ESPNcricinfo staff17-Jun-2015Steven Finn took a fine catch to remove McCullum and fellow opener Martin Guptill went no further than 53•Getty ImagesOnce again it was Kane Williamson who was the cornerstone of the Blackcaps innings but he fell 10 short of a century•PA PhotosNew Zealand were just beginning to flatline before Grant Elliott hit the go button in the last 10 overs…•Getty Images…and Mitchell Santner biffed 28 in one over to lift New Zealand to 349•Getty ImagesEngland needed a good start and Alex Hales blasted them out of the blocks•Getty ImagesBut Matt Henry removed both openers•Getty ImagesOut strode the England captain in fine touch once again•Getty ImagesJoe Root also picked up his superb form. He and Morgan put England well on course•Getty ImagesEoin Morgan was unstoppable, belting the ball to all parts, striking 12 fours and five sixes•Getty ImagesMorgan made a scintillating century from 73 balls as England closed in on their highest ODI chase•Getty ImagesRoot went to his own ton, off 94 balls, as England waltzed home with six overs to spare•Getty Images

Ian Bell is the one England player remaining from the heady summer of 2005, but that great series is not all fond memories for him

David Hopps29-Jun-2015Some Ashes cricketers will be remembered for the passions they roused, some for their stirring deeds, the records they broke, the conflicts they caused. Ian Bell has quieter ambitions for the far-off day when he finally calls time on his career: he will become nostalgic over the amount of people who have said they like watching him bat.Recognition of Bell’s achievement can easily be lost, especially in a summer that has so far resounded to banks of power hitters strutting their stuff against middling attacks on flat pitches. But the Ashes series will have time for delicacy and England will hope that Bell, Man of the Series when they won 3-0 in England two years ago, will once again be at the forefront.Asking Bell how he would best like to remembered might seem premature – even when he is finally forced to concede his England place he has ambitions to skipper Warwickshire for a couple of seasons to thank them for his grounding. But he does reflect that, at 33, about to embark upon his seventh Ashes series, and now that Jonathan Trott and Matt Prior have moved on, he is the oldest player in the England side.”Not everybody has caught on to the fact,” he said. “I try and have a little bit of stubble to remind everybody of the fact. It’s 11 years that I have been playing for England. There are not a lot of Ashes experiences I haven’t gone through. It’s come upon me quietly. I suppose that is just me as a person – quietly going about my business. Hopefully there could still be plenty to come.”For people to say that genuinely they love to watch me bat means a lot. Sometimes I get criticised for making things look easy because it looks like I have got out carelessly. It took me a while to learn to play not just the nice knocks but the tough ones as well.”

Most Ashes wins for England since 1950

Ian Botham 7 series, 5 wins
Kevin Pietersen 6 series, 4 wins
Bob Willis 6 series, 4 wins
Ian Bell 6 series, 4 wins
John Emburey 6 series, 4 wins
David Gower 7 series, 4 wins
Geoff Boycott 8 series, 4 wins

In good England times, Bell’s sleek, serene strokeplay has been the stuff of artistry. Even when England have been struggling, his silken drives and cuts, with carefully-set fields avoided through sleight of hand, have had the capacity to sooth like a waterfall on a troubled mind.Were England to cast off their reputation as underdogs and reclaim the Ashes this summer, he would become a five-time Ashes winner and that accolade has only been bestowed upon Ian Botham among England players since the end of World War 2. Seven Australians have surpassed that, of course, which just goes to show that you don’t just have to be a good player, you have to be in a very good side.Which brings us back to 2005, Bell’s first Ashes series, in which Australia afforded him about as much respect as Prince George gave Pitt The Younger in . On a personal level, it was a traumatic time, no more so than when he made a pair in the final Test at The Oval with the Ashes at stake.”It was probably my lowest Ashes point,” he said, “although I suppose the best thing is it was against two of the best bowlers of all time – Warne first innings, McGrath second – so I can’t argue with that.”The 2005 Ashes was one of my first big series. You are trying to take everything in, to learn on your feet, to put different pieces of information into your own game. That series was a massive eye opener to me.”Having always been cited as someone who would be a Test player from an early age, having played against West Indies and Bangladesh and do well, and all of a sudden to come into an Ashes series, whether a little bit naïve I don’t know, but all of a suddenly realising where the bar was set by a lot of people: Warne, McGrath, watching Ponting bat. It gave me an idea at 23 that if I wanted to be around in this game for 10 years the level I needed to take my game to.Ian Bell shares a joke with Andrew Flintoff, England’s 2005 inspiration, at a TwelfthMan event•ECB”It was not just about technique, it was more about the demands mentally and physically. More for me, it was about understanding what I needed to do in pressure situations; how to get through them. You get to international cricket and think, ‘oh, I’m here now’, but that series was a reminder that you are so far away from where you want to get to.”Bell was chatting before a speaking engagement at Old Trafford for Twelfth Man, the official membership group for England cricket. He looked energetic, relishing the challenge ahead. He spoke more than once about Ashes series past that had sprung into his mind as he drove up the M6. He will think about little else for the next two months or so.”The training camp in Spain signals that it is now the time to concentrate on the Ashes. Everybody is now itching for the Ashes to turn up: a period of two or three months scrapping as hard as we can as a group to try to achieve something special.”Relaxing in the next room, and fulfilling a role on his home turf as an Ashes ambassador, was Andrew Flintoff. Whenever 2005 is mentioned, Flintoff’s hulking presence seems to grow.

Bell’s golden Ashes summer

1st Test, Trent Bridge
A rare heatwave helped England produce the dry pitches on which they wanted to contend the Ashes, but Australia took a first-innings lead of 65 thanks to Ashton Agar’s heroics at No. 11 then reduced England to 11 for 2. Bell romped ahead against the second new ball, encouraging to compare him to Mahela Jayawardene as he deftly milked the third man region in an innings of “exquisite denial”. The pitch was parched and so were the mouths of the spectators, but Bell exuded calm, subtle back cuts and glides to the fore on a slow, low surface.
2nd Test, Lord’s
It was a sweltering summer’s day with the prospect that Lord’s would stage one of the hottest Tests – perhaps the hottest – in its history. And in this scorching atmosphere, Bell produced his third Ashes hundred in succession, an innings of great subtlety in front of the Queen after Ryan Harris had barged in to leave England at a parlous 28 for 3. Once again, Bell scored heavily square of the wicket in a subtle innings which made the gentlest of indentations on the drowsiest of days.
4th Test, Chester-le-Street
While England again batted with nervous fragility, Bell combined the sweet timing for which his batting has always been characterised with the reliability and steel for which it has not. England were struggling grimly in the second innings, but Bell batted with an ease that transcended the situation, the pitch and the bowling. His cover driving and late cutting, in particular, were things of beauty but his shot selection was also impeccable.

“We are going to have to have in the team someone like Fred who had the series of his life,” Bell said. “Everything he did in that series he dragged that team with him. Australia would be favourites against any team in the world at the moment. But having seen some clips of the 2005 stuff there are a lot of similarities between where that team was at the time and where the Australian team were. England were massive underdogs in 2005 and some special things happened. Trent Bridge, Edgbaston and Old Trafford were three of the best games I have ever played in – and that was right at the start of my career.”Duncan Fletcher, as a coach, was unbelievable at seeing faults in opposition players. He was very much part of the plan to come round the wicket to Adam Gilchrist, making him play with a straight bat, and people like Fred could deliver those kind of skills. I remember listening as a young player at 22 to the sort of things he could see that maybe other people couldn’t.”Observing Flintoff in that series, or Alastair Cook when he made 766 runs in Australia six years later, had a lasting effect on Bell. “You just want to be a Man of the Series in the Ashes. You want to look back and say, ‘yeah, I made a difference, I was part of a team, but I was man of the series’.”That dream was answered in 2013 when he made three centuries in the series. Only David Gower and Maurice Leyland had ever achieved that for England. He had entered the series in unimpressive form, but ended it with his ability memorably restated. His scores, a century in Antigua apart, have once again dipped in the last two series against West Indies and New Zealand: England will hope for an encore.Nobody had back-cut more elegantly for a generation or more frequently than Bell did in successive Tests at Trent Bridge and Lord’s and then, as Australia’s bowlers tried to cut his supply line, he buckled down for a hundred as resilient as any of the 22 he has produced at Chester-le-Street to secure the Ashes. 2013 should rightly be known as Bell’s Ashes summer, but he tends to escape attention like that.What of that back cut? How did the shot that not just shaped but adorned the summer evolve? Was it plotted months in advance, honed by endless dog-thrower drills from Graham Gooch, or was it a more organic process, a shot that because of its success just became second nature?”It just sort of happened,” he said. “It was a shot I suppose I have always had – although not as much as in that series. I don’t know if it was because of the lines and the lengths Australia bowled at me in that series. I worked really hard with Goochie in terms of playing cross-batted shots leading into that series, not necessarily the late cut.”When you start to get into form, and into that place where your footwork is good, you are picking length really quickly. At that time I was in a great place batting wise and I was picking length fast and that would allow me to put the ball into unguarded areas. If they have packed in front of square then I am going to try to hit it behind square.”As the series went on the fields definitely started to change – third man went down – and it will be really interesting to see what happens this series. The difficult thing in international cricket is when you are around a long time there is a lot of footage on strengths and weaknesses. Gradually people have bowled a lot straighter at me, so I haven’t been able to play that shot so much.”You have to adapt all the time. It will be really interesting to see what plans they have for me this time. The back-cut was one shot that worked for me in 2013. This time it might be something completely different. There is no right way to do it in Test cricket: you just have to find a way.”

Too often have England been three down for not many and this time Joe Root was unable to provide the safety net

George Dobell at Lord's17-Jul-2015Like a trapeze artist learning to live without a safety net, England found at Lord’s that Joe Root will not always be able to conceal the cracks in their top order.There will be days – maybe quite a few days – when England get away with a poor start. With Root looking as if he may develop into a top player and Moeen Ali batting as low as No. 8, there will be times when the middle order are able to help the team rebuild from the loss of three early wickets. There will be times when they get away with it. Times when they have a safety net.But not always. No team, however deep the batting and however able the middle-order, can afford to find themselves three down as often as England have in recent times. No team can afford to have such a fragile opening partnership and no team can be overly reliant on one man.Root’s form in the last year or so has been exceptional: 1,513 runs at an average of 79.63 since June 2014. His stroke here – a waft that spoke of a mind scrambled by five sessions in the field, a huge deficit and a bowler of unusual pace – was unworthy of him, but he is human and he is 24. These things happen.England’s real issue is that so few of his colleagues seem able to fill the void when Root fails. England’s real issue is that he cannot mask all their flaws.Only three times in 13 innings since the start of the Caribbean tour have England gone past 75 two wickets down or less. On six occasions, the score had not even reached 50 before the third wicket fell. Only three times have England put on more than 17 for the first wicket.

If a somnambulant Lord’s was still half asleep when the innings began, it was wide awake after Lyth wafted at a wide delivery. Suddenly there was a hint of the Gabba about the place

All too often, England are starting their innings from the fragile foundation of 10 for 1 and 50 for 3. All too often, England’s middle order are exposed to the new ball. All too often, they are obliged to do the job of the top order. They will not always be able to shoulder such a burden. If England are to win the Investec Ashes, they will need the entire team to contribute.And remember, had Brad Haddin caught Root at Cardiff before he had scored, England would have been 43 for 4 and the weakness would have been exposed even more visibly. They got away with it on that occasion. It is foolish to think such fortune will continue to flow.This was an unsettling evening from an England perspective. The apparent air of resignation that hung around Lord’s as England bowled for five sessions was suddenly transformed into something urgent and desperate when Australia bowled. Perhaps it was superior skill, perhaps it was superior belief, perhaps it was a combination of physical weariness and scoreboard pressure, but whereas Australia had accumulated with calm assurance, England looked rattled and hurried when they began their reply.Reasoning that they had one opportunity to seize this match, Australia went hard at England with the new ball. And if a somnambulant Lord’s was still half asleep when the innings began, it was wide awake after Adam Lyth, looking shaken by the sudden increase in intensity, was drawn into a waft at a wide delivery. Suddenly England looked tense and Australia scented blood. Suddenly there was just a hint of the Gabba about Lord’s.While it would be premature to drop Lyth – it is only five Test innings since he made a century against a strong New Zealand attack – this was not the stroke of a Test opening batsman. He will face far more hostile environments, far less docile pitches. One score above 37 in seven Test innings – and four below 13 – does not bode well.England have not had a really effective opening partnership since Andrew Strauss retired. Or some time before that, really, as Strauss made only three centuries in the final three years of his career and did not make a half-century in his final eight innings. Nick Compton (with an average 31.93 from nine Tests) came closest to making the role his own but he was deemed not to be the sort of character some in the management wanted and was afforded little patience after three successive poor Tests. There are few better defenders of fast bowling in the county game, though.Sam Robson could come again but he appears to be a player in development. And decent batsmen though the likes of Varun Chopra, Mark Stoneman and Alex Lees are, to throw them in against this attack would be a asking a great deal of them. It is at such times, then, that England need their senior players to deliver.England’s top order found life far harder than Australia on a seemingly docile pitch•Getty ImagesIan Bell looked aghast the pitch when he was bowled, but he would have been better served looking at his technique. While Bell was undoubtedly the victim of a lovely piece of bowling – a full ball swung wonderfully late – he will reflect from the replays that his attempt to whip it through midwicket hardly gave him the best chance of negating the movement. The game may have changed in many ways, but the old adage about playing with the full face of the bat and into the V remains as relevant now as ever.Bell is often talked of as having the best technique in the England side. But it is a basic tenet of the game that the new ball is better played straight than with an angled bat. For an experienced player who had just seen his side’s No. 3 bowled by a late-swinging ball, his was a poor stroke. He has now reached 30 once in 11 innings and, on seven of those occasions, failed to pass 1. Of equal concern is the fact that, in those 11 innings, he has now been bowled four times. Coming during a game when he dropped a tricky but vital chance in the slips, the pressure on him is growing.And then there is Gary Ballance. His dismissal here, deep in the crease and unable to negate late swing that hit his off stump, was somewhat familiar. While the facile answer to his issues would be to convince him to play further forward, such an apparent solution would create several other technical problems. In short, it would weaken one of his strengths: the ability to minimise his dismissals edging to the slip cordon by remaining admirably compact and not pushing at the ball.In mitigation, he really did receive a very fine ball. Full and quick to take this docile pitch out of the equation, it swung late enough to beat Ballance’s tentative prod.But his problem may be more basic. If he studies replays of his dismissal, he may conclude that he is not watching the ball on to the bat as closely as he thinks. He need only study Chris Rogers’ method – and Lord knows he has had plenty of opportunity in recent days – to understand how top-order batsmen watch the ball right on to their bat.One option would be to promote Root to No. 3. He did open in the last Ashes series in England, after all. That would, at least, allow him to prevent such collapses rather than rebuild after them. England could also bring in another batsman – the likes of Jonny Bairstow or James Taylor – for the middle-order role. But it would also weaken a considerable strength in this England side. Root averages 33.53 batting in the top three and 65.50 from positions four to seven.Whatever happens over the next three days at Lord’s, England can no longer ignore the mountain of evidence that is building about the top order. They cannot ask for slower wickets. They cannot squeeze any more batsmen into their XI. There have been too many failures to dismiss it as an aberration.

Steven Smith played in every international fixture of Australia’s arduous tour of the British Isles. But victory in the final ODI of the summer allows him to take a break with great satisfaction

Andrew McGlashan at Old Trafford 13-Sep-20151:10

“It’s very satisfying – Steven Smith

A weary Steven Smith praised his inexperienced side after they dug deep to take the series decider against England, but afterwards admitted he was looking forward to a few days at home.Smith was the only player to appear in every one of Australia’s 13 international fixtures on this tour, including the one-off ODI against Ireland in Belfast in August, and he also played in two Tests in West Indies before reaching England. He now has a 10-day break before heading to Bangladesh where he will be in charge of one of Australia’s most inexperienced squads following the spate of retirements which became a feature of this tour.Those retirements – plus player rotation which was a feature for both sides – meant the Australia side which played at Old Trafford only had four survivors from their victory against New Zealand in the World Cup final at the end of March. Smith was one, along with Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc after the latter was wheeled out for one final match on this tour when Australia would have preferred for him to rest ahead of Bangladesh.”It’s very satisfying. I think it’s really pleasing for us to be able to win a series away from home with the lack of experience we’ve had over here,” Smith said. “One thing this team does really well is we learn quite quickly which is extremely pleasing. That’s encouraging signs for us going forward, making sure we learn from our mistakes quickly and the guys are doing that.”Although England triumphed in the Ashes, the talk before the one-day series was that Australia’s depth in pace bowling would prove too much. Mitchell Johnson and Josh Hazlewood were rested from the whole series while Nathan Coulter-Nile was injured in the second ODI at Lord’s. Ultimately, that proved the case as Starc, Pat Cummins, John Hastings and Mitchell Marsh dismantled England for 138 at Old Trafford.Much as he did in the World Cup final when he bowled Brendon McCullum, Starc set the tone on his recall by removing Jason Roy, albeit to a fortuitous lbw. But the bulk of the wicket-taking was done by Hastings and Marsh, who claimed 4 for 27 with zippy seam bowling. While Hastings may not have a vast part to play in Australia’s future, Marsh, who was named Man of the Series for his 134 runs and eight wickets, certainly does.”I thought he was really impressive throughout this one-day series, probably more with ball than bat, but he’s a really talented young player and he has a very bright future,” Smith said. “He summed up conditions really well and was able to get the ball in good areas through the whole series and he’s just going to keep improving.”Overall, however, Australia’s bowler of the series was Cummins who sustained pace above 90mph as he claimed 12 wickets at 19.66. Including the ODI against Ireland last month, his six-match stretch is the longest of Cummins’ injury-hit career to date, and Smith was confident that he could sustain his performance through to Test cricket as well.”I thought he was extremely impressive through the series,” Smith said. “He has worked extremely hard to get back after a tough time. It’s great to see him back on the field and bowling consistently at 150kph, it’s never nice to face. I’m confident that if he gets picked for a Test that he’ll be able to stand up to it.”A Test chance may come in Bangladesh, but Smith will not be immediately worrying about that. “I’m a bit tired to be perfectly honest,” he said. “It’s been a long summer, it’s been a great summer, a tough summer, so I’m just looking forward to the next 10 days before Bangladesh.”

Our correspondent rubs shoulders with the stars, and soaks up the desert sun of the UAE

Andrew McGlashan06-Nov-2015October 11
First full day on tour. Head down to the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi to watch training. It’s hot, but apparently already cooler than the first few days, when the team and colleagues arrived. Players say they had never felt temperatures like in Sharjah, where the warm-up matches were played. The spaceship-style stadium at the ground provides welcome shade as England go through a high-intensity training session. England’s batsmen have promised to stay true to themselves and play positively; during nets they repeatedly ping balls over the boundary towards the watching press. I’m sure it isn’t intentional.The evening is spent at the launch of a new statistical analysis tool that takes the study of cricket numbers to a new level of detail. They can tell you how far a delivery has seamed or spun, or how far ahead of the game a team is, based on historical data. Who says there’s too much data in cricket?October 12
Yasir Shah skips in to bowl during Pakistan’s nets session. Next thing, he’s in a heap at the crease. Then he’s helped off the ground. It doesn’t look good. What a moment this could be. Nervous, worried looks from the Pakistan camp. Misbah-ul-Haq is uneasy at his press conference. They have no back-up spinner.October 14
The record books are thumbed as Adil Rashid toils and toils. He finishes with none for 163, the most expensive figures by a Test debutant, overtaking another legspinner – Australia’s Bryce McGain. There is one moment when a shot is chipped just over mid-off that Rashid almost goes to his knees in the bowling crease.The Abu Dhabi heat was hardly a deterrent for the enthusiastic cricketers of a local corporate league•Andrew McGlashan/ESPNcricinfoOctober 16
As the Test match continues on a flat pitch, games pop up around the Sheikh Zayed Stadium, on concrete pitches that offer more bounce than the one we are watching. At lunch I decide to wander over and see who is playing. My goodness, it brings home the heat of the day – just a ten-minute stroll and you are melting. How does Alastair Cook do it?The local players usher me into their tent and offer a bottle of water. Afzal introduces himself. He is part of Serco-zu Raptors. They are playing in a corporate league made up of teams from Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain. It’s the first weekend of the season for them, as temperatures begin to drop (or so they insist). Their innings finishes on 199 off 20 overs. The enthusiasm and joy for the game is clear. Afzal says that the finals of the tournament, which are played in the nursery ground of the main stadium, can attract up to 2000 people. If anyone knows what the final result in the game was, let me know.October 17
Nailed-on dull draw, surely? Maybe not, then. When England declare with a lead of 75, it feels like a token effort to put some pressure on Pakistan. But Rashid bags five to leave 99 needed in 19 overs. However, the light is already fading. They will never get the overs in. Sure enough, after 11, the umpires come together and the players walk off. It’s unsatisfactory, but it later emerges the captains were given the chance to keep playing and they declined. The day-night experiment can’t come soon enough. Cricket must stop being so insular.October 18
A very relaxed press chat with England coach Trevor Bayliss the morning after the dramatic finish. Then it’s on the road to Dubai – no need for internal flights on this tour – in time for the biggest contest of the trip: the Media v ICC cricket match.There had been concerns over the fitness of key legspinner, Scyld Berry of the , but he makes a remarkable recovery. The side is captained by John Etheridge of the and includes a couple of chaps who, from memory, played a bit: M Vaughan and G Swann. The ICC includes Adrian Griffith as an opener and they compile an impressive 170 despite the best efforts of Berry. In reply, David Clough of the Press Association and Paul Radley of the lay a solid foundation but the asking rate rises above 10 an over, and despite the best efforts of Vaughan and Swann the chase falls just short. Media requests after the match are refused as the team goes into lockdown. It is understood book deals are in the offing.Excess baggage: the 1995 Singer Champions Trophy, still awaiting a Sri Lanka-bound flight•Andrew McGlashan/ESPNcricinfoOctober 19
It’s strange what you can stumble across during a tour. Invited to a launch event for the Masters Champions League (it’s clearly in vogue for players to come out of retirement), I happen on what turns out to be quite a big story. One of the rules of participating in the MCL is that a player has to have retired from all three international formats. Sat at the top table is Virender Sehwag. An early question to him is along the lines of, “You haven’t retired from international cricket yet.” He responds with, “I will, to play in the MCL.” It appears Sehwag has just retired. A tweet (not entirely innocent, I’ll admit) is followed by some frenzied activity on the timeline, followed by a call from the ESPNcricinfo Bangalore office. It all makes me chuckle; the guy hasn’t played for India in two and a half years and is a day shy of 37. Semantics then play a part in whether he actually has retired, before a video interview confirms it, although the announcement will come in India. I only came for the food and music.October 20
Entertained at the British consulate as part of an event to welcome the England team to town. The players are in attendance and very relaxed; it’s a noticeable change over the last six months. Interesting chatting with some of the expats about life in Dubai – the place splits opinion, but there seem to be plenty of perks to living overseas.October 26
More final-session drama when it did not appear likely. This time England are eight down at tea, but get within seven overs of saving the game. Rashid is almost the hero (again) only to drive to cover, having played superbly for nearly four hours. Not the fifth-day impact people talk about for a legspinner.A peculiar sight near the groundsman’s allotments in Sharjah•Andrew McGlashan/ESPNcricinfoOctober 27
Bayliss reflects on England’s almost-great escape in Dubai. As ever, he is honest and straightforward with his answers. Wonder how he was able to keep his emotions in check when the middle order was playing a few of those shots on the third morning which cost England the game.Then it’s on to an event with Shane Warne and Michael Vaughan to launch a golf tournament. They are vice-captains of Australia and Rest of the World respectively. Ask Vaughan what would be more nerve-wracking: the final moments of Edgbaston in 2005 or a four-foot putt to win a match. “The four-footer, no doubt,” he says. “At least with cricket I sort of knew what I was doing.”Manage to grab a few minutes with Warne afterwards where he says he would like to bowl with Yasir in the nets. When asked about the challenge of bowling first as a legspinner, he reflects on how he had to do it a fair bit and mentions Edgbaston in that ’05 summer. “Ricky Ponting won the toss and bowled.” Enough said.October 29
It’s always fun to visit a ground for the first time. This is my first look at Sharjah, one of the game’s most storied venues. A world away from Dubai or Abu Dhabi, but wonderful for it. Close your eyes and you can almost hear the roars as Sachin belts another boundary or Wasim uproots another stump.Meet Mazhar Khan, who has been involved since 1975 and has seen it all through the years. He has a collection of trophies on his sideboard, one of which stands out more than others. It’s the Singer Champions Trophy from 1995, which Sri Lanka won as a precursor to their World Cup triumph. Why’s it still here? It was so big that Sri Lanka didn’t want to carry it home, so it has lived in Mazhar’s office for 20 years.Also find goats tethered up near the groundsman’s allotments. You don’t see that at Lord’s. Wonder if they are a reason there’s no grass on the pitch.October 30
Warne is good value as he speaks after a training session with Rashid – to follow one with Yasir – but you wonder whether the hyperbole has gone a little too far when he says Rashid has as good a legbreak as there is. Still, if some of that confidence from Warne rubs off on Rashid, English cricket will be well served.Manage to escape to the desert for an evening of dune-bashing, local food, camel-riding and star-gazing. Even while still relatively close to Dubai, it reminds you of the vast emptiness that surrounds the glittering city.November 3
Sit in on a second international retirement in two weeks, as Shoaib Malik surprisingly calls it quits in Test cricket two Tests after making 245. As he repeats the fact about having a five-year gap in his Test career, you can’t help but feel he just wanted the chance to show he could still do it, although scores after his double – 0, 2, 7, 38, and a first-ball duck – tend to sum up his career. As England strive to stay in the series, Malik’s reprieve on 40, when Stuart Broad overstepped in Abu Dhabi, now looks even more pivotal.November 5
No final session, fifth-day drama this time. England barely made it past lunch, spun out by Yasir, Zulfiqar Babar and Malik. A brief reminder of 2012, but this has been a much improved performance by England although plenty of holes remain in the team. It’s a delight to see Pakistan win again. However cynical you want to be about rankings, moving up to No. 2 in the world is a wonderful achievement. Maybe one day there will be a chance to cover a series in Pakistan. For now, they remain a force in a home away from home.

Plus: women double-internationals, and South Africa’s lowest Test total at home

Steven Lynch19-Jan-2016Was the partnership between Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson at Hamilton the biggest for any wicket in Twenty20 internationals? asked Juan Castro from Hong Kong
The unbroken stand of 171 between Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson, which hurried New Zealand to a ten-wicket victory over Pakistan in Hamilton over the weekend was a new record partnership for T20Is – by just one run. Back in November 2009, South Africa’s openers Graeme Smith and Loots Bosman piled on 170 against England in Centurion in just 13 overs, hitting 15 sixes between them. There had been 11 previous ten-wicket victories in T20Is: New Zealand are the first country to manage three.Is it right that, before last week, Pakistan had lost only one Twenty20 international when defending a total of 150-plus? asked Asim Mahmood from Pakistan
There have now been 67 instances of the side batting second overhauling a total of 150 or more to win a T20I – and it’s true that last week’s match in Hamilton was only the second time it had happened to Pakistan. The other occasion was in St Lucia in May 2010, in the semi-final of the World T20 in the West Indies: Pakistan rattled up 191 for 6, but Australia reached their target when Mike Hussey hit successive balls in the last over for six, six, four and six. For the full list of the highest totals batting second in T20Is, click here.Pakistan lost the World T20 semi-final in St Lucia to Australia after scoring 191•AFPI’ve seen the list of men who played for two countries in Tests or one-day internationals. But are there any women who have done this? asked Jennifer Bradley from England
No woman has yet played for different sides in Test matches, but two have done it in one-day internationals. Nicola Payne played 37 ODIs for Netherlands – her debut, in the 1988 World Cup, was rather painful, as the Dutch were skittled for 29 by Australia in Perth – and in 1999-2000 switched allegiance to New Zealand, playing 28 ODIs for them and scoring 93 against India in Lincoln in 2002-03, her final season. Just to confuse things further, Payne was born in Canada! Wicketkeeper Rowan Milburn – whose father Barry kept wicket for New Zealand in Tests – performed a similar double: she played in seven matches for Netherlands in the 2000 Women’s World Cup in New Zealand (playing against Payne in one of them), then returned home to New Zealand and played eight times for them in 2007, including on tours of India and England.Was South Africa’s 83 all out at the Wanderers their lowest total in a home Test? asked Lysa Lopes from Bahrain
That Stuart Broad-inspired collapse to 83 in Johannesburg at the weekend was South Africa’s lowest all-out total in a Test at home since 1956-57, when they were skittled for 72 by England twice in successive matches, in Johannesburg and in Cape Town. Their only lower score anywhere since then was the 79 they scraped together against India in Nagpur in November 2015. In all South Africa have been bowled out 13 times for less than 83, although seven of those instances came before the First World War.Hardus Viljoen is possibly only the second Test player to hit a four and take a wicket with the first balls of his career•Getty ImagesWas South Africa’s 313 at Johannesburg the lowest total in which everyone – including Extras – reached double figures? asked Tushar Mukherjee from the United States
South Africa’s 313 in their first innings at the Wanderers provided only the 13th instance of all 11 batsmen making it into double figures in the same innings (Extras didn’t get there in two of those). And 313 was indeed the lowest total among those innings: the previous lowest was South Africa’s 358 against Australia in Melbourne in 1931-32, although India came close with 359 against New Zealand in Dunedin in 1967-68. Some statisticians were getting excited at the possibility of South Africa also breaking the record for the highest innings without an individual half-century, but in the end they fell just short of England’s 315 against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1985-86, when the highest score was David Gower’s 47 – although there were 59 extras.Hardus Viljoen hit his first ball in Tests for four, and later took a wicket with his first ball. Has anyone else managed this particular double? asked Mark Long from England
Hardus Viljoen’s feat, in South Africa’s third Test against England in Johannesburg, seems to have been the second time this particular debut double has been achieved (we don’t have full details for many early matches). Back in 1929-30, in New Zealand’s first-ever Test, in Christchurch, Matt Henderson hit his first ball (from England’s Maurice Allom) for four, and later dismissed Eddie Dawson with his opening delivery. It didn’t betoken a distinguished Test career, though: Henderson, a 35-year-old left-armer, never played again. Viljoen, whose maiden victim was Alastair Cook, was the 20th bowler known to have taken a wicket with his first ball in a Test.Send in your questions using our feedback form.

ESPNcricinfo marks the New Zealand players out of 10 after they completed a 2-0 series win against Sri Lanka

Andrew Fidel Fernando22-Dec-2015

9

Kane Williamson (268 runs at 89.33)
Top-scored and played the innings of the series, finished with five hundreds in 2015 (with at least one ton in each of the series he played), broke the New Zealand record for most runs in a calendar year, and fielded virtually flawlessly again. At this point, it would not be surprising if he began levitating at the crease. He is the top Test batsman in the world at the age of 25, so he has time to work on that.

8

Tim Southee (13 wickets at 16.30)
Last year, when Sri Lanka visited, Southee swung the ball viciously in both directions – and judging by the reactions of the batsmen – through undiscovered spatial planes as well. He wasn’t quite as brutal with the new ball in this series, yet was the most consistently menacing bowler of the series. Got a little reverse swing in Dunedin, and his bouncer wasn’t too shabby in Hamilton either.Martin Guptill (253 runs at 63.25)
An encouraging series for Guptill to follow a torrid one in Australia. His ton in Dunedin set New Zealand up perfectly in that Test, and his somewhat fortuitous fifty in the first innings in Hamilton won his team some important ground, before Dushmantha Chameera began bouncing people out. Took a terrific catch at leg gully to dismiss Dinesh Chandimal in the second innings of the second Test, though he had also dropped one in the slips in the previous game.

7

Neil Wagner (nine wickets at 26)
In a way, Wagner helped define the series, because he had been the first bowler to employ that short ball into the ribs, which later became a weapon for so many. He broke open Angelo Mathews’ considerable defence in Dunedin, and continued to trouble Sri Lanka’s middle and lower orders in Hamilton. Was called a “workhorse” by his captain prior to the first Test, but ended up having plenty of impact.Doug Bracewell (five wickets at 40, 82 runs at 82)
So many team-mates and New Zealand support staff spoke about Bracewell being unlucky this series, that you wondered if he had contracted some sort of rare disease. He bowled a terrific line throughout the series, but didn’t do a lot with the ball – which may explain his comparatively lighter hauls. Also had two catches dropped in Dunedin. In any case, he was brought on to bowl to tail-enders in Hamilton, seemingly as part of a “Get Doug A Wicket” initiative. Was effective at No. 8 when he was required as well.Tom Latham (163 runs at 54.33)
Scored a heartening first century on home soil in Dunedin, setting New Zealand up for their day-four declaration. Was the recipient of some good fortune in that innings, but batted sagely otherwise, riding out probing spells from Rangana Herath in particular. Was dismissed twice in the twenties, but as he appears to be developing series to series, New Zealand will not mind that much.Brendon McCullum (128 runs at 42.66)
Spoke about respecting the opposition before the series, then came out the next day and slammed 75 from 57 deliveries against them. In Dunedin, the visitors never quite recovered from that salvo. McCullum was less effective with the bat for the remainder of the series, but his captaincy always seems sharp at home. Had his bowlers switch plans when the usual edges to slip did not materialise in Hamilton. Is poised to retire from Tests now, but typically for the man, his tenure at the helm has been brief but dynamic.

6

BJ Watling (46 runs at 23, 15 catches)
Mousy, soft-spoken and expressionless, Watling took several outstanding catches in the series, and made them look almost mundane. His tally of nine dismissals in the Dunedin Test equals a New Zealand record. He was almost flawless with the gloves throughout the series. Not much was required of his other discipline, though he has now had two modest series in a row as a batsman.After a supreme performance in Australia, Ross Taylor managed just 58 runs in the two Tests•Getty Images

5

Mitchell Santner (54 runs at 18, four wickets at 31)
Much has been made of his T-Rex front arm in his bowling stride, but still managed to occasionally trouble batsmen on a flat surface in Dunedin. His batting did not impress in this series, but his fielding was excellent – the catch at the fine leg rope to dismiss Kusal Mendis in the second innings at Hamilton was a particular highlight.

4

Trent Boult (six wickets at 31.83)
Had back trouble in Australia, and didn’t appear totally recovered from that in this series. His pace was significantly lower than it had been on Sri Lanka’s previous visit, though he did bowl the occasional beauty.

2

Ross Taylor (58 runs at 14.50)
Has had a lean year apart from that 290 in Perth, but perhaps had some poor luck in this series. Got a terrific ball early in his innings in the first dig in Hamilton, and was also out to an excellent boundary catch in the second. He dropped two slip catches as well – one of them a sitter.

England reached a respectable first-day total at Newlands, but a better bowling attack than South Africa’s would have punished the impatience of their top five

George Dobell in Cape Town02-Jan-2016It was entertaining and it was, at times, brilliant, but if England do not go on to win this series, they may well look back on the first day of the Cape Town Test with regret.This was a day when England missed an opportunity. Winning first use of a super surface – it has the pace and carry to reward quality batting and bowling and looks as though it will offer turn later – England had the chance to bat South Africa out of the game. Out of the series, even.They may yet do it. So well did Ben Stokes bat in the last 90 minutes of the day, exploiting a tired attack and some odd captaincy, that England still have the chance to build the imposing total that the conditions demand. At once stage he thrashed five of Chris Morris’ first seven deliveries with the second new ball to the boundary. It was that sort of day.But Stokes’ success – and he really does look like a cricketer on the verge of golden times – should not obscure the failings of this England side. If they want to be the best, they have to be more ruthless and, on the first day here, they gave a wounded South Africa several opportunities to claw their way back into the series.For it seems, like penny farthings and black-and-white TV, that the leave is a thing of the past. At least four of England’s batsmen (Alastair Cook, Alex Hales, James Taylor and Joe Root) were out to deliveries that could and should have been left with the failure to convert strong starts again an issue. They have recorded seven half-centuries this series without anyone going on to make a century and Root’s even 50 was the fifth time since the Cardiff Ashes Test that he has reached that figure without converting to a hundred.And, as has been said, it is centuries that win matches. Especially on surfaces like this where a total of 400 is probably just about approaching par.With a young South African attack – three of the four main bowlers had six Test caps between them going into this match – facing a flat pitch and a hot sun, the situation called for ruthless batting. It called for England to grind their opposition down with five sessions in the field. It called for them to build a match-defining total and apply scoreboard pressure and, perhaps, exploit any spin or swing that may be gained.But it seems the world has changed. It seems the world has accelerated. And Test cricket reflects that. On a day when more than 80,000 went to a domestic T20 match in Australia, Test cricket apparently feels a need to compete and keep up.There is almost relentless pressure on batsmen to score quickly these days. Whether it is social media or commentators, it has become common to hear the view that slow batsmen add to the pressure on their team-mates. Players are not immune to these influences.How else to explain Nick Compton, the poster boy for blockers, attempting to thrash Chris Morris on the up through extra cover a few overs after lunch? He got away with it, but it was a bizarrely poor selection of shot from a man whose role is to build the foundations for his side. His departure, by contrast, pulling to midwicket on the stroke of tea, seemed forgivable: the shot was on; he just executed it poorly.But how else to explain James Taylor reaching into a drive from his first delivery, well outside off stump, and edging to the keeper? Or Alastair Cook, the master of discipline and denial, being drawn into a drive and slicing a catch to slip? Or Joe Root, who remains incensed at his own failure to converts fifties into hundreds, and was lured into flirting outside off stump by a gap at third man. Each dismissal was impatient; each dismissal was avoidable.There was no need to rush. There were plenty of poor balls delivered by this inexperienced attack without the need to search for them.Perhaps Hales can be excused. While he could have left the delivery that dismissed him on length – this may be the quickest pitch England have played on since Perth – it was a fine ball nonetheless.Besides, there is no conflict between praising Hales and Stokes’ bold strokeplay and criticising Compton and Cook for theirs. They have different roles and different skills. It is the variety they offer that gives England such potential. That and the depth of their batting, which here feasted on the bowling later in the day.Pressure upon the England batsmen to score quickly also comes from closer to home.The England camp say there were no instructions given to the batsmen to accelerate at lunch or to play particularly aggressively in this match. In contrast, they say the current mantra in the team is to ‘play your natural game; the game that saw you selected from county cricket’. So just as Stokes is expected, even encouraged, to bat positively, so Compton is expected to bat cautiously.That message may have become lost in recent days, though. Any of the players reading Trevor Bayliss’s post-match comments in Durban can only have concluded that their coach wants them to push on. They can only have concluded that he values positivity above solidity and felt encouraged, even subconsciously, to play more aggressively.Bayliss’s logic on that issue – which, put simplistically, is that a fine ball can dismiss a batsman at any time, so they should make progress while they can – is questionable. Just as a driver does not accelerate through foggy conditions to get through them, so a batsman with a good defence and patient approach is far less likely to be dismissed by the good ball when it is delivered. Just as Bayliss wouldn’t expect his team to begin their climb of Table Mountain with a sprint, so he should expect his top-order to build an innings without the added burden of strike-rate considerations. Five days provides plenty of time for circumspection.Of course there is a need to put away the bad ball. Of course a strokeless batsmen can put his partners under some pressure. But the history of Test cricket would seem to suggest that more bad balls will be delivered once the bowlers tire and the ball softens. And pressure builds on bowlers, too, when they strap on their boots for another session without a wicket and on captains when they see their attack tire and their options diminish. Certainly the decision not to give the second new ball to Morne Morkel and to give Kagiso Rabada just one slip within five overs of that new ball suggested a slightly scrambled mind for South Africa’s captain, Hashim Amla.England, at present, are an exciting and entertaining team and those are fine qualities. But they are also giving their opposition a chance. The best teams don’t do that. They have to dare to be dull, as Gideon Haigh once put it. A better team than South Africa – and there are better teams out there, whatever the rankings say – would have punished them today.

Hashim Amla shelved his usual serenity to produce an innings of steely resolve, and led South Africa’s fightback in the only way he knows how

Firdose Moonda at Newlands04-Jan-2016Hashim’s Army had to go to work today. As it turned out, so did he.The 170 guys and gals who wore fake beards and occupied Block B on the North Stand for the weekend, where their hit single was a chant of “Hashim, Hashim-Hashim, Hashim-Hashim, Hashim-Hashim-Hashim,” followed by a pause to allow the Barmy Army to chime “Moeen, Moeen-Moeen, Moeen-Moeen, Moeen-Moeen-Moeen,” in a vocal battle of the beards, were not around to sing their captain’s redemption song. However, as Bob Marley himself would have told them, “none but ourselves can free our minds.”Maybe Amla needed them not to be there, so he could mentally unshackle himself from the chains of the last two months. With every run, he unlocked a link and claimed a little more control to reverse the reasoning of the last few weeks – namely, that he had lost much of it.Du Plessis vows to fight on

Faf du Plessis was proud of his team’s efforts to stay in the second Test but acknowledged that their job was only half-complete after a day in which he recorded his first half-century for exactly 12 months.

Du Plessis finished the day on 51 not out in an unbroken 85-run partnership with his captain, Hashim Amla, whose unbeaten 157 was his first century since December 2014.

“As senior players, we like to score and contribute as much as we can,” said du Plessis. “You don’t want to have three or four seniors that are not contributing. Hashim has put in a lot of hard work in the nets to get a big score like he did today.

“For me, it was nice to spend some time in the middle and get your confidence back. When you are looking for runs, 50s and 40s don’t make a big difference, You’ve got to cash in. That’s going to be my goal tomorrow.

“We are not a team that will sit here and say we are back on top and everything has changed. We know there is a lot of hard work still to be done. Consistency in batting is what we have achieved [in the past] and we’ve got to get back there.”

Du Plessis was one of South Africa’s most notable failures in their recent 3-0 series loss in India, where he scored 60 runs at 8.57 in seven innings.

“India was India. I wish we had an eraser to Tippex it out,” he said. “Sport is all about confidence and we lacked confidence after that series. Mentally it was a challenge for us.

“We’ve had a real strong Test team for a long period of time but any team goes through these changes. There are a lot of new guys, and you try and make the bridge of learning as short as possible.”

On the India tour, Amla made strange decisions about when and how to use his spinners, particularly Imran Tahir. In the Boxing Day Test, he did not seem to be making any decisions at all, neither on the field nor off it. When asked about team selection, Amla said it was not up to him which XI took the field but that he depended on the selectors and committed himself to work with what they gave him. When asked about the choice of consultant – South Africa roped in Amla’s predecessor, Graeme Smith, who was vocal in his criticism on commentary – Amla was uncertain about the nature of Smith’s involvement and said he understood Smith would be around for the rest of the series. Smith later said he had not made a decision about the extent of his involvement.The only thing Amla was sure of ahead of the Newlands Test was that he wanted to continue as captain, even though there was a chorus calling for him to quit. Given his prior reluctance to lead, many thought he’d be better suited to just batting, but Amla defied them. He said he “enjoyed” the job even though he was desperate for runs. He was certain if he could contribute a little more, he could lead a little better. For someone of his quiet character, that makes sense.Unlike Smith, Amla cannot lead by being bullish, he must lead with the bat. Finally, that is what he has done.After South Africa lost an opener early (again), they needed a stoic, solid stand but they did not need the same kind of stonewalling that has seen them save Tests and attempt to save Tests in the past. The second day of the match is not the time to become so defensive that if the opposition attacks, defeat is inevitable. There had to be a balance between scoring runs and refusing them, and between saving face and saving the gam,e and Amla has so far managed to do all of that.Unlike Ben Stokes’ highlights-reel double-hundred, Amla’s innings was not one for the ages. Apart from the late flick to bring up fifty on the second afternoon, a wonderfully timed shot through square leg on the third morning, and a classy cover drive for his 7000th Test run, there weren’t many other memorable shots. There didn’t need to be.This was innings of attrition. It was eyecatching in its stubborness and for its fight. Amla and Dean Elgar steadied South Africa, then Amla and AB de Villiers saw them to some kind of safety, and then Amla saw Faf du Plessis back into some kind of form. In between that, there was the rare sight of Amla struggling. With himself.On a surface that offered very little assistance for the quicks and no turn at all, all the batsmen battled themselves more than the opposition attack. For Amla, the fight was in the footwork. He had to get his feet moving again like he had before, so that he would not offer loose drives as he had in the second innings in Durban. He had to get himself moving forward but not as hastily as he has been doing in the recent past, so that he could still drive but without breaking the speed limit. He had to choose how much to defend – and there was a lot of defending to do – and when to keep things moving, so that he did not end up leaving the rest with a mountain to climb and no-one to guide them. He did not get it right all of the time.The fluency that has become so synonymous with Amla was replaced with a stop-start kind of stiltedness. He scored runs in equal measure on the off- and on-side but not many down the ground and he never really looked as though he’d got going. Even after he’d reached each of his three landmarks, he seemed to be starting over every ball and the effects were exhausting on everyone including himself.He was stuck on 69 for 32 balls, for example, and his concentration was tested throughout. It first seemed to wane when, on 76, he offered a catch to James Anderson at slip off Joe Root. In a cruel reversal of what had happened on the first day, when Root dropped de Villiers off Anderson, Anderson put it down. Amla made another mistake when he was on 120 and flashed at a Steven Finn delivery but Nick Compton put him down at backward point.At the end of the day, Amla’s energy flagged, and he called on the medical staff to assist with cramp. There would be nothing unusual about this observation had anyone else been batting – it was well over 30 degrees and the heat was sapping – but Amla has a reputation for not even sweating. He did not change his gloves once during his record 311 against England in 2012.That was an innings of authority. This was an innings of intent. If Hashim’s army had half an eye on things from their workplaces they would have been satisfied with their soldier today. He hasn’t won yet but he has put up one hell of a fight.

Associate cricket is all about winning, said Scotland’s captain Preston Mommsen, and in a major tournament Scotland have still to experience what it feels like

Jarrod Kimber in Nagpur10-Mar-2016Second ball George Munsey tried to reverse sweep. Third ball as well. The fourth ball he smashed a reverse sweep. The fifth ball as well. Scotland were chasing 147. Scotland were trying to make some noise.The last ball of the first over Munsey came down the wicket. He looked lost the minute he left his crease. Whatever shot he had in his mind, whatever fantasy of destruction was playing, out on the field there was a confused batsman, way out of his crease, trying to invent a shot that would save him. It didn’t.For Scotland, nothing ever saves them.Twenty games. That is how many times Scotland have lined up in a major ICC tournament. One has been washed out. 19 have been lost. Twenty matches in 17 years, scattered around when they somehow qualify by overcoming years of amateur, shambolic administration, or when the ICC allow enough spots for them to claw their themselves into.Eleven of those were colossal smashings. Bowled out for 68 against the West Indies in the 99 World Cup. Making 136 against Netherlands, and having it chased in 23.5 overs in the 2007 World Cup. And losing a T20 game by 130 runs to South Africa.They have also gone close. In the ’99 World Cup they were chasing a low Bangladesh total confidently before they collapsed horrendously. They had Pakistan 116 for 6 in their first game of the ’07 WT20 before Pakistan regrouped. New Zealand only beat them by three wickets in the 2015 World Cup, and they made Bangladesh chase over 300 to beat them. And then there was Afghanistan in the same tournament.Their 210 total seemed safe when Afghanistan fell to 132 for 8. It felt safe again, after a small scare, when it was 192 for 9. It wasn’t. Afghanistan won their first ever match in a World Cup, and the Scottish changeroom went into the eerie silence they know too well.Their fans live with this, many of them travelling to these games. They are passionate, loud, and used to disappointment. Their off field organisation has improved so much in the last year that it’s like this is a different set up. They have never been closer to professional.And this may be the best group Scotland has ever produced. A group that since the last World Cup has played in one ODI. This is a proper cricket country, with a long history, hungry to improve and embarrassed to be the world record holders for the most losses without a win in a major ICC tournament.Kenya, Canada, Netherlands, UAE, Hong Kong and now even Oman have won matches. But Scotland just don’t win.In the first game of this tournament they were smashing Afghanistan around everywhere. Eighty-four runs without loss from 8.4 overs, chasing 160. Captain Preston Mommsen called it a “world class partnership”. The next ball they lost a wicket. It took them nine overs to hit a boundary after that; they ended up 14 runs short of a total they had almost broken the back of.Today Zimbabwe made it to 147. Scotland weren’t perfect in the field, they dropped Sean Williams which cost them. Matthew Cross, their gun keeper, let a ball go straight through his legs and fumbled another. Even their one great highlight, the catch of Michael Leask, came about because he dropped a simple chance.When batting, after Munsey’s wicket, Scotland kept attacking. Michael Leask, who’d been sent up the order to make some noise, moved down the wicket confidently, swung his bat beautifully, and stared straight down the ground hopefully, where he was aiming. Behind him the bails were taken off. It was almost as if he was staring at some alternate reality where things went Scotland’s way.Scotland lost four wickets by the 19th ball. The press scorer had no time to announce them one by one, and instead grouped all four of them together.But Scotland didn’t roll over. They kept fighting, and with Mommsen and Richie Berrington at the crease they got back in charge, and got themselves in a position to win. Even after Mommsen was out, even after Scotland had lost, Mommsen was still fighting. He laughed off thoughts that this was anything but a qualifying event. And then spoke about life as an Associate.”I don’t think people understand the pressure that comes from being an Associate team. Every time you take the field, no matter what kind of cricket, T20, ODI or four-day cricket, you are playing for something. You’re playing for money, you’re playing for funding, you’re playing for opportunity. Associate cricket is about winning at all costs, and that is the nature of the beast, and it is a beast.” He was right, but his comments won’t make much of a noise in this tournament.When he found cover, his team needed 55 off 35 balls with five wickets in hand. There was still some fight left and with Josh Davey hitting big, Scotland then needed 24 from 13 when Donald Tiripano bowled a slow half-tracker to Richie Berrington.A limp ball, a limp shot, and ultimately a limp finish.After the last wicket, when Ali Evans stumps were in random areas behind him, he just stayed on his knee. Staring. Not moving. Even when Mark Watt walked over to him he didn’t talk. They just shared the silence. Scotland’s silence.