A look at the fast bowler’s recent hot streak, and statistical highlights from the meltdowns in Johannesburg and Canberra

Andy Zaltzman20-Jan-2016England have emerged from their 17-Tests-in-nine-months marathon with a record of two series wins out of five. But as sequences of two-series-wins-out-of-five go, this has been a highly promising one, emerging as it did from an actively atrocious World Cup and what now looks like the genuinely remarkable achievement of not beating West Indies.They have won in South Africa without significant performances by either Alastair Cook or James Anderson, and they now have a core of still young but already experienced players, led by Joe Root, who after 38 Tests is looking like the most complete England batsman to emerge since the war, combining consistency and adaptability with a tendency to seize decisive moments.Naturally, the apparent speed of an ascent can be relative to how fast something else is plummeting downwards, and if England are on an up escalator, South Africa have been bobsledding downwards on the other side. England have played some spectacular cricket; they have also shown spectacular timing, in choosing the best moment to play South Africa since their readmission to the international game (and possibly since the 1940s), shattered by their humiliation in India, and shorn of Dale Steyn, the greatest and most consistent bowler of his era, a man who could paper over a large number of cracks in any team. Having played only three Tests against South Africa in the past six years is starting to look like a strategic masterstroke, rather than wilfully bad, money-oriented, Ashes-obsessed scheduling, as it may have appeared at the time.The third-day capitulation in Johannesburg was South Africa’s fourth sub-125 Test dismissal in the last two and a half months, after only one in the previous seven years. Two of those innings – 79 all out in Nagpur, and their 83 last Saturday – were their lowest scores since 1957.At least, for fans of the late 19th century, there has been a certain nostalgia value about South Africa’s batting. They were bowled out for under 100 in seven of their first eight Test innings (all against England), back in the days when Test matches sometimes only became Test matches some time after they had happened. Things improved somewhat with seven consecutive innings of 99 or more (only one of which was over 180), before they concluded their contribution to 19th-century international cricket in appropriate style, by being skittled for 35 at Newlands in April 1899.As so often, Stuart Broad was the prime agent of destruction. He may not look like a classic agent of destruction, but he has again reaffirmed his statistically provable destruction-bringing, series-turning credentials in the past six months. His masterful exploitation of propitious conditions in Johannesburg took out the whole of South Africa’s top six; he had taken four of the top six in the first innings in Durban to give England control of the game and an ultimately decisive 89-run lead; and on that tumultuous Ashes-seizing morning in Nottingham, his 8 for 15 included five of Australia’s top six.On Saturday, Broad became the 13th bowler to take six wickets in an innings on 10 or more occasions in Tests, and just the fifth seamer, after Richard Hadlee, Imran Khan, Ian Botham and Glenn McGrath.In his 10 six-fors, Broad has taken his wickets at an average of 7.68, and a strike rate of 16.9, comfortably top of the 13 bowlers on the list (Derek Underwood is second in average [8.53], Imran Khan has the next best strike rate [22.9].)To update a similar stat I wrote about in May, before England’s Test summer began (and when Broad had, for some time, and while remaining reasonably effective mislaid his opponent-devastating mojo), this was the 26th time that Broad has taken four or more wickets in an innings.He is now one of exactly 100 bowlers who have taken four or more wickets at least 15 times in Tests, spanning from Hugh Trumble at the turn of the 20th century to R Ashwin this decade. Counting only those innings in which they have taken four or more wickets, Broad has the best average of those 100, at 10.69 (ahead of Jason Gillespie, who averaged 10.78 in his 16 four-wicket-plus innings), and the best strike rate, at 22.6 (ahead of Shoaib Akhtar, 22.8 in 22 innings).

England’s having played only three Tests against South Africa in the past six years is starting to look like a strategic masterstroke, rather than wilfully bad, money-oriented, Ashes-obsessed scheduling, as it may have appeared at the time

This suggests that Broad’s hot streaks match those of anyone in the history of Tests, perhaps reflecting the vulnerability of modern batsmen to adverse conditions, but also testament to the skills and temperament of one of the most high-impact Test cricketers England has had.These are exciting times for English Test cricket. Not many countries are enjoying exciting times in Test cricket, for various reasons, so whether these exciting times lead to exciting matches and exciting series against other exciting teams remains to be seen.

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Catastrophic collapses are all the rage in international cricket. No fashionable side wants to miss out on the hip trend sweeping the cricketing world, and India contributed an absolute classic to the Canon of Cricketing Collapse with a match-losing subsidence in Canberra that bordered on genius. Thirty-seven overs of almost perfect limited-overs batsmanship, a textbook blueprint for a 350 chase, had left them needing 75 off 13 overs, with nine wickets in hand.To lose by any margin would have been an achievement. To lose by 25 runs (and that after an epic last-wicket stand of 8), after losing nine wickets for 46 in a match in which prior to Shikhar Dhawan’s dismissal, nine wickets had fallen for 625, required a truly special effort. We have become accustomed to the previously inconceivable being achieved on the 21st-century cricket field, and it happened once again here, in a cavalcade of poorly conceived, incompetently executed thwoicks, plinks and squirts that must have prompted India’s watching fans back home to think ruefully: “If only we had some form of high-profile domestic limited-overs competition, played in front of big, noisy crowds, so that our players could become accustomed to keeping calm under pressure.”In the games recorded by ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball records, which began in 1999, no team had previously lost nine wickets in overs 36-50 of an ODI chase. This game in Sharjah in October 1999, in which Sri Lanka slumped against Pakistan from 157 for 1 in the 36th to 196 all out in 50th, was brought to my attention by a Mr @smacula on Twitter (it evidently was not recorded ball by ball). That, however, had been a low- and slow-scoring match, not a seven-an-over run-fest.(It was also the fourth time that India have lost all 10 wickets to catches in an ODI innings, and the 20th time that has happened to any team. Fourteen of those have happened since March 2006 – once every 99 ODIs. Prior to March 2006, it had only happened once every 390 ODIs. The T20 era has perhaps made players not only far better at being rapidly skittled in Tests, but also far more proficient at smacking the ball straight up in the air in ODIs.)

A combative, expressive offspinner and flamboyant batsman from West Indies has caught the public eye in this Under-19 World Cup

Mohammad Isam and Vishal Dikshit13-Feb-2016West Indies Under-19 captain Shimron Hetmyer says he sledged Gidron Pope the first time the two met, in a regional age-group match a few years ago.”He took out some of our bowlers,” Hetmyer remembers. “We were trying to break his focus so that he does something out of the ordinary. We were trying to get him to play even more rash shots to get out. I think it actually worked.”Among all the talented young cricketers on show in Bangladesh in the last two weeks, Pope has left a mark on the Under-19 World Cup with his bludgeoning approach to batting. He made a run-a-ball 60 against England, and was nearly as quick in his 76 against Fiji, but it was his cameos against Zimbabwe and Pakistan, 30 and 25, that helped West Indies swing those crunch games. In the semi-final, Pope put a dent in Bangladesh’s confidence with his five fours and two sixes.

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Pope was born in Mount Greenan in St Vincent, the youngest of five siblings. A batsman foremost, he used to keep wicket and also bowl medium-pace when younger, but a shoulder injury prompted him to take up offspin.

“He is very funny. He makes a comment when you least expect; it comes as a shock to us”Shimron Hetmyer

“I started playing cricket back in my village, in the street,” Pope tells ESPNcricinfo. “When I started playing cricket I always wanted to bat first. I always opened for my school teams. I always wanted to become a cricketer. I watched a lot of cricket, so I decided I wanted to play cricket. I used to watch West Indies playing a lot.”Pope started playing kids’ cricket when in grade three. “I played under-15 also,” he says.When his parents saw him play, they were convinced about his desire to take up the game, but his older sister needed some convincing.”My sister didn’t want me to take up cricket. She wanted me to study at school. But I insisted that I wanted to play cricket. I have two brothers and two sisters. I’m the youngest.”All other siblings wanted me to play cricket but most of the time I was living with my sister. When I started playing cricket and my parents saw me, they supported me to play,” he says.Pope is a Manchester United supporter who also enjoys watching Roger Federer when he gets the time away from cricket practice (“three times a week”) and college (he studies engineering and science). His favourite batsmen are Rohit Sharma and Brian Lara.He has been helped along the way by former West Indies fast bowler Nixon McLean, who Pope met through his father during his U-15 days. “My father and him are pretty close friends. Most of the time he [McLean] encourages me to bat as long as possible, so that the bowlers have to work for my wicket,” he says.He is also close to Darren Sammy, whom he met a few years ago. Sammy took Pope under his wing when Pope was part of the CPL franchise St Lucia Zouks.

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Pope is a bit of a livewire on the field, heavily involved when it comes to bowling his offspin. In the semi-final, he wasn’t happy with a few field placings, and let his captain know what he wanted.He’s in the thick of it in the rooms as well. “He is very funny,” Hetmyer says. “He makes a comment when you least expect; it comes as a shock to us. He makes everyone laugh.”He is a different person in the dressing room. He brings out a different energy for us. He is a jovial person, keeps everyone on their toes. In the field too, he is the kind of person who we look for a bit of support,” he said.Reserved off the field, expressive on it: Pope (left) celebrates after the semi-final•Getty ImagesThat side of his personality is not on show to all, though. It would seem Pope is himself only among his peers. West Indies manager Dwain Gill finds him to be a quiet person who comes alive only in the field.”Off the field, he’s very reserved. He doesn’t say much. He likes to be on the field. He likes to help the captain set the field. He likes to be in the game all the time. He’s a very aggressive player,” Gill says.Is it a challenge managing the likes of Pope? “It is not really hard,” Hetmyer says. “I just have to calm him down and get him to do what he wants to do. In this case it was what field he wants and once you know what they are trying to do, it is not hard.”Tevin Imlach, the wicketkeeper who opens the batting with Pope, met him in a hotel during a regional Under-19 tournament. He thought Pope a bit detached when they first met, across a pool table, but they got friendly soon, and now that they open together for West Indies U-19s, understand each other well.”We communicate a lot now because we are in the West Indies U-19 team,” Imlach says. “It is good to bat with him because he takes the pressure off you. He is aggressive. We just try to encourage each other and say keep going and play the ball to merit. He is generally supportive.”He says Pope is the type of batsman whose natural instincts you don’t want to curb. “You just try to urge him on and support him as much as possible. He has the belief that it will work out for him.”

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“Apart from [Alzarri] Joseph, they also have a big-hitting opener,” Bangladesh U-19 coach Mizanur Rahman Babul said to the media on the eve of his team’s semi-final against West Indies. He looked at captain Mehedi Hasan, who mouthed “Pope”.”Yes, his name is Pope. He has done well at this tournament and we hope that he doesn’t do well against us,” Babul said, laughed and slapped the table in front of him.

“My sister didn’t want me to take up cricket. She wanted me to study at school. But I insisted that I wanted to play cricket”Gidron Pope

At the end of that game, Miraz said that it was Pope’s 25-ball 38 that jolted Bangladesh and handed West Indies a key advantage in the 227-run chase.Pope said that the only adjustment he has had to make to play in Bangladesh was against the spinners. “Opening the batting in Bangladesh is not really tough,” he says. “The ball is not swinging as much. Most of the adjustments were about spin. I want to just keep things as simple as possible.”He caused a flutter when bowling as well. In the 42nd over of the Bangladesh innings, Pope stopped in his run-up and warned the non-striker, Mohammad Saifuddin, who had veered out of the crease. Pope pointed towards Saifuddin’s bat, said something, and walked back to his bowling mark. The crowd noticed but because he bowled the next ball quickly, the roar didn’t last long.Gill later said that it was Pope’s own decision to warn Saifuddin, as they hadn’t spoken about mankading after Keemo Paul did so controversially against Zimbabwe in Chittagong. “We never spoke about it. In fact, after that game [against Zimbabwe] we didn’t speak about it at all.”You [media] guys wanted to speak about it, we didn’t. So I think what he did there was the right thing – he gave the warning. You’ve got to give credit to the young man,” he says.

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If the next few years go well for Pope, West Indies can expect a player who can hit the ball cleanly, bowl tight offbreaks, is keen on fairness and modesty, and knows how to support his team-mates.The simplicity of Pope’s see-ball-hit-ball approach has been noticed in this tournament. Over the next few years, he will possibly have to deal with comparisons with Chris Gayle, T20 contracts, and playing for West Indies.It may be hard to pull off, but in his short life Pope has already had to balance cricket and education, and had to convince his family about his desire to pursue the game. He knows something of what it takes to be a grounded individual.

Bangladesh have never gone past the quarter-finals of the Under-19 World Cup, but there are heightened expectations from them in this edition, with their team ending the group stage with three wins from three matches

Mohammad Isam02-Feb-2016As captain of the Bangladesh Under-19 side, Mehedi Hasan Miraz will now lead his side into a zone of intensified expectations after his side won all three of their group-stage games in the Under-19 World Cup. Over the next three days, he will feel somewhat similar to the captain of Bangladesh’s senior team ahead of a major game, because there is unusual focus this time on the Under-19 team.Interest in cricket is nothing new to Bangladesh but with the senior team also doing well last year, the momentum is supposed to run through the other representative teams too. Bangladesh have one of the more experienced sides in the Under-19 World Cup with five members of their squad also part of the previous edition in 2014. Tellingly, they have never gone past the quarter-final stage of the competition.Miraz, though, has always maintained a happy outlook. He is a quality offspinner who brings himself on whenever the team needs wickets or has to check the flow of runs. He gets wickets, and after his second scalp against Namibia on Tuesday became the highest wicket-taker in Youth ODIs, surpassing Pakistan’s Imad Wasim.At the end of the game, in which Bangladesh made light work of Namibia, Miraz said he wanted his team to be “serious” going into their quarter-final against Nepal.”It makes me feel great that we won today, became group champions and I got to the bowling record,” Miraz said. “But we can’t feel too happy now; we have to go further in this tournament. With this win against Namibia, our confidence will go up. We are going to face Nepal by becoming the group champions. We have to be careful against these teams, because there can be an accident against them. We have to keep to our process. All doors will be open if we keep to our path.”We saw the India-Nepal game on TV. I don’t think Nepal can do much if we play to our standard but we have to hold on to this level. We can’t take Nepal lightly. They are in the quarter-finals by playing well. Some of their batsmen are attacking, and a couple of their bowlers are quite good. We have to be serious.”In order to keep the players away from distractions, the Bangladesh team management have so far been quite guarded, restricting phone use and – as with other teams, given the high security cordon – hardly any team outings. Media access to the Bangladesh team has been kept at a minimum, unlike teams like England, South Africa and West Indies.Perhaps spending so much time together is helping the players celebrate each other’s success. Miraz said Nazmul Hossain Shanto, who became the highest scorer in Youth ODIs during the course of his century against Scotland, had told him to not think about reaching the bowling record and simply focus on bowling well.”When I reached the highest wickets, everyone hugged me and congratulated me,” Miraz said. “Shanto was very excited that I got to the record. I was hopeful of getting to the record today but it doesn’t happen so easily. It is hard to take wickets when you are looking for one. Shanto told me to bowl normally and not think of the record. His advice worked for me.”There was freshness in the air as the cool sea breeze worked its magic around the stadium. Cox’s Bazar is Bangladesh’s favorite retreat but tomorrow Miraz and his team will be tackling Dhaka and the challenges that come with the metropolis. The biggest of these will be for the players to get their heads clear of the noise that will come with playing the quarter-final of a major tournament, at home, notwithstanding the fact that it is at the Under-19 level. The days of innocence are possibly over for these boys.

Stats highlights from the first ODI between South Africa and England at Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein

Bharath Seervi04-Feb-20161 Totals by England higher than 399 in this match, they had made 408 for 9 against New Zealand at Edgbaston in 2015. Till the 2015 World Cup, England had scored 350 or more only twice in ODI history. But since then, they have amassed such totals five times.73 Balls played by Jos Buttler to complete his century; this is the slowest of his four ODI centuries, all of which are among the fastest for England in ODIs. Buttler holds the record for scoring England’s fastest ODI hundred, which came off 46 balls against Pakistan in Dubai (DSC) last year. His other two centuries came off 61 balls, against Sri Lanka and 66 balls, against New Zealand0 England keepers who have made more ODI centuries than Buttler. Alec Stewart too made four hundreds in his ODI career. However, Stewart’s fourth ODI hundred came in his 96th innings as a keeper. Buttler has taken 40 fewer innings .0 Wins for South Africa against England at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein, in four meetings: they have lost three and tied one, which was back in 2004-05. Before their defeat in this match, South Africa was unbeaten in the last nine ODIs at this venue.0 Previous instances of a team having four batsmen scoring 40 or more at a strike rate of 120 or more in an ODI. England’s innings in this match produced the first ever such instance. Jason Roy scored 48 at strike rate of 160, Alex Hales 57 at 121.27, Butler 105 at 138.15 and Ben Stokes 57 at 150. Eight England batsmen had a strike rate of 100 or more, which is the second highest in an innings. England themselves had nine batsmen scoring at 100-plus against New Zealand in a chase at the Oval in 2015.5 Stands of 50 or more runs in the England’s innings – the joint highest for a team in an ODI. The only other instance was when Pakistan had five such stands in an ODI against New Zealand in 2014-15.15 Sixes hit by England batsmen in this match – the most they have hit in an ODI. These are also the most hit against South Africa in an ODI. As many as eight England batsmen hit at least one six in this match, which is the highest number of batsmen in an innings. There have been six instances of seven batsmen doing this in an ODI, three of those coming in 2015.0 South Africa batsmen who reached 2000 ODI runs at a younger age than Quinton de Kock’s 23 years and 48 days. He became the youngest beating Jacques Kallis, who was 23 years and 162 days when he completed 2000 runs in ODIs in March 1999. De Kock is the third-fastest South Africa batsman in terms of innings (53) after Hashim Amla (40) and Gary Kirsten (50).9 ODI centuries by Quinton de Kock as South Africa’s wicketkeeper. Only three other keepers – Kumar Sangakkara (23), Adam Gilchrist (16) and AB de Villiers (10) – have hit more hundreds than him. His 138* in this match is also his highest score in ODIs beating 135 against India at the Wanderers in 2013-14. De Kock’s score in this match is also the third highest by a South Africa batsman in a losing cause in ODIs.12 Bowlers who went at an economy of 6.0 or worse in this game. This is the first ever instance when these many bowlers have leaked runs at an economy of six-plus from five or more overs. There were 11 such bowlers in the Johannesburg ODI between Australia and South Africa in 2005-06.6 Instances in ODIs when wicketkeepers, Buttler and de Kock, from both sides have scored centuries. Last such instance also involved England and Buttler – Lord’s in 2014.

Plays of the day from the World T20 match between South Africa and Sri Lanka in Delhi

Firdose Moonda28-Mar-2016The speech Team huddles have become customary at the start of an innings, when the captain usually delivers his final words before the action gets underway, but this one was different. As South Africa prepared for their final appearance at this World T20, it was AB de Villiers, the ODI and Test captain, and not Faf du Plessis, the T20 captain, who did the talking. De Villiers led an animated talk in which the only words the television microphones could pick up were “energy, boys, energy,” but, with rumours swirling about de Villiers’ international workload, it aroused suspicions of his international future.The advice that should have been heededTillakaratne Dilshan wanted to bow out with a bang and had helped take Sri Lanka to 45 without loss by the fifth over. He took on both the quicks and the slower bowlers, and seemed to be in control. But his partner and stand-in captain Dinesh Chandimal couldn’t keep up when the pace was taken off the ball. He went for an expansive cover drive without moving his front foot across off the first delivery he faced from Aaron Phangiso. The ball went straight on, snuck between bat and pad and rattled Chandimal’s stumps. Dilshan had a few things to say as he walked off but whatever it was, it was too late.The secret weapon Farhaan Behardien is South Africa’s most underrated cricketer, but he showed his value with the ball today. After being gifted an opening wicket, Behardien thought he had the biggest scalp when Dilshan tried a switch hit but was struck on the pads. Umpire S Ravi rightly thought the ball was sliding down leg but Behardien got his own back. Dilshan brought out a conventional sweep off the next ball and missed again. He was hit in front and Ravi had no doubt that would have gone on to his the stumps, so Dilshan was sent on his way.The carelessness Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock were involved in a run-out in the previous match against West Indies, which saw Amla lose his wicket, but the pair had not learnt from their mistakes. Amla played a Suranga Lakmal delivery to Dilshan at backward point, took a step forward and then decided against the run, but de Kock was not paying attention. He has halfway down the pitch and then turned back without much haste when he saw Amla’s disinterest. Dilshan had already collected and released the ball and his direct hit took out middle stump at the non-striker’s end with de Kock nowhere near his ground.The near blinder Both teams were playing a match that could have been; it could have been a shoot-out for the semi-finals. Both South Africa and Sri Lanka, however, were knocked out before the last league match of the tournament. In keeping with the mood, a catch that should have been the grab of the tournament was not. Amla had offered half a chance to Lahiru Thirimanne at midwicket the ball before he drove one uppishly to Jeffrey Vandersay at short extra cover. It was hit hard but Vandersay gave it everything. He leapt to his right and got his fingers to the ball, but could not hold on.

10-Apr-2016Quinton de Kock promised much before holing out to Yusuf Pathan off Andre Russell for 17 off 10 balls. Four balls later, Russell removed Shreyas Iyer for a duck•BCCIThe slide seeped into middle order and Pawan Negi was dismissed by Brad Hogg for 11 off 19 balls•BCCICarlos Brathwaite momentarily broke the shackles with a six over midwicket before he was removed by Piyush Chawla•BCCIBy the time Chris Morris was bowled by Chawla, Daredevils had slipped to 84 for 7•BCCIThey were eventually skittled for 98. Brad Hogg and Russell finished with three wickets each•BCCIGautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa put on 69 for the first wicket to flatten Daredevils•BCCIUthappa got into his groove with a brace of straight-driven fours before falling for 35•BCCIGambhir and Manish Pandey completed Knight Riders’ win with nine wickets and 35 balls to spare•BCCI

His autobiography tells the story of a flamboyant cricketer better remembered for a batting innings and a sledge than the pace he worked hard to achieve

Alan Gardner31-Jul-2016What is Tino Best most famous for? The title of his autobiography, , suggests that Andrew Flintoff’s cheeky sledge about Best’s batting – he was stumped giving Ashley Giles the charge at Lord’s in 2004, as West Indies attempted to see out the final day of the Test for a draw – takes the prize.Then again, his 95 against England at Edgbaston in 2012 was also pretty memorable. Best briefly held the record for the highest score by a No. 11 in Tests, until Australia’s Ashton Agar – “a number six, not a number eleven,” Best grouses – waltzed his way to 98 the following summer. More recently, thanks to the serialisation of one of the chapters from his book, entitled “The Playboy Lifestyle”, he came to attention for his love of maidens. No, not that kind. As he writes: “I was a man whore.”There are many reasons to remember the name Tino la Bertram Best – not least because of that distinctive, flamboyant “la Bertram” in the middle, which Best claims means “the greatest”. Sadly his bowling is not right at the top of the list; and that really is a shame, given that, for a time at least, he was one of the quickest going around.Despite his relative lack of success at international level, it is impossible not to warm to Best and be impressed by his life story. Inspired by his uncle, the West Indies batsman Carlisle Best, and the example set by his mother and four aunts, Best overcame the apparent disadvantage of being 5ft 8in to open the bowling for Barbados – for whom he has an excellent record – and then West Indies. Capable of getting it through above 95mph, he rubbed shoulders with Brett Lee and Shoaib Akhtar in cricket’s fast lane.Growing up without the influence of his father, who struggled with drug addiction and never saw Best play for West Indies, he overcame rejection at the start of his career, having turned up late for a trial with Barbados Under-19s. Although he wanted to be like Uncle Carlisle – who hooked his third ball in Tests for six and scored 164 against England in Bridgetown in 1990 – Best discovered he could bowl at the sort of speed revered around the Caribbean as “pace like fire”.In his own, inimitable, words: “I was as fast as a raccoon.” Hard work in the gym, and on the army base that provided his early employment outside of cricket, meant Best was soon being talked about beyond his native island. He was, however, “a Ferrari without a steering wheel”, and it would not be long before he sped off course at one of the many bends in the road encountered over a 15-year career.After being called up to face Australia at the age of 21, he experienced the unique difficulties involved with representing a collection of countries under one flag. West Indies players are “all from different nations, with different cultures and from different backgrounds”, making team spirit harder to build. The fact that he saw Ricky Ponting dropped off his bowling by Shivnarine Chanderpaul – in the gully, where Best observes “there’d be no way” his Barbados team-mate Sulieman Benn would have missed the chance – on his first day in Test cricket did not help. “It was my first big international match and I felt lonely.”There was also the expectation that came with being a quick bowler from a lineage as rich as West Indies’. It was more than a year later that Best bagged his first Test wicket – England’s Graeme Thorpe, caught at long leg attempting to hook, at Sabina Park – and his first crack at international cricket seemed to bring rewards inversely proportional to the effort Best put in. “People said I was the next Malcolm Marshall before I’d even played a Test,” he writes. “I just wanted to be Tino Best.”John Blake PublishingThis was when Best’s off-field performances overtook his impact with bat or ball for West Indies. A father himself at the age of 19, Best cheated on his childhood sweetheart and subsequently decided to enjoy the opportunities afforded by the lifestyle of an international athlete. On a tour of Australia, he was overlooked by the coach, Bennett King. “But I was bowling fast – at night.”It all comes across as slightly cringe-worthy, despite Best’s winning smile and apparent good nature. He says he’s a deeply religious man, and observes towards the book’s conclusion: “I’ve done a few things that God might not like in my time.” He says he is beginning to think about settling down, which might come as a relief to those who prefer to enjoy Best bowling fast in the daytime.Best’s career may have added up to 57 caps and 97 wickets for West Indies but his love for the game pours out, and he certainly left a mark – on Makhaya Ntini, who was struck by his pace as a net bowler on South Africa’s 2001 tour; on Flintoff, who provides the foreword to ; on Sachin Tendulkar, who faced Best in his final Test. Yorkshire fans will remember his lung-busting contributions, too, and there are affectionate mentions for his polar-opposites bowling partner, Steve Patterson, and former coach Martyn Moxon.Best’s philosophy is summed up when he discusses missing out on what would have been a remarkable Test hundred in 2012, when he was caught trying to damage the windows again:”I don’t play cricket for records. I enjoy the game and want to make people happy. I want to be spectacular. I want to be awesome… There’s a place for consolidating and working round: that’s cricket. But I am West Indian and I will be flamboyant. If I’m on ninety nine, I’ll try and hit a boundary to get to a hundred. It’s just how I think the game should be played.”Tino la Bertram Best wanted to be a great entertainer, and in many ways he succeeded. He should always be remembered for that.Mind the Windows: Tino Best – My Story
By Tino Best and Jack Wilson
John Blake Publishing
228 pages, £18.99

The Test series between England and Pakistan is a much-anticipated contest with much focus on the return of Mohammad Amir. ESPNcricinfo picks out key areas with the help of James Taylor and Azhar Mahmood

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-20163:12

Pakistan ready to sit their English test

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2016John Hastings spoiled the party though, having Dilshan caught at slip for 1 in the second over•AFPTake a bow: With 497 matches and 17671 international runs, Dilshan retired as one of Sri Lanka’s greats•Associated PressAustralia dominated Sri Lanka and it seemed they may not even make it to 100•Associated PressDhananjaya de Silva struck his maiden T20I fifty, but his efforts were undone with wickets falling at the other end•AFPAdam Zampa picked up 3 for 16 in his four overs as Sri Lanka ended up at 128 for 9•Associated PressGlenn Maxwell walloped Australia’s fastest T20I fifty – off 18 balls – to kickstart the chase•Associated PressDespite the platform he laid for Australia, their middle order succumbed to turning ball again. The score slipped from 93 for 0 to 99 for 4•Associated PressDilshan would finish his international career with a wicket off his final ball….•AFP…but Travis Head sealed Australia’s chase with a swiped six, which meant the visitors swept the series 2-0•Associated Press

Also: how many Australians have made one-day hundreds in Sri Lanka?

Steven Lynch20-Sep-2016Middlesex’s title decider is being played this week. Has there ever been first-class cricket at Lord’s this late in the year? asked Bob Rollins from England

For many years the cricket season on the main ground at Lord’s would finish with the Gillette Cup (later NatWest Trophy) final, which was held on the first Saturday in September. That tradition has slipped a little in recent years, but it turns out that this week’s County Championship match between top-of-the-table Middlesex and second-placed Yorkshire is indeed the latest that top-class cricket has ever been played on the world’s most famous ground. At first I thought the previous-latest first-class action there was a splendid match between Smokers and Non-Smokers in 1884 – it was played on September 15-16 – but ten years after that, in 1894, the game between Gentlemen of the South and Players of the South ran from September 17-19. Two major matches in recent years have been played later than that: in 2010 there was a one-day international between England and Pakistan at Lord’s on September 20, while in 2013 the Yorkshire Bank 40 final (the successor to the Gillette) took place on September 21. The latest Championship action at Lord’s before this year was also in 2013, when Middlesex’s four-day game against Nottinghamshire finished on September 14.Who has played the most Test matches without ever playing at home? asked Ian Johnston from England

A couple of old-time England players lead the way here. The Yorkshire allrounder Willie Bates played 15 Tests on four separate tours of Australia in the 1880s, but never appeared at home. In those days the sides for England’s overseas tours were raised privately, rather than by a central selection committee, while teams for home Tests were usually chosen by representatives of the ground staging the match. Frederick Fane, the Irish-born Essex amateur, played 14 Tests for England – and captained them in five, including three matches of the 1907-08 Ashes – but never played at home. And the Rhodesian allrounder Percy Mansell played 13 Tests in the 1950s, all of them outside South Africa. This excludes several current Pakistan players who have been unable to play at home for security reasons. Azhar Ali has now played 49 Tests but none in Pakistan, and Asad Shafiq 45. They have, however, played several “home” Tests in the United Arab Emirates.Who’s the only man to play more than 100 international matches at the same ground? asked Khalid Zafar from Pakistan

The answer here was quite a surprise: there is indeed only one man who has played 100 international matches (in all three formats) on one ground – Mushfiqur Rahim, who has played 105 at the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur. Shakib Al Hasan has played 97 games there, and Tamim Iqbal 93. Next comes Hamilton Masakadza, with 91 at the Harare Sports Club, where Elton Chigumbura has played 89. The Test record is held by Mahela Jayawardene, who played 27 matches at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, where Muttiah Muralitharan played 24. Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara both played 23 Tests at Galle. Alastair Cook has played 22 Tests so far at Lord’s. Wasim Akram leads the way for one-day internationals, with 77 at Sharjah; Mushfiqur has so far had 73 at Mirpur, while Jayawardene and Sanath Jayasuriya both played 71 ODIs at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium. Rahim has played 19 Twenty20 internationals at Mirpur, and Umar Akmal 18 in Dubai.A 33-year wait: incredibly, David Warner’s 106 in Pallekele earlier this month was the first ODI century by an Australian in Sri Lanka•AFPWho had the most runs after playing 100 Tests? asked Keshuv Huria from India

Top of this list is Brian Lara, who amassed 8916 runs in his first 100 Tests. It’s quite close, though – nine others had more than 8000 runs, plus Garry Sobers who scored 8032 in a career of 93 Tests. Second behind Lara is Kumar Sangakkara, with 8651 runs, then come Younis Khan (8640), Rahul Dravid (8553), Matthew Hayden (8508), Virender Sehwag (8487), Sunil Gavaskar (8479), Sachin Tendulkar (8405), Ricky Ponting (8253) and Graeme Smith (8173). Of these Tendulkar had the highest average, with 57.97, just ahead of Dravid (57.79) and Ponting (57.71).I see that Sir Viv Richards has one stumping to his credit in first-class cricket – who was this? asked Jogeshwar from India

Sir Vivian Richards’s only stumping in first-class cricket came quite early in his career, in a festival game at the end of West Indies’ 1976 tour of England. Playing against T. N. Pearce’s XI in the last match of the tour at Scarborough, at some point in the second innings Richards relieved Mike Findlay of the gloves, and stumped the Pearce’s XI No. 8 Martin Vernon off the bowling of slow left-armer Raphick Jumadeen. I’m not aware that Viv ever kept wicket in an international match.Did David Warner become the first Australian to score an ODI hundred in Sri Lanka during the recent series? asked Jamie Stewart from Canada

Rather surprisingly, David Warner’s 106 in the last match of the recent series in Pallekele was indeed Australia’s first century in a one-day international in Sri Lanka – and it was their 40th official ODI there. Australia’s previous-highest score in Sri Lanka was 94, by Mark Taylor at the P Sara Stadium in Colombo in August 1992, just ahead of Matthew Hayden’s 93 in Dambulla in 2003-04. Two Aussies have managed 90 not out: Ricky Ponting in Hambantota in August 2011, and George Bailey in the previous match of the recent series in Dambulla.Send in your questions using our feedback form.