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Darren Bravo’s dismissal on Tuesday was a triumph of planning, another area in which India have revealed their superiority over the hosts

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kingston03-Aug-2016Bowling around the wicket with two balls left for lunch, Mohammed Shami banged in as good a short ball as you will see. It was angling into Darren Bravo, rapidly cramping him for room, and took off steeply in the direction of his throat.This was the 37th ball of Bravo’s innings, and the 21st he was facing from Shami. This was the ninth ball he was facing from Shami that was short and at his body.The previous eight had caused him all kinds of discomfort. He had fended at some of them, gloves rising instinctively to guard his face and pinging the ball away in unintended directions, often in the air, somehow missing the fielders, including a leg gully waiting for precisely that kind of thing. He had tried to pull a couple of them, and had ended up flapping in hope, with his body in no position to execute the shot properly. Again the ball had eluded the fielders.Bravo can bat with catlike grace at times, but this wasn’t his day for a ninth life. Up went his hands again, as the ninth short ball from Shami climbed at him. His feet left the ground as he tried to ride the bounce, and his bat face closed as he tried to tuck the ball into the leg side. But this ball was just too quick, just too accurate, and bounced just too awkwardly. It popped once again in an unintended direction, but this time a fielder was stationed exactly where it went, and KL Rahul took an easy catch at third slip.Shami was clearly bowling to a plan, a recently conceived one, by the looks of it. Bravo doesn’t have a reputation for discomfort against the short ball. But perhaps someone in India’s camp had worked this out recently, perhaps while watching West Indies’ tour of Australia at the turn of the year.Bravo was West Indies’ best-performing batsman on the tour, scoring 247 runs at 49.40 in the three-Test series, with a hundred in Hobart and an 81 in Melbourne. But in Sydney, in the rain-ravaged third Test, James Pattinson had attacked him with the short ball, not using it as often as Shami but slipping in at least one every over, and had eventually dismissed him with one; taking his eye off the ball, Bravo had top-edged a pull.It was perhaps only the second time Bravo had been dismissed by a short ball at the body in Test cricket – Neil Wagner had got him to glove one to the wicketkeeper in Wellington, back in December 2013. But if someone in India’s camp had paid attention to the Sydney Test, they might have picked up some sort of clue.Or maybe it wasn’t during this innings that they spotted something, but at some point before or after the Sydney Test. Maybe it was during a passage of play that might have looked entirely unremarkable to everyone else. Test cricketers, and coaches and analysts who work with Test teams, view the game with eyes that see far more detail than the average punter – or journalist – while quickly identifying which one is significant and which ones aren’t.The point is, no matter when it occurred to them, India had a plan against Bravo. And they executed it with precision.At no point during this series, on the other hand, have West Indies appeared to pursue a specific plan against a specific Indian batsman. Instead, they have plugged away in more generic ways, such as, most frequently, bowling outside off stump, often fairly wide of it, and trying to induce an error. On the second day, they tried this all morning against Cheteshwar Pujara, and he simply refused to bite. India enjoyed a wicketless session, even if their scoring was kept in check.The possibility of Bravo having a weakness against the short ball wasn’t widely known before this series, or even before this Test match. Most international teams, however, have been bowling at Pujara’s stumps for at least the last year-and-a-half; they know he has excellent judgment of his off stump and infinite patience outside it, but they also know he occasionally leaves a gap between bat and pad.Judging by how West Indies bowled to him, they didn’t know this. Either they hadn’t done their homework, or they had a dossier full of plans for each Indian batsmen but simply hadn’t been able to execute them.Over the course of the series, India have shown themselves to be far ahead of this West Indies side in pretty much every department. Shami’s clinical dismantling of Bravo, West Indies’ most accomplished Test batsman, only reinforced the extent of their superiority.

High-octane dancing and banter in the stands almost made up for a one-sided contest on the field during the World Cup final at the MCG

Sudhindra Prasad30-Mar-2015Choice of match:
The World Cup final was the last stop of my World Cup tour of Australia and New Zealand. Though India – the team I support – did not qualify for the final, a game between the trans-Tasman rivals is always good value, and I expected a cracker of a final.Team supported:
New Zealand. For a neutral in most sports, supporting the underdog is more fun; more so, in this instance as New Zealand have never won the World Cup. Besides, New Zealand provided excellent entertainment during the two matches I visited during this tournament in Wellington and Auckland.Key performers:
Just when Ross Taylor and Grant Elliot appeared to be putting together a brave and strong recovery, James Faulkner’s double strike to remove Taylor and Corey Anderson scuppered hopes of a 250+ total for New Zealand. Grant Elliott’s wicket in the 42nd over further thwarted any hopes of a total around 225, which may have been a fighting one. With those strikes, Faulkner was undoubtedly the key to keeping the New Zealand total down to a mediocre one. Mitchell Starc’s wickets of Brendon McCullum and Luke Ronchi also immensely helped Australia’s cause.Wow moment
As the third and fourth deliveries of the game were bowled, I could see they moved in the air and McCullum missed both of them. At that point, I told the Australian fan seated next to me that McCullum might well be bowled since it looked like he was not reading the movement of the ball. Right on cue, McCullum was bowled off the fifth ball for a duck, leaving the New Zealand supporters in dismay and the Australian fans ecstatic.Shot of the day
Eight wickets down and in dire straits, most spectators were hoping for the New Zealand tailenders to knock around singles and play out the 50 overs, so that a competitive game of cricket could be witnessed. Mitchell Johnson had taken the wicket of Daniel Vettori off the last ball of his previous over, and was steaming in, hoping to clean up the New Zealand tail. Tim Southee’s response was stunning: straight six off the menacing Johnson, and it raised New Zealand hopes of a lower-order fightback.Crowd meter
With more than 93,000 spectators on the day, it was a loud and colourful occasion. Though predominantly filled with Australian fans, there was a significant turnout of New Zealand supporters as well. Expectedly, the banter between the two sets of supporters was light-hearted, fun and towards the second half of the game, it got a bit tough for New Zealand fans to keep up with it.Most players on each side were lustily cheered on, but the loudest cheer was reserved for Sachin Tendulkar, after he was introduced during the presentation ceremony.During the drinks and innings breaks, the food stalls with the longest queues were the Indian (snack) stalls – and indication of the Indian fan contingent, who, like yours truly, came here hoping to see India in the final.Entertainment
The DJ on the day seemed to be quite happy to play “Down Under”, the Men at Work song, and with Australia doing so well, it seemed only appropriate. Beach balls seemed to be the order of the day around all the M-level stands and were bounced within the stands for the most part.
The highlight of the day were the handful of Indian supporters with , who went around to every other stand on ground level and initiated some rather intense bhangra. A bunch of Australia and New Zealand supporters joined the mix and the end result was quality, high octane bhangra. As the Indians moved from one stand to the other, some of their fans followed them, hoping for some delirious dancing.One thing I would have changed.
I wish McCullum and Anderson had played a long innings. This would have certainly paved way for a closer match. I would also have liked to see India in the final.Close encounter
Seated behind the New Zealand bench, I was surprised to see former World Cup-winning captains, Kapil Dev, Clive Lloyd and Arjuna Ranatunga, walk towards our area. Dev turned around, noticed my India jersey and scarf and flashed his signature smile and a thumbs-up.Overall
The World Cup final promised a lot, but in the end turned out to be a rather dull affair, largely due to Australia’s supremacy in all departments of the game. I was, however, pleased to see the big final at the MCG and be a part of the record 93013 spectators, the highest-ever turnout in an ODI at the ground.Marks out of 10
7. Though there were brief moments of resistance by New Zealand, the first over of the day set the tone for the final. A more closely-contested game would have made for better viewing, but it was nice to see the well-oiled Australia machine rack up a fifth World Cup win and their first in front of home fans.

Plays of the day from the IPL match between Delhi Daredevils and Royal Challengers Bangalore

Sidharth Monga10-May-2013The look
In the second over of the game, Chris Gayle defended one off the back foot, off the bowling of Irfan Pathan. The powerful forearms, the heavy bat, the good timing sent the ball scurrying past mid-on for four. It was almost unreal. Irfan was bemused, and had a smile when he looked at Gayle that suggested both disbelief and grudging acknowledgement at the same time.Next ball, Irfan had Gayle playing on, and reacted with ecstasy.The reprieves
Virat Kohli had yet to score a run when he got a jaffa from Morne Morkel. It was short of a length, on off, held its line against the angle, bounced too, took the edge, and went through to the keeper. Only that he overstepped by a measly inch. For a change, though, no replays were required to call this one.Soon Kohli would pull one to the right of Virender Sehwag, and still wouldn’t get out. Sehwag dropped him on 14. With every boundary in his onslaught, Kohli made Sehwag and Morkel regret their lapses.The no-shot
The last four overs of the Royal Challengers Bangalore innings featured some crazy hitting, cute paddles, reverse shots… and an offering of the pad. In the 19th over. By AB de Villiers. It just so happened that de Villiers shuffled across to play the ramp, then saw a full ball going down leg, and at the last moment grew some concern for his exposed leg stump and tried to cover it with his foot. He was hit on the boot, and wasn’t offering a stroke. You have now officially seen it all.The hits
At the best of the times, Virender Sehwag has let the helmet earn its cost when accurate bouncers are bowled at him. And these are not the best of times. So when bounced on a slow Delhi pitch by Ravi Rampaul, Sehwag did the same: take the eyes off, and duck into it. The first one hit him on the shoulder, and the second got him right in the head. To his credit, Sehwag maintained his humour. During the over break, when the physio came into make sure he hadn’t been hit badly, Sehwag feigned collapsing.The non-appeal
You would think at the higher levels of cricket the vociferousness of the appeal wouldn’t make much of a difference to a decision, but today it might just have. Off R Vinay Kumar’s first ball, Unmukt Chand hit the leather off the ball, a nick that was heard around the world through the stump mic, but two people didn’t hear it. One was AB de Villiers, the wicketkeeper. He didn’t appeal at all, and was in the process of sending the ball back to the bowler when he saw Vinay go for a huge appeal.The keeper’s reaction might have played a part in the umpire not raising his finger. Chand deserves some body-language points for not giving away a hint of guilt.

India’s selectors can congratulate themselves on new additions to the bowling attack succeeding but conceding a 95-run lead to modest opposition should sting the team

Sharda Ugra at the Feroz Shah Kotla09-Nov-2011The Feroz Shah Kotla Test ended with a short burst of mirth and entertainment: Yuvraj Singh was bowled with one left to win, the West Indies fielders came in to stop the single, MS Dhoni inside-edged his first ball, Darren Sammy pantomimed the start of his run-up to the hoots of the crowd. VVS Laxman then whipped one to square leg and put an end to all the tomfoolery. After eight innings of misery in England, victory was to be shown full respect. In the last 15 months, Laxman has been involved in three 200-plus chases for India and was not about to mess with that track record.The 0-4 loss in England must not be forgotten but the win at the Kotla comes accompanied by a sigh of relief. Control needed to be seized quickly in the three-Test series against West Indies so that the selectors can tinker and tailor before Australia. While Kotla, Eden Gardens and the Wankhede are as far removed from Australia as Oxford is from Ouagadougou, this is an ideal time for Indian try-outs against opposition that can stir but not quite shake.In less than 24 hours, the selectors will meet to pick the team for the next two Tests and can indulge in some self-congratulations at how their choices for Delhi worked out. The most significant changes were made – as the bowlers will always grumble about – in the attack.In their first Test after the England tour, India’s bowling attack at the Kotla, barring Ishant Sharma, was completely remodelled from the line-up at the Oval. Making his return to the Indian team after a year out, Pragyan Ojha became the lead spinner and two new men were included. One of them, R Ashwin, ended up with nine wickets on debut, the Man-of-the-Match award and the biggest smile to take to his wedding day on the eve of the Kolkata Test.The other, Umesh Yadav, held up manfully on a low, slow wicket. In his first showing, he bowled at full pace, hurrying the batsmen in short spells, before fading away slightly in his final spell. In the second innings, he came on after the spinners, and broke through with key wickets. Kirk Edwards’ off stump went first as the batsman shouldered arms and opened the door for the West Indies’ middle order to be taken apart by Ashwin.West Indies are not the most formidable opposition for a debutant, and to their credit both Yadav and Ashwin did not treat their lesser batsmen like they were. It is their wagon wheels against Shivnarine Chanderpaul, though, that should give them clues about what life may be like against more-accomplished batsmen.Captain MS Dhoni was pleased overall. “You weren’t 100% sure what you would get from players who have not played this format like Ashwin and Umesh Yadav. With Ishant and Ojha, we knew they’d perform at this level.” Ojha’s first-innings performance has gone somewhat unnoticed due to Chanderpaul’s century and India’s first-innings collapse. But on a wicket that offered little help on the first day, he was able to extract some turn, get a bit of drift and keep asking questions of the batsmen. “Ojha has been in and out of the XI. It was good to see him bowl well in the first innings when the pitch was flat and it was not easy to bowl.”Umesh did well and there was an improvement in the way he bowled in the second innings. Of course he bowls a fraction short but that will get better as he plays more and more Test matches. In the second innings, Ashwin did well. He did not get a lot out of the wicket but it was his variations that helped him. He was flighting the ball nicely and then he has the carrom ball and the topspinner.”Asked whether Ashwin’s performance would make it difficult for Harbhajan Singh to return to the team for the Australia tour, Dhoni, who has backed Harbhajan against selectorial opposition, was deadpan. “Let us see because Ashwin has played one game, Ojha has done well. Let us see how it goes.”While describing the Test, Dhoni used his favourite adjective, a word he uses to tackle questions that are best left unanswered: “difficult.” The Test, he said, “was not easy; there was nothing much for the bowlers in the pitch and there was nothing for the batsmen. The batsmen had to play a lot of deliveries to score their runs. The scorecard will say the match got over in four days but it was a difficult game.”India’s batting gains from this Test will revolve around the sight of Virender Sehwag lashing the ball to all parts (his sudden dismissals will continue to be discussed even after he retires) and the runs accumulated by the experienced middle-order triad across both innings. There was, however, the disconcerting awareness that Dhoni at No.7 is followed by a tail so long, snow leopards would envy it.Regardless of the final result, conceding a 95-run lead to West Indies at home should sting. “If we had got the first-innings lead I would have thought it was a perfect way to start the series,” Dhoni said. “We lacked a few things when we batted first but there’s nothing we can pinpoint about the performance. There was not much turn yet more than 20 wickets fell before the start of the third day, so the batsmen from both sides will feel they could have played better.”A darn sight better is what you’d expect from India.

Stats highlights from the third day of the Adelaide Test between Australia and India

S Rajesh and HR Gopalakrishna26-Jan-2008

Somerset chief Hollins wants amendment to Performance-Related Fee Payments

Matt Roller23-Jan-2024English counties are pushing for an increase in the payments they receive from the ECB when players they have developed appear in international or representative cricket.Early discussions have started between the 18 first-class counties and the ECB over an updated County Partnership Agreement (CPA) which will replace the existing arrangements and cover the 2025-28 period, and Performance-Related Fee Payments (PRFPs) have been raised as an area for potential change.Under existing arrangements, counties receive payments when men’s players to whose development they have contributed make appearances for England Under-19s, England Lions or the full England side. These are weighted according to a points system, which ranks multi-day cricket above the shorter formats.”It’s a really good system,” Gordon Hollins, Somerset’s chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “The principle of the system is that counties that develop players who go on to play for England are rewarded and we are very supportive of that because it rewards clubs who do the right thing by the national game. To my knowledge, it doesn’t happen in any other sport.”What we would like to see is consideration given to a greater level of payment for success: we believe it should be supercharged to provide a real reward for clubs that do the hard yards and develop those players. We’d like it to provide a real incentive to ensure that those rewards are suitable and don’t just cover the cost of a club replacing that player.”Hollins gave the example of Jack Leach, a graduate of Somerset’s academy who has never played for another county but is now rarely available due to his England commitments. “When we lose Jack, we can back-fill his absence with the money we get, but we don’t get any reward for it and we’d like to see that incentive really boosted.”In many cases, PRFPs are split between a player’s current county and the county that they represented at academy or pathway levels. “Take Jos Buttler: we get the lion’s share of Jos’s England performance fees,” Hollins said. “Lancashire get a bit, but we get the most because we’ve had the most influence on his career. It’s a good system.”There are also suggestions that the national counties (formerly minor counties) should be eligible to receive PRFPs, which they are not under the current system. If Shoaib Bashir makes his England debut in India over the coming weeks, Surrey and Somerset will share the relevant PRFPs but Berkshire, whom he represented at Under-18 level, will not receive any payment.Somerset’s stance is likely to find support from other first-class counties, not least those who are heavily reliant on central ECB funding. Leicestershire, for example, have long argued that they should have received higher payments than they did for their role in developing Stuart Broad and a change in the system would give them greater reward for bringing Rehan Ahmed through their academy.An increase in funds for PRFPs was among the recommendations of Andrew Strauss’s High Performance Review in 2022. “Without sufficient incentive to develop professional cricketers, we risk not making the most of the talent pool we have in England,” the report said, while also proposing an increase in the levels of compensation paid when players decide to leave their home counties.

Inter Miami star Lionel Messi has revealed which goal is his favourite from his glittering career.

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Messi scores more than 800 goalsPlays for Barcelona, PSG and moreNames his "favourite" goal from careerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The 37-year-old says the header he scored for Barcelona against Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final means the most to him over the course of his storied career.

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He told ESPN: "I had many goals that are perhaps even more beautiful and of enormous value, also because of their importance, but the header in the Champions League final against Manchester United was always my favorite."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Messi is arguably the best player of all time and has scored more than 800 goals for Argentina, Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain, and Inter Miami. But as far as goals go, a Champions League final strike takes some beating.

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

Messi is likely to score many more goals during the rest of his time with Inter Miami, perhaps starting with an away clash against Philadelphia Union this weekend.

De Kock and Jennings shared a common cricket path till their under-19 days, after which the latter left South Africa for England

Firdose Moonda29-Jun-2017Two schoolboys spent their summers preparing to become professional sportsmen and one took the road less travelled. Their paths will cross again over the next three days in Worcester, 13,500 kilometres from their original path in Johannesburg, and though theirs is the sort of story that is not new to the globalised world, its contrasts hold charms.Twenty-five-year-old Keaton Jennings and 24-year-old Quinton de Kock are not just any pair of players, they are contemporaries of the closest kind. They attended the same school, King Edward VII, in the same year and played in the same teams, both batting left-handed.While de Kock was the rebel who relied on sheer talent, Jennings was drilled to work meticulously on his game from the age of five under the guidance of his father and coach, Ray. As irony would have it, it was the carefree character who fared better early on.”I remember our head of cricket at the time gave Quinton a free weekend – so he could leave hostel on a Friday night – if he got a hundred the weekend before,” Jennings told ESPNcricinfo at the unofficial Test between the Lions and South Africa A in Canterbury last week. “And there weren’t too many weekends he didn’t get hundreds.”Any hint of envy Jennings might have had quickly evolved into admiration. “Quinton was a sensational player ever since I was 13. He was very driven, very clinical in the way he went about trying to achieve success in cricket. He hit the ball cleaner than most other guys.”It takes all sorts to make a solid batting line-up: the fearlessness of de Kock and the fastidiousness of Jennings. They progressed to the same provincial side and the national Under-19 team together.The time Jennings spent fine-tuning his technique and his temperament had matured him. He emerged as a leader and was made captain of the side, while de Kock remained an explosive enigma. The pair took turns sharing the spotlight.Less than a year apart, both Quinton de Kock (left) and Keaton Jennings are left-hand batsmen who started their careers in the same school•Getty ImagesIn early 2011, Jennings led the U-19 team to a 5-0 win over Zimbabwe and topped the batting charts. Later that year in England, de Kock was the leading run scorer. It seemed Jennings and de Kock would be in a race for franchise and, eventually, international honours, but Jennings had already been directed elsewhere.Jennings senior, who was the coach of that U-19 side, encouraged Keaton to make use of the British passport he had courtesy his English mother and seek a career in the UK, because he thought his son would struggle against the “serious talent” that was coming through the South African system at the time – talent he had had a first-hand look at; talent like de Kock.Perhaps Jennings senior realised de Kock would be the biggest obstacle in his son’s way. As top-order batsmen, they could ultimately compete for a similar spot, and though de Kock was, by his own admission, not a big believer in hard work in the early years, Jennings must have known that could change. He pushed his son to apply the meticulousness he had learnt in South Africa to a county career, even as he grappled with the frustration of trying to tame de Kock at home.”My dad is a passionate guy and he cares. If he is sitting on your back, it’s because he cares about you and he sits on my back like nobody else’s,” Jennings said. “He will try and push you to new heights. It’s when he turns the other way, that’s when you worry.”De Kock was not as receptive to the disciplinarian style of Jennings senior and only began to see the value of extra work after he was picked for the South Africa side. In 2013, de Kock had a first stint at the highest level and a top score of 31 in his first seven ODIs. He knew that was not good enough and he went to his franchise coach, Geoffrey Toyana, to ask for extra hours in the nets. When de Kock returned to the South African side, he scored four hundreds in eight matches, including three consecutive centuries against India.In that time, Jennings had been working his way up from the Durham Academy to the second side and eventually into the county first XI all while studying an accounting degree through the University of South Africa. In 2013, he tasted his first major success when Durham won the County Championship, but he then had to wait three more years before he would put on an international shirt. When he did, de Kock was among the first to congratulate him. “Quinton sent me a lovely message after I got picked for the India series, which was awesome after not hearing from him for a while,” said Jennings, who went on to make a century on Test debut.Keaton Jennings: “My life brought me here and I am really thankful it has. I am happy with the way things have worked out”•Getty ImagesThe two have continued to keep an eye on each other’s careers, though they are not necessarily close. “I wouldn’t say we’re friends, we don’t stay in touch, but I’d say we are friendly,” Jennings said. “If we walk past each other, we catch up over a beer or chat about school times. When you’re in different countries, it’s hard to stay in touch with guys you went to school with.”Harder still, perhaps, because of their journeys continue to differ. De Kock is a regular on the international stage and a sought after T20 player in leagues around the world. Jennings has only played two Tests and, at the time of this interview, knew he was not necessarily a shoo-in for the South Africa series. The Lions squad included two other openers who are also vying for the English Test side: Haseeb Hameed and Mark Stoneman, who outscored Jennings.”In a way, its healthy competition,” Jennings said. “When you’ve got a lot of players scoring good runs, vying for limited opportunity at a Test level, that’s really healthy. You put us all in the same side and we’ve all got to score runs in order to be picked and that’s the main currency we deal in. It’s a cutthroat environment and you need to score runs to be able to stay there. Simple as.”De Kock lives by the same mantra.”See ball, hit ball,” is the philosophy he underlined at the launch of the CSA’s Global T20 last week. Even in the longest format, he has retained his aggression and Jennings knows how destructive he can be. “To see Quinton perform the way he is no surprise. To see the way he has handled international cricket is awesome.”Now Jennings wants to be able to show that he can handle it his own way, especially after having taken the scenic route. “When you’re 13, that’s the way you look at it [that you will play together as adults], but as you go up through the school levels, it doesn’t. My life brought me here and I am really thankful it has,” Jennings said. “I am happy with the way things have worked out and it would be awesome if I can play against him in a Test in a couple of weeks.”

Amid a spluttering start to England’s Test summer, Alex Hales played with the sort of discipline that suggests he has the game to succeed at this level

George Dobell at Headingley19-May-2016Like a sprinter running a marathon or a sports car delivering bricks, Alex Hales took on an unfamiliar role for England on the first day of the Investec Test at Headingley.Hales came into this side with a reputation as a dasher. He was, at least up to a point, meant to be England’s answer to David Warner: an aggressive opening batsman who took the attack to the opposition and set the tone for the way in which “new England” see themselves as a team.But here, as his colleagues perished to overly aggressive shots – pushing at balls a fraction too short or wide for the stroke on a typical May pitch that offered enough movement to keep the bowlers interested – Hales left with a discipline that will have surprised those who witnessed him batting in South Africa.It was exactly what England required, too. While fashion dictates that modern cricket has to be played at full speed, fashion also gave us mullets and double corduroy. While Test cricket survives, there will be a place for the leave, the block and the patient accumulation of runs. And in conditions such as this, with the ball swinging and the pitch offering a little seam movement, trying to hurry is akin to driving as quickly as possible to get through fog.The surprise was more that Hales supplied the foundation that England required. While his captain, the notoriously obdurate Alastair Cook, was drawn into a drive well away from his body, Hales showed that the old-fashioned attributes by which Test openers used to be judged – crease occupation, shot selection and patience – still have value in the modern game.There were still some classy strokes. When the bowlers strayed on to his pads, he whipped through midwicket and when the ball was over-pitched he drove elegantly. Rangana Herath was cut nicely, too. But we knew Hales could play the attacking strokes; it was the defensive ones of which we had to see evidence.Under the easy-going veneer, there is a steel to Hales. It took confidence to sit out the first few weeks of this county season; confidence to sit out the IPL; confidence to ignore those he knew would want him to push on the scoring rate here.While the likes of Sam Robson were plundering early season runs, Hales had the wisdom to understand that what he required most, after an emotionally draining winter in which he featured in the England team in all three formats, was a mental break. And while few would have blamed him had he capitalised on his white-ball reputation – he has been rated No. 1 in the world in T20 cricket – and pursued a future as a T20 specialist, he has instead demonstrated his ambition by taking the higher-risk option and prioritised a Test career.Most of all, he has learned that you have to earn the right to score quickly in Test cricket. You have to see off the new ball, wear down the bowlers and gain experience. Those urging him to push on in such circumstances are doing him no favours.None of this should come as a surprise. Marcus Trescothick, arguably England’s last quick-scoring, successful Test opener, took 25 deliveries to get off the mark on Test debut and 122 balls to reach his half-century. His strike-rate in Test cricket was only 46.34 for the first two years of his Test career, which is very similar to Cook’s overall (46.30). From 2002 until the end of his career, it was 57.45.But Trescothick understood, as Hales appears to now, that he had to give himself a chance to score quickly in Test cricket.

Under Peter Moores at Nottinghamshire, Hales has noticeably tightened up his game and now appears to have the confidence in his defence to endure long scoreless spells

The most pleasing aspect of this innings from Hales was that it suggested he had learned from his previous experience. His performance in South Africa was characterised by fragility outside off stump. Unsure which balls to play and which to leave, which balls to attack and which to defend, his uncertainty was exploited to the tune of five catches in the cordon during the series.Recognising his weakness, he returned to the nets at Nottinghamshire. Under the watchful eye of Peter Moores, a consultant coach at the club, he has noticeably tightened up his game and now appears to have the confidence in his defence to know he can endure relatively long scoreless spells. He took 115 balls to make 34 for Nottinghamshire against Yorkshire at the start of the month – a mature innings in demanding circumstances – and, after only one scoring shot in his first 26 balls here, has already produced, in terms of balls received, his longest Test innings. He will resume 29 short of a maiden Test century.”I’ve tweaked a couple of things just outside off stump,” Hales said. “In South Africa I was caught between defence and attack a couple of times and that’s something I’ve been working upon. It’s still a work in progress and I think that’s going to be key to whether I’m successful as a Test player.”I didn’t feel out of my depth in South Africa. Even when I wasn’t scoring runs, at no point did I feel out of my depth. It was more about me making mistakes than bowlers getting me out and, at the start of my career, I think I would prefer that. I know I’m still a work in progress.”I took an extra couple of weeks to recharge myself. And that’s done me the world of good. When I came back to practice it was a lot more intense. I knew what I wanted to improve and I feel like I’ve come a long way in the last six months. There was no inkling from the selectors whether they would stick with me.”It was a challenging pitch and a challenging situation today. It was tricky. There was swing all day and some nibble and some bounce. I had to rein myself in a bit.”This does not mean England’s search for a partner for Cook is over. On another day, the thick-edged drive that bypassed third slip and gully when he had 4 would have gone to hand; on another day, one of his slightly uppish cuts could have gone to a fielder. It is telling that he used the phrase “work in progress” about his game twice and he will be aware that both Robson and Adam Lyth hit Test centuries at Leeds only to be dropped within a few months. But this was an encouraging step forward.As an aside, it is amusing to consider how such an innings from Nick Compton might have been received. Would he have been hailed for his determination or criticised for his limitations? While Hales was lauded for playing himself in and giving himself a chance to build an innings, would Compton have been criticised for putting too much pressure on his partners? He gave his detractors too much ammunition here with an edge to a regulation delivery in the channel outside off stump, but it does not always seem he is judged by the same standards as his colleagues.The difference, perhaps, is that when Hales bats in such a manner, he is playing within himself, while Compton probably does not have that extra gear. But for an England side that again found themselves five wickets down uncomfortably early – they lost 3 for 2 at one stage – it is not the speed of scoring that is the issue so much as the speed of wickets falling.But what a shame that only 9,436 people should be on the ground to witness an absorbing day’s play. Everyone understands the importance of satisfying the broadcasters and the level of their investment to the English game. But there remains little evidence that there is an appetite – or a climate – to watch Test cricket in England in May outside London. While recent initiatives announced by Andrew Strauss may help generate a little more interest in international cricket, the more pressing issue is gaining greater exposure for the sport as a live spectacle either online or on TV. Ticket sales for Durham are significantly worse than those for Headingley.

Four years ago, he took India to the title. Today, he was scratching around at barely a run a ball, almost as if he had given up himself

Jarrod Kimber26-Mar-2015MS Dhoni nurdled. Not ones or twos but a cacophony of nurdles. Flays were nowhere to be seen. There was little flashing, let alone flashing hard. Tracer bullets were left in the dressing room. There were no helicopters.Dhoni was calm, Dhoni knows only calm. Panic was for mortals, not Indian World Cup-winning captains. The nurdles, the nudges, the pokes, the prods. They were all building towards something big. Five overs of solid accumulation. No need for panic. Plenty of time left, plenty of Dhoni left.There was one big swing coming, maybe this was it. Maybe it would start here, with an edge to third man and a quick-run two. No.Two overs later, there was a smash down the ground. And then a flash, one that was quite hard. Two boundaries in the over. Here it was.Then the batting Powerplay. Dhoni and Rahane. Both set. Both ready. Dhoni was giving himself room. Those brutish arms were ready. When he could reach the ball, he guided it to the fence. This would be it. Then eighth ball of the Powerplay, Rahane was out. Dhoni questioned the umpire about the decision while readjusting his gloves.Dhoni faced a lot of balls after this. There were no big shots, there were dot balls, singles, and one two. The two was a drop. Dropping Dhoni in an ODI chase is like inviting India to defeat you. There is an asylum filled with former cricketers who have never gotten over this moment in their life. But when Clarke dropped Dhoni, he looked very serene. There was frustration, but not that much frustration. There were jokes about him dropping the World Cup, but few really believed it.Soon after, Dhoni was using soft hands to guide one into the off side. He looked unsure if there was a run there. Jadeja told him there was.Earlier in the match, Jadeja hit Finch on the pads. Jadeja thought it was plumb. The umpire thought different. Jadeja pleaded with his captain to review. Dhoni gestured that the ball hit outside the off stump. It was a typical Dhoni gesture – laid-back, calm, but very clear. Jadeja ignored it. He pleaded more. He had to have this review. And Dhoni, against his own judgement, reviewed it. It was hitting outside the line.In the single, it was again Jadeja, the impetuous, the passionate, and the mistaken. Dhoni had let Jadeja make two big decisions in the match. The referral, as annoying as it was, meant very little. The call for the single meant everything .Out of gas: there was no helicopter to glory, no helicopter to safety, no helicopter at all•Getty ImagesDhoni’s next two deliveries went for six. Finally, with seemingly all hope gone from his support cast, he had been stung into action. It was 121 from 48 before his sixes. But that was cricket maths; Dhoni does Dhoni maths. The first six was a waddle and a whack over cover. The second was a dance and punch over mid-off.He was here. The saviour. The hero. The man generations of Indians will tell their grandkids about. The man who promised and delivered victory. The man who thanked Sachin Tendulkar personally. The Dhoni.But no, it wasn’t. For the next eight balls there were only five runs. Dhoni was struck on the body. He picked out fielders. And even the believers, even those who had grown up only in the era of believing in Dhoni, couldn’t believe anymore. It seemed, that even Dhoni didn’t believe. He wasn’t holding himself back. He wasn’t calculating when to attack. He was defeated. Out on his feet, not the Dhoni, but just an ageing wicketkeeping batsman from Jharkhand.Four years earlier, in the final, this same man had come in even earlier in the innings. He scored 91 from 78 balls. He helicoptered to victory. He looked invincible, untouchable, supreme, like he had been placed on the earth for only this purpose.Now he was scratching around at barely a run a ball. He couldn’t middle his pull shots. Even his biggest hits weren’t reaching the fielders. He had no faith in his lower order. Seemingly little faith in himself.Dhoni then clipped a Starc ball into the leg side. It went straight to Maxwell’s right hand. Maxwell flung it at the stumps. Dhoni slowed down. There was no dive, no real run, not even a reach with his bat. He didn’t make his ground.It was like, mid-single he decided to retire. It was like mid-single, he decided there was no point just putting his bat over the line.Dhoni had run out of nurdles. He flashed hard, in vain, rarely, and had only two tracer bullets left. There was no helicopter to glory. No helicopter to safety. No helicopters at all.