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Pakistan’s first-innings failings under the Gabba lights didn’t augur well for their second attempt. But they found a new resolve to fight another day

Brydon Coverdale in Brisbane17-Dec-2016On the first two days in Brisbane, Pakistan watched Australia pile up runs, then suffered a pile-up of their own. The road of a pitch was safe enough during the daylight hours, oncoming traffic easy to see. But as dusk and then evening arrived and the pink ball swung under lights, carnage ensued. Pakistan’s batsmen crashed and burned on Sunset Boulevard.So, when the third evening arrived and Australia declared at the dinner break, nobody knew quite what to expect. Could the match be over tonight? Would Younis Khan, the ageing star of yesteryear, be “ready for his close-up”? Or were there genuinely starring roles still in his future? By stumps he had at least completed an entertaining cameo, with more to come.To look at the scorecard from the final session of play would tell you nothing of the gripping contest that it was. Pakistan batted for two-and-a-half hours and made 2 for 70. One-sixth of their runs came in a single over, the antepenultimate of the evening, as Jackson Bird served up three half-volleys that Azhar Ali dispatched through cover for boundaries.The rest of the session was a good old-fashioned Test battle, insofar as pink-ball Test cricket under lights can be called old-fashioned. Standard & Poor’s rates Australia’s economy AAA with a negative outlook; here Australian cricket’s economy earned a AAA rating with a positive outlook. They will win this Test, it is just a matter of when.There were more dots than in a dictionary of Morse code. Josh Hazlewood bowled 66 deliveries from which only three runs were scored: a pair of singles from Azhar and a three driven past mid-on by Babar Azam. Among the big crowd of 20,915 would have been countless children – it wasn’t a school night – raised on the BBL. There, dot balls are cheered, so they must have loved the 166 Australia bowled tonight.Australia’s discipline was hard to fault, but Pakistan’s too was a great improvement from the second evening. Sami Aslam’s concentration was impeccable, until a piece of rubbish flew across the ground at the Vulture Street End, right behind Mitchell Starc, who was steaming in to bowl. Perhaps it snapped Aslam’s focus, maybe he should have pulled out. Instead, he drove outside off and edged to slip.But if garbage flew across the outfield, none was delivered by Australia’s bowlers. They built and built and built the pressure, and Aslam’s lapse came during a string of six consecutive maidens. Would it spark the kind of chaos that came the previous evening, when Pakistan lost 8 for 61 in 30 overs? Not this time.Nathan Lyon has become Queensland’s favourite son, in spite of hailing from south of the border•Getty Images”Azhar will just sleep on that pitch,” Waqar Younis said while commentating on radio, and indeed a few fans might have done so in the crowd while watching him bat. Only two months ago, Azhar batted for nearly 11 hours in a Test innings against West Indies in Dubai, also against a pink ball, and scored a triple-century. Had Misbah-ul-Haq not declared he would probably still be batting.So it was that Azhar learnt from his first-innings error of poking half-heartedly outside off. On the rare occasion when his concentration waned in the second innings – as when he pushed at a Hazlewood delivery that whizzed past the edge – he visibly chastised himself. Otherwise, Azhar bedded down for the night.If his lack of strokeplay allowed the crowd’s attention to wander, Nathan Lyon snapped them back out of it. Such has been the adoration of the Brisbane crowd for Lyon this Test that you’d think he was a born-and-bred maroon, not a cockroach from south of the border. Why? Perhaps his underdog status played a part, for Lyon was perilously close to being dropped for this Test.At stumps Usman Khawaja, the Queensland captain, joked that Lyon had become Queensland’s favourite son. So you can imagine the roars when Lyon struck, and Babar Azam edged his straight ball to slip. Adelaide Oval is Lyon’s most productive Test venue, but the Gabba might quickly have become his favourite.Perhaps the only man happy to see Babar fall to Lyon might have been Younis, for it meant that he walked to the crease on a king pair facing a spinner, not a fast bowler. Last time Australia saw Younis in Tests he scored 106, 103*, 213 and 46 against them in the UAE in 2014. By stumps here he had 0 from 19 balls, but it was every bit as riveting as any of those hundreds.Younis faced up to Lyon with two leg slips, short leg, and one slip. Australia tried to apply pressure, but Younis can handle offspinners in his sleep. When he faced Hazlewood the battle truly began. A bouncer was fended away in front of his eyes, a yorker kept out by a bat slammed on the pitch. Every ball seemed to pose a threat.Younis has nearly 10,000 Test runs, but here was battling for survival as had the rookie Nic Maddinson earlier in the day. Never in 113 Tests has Younis scored a pair, but the run he sought did not come tonight. And yet he survived. Hazlewood had 15 deliveries at Younis: every one was a dot, and with every one Hazlewood’s frustration grew.It was rousing Test cricket, and both teams should have been proud of their work in that final session. Australia’s bowlers offered nothing, until Bird’s half-volleys. Pakistan’s batsmen learnt from their errors and focused on getting through the night, much as Khawaja and Matt Renshaw had for Australia during a challenging floodlit session in Adelaide.On the third evening, Pakistan crawled along Sunset Boulevard. There were a couple of fender benders but no major accidents, and certainly no speeding fines. A long two-day journey awaits if they are to avoid defeat in this Test, and many obstacles will be in their path. But for now, at least they reached their waypoint.

Stats highlights from the second T20I between India and South Africa in Cuttack.

Shiva Jayaraman05-Oct-20151:11

India lose fourth consecutive T20I under Dhoni

1 Instances prior to this match where India had been dismissed for under 100 runs in a T20I. The previous instance had come against Australia in 2008 when they were dismissed for 74. The score of 92 is India’s second-lowest total in a full innings. This match was only the fourth time in 40 innings that India have been bowled out in a T20I.86 The lowest total for which South Africa have dismissed a Test-playing nation in T20Is. India’s total today was the second lowest and only the ninth time South Africa bowled out a Test-playing nation in the format.4 Number of consecutive T20Is in which an India opener has been run-out, including Rohit Sharma in this match. Shikhar Dhawan was dismissed in this manner in the first T20I against South Africa. Ajinkya Rahane and M Vijay were run-out in the previous series against Zimbabwe.3/12 Albie Morkel’s bowling figures in this match – the best of his T20 international career. His previous best was 2 for 12 against England in Cape Town in 2007. This match was also Morkel’s 50th T20I for South Africa.0 Number of times, prior to this match, that a team had been bowled in a T20 international in India. This is the only instance of a team being bowled out in 24 T20I innings in India.29 Wickets by R Ashwin in T20 internationals – the most by any India bowler. Ashwin went past Irfan Pathan [28 wickets] when he dismissed AB de Villiers in this match. Ashwin has taken 29 wickets at an economy of 7.24.5 Number of times de Villiers has been dismissed by Ashwin in T20s – the most by any bowler. No other bowler has dismissed him more than three times. De Villiers averages 12.40 against Ashwin with a strike rate of 105.80.0 Instances of Imran Tahir opening the bowling for South Africa in T20 internationals before this match. Tahir took 2 for 24 from his four overs. He had conceded 35 runs in three overs in the first T20 in Dharamsala, his poorest returns in a T20I so far.4 Consecutive T20Is defeats for India under MS Dhoni’s captaincy, including this loss. This streak – which started with the World T20 final – equals the longest string of losses for India under his captaincy. India had a similar run of four losses under Dhoni in 2009.10 Consecutive T20 international innings, before this match, in which Virat Kohli had scored at least 20 runs. This was his first single-digit score in 11 innings. Kohli made 484 runs, including five fifties, and averaged 69.14 in these ten innings.

Without more fixtures with Full Members, they can’t get more funds. Without funds, they can’t keep their players

Tim Wigmore24-Sep-2014On September 3, 2013, a Tuesday, 10,000 Irishmen packed into Malahide cricket ground and “sold out” signs greeted latecomers to the game against England. It was a magnificent testament to the ambition and energy of Irish cricket.For an ODI against Scotland one year on, the scene is very different. The Village, as the ground is called, no longer resembles an Irish sporting colosseum but an idyllic outground, complete with abundant space, resplendent trees and a picturesque bank on which to watch the cricket. The 700 spectators choose between deck chairs and grass. Cars are parked only ten metres from the boundary edge. Fans can even lean on the fences surrounding the ground to watch for free.Before England visit next May, just as was the case last year, Cricket Ireland effectively has to build a top-class international cricket ground from scratch, providing the stands and catering to satisfy 10,000 people and the ICC. “It’s financially unsustainable,” Cricket Ireland chief executive Warren Deutrom admits. “If people are serious about investing in Irish cricket and assisting us to develop the game, they realise, ‘What is the point in Irish cricket investing half a million euros to make half a million euros?'”For all of Malahide’s charms, Cricket Ireland hopes that within a few years it will look very different. It will have permanent stands – and they will not have to sell 8500 tickets just to break even. To attract the funds necessary to make “Fortress Malahide” a permanent entity, rather than one that pops up for a day every two years, Ireland needs a fixture list to justify the outlay.And this is where the ICC comes in. Or rather, doesn’t. Ireland’s quest for more fixtures against Full Members is becoming more desperate. Between the 2007 and 2011 World Cups, Ireland played 16 ODIs against Full Members. Since the 2011 World Cup, they have played nine completed ODIs against Full Members, and the gap between their last scheduled match and the start of their first World Cup match is nine months.There is something a little sad about Cricket Ireland’s excitement on social media about two one-off ODIs, against Australia and England next year, especially as the game against England, on May 8, will contain none of those involved in the Test tour of the Caribbean. Even Afghanistan have a fixture list the envy of Ireland: they were invited to the Asia Cup this year, played four ODIs in Zimbabwe, and play alongside Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the Asian Games.The only way for Ireland to remedy the situation would be to become a Full Member. They have mounted a far more persuasive case than Bangladesh and Zimbabwe before their elevations: last year Ireland won the flagship trophies for Associates in all three formats of the game. But discussion over admitting new Full Members has completely ceased. There is also no indication of whether top Associates could join the Future Tours Programme, guaranteeing regular ODIs against Full Members.As it is, Ireland’s sliver of hope lies in the Test Challenge. The winners of the next Intercontinental Cup are expected to play four first-class games, two each at home and away, against the lowest-ranked Test side in 2018. Details are predictably vague, but while the Test side’s status will not be under threat even if it lost, victory for the Intercontinental Cup winners will earn Test status too, probably for a four-year period. To Giles Clarke, this represents a “glittering prize”.But it comes nowhere near the more fundamental reform that Ireland need. Even if they had Test status, no sides would be mandated to play Ireland. Their schedule would amount to Zimbabwe-lite.And the gross disparity in funding between Ireland and the lowest ranking Full Members would remain. When Ireland reached the Super Eights in the 2007 World Cup, they earned $56,000 in prize money; Zimbabwe, who did not progress beyond Ireland’s group, received $11 million. The gulf is only a little less yawning now. Under the new world order, regardless of on-field performance, Ireland will receive around one-eighth of Zimbabwe’s funding from the ICC and TV companies every four years.That would only change with guaranteed fixtures, which Ireland could then sell to TV companies and sponsors. The move to a ten-team World Cup from 2019, designed to ensure India play nine matches, and the decision to hold the World T20 every four years rather than every two, will reduce Ireland’s games against top sides and their ability to generate the revenue that a leading international side needs. Even if everything went right on the pitch for Ireland in the next five years – and with Afghanistan’s rise, victory in the Intercontinental Cup is far from assured – England, say, could still offer a fixture list and pay packet unimaginable in Ireland.

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Yet Ireland are not easily deterred by the inequities pervading cricket today. When Deutrom arrived as chief executive at the end of 2006, the only person who worked for him was a part-time PA. Today 20 full-time and ten part-time staff work for Cricket Ireland, excluding contracted players.Every one of them is working towards making Test cricket in Ireland happen. Deutrom believes that the most important development in Irish cricket since that blarney night in Bangalore is the creation of the Interprovincial series last year. Three provinces play each other in all three formats of the game (though the long format is only played over three days).”It’s about so many things,” Deutrom says. “It’s about trying to professionalise the next step up from club cricket. The risk has been that the more professional our structures become at senior level then the greater the gap for players to step up from club to country. We had to be able to put something in place to bridge that gap.”There have been some encouraging signs: a decent standard of cricket; and crowds of near 1000 for T20 double-headers. The Interpros have also contributed to the resurgence of the pace bowler Craig Young, who left Sussex a year ago to take up Cricket Ireland’s contract to play full-time in Ireland.Of course, Cricket Ireland still lacks the financial resources to tempt established county stars home. While this remains the case, the quality of Interprovincial cricket will remain considerably below the top of county cricket. Earlier this year Kevin O’Brien said that the standard was akin to county 2nd XI matches. Deutrom goes further, reckoning it not “inferior to some levels of county cricket”.

“We need to get these Asians to sit on our various committees in Leinster and fully engage them in all our activities. And we badly need one player of Asian background to represent Ireland”Brian O’Rourke, Leinster Cricket Development Manager

It sounds like bluster, but the tale of Peter Chase is revealing. After averaging 69 with the ball for Leinster last season, and not being selected at all this season, Chase took five Championship wickets on his Durham debut.There remain compelling arguments for Irishmen to play in county cricket. It provides access to a higher standard; the opportunity to learn from different players and conditions; the chance to play in front of considerable crowds; and greater wages than Ireland could offer. The reality is that Ireland could not afford for all its county stars to come home: with Cricket Ireland existing on a turnover of €4.3 million a year, it is preferable that Sussex foot the bill for Ed Joyce’s salary.But ultimately the hope is that players from Ireland will no longer be inclined to look to county cricket to pursue their professional careers. For as long as players go to England, the spectre of the England selectors eyeing up Irish talents will remain. “They get settled there, get married, and suddenly playing for Ireland becomes an encumbrance during the season,” Deutrom says. “Counties start coming back and asking us for compensation to have players available during the year. Suddenly the conversation becomes more difficult. They get on the England radar, start playing for the Lions, we all see what happens. Is it a risk to Ireland’s future? Of course it is. We have to do everything we can to keep hold of those resources.”It is hard to envisage how Ireland could ever match the salaries paid by top counties. Yet a Cricket Ireland contract provides players with the opportunity to play in domestic leagues across the world: Kevin O’Brien earns more from a combination of his Cricket Ireland contract and itinerant involvement in T20 leagues than he would as a full-time county pro.

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O’Brien plays for Leinster Lightning, the best Interpro side in Ireland. Their dominance reflects the central role of Dublin in cricket’s transformation in Ireland.During its wilderness years, Irish cricket was strongest in the North West and Belfast. Now Dublin is its stronghold. The two best Irish cricketers playing today, Joyce and Eoin Morgan, were both reared here; Morgan returned to his home ground in Malahide when England played there last year. Dublin was also the biggest beneficiary of the Celtic Tiger, which helped to bring players like Trent Johnston, David Langford-Smith and Andre Botha to Ireland. The standards they brought with them helped lift up the standard of club cricket.The Celtic Tiger is long gone, yet the real benefits of it to Irish cricket may be yet to come. Since 2006, Ireland’s non-Chinese Asian population has been the fastest growing in Ireland, with an annual growth rate of 13.3%. This has been particularly great in and around Dublin, reflected in a surge of new clubs in Leinster: there are 120 in the province today, compared to 99 in 2006. Around half of all cricketers in Leinster today learned the game overseas.But while significant numbers of the Asian community attended the ODIs against Pakistan last year and Sri Lanka this year, against Scotland the ground consisted overwhelmingly of white faces. “We don’t have the means and the resources to be able to say, ‘Let’s target this particular community in terms of promotion,'” Deutrom admits. Brian O’Rourke, the Leinster Cricket Development Manager, says, “We need to get these Asians to sit on our various committees in Leinster and fully engage them in all our activities. And we badly need one player of Asian background to represent Ireland.”Simranjit Singh could be that man. Born in Punjab, he played for Punjab Under-17s and was close to earning a contract with Kings XI Punjab in 2008. He has played in Ireland since 2006. Three years ago he made the decision to attempt to play for Ireland. He qualifies in June next year, just before the World T20 Qualifiers, which Ireland are co-hosting with Scotland.”I am targeting that,” he says. “The dream is to get the green jersey on.” Phil Simmons is regularly in touch, recognising the worth of an offspinning allrounder to the Ireland side. Batting has always been Simranjit’s strength, and he has scored heavily in Irish club cricket, but he knows that his offspin could fast-track him into the international side. “There’s an opportunity for a spinner in Ireland,” he says. He is working on expanding his bowling repertoire – including bowling the doosra. “I bowled a few in the last season but I haven’t got full control. I’m working on it.”And Simranjit believes that the presence of an Irish-Asian in the national side “would definitely attract more of the Asian community” to support the Ireland team. Today there is “not much connection” between some of the new, virtually all-Asian clubs like Adamstown and Cricket Ireland. An incident at Leinster Cricket Club two years ago hardly helped: a group of Asian players were questioned about their club membership while watching India play Pakistan in the World T20. In protest against the lack of “sense of urgency” about investigating the issue, 18 players left the club. Insiders agree about the need for a Cricket Ireland outreach officer, to ensure that Irish-Asians were fully incorporated into the mainstream Irish cricketing scene. It would also help to ensure that Ireland can nurture the most talented Irish-Asian cricketers.

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On the banks of Malahide, I buy an ice-cream for Alan Lewis, who played for Ireland between 1984 and 1997, often as captain. He is jealous of the players today.”Am I envious? Absolutely. Because you don’t know how good you might have become.” Lewis played against many fine teams – but in a profoundly different atmosphere to that today. “The crowds were coming to see them, not see us. We were literally regarded as the fodder.” Ireland and the tourists did not even bother with the toss: spectators had come to see the opponents bat, after all.With the chance to be a Full Member within their grasp, it has never been a better time to be a cricketer in Ireland•ICCThings are very different now. To hear John Mooney speak after the defeat to Scotland in the third ODI (Ireland still won the series 2-1) was testament to the ambition within Ireland’s set-up. “We spoke a bit about complacency and meandering along at a certain level,” he said. “We want to progress in cricket, not be a side who just occasionally shocks Full Members. We want to be a side that consistently beats them.”There has never been a better time to be an Irish cricketer. But for all the optimism and vibrancy surrounding the game today, these are profoundly uncertain times for Irish cricket.The World Cup brings expectation – and a little fear too. Ireland’s team has not progressed as hoped since 2011; while much can be blamed on a dearth of fixtures and England poaching their best players, Ireland have not beaten a Full Member in ODIs since Bangalore. If, as is perfectly conceivable, Ireland are defeated by Zimbabwe and all the other Full Members, it will be seized upon as evidence that Irish cricket has peaked. Pressure to help Ireland will diminish. And inside Ireland it will make the game easier to ignore.What is certain, at least, is that Ireland will not go the same way as Kenya, who reached the World Cup semi-finals in 2003 but have subsided since. Cents are reckoned to go further in Cricket Ireland than for any other sporting body in the country. A generation ago, playing professional cricket was deemed beyond the reach of an Irishman. Joyce was the first in history to make a career out of cricket. He is one of five Irish players to have captained counties at some stage in 2014. Counties, especially Durham and Middlesex, now ensure that Irish talent is never forgotten.There is a lot of it, but Irish cricket remains a very small place. The history of the game in Ireland is less one of a national sport than of a few families. And there are concerns that the rest of Ireland is failing to keep up with Dublin. “I’m not sure that cricket’s as strong in the Londonderry or Belfast area as it used to be – I think cricket is on the wane a little bit there,” the Ireland manager Roy Torrens tells me. Besides a lack of funding, the reason that the Interpro series currently only has three teams is that other provinces were not deemed strong enough. Still, better to build up a solid domestic structure than flood it with mediocre players.And fundamental interest in cricket continues to surge. The total participation figure in 2013 (44,000) is double that in 2010 and four times the figure in 2006. Ireland have just agreed to a €2.5million deal over ten years to fund training for young Irish cricketers. Cricket in Ireland has always been accused of being an “English sport” – a claim often made by those in Liverpool or Manchester United shirts. As a boy, Mooney did not tell people he met that he played cricket: “The English thing was a big stigma.”The Ireland side is remarkable for their unity in spite of profound differences. The journalist Nick Royle told me that the squad is “genuinely the most mixed of any sporting team I have ever encountered”. It comprises Protestants and Catholics, open Sinn Fein supporters and staunch Unionists, Dubliners of working-class and violin-playing stock, and immigrants from South Africa, Australia, and soon Asia. The diversity has not only contributed to a vibrant cricket side, it has been an all-Ireland beacon for inclusiveness. “It doesn’t create problems, it helps to solve them,” Mooney says. “Hopefully it will continue to break down the barriers between North and South, and continue to integrate young Catholics and young Protestants together.”And nothing dismantled the notion of cricket being a posh game quite like beating England at it. Mooney describes the victory in the last World Cup as “the biggest thing that broke down the idea of cricket being an English sport – that the Irish people have witnessed Ireland beat England at what they call their own sport”.But memories of that famous night are receding. As idyllic as the Village in Malahide is, Ireland are restless for something more. For all the drive and vision in Irish cricket, the unspoken fear is that, without a dramatic on-field impact at the World Cup and foresight from cricket’s ruling elite off it, they could be strangled by a lack of opportunity.

India have spent 2012 making excuses for their poor Test performances. It is about time they told themselves some home truths

Sidharth Monga07-Dec-2012″We have seen in the last three Tests matches and even in England, there was a lot of grass and that helped their seamers. Once these people come to India we should not be hesitant in making turners, and that’s where we would get to know whether they are mentally strong, and [what happens to] the kind of chit chat do they do when we go overseas and they talk about our techniques.”
Two days after India had lost by an innings inside three days at the WACA ground.”We also won 2-0 in India.”
Third day of the Adelaide Test, when a second whitewash in two away series was imminent.”Why not [turning pitches]? We were given flattest of tracks during practice matches in England and Australia, and then suddenly presented with a green-top during the Tests. During practice matches, we would face those 120kmph bowlers …If they wanted to be fair to us, they could have provided us with same kind of tracks for practice matches, like what were used in Tests. Especially, when they knew that visiting teams get very less time to practice. Now they would be playing on turning tracks and definitely would know where they stand.”
Justifying the tactic of not letting England face any spin in the tour games before the start of the Test series, in the process imagining “green tops” in Australia and England”We also need to consider that immediately after that series when England came to India, we beat them 5-0, which cannot be forgotten.”
Before the start of this Test series, drawing comfort from an ODI series win last year”One has to recognise the advantage of home conditions, and this applies across the board. So I don’t think we should run down our players by saying we did not do well abroad. Other teams don’t do well when they come to India. In England, except Rahul, the batting did not click. But in both England and Australia, we had super-fast pitches.”
Asking people to not say “we did not do well abroad””So what if we have lost a home Test? Not as if we have never won at home… It’s not that we have lost the series.”
After the defeat in Mumbai when everything – pitch, toss, first-innings runs – was in their favour”If you look at the records at this ground, India have played really well. The way the wicket is playing, I am confident our guys will do really well.”
After India have conceded a 193-run lead by end of day three with four wickets still in England’s handAlso today, Joe Dawes, India’s bowling coach, told – well, who else – the BCCI in an interview that Zaheer Khan is one of the best six bowlers in the world, that Indian bowling is headed in the right direction, that he has begun the process of achieving the aim of developing a group of seven to eight fast bowlers who can be called upon any time. You can accuse the BCCI of many things, but it doesn’t lack humour, as is evident through the timing of this piece.One of these days, India will admit they have become an ordinary side. That currently they are arguably the worst bowling unit in the world, bar Bangladesh. That they are the worst fielding side in the world without any argument, which they kept on proving on the third day as Ishant Sharma dropped his third simple return catch in the fourth match he is playing this year. That the whitewashes in England and Australia didn’t happen on doctored green tops. That a proud home record alone doesn’t ensure future Test wins. That the ideal response to overseas batting failures is to work on techniques, and not to seek comfort in statistics at home. That no side won an away series with that kind of attitude.When India admit that, they will start improving as a Test side. Until then, they can hope for a miracle to the tune of Kolkata 2000-01.

If ever there was a performance that laid bare a visiting team’s intentions, it was the one that Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook produced on the most one-sided day of the series so far

Andrew Miller at the Gabba28-Nov-2010Just as it was far too early to write off England’s prospects during their long hard slog on the third day at the Gabba, likewise it is too soon to declare that Australia’s Ashes have been reduced to cinders on the fourth. But if ever there was a performance that laid bare a visiting team’s intentions, it was the one that Andrew Strauss and Alastair Cook produced on the most one-sided day of the series so far.In the course of their 188-run stand, England’s captain and vice-captain happened to surpass Hobbs and Sutcliffe as the most prolific opening pair in their country’s Test history – a quirky statistic maybe, but one that underlined the vast experience they bring to the top of the order. Both men played and struggled here four years ago, with Cook’s Perth century their only innings of note in 20 attempts, and both men returned with a burning desire to make amends. The series is still young, and the Sydney finale isn’t even close to the horizon. But two critical components of England’s squad have risen to their first big challenge.Strauss, it has to be said, came within inches of remembering this match for all the wrong reasons. The primal scream that he emitted in the 55th over, as he dabbed Xavier Doherty through third man for four to bring up his fourth Ashes century and his first in Australia, was as raw and passion-fuelled as the one with which Michael Hussey had deafened his team-mate, Brad Haddin, during the Aussies’ triple-century alliance on Saturday. And like Hussey’s, it was in part a recognition of the fine lines between success and failure on which matches, and series, can teeter.For it was the same scream that had stuck in Strauss’s throat in the very first over of the match, when his anxious attempt to get England’s Ashes campaign up and running resulted in a cramped cut straight to gully, and a long, slow, agonised walk back for a duck. And had Ben Hilfenhaus’s first-ball inswinger in the second innings struck him any lower on the pad, he would quite conceivably have marked his return to Australia with the most ignominious pair of his career.”The third ball of the game was pretty much close to as bad as I’ve felt on a cricket pitch,” said Strauss. “Getting out in the first over of such an important Test match wasn’t the start I was looking for. Then the first ball in the second innings, I thought was a very good leave! My heart was definitely in my mouth. I did think it was a bit high – I was clinging to that hope anyway. Thankfully, it was the bit of luck sometimes you need. It wouldn’t have been a particularly pleasant match if that one had been out.”Almost from the moment England had walked off the field at The Oval last summer with the Ashes in their grasp, Strauss had been rehearsing his contest, and those moments, over and over in his head, knowing full well the fate that had awaited England in Australia the last time they had gone down there to defend a hard-fought victory, and recognising that, as captain, the influence he exerted this time around would be paramount to the cause.Australian teams always target the captain of any team that visits their shores. It is a fact of international cricket that Strauss has tried to play down as the product of too much talk in the media, but nevertheless, there is no escaping the extent to which tours become synonymous with their leaders. Jardine, Hutton, Illingworth, Brearley and Gatting trip off the tongue with greater ease than the dates of their triumphant campaigns, just as Flintoff’s 5-0 remains an indelible fact on his CV.And it’s not just English captains to whom such epithets apply. In 2003, on the last occasion a visiting side avoided defeat in the Gabbatoir, it was India’s captain, Sourav Ganguly, who produced the defining innings of the Test and arguably his life, a brilliantly doughty 144 that overcame his much-trumpeted weakness against the short ball and instilled in his team-mates the belief that they could face down the Aussies as equals. Sure enough, they won a sizzling contest at Adelaide and departed with a 1-1 draw – making them only the third side in 18 series to avoid defeat Down Under.To call Strauss’s innings on Saturday the most important of his life would be premature, and moreover it would also do a disservice to his other three Ashes hundreds – most especially his first-innings 129 in the decisive Oval Test of 2005, a performance of such ice-cool temperament in the midst of almost unparalleled pressure, it goes virtually unnoticed when the frantic final stages of that contest are recalled.But not since Ian Botham clobbered his 14th and final Test hundred on this very ground in 1986-87 has an England gun player, to use the colloquial term, travelled to Australia and produced the performance of which he is capable at the first time of asking. Strauss needed his luck, as most centurions do, and when Mitchell Johnson spilled a scuffed smear at mid-off with Strauss on 69 and England still the best part of 100 runs in arrears, it took over from Hussey’s referred lbw as the most critical flashpoint of the match.”It was important I took my opportunity, and showed the way,” he said. “That is one of your duties as captain. Any time you have an opportunity to score a hundred in an Ashes Test match, it is a very special thing.” Only the manner of his departure let him down, as he gave the charge to the spinner Marcus North and was stumped for 110. “It was not the sort of dismissal that we were looking for quite frankly,” he said. “It was not the sort of dismissal I was looking for as both a batsman and a captain. I picked the wrong ball to go down to and paid the price.”Nevertheless, as he walked back to the dressing-room with England’s arrears reduced to a handful of runs, he took with him a share of a partnership statistic that is of far greater relevance than the topping of Hobbs and Sutcliffe. No visiting team has ever produced a higher first-wicket stand at the Gabba, and the previous record of 135 was set by Desmond Haynes and Gordon Greenidge in 1988-89, in the last Test match that Australia lost at the venue, and one of only two five-Test series that they’ve lost at home in 22 years.The former prospect is slim in the extreme – and it was a notion that neither Cook nor Strauss was keen to address at the close, mindful as they possibly are of how quickly the circumstances can change in Australia. After all, in Adelaide on the 2006-07 tour, England led by 97 runs going into the final day with nine wickets still intact, and no-one needs reminding of what transpired from there.Without Warne, McGrath and a string of game-changing Aussie greats to contend with, however, the latter goal feels more tangible than ever before.

A good drainage system is a must for every ground, so that cricket can be played and the spectators are happy

Sambit Bal at Trent Bridge27-Jul-2007

Trent Bridge resembled a lake yesterday and it took three supersoppers to make it look like a cricket ground again © AFP
From a spectator’s point of view, can there be a greater shame than sitting in an open stadium under blue skies, bathed in lovely sunshine, and watching nothing more than one’s heroes having a hit at the nets? The groundstaff at Trent Bridge are hardly to be blamed; it’s been an unthinkably wet summer so far and so much water has seeped under the soil that the outfield has been impossible to dry. Much like large parts of England, the cricket ground here resembled a lake yesterday and it took three supersoppers to make it look like a cricket ground again. Even the spectators understood why the players couldn’t take the field.What a contrast it was from the previous week, when it had taken the Lord’s groundstaff only a couple of hours to get the ground ready after a deluge. The MCC has invested more than one million pounds in installing a new drainage system and the investment has clearly been worth it.The subject of indoor stadiums, or at least the option of retractable roofs, occasionally comes up in cricket and during a summer like this it is understandable why. It is unlikely, though, that cricket will take that route in the near future. Partially because it will be financially unviable to build and maintain an indoor stadium solely for cricket; it would need to be a multi-sport facility. But it’s also because the elements – the sky, the sun, the humidity, the breeze – are a fundamental part of cricket. The Lord’s Test twisted and turned and defied expectations of a batting feast because of the atmospheric conditions. Wet or not, cricket in the English summer would hardly feel the same without the light and shade and drizzle.It is obvious, though, that cricket must do whatever it can to avoid days such as today. A good-natured crowd at Nottingham bore the delay with patience and understanding. But the game mustn’t stretch the indulgence of its primary patrons. Expensive drainage systems must be seen as a necessity, not a luxury.I remember travelling by taxi to the Brisbane cricket ground on the first morning of the first Test between India and Australia in 2003 and the rain was so heavy that it was impossible to see the car in front. It had been raining all night and since I was jetlagged I even considered turning back. But it stopped raining and, incredibly, play started on time. It was a stop-start day because it rained throughout but never was play held up because of ground conditions.It was a similar story from Jamaica last year, where the rain was so heavy the night before India and West Indies were due to play their first one-day match that the teams didn’t even bother to come to the ground in the morning. An agency correspondent famously filed a report announcing not only the abandonment of that match but predicting a similar fate for the next match, scheduled at the same ground a couple of days later. He perhaps went by precedent: on India’s last tour in 2002, the first two one-dayers, also scheduled at Jamaica, had been washed out.A few minutes later a harried Rahul Dravid was spotted at the team hotel trying to get his team together. He had just been told that the game would start in half an hour. And it did. A significant change had taken place in Jamaica since 2002: as part of the preparation for the World Cup, the drainage system had been overhauled and it included sand-based top soil. An improved drainage facility would be, for the West Indies, an enduring legacy of the otherwise wretched World Cup.It should become part of the minimum requirements for every Test ground.

Manchester United have been mocked over a 'strange' social media post after Bruno Fernandes snubbed a Saudi offer to stay at Old Trafford.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

• Man Utd mocked for 'strange' social media post
• Club appreciated Fernandes' decision to reject Saudi move
• Snubbed Al-Hilal's lucrative deal

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Fernandes held talks with Al-Hilal recently over a summer move, as the Saudi Pro League giants were ready to offer a lucrative deal to the Portuguese, while also compensating United with a hefty transfer fee. But the midfielder eventually snubbed the move and decided to stay at Old Trafford. The Red Devils showed their appreciation for the captain's loyalty by making a social media post of his quotes explaining the situation, which was labelled as 'strange' by some fans.

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• WHAT THE FANS ARE SAYING

  A fan with the X handle @shadadzaii wrote: "Something not right about club posting this ngl we’ve become small time."

  Another fan, @YanitedCynical, commented: "Lowkey embarrassing that the official club account is posting this."

  @stuwillo accused the club of mediocrity as he posted: "This club used to celebrate Titles, now it celebrates our worst ever captain rejecting a move that would’ve been huge for our signings this summer."

  @smithy24700 wrote: "I think this is a strange post. It is just not what communications from a club has ever been regarding things their player has said. Especially when the player has said it only an hour ago. Shows that media teams have lost the art of silence in a content obsessed industry."

  @widmingbear said: "This is beyond embarrassing, he's done absolute zilch for the club to be talking like this and for the club to gas him up. One step forward, ten steps back, as always."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Fernandes explained the decision to snub Saudi earlier on Tuesday, claiming: "There was an opportunity. The president called me and asked if I wanted to go there. They were waiting for me. I spoke to coach Amorim. He asked me not to go. Manchester United didn’t want to sell me. They don’t need the money. If I had wanted to leave, they would have made it happen."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR BRUNO FERNANDES?

  Fernandes will be next seen in action for his national team as Portugal take on Germany in the Nations League semi-finals on Wednesday.

Dominik Szoboszlai's sensational free-kick from 25 yards out sent Liverpool fans into frenzy as the Reds picked up a crucial win over Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday. In an evenly poised contest at Anfield, the two English giants fought toe-to-toe but the make-shift right-back's thunderous late strike proved to be the difference.

Szoboszlai netted stunning free-kick

Proved to be the late winner for the RedsLiverpool edged out Arsenal at AnfieldFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

After an intense battle for more than 80 minutes, Curtis Jones was brought down by Martin Zubimendi with a poor challenge near the penalty box. The Gunners midfielder was cautioned with a yellow card while the hosts were awarded a free-kick. Nearly 25 yards from goal, Szoboszlai unleashed a pile-driver which hit the post and went in.

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The Reds fans were understandably elated with Szoboszlai's late winner as they hailed the Hungarian for his effort in the club's win.

A fan named niran wrote: "SZOBOSZLAI BEST FREE KICK TAKING RIGHT BACK IN THE WORLD."

Canadian Kop posted: "Szoboszlai has become the first player on the team sheet. He’s in full peak right now & he’s boss as a RB or a midfield hybrid. Better that Trent."

Jordan Patu wrote: "Szoboszlai put that headband on and gained +10 all attributes."

A Reds fan handle named Ammaar wrote: "That Szoboszlai goal is exactly why these will win the league again. They just get goals from nowhere. Arsenal don’t have that in their locker."

lobistars wrote: "Szoboszlai celebrated the goal before it went it. This brother target was the goal post."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Gunners suffered an early setback in the match as William Saliba was forced off in the fifth minute with an injury. They were already missing first-team stars like Martin Odegaard and Bukayo Saka and Saliba's knock came as an additional setback. Despite the Frenchman's absence, Arsenal did well defensively, but Szoboszlai's late strike proved to be the decisive factor.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?

Arne Slot's high-flying side will be back in action after the international break on September 14 when they travel to Burnley for a Premier League fixture.