to a pitch that has turn in its DNA. It wasn’t extravagant turn, and the bounce was consistent, but it was enough to make Ashwin and Jadeja smile, grab the ball from their captain, and tell him: “we’ll take over from here.”To Sri Lanka, they simply said, “hello again”.The parallel narrative, however, wasn’t entirely abandoned. In the 79.1 overs they took to bowl Sri Lanka out, India gleaned a little more knowledge to take to South Africa.The two fast bowlers were perhaps auditioning for the third seamer’s role, and both were impressively disciplined in the first session while bowling to Thirimanne and Karunaratne. Ishant, though, kept asking the difficult questions more frequently, and will be pleased that all three of his wickets came from the fuller side of a good length. The ball that dismissed Karunaratne was pitched full enough – according to both on-field umpire and ball-tracking – to pitch in line with leg stump and hit off stump, while not moving too much, and earned him a rare lbw of a left-hander from over the wicket.Umesh, as he can do sometimes, bowled a few loose ones in his afternoon spells, overpitching while striving for reverse-swing and occasionally providing width. He also has a tendency to bowl less well in conditions he is theoretically better suited to. After what seemed a breakthrough series against Australia earlier this year, this issue seemed to resurface in Kolkata, where he went at more than four an over while looking far less threatening than Mohammed Shami or Bhuvneshwar Kumar on a pitch made of fast bowlers’ favourite dreams.After day one in Nagpur, it looked as if Ishant might have moved back ahead of Umesh in India’s fast-bowling queue. Either way, they continued to reinforce India’s depth of seam options – when all four of their main quicks are fit. Shami remains a concern on that front: he missed out with a hip niggle.On Thursday, Virat Kohli had spoken of the difficulty of fitting both Ashwin and Jadeja into India’s XI when they play overseas. He hinted that their selection could hinge on the distribution of right- and left-handers in the opposition line-up, highlighting the threat posed by the angle into their stumps and the odd ball turning away.On Friday, Ashwin dismissed two left-handers and two right-handers (one of whom was playing a reverse-sweep) and Jadeja two right-handers and one left-hander.Which one would you pick, if you were the captain? Someone asked Jadeja this question in his press conference at the end of the day’s play.” [Are you really asking me this]?” was his response. “It’s a no-brainer. If I am the captain, I will not even give the ball to anyone. I will keep bowling from one end.”Then he laughed, and echoed what his captain had said.”It depends on team’s balance, what the team wants. At times on overseas tours, we assess if there are more lefties or right-handers in the opposition and accordingly the team’s composition is set.”When asked if competing with Ashwin for one slot overseas put extra pressure on him, Jadeja said he could “only control the controllables.””When I get an opportunity, I will try to do well,” he said. “What is not in my control, there is no point thinking about it. When I get a chance to play in South Africa, I will try to do well. When I got a chance last time, I played the second Test after Ash played the first. That’s why I said that team’s combination will depend on the composition of the opposition – the number of lefties or right-handers.”Here is the top seven that could potentially face India in Cape Town: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis, Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock. Five right-handers, two left-handers. India’s decision of which spinner to pick, then, might not be too difficult, but given just how good both of them are, the decision of which one to leave out certainly will be.

Wobbly Dukes ball, uncertain bounce, dramatic late swing – James Foster and Deep Dasgupta offer India’s young keeper some advice on how to handle these unique challenges

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Aug-2018A tremor of laughter erupted around Trent Bridge as Rishabh Pant charged Adil Rashid to deposit the second ball he faced in Test cricket high into the Pavilion on the first day of the Trent Bridge Test. With a six as his first scoring shot Pant had announced his arrival in Test cricket. In one stroke, he had autographed his style of play – a bold brush, bristling with energy and aggression. As a batsman, Pant will always remain that.What about his second skill, the other half of his job – wicketkeeping? It will be fair to say Pant did not come out as unfinished a glovesman as many feared he might. He held seven catches – a joint record for a debutant – and generally looked competent.Getty ImagesWicketkeeping in England is one of the most difficult jobs in cricket. The Dukes ball wobbles in the air as the keeper attempts to line it up. Another common sight on English pitches is the ball dying as it reaches the keeper. Consequently, wicketkeepers endlessly mark their spot behind the stumps, and each time they think the distance is perfect they are flattered to be deceived.Then there is the challenge of the ball swinging late, well after it has passed the batsman, leaving the keeper wrong-footed and having to adjust hurriedly.Suffice to say then that Pant, only 20 years old, would have been nervous keeping wickets in his debut Test, which India had to win to keep the series alive. He would commit some mistakes, none bigger than dropping Jos Buttler in England’s second innings, when Jasprit Bumrah’s unusual angle made him take a couple of steps to his left, only for the outside edge to force him to dive a long way in the opposite direction. Pant managed to get a sliver of his outstretched glove to the ball, but not enough of it to pouch the ball. Buttler was on 1 at the time, and he went on to make a century that did not deny India victory but delayed it substantially.Pant cannot be blamed entirely, though, for Bumrah’s release – from wide of the crease, with his arm going well beyond the vertical – can be as difficult for keepers to get used to as it is for batsmen.”When Bumrah bowls he bowls with a different angle,” Pant said after India’s victory. “Sometimes you react to it. That day I reacted too much on that ball and the edge came off. I am not saying that it was a too difficult catch. I could have pulled it off.”Despite being on debut, the conditions were not entirely alien to Pant. He arrived in England in early June as part of the India A squad for limited-overs and first-class matches against the England Lions and West Indies A. The wobbling ball was an immediate challenge, which he tried to sort out in training, working initially with the India A coaches and then with Dinesh Karthik, who played the first two Tests, and India fielding coach R Sridhar.James Foster, the former England wicketkeeper, one of the most experienced and talented glovesmen around, says the wobbling ball can be a “shock to the system” of overseas wicketkeepers. Foster says it is not just the bowlers, but even the design of venues like Lord’s and Trent Bridge, that can cause ball to wobble. If the issue is not addressed correctly, it can mentally destabilise the wicketkeeper.”It is the fact the ball will come to you and suddenly wobble,” Foster tells ESPNcricinfo. “It can be very tricky. Generally the ball does not wobble after it is nicked, but it has happened to me. Dealing with the wobble can affect you because as result you might get tense as a wicketkeeper because you are not sure how the ball is actually coming to you – in an arc or in a straight line. That can potentially have knock-on effects on how you keep for the rest of the innings or the day.”Late on the fourth afternoon Pant was rapped on the left hand when the second new ball zipped at a faster speed than he expected from Mohammed Shami. Pant was just getting into position and failed to collect cleanly, wincing as he folded his gloved left hand behind his back.Foster, who plays for Essex, says the best way to confront the wobble is not to be “tense in your top half” – your mind. Foster likes to collect the ball waist-high, but that does mean he recommends it to everyone. He says the bounce can also be inconsistent in England.”If the conditions are not good it does not bounce consistently through to you. In Australia the ball will continually be coming through. In England it can die quite a lot. Keeping to a wobbling ball, my advise is trust your eyes and trust your hands.”Getty ImagesSome keepers feel minimal footwork can be key to succeeding in England as a wicketkeeper. Deep Dasgupta, the former India keeper and opening batsman, noticed that Pant wasn’t moving too much while getting ready to collect the ball against the fast bowlers.”In places like England and to an extent South Africa it is very important to have good hands and less footwork because the ball keeps moving even after it has crossed the wicket,” Dasgupta tells ESPNcricinfo. “So the idea is to use your hands as much as possible and move less with your feet. I saw a lot of that in Rishabh.”If the wicketkeeper is moving, Dasgupta said, it doesn’t just affect how he collects the ball but could also cause him to misjudge the line, as Pant did when he dropped Buttler. “He started moving too early and that is the reason he dropped Buttler.”According to Dasgupta Pant should not be concerned if his feet are moving less, because in overcast conditions in England, the ball can move suddenly, “inches” in front of you. “The best thing you can do is not move, have a good strong base, and watch the ball till the end.”While analysing Pant’s wicketkeeping, the host broadcaster showed examples of past keepers like England’s Matt Prior, who would move to his right to collect the ball on the inside, but Dasgupta argues against advising youngsters such as Pant to adopt such a technique. On the contrary, he suggested footwork, for a keeper, can be “overrated” in England.”You need to move, but you don’t need to move a lot,” he says. “Just half a step on your right and you cover the first slip. Anything which is edged you dive. So even if you are just standing static and the batsman edges and half a step or half a dive and you cover first slip. It is not that you are going to try and catch in front of second slip. So why do you really need to move?”According to Dasgupta, what Pant did most times while Bumrah was bowling was move to his left. That is an instinctive reaction to a bowler who slants the ball in a long way.”Instinctively what a wicketkeeper does, if it is anywhere near the middle and off stump, you try and move to your left to cover the angle. That is the challenge for everyone, especially against inswing bowlers, because you are thinking the ball is going down the leg side and then you tend to move too early. All I will suggest is, don’t move till the ball has passed the bat. And once the ball has passed the bat, in England with the carry, take half a step on your right or left and you can gather the ball.”Another point Dasgupta makes is that keeping, like batting, is about the “percentages”, and that glovesmen need to work out which edge to focus on. “Don’t worry about inside edges,” he says. “Inside edges you will react, but 98 out of 100 it is outside edges you will catch irrespective of whether it is an outswing or inswing bowler. Set yourself up for the outside edge.”Pant has already figured that out, it seems. “As a keeper you have to wait for the outside edge. That is the only thing I can do. And that is what I have learned: I am going to wait for the outside edge. That is the only solution.”And what about that six? “I was nervous. But when I see the ball I don’t think much. I just see the ball and react to it.”

As T20 cricket continues to evolve, scoring rates are higher than ever before, and the 2018 Vitality Blast is no different

Gaurav Sundararaman20-Aug-2018Over the last couple of years, the T20 format has been undergoing its next revolution, with more runs, more sixes, and more hundreds. The run rates in IPL 2017 (8.41) and 2018 (8.64) were the highest in the tournament’s history while the ongoing CPL has been a run-fest as well. The Vitality Blast this season has also been at the forefront of this change. At the end of the league stage, this year’s tournament has witnessed an overall run rate of 8.88, which is not only the best scoring rate in the history of the competition but also in the history of any T20 league that has taken place.ESPNcricinfo LtdEngland’s flat pitches and small grounds have made it a lot easier for the batsmen. This year’s edition has witnessed 1392 sixes – 11.6 sixes per game, which is the most in the history of the league. Fifteen centuries have been scored – the second-highest since the league started – with seven matches left. There have been three centuries in this year’s edition that are among the 20 fastest centuries in all T20s. Northamptonshire have been at the receiving end of two such scores – Daniel Christian walked into bat at 9.4 overs and scored 113 runs from just 40 balls , while Martin Guptill scored 102 runs from 38 balls to help Worcestershire chase down 187 in just 13.1 overs. However, it wasn’t all doom and gloom for Northamptonshire, as they managed to end their streak of 13 matches without a victory, the longest such streak in the Blast.In last year’s tournament, there were 27 scores in excess of 200 – a record at the time – but 2018 has already witnessed 31 such scores at the end of the league phase. Teams have also realized the need to maximise their returns from the Powerplay overs: 12 of the top 13 highest Powerplay scores in the tournament have come in the last two editions, with ten instances of teams scoring in excess of 90 in the first six overs. The average Powerplay run-rate of 8.87 is the best across all T20 leagues.Smart Stats Earlier this year, ESPNcricinfo launched Smart Stats to measure a player’s performance in T20s based on match context and situation. Here is what those numbers say about the top performers in the Blast this season.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe top batsmen at the BlastAaron Finch has been in great form in the T20 format since his poor IPL campaign. Finch tops the run charts in this year’s Blast scoring 589 runs from nine innings at an average of 147.25 and a strike rate of 182.35. Not surprisingly, Finch is among the top names in the Smart Stats batting metrics as well. His 589 runs have come off only 323 balls. When match strike rate and runs scored at the other end are considered, his Smart Strike Rate goes up to 214.96, which means he has contributed 105.32 extra runs in the balls he has faced. This Smart Contribution is the highest among all batsmen this season; Colin Ingram is not too far behind with a Smart Contribution of 101.08. Incidentally, both Finch and Ingram won’t play any further part in the tournament, as their teams have failed to qualify for the quarter-finals. Daniel Christian, Corey Anderson and Philip Salt complete the top five with Smart Contributions of 86.68, 78.23 and 75.72. The teams they represent have qualified for the playoffs. From this top-five list, Finch is the only one who is also among the top five run-getters in the tournament.Wrist spinners continue to dominate the formatWristspinners have ruled the T20 format recently, and the Blast has not disappointed in that regard. The top five wicket-takers among spinners are legbreak bowlers, and three of the top five bowlers with the best Smart Economy Rates are wristspinners. The encouraging sign for England is that the top two wicket-takers are domestic recruits Matt Parkinson and Joe Denly, while the other three are seasoned overseas T20 bowlers in Ish Sodhi, Rashid Khan and Imran Tahir. Wristspinners struck once every 18 balls and conceded a rate of 7.77 while fingerspinners struck once every 24 balls and conceded 8.36 runs per over.

ESPNcricinfo LtdKent Spitfires were involved in seven matches that had scores in excess of 200, while their home venue has one of the worst economy rates this season, with bowlers going at 9.75. In such a venue, Adam Milne’s economy rate of 7.05 stands out. Taking into account the match economy rate and the specific overs that he has bowled, Milne’s Smart Economy Rate (SER) of 4.85 is the best in the tournament so far. The fact that he has bowled the difficult overs in the Powerplay and the Death speaks volume of his skills.In simple terms, taking into account the context of each match he has played so far, Milne has saved his team 83 runs in the overs he has bowled. Three legspinners in Max Waller from Somerset (SER 4.9), Imran Tahir (SER 5.16) and Rashid Khan (SER 5.37) occupy the next three positions in the Smart Economy Rate index. Milne’s New Zealand colleague, Lockie Fergusson, has also had a good season going at a SER of 5.43 and saving 58 runs for his team.

Remembering five knocks by the left-hander who announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on Tuesday

Ankur Dhawan05-Dec-2018New Zealand v India, 2nd Test, NapierIndia’s parched run in New Zealand dated back to 1968 when, on their inaugural tour, MAK Patudi led them to a series win. Forty-one years later, under MS Dhoni, India found themselves in the ascendancy after the first Test in Hamilton, something that had not happened since 1976. But it started going pear-shaped in Napier, as India lost Dhoni due to a back spasm and stand-in captain Virender Sehwag lost a bad toss on a placid pitch. Counter-attacking hundreds from Ross Taylor and Jesse Ryder meant India were up against a mammoth total of 619.Things did not go as planned with the bat as India collapsed from 246 for 4 to 305 all out, resulting in them following-on. At stumps on day three, India were 47 for 1, with Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid at the crease and another 180 overs to negotiate. Time and deliveries consumed carried more valuable price tags than runs, and Gambhir, during his 137, ate up 437 deliveries, more than 40 percent of the total balls India needed to bat to save the Test and ticked off 642 minutes. He was finally out lbw to Jeetan Patel, but by then India were within sniffing distance of a draw, which helped them stay ahead in the series, and eventually win it 1-0 following another draw in Wellington.India v Sri Lanka, 2011 World Cup final, MumbaiChasing the World Cup dream since clinching the crown in 1983, India were set 275 in the final in Mumbai by Sri Lanka. India needed to beat not just Sri Lanka but also history, as no team had won a final at home or chased a target as big or won after someone from the opposition had struck a hundred. After Mahela Jayawardene’s unbeaten 103, India were rocked in the first over of the chase as Lasith Malinga pinned Sehwag lbw off the second ball, before stunning the raucous crowd into silence with the wicket of Sachin Tendulkar.That left Gambhir in the company of a 22-year old Virat Kohli and he absorbed pressure like a sponge. He added 83 with Kohli to put India back on course, before adding 109 with MS Dhoni, after the captain famously promoted himself. Having brought India within touching distance of the win, Gambhir fell for 97 as he attempted to hit Thisara Perera over the top. But the 97 had done the job that Jayawardene’s hundred could not as India won the World Cup after 28 years.India v Pakistan, World T20 2007 final, JohannesburgFour years earlier, post India’s ignominious first-round exit in the 2007 World Cup, a young team was picked under a young Dhoni, for the inaugural World T20 in South Africa. India rode to the final on the back of Yuvraj Singh’s brilliance, electric fielding, but also Gambhir’s inconspicuous consistency at the top of the order. He continued his prolific run in the final against Pakistan, this time in the absence of regular opener Sehwag, who was out due to injury. As wickets tumbled around him, he not only held fort till the 18th over but got his 75 at a good clip, to give India a total to bowl at. He finished as the highest run-getter in the tournament and India lifted the trophy after the bowlers secured a wafer-thin five-run win.South Africa v India, 3rd Test, Cape Town 2011Having found form in the second innings at Centurion, Gambhir missed the second Test won by India in Durban due to injury. When he returned at Newlands for the decider, India were two down in the blink of an eye in response to South Africa’s 362, and the duel between Tendulkar and Dale Steyn had taken centre stage. Gambhir copped his fair share of hostility but reinforced his capacity to pull India out of trouble with a courageous 93. In the second innings he found himself in familiar territory, needing to bat time and save a Test that Jacques Kallis had put beyond India. Yet again Gambhir displayed a willingness to take blows on the body on an inconsistent pitch and an indomitable defence, as he consumed 184 balls for a gritty 64 that ensured a draw, and thereby a drawn series.RCB v KKR, IPL 2012, BengaluruGambhir took over as Kolkata Knight Riders captain in 2011, as part of wholesale changes made to improve their otherwise ordinary record in the tournament. His first year in charge saw KKR reach the play-offs for the first time but they exited after losing the eliminator to Mumbai Indians. The following year started poorly, as KKR lost their first two matches. It was in Bengaluru against RCB that KKR began their ascent to the top and it was Gambhir who laid the foundation. His 39-ball 64, that included nine fours and a six proved vital even as the middle-order collapsed, as KKR scored 165 and defended it by 42 runs to secure their first victory of a season they went on to win.

From landing a full-time job as a police officer to working with the underprivileged, being dropped from the New Zealand squad has paved the way for Katie Perkins’ rediscovery

Shashank Kishore23-Jan-2019Katie Perkins had most things going for her as a 28-year-old in 2017. A New Zealand regular across formats, she also thought she’d landed a dream job after graduating as a police officer from the prestigious Royal New Zealand College four years prior, at times balancing between the two jobs to the extent that she had to stretch herself for 19 hours a day.Then, in December that year, life threw a little twist. Perkins injured her finger and had to undergo surgery. When she returned to match fitness, she was dropped from the squad that faced West Indies women at home in February. The ‘body blow’ was to come in June, when she was left out of the tour of Ireland and England. She started to wonder if her time in New Zealand colours had passed her.Now, she is back in the New Zealand squad for the series against India, having shown good form for Auckland in the ongoing domestic Women’s One Day Competition, where she has aggregated 176 runs in her last six matches at an average of 88. If she makes the XI in Napier on January 24, it will be Perkins’ first international appearance in 14 months. For a change, she wouldn’t need to worry about loss of pay, having accumulated enough paid leaves “for the first time in my life (laughs).””There were moments when I wasn’t sure if I’d ever be back in the New Zealand squad again,” she tells ESPNcricinfo. “I went back to work full-time as a police officer, as opposed to being part-time. I was starting to get a picture of what life after cricket looks like for me. I did start to wonder if I would make it back, but it’s because of my Auckland Hearts cricket team that my motivation to play was there.”Part of the self-doubts was because she didn’t quite understand why she was dropped. “It’s when I missed out there [for the England tour], my motivation took a real hit, because I hadn’t understood why I’d been dropped. I found it harder to accept,” she says. “There were months when I didn’t want to be at training at times. I knew if I wanted to be playing well for Auckland, I couldn’t slack off at training. So that kept me going.”The period when she was left out coincided with what Perkins describes as the “best thing to happen”, even if she felt differently at the time. An advertisement through the New Zealand police communications for a role only serving officers could apply for turned her life around. The Auckland Police department was looking for a Youth Engagement Officer in a full-time capacity. Perkins contemplated for a while, before filling in her application. Among the shortlists, her previous experience helped her land the role. Suddenly, being dropped from the national team had opened a new door for her.”It was just a matter of amazing timing,” she says. “Had I been picked, I wouldn’t have been able to apply for this job, so it’s amazing how life works out. Not being able to go to England actually provided me with this amazing opportunity to be in the role that I absolutely love. The job has given me something to keep me busy, and find enjoyment and passion outside of cricket.”For a better part of the last eight months, Perkins has been working with young people who get into low-level crimes – underage drinking, shop lifting, running away from home. Part of her responsibility is to counsel the offenders – many of whom are minors – and try to set them back on the right track.”My job is to meet them, their families and find out what is going on at a deeper level, because it’s usually more than what is just on the surface,” she explains. “I just try and be a mentor who helps them curb their negative behavior and see if we can get them back on a positive path before they go too far down their criminal activities.”

“Imagine living in mud huts, walking for two hours to fetch water. If there is a drought, your livelihood is at risk. There is no money to eat. Being in that environment opened me to a life beyond cricket” – Perkins on a trip to Africa that she termed as ‘eye opening’

Outside of cricket and her role with the police, Perkins has also spent considerable time trying to work for the underprivileged. Her cricket trips over the years to different countries, which involved seeing a different life to the “privileged ones we lead” drew her towards doing something about it. Perkins and her sister have adopted a sponsor child each in Uganda and Ethiopia, taking care of their education, shelter, food and other necessities that most kids in rural Africa are denied.”That was a cool experience, an eye-opener,” she says. “In a way, I see a lot of it through my policing role too. I see families struggle, young kids brought up in a tough environment for no fault of theirs. Imagine living in mud huts, walking for two hours to fetch water. If there is a drought, your livelihood is at risk. There is no money to eat. Being in that environment opened me to a life beyond cricket.”It’s this balance between life, her full-time profession, and cricket – something she couldn’t find earlier – that she underlines as an important step in her rediscovery. She attributes part of her second coming to former New Zealand allrounder Andre Adams, her mentor and batting coach. It was an unlikely partnership – Adams was assigned to Perkins upon request for a coach – but one she is thankful for.”He was already employed by Auckland Cricket. Because I’d gone there, and was keen for extra coaching, they offered Andre as an option,” Perkins says. “He had never coached women before, so it was a new concept for both of us. We formed a good relationship, to the extent that I completely trust his judgement and opinion on stuff.”I was gutted when he left New Zealand to take up a coaching role at New South Wales, but I can’t fault him for that. He has been my best-ever coach. He helped me get out of my own way. I used to be very concerned with the technical side of the game. If I was struggling, I kept looking at technique. He helped me use what I have already and find the freedom I needed to play my best. Not just with batting, but with fielding and my mental game as well. I owe a lot to him.”

Also, Ashwin joins Muralitharan as the fastest to 350 Test wickets, and a new record for most sixes in a match

Bharath Seervi06-Oct-20191996 – The last time an Indian fast bowler took a five-wicket haul in the fourth innings of a home Test was Javagal Srinath against South Africa in Ahmedabad. Mohammed Shami did it on day five in Visakhapatnam. Karsan Ghavri, Kapil Dev and Madan Lal are the others on this list.

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3 – Number of five-wicket hauls for Shami in the second innings since 2018 – the most by any bowler. He has picked up 40 wickets in 15 second innings, at an average of 17.70 and strike rate of 32.1. In contrast, he has taken only 23 wickets in 16 first innings at an average of 37.56 and strike rate of 70.50, with best figures of 3 for 64.ESPNcricinfo Ltd203 – The margin of defeat for South Africa in this Test, which is their heaviest after scoring 400 or more runs in their first innings. This is only the fifth time they have lost a Test after scoring 400-plus in the first innings.3 – Number of bigger wins, in terms of runs, for India after their opposition scored 400-plus in their first innings. They won in Visakhapatnam by 203 runs. Two of the three bigger wins came against England, both by an innings, in Chennai and Mumbai in 2016-17.350 – Wickets for R Ashwin in 66 Tests, making him the joint-fastest to the mark along with Muttiah Muralitharan. Ashwin has taken 18 innings more than Muralitharan to reach this feat, but has bowled about 3000 balls fewer to get to the mark. Ashwin has got there in seven years and 332 days from his debut, while it took Muralitharan nine years and nine days.37 – Sixes hit in this match, the most in a Test. The previous record was 35 between Pakistan and New Zealand in Sharjah in November 2014. The most sixes hit in a Test in India before this was 20, when India played Sri Lanka in Mumbai in 2009 and also against West Indies in Rajkot last year.ESPNcricinfo Ltd3 – Number of players to bat more than 100 balls, batting at No. 7 or lower, in both innings on Test debut – Senuran Muthusamy in this Test. The first to do so was Bangladesh’s Manjural Islam against Zimbabwe in 2004 and then Australia’s Moises Henriques versus India in 2013. Muthusamy remained not out in both innings of this debut Test and became only the fourth player ever to score unbeaten 30-plus scores in both innings on debut.

The former Hong Kong captain relocates to India where he hopes to qualify as a local and “one day play Test cricket”

Shashank Kishore13-Sep-2019After fighting his way up the cricketing ladder in Hong Kong only to hit a dead end because of lack of exposure and financial viability, Anshuman Rath, who was their captain until recently, has put a temporary hold on his international career to move back to India, the country his family hails from. He hopes to now qualify as a local and “one day play Test cricket.”Having made himself unavailable for Hong Kong’s T20 World Cup Qualifiers campaign in October, Rath, 21, is set to move to Mumbai, a city he will live and train in, as he looks to break through into India’s first-class system. Having held talks with a number of associations through his agent and father, who hails from Bhubaneswar, Rath has his eyes trained on Vidarbha, the two-time Ranji Trophy champions.

“When the Indian national anthem was played, I got goosebumps and was humming to the tune even though we were playing against them. That moment I thought maybe I could potentially play for them in the future.”Rath on playing India at the Asia Cup

Over the past few weeks, he has held talks with Prashant Vaidya, the VCA’s Director of Cricket, and while no formal agreement has been reached yet, Rath is hopeful of completing the paperwork soon. However, just merely holding an Indian passport won’t guarantee an immediate entry into India’s domestic system. Rath will have to serve a one-year cooling-off period before becoming eligible in October 2020. At the same time, his moving away from Hong Kong for good and his Indian citizenship means he can enter the IPL auction as a local uncapped player. For the moment, though, he is set to feature in club cricket in Nagpur.”The VCA has spoken to Saba Karim (BCCI’s general manager) about my road map, and all indications are that they are the team I’m most likely to turn up for, provided I put in the hard yards in club cricket and show them performances that will help my selection,” Rath told ESPNcricinfo. “They have been very professional. They have won the Ranji Trophy for two years in a row now, and they have a credible reputation.”The amount of talent there is in India, it’s easy for state sides to overlook me, but the VCA have been very transparent and supportive. Their message is: ‘The door is open’, but I have to do whatever I can to put myself up for selection. I’m not going to be put on a pedestal. At the end of the day, if you’re scoring runs, you will be picked. Hopefully, I can do that. They’ve kept me in the loop with everything, and about the club system there. The facilities are top notch and I’m looking forward to it.”ALSO READ: The brains and the brawn behind Vidarbha’s rise to the topThe India move is the latest chapter of what Rath calls a “nomadic” career. As a 14-year old, he moved from Hong Kong, where his family was based, to the UK and went to the famous Harrow School. As a teenager, he emerged as one of the most promising pathway cricketers alongside current England stars like Sam Curran and Ollie Pope at Middlesex. However, “complex visa rules” that don’t allow players from Associate countries to feature as full-time professionals left him with no option but to return to Hong Kong after putting his college degree on hold.”It’s been brewing for a while now,” he said. “Being in the English system and having grown up there, you understand simply how different the Associate system is. My dream is to play Test cricket and unfortunately Associate cricket doesn’t provide that platform. Mark Chapman is a prime example. He used Associate cricket as a benchmark to play a higher level of cricket in New Zealand. The opportunities are rare, it’s not financially viable playing in Hong Kong. I don’t want to have three-four years here and then move away. I’m looking at the next 10-15 year horizon, and for that, the India move is the best way forward.”Rath had a quick chat with Simon Cook, the former Hong Kong coach who had a decade-and-a-half long career with Middlesex. It merely reinforced the decision he had already made. “Simon Cook knew of my ambitions from when I was playing in England,” Rath says. “I knew this was likely to happen one day, so it’s a bittersweet feeling for me, even though I’m excited about going to India. The guys at Hong Kong Cricket have been extremely cooperative about it and understand the choice I’ve made.”At this time last year, Rath nearly orchestrated a mighty upset against the Rohit Sharma-led India at the Asia Cup. He put on a 174-run opening stand with Nizakat Khan to set the tone for a chase of 286; Hong Kong eventually fell short by 26 runs. Twelve months on, he looks back at that game with a lot of fondness. Incidentally, that was his last official ODI for Hong Kong, for whom he finishes with an average of 51.75 in 18 ODIs.

“Vidarbha’s message is: ‘the door is open’, but I’ve to do whatever I can to put myself up for selection. I’m not going to be put on a pedestal. End of the day, if you’re scoring runs, you will be picked”Rath on his next move

Hong Kong have endured a bumpy road since that memorable Asia Cup outing, finishing last in WCL Division 2 in Namibia earlier in the year, where Rath topped the run charts. This relegated them to the third tier of the ICC’s 50-over competition for Associates, with the side having already lost its ODI status in 2018. Partly, Rath’s decision also stemmed from the ICC’s decision to reduce the World Cup to a 10-team show. With things unlikely to change for 2023, it’s a decision he says he had to make “sooner than later.””When I wasn’t allowed to play in England, I had to find a new base to develop my game and progress,” he says. “If you told me a year ago that I’d be in the Indian system, it’s not like I would’ve said ‘you’re joking’ because I had to decide at some point. In that game against India, when the Indian national anthem was played, I got goosebumps and was humming to the tune even though we were playing against them. That moment was when I had the realization that I could potentially play for them in the future. I want to give myself every opportunity to do so. There are no guarantees, but at least I know the ball is in my court and there is a structure and a pathway for me to make it happen.”

An “unbelievable” forward “would be open” to signing for Tottenham Hotspur in the summer transfer window, according to former scout Mick Brown.

Spurs' summer transfer plans taking shape

Son Heung-min has been one of the shining lights in a poor Tottenham side this season, picking up seven goals and 10 assists in the Premier League, but there are signs a long-term replacement for the 32-year-old could be brought in this summer.

Talks have been opened over a deal for Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane, with Spurs incredibly interested in signing the former Manchester City man, while they are also increasingly likely to make a move for AFC Bournemouth star Antoine Semenyo.

Semenyo is not the only Premier League player on the shortlist, however, with a report from earlier this week revealing the Lilywhites are leading the race for Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze, who could be available for a fee of £60m this summer.

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There has now been a promising new update on Tottenham’s pursuit of Eze, with former scout Brown telling Football Insider he believes the winger would be interested in making a move across the capital this summer, despite Palace’s determination to keep hold of him.

Brown said: “They want to keep him and I don’t expect he’s the type of player to force through a move unless Palace’s asking price is met.

“Tottenham have been interested for a long time and he’s their type of player.

“If Eze has the opportunity to move to a team like Tottenham, I think he would be open to that, and it’s not slight on Palace and what they’ve done.

“So that move wouldn’t surprise me, but it will only be on Palace’s terms and they want to keep him.”

"Unbelievable" Eze could be fantastic signing for Tottenham

Tottenham’s summer transfer plans are likely to be heavily affected by whether Ange Postecoglou remains in his role as manager, but regardless of who is in charge, Eze could be a fantastic addition to the squad.

The Palace star has proven himself across a number of seasons in the Premier League, and he is enjoying another impressive season with the Eagles, having picked up six goals and 11 assists in all competitions.

Not only that, but the England international ranks highly across some key metrics for wingers over the past year, when compared to his positional peers.

Having also been lauded as “unbelievable” by BBC Sport’s Nizaar Kinsella earlier this season, there is every indication that Eze could be a fantastic signing for Tottenham this summer, so it is exciting news that he could be open to a move to north London.