Four key members of the current squad showed glimpses of what they were capable of in another World Cup, seven years ago

Andrew McGlashan17-Mar-2015Malaysia may seem an unlikely country to which to trace back the formulation of what is frequently being called New Zealand’s strongest ever team. But it was there, in the cities of Kuala Lumpur and Johor in February 2008, that four of the current 15-man squad came together at the Under-19 World Cup. Kane Williamson, Corey Anderson, Tim Southee and Trent Boult helped New Zealand to the semi-finals, where they lost to India, captained by Virat Kohli.Hamish Rutherford, the Test opener, was also part of the squad. To borrow a phrase from the wine industry, which seems appropriate for New Zealand, 2008 was a good vintage.In the semi-final, Anderson top-scored with 70 off 67 balls and Southee plucked 4 for 29, but it was not enough to prevent a three-wicket defeat. Seven years later, all four of the quartet have played match-winning hands at the current World Cup.”I remember the semi-final against India, it was the first time I’d played at night,” Boult recalls. “The lights were probably not more than 15 metres high and when the ball went up you would lose it. It was a pretty good India that we lost to.”Dipak Patel, the former New Zealand offspinner, who tore apart traditional thinking around the one-day game when he opened the bowling in the 1992 World Cup, was the coach of the team and is now in charge of Papua New Guinea. He remembers feeling there was a group that stood out. “The four boys were always at the forefront of those that would go on and play international cricket,” he told ESPNcricinfo. “Even during the tournament in Malaysia it felt like a matter of time.”In fact, that time had already come for one of them. Southee had made his New Zealand debut two weeks before the opening game of the tournament in a T20 against England, claiming Paul Collingwood as his maiden international wicket. He played the second match of the series two days later, bagging Kevin Pietersen in his 2 for 22.Southee and Boult shared 18 wickets between them in Malaysia•Getty Images”We went to Australia before the tournament and had a training camp,” Boult remembers. “Tim was playing for the Black Caps and I remember watching him in a restaurant in Brisbane, and then a couple of weeks later he was playing for us, so that was a little surreal.”Then, a few weeks after the U-19 World Cup, Southee made his Test debut in Napier, striking in his second over and taking 5 for 55 in the first innings. He ended up on the losing side, but not before smoking 77 off 40 balls with nine sixes.Over the years, Southee’s batting has faded from the promise he showed as an U-19 player. At the 2006 World Cup in Sri Lanka he made 92 off 55 balls against Ireland (a game, incidentally, where Eoin Morgan made 124), but he has become a master of his swing craft.Southee’s international career was already born when he took the new ball alongside Boult in Malaysia, but Patel says that there was no sense of superiority. “Tim was probably the joker, he liked to pull pranks on team-mates, but I think the young guys in the team appreciated it. He was already a Black Cap but he was still one of the lads and he saw the fun side of the game. Of course he and Trent were close mates from Northern Districts, so it helped build that good partnership.” Boult confirms Southee “retains the reputation as the joker”.It took some time, though, for the quartet to be reunited on the international stage. Boult had to wait until December 2011 for his New Zealand debut, against Australia in the Hobart Test that New Zealand won by seven runs. His first wicket was Michael Hussey.Williamson had made his first appearance in 2010, one-dayers first (starting with two ducks), followed by a century on Test debut against India.Anderson was the last to reach the top level, in late 2012 with a T20 debut, although he had to wait another six months for an ODI spot.”Corey was more of a quiet achiever and Kane was so calculated in what he did,” Patel says of the U-19 days. “I admired how they carried themselves. Corey was more of a batsman who bowled a bit. He was going through a growth spurt and we were very conscious of overbowling him; he’s still used quite sparingly these days. His batting has certainly gone to another level. He was very destructive but there wasn’t always much structure to his batting.”Of Williamson, there was little doubt, though he did not stand out in Malaysia, making 124 runs at 31. “He was a very solid individual, very mature, on and off the field,” Patel remembers. “He showed that from a very early stage. His maturity as a batsman shone through at U-19 level, he was a couple of notches ahead of anyone else. It was the way he went about batting, excellent plans, and the time he had. His greatest asset is his hunger to bat, and that was the case back then, too. He just loves to bat. His work ethic was so far ahead of everyone else in that squad.”Watching New Zealand’s training sessions at the World Cup, it is clear nothing has dimmed that work ethic. “He certainly still enjoys his throwdowns now,” Boult says. “There were rumours going around that he’d have millions of them when he was younger.”It has only been of late, however, since Boult was elevated to the one-day squad shortly before the World Cup, that they have all become regular team-mates again with the white ball. During the U-19 tournament, Boult and Southee shared 28 wickets; Southee took 17 to be named Player of the Tournament, and Boult 11, seven of which came against Malaysia when only he and Southee were required to bowl. It did not take a crystal ball to see a rosy future, although as often happens it was not a smooth transition.Dipak Patel: “Kane Williamson’s work ethic was far ahead of everyone else in that squad”•AFP”In all my reports that was a strong point I made,” Patel says. “That they could become a good partnership and that it was important that they were allowed to stay who they were and not to change too many things, especially with their bowling actions. You could see from a very early stage that they had the tools and that they could swing the ball at pace.”For the players, though, thoughts of the future were a long way away and playing a future World Cup was not a topic of conversation. “We always had personal goals, but we didn’t sit down and think too far ahead. It’s great it’s happened,” Boult says.However, for a while Patel feared his concerns about their bowling actions being tinkered with would have cause for existence. Boult was first included in a New Zealand squad for the 2009 Chappell-Hadlee series but did not get a game and then suffered a stress fracture of his back. Southee, meanwhile, struggled to build on the promising debut against England and his Test average ballooned into the 40s until mid-2012, although his one-day numbers were more impressive. By that time Boult had only played a handful of Tests. Then, in October 2012, Shane Bond joined as bowling coach.”What I see now is what I saw when they were with the Under-19s,” Patel says. “There was a period when their bowling actions changed for the worse, but it’s good to see that Shane Bond has done a very good job of bringing them back to where they were when they were 18-19 years old. I’ve still got video footage on my laptop as evidence. No question, these are their natural bowling actions and the results over the last 12-18 months is testimony to that.”Patel was at Eden Park for the recent match against Australia. Boult grabbed the early kudos with 5 for 27 and Williamson finished it with six, but Southee and Anderson also played their parts. For Patel, it was a chance for some quiet satisfaction at having helped nurture a new generation.”I certainly take great pride in watching their successes. We wanted to develop these players towards being Black Caps, and I sit back now – I’m just writing some reports in PNG as we speak, about my current players, and you read the ones you did then and think, ‘Maybe I did make a difference.'”Now among the best bowlers in the world, and preparing for a World Cup quarter-final, Boult’s overriding memories of those few weeks in Malaysia are of wide-eyed excitement and of lifelong friendships being forged. “We were all so young and just loving getting the opportunity to play in a World Cup. A lot of us remain good mates from that tournament. The majority are playing first-class cricket. To say there would be four of us representing our country in a World Cup would have been a bit of a long shot but it’s fantastic.”

Mashrafe Mortaza has visited Melbourne several times since 2003 and they’ve all been painful. On Thursday, the 31-year-old, who has braved surgery 11 times, will be back in the city to lead Bangladesh in arguably the biggest match of their history

Devashish Fuloria in Melbourne18-Mar-2015″This is the first time I am walking in Melbourne. Walking, playing. The previous times I used to walk for a couple of days and then straight to bed. This is the first time I am seeing Melbourne properly.”It is nothing short of remarkable that Mashrafe Mortaza has braved at least 11 surgeries, most of them in Melbourne, in a 14-year-long career to have come this far. In an interview to Bangla daily , Mashrafe spoke about his associations with the city, which he visited for the first time in 2003, and how all of them have been painful.”It is true that I have had a lot of hard times in Melbourne,” he said. “I have had one operation after another here. They used me make me unconscious to operate, so I didn’t understand what was happening.”In stark contrast, this time in Melbourne, on the eve of arguably Bangladesh’s biggest match, Mashrafe will lead a team that has looked aware of its strengths and weaknesses and assured of its ability to fight.Bangladesh have already achieved the goal they had before the World Cup – making the quarters – with the England win. The Prime Minister’s congratulatory message boosted their cause as they gave New Zealand a tough fight. Now, they are free of expectation.”The group stage was more important for us because back home all people are expecting that we beat some bigger side and go through,” Mashrafe said. “That was more pressure, I think. For tomorrow, I think as I said, the boys are very relaxed. They just want to perform on the biggest ground. They have played already on this ground, but that match wasn’t good for us. Hopefully we’ll play our best tomorrow, and the boys are really excited.”Bangladesh will need to fight again, and that fight will start with Mashrafe, who has had a role to play in each of the three Bangladesh wins against India. The first came in the winter of 2004 – he scored an unbeaten 31 in that game in Dhaka, and then picked up the wickets of Virender Sehwag and MS Dhoni.Mashrafe Mortaza – “I have had a lot of hard times in Melbourne, I have had one operation after another here. They used me make me unconscious to operate, so I didn’t understand what was happening”•AFPHis best performance came in the 2007 World Cup in Port-of-Spain, on March 17, 2007, two days after the death of his close friend Majurul Islam Rana, to whom he dedicated the win. Mashrafe then played an important role in another win against India, on March 16, 2012 in the Asia Cup. That Bangladesh are facing India in March again could be taken as portent for something.But Mashrafe wasn’t looking back, saying “2007 is not going to help us.” At 31 years, he has seen enough pain. He has taken it in his stride and kept moving forward. He is applying the same learning to his team.Appointed the ODI captain following a terrible 2014 for Bangladesh, in which they suffered 13 straight losses in ODIs along with an embarrassing loss to Hong Kong in the World T20s, Mashrafe has led the team within a short space of time to a first appearance in the quarter-finals. More impressively, he has done so in a manner quite unlike the Bangladesh we know.Bangladesh have been able to build a campaign with a new-found calmness, which has parallels with Mashrafe’s successes in his ongoing battle with his body. He hasn’t been considered for Tests since 2009 and so, he has been able to extend his limited-overs career. Likewise, Bangladesh did not let the battering against Sri Lanka affect them too badly; they sprang back with consecutive wins against Scotland and England.It could be the change that Mashrafe has brought. An extrovert, he commands respect among the seniors and puts the newer members of the team to ease. It’s the same trait that endears him to the owner of the small road-side eatery, which he still frequently visits, at Zero Point in his native Khulna.”The group stage was more important for us because back home all the people are expecting that we beat some bigger side and go through”•AFP”He is someone who always talks to the young players and the seniors, keeps motivating them,” Shakib Al Hasan said about Mashrafe’s style of leadership. “He is someone who is very friendly with everyone, he is very close to everyone. A player can come to him and say whatever he feels like and they can discuss. That’s a very good sign.”On the field, Mashrafe has led with the bowling. His economy of 4.89 is the best among Bangladesh’s frontline bowlers despite the lack of pace. On another day, he could have picked up a few more wickets in the match against Sri Lanka – Lahiru Thirimanne was dropped twice during his excellent first spell of 6-0-20-0 – but his two timely strikes to dismiss Alex Hales and Joe Root in the game against England twice broke England’s momentum. Among the tallest in the team, Mashrafe’s standing in the inner circle, closer to the bowlers and in the middle of the field, has led to better visible control.But Mashrafe was modest in his assessment of his role and chose to look at the bigger picture, to the challenges that lay ahead beyond the World Cup: “I actually haven’t changed anything. As I said, the credit should go to the boys. They’ve adapted very well. And I say that challenge is still going on because 2015 has just started.”Melbourne may be exhilarating or Melbourne may hurt, but it seems that, under Mashrafe, the team will keep moving forward.

Early into the World Cup, Pakistan’s campaign was in danger of disintegrating quickly. But Waqar Younis’ approach of allowing the side time to settle has helped them pull things together and find momentum

Firdose Moonda in Auckland08-Mar-2015Think of the way teams like Australia and South Africa prepared for this tournament. The former beat everyone in sight. The latter took planning to an intricate new level of intensity. Now think of the opposite of all that. That’s what Pakistan did.A string of poor results and selection controversies was how they came into the World Cup and how they started it. They lost eight out of ten games in a build-up period which was marred by selection controversies and then lost their first two games of the tournament too. They got themselves into a situation from which it seemed they would not be able to get out of in time to seriously compete at this tournament.Most sides surrender under that kind of stress. We saw South Africa do it on Saturday, we’ve seen England do it throughout. But Wasim Akram had a hunch Pakistan would be different, based on his experiences 23 years ago.”There is a lot of pressure on them. I remember the 1992 World Cup, and the way we started – pressure was with us as well,” Akram said before Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in Brisbane. “But this is part of the game. They need to get some momentum and try to qualify for the quarterfinals.”Pakistan have been deadline junkies since that tournament, when they lost their opener against West Indies by 10 wickets, beat Zimbabwe, were saved by rain against England, and lost to both India and South Africa before their decent run began. This time, they also waited for what could have been the last minute and got their campaign back on track against Zimbabwe, where it has remained albeit precariously so some of the time.Their batting remains a concern, much more so than the area of the game Wasim was concerned about two weeks ago. “This is an inexperienced bowling attack,” Wasim said. “As we saw against West Indies, in the last five overs they went for 79 runs. The reason is inexperience. It is difficult to bowl in the last five overs with four fielders outside the circle – sometimes impossible if players like AB de Villiers or Brendon McCullum are there.”Pakistan have not run into McCullum yet but found a way to counter de Villiers and his team-mates when it got tight. Targeted aggression, enforced through pace, and smart use of the bouncer from Mohammad Irfan, Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz cornered South Africa and forced them to play shots they may not otherwise have risked, especially with the required run-rate under control. Pakistan played with desire, which was all coach Waqar Younis wanted to see.”I guess the entire team felt after losing the first two games that it’s about time they should come to the party. It was the start of the World Cup, I guess everybody was just sort of getting in,” Waqar said. Other coaches would not casually brush off a settling-in period with such nonchalance, especially not at a World Cup, but Waqar is allowing Pakistan to do it their way. “Look, it’s a game of cricket. You’re not going to get everything, every day.”On most days, Pakistan don’t get everything. Far from it. Some of the most pressing issues still remain. The rumoured personality clash between Waqar and Sarfraz Ahmed, which kept the latter out of the side until the South Africa game, still attracts attention. Waqar was asked three separate questions about Sarfraz of which the first two were performance related. Waqar confirmed he “never doubted” Sarfraz’s ability and praised the player for doing a “wonderful job.”The third question was about the relationship between them. Waqar bristled, said the press conference was not the time for that kind of question and if such things were going to be asked, he would leave. Then he left.But before the verbal scuffle, Waqar made sure he got a message across about Pakistan’s resilience. The spirit of 1992 does not haunt Pakistan with expectation, the same way the under-performances of the past stalk South Africa. It is there but that is all it is. “I hope it turns out to be the same, but we have to really work hard. Every game in a World Cup is a pressure game. In ’92, Pakistan handled the pressure really well. They had the belief,” he said. “I hope that belief is coming into our dressing room.”

ESPNcricinfo staff01-May-2015JP Duminy trapped Shaun Marsh in front for 5 and Zaheer removed Manan Vohra for 1, leaving Kings XI Punjab on 10 for 3 after three overs•BCCIKings XI slipped into further trouble as captain George Bailey fell to Amit Mishra after making 18 to leave Kings XI on 37 for 5•BCCIDavid Miller was Kings XI’s top-scorer with a 41-ball 42, before being dismissed by Nathan Coulter-Nile…•BCCI…who picked up 4 for 20 to restrict Kings XI to 118 for 8•BCCIShreyas Iyer and Mayank Agarwal put on 106 for the opening stand as Daredevils hardly broke a sweat during the small chase•BCCIIyer holed out to Axar Patel at deep midwicket, but not before hitting three sixes and four fours for a 40-ball 54, his third IPL fifty•BCCIAgarwal finished the job for the Daredevils, guiding them to a nine-wicket win, bringing up his fifty in the process•BCCI

Stirring. Racy. And seemingly easy. Chris Gayle’s 117 off 57 balls – the fastest century of this IPL – floored Kings XI Punjab. Here are five takeaways from his innings

Nagraj Gollapudi in Bangalore07-May-20153:44

Insights: Gayle’s peaks and KXIP’s trenches

Mitchell Johnson – did you ever turn up?
Demoralise the opposition’s spearhead, who also happens to be one of the most destructive bowlers in the world – that was Gayle’s plan when he hammered two sixes and two boundaries in Johnson’s first over. It was a brutal assault and kickstarted the Royal Challengers innings. Johnson offered Gayle everything Sandeep Sharma had not in the opening over of the game, when three of the first four balls had swung away to beat the bat. As soon as Johnson offered pace on a length, Gayle cleared his front leg to hit two straight sixes and then pulled for four. Johnson was so predictable that Gayle was able to calmly duck a bouncer to end an over that cost 20 runs.Tearing apart the plan book
It was not just bowlers Gayle was dismantling, he was shredding Kings XI’s strategies. Sharma could not find the accuracy of his first over and over-pitched frequently in his second. Johnson, however, continued to be the biggest disappointment of the evening: one of the world’s most fearsome quicks, he looked jaded and unable to adapt. Johnson’s failure was exposed further by the success Mitchell Starc, his Australian team-mate, enjoyed. Starc bowled full, fast, and kept a tight wicket-to-wicket line. A left-arm quick becomes exceedingly dangerous when he swings the ball both ways and Starc once again used that skill to hit the off stump for fun. Johnson was not able to move, cut, or seam the ball consistently. His short lengths and wide lines allowed Gayle to dominate.No Plan B
The opposition fears such a Gayle explosion every time he bats, but there are times when he has been outsmarted. When Mumbai Indians travelled to Bangalore, Lasith Malinga slowed his pace down instead of feeding Gayle’s strengths. He almost floated the ball through, egging the batsman to take him on. Gayle was stuck to his crease and failed to cope, playing one of slowest innings of his Twenty20 career. Kings XI did not show any enterprise to outfox Gayle.Trampling the spinners
The absence of a quality spinner hurt Kings XI as Gayle exposed Axar Patel and Karanveer Singh’s inexperience. Axar’s career has gone places after he played an important role in Kings XI finishing runners-up in IPL 2014, but as a spinner his skills are limited because he darts the ball more than he spins it. Gayle was able to swing with freedom against Axar’s flat trajectory. The legspinner Karanveer only came on in the 13th over, and his nervousness – RCB were 123 for 1 – resulted in a couple of wides. Gayle ended Karanveer’s first over with two huge sixes and a boundary in his second gave the legspinner figures of 2-0-41-0.Gayle can do patience
Gayle is hardly in a rush. He scored the fastest century of the season but of those 57 balls, 19 were dots. He did not mind rotating strike either, allowing Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers to dominate later in the innings. Gayle has proved he can bat deep, which is a terrifying prospect for the opposition because he can start fast, consolidate and then launch a final assault. He had done that at Eden Gardens too, where he was run out in the 19th over, having scored 96 off 56 balls.

Sri Lanka bounced back from a 192-run deficit in the first innings to win in Galle. We take a look at six Tests when teams came back from a bigger deficit

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2015India v Australia, Kolkata, 2001 First-innings deficit: 274
Match summary: 171 and 657 for 7 dec beat 445 and 212 by 171 runs
Men of the Turnaround: VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid put on 376 in one of the most famous partnerships in Test cricket•AFPEngland v Australia, 1894, Sydney First-innings deficit: 261
Match summary: 325 and 437 beat 586 and 166 by ten runs
Men of the Turnaround: England’s players reportedly went drinking the evening before the final day – Australia were 113 for 2 chasing 177 – but overnight rain on an uncovered pitch helped Bobby Peel rip through Australia•Getty ImagesAustralia v South Africa, 1950, Durban First-innings deficit: 236
Match summary: 75 and 336 for 5 beat 311 and 99 by five wickets
Men of the Turnaround: Australia, in their first series after Don Bradman’s retirement, pulled off the second-highest chase at the time, with Neil Harvey scoring 151 not out•Getty ImagesEngland v Australia, 1981, Leeds First-innings deficit: 227
Match summary: 174 and 356 beat 401 and 111 by 18 runs
Men of the Turnaround: England were still 122 behind when Ian Botham came in to bat in the second innings, and his brutal 149 not out was the inspiration for a 500-1 odds win•Adrian Murrell/Getty ImagesAustralia v Pakistan, 2010, Sydney First-innings deficit: 206
Match summary: 127 and 381 beat 333 and 139 by 36 runs
Men of the Turnaround: A defeat looked imminent with Australia 51 ahead and eight down in their second innings, but Michael Hussey and Peter Siddle put on 123 runs, aided by a bunch of Kamran Akmal missed chances•Getty Images

Australia reign as 50-over and T20 world champions but England are hoping to maintain their Ashes supremacy for the third series running

Andrew Miller20-Jul-2015Pound for pound, it is arguably the keenest rivalry in sport. The men’s version is immersed in greater hype and embarked, ten years ago this week, on the single most extraordinary sporting rollercoaster of them all. But the women’s Ashes – which gets underway at Taunton on Tuesday – is the more reliable guarantee of sustained cut-and-thrust between two inseparably matched teams.England come into the series seeking their third Ashes win in a row, having provided a lone source of succour in Australia two winters ago, by retaining the trophy in their rivals’ backyard only weeks after their male counterparts had been pounded 5-0 in their own series.However, they were made to struggle every step of the way, including during a gripping Test match at the WACA that ebbed and flowed throughout four strength-sapping days in the heat of Western Australia. England endured, by 61 runs on the final day, but Australia won two of the three ODIs to keep the contest burning all the way into the Twenty20 leg of the series.Bookending England’s home-and-away wins in 2013-14, however, were two notable moments in which Australia ruled the roost. At the World Cup in February 2013, the two sides contested another blood-and-thunder contest in Mumbai, where Australia’s thrilling two-run victory in the Super Sixes effectively confirmed that England, the then-holders, would be passing their crown over to their arch-rivals.And more recently, at Dhaka in April 2014, Australia again prevailed in the heat of a global tournament, outlasting England in the final of the competition as Meg Lanning, Australia’s precocious captain, seized the spoils with 44 from 30 balls. That makes the Ashes the only jewel still missing from their triple crown, which is all the more incentive for England to cling on with all their might.”It’s that fight, that energy that they bring and we bring, and that buzz around the Ashes,” Sarah Taylor, England’s wicketkeeper and No. 3 batsman says. “That buzz is what creates that fight on the field.

“She’s just disgustingly motivated. She just wears her heart on her sleeve, she loves this game inside and out”Sarah Taylor on England captain Charlotte Edwards

“They are all mates of ours, we’ve grown up playing with and against them but it’s that white-line fever, as soon as you step over the rope and it’s against Australia, you’re playing for pride, you’re playing for your country and I think a lot of the girls feel it. A lot of people watching feed off that energy, purely because it’s an Ashes series.”For the third Ashes running, the contest has been spiced up by the use of an innovative points system, pioneered by Clare Connor, the ECB’s head of women’s cricket, but adjusted a touch for this rubber. Six points were previously available for the one-off Test but that has now been reduced to four, and the Test itself is now sandwiched in the middle of the tour, at Canterbury in August, to prevent either side from getting off to a (Perth) flyer.”If we’d had the same points as last time we still would have retained the Ashes,” says Heather Knight, the England vice-captain whose career-best 157 at Wormsley in 2013 helped set up that summer’s win. “The team that switches between the formats will win overall, but with the new system it feels like every game is a massive match.”I thrive on the pressure, it brings out the best in me and the best in the girls as well. It’s great to be involved in those games, because there’s no better feeling than beating an Aussie.”This summer’s contest begins amid a heightened sense of awareness of women’s sport, following the exploits of England’s Lionesses at the football World Cup in Canada last month. Their advance to the semi-finals – and an eventual third-place play-off victory over their own arch-enemies, Germany – was, to their cricketing counterparts, merely a continuation of a trend that they have themselves been living for the past decade.”I made my debut seven years ago and it’s unbelievable how much it has changed,” Anya Shrubsole, the England fast bowler, says. “It’s getting so much better and I can only see it continuing.”A lot of the girls, me included, watched a lot of that World Cup and were really behind the girls. It was obviously disappointing not to win but it inspired us to keep this feel-good factor around women’s sport going.”The ECB’s commitment to women’s cricket accelerated last year with the awarding of its first set of fully professional contracts, and this summer’s Ashes will be the first in which all seven games – three ODIs, three T20s and the Canterbury Test – are broadcast live on Sky Sports.”It’s an exciting place to be in women’s sport at the moment so we are looking to continue that momentum,” Knight says. “It’s a massive platform to show off our skills so hopefully the public will get behind us and we can play some cricket that people want to watch.”There will be few surprises in the coming weeks, given how familiar both sets of players are with one another. As if the international encounters were not sufficient, three of England’s batsmen, Knight, Taylor and Charlotte Edwards, spent last winter in Australia playing in their domestic competition.Charlotte Edwards and Meg Lanning pose with the Ashes trophy•Getty Images”Yeah, we’re a bit sick of them to be honest,” Knight says. “We saw a lot of them this winter but it works the other way around as well, they’ve seen a lot of us. But we are quite evenly matched and that hopefully bodes well for an exciting series. I think if we can keep their best players quiet that’ll be key.”Chief among those threats will be Lanning, still only 23, but already well on the way towards being one of the greats of the women’s game. She scored the first of her to-date five ODI hundreds as a teenager at Perth during England’s 2010-11 tour, and scored 336 runs at 112.00 in their 4-0 thrashing of West Indies, the 2013 World Cup finalists, in their most recent outing in November.And then there’s Ellyse Perry, nominally a fast bowler but one whose all-round game has developed so dramatically that she is now considered a frontline batsman. Since scoring 45 in the final ODI of Australia’s last visit to England, she has amassed 463 runs at 154.33 in eight subsequent 50-over games, and also made 71 and 31 in the Perth Test, almost a third of Australia’s runs in that low-scoring contest.And then there’s the legspinner, Kristen Beams, a late-blooming prospect at the age of 30, but one who has yet to taste defeat in 12 international appearances. Her career so far has been about control as much as wicket-taking, but her opportunity to play a Test match and turn the screw in a sustained spell is one that England are already guarding against, especially given the legend of the art in Ashes folklore.”I hope she doesn’t turn up like Shane Warne,” Taylor says. “She’s just very consistent, and without giving too much away, we need to ruin that consistency and get on top of her as early as possible.”But England possess plenty of trumps of their own, not least their captain, Edwards, who seems to have been around since the dawn of time itself. At the age of 35 and in her 20th year of international cricket, she remains as motivated as ever, having set up her side’s come-from-behind win in New Zealand in the spring with an unbeaten half-century in the series-turning fourth game.”She’s just disgustingly motivated,” Taylor says. “I can’t really describe it any other way. She just wears her heart on her sleeve, she loves this game inside and out, she knows so much about it and if she’s not playing it she’s watching it and learning it.”Credit to her, she’s been around a while and is a lot older than the rest of us, but that learning helps her to keep playing. She just loves the game so much and it rubs off on the rest of us.”

England’s captain and senior bowlers led the way but there were too few outstanding contributions elsewhere

Andrew McGlashan06-Nov-20159James Anderson (13 wickets at 15.61)Has an England bowler ever performed better over a series in Asia? This was a herculean series for Anderson, taking 13 wickets at 15.61 with an economy rate 1.87. His average in the UAE his lower than anywhere else in the world. To think, there was even speculation before the series as to whether he was the right horse for the right course. At 33, a decline for a fast bowler can be just around the corner but there are no signs of that for Anderson.8Alastair Cook (450 runs at 90.00)A series which reinforced Cook’s prowess as a batsman in Asia. During his 263 in Abu Dhabi he became the highest scoring non-Asian batsman in the region. His 14-hour epic was a remarkable display of concentration in stifling heat. Given how much England lean on him, he needed to convert one of his other first-innings scores (65 and 49) into three figures, too, although others need to stand up. As a captain he tried what he could with limited spin resources and rarely went completely on the defensive.7Mark Wood (6 wickets at 28.33)Was the best of England’s quicks in Dubai with his standout international performance. Sustained pace and hostility on a docile surface. He had never been expected to play all three Tests, but sooner or later a long term solution to the ankle problem will have to be found. Feeling persists that, sadly, his won’t be a long career. A very good No. 10 as he showed in the second innings in Dubai.Stuart Broad (7 wickets at 27.28)”Someone’s repaying me for that eight-for at Trent Bridge,” Broad said with a wry smile during the Sharjah Test. Wickets were hard to come by but five in the final outing were the least he deserved. Rarely bowled a poor spell, although that no-ball reprieve for Shoaib Malik in Abu Dhabi was a key moment. His batting revival, which began in the Ashes, has continued. He still wants to play one-day cricket, but his importance to the Test team is immense.6Joe Root (287 runs at 57.40)Briefly the world No.1 batsman again but it was an unfulfilling series for Root. Three scores between 71 and 88 when centuries were the order of the day. Played spin as well as anyone, but the flat-footed drive outside off has become a feature dismissal this year despite all the success. Oddly under-used with the ball – just eight overs in the series – but the management insist it is not related to issues with his back.James Taylor (78 runs at 39.00)Somehow, Taylor should have played from the start. His comeback 76 in Sharjah showed his skills against spin; soft hands, smart placement along with whippet-like running. Bristled whenever the question of facing South Africa’s quicks is posed. He’ll soon have the chance to bury that debate.5Ian Bell (158 runs at 31.60)It is now 23 innings since he started his Test year with 143 in Antigua. As in the Ashes, he chipped in – and showed commendable resourcefulness to graft away – however the tipping point is approaching. He insists the hunger remains, and he will probably go to South Africa, but that will be a defining tour. His nine scores of 0 and 1 in the year are a record for a top-order (Nos 1-7) batsman. The catching, too, remains a worry. It’s hard to escape the feeling of a terminal decline.Jonny Bairstow (134 runs at 22.33, seven catches)Retained at the start of the series as the selectors went for continuity. In a way, Bairstow is the perfect proof of development but also frustration. Spent a long time at the crease in conditions he does not find easy, but ultimately was exposed by spin too often. Now set for a run as wicketkeeper-batsman in South Africa although missed a vital stumping in Sharjah when Mohammad Hafeez had 97.Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali endured a tough time with the ball•Getty ImagesAdil Rashid (103 runs at 20.60, eight wickets at 69.50)England’s reintroduction to Test-match legspinning was a challenging affair. Rashid’s 5 for 64 in Abu Dhabi, which almost sparked a remarkable victory, was a tremendous show of character and resolve after a record-breaking first-innings drought of none for 163. But while inconsistency with (most) legspinners is a given, there was just too much from Rashid. Needs to keep bowling in first-class cricket and not be around squads as a 12th man next summer. Batted superbly in Dubai and in the modern game that will work in his favour.Samit Patel (42 runs at 21.00, three wickets at 54.66)A surprise Test return having been added to the squad as Zafar Ansari’s replacement. Acquitted himself well, especially with the bat in the first innings in Sharjah when his 42 was a textbook example of how to play spin on a turning pitch – the ball to remove him from Yasir Shah was one of the best of the series. Patel, too, bowled some beauties but also a lot of rubbish. Still, could be an alternative to Moeen.Ben Stokes (88 runs at 14.66, five wickets at 39.60)The batting numbers were not pretty, but he twice came in down the order and in pain after his collar bone injury in Sharjah. Picked out by Trevor Bayliss as an example of someone learning quickly how to adapt against spin. As with all the quicks, his efforts with the ball were unstinting and often unrewarded. His run out in the first Test was stunning. Remains raw around the edges, but vital to England’s future.3Moeen Ali (84 runs at 14.00, nine wickets at 48.66)There was understandable reasoning to why he was promoted to open, but it was always a long shot to work. There was some promise first time as he added 116 with Cook in Abu Dhabi, but that was the high-point. The second-innings shot in Dubai was horrendous and the slog-sweep in Sharjah ugly. More worryingly, though, was the decline – or at least flat-lining – of his bowling. Had the knack of picking up wickets but looked more like a batsman who bowls than at any other time of his career.2Jos Buttler (34 runs at 8.50, five catches)In the end, Buttler had to be omitted for the good of himself as much as the team. Dubai was a horrid Test for him, exposed by pace and spin, while signs were his keeping was starting to be effected. Until then, his glovework had continued to improve as the batting declined. Hopefully the one-dayers will free him up, but may need a period in first-class cricket before a Test return.

The raw brutality of Ben Stokes’ third and finest Test century is a sign that, at the age of 24, this might yet be his era

George Dobell in Cape Town03-Jan-2016In years to come, those fortunate enough to have been inside Newlands on the second day of this match will regale strangers in bars with tales of the time Ben Stokes bullied the No. 1 team in their own backyard with a performance that stands comparison with any of the great innings in England’s modern Test history.They may struggle to summon the words to do justice to the brutality they witnessed; the acceleration of the innings; the power of the boundaries. And, even if they do, those listening will think they are exaggerating.Because this was an extraordinary, magnificent innings. It made a mockery of the usual pace of Test cricket and the usual practice of easing into a morning. It made a mockery of South Africa’s attack and many Test records. It was magical.Chris Broad, during his brief spell in the media, once remarked that he had “run out of expletives” to describe a passage of play. While you suspect the word he was searching for was “superlatives”, it felt like an apt description for the butchery Stokes inflicted here. Had he worn a cape, he could not have appeared more like a superhero.This innings has been coming for a while. To see Stokes bat in the nets, or in the warm-up matches at the start of this tour, was to see a beast straining at its leash. Net bowlers were devoured and, in one case, forced to hospital by the brutality of his hitting. The timing, the power, the hunger were all evident. Sooner or later, an attack was going to suffer. This one won’t be the last or the best.We have seen glimpses of his abundant talent before. In just his second Test, he made a deeply impressive century at Perth against Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris et al, as his teammates fell around him. Then, in May 2015, he scored the quickest Test century ever made at Lord’s as he led England from a precarious position to a match-winning one against New Zealand. He appears to relish pressure and responsibility.There was a deluge of records here; a statisticians’ dream. Had Stokes’ innings lasted as long as Alastair Cook’s innings of 263 in Abu Dhabi, he would have scored nearly a thousand. Yes, it is ridiculous statistic. It was a ridiculous day.But statistics cannot convey the magnificence of this innings any more than they can convey the magnificence of the mountain that overlooks this ground. So, just as reading that Table Mountain is 1,084 metres tall and made of Ordovician rock and quartzitic sandstone cannot provide any sense of its verdant slopes, its ragged edges, its irresistible beauty, so knowing that Stokes hit more sixes than any Englishman in a Test innings and made the second fastest double-century in Test history does not provide any sense of his dominance over the South African attack.Ben Stokes smashed records, balls, and South Africa’s morale•AFPBut there were a few moments towards the end of the innings when the look on the faces of the South African fielders betrayed the enormity of what was unfolding. They were looks we see very occasionally at this level: the look on Mike Gatting’s face when Shane Warne delivered that ball; the look on Graham Gooch’s face when Ian Botham returned from a drugs ban and, within two overs, had claimed the two wickets he required to become the highest wicket-taker in Test history; the look on the faces of the Australian attack after Brian Lara had led West Indies to a one-wicket victory in Barbados with an unbeaten 153. The look on the faces of many bowlers who tried to contain Viv or Sachin. It was a look of awe.Typically, in this innings, it came when a fielder positioned on the boundary saw the ball coming their way. But just as they steadied themselves for the catch, they realised the ball wasn’t slowing down or dropping. It was, at times, still rising. It was going yards over their heads. Balls landed beyond grass banks and stands as Stokes produced a passable impression of an overly competitive father thrashing his toddler child’s bowling around on the beach. Just for a while, the South African bowlers knew exactly how that locker in the Barbados dressing room felt. Maybe a few batsmen have hit the ball harder; not many spring to mind.Not that Stokes is a mere bludgeoner. He times the ball with a sweetness granted to few and he has a wide range of strokes. It’s just he also hits it hard. So to see the sweeper on the cover boundary hardly move before another ball rushed past him, or to see the mid-off stand motionless as another ball sailed over his head was to see artistry and brutality combined. It was to see precision bombing.Jonny Bairstow lent mature, polished support with an emotional century that deserved headline billing of its own. Not attempting to compete, he showed impressive acceleration of his own once the orders to do so were given and underlined the impression that he is every inch a Test batsman in both temperament and technique. On this day, however, he was destined to be the support act.South Africa started the day by bowling full at Stokes in an attempt to draw him into the drive. Up to a point it worked, too. He certainly was drawn into a few. It was just that every drive he attempted flew to the boundary with a sense of dominance that soon persuaded them that the plan wasn’t going to work.So then they went short at him. And, against a man so comfortable with the short ball and as strong on the pull, that is where things grew ugly for them. So well did he time the ball that only 22 of his runs came behind square on the leg side. So well was he seeing the ball, so well was hitting the ball, that nearly every pull, hook and clip went in front of square. He loves pace and, on a pitch as true as this, was able to hit through the ball with an ease which rendered no length safe.The third stage of their attack was shell-shock. They didn’t know where to bowl and it didn’t seem to make any difference. They tried full, they tried short, they tried length. All to the same end. He was flowing now. He was unstoppable.Do we need to compare this with other great England innings? It was neither better nor worse than Gooch’s 154 against West Indies in 1991; just different. It was neither better nor worse than Kevin Pietersen’s trio of 2012 centuries; just different. We don’t always need to categorise or choose. Sometimes we can just admire and enjoy. And let us not forget, when he came in, Kagiso Rabada was on a hat-trick and England were in grave danger of squandering first use of this pitch. It would be a miscarriage of justice if this innings is remembered as soft.Do we have to crush every joy with caveats and context? Oh, okay. This pitch has been, up to now at least, the sort of surface a batsman wants to whisk away to Paris for a weekend of tender lovemaking, while the bowling attack – missing Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander – was largely green and increasingly ragged. In the first session of the day, there was scarcely a slower ball delivered and, whatever plans there might have been, were soon abandoned to chaos. Hashim Amla has many qualities; captaincy may not be one of them.But it is hard to keep your head in a tornado and it seems churlish to diminish this innings with such observations. It would be like telling van Gogh the painting of his bedroom was wonky or asking Bob Dylan to sing properly. Genius has its own rules and this was genius in action. Besides, as Stokes thrashed perfectly respectable length-balls from Morne Morkel back over his head, you had the impression that it did not matter what South Africa did now and that Steyn, for all his heart and skill, might reflect that this wasn’t such a bad surface to sit out. Had a lion wandered on to the playing area, Stokes would simply have wrestled it into submission. This was his day.It may be his era. Young men don’t come with guarantees and there will be days, no doubt, when the shots find hands not stands. When it is suggested that Stokes is reckless. When he is said to have “given it away”. He has some issues against spin, too, which will have to be conquered before he is considered one of the world’s most promising young batsmen and rarely looks quite as comfortable upon the sluggish surfaces on which he may have to play most of his career.But there is no reason Stokes cannot shape many more games. He is, aged 24, the youngest man in the England team. He is still learning, still improving, still hungry. He mentioned afterwards that, knowing the likes of Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad bat after him has given him the freedom to attack without inhibition and that he gives no thought to averages.Quite right, too. For Stokes is a far from average cricketer. And if we were foolish enough to judge him in those terms, we would conclude he was a pretty modest talent. He did, after all, come into this innings with a Test batting average of just 27.72.Stokes should never be tamed or changed. He is not a percentage cricketer; he is special and he can damage opposition within a session. England have found a gem in Stokes and this may well be his time.

ESPNcricinfo picks the team of the tournament following the conclusion of the 2015-16 Bangladesh Premier League

Mohammad Isam16-Dec-2015Tamim Iqbal (Nine matches, 298 runs at 37.25, three fifties) It was a satisfying campaign for Tamim the opening batsman, but not the the Chittagong Vikings captain. Chittagong were at the bottom of the points table in the league phase and there were plenty of cracks in their overall performance. Tamim, however, looked in control for most of his time at the crease. Two of his three fifties came early in the tournament, the best being the 69 against Sylhet Super Stars following an altercation with one of the Sylhet owners.Imrul Kayes (12 matches, 312 runs at 28.36, two fifties) Finished with a spectacular half-century in the final which had a big role to play in Comilla Victorians’ title triumph. His 53 also made him the tournament’s second-highest scorer behind Kumar Sangakkara. Imrul played in some of the toughest conditions in Bangladesh, and worked hard on transforming his game for the T20 format. A 28.36 batting average would not suffice usually, but in the Mirpur matches, he would have loved to have opened the batting on a firmer pitch. Kumar Sangakkara (wk) (10 matches, 349 runs at 38.77, two fifties) Was Dhaka Dynamites’ one-man show with the bat, bailing the team out of trouble after early wickets in most matches. Only the two fifties do not reflect how difficult it had been even for Sangakkara to bat in the Mirpur pitches. He was nearly the specimen batsman for such conditions, and led a very inexperienced Dhaka side quite well despite finishing fourth.Jahurul Islam (Nine matches, 205 runs at 41.00, one fifty)After three-single digit scores to start with, Jahurul ended the tournament as his team’s second-highest scorer. More importantly, he looked like the most improved Bangladesh batsman, especially given the difficult batting conditions throughout the tournament. His 47 against Chittagong came in a strong opening showing with Soumya Sarkar, while the unbeaten knocks of 35 and 62 against Dhaka and Comilla helped Rangpur qualify to the last four.Mahmudullah (capt) (13 matches, 279 runs at 27.90, two fiftiesMashrafe Mortaza was the inspirational captain who led Comilla to the title win, but Mahmudullah’s leadership was discernibly more effective for his Barisal team. Barisal had a wretched time with the bat in the first leg of the competition but Mahmudullah batted well at that time. He ensured that their local players kept their head up during pressure situations, and helped get good performances out of Al-Amin Hossain and Nadif Chowdhury.Mohammad Amir impressed with 14 wickets from nine matches•AFPAshar Zaidi (11 matches, 215 runs at 53.75, one 50, 17 wickets, economy-rate 4.78)Was a late inclusion in the Comilla side as they looked everywhere for an allrounder. Started well with the ball and slowly made his way up the batting order, but his bowling performance never dropped. His 17 wickets came at an economy rate of 4.78, and also made crucial contributions with the bat. He deserved the Man-of-the-Tournament award. Shakib Al Hasan (11 matches, 18 wickets, economy-rate 6.39) Having landed from the USA on the eve of the tournament, Shakib started the campaign with two wicketless overs, but quickly took seven in the next two games – 3 for 23 against Barisal Bulls, and 4 for 16 against Dhaka Dynamites. Eleven more wickets followed in the next eight games. Shakib would have liked to make more runs with the bat, but as an allrounder, everything does not always have to go his way.Mashrafe Mortaza (12 matches, 102 runs at 20.40, one fifty, five wickets, economy-rate 6.16Was his third BPL triumph as captain. Comilla coach Mohammad Salahuddin said that it was Mashrafe’s unbeaten 56 against Chittagong Vikings that kick-started their campaign. His valiant captaincy, fielding and bowling off a couple of steps with a hamstring injury inspired his side. He was certainly a major force behind the eventual champions but knowing how gracious he is, it is unlikely that he would mind giving the captaincy reins to Mahmudullah.Mohammad Amir (Nine matches, 14 wickets, economy-rate 5.56)
His campaign started with a bang – a four-wicket haul in the tournament opener. Amir ended up with ten more wickets and was one of the few bright spots in the Chittagong team. The captain Tamim Iqbal usually used Amir in two spells – two overs at the start, two at the end. Opposition batting line-ups knew what was coming, but still struggled to dominate him. The BPL was considered as Amir’s first steps into making an international comeback, and he has given a great account of his bowling in this tournament.Abu Hider (12 matches, 21 wickets, economy-rate 6.91)Did not have a great final, but can safely be called the first player to get his break from the BPL. Hider took two four-wicket hauls, including in the first qualifier in which Comilla demolished Rangpur. His yorkers accounted for key wickets, while his change of pace, accuracy and control made him an all-round bowling package that Mashrafe used quite cleverly. Hider rarely took the new ball, and was most effective in the last four overs. Certainly one for the future for Bangladesh.Al-Amin Hossain (12 matches, 20 wickets, economy-rate 6.79) Fifteen of Al-Amin’s 17 wickets in the BPL came in matches Barisal won. His best performance was the hat-trick in his five-for against Sylhet Super Stars. The standout delivery was the hat-trick ball to Mushfiqur Rahim. Even in the final, Al-Amin supported Mohammad Sami and Kevon Cooper quite well, and he could be in line for a national call-up come the Asia Cup T20 in February.2012 BPL XI: 1 Ahmed Shehzad, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Brad Hodge, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim, 6 Mohammad Ashraful, 7 Azhar Mahmood, 8 Elias Sunny, 9 Mohammad Sami, 10 Mashrafe Mortaza, 11 Enamul Haque jnr2013 BPL XI: 1 Shamsur Rahman, 2 Brad Hodge, 3 Brendan Taylor, 4 Shakib Al Hasan, 5 Mushfiqur Rahim (capt & wk), 6 Ryan ten Doeschate, 7 Azhar Mahmood, 8 Alfonso Thomas, 9 Sohag Gazi, 10 Mosharraf Hossain, 11 Enamul Haque jnr