Shane Bond discusses his appointment as bowling consultant for England’s Ashes campaign

Shashank Kishore28-Sep-2017Shane Bond, the former New Zealand fast bowler, will help plot Australia’s downfall during the Ashes by guiding England in a consultancy role. Bond is expected to link up with the England squad four weeks ahead of the Ashes opener in Brisbane starting November 23. Currently in India as head coach of New Zealand A, Bond, who described the series as the “pinnacle” of bilateral contests, took time off to chat with ESPNcricinfo on his upcoming assignment.How did the deal with England for the Ashes come about?
I was invited to the Champions Trophy as an ICC ambassador. I turned up there and caught up with Andrew Strauss, who I’d played quite a bit against. It was great to have a chat. I knew he was working as the director of cricket and was doing a good job. We chatted about cricket in general, what coaching looks like in the modern environment, the challenges they face and the challenges English cricket is faced with. We had a general discussion, and then I got contacted asking if I’d be interested in working with them. I’d read Ottis Gibson was moving on to another challenge, and Andrew asked me if I’d be interested.What was your reaction when it came out of the blue?
Exciting, humbling, scary….there was a whole range of emotions I faced at the time. But excitement was the main one. You hope you can make a difference. I’ll certainly go out there trying to. As I’ve said, the job of a coach is to make a player, and hopefully the team, better. You’ve got to think about how you are going to do that. I don’t know if any other Kiwi has had an opportunity to work in a series like that. I can’t wait! I know a number of the guys. Some of them not really well, but I’m really looking forward to building those relationships and hopefully see those boys have a really successful tour.From a neutral’s perspective, what elicits that excitement?
Even as a Kiwi, I grew up with Ashes being the pinnacle cricket event. I’ve watched videos and documentaries of Bodyline and the history of the Ashes. As a player at the time, I saw how cool the 2005 series. The opportunity to work with the England team for that series was particularly humbling when he [Strauss] asked me. I’m really looking forward to being a part of that England team.What is it that you’re most looking forward to?
There’s so much history, great stories and great performances that have gone on to build the tradition that the Ashes is. In my mind, that is still the pinnacle series in world cricket. The excitement that players have when they’re picked for the Ashes tells you what it means to be a part of it. Even from a fan’s perspective – you sense that it’s the ultimate. What I’m looking forward to the most is seeing all the other stuff around it – fans, support, pressure, media, the hype and being involved, getting a really close look at it will be cool for me. I’m really lucky to get an opportunity to be involved in that and hopefully be part of a successful team.Your thoughts on England’s attack: all bases covered?
There’s some experience there, isn’t it? I played against Jimmy [Anderson] and Stuart [Broad]. I know Ben Stokes from the IPL. I also know a number of the other players and coaching staff through my experiences in cricket, but actually it doesn’t matter what the make-up of the squad is. You just go on with the job you have to do. The fact that I have an understanding of those guys because I’ve seen them over a number of years is going to help, but again for me it’s about starting from scratch. I’ll have to first get the trust of the players.Is it a challenge to attain your goals in such short span as coach?
We’ve got four weeks leading into the first Test. That’s quite a long period of time – three or four first-class games. It’s certainly long enough to make a difference. If I didn’t think I could, I wouldn’t have accepted the role.Will it help to have first-hand view of a pink-ball game in India ahead of the Ashes Test?
The pink ball is a little bit different. It’s a shame that the game [India A v New Zealand A] is not at night, That changes the dynamics a little bit. But the job the bowlers have to do is exactly the same. Looking forward to the Ashes, there’s a pink-ball Test. Any experience you get with working something different and learn a little bit more about it is a learning opportunity.

The final at Lord’s was a fitting end to a memorable World Cup. Here is a look at five moments where the game changed direction

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jul-2017Yadav’s twin strikes scupper England’s progressMithali Raj’s decision to turn to Poonam Yadav after 14 overs bore instant results, through a combination of good fortune and some good old legspinner’s drift. A full toss off her third ball had Tammy Beaumont miscuing into the leg side, after which she pinged Heather Knight’s pads with one that went straight on. A successful DRS review later, India had two of England’s best batsmen in the hut, just like that.Goswami’s middle-overs magicEngland were cruising at 144 for 3 in the 33rd over when Jhulan Goswami returned for her second – and final – spell. Her opening burst of 6-2-16-0 had stemmed the run flow early on, but was in no way portentous of what she would dish out in her final four overs. A faint tickle down the leg side got rid of Sarah Taylor first up, before a cracking yorker-length delivery undid Fran Wilson first ball. Four overs and 18 runs later, another ripper trapped Nat Sciver in front. England’s batting core had been dismantled single-handedly, leaving them at a precarious 164 for 6 after 38 overs.Raj’s bizarre run outFor a chase that needed a steady hand more than fireworks with the bat, Raj’s wicket was the one England would have wanted the most. They got it far more easily than they would have imagined, as she ran herself out in a bizarre fashion. Punam Raut’s nudge to short midwicket was met with a clear affirmative from her captain at the other end, before she gave up halfway through the run, leaving her well short of the crease – there was not even a desperate dive for the line. It was as if she did not expect the throw to come to her end, and it left India without an anchor for their chase.England’s reaction after Mithali Raj’s run out tells a story•Getty ImagesEngland’s senior pros miss simple chancesSarah Taylor’s probably the best keeper going around in women’s cricket, as she showed towards the end of India’s innings with quick glovework to get rid of Shikha Pandey. Earlier on, though, she missed a stumping that would have been a regulation chance by her standards. With India needing 84 off 92 balls, Raut was beaten by a Laura Marsh turner. But Taylor failed to pick the path of the delivery too, and the missed stumping seemed like it would prove costly for England.Two overs later, Heather Knight had a “dropped the cup” moment at extra cover, grassing a crunchy Veda Krishnamurthy cover drive which went straight into her hands and out. In a matter of balls, England seemed to be losing the plot, as India looked set to cruise home on their lucky day.Krishnamurthy’s swipe ends India’s hopesDespite those missed chances, India were wobbling and, with 29 needed off 33 balls, Krishnamurthy’s ball-striking abilities were critical to their chances. She had flirted with danger throughout her short stay, and each one of her risks seemed to be paying off till that point. She eventually perished by the sword, as her cross-batted slog settled into Sciver’s palms this time. It was the third of Anya Shrubsole’s six wickets, as lady luck finally deserted Krishnamurthy and India.

Aakash Chopra on the talking points from Australia’s victory in the second T20 international in Guwahati

Aakash Chopra11-Oct-20170:58

Pitch was perfect for Behrendorff – Bhuvneshwar

The pitch at the Barsapara stadium
The surface in Guwahati had a deep-brown look that suggested a lot of moisture. There was also an even covering of grass, which allowed the ball to grip the pitch and move laterally. The toss was critical and Australia did the right thing by choosing to field, after which Jason Behrendorff proved the value of a left-arm seamer. His natural angle – moving away from the right-hand batsman – accounted for Manish Pandey, and deliveries that came in got Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Behrendorff reaped rewards for his fuller length.India’s shot selection
In the first ODI, Pandey had fallen for a duck, nicking a full ball from Nathan Coulter-Nile. In Guwahati, Pandey stayed deep in the crease and was fortunate that Coulter-Nile rarely pitched full. Behrendorff, however, did pitch full and Pandey’s front foot went down the pitch instead of towards the ball. He reached out for it with his hands and edged behind. Shikhar Dhawan had spent all but one ball in the first three overs at the non-striker’s end, giving him ample time to assess the conditions. So the shot he played to fall to Behrendorff – an attempted chip over the infield – was careless.Dhoni’s footwork
The moisture in the pitch ensured the ball gripped and turned for the legspinner Adam Zampa. MS Dhoni tried to counter this threat by stepping out: in the over that he was eventually dismissed, Dhoni stepped out to Zampa five times. The idea was to force the bowler to shorten the length, which would allow Dhoni the freedom to stay in the crease and score off the back foot. It was interesting that Dhoni chose to step out – sometimes only to defend – to five consecutive balls without waiting on the back foot even once.Seven-batsmen army
India have been picking seven batsmen in recent limited-overs games, the idea being to have extra firepower to set above-par totals or chase huge targets. It is also insurance against a collapse. The strategy hasn’t always worked in ODIs with scores of 300, and even in Guwahati having Hardik Pandya at No. 7 did not prevent India from being dismissed in 20 overs. Playing the extra batsman also leaves you a bowler short, leaving no insurance for a bowler having a bad day. With the kind of batsmen India have, playing five proper bowlers is a tactic worth trying.The Warner-Finch dismissals & Henriques’ promotion
Most of the runs scored on this pitch were off the back foot and that led to Australia’s openers being a little too eager. David Warner and Aaron Finch went back to balls that weren’t short enough and paid the price. Australia were smart to promote Moises Henriques to no. 3, ahead of Glenn Maxwell. The conditions demanded a more technically sound batsman.India’s bowling plans
Travis Head and Henriques went after the left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav and medium-pacer Hardik Pandya. Every time Kuldeep pitched full, which is his strength, both batsmen went really hard at it. He was forced to bowl shorter and, on a slow Guwahati pitch, the ball sat up to be hit. The experience should encourage Kuldeep to expand his repertoire. From time to time, the situation will arise where he needs to bowl quicker and with control.It was interesting that Kohli did not bowl Bhuvneshwar Kumar or Jasprit Bumrah in the middle overs despite Kuldeep going for plenty. Yes, it would have meant not having their overs at the end, but the only way to fight back was to break the Henriques-Head stand and take more wickets. As it turned out, with Australia winning in the 16th over, neither Bumrah nor Bhuvneshwar bowled their full quota.

Kohli’s second-innings hundred was his ninth in 2017. He has six more internationals this year to set a new record

Bharath Seervi20-Nov-201750 – Number of international hundreds for Virat Kohli. He became the eighth batsman overall and second Indian, after Sachin Tendulkar, to get there. Kohli got there in his 348th innings, in Kolkata on Monday, the joint-quickest along with Hashim Amla, who got there in February 2017.2 – Number of third-innings centuries for Kohli in Tests. Both have come in successive third innings outings against Sri Lanka. The first was an unbeaten 103 in Galle earlier this year. Before these two knocks, Kohli averaged 27.12 in the third innings across 25 knocks, with four half-centuries. The last India captain to score a third-innings century before Kohli was Tendulkar, who did so against New Zealand in Mohali in 1999. The previous India player to score a third-innings century at Eden Gardens was Rahul Dravid, against Pakistan in 2005.83 – Kohli’s run tally across six Test innings at Eden Gardens before this century. He was out for single digits in four of those innings. In ODIs, he has a century and three fifties in six innings here.119 – Balls taken by Kohli to score this century – his fastest of the 18 Test hundreds. The previous quickest was off 129 balls against New Zealand in Wellington in 2013-14. Kohli scored 68.87% of batsmen runs since he arrived to the crease – 104 out of 151 – at a strike rate of 87.39. While the other batsmen contributed 47 runs at strike rate of 31.92.

Batsman Runs Balls SR 4s/6sVirat Kohli 104 119 87.39 12/2All others 47 147 31.97 5/09 – Number of hundreds for Kohli across formats this year – three in Tests and six in ODIs – the most by him in any calendar year. He made eight hundreds, his previous best, in 2012 and 2014.0 – No captain has made more international hundreds in a year than Kohli’s nine this year. Ricky Ponting (2005 and 2006) and Graeme Smith (2006) also made nine hundreds. Kohli still has six internationals left this year to set a new record.1 – Kohli is the first India captain to score a duck and a century in the same Test. He’s the 18th captain overall to do so. Last India player to do so was Cheteshwar Pujara, also against Sri Lanka, in Colombo (SSC) in 2015. The last instance of an Indian doing this at home was Dravid, against England in Mohali in 2008.

How many players have really not troubled the scorers in a Test victory?

Steven Lynch28-Aug-2018England won the Lord’s Test even though one of the team, Adil Rashid, did not bat, bowl or take a catch. How often has this happened? asked Andrew Curry from England
Adil Rashid’s fruitless return at Lord’s has been replicated on 13 previous occasions in Tests. Remarkably, it happened twice to the Australian left-arm seamer Bill Johnston in the West Indies in 1954-55: in the third Test in Georgetown and the fifth one in Kingston, the unfortunate Johnston was injured in the field before he had a chance to bowl, and took no further part in either match. These were the last two of Johnston’s 40 Tests.The first man to emerge victorious in a Test despite a minimal personal contribution was the future England captain Percy Chapman. At Lord’s in 1924, his batting was not required as England ran up 531 for 2, and he did not bowl or take a catch in South Africa’s innings of 273 and 240.R Ashwin top-scored in both India’s innings at Lord’s from No. 8. Was this unique? asked Trefor Jones from England
Rather surprisingly perhaps, R Ashwin’s double in the second Test at Lord’s was the fifth time that the No. 8 batsman top-scored in both a side’s innings in a Test. The first instance was in Bangalore in 1995-96, when Lee Germon top-scored in both New Zealand’s innings against India. This was Germon’s Test debut – and he was captaining the side, too. Guy Whittall followed suit for Zimbabwe against South Africa in Bloemfontein in 1999-2000, and another Zimbabwean, Graeme Cremer, achieved the feat against Sri Lanka in Harare in 2016-17. There was another instance in Hamilton in 2008-09, when Daniel Vettori top-scored from No. 8 in New Zealand’s first innings against India, and Brendon McCullum – down the order after a nightwatchman was used – did likewise in the second.Jimmy Anderson inflicted two pairs on Indian batsmen at Lord’s. Has anyone else managed this in a Test? asked Gavin McDonald from Australia
Jimmy Anderson disposed of the luckless M Vijay and Kuldeep Yadav for ducks in both innings at Lord’s recently. Only three previous bowlers have previously inflicted two pairs in the same Test. The Australian legspinner Bill O’Reilly accounted for the New Zealanders Gordon Rowe (bowled twice) and Len Butterfield (lbw twice) in Wellington in 1945-46. Jim Laker did it during his demolition of Australia at Old Trafford in 1956 – Neil Harvey and Ken Mackay (who was caught by Alan Oakman in both innings). And finally Dale Steyn did it against New Zealand in Centurion in 2007-08, when his victims were Mark Gillespie (on his Test debut) and Iain O’Brien.Iain O’Brien, along with Mark Gillespie, was dismissed for a pair by Dale Steyn in Centurion, 2007-08•Getty ImagesWho is the youngest man to take five wickets in an innings in a Test? And who’s the oldest? asked Manoj Pandit from India
The youngest man to claim a Test five-for was the Pakistan slow left-armer Nasim-ul-Ghani, who was 16 years 307 days old when he took 5 for 116 against West Indies in Georgetown in 1957-58. Around a fortnight later he took 6 for 67 in Port-of-Spain. Next comes Mohammad Amir, who was 17 years 260 days old when he took 5 for 79 for Pakistan against Australia in Melbourne in 2009-10.The oldest bowler to claim a five-for was the Australian left-arm spinner Bert Ironmonger, who was within sight of his 50th birthday – 49 years 311 days old – when he took 5 for 6 and 6 for 18 against South Africa on a treacherous pitch in Melbourne in 1931-32. Next comes another Australian spinner, Don Blackie, whose offbreaks brought him 6 for 94 against England in Melbourne in 1928-29, when he was 46. More recently, 45-year-old John Traicos took 5 for 86 in Zimbabwe’s inaugural Test, against India in Harare in 1992-93.Apparently only one man has scored a century and also scored a try at Headingley. Who is it? Liam Botham perhaps? asked Ben Gordon from England
I don’t think Liam Botham managed it, even though he did play both cricket and rugby league at Headingley. The only man known to have done this particular double is an Australian, Arthur Clues, who was one of the first imports into English rugby league after the Second World War. He scored 74 tries for Leeds, many of them at Headingley. Clues was also a talented cricketer, who had played top-class club cricket in Australia. He died in 1998, and his obituary in The Independent recalled: “During his rugby career, he also played for Leeds Cricket Club, on the cricket ground that adjoins the rugby pitch at Headingley. He is the only man to have scored a try on one side of the shared grandstand and century on the other. He is also recalled as an exceptional tennis player, a keen golfer and an Australian yo-yo champion.”Use our feedback form or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Team needs to pick up performances in time for 2019 World Cup, says captain

Nagraj Gollapudi at Headingley17-Jul-2018India are not ready for the World Cup. Not yet. That is the conclusion drawn by India’s captain Virat Kohli, who believes his team have “quite a few” questions to answer between now and the 2019 tournament, after England won the last two ODIs to seal the series 2-1 at Headingley.After a second demoralising defeat in three days, Kohli said that India were “not good enough” and needed to pick up their performances in the intervening 12 months.After a subdued batting performance had received strong condemnation from India’s fans at Lord’s on Saturday, Kohli’s men failed in all three departments in Leeds. And despite an honest appraisal of their shortcomings, Kohli did not exactly spell out what areas they needed to work on to be ready for the World Cup.”Well, quite a few,” Kohli told the host broadcaster during the post-match presentation in Leeds. “That is what every side is looking for: they are looking for the best balance they can have possibly. All these sort of series and these sort of losses will tell us exactly what we need to work on and the things we need to rectify come World Cup time.”Kohli’s assessment had been echoed by India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar, who had pointed out on Monday that the team still had enough matches between now and the World Cup to work out their unsettled roles.”We have got 15-16 games. We have to get our act right and get the balance of the side really powerful and strong and make sure we are not over-reliant on one skill. [All] three skills have to come along together and have consistent performances and that is what we are striving for as a team.”Kohli was the only India batsman today to score a half-century. Rohit Sharma went early once again and Shikhar Dhawan was unfortunate to be run out after he was beaten by the spectacular fielding and throw from Ben Stokes. Dinesh Karthik, drafted in in place of KL Rahul, hit a couple of breezy fours, but paid the price for attempting a drive far from his body against Adil Rashid.Suresh Raina and Hardik Pandya once again failed to stitch together a partnership with MS Dhoni, who cursed himself later for picking the wrong ball to attack after another cautious start to his innings. India managed 258.”We were never on the mark as far as the runs on the board was concerned, we were 25-30 less,” said Kohli. “England were really clinical with the ball, bat and the field as well. We were just not good enough.”Kohli said he was surprised with the behaviour of the pitch which was slow throughout the day. He said initially with the new ball it had been two-paced but subsequently became slow, helping the spin twins of Rashid and Moeen Ali.”They suffocated us through the middle overs really well,” Kohli said. “And the two spinners again joining hands and bowling 20 overs together. They really bowled well in partnerships. That is what you need as a side – you need bowlers to step up and bowl in partnerships. None of them got greedy, they just kept containing the runs and got the results eventually.”

India have had a rough year trying to dismiss tails, but how much of a difference did batting first make in Adelaide? Quite significant

Sidharth Monga in Adelaide08-Dec-2018If you have agonised over India coming close and not winning on the tours of South Africa and England this year, you probably watched the Adelaide Oval Test from behind your sofa once India got into Australia’s lower order. All those memories of stubborn lower-order runs would have come storming back with every over a lower-order wicket didn’t fall.How has Virat Kohli fared this year at the toss?•ESPNcricinfo LtdA lot has been written, said and tweeted about India’s ability to dislodge tails. From Cape Town to Birmingham, from Centurion to Southampton, India’s conservative approach against the lower order has been identified by many, including the team management themselves, as the failure to “seize big moments”. Virat Kohli has marvelled at the opposition allrounders’ clear minds and fearless batting.Yet, a lot of this fear might have disregarded something significant but so obvious that it can be lost. All the lower-order resistance against India came with the opposition ahead in the game, not necessarily on balance but on runs, any runs. When Sam Curran began his onslaught at Edgbaston, England were effectively only 100 for 6, but they were not in deficit, and they were going to make India chase something, anything. South Africa’s lower order rallied in Cape Town and Centurion when they were ahead on runs. In Southampton, England might have given up a first-innings lead, but the complexion of the game changed as soon as they drew level again even though they had lost a wicket by then.