Stats highlight from SuperSport Park, where West Indies were asked to follow-on yet again on day three

Shiva Jayaraman19-Dec-201413 Number of times West Indies have been asked to follow-on in Tests since 2000. This now equals the most such instances for a team in this period. Bangladesh have also been asked to follow-on 13 times since their admission into Test cricket in 2000.2 Number of times West Indies have been asked to follow-on by South Africa in Tests including this match. The other instance incidentally came in the previous match between the teams at this venue, in 2004, when West Indies trailed the hosts by 301 runs at the end of the second innings.72 Runs added by West Indies’ opening partnership in their first innings, the highest any overseas opening pair has added in the first innings in South Africa in 14 Tests. The last time an opening stand got higher runs was when Phillip Hughes and Shane Watson added 174 runs in Johannesburg in 2010.613 Deliveries faced by Shivnarine Chanderpaul before being finally dismissed for the first time in his last-four innings in Tests. He had scored 291 runs in these four innings before getting out to Vernon Philander in West Indies’ first innings.15 Number of innings between the last time Philander took four wickets in an innings and his latest haul. Before this, he had taken 4 for 61 against India in the first innings of the Johannesburg Test last year. Since then, in 15 innings before this one, Philander had taken just 16 wickets at an average of 47.3 and a strike rate of 93.5. In contrast, till the first innings of the Johannesburg Test, he had taken 99 wickets at an average of 17.41 and a strike rate of 38.1. His first 36 innings had produced 13 hauls of four or more wickets.

PeriodWktsAveSR4+ wktsFirst 36 innings9917.4138.0913Next 15 innings1647.3193.500This Test*55.8021.601* Numbers updated till the end of the third day’s play0 Number of times in 14 innings before this Test that Dale Steyn had gone wicketless for 10 or more overs at this venue. Before this Test, Steyn had taken 42 wickets at this venue at a staggering average of 18.40 and a strike rate of 32.0.0 Number of times in Test history that the top-four batsmen in an innings had scored between 30 and 35 before this game. West Indies’ first innings in this Test was the first time this happened.

A one-sided game between West Indies and Pakistan did not take anything away from the great atmosphere at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch

Marc Swain-Rogatski22-Feb-2015Choice of game:
When I purchased tickets to the World Cup last year, my friends and I wanted to support not only the New Zealand team, but the tournament, cricket and Christchurch city. So we bought tickets to all the Hagley Oval matches. On form, I thought Pakistan would win comfortably.Team supported:
I was neutral with my support but if I had to lean one way it would have been with West Indies, as they were the underdogs.Key performer:
Andre Russell’s swashbuckling 42 from 13 to finish the West Indies innings pushed the tempo firmly in their favour, and their opening bowlers capitalised with Russell himself taking 3-33.One thing I’d have changed about this game:

I, along with many at the stadium, was really looking forward to seeing Chris Gayle tee off, but it wasn’t to be.Wow moment:
I had never seen a team in the position of 1 for 4 before, and with West Indies bowling with their tails up, it looked like Pakistan would be rolled for a record low total.Close encounter:
A large Pakistan contingent cheered any fielder manning the boundary. Mohammad Irfan took his cap off and waved to the fans which went down well.Shot of the day:
Andre Russell’s shot which landed on the roof of the Hagley Pavilion, an almighty blow!Unlucky player of the day:
Darren Bravo didn’t have the happiest day at the office – after diving to make his crease taking a run, he copped a sickening blow to the head from the fielder attempting a run-out. Not long after, he took a run and pulled up short with what looked like a hamstring problem and had to leave the field on a cart. To add salt to the wound, he was left on 49. Luckily, the rest of his team-mates finished the job and made it a brilliant day for the team.Crowd meter:
A great turnout from the Christchurch public, along with fanatic fans for both teams. The Pakistani fans outnumbered the West Indies group, with green-clad supporters waving green and white flags with pride around the stadium. A Caribbean lady several rows back had the whole stand laughing and cheering her beloved boys along with her, screaming for the team at the top of her voice and running in the aisles waving her flag. The weather was a lot warmer than game one, and everyone in the crowd showed up to party and enjoy the match, which provided an excellent atmosphere.Fancy-dress index:
Plenty of Pakistani supporters clad head to toe in green were seen wandering the grass banks. One man chose to dress as Superman and ran along the embankment in the latter half of the game. Another chose this fixture as the destination for his stag party, with his friends dressing him up in a red dress, a red cardigan with STAG emblazoned on the back, red knee-high socks and a cowboy hat – or perhaps it was his choice.Entertainment:
The song interludes between plays in the game were quite amusing – by Creed for wide balls, and by Incubus for the third-umpire decisions.Accessories:
Sandwiches, a wide-brimmed cricket hat, sunglasses, sunscreen and the all-important orange Tui Catch-a-million t-shirt.Overall:
8/10. Great weather, great atmosphere, some excellent cricket from West Indies, but it ended up being a one-sided contest.

Plays of the day from the second ODI of the Carlton Mid Tri-Series, between Australia and India in Melbourne

Sidharth Monga at the MCG18-Jan-2015The sixRohit Sharma was on 49 in the 23rd over of the Indian innings when he tried to push and take a single that wasn’t. Australia sensed some edginess, and a wide slip came in. Gully moved in closer. Rohit blocked the next ball. The next ball he opened the face to, and found gully. Australian fielders kept moving in closer to see if they could make something of what looked like Rohit’s anxiety to get to 50. To the fourth ball of this over, Rohit danced down and swung James Faulkner clean over mid-on for a six 15 rows into the crowd. As you were, gentlemen.The overthrowLater in the over, Rohit pushed a ball straight to mid-off, wandered down a little to see if there could be a single, and then went back into the crease knowing there wasn’t any. David Warner still threw at the striker’s end as is the fashion nowadays. Rohit planted his bat in the crease and stood. The ball passed him by, but Brad Haddin had moved a bit far from the ball, presumably because his view was obstructed. Haddin couldn’t collect it, and India took the overthrow because it appeared that the ball hadn’t touched Rohit at all. Not that they are obliged to not take it even if the throw had touched Rohit. At any rate, much indignation from Australia ensued. Cue angry posturing and finger wagging. Umpires had to come in. What a yawn this is, between these two teams.The enemiesIn the ninth over of the chase, India placed Suresh Raina at short cover. On cue Bhuvneshwar Kumar bowled short and wide. Aaron Finch cut it hard straight at Raina, who managed to get a hand to it and take the sting out of the shot. Even as he was coming up after the dive, though, he had Akshar Patel from behind him whizzing a throw past his ear. First put him in the firing line, and then go after him from behind too. With friends like these…The deflectionIt was a quiet little run-out appeal that the third umpire didn’t even need a second look of, but it was also MS Dhoni at his innovative best. In the 24th over of the chase, Steven Smith looked for a sharp single to get off the mark. The return from short fine leg was a half-volley and was going to miss the stumps. Dhoni had the stumps behind him, and he knew where the stumps were. He knew it was not going to hit. He got behind the half-volley, opened the face of his hand, and deflected it onto the stumps.

The spotlight has been on the batting position of Rohit Sharma and surprise moves such as Harbhajan Singh’s promotion, but it is their bowling that has consistently hurt Mumbai Indians so far this season

Abhishek Purohit in Mumbai17-Apr-2015Mumbai Indians have been up to their usual ways in the early part of this IPL season. Notoriously slow starters, they have lost their first four games. Their tendency to shunt batsmen up and down the order has also manifested itself.They have already deployed three opening batting combinations in those four games, although they have also been forced on that front to some extent by Aaron Finch’s injury. Two failures for Rohit Sharma as opener have meant he dropped down to No. 4 for the next two games. Harbhajan Singh’s six sixes at No. 8 against Kings XI Punjab pushed him up to No. 5 against Chennai Super Kings, ahead of Kieron Pollard and Ambati Rayudu.Not only have they been slow starters overall again, they have also batted slowly in the first half of their innings. They were 59 for 6 against Kings XI in the 14th over, 45 for 3 against Rajasthan Royals in the 10th over, and 57 for 4 against Super Kings in the 10th over.The spotlight has been on the batting position of Rohit and surprise moves such as Harbhajan’s promotion, but it is their bowling that has consistently hurt Mumbai Indians so far this season. They must have felt it most acutely when Dwayne Smith and Brendon McCullum were taking them apart at Wankhede Stadium, but even in previous matches, their bowlers have done little of note.At 9.36 runs an over, theirs has been the most expensive attack (after 12 games). They have taken 15 wickets in four matches – not even four per game. Their opponents on Friday night, Super Kings, have taken 21 in three.On a night where 372 runs came in 36.4 overs, the Man of the Match was a fast bowler: Ashish Nehra, for his haul of 3 for 23. As Nehra said, T20 is a batsman’s game, but bowlers will win you matches if they bowl good lines and lengths and keep taking wickets. If they can strike early, that can set the tone for the rest of the match.The Mumbai Indians bowlers have just not been able to create pressure in any match. If someone occasionally has, it eventually gets frittered away at the other end. Kolkata Knight Riders chased 169 against them in 18.3 overs. Royals chased 165 in 19.1 overs. Both sides lost only three wickets each. Kings XI racked up 177 for 5 batting first. Super Kings hunted down 184 in 16.4 overs only four down.Despite an arsenal of big stars and a boatload of coaching resources, Mumbai Indians have struggled to come up with a winning formula in 2015•BCCIThe Mumbai Indians attack is led by the world’s leading wicket-taker in T20s. Lasith Malinga has taken four wickets this season at nearly nine runs an over, compared to a career economy-rate of 6.66. The yorkers are being attempted but they are often ending up as full tosses. The bouncer does not have the old surprise and bite. There have been too many easy offerings on the pads.Royals needed 39 from the last four overs, two of them to be bowled by Malinga. Not long ago, if you managed not to lose a wicket to Malinga in such a scenario, you had done well. If you also managed to score at a run a ball, you had done really well. Against Royals, Malinga was taken for 26 in those two overs, both wicketless. Tonight, he went for 33 in his first two. Seeing your best bowler carted around the park can be demoralizing for the rest of the attack.If not Malinga, Mumbai Indians look up to Harbhajan. But for his 2 for 20, Kings XI could well have gone past 200. But even the senior offspinner has been successfully targeted in the two other games he has played.While Pawan Suyal and Jagadeesha Suchith have showed potential, their inexperience has not helped. Jasprit Bumrah and Pragyan Ojha have been benched after only one expensive spell each. Corey Anderson and Pollard have barely been used.So after their first four games, Mumbai Indians’ most economical bowler has been Vinay Kumar, who has taken all of one wicket and gone for nearly eight an over.As Rohit indicated after the Super Kings defeat, Mumbai Indians could continue to chop and change, especially with the batting order, till they start winning a few matches. They are desperate, and that is what desperate sides do. But it might amount to little as long as their bowlers, especially the best ones, don’t start firing.

ESPNcricinfo picks out the eye-catching statistics ahead of England v Bangladesh

Bishen Jeswant08-Mar-201513-2 England’s win-loss record against Bangladesh in ODIs. But England have lost two of their last three ODIs against Bangladesh. The last meeting was in the 2011 World Cup. Bangladesh won that encounter by two wickets.6.2 Economy rate of England’s bowlers at this World Cup, the poorest for any Test nation and the second-poorest for any team at this tournament. Only Ireland’s bowlers have a poorer economy rate (6.53). Also, the average (44.9) and strike rate (43.4) for England’s bowlers are the worst for any top-eight team.10 Number of balls per boundary for England during this World Cup, the second-worst ratio for any Test nation. The only team to score boundaries at a lesser rate are Pakistan, who have only hit a boundary every 12 balls during this World Cup.0.94 England’s win-loss ratio since the 1996 World Cup, the poorest for any top-eight team. England have 17 wins and 18 losses in World Cup games during this period. West Indies are the only other team with more loses than wins in this period. They have 18 wins and 19 losses.5 Number of 50-plus partnerships for England in this World Cup, the fewest for any team. Ireland have ten such partnerships, the most for any team.9.1 England’s economy rate when bowling in the last ten overs of an innings during this World Cup, the second-worst for any top-eight team after West Indies (9.9). Over the last 10 years, England have been conceding about 7.3 runs per over during this stage of an ODI innings, the worst for any team.8 Number of matches lost by England in their last 10 completed matches at the Adelaide Oval, winning only two. Bangladesh on the other hand have never played an ODI at this venue.7.63 Bangladesh’s run-rate in the last ten overs of an ODI innings since 2013. This is better than the run-rate of teams like Sri Lanka (7.58), England (7.57) and Pakistan (7.25).

Taking guard outside his leg stump has helped return Steven Smith to the form he has displayed earlier in the summer

Daniel Brettig in Sydney24-Mar-2015Popular perception would have it that Steven Smith has been batting like a dream all summer. Earlier this week a Sydney newspaper published a breathless piece about how he was averaging close to 93 across Test and ODI formats this season, with comparisons made to Sir Donald Bradman. Yet struggles to maintain rhythm and bat swing are never far away.Paradoxically, the sense of being in the best of form can actually sow the seeds of losing it as confidence leads corners to be cut and adjustments no longer made. So it was for Smith during the ODIs that followed the India Tests: his trigger movement across the stump began to look more exaggerated than usual, exposing the leg stump.It was struck by Umesh Yadav in a World Cup warm-up match against India, and there were to be other low scores against England at the MCG and New Zealand at Eden Park. But the combination of time in the nets – no tournament affords a batsman more chances to work on his technique between games than this bulbous World Cup format – and a move up to No. 3 in the batting order helped Smith to find valuable clarity.The self-analysis brought a solution that has worked nicely in ensuing matches, as Smith has compiled three successive half centuries at first-drop. It is also a solution that has brought slightly puzzled looks from his team-mates: Smith is now taking guard not on leg stump, but outside it.”I have moved my guard a little bit to leg so I am not moving quite as far as across and I feel I am back to where I want to be,” Smith said. “I ask for leg stump and then I just pull it this way a little bit, so there is a mark in the middle of nowhere out there. It has fooled a few people, Pup [Michael Clarke] came out against Sri Lanka and said ‘what’s going on out there?'”I watched a little bit of footage of my batting in the summer in the Tests and I was actually starting to go a little further outside leg and for some reason I forgot about it and I went back to leg stump and started moving across a little bit too far. I’ve got it back to where I want it now and it really feels good.”I didn’t feel out of form. I just felt like I was out of sync a little bit with a few of my movements. But that’s back, my swing’s back where I want it to be, so hopefully I can continue crunching India around the park. I picked that up myself – I watched a bit of footage and saw where I was and got it back to where I want it.”Smith’s clear ownership of his game has been one of the features of his emergence as Australia’s most bankable batsman. The ability to self-correct is vital in an age of constant travel and multiple teams, not least because as he was figuring a way to resume the scoring of earlier in the summer, the selectors and the captain Michael Clarke were sizing him up for No. 3.”I have always said I enjoy batting at three and with Pup at four we just like to take our time and knock the ball around,” Smith said. “That will work well against India with their spinners bowling quite a few overs in the middle, we can knock them around and give our power hitters the last 15 overs, ideally, to come in and do what they did against Sri Lanka, I think that is our blueprint to ideally perform.”One thing Smith’s newfound position has done is push him towards the sharpest of mindsets, given that at No. 3 a batsman can find himself at the crease anywhere from the first over to the 30th. He admitted that as runs began to pile up this season it was easy to lapse into a mindset that every new innings is simply the resumption of the previous one, a sense of comfort aiding strokeplay but also allowing bowlers more of a chance.”I think when you’re on those sorts of runs you just need to think as little as possible and just try and go out and do the same thing over and over again,” Smith said. “Each time you go out there, I think, when you’re hitting the ball well you can kind of get stuck thinking you’re out there on 30 or whatever before you’ve started. For me it’s about starting my innings again the way I’ve started every time and trying to build an innings. After you get through the first 20 balls, things get a lot easier from there.”How easy they will get against India remains to be seen, and Smith acknowledged Australia will be facing a different combination to the one that could not beat them once – nor get especially close to doing so – in six encounters across the Test and limited-overs series. Nonetheless, he thinks there will still be some residue from those defeats, just as his own blistering form will count for something.”I think we’ll have a little edge over them with a few scars from the matches throughout the summer, they didn’t beat us once,” he said. “So I think that’s going to be playing on their mind a little bit. They’ve been here for a long time now, they’ve been able to get accustomed to the conditions, the bounce we’ve got here compared to back in India.”They have played some really good cricket throughout this World Cup, for us we have to be at the top of our game if we are going to beat them. They have got some good performers, some guys who are playing really well, but for us as a batting group if we can bat deep and get a big total batting first or second we will get over the line.”

Zimbabwe and Ireland are 10th and 11th in the ODI rankings but they have not played each other that often. Their clash in Hobart will have significant impact on their World Cup campaigns

Brydon Coverdale in Hobart06-Mar-2015Eight years ago this month, Ireland became world cricket’s good news story. In their first World Cup, they beat Pakistan and qualified for the Super Eights in the Caribbean, going on to add victory against Bangladesh later in the tournament. It was a remarkable emergence for a side that had played its first ODI just a year before. But really, it all began against Zimbabwe at Sabina Park.William Porterfield, now Ireland’s captain, was out in the first over of his nation’s World Cup debut, but Jeremy Bray scored a century and Zimbabwe were set a target of 222. At 203 for 5, Zimbabwe seemed set for victory against the newest so-called minnow. Then Brendan Taylor was run out off a deflection from the bowler’s hand, Zimbabwe collapsed, and the match was tied.”I remember that very well,” Taylor said. “I remember the last ball, Stu Matsikenyeri was on 70-odd not out and he got a low full toss and he missed it. I’m sure he’s kicking himself. We all kicked ourselves. There was a chance for Ireland to win and there was a chance for us to win.”Now, Zimbabwe and Ireland are about to meet in a World Cup for the first time since that memorable encounter. Two days after that tie, Ireland enjoyed their St Patrick’s Day victory over Pakistan; Zimbabwe know what it’s like to come up against Ireland on the national day, having lost to them in a tight World T20 game in Bangladesh on March 17 last year.”We’re not taking them lightly – they’re a quality side when they’re going good guns,” Taylor, Zimbabwe’s stand-in captain in the absence of the injured Elton Chigumbura, said. “Fortunately it’s not St Patrick’s Day as well.”When Hobart residents glanced at their city’s fixtures when the World Cup schedule was released, they might have viewed the Ireland-Zimbabwe clash as an unimportant match. Far from it. Zimbabwe have to win to keep their tournament alive; if Ireland win they have a decent chance of progressing, notwithstanding the hit to their net run-rate from their heavy loss to South Africa.”I don’t even know our run-rate at the minute,” Porterfield said. “Everything is in our hands in terms of wins. Tomorrow is no different. We’ve gone into every game looking for those two points, and we’re two from three. We’re going into tomorrow looking to make that three from four.”Ireland have one more win than Zimbabwe and one extra game in hand, meaning the pressure on the Zimbabweans might be ramped up that little bit more. It is a case of ICC Full Member versus Associate, but the gap between the sides does not appear significant. Remarkably, given they are the 10th and 11th ranked sides, they have not met in an ODI for four and a half years.”We haven’t played them a heck of a lot,” Porterfield said. “The last series we played may’ve been 2010. We’ve come up against them in a couple of games, warm-up games for competitions … but yeah, if you look at the tables you’d suggest we’d be quite close together.”Ireland have the advantage of a steady line-up, whereas Zimbabwe have been forced to alter their balance due to the injury to Chigumbura. Regis Chakabva has been included as the replacement for Chigumbura, and Taylor said the batting needed to lift if Zimbabwe were to post the convincing win they believed was possible to keep them in the tournament.”We’ve been playing some good cricket, 80% of the games we’ve been playing winning cricket and then probably just letting it slip in that other 20%,” Taylor said. “If we can narrow that gap a little bit, we’re going to be a lot more consistent and get over the line a lot more often.”There’s been times where we haven’t batted our 50 overs and that’s hurt us … We’ve not been ruthless enough in terms of kicking on as batters. We’re all aware of that. We keep emphasising the importance of one of the top four batting through, get 130, 140.”That puts you in a winning position, and we haven’t been able to do that. Guys have got bits and pieces, getting out at crucial times and we’re not batting our 50 overs. Those are the main areas that we’ve discussed.”Taylor is one of five Zimbabwe batsmen who have scored half-centuries so far in this World Cup, but the highest individual score was the 80 that Hamilton Masakadza posted in the first-up loss to South Africa. No Ireland batsman has yet scored a hundred in this tournament either, but Taylor knows how dangerous they can be.”They’re a hungry team, they’re a team that’s very passionate,” Taylor said. “When you give them half a sniff they try and capitalise and make it pretty difficult for you, so it’s important we strike early with bat or ball, maintain that momentum.”

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Apr-2015Mushfiqur Rahim resisted Pakistan from running away with the advantage…•AFP… in the company of Soumya Sarkar, but his debut Test innings was cut short at 33 off 55 balls and the partnership on 62•AFPBut then came the collapse. Yasir Shah claimed two of the five final Bangladesh wickets for 27 runs and limited the hosts to 332•AFPBangladesh got rid of debutant Sami Aslam for 20 off 36 balls, but the opening stand had already added 50 runs by then•AFPMohammad Hafeez struck his third century in as many Tests to establish Pakistan’s dominance on the second day•AFPHafeez and Azhar Ali, who made 65 off 136, batted through to stumps, their second-wicket partnership on an unbeaten 177 runs•AFP

“Match-tilting” a better phrase for influential performances a team sport where an individual can’t decide team results entirely

Vijay Subramanya21-Apr-2015Jan 11, 2003. Auckland. India’s nightmarish tour from seaming hell didn’t seem to get any better: another bowling paradise awaited them in the sixth ODI. Chasing atarget of 200, Virender Sehwag bludgeoned his way to a superb 112, holding the innings together as technically more adept batsmen faltered around him. However, with 18 needed off 43 balls, he nicked one to Fleming. Over the next 40 balls, India scored 17 runs and lost five wickets. It was down to the last batsman, Ashish Nehra, to score one run off two balls. And he played the best – maybe the only – pull shot he has ever played to win the match. They say that in his match-winning abilities, Sehwag is comparable to Viv Richards.Six years later. Hyderabad. Australia had posted a mammoth 350 on a placid pitch. Sachin Tendulkar stroked and glanced his way to a masterful 175, holding the innings together as technically inferior batsmen lent their hands in supporting roles. With 19 required from three overs, Tendulkar scooped one to short fine-leg. Over the next 11 balls, India added 11 runs and lost two wickets. It was down to Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar to get eight off the last over. They tried with all their might, but they were no Ashish Nehra. India lost by three runs. How could they win, given that Tendulkar had scored a hundred?There are three buzzwords I’d like erased from the cricket vocabulary: right areas, knowledgeable crowd and match-winner. If I can choose only one, I’ll go with match-winner. All three are results of simplistic labelling, but the first two are fairly innocuous and occasionally even come to the rescue of commentators, while “match-winner” is more harmfully misleading. It leads to an unfair judgement of players based on factors outside their domain of influence – in blatant contrast to another of cricket’s great platitudes, “controlling the controllables”.One thing that definitely cannot be categorised as controllable is the performance of your team-mates. Eleven players in a team means you have just an 11th of the match – or perhaps close to a third at most, if you are an absolute stalwart of the team – to seize. The influence of your masterpiece on the outcome still depends heavily on your team-mates’ more humble renditions. Nehra ensured Sehwag’s 112 did not go to waste. Ajit Agarkar’s 6 for 41 in the 2003 Adelaide Test gave greater meaning to Rahul Dravid’s 233. Without Graeme Smith and Hashim Amla’s calm second-innings hundreds against Australia in Cape Town, even Vernon Philander’s heroics might not have earned him a Man of the Match on debut.Feb 26, 2003. Durban. India were up against England in a crucial league game of the World Cup. On a pitch that had something for the seamers, Andy Caddick and James Anderson went for over six an over. India posted a challenging total of 250. England would have fancied their chances of chasing it, but little did they know it was Ashish Nehra’s night. Nehra swung the ball. Nehra found the edges. Nehra took 6 for 23 to smash England’s batting to pieces. India won the match comfortably.A fortnight later. On a seaming pitch in Port Elizabeth, New Zealand put Australia in to bat. Coming off a 300-plus score against Sri Lanka, Australia might have fancied a repeat batting display, but it was Shane Bond’s day. Bond swung the ball both ways. Bond found the edges and hit the pads. Bond took 6 for 23 to reduce Australia to 84 for 7. But New Zealand did not win comfortably; instead, Australia did. Andy Bichel scored 64 to take them to 208. McGrath and Lee turned the game one-sided. McGrath and Lee were no Caddick and Anderson.On his day, a player can demolish an entire team: that is one of the beauties of team sport. Well, it is not entirely true. A player can demolish only the portion of the opposition on which he has direct influence. If the opposition has its bases covered in other areas, he can only be a mute spectator to proceedings. Messi may score a hat-trick, but it is not his fault if the other team’s forwards choose the day to have a ball themselves. A politician may sweep the vote in his constituency or even help fetch a few in others, but on the national level, it is often the party with better all-round strengths that wins. In other words, winning a game is determined not only by the performances of you and your team-mates, but also of the opposition players.Mar 30, 1999. Bridgetown, Barbados. West Indies and Australia, the former and the present world-beaters, faced off for thethird Test of a five-match series. West Indies were desperate to regain the Frank Worrell trophy they had surrendered four years before. With the series tied at 1-1, and a target of over 300, West Indies knew they wouldn’t last if they played for a draw. Their champion batsman, Brian Lara, having failed in the first innings, was in the mood to make amends. They decided to leave it to him. Lara made a mockery of an attack comprising McGrath, Warne, Gillespie and MacGill to take the West Indies to within seven runs of victory. And then it happened. Lara attempted to run down a shortish delivery from Gillespie to the third-man boundary, but instead edged it behind. Healy jumped to his left. Healy would have taken it nine times out of 10. As fate would have it, that nick was the 10th time. Lara survived. Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh hung around for long enough. West Indies won. They say the 153 not out he scored that day is Lara’s greatest innings.Two months earlier. Chennai. Amid rising tensions between the countries, Pakistan toured India after nine years in 1999. The first Test, in Chennai, was a see-saw affair with India securing a first-innings lead. However, chasing 271 for a win on a deteriorating pitch against Wasim, Waqar, Saqlain and Afridi meant India needed a special innings from someone — preferably Sachin Tendulkar, who had got out for a duck in the first innings. Battling severe back pain, Tendulkar executed his low-risk shots expertly and negotiated Wasim and Saqlain, the two major threats, to take India to within 17 runs of victory. And then it happened. Tendulkar, perhaps a bit casually, attempted a hoick that went straight up in the air. Wasim Akram steadied himself. Akram was no Ian Healy, but pouched it nonetheless. Tendulkar did not survive. The lower order collapsed. India lost. The 136 is one of Tendulkar’s greatest, but it will never be a match-winning one.Ashish Nehra’s six-for in Durban in 2003 was a key individual innings that did decide the outcome of the match•AFPAlthough luck is perhaps overrated in life, it is underrated in sport. Those little moments that could have so easily gone the other way sometimes play a decisive role, which is often realised only retrospectively. What if, in the 2005 Edgbaston Test, Brett Lee had hit the full toss that preceded Michael Kasprowicz’s wicket behind square, or even edged it, for four? What if Allan Donald had responded promptly to Lance Klusener’s call? More recently, what if JP Duminy had heard Farhaan Behardien’s call for Grant Elliott’s skier in the World Cup semi-final? The list of what-ifs has no end. With the line separating victory and defeat so fine, we must admit that it is naive to suggest a linear extension from a single player’s performance to the outcome of the match. To better determine a player’s contribution, we must try to imagine where the team would have ended up without his services. It is time to do away with “match-winning”; let us contend with the weaker, but more accurate, “match-tilting”.Mar 23, 2003. Johannesburg. Ricky Ponting was a big-game player. He was the leader of the Australian side and he would show what leading from the front was all about. Ponting started slow; he had decided to get his eye in before going for big shots. Get his eye in he did, and go for big shots he most certainly did. With Damien Martyn for company, he flayed the hapless Indian attack and put Australia in the driver’s seat of a bus that was miles ahead of India’s. His bowlers were too good for India’s star batting line-up. The main threat, Tendulkar, was caught in the first over. And Sehwag, the only dangerous-looking batsman, misjudged a single and was run out. Australia won the World Cup.Three years later. Same venue. Australia and South Africa were tied at 2-2 in a five-match ODI series. Australia batted first and Ponting got his eye in. He then proceeded to flay a much superior attack on his way to 164 in a record team total. But his bowlers were not so good this time: everyone except Nathan Bracken and Michael Clarke went for over eight an over. The opponents were not cowed by the target: they staged the most daring counterattack in ODI history. Luck teased the Australians: Bracken dropped a regulation catch off Herschelle Gibbs when he was on 130. Ponting’s brilliant 164 was as match-winning as any. But Australia did not win the match.If you have a submission for Inbox, send it to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

ESPNcricinfo rates the Australia players involved in the Ashes series

Daniel Brettig24-Aug-20159Chris Rogers
Like Michael Hussey, Rogers is leaving on top of his game, and it is to his enormous credit that he managed to conjure up his best series at the last given all that had gone on leading into it. A concussion in the West Indies could have had a debilitating effect, as could the distraction of a mini-tour group scuppered by the MCC. But at Cardiff and Lord’s, Rogers played a pair of terrific first innings, then shrugged off an inner ear problem to contribute solidly over the final three. His final innings at The Oval was typical – a slogging knock to get the team past lunch and coax out David Warner’s best performance of the series, setting up a win.8Nathan Lyon
Given that one of five the Tests was played on a pitch where he was barely used, Lyon’s return of 16 wickets ranks among his best series displays. Always a threat to the England batsmen, Lyon brought both the possibility of wickets and the reality of control, as evidence by the numerous times batsmen were dismissed when trying to collar him. Equally pleasing was the fact he was able to bowl out batsmen playing defensively – none better than Alastair Cook at The Oval. With 162 wickets in 46 Tests at the age of 27, Lyon can only get better. He will now hope to establish a partnership with Steven Smith after a highly fruitful relationship with Michael Clarke.Peter Siddle
Six wickets and an economy rate to die for made Siddle the star of Australia’s fifth Test win. It also posed the question why he had not been chosen earlier, after the forced retirement of Ryan Harris left the bowling attack short of English seam-up knowhow. Siddle has gone through a million emotions on this tour, wondering often whether his career was at an end after being ignored at Trent Bridge, and touring without a Cricket Australia contract. But his effectiveness at The Oval – and the effect he had on the rest of the attack – will linger in the memory of spectators and presumably selectors.Steven Smith: two fine hundreds, but key failures when Australia needed him•Getty Images7Steven Smith
Australia’s leading run scorer, Smith started and ended the series as the world’s No. 1 ranked batsman. But a pair of cash-in hundreds at Lord’s and The Oval obscured a lowly run of scores in Birmingham and Nottingham that mimicked the fortunes of the team – awesome in London, awful in the Midlands. Smith will learn a lot from this yo-yo series, and even in the final Test there was evidence of a more sustainable method to tackle a swinging ball. He must now also be able to juggle his batting with the demands of captaincy. He would appear to be up to the task6David Warner
A serviceable series from Warner in which he tried with some success to temper his methods for English climes. After looking subdued in Cardiff then speedy in Birmingham, it all came together at The Oval in an 85 that will rank among his better Test innings. Warner’s three failings were a lack of first-innings scores to that point, an inability to go on to a hundred – he is still without any in the UK – and a faulty sawn-off pull shot that got him in trouble numerous times. Still, Warner at least worked on thinking his way through the series, and ended it a better batsman than he started. His on-field behaviour was largely acceptable, too.5Mitchell Johnson
In the previous Ashes series, Johnson was irresistible for five Tests. This time he was brilliant in one match at Lord’s, then intermittently spectacular in others, a major change in the way the series played out. The pitches played some part in a more muted display, but so did a curious diffidence about using the fire and brimstone method of Australia. Once, on the second morning at Edgbaston, Johnson summoned his most fearsome, but at other times he seemed caught between swinging the ball and keeping the scoreboard tight. This was a reflection of the balance of the bowling attack as much as any dips in Johnson’s pace or effort.Mitchell Starc
As Starc can do, he bowled numerous unplayable spells, but none of them proved genuinely match-defining. An ankle injury affected him at Cardiff and he did well to rebound from that to play all five Tests. But the problem of matching Starc’s very best to the most critical times of a Test match remains, and until he can do so he will stay a somewhat enigmatic pace bowling force. A few more runs to defend will help too.Defying predictions, Mitchell Marsh’s bowling ended as his stronger suit•Getty ImagesPeter Nevill
Coming in for Brad Haddin in difficult circumstances, Nevill acquitted himself very well as a gloveman of high standards and a middle-order batsman of grit and application. He did not always get everything right – there are some minor footwork issues he can improve upon as a wicketkeeper, and on seaming pitches he was occasionally made to look foolish. Nevertheless, Nevill performed the role with aplomb, and can expect an extended run as the man to replace Haddin. His understated contributions to the team room are also admired.Mitchell Marsh
Started the series not being picked because of his bowling, but ended it as a most effective seam and swing counterpoint to Siddle. Marsh developed greatly as a bowler across his three Tests, but his batting looked deficient in technique and occasionally temperament, leaving many to conclude a couple of years in county cricket would be useful. His omission for the Trent Bridge Test has been recognised as a mistake by the selectors.Josh Hazlewood
After a stunning West Indies series, Hazlewood was inked in as a member of the pace attack, but lost form and confidence the longer the Ashes went. He had all the natural attributes required by a pace bowler in England, but the Dukes ball swung more than he was used to, conspiring to rob him of the control that make his height, bounce and line so challenging elsewhere. Ending the series on the sidelines was a source of disappointment, but he will be better for it next time he comes to England.4Adam Voges
A disappointing series with occasional glimpses of the quality that made the failures all the more frustrating. Voges had plenty of English experience to call on, and in his final two innings of the summer showed how he could play. But until that time he had been unable to exert any influence, and was found wanting by the relentless line probed by James Anderson and Stuart Broad. Even so, Voges was maybe an hour away from setting up the Edgbaston Test in the company of Rogers. His indeterminate stroke and edge that day will haunt him for years to come.3Michael Clarke
Quite simply a dreadful series from Clarke, so much so that it effectively pulled the curtain on his career by leaving him unable to justify his own place in the side. There were also a few tactical missteps of the kind he had seldom made previously, all pointing to the fact that the emotional and physical toll of the preceding nine months had left him less than fully capable. Unable to summon even one substantial innings, Clarke at least signed off by leading the side well at The Oval, and was warmly received by team-mates and opponents who appreciated his value.Shane Watson
Like Haddin, it was possible to question how Watson was even in the team for the first Test given his struggles over the preceding 18 months. As it was, he made a pair of starts, was lbw twice and left Cardiff with no complaints about losing his spot. That being said, it was arguably his bowling that caused Watson to be dropped more than anything: England took numerous liberties with his careful medium pace, and Mitchell Marsh proved a rather spikier proposition. A better bowling contribution there and Watson might have found himself using his new-ball technique at Edgbaston and Trent Bridge.The tour proved a likely sad end to Brad Haddin’s career•Getty Images2Brad Haddin
A sad tale. Haddin was fortunate to be in the first Test team, and a critical dropped catch followed by two ordinary innings left him without any reasonable claims on his place. But personal leave for the Lord’s Test and then the announcement he would not be reinstated caused problems within the team, as the coach Darren Lehmann was forced to justify the sequence of events to the players. Haddin seemed less perturbed about it than others, and in truth he will know he might just as easily have been dropped in the West Indies, had selectors been harder on him.Shaun Marsh
Given barely an hour’s notice that he would be batting on the most challenging of surfaces at Trent Bridge, Marsh was unable to retool his WACA technique for the seaming English ball, and a pair of hard-handed nicks into the cordon made for a short and ignominious contribution to the series. He remains well liked by the team and selectors, but at 32 has had plenty of opportunities to prove himself. It is unclear whether he will get anymore.