Plays of the day from the Group A game between England and Scotland in Christchurch

George Dobell in Christchurch23-Feb-2015The statement
After two humbling defeats, the temptation to make changes must have been strong. But by naming the same XI that had been beaten in their opening games, England’s selectors made a statement of belief in their team and their tactics. As if to say, whatever else has gone wrong, there will be no panic.The chance
Had Freddie Coleman been standing a foot closer at cover, the whole complexion of this game could have been altered. As it was, Coleman was just unable to gather a low chance offered by Moeen Ali, driving Josh Davey uppishly, when he had scored 7. Moeen went on to score 128 and provide the only fluent contribution in the England total.The other chance (at redemption)
Eoin Morgan had scored 11 from 21 balls when he launched into a pull of Iain Wardlaw. Had Coleman, at deep midwicket, been on the fence as he surely should have been, the ball would have gone straight to him. But Coleman had drifted in about 10 feet and instead the ball passed over his head and landed on the foam-covered boundary rope. Morgan went on to clobber 46 – perhaps recovering a little form in the process – and taking England’s total above 300 and out of Scotland’s reach.The shout
Alasdair Evans, in his first over, thought he had trapped Ian Bell, who was also on 7, leg before with a delivery that nipped back and kept a little low. Umpire Rod Tucker was unconvinced, however, and adjudged the batsman not out. Replays showed the ball would have hit the leg stump but Scotland’s decision not to utilise their review was vindicated by the “umpire’s call” verdict. It was a decision that could easily have gone the other way.The difference
Scotland were always likely to run into trouble with their fifth bowler. The problem was exemplified when Richie Berrington, as gentle a medium-pace bowler as you will see in international cricket, ambled in off a few yards and delivery an innocuous full-ish delivery on off stump. It may have been a decent ball in club cricket, but Moeen, who has faced significantly more hostile bowling in recent games, lofted his drive with an ease that belied the power in the shot. The 10 overs supplied by Scotland’s part-time trio of bowlers – Berrington, Matt Machan and Kyle Coetzer – conceded 73 runs.The record
England’s record for the opening partnership had stood since the first World Cup in 1975 when Barry Wood and Dennis Amiss posted 158 against East Africa at Edgbaston. But Moeen Ali and Ian Bell bettered that with 172 in 30 overs. The record was broken with the shot – a slog sweep for six by Moeen off the spin of Majid Haq – that brought up Moeen’s maiden World Cup century, which ended 27 years without an England batsman scoring an ODI ton in New Zealand.The streaker
Generally there is nothing more tedious than a flabby streaker who runs on to a pitch and we certainly don’t want to encourage any more. But the man who interrupted play towards the end of this match showed a turn of pace and a quickness of foot that just might have been the most athletic thing witnessed all day. He sidestepped a dozen or so stewards before vaulting the boundary, running up a grass bank and racing over the net area where he scaled a wall to escape towards the park and the centre of the city. Eventually he was caught. His nakedness did make him stand out a little.

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Mar-2015Soumya Sarkar and Mahmudullah manned the recovery and put up 86 for the third wicket•Getty ImagesSarkar looked good for his 40 before edging Chris Jordan to the wicketkeeper leaving Bangladesh at 94 for 3•Getty ImagesMoeen Ali struck nine balls later in the 22nd over and had Shakib Al Hasan caught for 2•AFPMahmudullah stablised the innings again with a 141-run stand for the fifth wicket with Mushfiqur Rahim•Getty ImagesMahmudullah’s century came off 131 balls and was the first for Bangladesh in World Cups•Getty ImagesMushfiqur scored 89 off 77 helping Bangladesh to 275 for 7 in their 50 overs•Getty ImagesThings didn’t go to plan for Bangladesh with the new ball, until a mix up saw Moeen Ali run out with the score on 43•Getty ImagesRubel Hossain picked up Ian Bell and Eoin Morgan in the same over, leaving England at 121 for 4•Getty ImagesJames Taylor fell 18 balls later, chasing a wide delivery, to put England in deeper trouble•Associated PressMashrafe Mortaza got rid of Joe Root in the 36th over with England 113 runs away from their target•Getty ImagesJos Buttler struck a measured half-century to keep England in the hunt, but his wicket took Bangladesh a step closer•Associated PressWith 38 needed off 25 balls, Chris Jordan was adjudged run out by the third umpire in controversial circumstances•Associated PressThe equation reduced to 16 needed off the last two overs when Rubel Hossain bowled Stuart Broad and James Anderson to seal Bangladesh’s historic win•BCBIt was the first time Bangladesh progressed to the quarter-final stage of a World Cup•Associated Press

Plays of the day from the Group B match between India and West Indies in Perth

Abhishek Purohit in Perth06-Mar-2015The Gayle tale – IMohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav were making it seam and bounce at the WACA Ground, and Chris Gayle was having a hard time trying to put a defensive bat to ball. After several plays and misses, Gayle decided to counter in the way he does best. First delivery of the seventh over, he swung hard, but the ball was wide of his reach. So Gayle charged out next ball and had a heave, but missed as it moved away. After leaving the next couple, he had another crack. This time he connected, and a thick edge flew wide of third man. Umesh Yadav made a dash for it, took it as he fell forward but it popped out as he hit the ground. There would be more drama from Gayle.The Gayle tale – IIAnd indeed, he would cause serious damage, but to his own team. In the next over, Gayle had another swipe at Umesh Yadav. Mohit Sharma ran forward from mid-on to take the mishit but it fell just short. The ball was long enough in the air for a single to have been easily taken, but Gayle had barely moved. Marlon Samuels did all the running, coming all the way to the other end. Realising that it had made no impression on Gayle, Samuels tapped his bat at the striker’s end just in case and turned back. Mohit had taken the ball on the bounce and not lost control despite a tumble. He threw it to the bowler’s end, and Virat Kohli made his way there from extra cover to catch a jogging Samuels well short.Russell rouletteAndre Russell walked in with West Indies 71 for 6. That did not stop him from mowing Mohit second ball for six over deep midwicket. Ravindra Jadeja was brought on from that end next over. Russell saw some flight first ball and decided it had to go out of the ground. As soon as he saw it loop towards long-off instead, he swished his bat in frustration, but the deed had been done, and Virat Kohli took the catch.The Dhoni loanAfter the first ball of Ashwin’s fourth over, MS Dhoni wanted a forward short leg in for Lendl Simmons. Ajinkya Rahane came up, and Dhoni went on take his keeping pads off to lend them to the fielder. Rahane strapped them on, and took his position. During the over, substitute Ambati Rayudu attempted to run on to bring in a set of pads but Dhoni waved to him to wait. The captain took back his equipment at the end of the over.

Eden Gardens: A happy hunting ground for Rohit Sharma

23-May-2015

Alex Hales’ departure to the final stages of the IPL is symptomatic of the ECB’s failure to back its own T20 tournament

George Dobell17-May-2015Imagine a shop that hides its most popular product from customers, opens when they are unable to visit and displays a sign saying “The shop next door is much better” and you have, by and large, imagined the NatWest T20 Blast.This should be English domestic cricket’s vehicle for change. It should be an opportunity to attract new audiences and raise revenues.And, in some aspects, it is excellent. Now benefiting from a semi-regular Friday night spot, most of the counties have bought into it and have signed some of the most exciting overseas players currently available: Brendon McCullum, Glenn Maxwell, Chris Gayle, Aaron Finch and Wahab Riaz to name but a few.But, somewhere along the way, the ECB – and, for the purposes of this piece, the ECB means the administrators at Lord’s rather than the counties they are meant to represent – appears to have stopped believing in its product.Indeed, lovers of conspiracy theories might even suspect that some at the ECB – those keen on a 10-team franchise-based T20 competition – are even wishing the Blast to fail. If it does, it will prove far easier to push through the changes required to bring in a franchise system.This impression has been underlined by the sudden departure of Alex Hales – who has been signed by Mumbai Indians for a brief stint at the IPL – just as the Blast season begins.

Allowing England-qualified players to miss fixtures during the domestic season to play in another nation’s domestic tournament is perverse

Let’s be clear: this is not a criticism of Hales. Even if this decision was purely financial – and it almost certainly isn’t – there is no disgrace in a man seeking to maximise his earnings or broaden his horizons. Hales has departed – and, who knows, might not even miss a T20 match for Nottinghamshire – with everyone’s blessing.But allowing England-qualified players to miss fixtures during the domestic season to play in another nation’s domestic tournament is perverse.The ECB has let down the English game by allowing some of its most attractive players – its prize assets – to miss games. With it also being decided, against the original understanding with the counties, to rest England players from the opening round of games, it meant that many of the most “box office” names in English cricket – the likes of Hales and Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan – have been allowed to go absent just when they could have played a role in the resurgence of the sport.Equally, the scheduling of the Blast remains bizarre. While a majority of counties have requested that the start date of the competition be pushed back a month so it coincides more with school holidays and warmer weather the ECB has insisted on a start date that clashes not just with the IPL but with exams, so rendering it far more difficult for many teenagers to attend. Again, it is hard to avoid the suspicion that not everyone is pulling in the same direction in English cricket at present.It is important to remember the purpose of the Blast. It is not just about talent development. It is about developing another generation of supporters. So the perception, whether accurate or not, that the most glamorous, most eye-catching players are engaged in another nation’s domestic tournament makes it too easy for people to come to the conclusion that the Blast is a second-rate competition.It makes it too easy for the cynics to suggest it is nothing more than a feeder competition for the IPL or Big Bash. It makes it too easy to denigrate what is, in many ways, a very good competition. And a competition that, this year, Hales’ departure probably should not have come as a surprise. The ECB had already allowed Morgan (among others) to miss an ODI in order to play in the IPL – an extraordinary decision bearing in mind he was captain during England’s awful World Cup campaign – and seems to have had a change of heart since the days when Kevin Pietersen had to fight for any involvement with the competition.The ECB now argues, with some logic, that experiences of foreign leagues help players’ development. It argues, with some evidence, that the knowledge learned in such leagues can be passed on to other players in the English game.

The ECB can learn from the BCCI’s determination to protect, promote and fight for their own product.

Paul Collingwood, for example, credits his time at the IPL for helping him understand the value of left-arm seamers in white ball cricket and led to England preferring Ryan Sidebottom to James Anderson at the World T20 in 2010. As it remains the only global limited-overs competition they have won, the significance of such a realisation should not be underplayed.The next World T20 tournament – less than 12 months away – will be played in India, too. So the benefits of involvement are not disputed. Even if they are sometimes talked up by those looking for a justification – an unnecessary justification – for their income.The issue is more about the damage their absence inflicts to the English game. So not only is it harder to sell the Blast product without the appearance of its star players – and Hales’ six sixes in six deliveries on Friday night surely confirmed his billing as a star – it also dilutes the quality of the competition. It means the gap between domestic and international cricket grows for future England players.Only by the likes of Hales and Morgan and Buttler participating alongside them can young English players know what it takes to succeed in limited-overs cricket. They can learn from watching Buttler scoop or trying to contain Hales. They can see the standards necessary to prosper at international level. They can experience a level of competition that will minimise the step up to international level. Hales and co. must not just learn; they must teach.The ECB – the individual counties and the board – has the power to decline requests from players to go to the IPL. All the players have contracts; all contracts in English cricket could have clauses prohibiting their absence. Hales, by contrast, has a clause saying that he can go if he wishes.While the financial attraction of IPL contracts is clearly a factor, few English players will choose to decline the relative security of a county or central contract for the short-term gain of IPL deals or the itinerant life of a T20 specialist. The ECB needs to fight a little harder to retain its assets. And if that means paying the best players more, so be it.Of course, English limited-overs cricket needs to improve. And of course English cricket can learn from the IPL. But the main lessons are not necessarily on the pitch. Instead the ECB can learn from the BCCI’s determination to protect, promote and fight for its own product.Somewhere along the way, the ECB seems to have lost faith in its T20 competition.

Stats highlights from the third ODI between Zimbabwe and New Zealand in Harare where the visitors sealed a series win

Shiva Jayaraman07-Aug-20152 Before the third ODI, New Zealand had lost the final and deciding game of a bilateral ODI series against Zimbabwe just twice. They had last lost the final match of a three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2001, after being tied 1-1. Overall, this was New Zealand’s tenth win in the decider of a bilateral series after being level with the opposition. They have lost on nine such occasions.4 Times Kane Williamson has been dismissed in the nineties in his last six ODI innings. His 90 in Harare was also the fifth time this year that he got out in the nineties. Only Sachin Tendulkar, with six such scores in 2007, has had more nineties in one calendar year.6 Consecutives fifty-plus scores Williamson has now hit in ODIs. Only Javed Miandad, who made scores of 50 or more in nine consecutive innings in 1987, has had a longer sequence. Only four other batsmen – Gordon Greenidge, Andrew Jones, Mark Waugh, and Mohammad Yousuf – have made six consecutive fifty-plus scores.1 Batsmen to have gotten out twice in the nineties in more than one ODI series before Williamson. Tendulkar had four series during his career in which had two scores in the nineties.1992 The last time a Zimbabwe opening pair put on a stand higher than the 97-run partnership shared between Chamu Chibhabha and Hamilton Masakadza in this match, which was also Zimbabwe’s joint second highest opening stand against New Zealand. Andy Flower and Grant Flower had added 124 runs for the first wicket in an ODI in Harare.19 Fifty-plus scores by Hamilton Masakadza as an opener in ODIs; among Zimbabwe openers, only Grant Flower and Alistair Campbell have made more. Vusi Sibanda too has made 19 fifty-plus scores as an opener for Zimbabwe.187 Runs scored by Williamson in this series – the third highest by a New Zealand captain from three or fewer matches in an ODIs series. Brendon McCullum’s 222 runs from three innings in a bilateral series against England in 2013 are the highest.4 Man-of-the-Series awards won by Williamson in ODIs. No other New Zealand player has won more than two such awards. Williamson also won the eighth Man-of-the-Match award of his ODI career in this match.

In the never-ending public PhD dissertation that is Test captaincy, Virat Kohli would have been happy to get through a draining, bruising day with something to show for it: finishing somewhere, it can be argued, between a B and a B+

Sharda Ugra in Colombo22-Aug-20152:58

Let’s talk about: Kohli or Mathews?

Cricket matches, it is widely believed, can turn towards teams on individual pieces of outstanding skill, slices of magic and freak happenstance. India’s turnaround moment on day three of the P Sara Test is a little difficult to put a finger on.Was the fall of the last seven Sri Lanka wickets for 65 set about with the end of the Angelo Mathews-Lahiru Thirimanne partnership in the 85th over? With Ishant Sharma’s He Man and the Master of the Universe Snarl? Or the welcome Galle marauder Dinesh Chandimal received, with a first-ball clatter onto his helmet?Was it captain Mathews’ dismissal at the hands of Stuart Binny? Mathews averages 71.39 as captain and such are his powers that it is rumoured he could peel off a 100-run partnership with a grandfather at the other end (using a bat of course not a stick of rhubarb).Or should you dial back from that dismissal to the point where captain Virat Kohli went off the field for five balls in the middle of the day? Thus calming everyone else down for a few moments.The discussion will not bother Kohli – he will be pleased that India are 157 ahead at the end of day three, with nine wickets to go and the Test match to control. In the never-ending public PhD dissertation that is Test captaincy, Kohli would have been happy to get through a draining, bruising day with something to show for it: finishing somewhere, it can be argued, between a B and a B+.Kohli’s key starting point was to block off the oxygen of runs: it began bafflingly with Binny opening the bowling from one end, and lasted all but one over – in which Mathews clouted him for two fours. Quickly, order was restored when Umesh Yadav, more sting and bigger bite, was brought on.It was a session where impatience would have threatened to gnaw at discipline: in 28 overs of tight attack, with three boundary riders and the rest in the ring, Mathews and Thirimanne proved themselves handsome adversaries. Their batting was high-percentage efficiency, minus risk. The first hour went by maiden-less, Mathews and Thirimanne scoring 41. The second produced only two, one from Amit Mishra with a leg-bye and one from Binny just before lunch.As captain, in the body-language department, Kohli falls somewhere in between Sourav Ganguly’s let-the-feelings-show and MS Dhoni’s detached cool. He is though a jaw-clencher and a frown-er, behind his sunglasses and blue India cap, distinctive in the colour at the side of his shoes in some metrosexual shade between fuschia and flame, with taped-up elbows.Kohli’s captaincy manner is all action-man; talking to his bowlers before overs, some during, often even after, moving his boundary fielders a few yards this way or that before the bowler begins his run-up. At one point during the Galle Test, Kohli would have turned up in at least three, if not five different positions during the course of an hour. Here in Colombo there was more stability: mid-off at most times, short mid-off when he had to get under a batsman’s helmet and at leg slip to the spinner.The arrival of the new ball ratcheted up the action: it was given to Yadav just before lunch, and he conceded seven. When one on the pads was whipped dismissively by Mathews to the midwicket boundary, Kohli was furious, glowering.When Ishant was given the new ball after the break, the field was packed on the leg side promising a fierce and fiery barrage of bouncers from round the wicket: Mathews merely produced three contemptuous boundaries, Ishant bowled like a man who had just walked out to the field after a bad lunch, Kohli covered his face and didn’t look at his bowler. The field returned to realistic ambition, packed on the off side, captain and bowler talking again.Thirimanne had not been able to work Ishant away as effortlessly as Mathews, the fast bowler’s length and angle nibbling away at the left-hander’s composure but unable to induce the nick. His second over with the new ball sent Thirimanne back. The decision was contentious, but the Indians were not complaining.When Dinesh Chandimal arrived, Ishant greeted him with a bouncer on the helmet; after a single over by Ashwin from the other end, Kohli ensured all that Chandimal faced was seam. He was gone with the 12th ball Ishant bowled to him.Kohli went to get a bruised finger attended to for five minutes. Mathews reverse-swept Ashwin to get to his century and Binny got him pushing one to first slip.Kohli returned to the field as if he had swallowed a truckload of energy bars. The second session had produced 22 overs and 74 for 4, and the final push was even quicker: Five overs. 8 for 3. Without their captain, Sri Lanka were fed to Mishra’s leg spin and fell apart.Mishra, who cleaned up three of the seven wickets to fall today, said Ishant’s “effort in the heat” and his spell with the new ball on a slow wicket after lunch helped set up the game and the dismissals that followed for India. Mishra was asked at stumps if India were frustrated by the happenings of the first session.”Not at all. Our plan was that even if we didn’t get wickets, we shouldn’t concede too many runs,” Mishra said. “And to bowl one line to create pressure. We knew that if we got one or two, we could run through them and that’s what happened. As soon as we got one or two, because we had not conceded a lot of runs, the pressure was on the opposition.”When Sri Lanka were dismissed, 22 minutes after tea, captain Kohli shook hands with every one of his players, with a special pat on the back for Binny. India and its captain had had an all-round good day.

Mushfiqur Rahim put a four-month gap between ODIs behind him to propel Bangladesh to a comfortable victory over Zimbabwe

Mohammad Isam07-Nov-2015Mushfiqur Rahim has hardly looked out for form in the last four years and that wasn’t going to change just because Bangladesh were playing their first ODI in four months. His fourth ODI hundred was also his second this year and he has now overtaken Soumya Sarkar as the team’s leading scorer in the format in 2015.More than the 718 runs at a batting average of 55.23 though, it is Mushfiqur’s preparation ahead of a series or a match that stands out. He is arguably the hardest working batsman in the Bangladesh team, and will do anything to ensure his peace of mind. This time he played in the practice match two days ago when he could have easily taken the day off like the rest of the batsmen. He made 81 off 84 balls with five fours and two sixes, and looked to be cruising in Fatullah at times.And it was similar in Mirpur despite the early struggle among the Bangladesh top-order. Tamim Iqbal wasn’t getting enough strike while Mahmudullah had too much to work with. Liton Das meanwhile fell away early in his first foray as an opener.”I wanted to play the practice match,” Mushfiqur said. “I couldn’t score to my standard in the NCL so there were some gaps. So I requested the coach to put me in the BCB XI. I realised I was in touch while batting in that game although at the start it wasn’t easy. I need a bit of time in the middle, so when I played 5-7 deliveries today, I knew that I was ready for a big innings.”I was lucky to get a few bad balls early on. Confidence will go up when you get a couple of boundaries away. The wicket was very slow but I never thought I need a long time to make runs. I tried to play naturally and get the runs.”Bangladesh captain Mashrafe Mortaza paid tribute to Mushfiqur for getting the team out of tough situations in the early stages of a tournament or series. Only the day before this game, Mashrafe said that Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur has showed the way by being strong when the chips are down. He gave examples of Bangladesh’s first matches in the last ODI series against Zimbabwe in 2014 and the first match of this year’s World Cup. Coincidentally, it was both Mushfiqur and Shakib who made big contributions in this first game too.Mashrafe also said that the dressing-room relaxes when senior batsmen like Mushfiqur grab hold of match situations that are about to be taken over by the opponents.”It is really obvious they have been contributing for Bangladesh cricket from the start of their careers. You expect them to deliver their best at tough times. I want the youngsters to learn from them. My gut feeling says that on tough times they will answer. I had said yesterday that the first match is very important and in each of those matches Mushfiqur batted brilliantly and so did Shakib and [Mahmudullah] Riyad. I always believe that when my experienced players step up, the match becomes easier to win.”This year, we always faced a difficult situation in the first match. It is obviously a relief when batsmen build a partnership, especially the senior batsmen. So today when Tamim and Mushfiqur built a stand, Sabbir managed to get out of his temporary rut. It was a relief for our team but again when the senior players are in form and bat in the middle then from the outside all the other batsmen are relaxed,” said Mashrafe.Mushfiqur said that he hardly felt that he was out of form this year despite a lack of big scores between his century against Pakistan in April this year. He would always start well but fall away, but one has to remember that he was also dealing with a continuous finger injury for much of the Pakistan, India and South Africa series.”I never felt this year that I was out of form. I have had a good year but I haven’t got enough big scores accordingly. I am happy to come back among the runs. The big thing is that the team won.”Luck of course matters,” said Mushfiqur. “But I always believe that if I am honest in my preparation, I don’t regret making 2 or 5 runs. It is my biggest strength, I feel.”

Stats highlights from Australia’s convincing win at The Oval, and an unusual Ashes series

S Rajesh23-Aug-20157920 Balls bowled in in this series. Among all series of five or more Tests in which each game has had a decisive result, only twice have there been fewer balls bowled: in the West Indies-England series in the West Indies in 1985-86, when only 7699 deliveries were bowled, and the 2001 Ashes in England (7868 balls). The entire series lasted 18 days, which is the joint-fewest for a five-Test series, along with the England-West Indies series in England in 2000.0 Number of five-Test series, before the 2015 Ashes, in which no Test went into the fifth day – this is the first such five-Test series. There’s only been one four-Test series in which no match has gone into the fifth day, and that was also in England, when Pakistan toured in 2010 – England won that series 3-1.5 One-sided Tests in this series; the margins of victories were 169 runs, 405 runs, eight wickets, an innings and 78 runs, and an innings and 46 runs. There have been only three series in which the result margins were so decisive each time (eight or more wickets, 169 or more runs, or by an innings): West Indies in England 1984 (West Indies won 5-0), India in England 1959 (England won 5-0), and South Africa in Australia 1931-32 (Australia won 5-0). This is the only instance where one team hasn’t been the dominant one throughout the series.5-2 The series win-loss record for England in their last seven series against Australia, from 2005. In terms of Test results, though, Australia lead 15-13 during this period.270 Partnership runs between Moeen Ali and Stuart Broad in the series, the highest for England. For Australia, the highest was 514, by their openers Chris Rogers and David Warner.43 Wickets for Peter Siddle, in 11 Tests in England, at an average of 28.37. Among countries where he has played more than one Test, he has a better bowling average only in Australia – 112 wickets in 30 Tests at 27.16. (Click here for Siddle bowling career summary.)4 Instances of teams losing an Ashes Test by an innings after winning the series. On each of the previous three instances, though, it was Australia who lost by an innings after sealing the Ashes: in 1974-75, in 1924-25, and in 1891-92.

Stats highlights from the first day’s play of the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies, at the P Sara Oval

Shiva Jayaraman22-Oct-20154 Fifty-plus scores by Sri Lanka’s No. 6 batsmen against West Indies in Tests before Milinda Siriwardana’s 68. The last instance was Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 62 in Port-of-Spain in 2008. Hashan Tillakaratne is the only No. 6 to make a century against West Indies – he made 204 not out and 105 not out at the SSC and Galle respectively in 2001.3 Number of West Indies left-arm spinners to take a four-wicket haul (or better) on debut in Tests before Jomel Warrican. The last one was Neil McGarrell, who took 4 for 72 on debut against South Africa in 2001. Alf Valentine has the best figures and the only five-for by a West Indies left-arm spinner on debut: he took 8 for 104 at Old Trafford in 1950.16.7 Runs Sri Lanka batsmen have averaged in their last two innings at the P Sara Oval. They have made a total of 334 runs losing 20 wickets: they had been bowled out for 134 – their lowest total at this venue – by India in their second innings of the last Test here. Sri Lanka’s total of 200 in this Test was the fifth-lowest at this venue. The 66 overs that Sri Lanka batted in their first innings is the third lowest for which they have been bowled out in a Test at this venue.0 Number of fifty stands in Sri Lanka’s innings; they managed to put up a total of 200 in spite of their highest stand being only 33 runs. This was only the tenth time that Sri Lanka had posted a total of 200-plus without a single fifty-run partnership in a Test innings. The last such innings also came recently – in the first innings of their last Test against India at the SSC, when they made 201 runs without a fifty stand. The highest such score for Sri Lanka had come against New Zealand in 1984 when they had been bowled out for 256.2012 The last time a Sri Lanka opener was dismissed for a golden duck in Tests before Kaushal Silva. Tillakaratne Dilshan had got out without scoring on the first ball he faced at the MCG. The last time this happened in the first innings of a Test was in 2009, when Tharanga Paranavitana got out to Umar Gul off the first ball he faced in the Karachi Test. Silva is going through a lean patch in Tests with his last ten innings producing seven single-digit scores including two ducks. He has made 116 runs at an average of 11.60 in these ten innings.10 Number of first-class matches Kusal Mendis had played before making his Test debut in this match. Mendis had scored 459 runs including a hundred at an average of 30.60. Mendis, at 20 years and 262 days, is the youngest Sri Lanka Test debutant since Chamara Kapugedera, who was 19 years and 76 days old while making his debut against England in 2006.90 Runs Sri Lanka had made when they lost their fifth wicket in their first innings; this is the second-lowest score on which Sri Lanka had lost half their side against West Indies in Tests. In Port-of-Spain in 2008, they had lost half their side for just 73 runs, which is the lowest.