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ESPNcricinfo presents Plays of the Day from the third ODI between New Zealand and South Africa, in Auckland

Andrew Fernando03-Mar-2012The catch
A loose ball from South Africa’s new-ball pair was a rarity New Zealand could not afford to miss out on in the early exchanges. However, when they did stray, brilliance from South Africa’s infielders minimised, and often prevented altogether, any damage. When Martin Guptill cut a wide ball from Lonwabo Tostsobe in the fifth over, Faf du Plessis took things a step further and ensured the opening bowler was finally rewarded for a terrific spell, pulling off a stunning take backward of point. Fully stretched and airborne, du Plessis plucked the ball from behind him and Guptill, not a bad fielder himself, gaped on in disbelief before heading back to the hutch.The run-out
Having already pulled off the catch of the afternoon, du Plessis’ fielding heroics continued through the middle overs, when he ended Kane Williamson’s innings with a fantastic throw. Williamson had set off for a single from the non-striker’s end, gambling on the fact that the swooping du Plessis could not go down and deliver an accurate throw at full pelt. The batsman was wrong. du Plessis’ horizontal, mid-air throw found AB de Villiers’ gloves inches from the stumps, and Williamson was out by a metre.The set-up
Having roughed up Brendon McCullum and Rob Nicol with short stuff at startling pace in his first spell, Marchant de Lange reaped the reward for the tactic only several overs later, at the start of his second. Expecting another a ball at his throat, McCullum was moving onto the back foot almost before the ball was bowled, and was in a woeful position to play the full one that de Lange delivered. The ball caught the edge and looped to backward point to leave McCullum walking back three runs short of fifty.The freebie(s)
It wasn’t a good game for bowlers trying to hit the blockhole on free hits. After Wayne Parnell overstepped in the 31st over, he floated a length ball on middle stump that Colin de Grandhomme blasted over cow corner for his first ODI runs. Later, during South Africa’s innings, Kyle Mills’ knee-high full toss disappeared to the same part of the ground – only this time, it bounced before it crossed the rope off Hashim Amla’s bat.The false restarts
The groundstaff had the crowd on the edge of their seats with their cover-removing antics during the 40-minute rain delay during the New Zealand innings. They first brought the covers on, and were in the process of piling more on when the weather suddenly cleared and the umpires asked them to begin preparing for play. They then took them all off, but just as the pitch was completely uncovered, another squall washed through Eden Park and the umpires were eating their words. This routine continued for a further ten minutes while the weather made up its mind before, finally, the rain clouds blew over and stayed away for the remainder of the evening.Edited by Nikita Bastian

Manvinder Bisla has changed several teams – in Ranji Trophy and IPL – in search of a big opportunity. Fate presented it to him on the night of the IPL final

Sidharth Monga28-May-2012Until May 27, Manvinder Bisla was best known for being a Tillakaratne Dilshan lookalike. He was also known as a man for whom a trap was allegedly set by undercover reporters from a news channel. Bisla was one injudicious shot from being suspended by the BCCI, like five other cricketers. Like the others, he was not a big name, and the BCCI wouldn’t have thought twice had Bisla been caught showing more than a passing interest in what the reporters were offering. Thankfully he left that sucker ball outside off, and on Sunday he reaped the maximum benefits of his judgement.Bisla was born in Hisar in Haryana, a town known for badminton player Saina Nehwal and the highway ideally suited for those driving to and from Delhi, in north-western India. He played for India Under-19, but didn’t waste much time in leaving Haryana to play Ranji Trophy for Himachal Pradesh. After impressing everyone there, Bisla got a better offer from Jammu & Kashmir, and made the move again. Only to return a season later.This kind of impatience is not appreciated in Indian cricket. Only those cricketers who missed the bus on India selection play for other states as professionals. Loyalty to your association is valued. Those associations are supposed to fight for your selection in return. Bisla, though, was ambitious, and perhaps more of a modern-day cricketer who didn’t have time for these niceties. Those reporters had nearly got it right.Himachal, though, saw the other side of Bisla too. For starters, the coach there, Rajdeep Kalsi, thought he might have a future India player at hand. Those were the days before MS Dhoni had said hello to Pakistan, and neither Ajay Ratra nor Parthiv Patel had done enough to make the India wicketkeeping slot his own. Bisla scored three centuries in 2004-05, and got those who mattered talking about him. John Wright, then the India coach, made a trip to watch him play for North Zone. Bisla was close to representing India through a route less taken.In three matches, though, Bisla managed just 39 runs, and Dhoni blasted a fifty against Bangladesh Cricket Board XI. There hasn’t been a chance since. The nearly man continued to have run-ins with fate. Himachal named him captain in 2006, but he tore a ligament in his knee. It was an identical injury to Yuvraj Singh’s, and the two went to the same doctor in Delhi. Bisla’s ambition, though, didn’t know bounds. He couldn’t reach a contractual agreement with Himachal and went without any first-class cricket this last season. Had he been able to do this without IPL is anybody’s guess.The absence of blind faith in one team didn’t stop him from being a team man, though. Kalsi, his coach at Himachal, swears by Bisla’s spirit. “As a cricketer he is very competitive,” Kalsi says. “That stood out when he played for us. Big heart.”More than that, as a human being, as a person, he brought great value to the dressing room. He wouldn’t think about just himself. Never sulked in a corner when he failed to make big runs. Thought about the whole team. Encouraged youngsters. Was wicketkeeper, would think nothing of running all the way up to the bowler, kept the team together through tough sessions.”Yet that early promise didn’t transform into much. The season with three hundreds was never replicated. An average of 29 for this medium-pacer-turned-wicketkeeper-batsman wasn’t breaking down doors. Dhoni, too, had destroyed all other wicketkeepers’ aspirations. Then, along came IPL, where in theory, one night could take you out of obscurity, unlike in Ranji Trophy.That night kept eluding Bisla, though. Even in the IPL, he couldn’t settle down with one team. Kolkata Knight Riders were his third side in four years. On that sting operation tape he wasn’t seen guaranteeing he wouldn’t get a fourth in its sixth year. The undercover reporters were seen offering him a place in Mumbai Indians, but he was seen saying he wasn’t interested because he wanted opportunities, something he wasn’t getting with Knight Riders even.A certain restlessness has been the consistent feature of Bisla’s career. He needed to settle down somewhere. He needed a May 27. May 27 wasn’t even supposed to happen. Then L Balaji injured himself. For the balance of the team, Knight Riders had to sit Brendon McCullum out, and play Bisla. For weeks he had not got an opportunity, and now this was the biggest opportunity he could get.May 27 was night, Bisla’s night. He backed himself, and pulled out an uninhibited innings of mostly clean hitting. The commentators began to now see a bit of Jacques Kallis in his shots. The team owner, a multi-millionaire and the most popular Bollywood actor of his time, couldn’t stop praising and thanking him. After about eight years of wandering and restlessness, Bisla might have finally found home on May 27. They won’t be approaching him for stings any time soon.

The World Twenty20 seems to have been the priority in New Zealand’s contracts list – never mind that there are 11 Tests in the next 12 months

Andrew Alderson22-Jun-2012It’s odd that in what will be New Zealand’s heaviest year (July 2012 to June 2013) of Test cricket, two players in the fringes of the squad have been left out of the contracts list.Mark Gillespie and Neil Wagner are close to being first-choice Test recruits, or at least putting pressure on Chris Martin and Doug Bracewell.Gillespie’s venom on recall last summer against South Africa was welcome. His form included innings hauls of 5 for 59 and 6 for 113 in the final two Tests.He is intimidating but injury-prone. His current ankle strain and the fact that he is closing in on 33 may have clouded the selectors’ thinking. However, that did not hinder the retention of 33-year-olds Jacob Oram and Kyle Mills. Both played their last Tests in 2009 and have also had well-documented injury problems.It is also a concern that when asked to reveal one thing fans don’t know about him, Oram, in an interview with ESPNcricinfo, said: “I’d probably rather be at home with my son, my family and my dog right now than touring the world playing cricket.”National selection manager Kim Littlejohn has proclaimed the mentoring ability of Mills and Oram to younger players, but whether this ranks as a selection clincher is debatable, with the likes of Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor already in the various set-ups. Players on the list are ranked one to 20 and paid annual retainers. The highest-ranked earns $181,000, plus match payments, while No. 20 gets $73,000.Wagner’s eligibility has been anticipated, having proven himself a penetrative wicket-taker for Otago. He topped the Plunket Shield table for the last two seasons, accumulating 51 and 46 first-class wickets respectively.Trent Boult also pipped Gillespie and Wagner to a contract, despite only being named in the Test squad for the West Indies. However, at 22, he has already taken eight wickets in his first three Tests. A good case can be made to keep him close to the five-day action. In contrast, Tim Southee hasn’t been included in the Test squad for the West Indies tour but has shown the potential at international level over the past five seasons to warrant a top 20 deal.The selectors’ emphasis on the World Twenty20 seems myopic, with the short-term glory it would bring, compared to an elevated Test status. Abridged-format allrounders James Franklin and Andrew Ellis make the contract cut, too, with Franklin allowed to skip the West Indies tour to concentrate on shorter-form matches with Essex. However, if New Zealand players do perform in that arena it could ease their entry into the IPL and guarantee further financial security.The last time New Zealand played more Tests in a calendar year, 12, was in 2001-02, when the players’ association was created and contracts became part of the cricketing landscape.

Plays of the Day for the Champions League match between Auckland Aces and Titans in Durban

Firdose Moonda17-Oct-2012Appreciation of the day
Jacques Rudolph is one of the batsmen who showed that playing proper cricket shots can be effective in 20-overs cricket with his unbeaten 83 in the opening match and he continued in that vein in Durban. He leaned into a drive off Michael Bates’ first over and caressed the ball through the covers with the gentleness of a summer’s breeze. Martin Guptill was on the microphone at the time and could only admire. “Oh, that’s just a good shot,” he said on air before encouraging the bowler to “keep going”.Athleticism of the day
Rudolph looked set to bat through the innings again, although he seemed to tire during the latter stages of his knock. He did not time his drive over extra cover and Andre Adams was on to it. He had to make ground from cover and leap at the right instant, but got there with enough time to go and with both hands although he was moving significantly to his left. He took the catch to end Rudolph’s knock and show that, even at 37, age really is nothing but a number.Experience of the day
They say you can’t buy it and, cheesy as it sounds, Alfonso Thomas is proof of it. Having played professional cricket for 15 summers, Thomas knows a thing or two about bowling, especially on South African pitches. Although he plays his cricket up country, Thomas spent two years at the Dolphins and would also be familiar with the Kingsmead pitch, where his seam movement could be shown off. His fourth delivery of the day straightened from a short of a length and Lou Vincent had a prod. That was all Thomas needed to take the wicket, showing that knowing what to do really does pay off.Luck of the day
Auckland had to have some and it came when Colin de Grandhomme tried to hit left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe through the offside. He backed away so far that he could not get back to counter the turn and ended up inside-edging almost onto his stumps. Fine leg was wide and de Grandhomme managed to survive and pick up four runs, although Auckland would have needed plenty more if they were to seriously challenge the Titans.Colour of the day
Already in this tournament both teams have worn the same shades; when Uva Next played Trinidad & Tobago, they were both kitted out in red. Today, both Auckland Aces and Titans were dressed in light blue shirts but at least this time there was something to separate them. Titans’ bottoms are the same shade as their tops, but Auckland have darker blue bottoms.

ESPNcricinfo presents the plays of the day from the second day in Colombo

Andrew Fernando in Colombo26-Nov-2012Poor shot of the day
Martin Guptill missed a straight one that clattered into his stumps in Galle, and his misjudgement – which seems an embarrassing one for international cricketers to be making – appears to be contagious among the openers in this series. Tim Southee angled one in to Tillakaratne Dilshan in his second over, and Dilshan left a huge gap in between bat and pad as he played a leaden-footed defensive stroke, and the ball went on to hit middle and leg, despite not having moved in the air or off the seam.Suspicious batsman of the day
The practice of taking a fielder’s word on a contentious catch is now archaic, but batsmen do generally accept their dismissal when they have been bowled. But not, seemingly, Kruger van Wyk. Dilshan bowled one full and flat and van Wyk failed to get his bat down in time, and although the ball hit off stump almost dead on, removing the bail, van Wyk chose to stand his ground. The umpires asked for a video referral, which confirmed what the Sri Lanka team already knew, and only then was van Wyk content that he had been bowled.Fielding showcase of the day
Fielding coaches may want to get a replay of Kane Williamson’s second boundary of the day, as in one ball, it showcases fielding commitment at its best and its worst. Williamson pulled Nuwan Kulasekara behind square leg, and Suraj Randiv who was fielding at deep midwicket was after it in a flash. He had a lot of ground to make up and he put in a dive in an attempt to reach it, but the ball still evaded him by a good metre. Shaminda Eranga meanwhile, had a shorter distance to go from fine leg, and though he easily covered the ground, he attempted to stop the ball with his boot rather than bending down to pick it up, and ended up deflecting it onto the rope.Impression of the day
The back end of a New Zealand innings is far less rewarding for spectators when Chris Martin is not playing, but No. 11 Trent Boult produced a decent impression, when he became Rangana Herath’s sixth victim. Both Southee and Jeetan Patel had proved the pitch held no terrors when they survived 34 and 45 balls respectively but Boult decided to leave a length delivery that pitched in line with the stumps and straightened, and the ball predictably hit the top of middle and off. Batting incompetence even the Phantom might have cringed at.

Younis Khan and Asad Shafiq almost made the day Pakistan’s but a familiar weakness means they still have plenty of work to do

Firdose Moonda at Newlands14-Feb-2013At 33 for 4 in the morning session, Younis Khan’s only focus would have been the next ball. And the next one. And the next. Until he could steer Pakistan to safety.At 238 for 4 in the evening session, he would have had exactly the same thought. The next ball was the new one and so far in this series, that has been Pakistan’s undoing.Lack of footwork, uncertainty outside the off stump and a habit of fishing in waters they could not navigate resulted in their stumbles at the Wanderers. There was the complete collapse in the first innings and even though they negotiated the new ball slightly better at the start of their second innings, they could not see off the second one, losing six wickets in 20.4 overs to speed up South Africa’s victory march.Today was about not repeating that. It may sound simplistic to distil three sessions into ten overs of utmost significance but that was almost the case.Younis and Asad Shafiq did their job when they came in, with whispers about how many overs Pakistan would last. They managed to block those out. Importantly, they also knew which deliveries to treat in the same way. Both had a fair measure of when to leave, something that was a concern for Pakistan before this match.Occasionally, their frustration peeped through. Younis wanted to clobber one wide of cover and had an almighty swing but missed and could have taken the edge. Shafiq’s eyes grew wide when he saw a short ball from Dale Steyn and top-edged a hook but it went wide of Morne Morkel at fine leg.But the lapses in concentration were few and they were nullified by the growing confidence of the pair. Shafiq’s back-foot play was impressive, he was quick to take advantage of the short ball, whether with the pull shot or the cut. Younis’ driving was his hallmark and his footwork was a sign of his self-assurance. He moved to the ball better than any of the line-up has done so far.They also found a bowler to target, something that was absent in the first Test. Robin Peterson finally got the chance to contribute in a meaningful way but he did not take it. On this occasion, Peterson was required to do a holding job to help the seamers create pressure and force a breakthrough.Instead, his could not find his length and was guilty of offering too many deliveries that were too full or tossed up too generously and it allowed the pair to settle. Against two batsmen Vernon Philander called “very wristy, who played Robbie well” that was a mistake. Peterson, like Imran Tahir, has said he does not mind going for a few boundaries because it will create chances for him but on a day when the quicks were battling to do the same, it was not what was required of Peterson.Younis Khan on Pakistan’s approach

“We had a lot of meetings and chats about how we want to play Test cricket. And we knew it was all about the partnership. Today, it was tough again but you just fight for your country. We knew that over the last couple of years we’ve played good Test cricket so we wanted to do that again. We spoke about how to handle the areas that the South African new ball bowlers bowl, especially Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander. They bowl very well as a unit but this wicket is much better for batting. It was my plan to hang in there because they do not give any friendly balls. But my theory is very simple: if there is a ball you go can for, then you must. When a youngster like Asad Shafiq can also perform for the team that is a good sign. If we have one more good session, we could have a good score.”

The partnership became the biggest between two overseas batsmen in South Africa in seven years, since New Zealand’s Stephen Fleming and James Franklin posted 256 in April 2006 – a match also played at Newlands during the South African autumn. Opposition pairings have not been able to get close to that on pitches that are notoriously difficult for batsmen.The most telling challenge came with about 40 minutes left in the day and the second new ball looming. Younis and Shafiq had set themselves up well. They had both brought up centuries so the individual butterflies had been put to sleep for the night. Pakistan were in a position they would have been comfortable with and all that was left was to negotiate ten overs of Steyn and Vernon Philander at full throttle.They began nervously. Steyn had not cranked it up yet but he was getting movement and with his fourth ball had an appeal for lbw against Younis that was given out. He reviewed immediately and Hot Spot showed the edge but the nerves must have been tweaked. Younis ended the over with a four, whipped off his pads, to ease them.Philander did as Philander does and kept it in the channel outside off but Shafiq was happy to leave most of the over alone. Then Steyn again, no movement but he was bowling closer to the stumps and when Younis moved across to play at one, he almost got a leading edge. Steyn had words, Younis showed him his pearly whites. “This was my tactic, the bowlers were talking and I was just smiling,” he said afterwards.The opening pair soon found their rhythm and began what has become an almost ritual dance. Philander creates the uncertainty with repetition and subtle changes and Steyn kept probing. Shafiq got one away and Pakistan would have thought they might end the day without any further damage but then Philander struck.A beauty of a ball pitched on a good length and cut through Younis. At first glance it was maybe bat, maybe pad, it could have been caught behind, it could have been lbw. Either way, Philander wanted the review and, perhaps in desperation, Graeme Smith called for it.Hot Spot, operating to the level it should have been at the Wanderers, revealed the thinnest of edges, so faint that AB de Villiers himself wasn’t sure Younis had had a nibble. Younis seemed not to feel it either but the technology sent him on his way two overs before Pakistan could call day one theirs.Shafiq saw it out with Sarfraz Ahmed but the problem remains. Against the new ball, Pakistan are vulnerable. The current cherry is only ten overs old, which means that the pair of Shafiq and Sarfraz, who are also the last recognised batsmen, will have to see it off to ensure Pakistan can gain an advantage in the morning.Philander thinks 350 to 400 will be a good score, Younis isn’t sure but what is obvious is that Pakistan still have a way to go. If Shafiq can bat as he did in the afternoon and Sarfraz can support him, Pakistan have hopes of getting there and making Younis and Shafiq’s partnership really count.

Alastair Cook fell early, but the job he so often does for England was performed ably by Jonathan Trott and Nick Compton

Andrew McGlashan in Wellington14-Mar-2013The road surface on the proposed flyover next to the Basin Reserve, which is causing much consternation among those worried about its impact on the ground, will not be much flatter than the 22 yards in the middle were made to look by Nick Compton and Jonathan Trott.You could not have found a more polar opposite performance to the first innings in Dunedin, where England donated wickets as though making a delivery to a charity shop. Amends were made in the second innings and that head-down, don’t-give-it-away, attitude was transferred to Wellington.England’s top three embody that philosophy to batting. They are all renowned for substance over style. Alastair Cook’s dismissal was a shock because he does not chip catches to mid-on in a Test match, but any concern that the captain’s early departure would destabilise the top order was widely misplaced.That will have satisfied Andy Flower immensely because after Dunedin, he said some other members of the top order had to take the lead, rather than leaving it to Cook to repeatedly set the tone. There was a sense of inevitably about Trott’s hundred, but at the other end there was the continued evolution of a batsman who has a similarly single-minded approach, if without quite the same compulsive mannerisms.When Compton walked to the crease, he was a batsman with a Test hundred to his name and it showed. He did not suddenly become a dashing, thrilling strokemaker – at one stage during the afternoon it took him 77 balls to add 14 – but there was an ease at the crease created by the confidence of his achievement in Dunedin.There were two pulls during the opening session that had an air of authority about them and a cover drive that purred off the bat. When his tempo slowed during the middle session Compton did not fret; he had been there many times in his first-class career. A fierce square drive behind point, with a flourishing follow through, took him to 96 and an even better shot, a rasping cover drive, brought up the hundred which sparked more emotional celebrations. This time there was a greater sense of enjoyment rather than relief.Trott, though, did not sense any sudden change in Compton’s approach. “You can never go into a Test match relaxed, you are always quite nervous especially at the start of your career,” he said. “You don’t want to take things for granted. But I certainly think he will take a lot of confidence out of it, knowing he can score runs at this level, because you are never really quite sure until you score your first hundred. Maybe he felt more confident, don’t think it’s a case of being relaxed.”It took Trott 12 innings to double his hundred tally following his debut ton against Australia at The Oval. Back-to-back hundreds, regardless of conditions, are a considerable feat of concentration and refocusing. A cautionary note, though. The previous player to follow his debut ton with another in the next innings was Ravi Bopara in 2009. Nothing is ever guaranteed for the future.At times in the County Championship last season, Compton will have faced tougher conditions than the Basin provided. New Zealand’s bowlers, whose thoughts about Brendon McCullum’s decision to bowl may have become more unprintable as the day progressed, were honest but limited. With an in-form top order themselves, especially after Hamish Rutherford’s debut performance, it should really have been them batting. Without the encouragement of at least semi-regular breakthroughs, those 170 overs in the field four days ago will have been felt in the legs.It was the opposite effect for Compton, whose energies will have risen as New Zealand’s dipped. After Compton’s maiden hundred, Cook was asked whether it will help relax his opening partner – renowned for an intense approach to the game – and Cook’s reply was telling. He said he hoped it wouldn’t, that the intensity to Compton’s game was what drove his hunger to succeed.”That is the art in cricket, finding the balance between intensity of wanting it too much or being a bit too relaxed,” Trott said. “I think his balance at the moment is really good. He has a good work ethic so he fits right into this team.”The only occasions Compton was made slightly uncomfortable was during a testing spell by Tim Southee, who almost found the glove with a brace of well-directed bouncers over leg stump. When the short deliveries were around chest height, Compton had few concerns, but the hook did not seem such a natural stroke as the pull and fast bowlers around the world are unlikely to be slow to test him. In a mark of the innings, though, two balls after being beaten for the second time he stood tall and drove a boundary square.Maybe Compton was not intense enough after reaching the hundred because he drove loosely to edge Bruce Martin to slip. International sport does not allow someone to be content with success for too long. There was the opportunity for something even more substantial if he had managed to start his innings again.After driving the last ball of the day for two, Trott, as he always does, remarked his guard before walking off. New Zealand managed to dislodge one century-maker, but there is another with his eye on plenty more runs. “As a batsman you have never scored enough, you never think you’ve done the job,” he said. Compton may just be pondering that thought, too.

That and other fiendishly difficult questions in this special England-India preview quiz

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013Greetings, Confectionery Stallers. As a preview before the salivatingly anticipated first England v India Test at Lord’s, here is a multiple-choice quiz for you. No conferring. No looking up the answers on the internet. No hacking into my telephone, computer or brain to see if you can gain an unfair advantage on other readers.Question 1: Who is going to win the England v India series?(a) England. When the ICC Reliance player rankings for both teams are totted up, England have an advantage in batting (mostly arising from Sehwag’s absence), and bowling (mostly through Anderson’s superiority over Sreesanth/Praveen). They have not lost a series for two and a half years, and have in Cook a batsman in form so prime you could griddle it and serve it as a steak in a Michelin-starred restaurant. They are confident, settled, in form with bat and ball, and ambitious.(b) India. Lord’s looks set to be rudely rained on, and – brace yourselves, stats fans ‒ India have not lost anything other than the first Test in a series in England since being unceremoniously splattered like a catapulted tomato on a granite snooker table in 1974. India have not been overwhelmingly impressive in Tests in the last year, but they are tough. They won two tight Tests against Australia, recovered from a first-Test flambéing by South Africa to draw an away series, and won in West Indies without several first-choice players. They won a World Cup under unprecedented pressure of expectation. They won here in 2007. They have lost only one of their last 10 Tests against England, and only three of their last 30 against anyone.(c) No one. It’s going to be a draw. They are both very good but not flawless teams, and both are hard to beat. Besides, it is going to rain solidly for the next six weeks. It will be snowing by the time of the Oval Test. It’s the end of the world, I tell you. Alastair Cook turning into the world’s most unstoppable batsmen is one of the cast-iron signs of the apocalypse. It’s in the Book of Revelations. If you read it backwards after a couple of bottles of whisky.(d) Cricket. Six of the world’s current top-11-ranked bowlers against six of the top 13 batsmen (once Sehwag is fixed). Legendary batsmen against the world’s best bowling attack. India’s best-ever team against perhaps England’s strongest in decades. It could be magnificent. As long as the captains don’t just meet on Thursday morning and decide to call it a draw at the toss.(e) Technology. The continuing search for the perfect version of the DRS is being conducted with the scientific ruthlessness of a blind lion at a supermarket checkout trying to find the barcode on a zebra. The latest scheme is to remove one of the bits that seemed to working the best, and replace it with other bits that no one seems quite about. It’s crazy, but it might just work. Although more likely it won’t work, and the lion will soon enough poke his scanner at another part of the increasingly irritable zebra.Question 2: Who should England pick: Broad, or Bresnan?(a) Broad. He turned the 2009 Ashes single-handedly in England’s favour, and his selfless injury in the 2010-11 series opened the door for the fire-breathing renaissance of Tremlett. He has a dreamy cover-drive.(b) Bresnan. He took 11 wickets at 19 in the Ashes. Broad has taken 10 wickets at 55 in five Tests since the start of the Ashes. Bresnan has taken at least four wickets in each of four of his last five Tests. Broad has done so in two of his last 13. Admittedly Bresnan does not have a dreamy cover drive.(c) Both. It is a tough selectorial call, but it can be avoided by making the two allrounders play jointly, dressed in a pantomime horse outfit. This solution, whilst contrary to the usual Flower-Strauss era game plan of not picking two players in a pantomime horse outfit, remains more likely to be adopted than dropping a batsman and playing five bowlers. (They could alternatively play in a pantomime Ian Botham outfit. Whichever is more readily available in the MCC costume shop.)Question 3: How much will India miss Virender Sehwag until he returns from injury?(a) A huge amount. India will miss Sehwag like a picnic would miss gravity. He scores more runs, faster, than any other opening batsman in history – averaging 55 off 66 balls when he has gone in first for India. He is a certifiable immortal of the game with previously inconceivable statistics.(b) A small amount. He struggled against the moving ball in South Africa, and has not scored a Test run in England for nine years. Largely through lack of opportunity, admittedly.(c) Not at all. He makes absolutely no difference to the side. In Sehwag’s 86 Tests, India have won 35 (40%), and lost 19 (22%). In the 21 Tests he has not played in that time ‒ when he has been omitted either through injury or because the selectors ate a poisoned mushroom and convinced themselves that he was not nearly as good at hitting cricket balls with cricket bats as Dinesh Karthik or Wasim Jaffer (neither of whom, it must be said, currently averages 55 off 66 balls each time he has opened in Tests) ‒ India have won eight (38%), and lost four (19%). So India win, draw and lose an almost identical proportion of games whether the Delhi Dazzler is playing or not. The same applies to Tendulkar – India have won 34% and lost 26% of the Mumbai Mathematical Mammoth’s 177 Tests. In the 17 games he has missed since his debut (albeit without the selectors ever tucking into the mushrooms and deciding he was not as good as Dinesh Karthik or Wasim Jaffer), they have won 35% and lost 24%. All of which suggests that the result of a Test match is completely unaffected by the players playing in it, and the Indian selectors might as well pick Bollywood starlets, random names out of the phone book, or Dinesh Karthik and Wasim Jaffer. You cannot argue with statistics.Question 4: How significant is the 2000th Test milestone?(a) It is the greatest moment in the history of cricket, and therefore, by logical extension, the greatest moment in the history of civilisation. When Dave Gregory and Jim Lillywhite marched out to toss the coin at the MCG in 1877, it is fair to assume neither said to the other: “This is going to be the first of at least 2000 Test matches.” Shakespeare only wrote 38 plays, but people still witter on about him all the time, almost 400 years after he popped his drama-obsessed clogs. Test cricket therefore has proved itself at least 52 times better than Shakespeare, and the moment deserves to be celebrated accordingly.(b) It is nice.(c) It is irrelevant. The currency of the Test match has been devalued like a Zimbabwean dollar, with too many featureless series, inadequate teams, and the idiotic Australia versus Half-Hearted World XI being inanely and pointlessly upgraded from “a bit of a jolly” status to Test match status. If you keep scheduling lots of Test matches, mathematics suggests that you will pass mathematical milestones for how many Test matches have been played. The greater concern is: will there be a 3000th? And if so, will anyone know what you are talking about when you say: “Hey, folks, it’s the 3000th Test match today”? Or will you have to explain: “It’s like two really, really long games of Twenty20 joined together. Still no? Bit like football but with sticks and no goals?”Question 5: Does the fact that Sachin Tendulkar has thus far scored fewer Lord’s Test centuries than Ajit Agarkar mean that the latter is a greater batsman than the former could ever dream of being?(a) Yes. You cannot argue with statistics.(b) No. You can and should argue with statistics. And you should keep arguing with them until they back down and start talking some sense.(c) Too early to say. We should not rush to judgement on such matters. Let us wait until both players have retired and then judge their batsmanship careers objectively.You have eight seconds to complete your answers. If you get all five correct, you win your choice of Yuvraj Singh or Kevin Pietersen to keep (subject to availability). Enjoy the game. And if you are a rain cloud reading this and thinking of heading to Lord’s to see what all the fuss is about, please stay away and follow the match on TV.EXTRASThe news in Britain has been dominated by a murky swamp of subterfuge, falsehoods and half-truths of late, so the occasional incontrovertible fact is a source of both solace and excitement. Sachin Tendulkar has had a long career. That is a fact. He is only the fifth man to play Tests in four separate decades. And only the second to have done so without having played before the First World War. And the first to have done so without being English.Tendulkar played his first Lord’s Test 21 years ago, against an England team containing moustachioed offspinster Eddie Hemmings, who had made his first-class debut in 1966, when Wilfred Rhodes was still alive and well and with a few more years in the tank. Rhodes made his Test debut in WG Grace’s final international match in 1899, and went on to become the only man in the history of civilisation to play Test cricket in five different decades. Could that be Tendulkar’s next challenge once he has notched up his 100th international hundred? To equal, and then surpass, Rhodes’ Most Different Decades Played In Test record? He looks in good enough shape. He probably does not have much else in the diary for the next two decades that cannot be put off until the 2030s. He might as well give it a go.

Plays of the Day from the fourth day of the second Test between Zimbabwe and Bangladesh

Firdose Moonda in Harare28-Apr-2013Dismissal of the day
Mushfiqur Rahim was well on his way to a third Test century and would have been furious with the way he did not get there. Hamilton Masakadza was brought on to bowl some innocuous medium pace, which should not have troubled Mushfiqur much. He tried to guide a shortish delivery to third man but was surprised by a hint of extra bounce and got a thick edge instead. Vusi Sibanda, at point, flew to his right and latched on to the chance. Sibanda had put down a couple in this match but pulled of a blinder to deny Mushfiqur a hundred and take the first wicket of the morning.Shot of the day
Sohag Gazi brought out his trademark big hit again. Once an innings, he launches one of the bowlers into the stands in display of isolated aggression. This time it was against Hamilton Masakadza. Gazi charged him to loft a delivery on the half volley over long-on. The ball hit the roof of the media area to jolt the journalists awake after what had been a fairly quiet morning session.Delay of the day
When Bangladesh’s ninth wicket fell, 45 minutes into the day’s second session, it seemed they had every reason to end their innings. They led by 388 runs and history was heavily slanted towards them. The highest successful run chase in Harare is the 192 for 7, achieved by Pakistan in 1998. The highest fourth innings score is 310, notched up by Zimbabwe in 2002. Still, Bangladesh were not going to call it quits until they had set Zimbabwe a target above 400. So the waiting continued, for another 15 minutes until they have achieved their goal, which gave them four-and-a-half sessions to bowl Zimbabwe out.Wicket of the day
Ziaur Rahman had minimal impact on the match until he bowled the delivery that could prove decisive to Bangladesh’s cause. After an uneventful first spell, he was brought back on from the far end and got one to angle in from a good length. It struck Taylor on the back pad, in front of off stump. A long, loud appeal followed but Ian Gould would not have needed that much convincing. Rahman picked up his first Test wicket and it was the big one – Taylor scored almost as many runs as the entire Bangladesh line-up in the first Test and would have been the one man thought capable of saving this one.Tactic of the day
The need to protect the best batsmen as the day is drawing to a close often calls for use of the nightwatchman. But to have him walk out with an hour of play remaining could be considered premature. Still, Zimbabwe decided it would suit them better to ask Shingi Masakadza to bat the day out with his brother Hamilton rather than risk Elton Chigumbura or Richmond Mutumbami. Perhaps they thought the family connection would help and, in the end, it proved a good decision.

Watch highlights from the third day of the Lord’s Test.

20-Jul-2013Watch highlights of the second day of the 2nd Investec Ashes Test from Lord’s here on ESPNcricinfo.To see higlights from the previous days, please click on the relevant day:Day 1, Day 2

1st session

2nd session

3rd session