A second-innings collapse highlighted the challenge of facing such relentlessly accurate spin bowling and left the demoralised tourists struggling to stay in the series

George Dobell in Mohali28-Nov-20162:44

Compton: England spinners lack quality for Indian conditions

This was the day the bailiffs arrived for England. It wasn’t that their performance on day three was especially poor. It was more that they were paying for debts incurred earlier in the game.From the moment they failed to take advantage of winning the toss, from the moment they failed to score 450 in their first innings, from the moment they lost four wickets in the opening session of the match, they have been up against it. The evening session of the third day was the time the pressure told and England snapped. It felt like the tipping point of the game; it may well prove to be the tipping point of the series.England looked dispirited long before their second innings began. Maybe it was the injury to Haseeb Hameed, who may well be out of the series, maybe it was the way the India tail wagged – at 204 for 6 England were thinking of a first-innings lead; at 400 for 8 that was a painful memory – or maybe it was the realisation that they had squandered a great opportunity in this match, but England looked disappointed before the end of India’s innings.It showed in the fielding first. Alastair Cook, his mind clouded, dropped a relatively straightforward chance at slip – something that is happening too frequently to be dismissed as an aberration – and Jonny Bairstow missed one going to his right. It meant England had dropped four chances in total in India’s first innings.England’s bowlers had, as usual, performed respectably. Perhaps James Anderson looked a little flat and perhaps Stuart Broad was missed more than anticipated, but conceding 400 on this surface was not unreasonable. It was probably a par first-innings total from India.It was only by contrast with India’s spinners that England’s paled. For while Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid are liable to offer a long hop or full toss every spell, R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are unlikely to offer one an innings. And while Moeen and Rashid are both capable of deliveries that turn sharply, they are less able to maintain and build pressure than their India counterparts.Taken in isolation, Ashwin’s wicket-taking deliveries look pretty innocuous. Take the ball that bowled Cook through the gate: it was 46 mph and turned fractionally. It was the sort of ball that, if bowled on the village green, might well have been heaved into the churchyard.But with Ashwin – and India’s other spinners – it’s not necessarily the delivery that does the damage. It’s the spell.So in 30 overs of England’s second innings, India’s three spinners only conceded two boundaries. And in those 30 overs, 80% of their deliveries were dot balls and more than 50% of those from Ashwin and Jadeja would have hit the stumps. By contrast, 26% of Rashid’s would have done so. While only 1% of the deliveries sent down by India’s spinners went for boundaries, the figure was 4% for England’s.Alastair Cook was bowled by R Ashwin after playing down the wrong line•Associated PressAll this means the batsmen have no respite against India. And it means that any turn at all – and Jadeja and Jayant actually gained less turn than in the first innings – becomes dangerous and the delivery that goes straight on can be just as lethal. Every ball counts. Every ball adds to the ordeal. Batting is exhausting.It’s particularly exhausting when the match situation is so unpromising. So Cook, struggling throughout a torturous innings, had been lunging forward in an attempt to nullify the spin but finally left just enough of a gap between pad and bat for Ashwin to squeeze the ball through. A slight miscalculation, a slight misjudgement, a slight error: you cannot afford any of them against bowlers of such accuracy.Moeen’s dismissal looked especially horrid. Beaten in the flight, he was nowhere near the pitch of the ball when he skipped down the pitch in an attempt to lift Ashwin back over his head. Instead, the ball hit high up the bat and Moeen popped a simple catch to mid-on.Again, taken in isolation, it looked an unnecessary shot. But it was a reflection of the demanding spell Moeen had faced. It was a reflection of his lack of confidence in his own defence and a reflection of his unease at the crease. It was an unimpressive first effort at No. 3 – Moeen has now batted in every position up to and including No. 9 in Tests – but also reflection of some fine, disciplined bowling as much as it was poor batting.And, for all the talk of Stokes’ improvement against spin, the talk of him playing further forward and further back, he was punished here for failing to get far enough forward. It was a fine ball, certainly, but it was the stroke of a tired, disappointed man.Only Bairstow, who was brilliantly caught after edging one that kept low, could consider himself unfortunate. But even he might have left the delivery angled across him.It seems likely that Hameed will bat on day four. But it may well prove to be his last action of the tour. Judging by previous examples – Anderson’s injury in South Africa springs to mind – the secrecy surrounding Hameed’s finger problem suggests that the England camp know full well it is serious. It seems odd that he has not had an X-ray already; it will be a surprise if England do not have a new opening partnership in Mumbai.All of which leaves England facing a monumental challenge. But, more than trying to find a way to combat the spin, they need to find a way to combat the impression that they have come up against a side that is too good for them. For the first time in several years – probably since the 2013-14 Ashes – that is how England looked for the last few hours here. They will have to dig deep, mentally as much as physically, if they are to salvage anything from this series.

Pakistan’s selectors are understandably cautious about going back to Mohammad Asif, but he is capable of changing the most stubborn minds when he bowls like he did on day one of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final

Umar Farooq in Karachi11-Dec-2016There are two types of swagger: one is intrinsic, the other is put on. The fake kind is hollow and often irritating but the genuine article is beautiful and irresistible. The feigned kind of swagger is exposed sooner or later on a cricket ground, and doesn’t last long.Mohammad Asif has lived a scandal-filled cricketing career and hit rock bottom in 2010 for being banned and jailed for spot-fixing. He has also been caught carrying illegal drugs at the Dubai Airport, has had a notorious and failed public affair with a TV actress, and has failed a dope test. Somehow, he is still a relevant cricketer with his swagger intact. It never went away.His physique as a fast bowler never made sense. He looks thin enough to be blown away by a poke. But he is strong, as all tend to be. His presence in the ground can easily be felt; he strides like he is walking a tightrope. On Saturday, the first day of the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy final, Asif was the last man to leave the dressing room for Water and Power Development Authority’s warm-up session before the toss, and walked straight to the pitch, which was topped with patches of green.By the end of the day’s play, he had figures of 18.1-4-29-4 as WAPDA bowled Habib Bank Limited out for 236. It took his season’s wicket haul to 19 in five matches, at an average of 18.63. Of the 127 overs he has bowled, 52 – or nearly 41% – have been maidens. He has made a massive impact on his team, leading a brittle attack, holding it together, winning games. Whether that is enough for Pakistan to pick him again remains to be seen; the selectors watched him keenly, but they retain a sense of reluctance about going back to him – given all his misdemeanours, their caution is probably reasonable.But Asif’s bowling is capable of changing the most stubborn minds. He ripped through Habib Bank’s top order within no time, leaving them 19 for 3 by the time he had bowled three overs. In the seven overs of his opening spell, he conceded a mere eight runs. His second spell of five overs was wicketless, but he bowled three maidens and only conceded four runs. His rhythm was relentless.His run-up and follow-through were smooth as ever, stirring old memories of a master strategist. He didn’t bowl at any great pace: he made Kamran Akmal stand up to the stumps even when he bowled with the new ball, but this was also because he wanted to push back Ahmed Shehzad, who was standing out of his crease in a bid to counter his movement.At one time, Habib Bank were reeling at 21 for 6, before Rameez Aziz and Fahim Ashraf rescued them with an 84-run stand for the seventh wicket. A 99-run ninth-wicket partnership between Aziz and Abdur Rehman frustrated WAPDA further, before Asif returned to send back Aziz.”I did well in previous games but since today was the final and it was also being live telecast, I was just enjoying,” Asif said after the day’s play. “I have a much-needed rhythm, and since it was a big match and only big player delivers on such occasions, I gave it all and am now hoping to make the second innings count as well.”Asif posed a considerable threat in each of his four spells, and a powerful appeal against Aziz took you back to the past, low to the ground on bent knees with arms outstretched. There was no way to gauge his fitness, at 33, and say if he would be able to cope with international cricket, but he looked confident.
“I bowled seven straight overs with the new ball. In fact I bowled more overs than anyone else, 18.1 overs,” he said. “What else do you expect me to do to prove [my fitness]. If I wasn’t fit I don’t think I could have bowled those overs.”I am doing what I am required to do; rest is in the hands of and then the selectors. I am doing my best and I can’t do more. So to me I am doing well. The basics are still the same, which I haven’t forgotten, and I am just applying myself with everything I have. I know I still have my space there and it is never taken by anyone and I am confident that I will soon be taking it back.”Asif is playing his second day-night game with the pink ball. He wasn’t too happy with the quality of the ball being used in the tournament, and said it becomes soft after about 15 overs and that dew was also an issue under lights.”It’s an experiment, but obviously we have to adopt it as this is the future for Test cricket,” he said. “The ball being used isn’t the grade A quality and if you want bowlers to be groomed you need to have good balls.”As a bowler it’s slightly difficult during the twilight because the ball is hard to spot against the background, especially when the sun is out along with the lights. So that transition period causes some problem for the fielders as well, especially for the catching positions or at some sharp fielding positions like point, where the ball is a little difficult to pick up. But it’s a learning curve for all of us and we are getting used to it.”

Australia’s batsmen had the chance to take control of the Test on day two. They didn’t. On day three, Dean Elgar and JP Duminy showed them how it was done

Daniel Brettig at the WACA05-Nov-2016Welcome back to the friendly, air-conditioned confines boys. It was hot work out there, hey? Hot enough for extra drinks breaks anyway. The breeze came in to the WACA Ground in the evening session, which offered some kind of respite from the heat and the sun. That should have helped you cool down enough to process a few things.But before you do, I want you to remember how you feel right now. The heavy legs, the dry mouths and the dull headaches from your sweaty baggy green hat-bands. Remember too the sinking feeling you got when you took a final glance at the WACA’s old scoreboard before reaching shade, showing South Africa’s vast lead. A word of warning: it will be a fair bit bigger by the time you get another bat.Inconvenient memories like this can help you in future, when you have the opportunity to make a Test match your own. They can help you to keep your focus clear and your ruthlessness intact as they should have been yesterday, in the hour or so after Dale Steyn dropped out of the match, the tour and possibly even his whole career with a serious shoulder injury. That moment should have been one to steel yourselves, and think coldly about the physical imperative of Test cricket.South Africa had lost a bowler, and a great one at that. Chat to your team’s long-time physio Alex Kountouris, now Cricket Australia’s head of sports science. He will be able to tell you of the pitifully small percentage of Test matches won by teams that lose a frontline bowler so early on. Another medico, doctor John Orchard, is perhaps the world’s biggest advocate for injury substitutes in Tests. His forward thinking can’t help this week though.One of Orchard’s prime case studies comes from the last time South Africa toured Australia, in 2012. He has outlined how a side injury to James Pattinson – remember him? – in Adelaide led to an excessive workload for Peter Siddle in a match South Africa fought back to draw. In Siddle’s absence the visitors won in Perth, and the extra overs duly bowled by Mitchell Starc flowed into the need to rest him from the Boxing Day Test against Sri Lanka. It all adds up, you see.I don’t need to tell you much about the physical drain, because your legs are still heavy even as you cradle some ice water, Gatorade or perhaps a consolation beer. Adam Voges has a tender hamstring. The sight of the fast bowlers icing feet, legs and shoulders – Starc is re-dressing the open wound in his left leg as we speak – should also remind you of the fact that you didn’t give them much rest at all after their exertions on day one. Less than 24 hours in fact.That’s a betrayal (a strong word, but a true one) of the unwritten compact between batsmen and bowlers. They work so hard in the field on days like these, and should have the right to expect a decent total to defend after a reasonable amount of time at rest in the team’s viewing area. Pattinson (he’s not had much luck, Jimmy) once suffered serious injury in a Lord’s Test match after being asked to bowl again too soon after the first innings, due to a batting collapse. Slim first innings exacerbate the risk of injury to the very men who can win you the Test match. A confronting thought.Equally, the first Test of a series can influence how the rest play out, particularly back-to-back matches. Starc and Siddle in particular are coming off limited preparation for this series. They are playing in Perth not because they are fully fit, but because they are the best available for a vital contest. Selectors, coaches and medical staff took a calculated gamble that they would not be placed in the position they are now in, with the second Test in Hobart starting as soon as Saturday. South Africa are exacting a physical toll that will help them later.This brings us to the main thing I want you to take out of today. Once your thoughts of frustration subside, you really need to take in the lessons offered up by JP Duminy and Dean Elgar. Much like you on day two, they had a massive opportunity to take control of the Test. Unlike you on day two, they took it.Not through anything flashy or overly ambitious, but simply through relentless and disciplined Test-match batting – the batting you needed to provide on day two of this game. The bowlers bowled well, there were a few plays and misses, but they forged on regardless, frustrating and tiring the fielding side. That’s the way it’s done. As the day went on, South Africa’s drinks waiters brought on chairs for them to sit in. You’d have to agree they earned that.Now there may still be hope of escaping Perth without defeat. The pitch is still good, the cracks are far from the most dangerous ones seen in these parts – just ask your fielding coach Greg Blewett – and, as we’ve said, South Africa are a bowler down. But even if there isn’t, you should be using days like these as motivation to bat like Elgar and Duminy in the future. The rewards will be Test match victories, happier bowlers, and fewer days of exhaustion.Anyway, I’ve said enough. Go cool off, binge on a season of , and we’ll catch-up tomorrow. Look forward to seeing some resilience.

The first week of the Women’s Big Bash League has been top-quality, evenly-fought, and widely watched

By Geoff Lemon and Adam Collins13-Dec-20165:20

Collins: ‘Week 1 an outrageous success’

Perfectly promoted, perfectly poisedThere was a determined effort from administrators to give the Women’s Big Bash League the best chance to build on the gains made in season one. First, they carved out an opening weekend free of interference from the men’s international calendar. Then they threw as much of it as possible on live television for a chance to quickly capture hearts and minds. It worked a treat.The marquee game of the four shown on Network Ten’s main station was Sydney Thunder versus Melbourne Stars on Saturday prime time, which generated nearly 680,000 viewers across the country at its peak, with an average just over half that number. It also happened to be the match of the round.Generating back-page newspaper coverage in the process, with 6000 spectators coming through the gates at North Sydney Oval across the six-game carnival, the foundation for WBBL02 has been laid. The quality and evenness of the contests followed, each team finishing the opening flurry of fixtures with a win and a loss. It is a season perfectly poised.The first week of the WBBL has been top-quality, evenly-fought, and widely-watched•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesBig guns bring ammo…As with any domestic hit-out, much of the success hinges on performances of the biggest names from home and abroad, and they didn’t miss out at the first time of asking.Caribbean crusher Deandra Dottin’s unbeaten 60 in 44 balls enabled the Brisbane Heat to rally from a parlous situation to chase down the Sydney Sixers, including a blow off Ellyse Perry that nearly ended up on the moon.In both clashes between Adelaide Strikers and Melbourne Renegades, Sophie Devine saved the former’s innings with her blade at number six, the New Zealand international carrying on where she left off last season with two brisk hands of 43 and 41 not out.Deandra Dottin came into her own against the Sydney Sixers•Getty ImagesPerth Scorchers’ stacked batting came correct in their second fixture against Hobart Hurricanes, thanks to 48 from Kiwi captain Suzie Bates and a fine half-century from Australian opener Elyse Villani. Bajan sensation Hayley Matthews won the first of those rubbers for the Tasmanian side, racking up a brisk 48 at the top of the order after taking two wickets.To cap off the round it was Perry’s turn, converting her consistently brilliant performances from the international arena to the WBBL with an unbeaten 45, squaring the ledger for her Sixers against the Heat.…but small arms can still win skirmishesThat’s right, it wasn’t all about the big-name players. Emerging sorts and new arrivals put themselves firmly in the public eye, none more so than a Renegade with a new claim to all-rounder status.Sophie Molineux’s weekend got major real estate in both major Melbourne newspapers. First she bowled tidily with 0-24 before making 37 not out as her team collapsed around her chasing 117. The next day, annoyed at the loss, she grabbed the first four wickets in the rematch with Adelaide, ran out their star import Charlotte Edwards, then smashed 28 not out from 18 balls to ensure this target of 129 was run down without incident.A Molly monopoly reigns on the wicket-takers chart•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesTeammate and fellow Molly (Strano) had a decent weekend alongside, with 3 for 16 in the first game and 1 for 20 in the second, meaning the two Mollies share the top of the league’s wicket-taking table. Another level with them is Harmanpreet Kaur, hardly classifiable as ’emerging’ after her exploits with India, but a new face in this league.She delivered with immediate effect for Sydney Thunder, not just with four wickets in their second-game win over Melbourne Stars, but her brilliant batting. The target of 147 set by Stars in the first match was steep, especially from 87 for 4 with 32 balls remaining, but Kaur very nearly ran it down, her 47 from 28 including a couple of gorgeous sixes over cover. In the rematch, she belted a couple more sixes in a score of 30 not out to stroll past Melbourne’s 116.To infinity and beyondThankfully this year has no more of the strange scheduling that saw teams sometimes playing twice in a day, but they are often playing back to back. They’re also getting around the country, after visits to Drummoyne and Albury in this first few days.This coming weekend gets some more locations on the list. Adelaide Strikers and Sydney Thunder kick things off on Friday at Penrith, then back it up again on the Saturday. The other sides each start on Saturday, then rematch at the same venue on the Sunday: Perth Scorchers host Brisbane Heat at the WACA, Melbourne Stars host Sydney Sixers in the very south-east corner of their hometown down in Cranbourne, and Melbourne Renegades escort Hobart Hurricanes on a road trip to Bendigo, which will hopefully be a bonding experience and rite of passage in which both sets of players learn to put aside their differences and grow as people in the process. Directed by John Hughes.

Abhishek Nayar has contributed wholeheartedly with both bat and ball going into the Ranji Trophy final. On the eve of the match, he even fought against sickness before taking more wickets and scoring vital runs for Mumbai

Shashank Kishore in Indore13-Jan-20171:51

We could have batted smarter – Nayar

At 3am on the morning of the final, Abhishek Nayar made a frantic call to the team physio. He hadn’t slept a wink. Severe chest congestion and fever pushed him to the edge. He was injected with two doses of antibiotics to bring the fever and shivering down. At 5.30am, he was back in bed, trying to rest before the match. Finally, he gave up and joined his team on the bus as if everything was normal. It wasn’t until after play on the opening day that his team-mates found out he was running on reserves.Just the previous day, he had batted in the nets for two hours across three different stints. Then he bowled for half hour. He topped it off with a running session. Nayar says he would have it no other way, because these were “part of his pre-match preparations”, which he religiously follows, not because he should do it but because he has to set an example for the younger players to emulate.He had had an impressive run to the final; he picked up nine wickets in the quarter-final against Hyderabad, made a vital half-century that helped Mumbai take a lead and set themselves up for a win in the semi-final over Tamil Nadu. In the first innings of the final, he rallied with the tail to make a fighting 35 that helped Mumbai post 228. Then, he bowled three spells of seven, ten and seven overs. These were efforts of a man his captain, Aditya Tare, described as a “genius who will give everything for the team”.It’s this process that has earned him the title of the side’s ‘crisis man’ over the years. It was this pre-match process, he said, that gave him the power and strength that he drew to make a fighting second-innings 91 to keep Mumbai’s hopes of a 42nd Ranji Trophy alive going into the final day.It wasn’t just about the runs, but how he went about making them that stood out. He added 85 with the last two wickets, when at one stage there was a possibility of Gujarat chasing around 230. “I know I need to bat with the tail, so my personal preparation is what matters,” he said. “No matter what you talk, it’s how you prepare on the field, how you prepare for practice sessions, how you prepare mentally before a game.”After my surgery [in 2014], I have been thinking of the tough situations I may have to overcome. I wasn’t practising but I was preparing myself mentally to be in a situation where I may not be getting runs and how you prepare for it. I kept preparing myself for the worst and when you do that, the best comes out.”On Friday, Mumbai were aiming to defend “at least 300”, which didn’t look possible when the eighth wicket fell with Mumbai 226 ahead. It needed a special effort and Nayar didn’t blink. “The plan was to go big after tea. I think we have not brought out our A game in that aspect,” he said. “Had we played smarter, we could have got lot more than what we did in the end. But from that situation, everyone has done well to help the team reach where we are now.Abhishek Nayar smashed five sixes in his 91•Prakash Parsekar”Vishal [Dabholkar] and I have had couple of such partnerships earlier also and I hold him in high regards. I have batted with the tail for the past two seasons now. I knew that Vishal could bat and in the first innings I got him run-out. Otherwise we could have added more in the first innings. This time I made a conscious effort to take most of the strike and give him one or two balls, initially, to help him get the confidence. Once he got the confidence, we were discussing which bowler he was comfortable facing. I was giving him strike to only that bowler. Having someone fight it out with you gives you the motivation to take your team through.”During the partnership, Nayar also had to be mindful of Gujarat’s defensive tactics in the second session. The only man inside the ring was a wide slip fielder; the rest were patrolling boundaries just to get Nayar off strike. The second session fetched just 67 runs in 30 overs. When they came out for the final session, Gujarat were desperately trying to slow the game down – they were 14 overs short at stumps when Mumbai’s innings ended.Nayar smashed five sixes and scored 46 quick runs after tea before becoming the last man to fall. Even in pain, there was no question of simply trying to hit out, according to him. His method, he revealed later, was about which bowlers to target. “It was more about the situation. I calculate and think about which bowler I should take a chance against,” he said. “You need to understand when the bowler is going to bowl a good ball. A bowler will not ball six effort balls.”There will be one or two balls where he will try and get you out. I wait for those balls. I was trying to understand what my areas were and I was very calm today. I was a bit brash in the first innings and that is normally not me. So I wanted to make it count today since it was an important game for us.”Over the course of the last four seasons, Nayar has taken over the mantle of a mentor, who sets plans in place for the youngsters to emulate. And if they are not able to do so, he takes it upon himself to do the job. It comes from the experience of a 33-year-old, who is not after only an India call-up.”At No. 7, my role in this team is to absorb pressure and I have to accept it, because I’m the senior-most player,” Nayar said. “That is what I always try to do. I believe whenever a challenge is thrown at you, you have to accept it and only then can you try and give your best. It’s the love for the game that keeps me going. I love a challenge, I love this team. Not always do you play to get something. Sometimes you just do it because you enjoy it and love it.”Nayar swears by his favourite line from the series: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” On Friday, he actually demonstrated what that meant but he will have to show some more of that on Saturday.

In what was possibly a direct shoot-out with Parthiv Patel for the India Test wicketkeeper’s spot, Wriddhiman Saha recovered after making a duck in the first innings in typically understated fashion

Arun Venugopal in Mumbai23-Jan-2017Wriddhiman Saha doesn’t get angry, but his family would rather he did. He is on Whatsapp, but send him a text longer than three lines and you will have lost his attention. Saha doesn’t wear hipster beards and endorse the most happening products. Nor is he colourfully coarse and earthy, like a Virender Sehwag or Praveen Kumar. Saha is the bank clerk you see at the Esplanade metro station or the salesman sipping under the Gariahat flyover. He is the ultimate everyman.Saha’s career has been about waiting. He has to wait for MS Dhoni’s retirement to find a permanent place in the Test side. Once there, you think he is in for good with his credentials as the best specialist wicketkeeper in the country and a solid lower-middle-order batsman.He is injured, but his captain and coach still back him as the team’s first-choice wicket-keeper. But his replacement, Parthiv Patel, has notched up a bunch of impressive performances. Now it is more a “happy headache” for the team rather than a straightforward choice.Saha once again has to wait, this time for his injured hamstring to heal.After two months of no first-class cricket, Saha comes back to what is probably a straight shoot-out with Parthiv for the Test wicketkeeper’s spot. The immediate stakes are five home Test matches against Bangladesh and Australia. Saha scores a duck in Rest of India’s first innings and puts a catch down in Gujarat’s second innings. The chairman of selectors, MSK Prasad, is at the Brabourne Stadium to watch the game. His colleague, Sarandeep Singh, is doubling up as Saha’s coach at Rest of India.With Parthiv managing only 11 and 32 – he is also a victim of bad luck after being wrongly given out caught at short leg in Gujarat’s second innings – Saha probably has one innings to break the tie. He comes out with his team on 63 for 4, needing 379 to win, and keeps hitting the ball in the air to smash an unbeaten 123. You expect him to play down the pressure of competing with Parthiv, and he does. But there is no fist-clenching, vein-bulging celebration after the hundred.There is no statement to make.”Even during my stint with Bengal, at no point do I feel that I will play for India if I do well,” he said at the end of the fourth day’s play in Mumbai. “I keep playing freely. He [Parthiv] is also trying his best, I am also trying. Whoever is selected, will play. It’s not like I have to perform today and prove a point.”Wriddhiman Saha is open to experimentation behind the stumps too•WICB Media Photo/Athelstan BellamyWhen he was asked if he was now the undisputed first-choice wicketkeeper, there was more candour in his delightful Bengali-inflected Hindi: “I don’t know. I just do my job and [leave it for those who are supposed to decide to decide].”On the surface, Saha may seem all vanilla, but there is no monotone to his cricketing smarts. He said his decision to counterattack was as calculated as it was pre-meditated. Saha stood well out of his crease to deny what he called the “five-feet advantage” to the bowlers. “In the first-innings we had seen that our wickets had been lost with the moving ball,” he said. “Even I got out that way. I told others in my team that I will attack initially. That worked and the bowlers started bowling shorter, which reduces the chances of being leg before or bowled.”Hitting along the ground was difficult here when compared to clearing the field, which was safer – if you time the ball, it’s surely a four. Before coming here, I played two-three practice matches during Bengal’s preparation for the T20 league. That helped me as well.”When I was playing my shots, Pujara told me to keep going because we needed runs. Had we played normally, we might not have got these many runs. [It also helped that Pujara was batting at the other end].”With his keeping, too, Saha is anything but “authentic”, and is open to experimentation. Saha now takes a step forward with his left foot that gives him momentum before settling into a final position. “I keep making minor changes [this way or that way],” he said.”Whatever I am comfortable with, I stick to it. Jyaada authentic or aise hi karna hai waise hi nahin [I don’t stick to authentic or set practices].”Saha spent nearly a month at the NCA in Bangalore on rehabilitation.Most of his time there was spent on doing strengthening exercises and running even as he kept close tabs on his India colleagues’ on-field performances. Wasn’t there ever a sense of frustration at missing out?Saha smiled and said staying calm was never an issue with him. “I never get angry or frustrated. Even if you ask my family members they would say it’s a problem that I don’t get angry.”All the while, though, Saha kept in touch with his team-mates, and where else but on Whatsapp. A journalist playfully asks him if he can be added to the group, and Saha earnestly replies that he has to ask the media manager’s permission. “We do have a WhatsApp group, [it is there everywhere now],” he said. “So we do keep chatting. I was keeping in touch with the team. But generally I try and stay away from things like Whatsapp. I don’t even read any message that’s longer than three-four lines.”

Delhi Daredevils have several fast-bowling options this season but will be without JP Duminy and Quinton de Kock. Their domestic players will have to fill that void

Akshay Gopalakrishnan03-Apr-2017Likely first-choice XISam Billings, Shreyas Iyer*, Sanju Samson, Corey Anderson, Karun Nair, Rishabh Pant (wk), Chris Morris, Mohammed Shami, Amit Mishra, Zaheer Khan (capt), Kagiso RabadaReservesBatsmen – Aditya Tare, Ankit Bawne, Shashank SinghBowlers – Pat Cummins, Shahbaz Nadeem, Khaleel Ahmed, M Ashwin, Chama Milind, Navdeep Saini, Pratyush SinghAllrounders – Carlos Brathwaite, Angelo Mathews, Jayant YadavStrengthsA strong bowling attack and a good mix of match-winning allrounders. Daredevils could potentially have six full-time bowlers in the XI. Even with their best selections, they will have to bench some top players, making for strong bench strength.WeaknessesTheir batting seems depleted, and will be hit further as Shreyas Iyer recuperates from chickenpox – subsequently, he will miss at least the first week of the league. The middle order will heavily feature domestic talent, some of whom are excellent players, but it lacks firepower. Zaheer Khan will lead them again, but he has not played competitive cricket since the last IPL and at 38, is one of the oldest players in the tournament. While Corey Anderson started bowling again only recently, in short spells, in domestic matches in New Zealand, Angelo Mathews is under an injury cloud after missing the ODIs against Bangladesh.Daredevils are spoilt for choice when it comes to fast bowlers but they will have to pick their bowling attack wisely. If they are to play two spinners out of three – Amit Mishra, Jayant Yadav and Shahbaz Nadeem – they will probably have to leave out Mohammed Shami. If that does not happen, they could end up with five quicks, including allrounders, and one spinner, which could affect variety and team balance.Where they finished in 2016, and what’s different this year?Sixth out of eight teams, their best finish since making the playoffs in 2012.Imran Tahir was the most high-profile talent released by Daredevils. They spent most of their purse in shoring up an already strong overseas contingent comprising Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy and Chris Morris. They will miss de Kock, who is out injured, and Duminy, who pulled out due to personal reasons, but have ample cover with the signings of Anderson, Pat Cummins and Kagiso Rabada, who was their most expensive buy at INR 5 crores. They also acquired legspinner M Ashwin, who showed promise last year.Rishabh Pant may have to play a bigger role than he did last year•BCCIWhat have their players been up to? Rabada and Shami appear to be Daredevils’ most likely new-ball duo. The former, in his most recent international appearance, took four wickets even as his team was flattened by New Zealand in the Hamilton Test. In the preceding one-day series, he was the highest wicket-taker from either side, with an average of 17 and an economy rate of 4.22. Shami recently returned after a four-month layoff due to hamstring injury and took four wickets for Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy final against victors Tamil Nadu. With 124 wickets, Mishra is the second-highest wicket-taker in IPL history. He was impressive in the T20 internationals against England at the start of the year, taking 2 for 48 in his combined eight overs across two games. It was also his last competitive appearance. Morris’ ability to pick wickets and seamlessly clear the boundary will once again make him one of Daredevils’ many MVPs. He only shone in parts during the New Zealand ODIs and was subsequently released from the Test squad. Come IPL, though, Daredevils may find him more useful. Several of Daredevils’ local players have grabbed eyeballs over the last few months. Rishabh Pant had his breakout Ranji season that led to a T20 international debut; Shahbaz Nadeem was the tournament’s highest wicket-taker, Jayant Yadav played his part in India’s golden home season as an allrounder, and Karun Nair became only the second Test triple-centurion from India. Following their phenomenal achievements, there will be more expectations from all of them.Overseas-player availabilityAnderson will be unavailable for the final three matches as he will travel to Ireland for a triangular series also involving Bangladesh. Billings will be absent for the second half. And if Daredevils make the playoffs, they could also miss Morris and Rabada as South Africa travel to England. They are also yet to name replacements for de Kock and Duminy.Home and away record in 2016Daredevils fared almost equally well both home and away. They won four and lost three at home. The figures were the opposite away. They maintained a proud record at their original home – the Feroz Shah Kotla – where they won three of their five matches and lost one of them by one run. They then shifted base to Raipur for their final two fixtures. Thumping wins against Royal Challengers Bangalore and Gujarat Lions made for memorable highlights from their away campaign.PollTest your Delhi Daredevils knowledge*6.00GMT, April 5: The preview has been updated with the news of Shreyas Iyer’s illness.

Glenn Maxwell’s Test career seemed dead in the water after a long spell in the wilderness. But he never gave up hope of making the grade, and now has his coveted maiden century

Melinda Farrell in Ranchi17-Mar-2017Test cricket has been a journey of waiting for Glenn Maxwell. Of rare peaks separated by vast stretches of desert and wondering, broken up by the odd travelling carnival of limited-overs cacophony and luridness. Of carrying drinks and inspiring twitter LOLs, and polarising fans and experts alike.After climbing his debut peak in Hyderabad in 2013, where he contributed 21 runs and claimed four wickets, Maxwell descended to the waiting plains.A year and eight months later, another brief ascension, this time in Abu Dhabi. His contribution with the bat was slightly greater but the sight of him charging at Zulfiqar Babar only for the ball to splatter the stumps was enough for many to mark his card: Short Form Slogger. Sentenced to life in the Test wilderness, and take your big show to the carnival big tops along the way.At his lowest point, weighed down by the waiting, Maxwell feared there would be no parole, no further opportunity to prove what he so desperately wanted everyone to believe; that he was a Test player. Really and truly.The waiting stretched on. Even when the invitation arrived for India, there was no guarantee of a place at the table.So Maxwell continued to wait. A drinks waiter in Pune and Bengaluru.And even when the third peak was scaled and he was a Test player once more, Maxwell had to wait.This time it was the anxious wait of anticipation, filled with the weight of expectation; a sleep-deprived night with 82 runs on the board. Eighteen measly runs shy of the milestone that is also a mark of belonging.After waiting three years, four months and 13 days for another shot at Test cricket, the following night was probably the hardest, a build-up of tension that visibly burst when Maxwell, the short-form slogger, reached a carefully and patiently crafted century. There was no leaping or bounding or punching the sky; it was too intensely emotional for extravagant physical display. Instead, Maxwell bowed his head, clenched both his fists and then hugged Steven Smith so hard it seemed he might snap his captain in two.Glenn Maxwell hugs Steven Smith after bringing up three figures•Associated Press”It was probably more the emotions of the whole night I had as well,” Maxwell said. “You go to sleep 82 not out, you’ve just put on 150 with the skipper, I thought about it all night.”I went through about 300 to 400 different scenarios that could’ve happened the next day, most of them weren’t good. So much emotion fell out of me as soon as I got that hundred. Even thinking about it now I’ve got a frog in my throat. It’s as special a moment as I’ve had in my career and hopefully it’s not the last.””It has been a long time between drinks since 2014, my last Test. To get back in the side in the first place was something I really held close to my heart. I was so happy to be able to walk back on the field with the Australian Test team with the baggy green cap on and I was just filled with joy when I got told I had the opportunity to do that again. I didn’t want to waste the opportunity, didn’t want to make it my last Test, that’s for sure. I know how bad it felt when I played that last game in Dubai and didn’t play again. I just wanted to make it count, every opportunity I get.”Maxwell now shares with Shane Watson the distinction of being the only Australian players to have made centuries in all three formats of the game. But even though few could deny his game-breaking talents in the short form, his inclusion or exclusion in any format has caused headlines and debate.Some of this stems from his tendency towards unfiltered honesty in front of the media. His admission, during the Australian summer, of feeling frustrated at batting below Matthew Wade when playing for Victoria drew swift rebukes from his coach and team-mates. It capped off a difficult 12 months. At the start of 2016, after being named the Australian T20 Player of the Year, Maxwell hoped it would be his breakout year. Instead, he was in danger of sliding further than ever from his Test dream and he subsequently set off on a mission to change perceptions and prove his commitment.”I got pretty low, that’s for sure,” Maxwell said. “I wouldn’t say as low as some might think. I was in a place where I doubted whether I’d play Test cricket again, whether I’d have a chance to put the cap back on.”I just did everything I could, on and off the field. I trained as hard as I could. I changed things in my technique, I had numerous conversations with different people and tried to stay in the loop as much as I could and just kept on asking questions.

“I’ve always felt like red-ball cricket is my best format. To be able to show that at Test level is something I’m extremely proud of.”

“I just changed people’s perception of what they thought Glenn Maxwell was doing. Every time they [asked] ‘what’s Maxy doing?’, well, we know he has been training, we know he has been in the gym, or we know he has been over here playing golf. It doesn’t matter. I was always in contact with them and just having those conversations made people lose those perceptions a little bit. You gained a bit of trust off people as well. For them to have that trust in me, it probably led to them giving me this opportunity.”When I got told I was playing this Test, there was a lot of emotion in that as well. I just remember going home that night and just being so excited to put on the cap the next day.”I’ve spoken a lot about red-ball cricket in a lot of interviews that I’ve done, I’ve spoken at length about how I’ve always felt like red-ball cricket is my best format. To be able to show that at Test level is something I’m extremely proud of. And, yeah, I can finally almost show people with a result instead of just talking.”Now Maxwell has further challenged perceptions about his temperament. It wasn’t just the number of runs he made in Ranchi, it was the maturity and restraint with which they were compiled. The absence of risk and extravagance, the calculated glimpses of his destructive power in lofted drives, beautifully executed, and the patient defence in playing out a Jadeja maiden on 99.Of course, it wouldn’t be Maxwell without at least one moment of anxious inhaling; that came when he slashed the ball just wide of gully to seal the century. But that was the exception: conservatism was the rule.”Obviously yesterday I came in at a time when it was a bit of a tricky situation,” Maxwell said. “I think we were 4 for 140 and luckily I had Steve at the other end who is quite experienced. I worked really well with him, the ball was reverse-swinging and I tried to play as straight as I could and keep my pads out of the way. The plan was pretty simple to keep doing that for as long as possible and try to keep the Indian team out on their feet for as long as possible.”We were lucky, they bowled a few loose balls to start off the day. We were able to score quite freely. It was unfortunate when I did [get out] because we could have made it a 200-250 partnership that could have really driven the game a long way forward for us.”Glenn Maxwell’s discipline was a feature of his innings•Associated PressIt’s a rare Maxwell innings that isn’t peppered with sweeps, reverse sweeps and a plethora of unorthodox shots, but his Ranchi century was an exhibition of hitting in the “V”, although that wasn’t necessarily the plan Maxwell took to the crease.”I was planning on sweeping. I was just waiting for the line of delivery at certain stages. And they bowled quite straight to me, so I just never really got the option. Then later in the day, Ashwin bowled one that I tried to reverse.”Instead of trying to hit it, I tried to paddle it. So I was only trying to get a couple of runs and move a fielder there. But Steve came down and said ‘look, you’ve been hitting the ball pretty well straight, so don’t worry about it’. So I put that in the bin.”It was, perhaps, fitting that Maxwell’s maiden century arrived with Smith at the other end. When Maxwell made his Test debut in Hyderabad, it was Smith carrying the drinks and trying to convince his many detractors that he was more than a legspinner who batted ugly. He chartered a path Maxwell keenly wishes to follow.”He probably lifts the team to another level because he makes the game look so easy as well,” Maxwell said. “We watch him play and everyone’s in awe of the way he goes about it, he does it in such a different, unique way and he owns that. He doesn’t care what people say about his technique. He knows he has his technique doubters, but when the bloke’s got 19 Test tons and averages over 60, I don’t think you can knock it too much.”As much as he would like to emulate Smith, Maxwell feels he can’t do what his captain has done in letting go of his now rarely used spin bowling to become a specialist batsman. If he is to make the No. 6 position his own, he needs to have more than one string to his bow and it will be a challenge to cement the role as a spinning allrounder when playing in Australian conditions, where pace is king. Still, if Maxwell has a successful tour here and proves his extravagant talents are truly suited to the Test arena, like those of Smith and Warner before him, he could be a formidable weapon for Australia as an established fixture in the side.”I can only hope so,” Maxwell said. “I can’t really answer that right now. Hopefully I can continue to be consistent. That’s always been the biggest thing the coaches and selectors have wanted, consistency. If I can keep producing long innings and bat long periods of time, building partnerships with other players, that’s going to go a long way to firstly holding my spot and secondly winning games for Australia.”

His star may have waned with England but Jade Dernbach is still a major part of the constellation at Surrey

Alan Gardner30-Jun-2017Jade Winston Dernbach: not a name that’s easy to forget, much like its tattooed, coiffed owner. But that seems to be what England – and, we need to admit this, most of the rest of us – have done.Exempted from that, of course, are Surrey and the club’s supporters, who know just how important Dernbach is to their white-ball success. Dernbach will lead the line with the ball for the fourth time in a Lord’s final when Surrey take on Nottinghamshire to decide this year’s Royal London Cup on Saturday – a contest he describes as a “mouth-watering proposition” – hoping to provide another reminder of the skill-set that first brought him to international recognition.It is three years since Dernbach was last seen in an England shirt, a solar-red smear across the Chittagong night sky after he ran into AB de Villiers on a mission at the 2014 World T20. His involvement with the one-day side was curtailed even before then, after an exhilarating but ultimately unfulfilled fling with his arsenal of sharp outswing and back-of-the-hand slower balls (plus the odd full toss).Now 31, and having suffered a couple of seasons disrupted by injury, Dernbach seems to have passed out of England’s orbit, a comet that flared brightly but briefly. But he has not given up hope of further involvement with a young, dynamic England one-day side, full of confidence in their own abilities, yet still in search of a key component or two after their Champions Trophy disappointment.The showpiece one-day final, now scheduled so that it will be played in the summer, offers a chance for Dernbach to make his case once again. Surrey have missed out on the Royal London Cup two years in succession – in 2015, Dernbach became only the third man to take a hat-trick in a Lord’s final, yet his 6 for 35 came in defeat – and now find themselves up against a Nottinghamshire batting line-up packed with current and former internationals.

“The current England regime is great for all players in terms of the confidence the management are giving them”

Surrey have a few big names themselves, including Kumar Sangakkara in regal form, and will hope that an attack led by Dernbach, Ravi Rampaul and the Curran brothers – with 56 wickets among them in the competition this season – can help make it third time lucky at Lord’s.”If you just were to see their team on paper it would suggest they are going to be a stern test, the amount of international players they have got at their disposal,” Dernbach says. “But from an individual point of view, I certainly look forward to that sort of challenge. You want to test yourself against the best and, if you want to call yourself the champions, you have to beat the best.”I have been lucky enough to play international cricket in the past and these are the sorts of contests which you come up against week in week out. For someone like myself, who’s trying to get back into the international set-up, it’s great to come up against international-class bats and prove how good we really are.”Dernbach’s numbers on paper need little fluffing. In four seasons since the one-day cup reverted to 50 overs – the better to reflect international cricket – Dernbach has taken 49 wickets from 23 matches; only Jeetan Patel (61 from 35) and Matt Coles (57 from 31) have exceeded him. Over the last ten years, in domestic List A competition, nobody can match Dernbach’s tally of 158 at 22.69.Body art, Jade Dernbach style•Getty ImagesInterestingly, among active players, only Samit Patel, an opponent on Saturday and another England discard with points to prove, comes close.”I certainly hope to play for England again,” Dernbach says. “I will play cricket as long as I think I can achieve that goal, that’s really big for me. I think the current regime is great for all players, in terms of the confidence the management are giving them, the amount of time they’re allowing them to do the roles asked of them, and it is great there’s an emphasis now on white-ball cricket.”I would love the opportunity to come back. I think my stats are certainly up there and have been for a while now. I want to continue to do that and winning a trophy on Saturday won’t do me any harm.”The numbers, it has to be said, also have Dernbach down as one of the most expensive bowlers to play both one-day and T20 international cricket. But, having come in during a period of upheaval in ODI regulations that amplified already rising scoring rates, Dernbach believes the way people assess his role – chiefly, bowling early on and at the death – has evolved.He also feels there has been a “change of mindset” surrounding England’s limited-overs cricket under Trevor Bayliss and Eoin Morgan. Perhaps the revived international careers of Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett – wayward talents now older and wiser – offers further hope for the Redemption of Jade?”I think there’s been a shift in the way in which we think about one-day cricket now, which certainly benefits someone like me,” he says. “I think people now understand bowling is a very difficult task and sometimes it’s not necessarily the runs you go for, it’s how have you affected a fixture in order to win the game. So I think all that fits in nicely with the way I bowl, it’s a case now of trying to force my way into what is currently a very successful group for England. But you can never say never, can you? So I just keep putting in the performances and hope that phone call comes.

“People see the celebrations or how much it means to me when I’m playing but they don’t understand that’s still a fragile balance”

“I see myself as someone who can run in and swing the new ball, as well as being a kind of banker come the end of the innings. There is certainly a place for that in any one-day side. My thought process was, if I can stack up season upon season of putting it together, getting through to finals, hopefully winning trophies, then that would say it enough. But I guess that hasn’t been the case to date, so I have to keep bashing down the door.”There is more than a hint of Dernbach’s skill, chutzpah and showmanship (as well as a South African birthplace) in his Surrey team-mate Tom Curran, who made an impressive start to his England career on T20 debut last week. As his appearance on the Freelance CC podcast last year revealed, Dernbach is a far more mature and thoughtful personality than is immediately apparent and he takes great pride in the mentor role he plays at Surrey to Tom and his younger brother Sam.If Dernbach’s England time has passed, and the Currans are the future, then he will surely have valuable lessons to bestow – not least to believe in yourself, regardless of criticism. Whatever his imperfections as a bowler, there is no doubt Dernbach wears his heart on his tattooed sleeve.”Initially, when I first got dropped by England, it took me a long time to get back on track, because it was such a knock to the confidence and because I’m such a confidence bowler. People see the celebrations or how much it means to me when I’m playing but they don’t understand that’s still a fragile balance, everybody has their own limits and people need to be in certain zones to perform well and for me, the jobs I was doing, I had to be confident doing those jobs to be good.”I couldn’t do it any other way, I love playing cricket, I love taking wickets. When I celebrate, some people can take it as ‘Oh, it’s just this arrogant bloke running around with tattoos’, but that’s not the case, it’s someone who’s just desperately passionate to do well all the time for my team. People portray that in different ways and people misunderstand me, so be it – everybody is entitled to their opinions. For me, it’s a case of being enthusiastic and passionate for my team to do well.”Right now, that means trying to emulate Surrey’s CB40 success in 2011, when Dernbach claimed 4 for 30 in the final. That was also the summer he broke through with England – in case you’d forgotten.

When Kemar Roach first played Test cricket he looked a world-beater, but while the years have slowed him down he can still trouble the best

Jarrod Kimber at Headingley25-Aug-2017The delivery is 80.3 miles per hour, and Chris Woakes, England’s No. 9, pulls it like he’s facing a middle-aged England pro. It flies to the boundary. Next ball has some extra effort, it tails away late, and it takes the edge, but bounces before it reaches slip.Kemar Roach puts his hands on his hips and looks towards nowhere; it’s not the first time he’s done that this series, or over the last few years. Like an embittered office worker who is staring out the window after another workplace disappointment.There was a time when everything looked so effortless for Roach. From the moment he arrived in Tests he seemed destined for a great career. He was fast, and not inconsistently fast, not showy fast, but continually properly fast, and easy fast.His run up was like poetry; there was no jerkiness, he wasn’t trying too hard, it was just an ever increasing jog into the crease finishing with 90 miles an hour (145kph) – and beyond – deliveries. He came close to the stumps, his wrist looked great, it was a teen dream action. Big chain flapping, top speed, and also sideways movement.He looked like a 400 Test wicket player.And he bowled like he believed it. This was a man who took on Ricky Ponting with the short ball, and won. Not through a catch on the boundary, or a pull shot smashed to midwicket, Kemar Roach sent Ricky Ponting off the field, and into a hospital, after he slammed him on the arm. Ponting doesn’t do pain, to even admit that he was hurt was a huge thing, but to be retired hurt to go to a hospital, that’s massive.From the start of his career until April 20, 2014, the dreamlike Roach took 85 wickets at 27. When the West Indies could keep him on the field – not often enough – he looked like a star. He took a ten-wicket haul against Australia at home, and worried more than a few batsmen with pace or movement, usually both. He was, as you would expect of a young quick with a fragile body, a bit up and down, but the talent was stupefyingly obvious, and a bowling average in Tests of 27 with almost a 100 wickets in this era is remarkable.On the 20th of April 2014 this happened:”Roach, 25, crashed his BMW sedan after losing control due to slippery road conditions at traffic lights near Wanstead Drive, just outside Bridgetown. According to local reports, the car flipped several times before landing in the 3Ws Park, approximately half a mile from the 3Ws Oval.Two wheels of the vehicle were broken off and the airbags deployed reports stated. Roach sustained a head wound but appeared coherent as he was taken by ambulance from the scene. Roach took to Twitter a few hours later after the accident to reveal to follows that he was recovering and in good health. “Sorry To Scare My Friends, Family And Fans But I’m Straight! Thanks For The Love! #BlessUp.”.

Roach was out at cover point; bowlers only ever go that far to pick up a ball when they have a spread field or to celebrate a wicket, Roach was doing neither, he could not believe another chance had gone down, he’s staring at nothing, fuming at everything

Since the crash he’s taken 39 wickets at 36, and only one five-wicket haul.It’s not as simple to just say the crash has changed him, but the Kemar Roach before the crash is not much like the one after it.For two of his wickets this series, Roach has been comically wide of the crease, Colin Croft wide. The ball to Mark Stoneman at Edgbaston – which was so obscene it should be rated 18 – was delivered from very wide. And again today, the ball to Tom Westley was from wide on the crease, probably wider still, and it not only came in on the angle, but swung in further as well.If you look at the ball from 2009 when Roach smashing Ponting on the elbow, you’ll also see something completely different; his release was completely normal. Bowlers often play with the crease, and Roach certainly does that, he bowls from wide, or very wide. But that’s not what he was doing to Ponting, it wasn’t a surprise ball from close to the stumps, at that stage of his career he bowled close to the wicket all the time. And now he bowls wide of the crease all the time.CricViz’s data over the last few years suggests he has gradually gone 30cm wider on the crease, although that data was still in its infancy when he started. The gap between where he bowls now and where he was bowling in 2009 looks closer to 60cm than 30. Roach said after the day’s play to Sky that it was a “technical problem” he was trying to work on, and was partly brought on by all the injuries he’s had.That’s not the only change, the other one is partly from the accident, and partly from being an older bowler – Roach is no longer quick. His average speed on the opening day at Headingley was 83mph (133kph), his top speed was 85. It’s not slow, but it’s not busting-Ricky-Ponting’s-arm fast.So instead of being a 90 mile-an-hour bowler from close to the stumps who can beat you with pace or movement, he’s now an 83mph guy from wide of the wicket with the occasional magic ball.That doesn’t mean he’s finished, he was by far the best bowler at Edgbaston, and while that’s not saying much, with support from the other end he could have troubled England. Here, Roach got two of the three early West Indies wickets, and put them completely on top with a draining nine-over opening spell.Kemar Roach did not have everything go his way•Getty ImagesWhen he came back for his second spell, with Root gone, it was all about getting Ben Stokes.He started with a full, wide one that had plenty of noise as it went through to the keeper, but was ultimately called not out. Stokes may have hit it, but the West Indies didn’t review, and even if they had, the evidence to overturn was probably not there.Then Roach angled one in from around the wicket – he’s looked extraordinary coming round the wicket in this series – it moved slightly and bounced, all Stokes could do was edge it straight to second slip, who dropped it.Then Stokes hit a couple of boundaries, so Jason Holder started one over by moving third slip into covers to slow him down. This time Stokes was driving, edging and the ball went straight through the newly vacant third slip area. Holder brought the slip back in, and Stokes smashed one through the newly vacant cover gap.It was a great spell that made Stokes struggle, and it read in the scorebook 5-0-33-0.It wasn’t even the Stokes moment that bothered him the most.Roach was out at cover point; bowlers only ever go that far to pick up a ball when they have a spread field or to celebrate a wicket, Roach was doing neither, he could not believe another chance had gone down, he’s staring at nothing, fuming at everything.This one was when he was bowling to Stokes again late in the day, he’d already taken Moeen Ali just as that partnership was getting dangerous. The wicket of Stokes late in the day was never going to be as pivotal as it would have been earlier, but it could end England’s innings.Stokes had moved onto 98. But Roach keeps the pressure on him and Stokes hits the ball straight to mid-on. Shannon Gabriel couldn’t ask for a much simpler chance, and he couldn’t make a much bigger mess than this.The next over Gabriel takes the wicket of Stokes, and then another, the whole team come in excitedly as England are going to be bowled out relatively cheaply. Roach is at fine leg. He slowly jogs in, he’s in no hurry to celebrate, when he finally arrives he gives Gabriel a somewhat emotionless high five.A few balls later Woakes edges a Roach ball, it flies straight into the gloves of Shane Dowrich, and Roach stands mid-pitch pumping his fist. The release is intense and long; he now looks like a person who has received great news on a bad day.He is no longer the teen dream; he’s now the elder statesman of the side. When West Indies start to leave the field, it is Roach who goes over to each player to shake their hands, give a high five, and slap them on the back.Roach is not the exceptional talent he once was, he’s been wearied by time and life, but England are out for 258. The young man with effortless speed that sent legends to hospital no longer exists. The man who has replaced him looks exhausted, almost seems to be limping and is a bit hunched over, but he leaves the field with four wickets, and probably a few more thoughts of what could have been.