Pakistan legspinner Yasir Shah relives his success at Lord’s and talks about what it’s like to be acclaimed as the world’s best spinner

Interview by Kamran Abbasi22-Jul-2016What was the secret of your success at Lord’s?
I thank Allah for what I achieved. It was a dream come true. My aim was to contain the batsmen and support our fast bowlers. I bowled my first three or four overs tightly, without conceding many runs, and bowling the ball in the same area. But when I realised I was getting help from the wicket – some balls were going straight on and others were turning – I decided to attack. Luckily I was successful.Your first experience of bowling in a Test in England – what was it like?
I’m used to bowling in Asia, and you have to be patient there and bowl with great heart. The wickets are slow. You need to push the ball through. I’ve played here for a few years in league cricket, and I learnt that the wickets are a little quicker and the ball naturally bounces more. That means you need to bowl a little slower here. So I prepared for these wickets, and I think that brought me success.In UAE, the wickets are slow. Batsmen have time to play even a fullish ball on the back foot. You need to bowl with a little more power and speed so that the batsman doesn’t have time to go back, or so that the ball can skid on. If a batsman does go back to a full ball, you’ve got a chance of the ball skidding on and you can get him bowled or lbw. You need to bowl with a little more zip. It’s different here – the wickets are faster and greener. Legspin bowling is different on these wickets because you need to bowl with more flight and with loop. You’re more successful that way.Practice is very important for a legspinner. You need to practise every day and that’s how you get control. Also, you need a repeatable action. If your action doesn’t fall away, you bowl in the same area, contain the batsman and make life more difficult for him.You seemed to be more dangerous from the Pavilion end at Lord’s.
When I saw the wicket, and the slope from the Pavilion end, I tried to bowl in the same area. I thought if I bowl ten overs in the same place, I’ll pick up at least a couple of wickets. That’s what I tried, and thankfully I ended up with many more wickets.

“When I went to the press conference, the first question was: ‘Shane Warne has tweeted about you, what do you think?’ I was surprised. ‘What? Shane Warne is talking about me?’ It was like a dream come true to be praised by your favourite bowler”

Did the slope help you?
The effect of the slope was that when the ball lands on the shiny side it goes down the hill, and when it lands on the seam it turns. It puts the batsman in two minds – he doesn’t know if it’s going to land on the shiny side or on the seam. That’s why the batsman ends up confused as to whether to play for a legbreak or a ball that goes down the hill.Shane Warne said he’d sent you some advice before Lord’s.
Yes, we do stay in touch on Twitter, Messenger and Whatsapp. We were in touch before the Lord’s match, and he said he wouldn’t be there for most of it, but he arrived the day after I took five wickets. He’d been asking me how my bowling is going, how I was coping with the Dukes ball. I said it’s harder with the Dukes ball but our camp in Southampton helped me a lot.The camp helped with my fitness, but I also got accustomed to the pitches. I worked first on my grip, since the Dukes ball is a little more slippery than a Kookaburra. It’s the first time I’ve played a Test match with a Dukes. Did Warne give you any specific advice about bowling at Lord’s?
No, there was nothing specific but when we met in Sharjah during the England series he did give me advice, including about how to use the crease. I tried to do as he said and it’s been very helpful to me, especially in English conditions.He’s always been my favourite bowler ever since I was a little boy. When I played my first Test match I took four wickets against Australia, and he tweeted about me. When I went to the press conference, the first question was: “Shane Warne has tweeted about you, what do you think?” I was quite surprised. “What? He’s tweeted about me? Shane Warne is talking about me?” I couldn’t imagine that would happen. It was like a dream come true to be praised by your favourite bowler. We stayed in touch after that.You also played your part with the bat at Lord’s. How did you come to be promoted up the order?
I was No. 10 in the first innings but we sent in Rahat Ali as a nightwatchman. That moved me down to No. 11. In the second innings Misbah just told me I was going in earlier, and I said fine. But my whole effort was to allow my partner to play on. I wanted to fight until the final ball. If the captain needs me to bat in any position, I’m ready.”Legspin bowling is different on these [English] wickets because you need to bowl with more flight and with loop”•Getty ImagesYou’ve arrived on the international scene quite late.
I made my first class debut in 2003. I played a couple of first-class matches and then I didn’t play for three years. I played Grade 2 club cricket instead. The reason was that when I played first-class cricket, my bowling wasn’t what I thought it should be for a first-class bowler. It wasn’t properly first-class standard. That’s why I played Grade 2. I was 16 years old and I wanted to improve my bowling and my performance.After that I played first-class cricket for Customs, and I think I took 34 wickets in five matches. In 2011 I played against Zimbabwe when Waqar Younis was the coach. I took two wickets in a one-day match, and I also played T20s.I saw the standard of international cricket and I started working harder. I was out of the team and my plan was that when I returned, I’d be a regular player and a major player. That was my ambition and it made me put in more effort.How did you start out in cricket?
When I started to go to games in the sixth grade at school, I was very small and I was only allowed to field. I loved watching Jonty Rhodes at the time, and I’d dive everywhere. That’s why they got me to field. Then I started to bowl in the nets. When I bowled my first ball it don’t reach the other end of the net, so I started bowling from halfway down. From there, I worked and gradually improved.I was supported a great deal by my cousin in every way, including financially. When he moved to Bradford in 2002, he started to send me videos of Shane Warne bowling.What was your experience of playing league cricket in England like?
From 2009 to 2012 I played league cricket in Middlesborough. It was quite an experience. In my first game, a crowd gathered to watch the new club professional. It was very cold. I’d just arrived from Pakistan two days earlier. The first ball bounced twice. I thought, okay, my hands are cold, it happens. The next ball did the same thing. The third ball did that too. The next one was a wide. My hands were cold, the ball was different, and they’d asked me to bowl the first over in the match. All the English people watching were laughing. But thankfully, after that I bowled a couple of decent overs and then took five wickets. Once my balls started landing, that was it.Would you say your career was helped by Saeed Ajmal’s ban?
Yes, but I was very sorry we lost Saeed Ajmal. He was our leading spin bowler and he was a big player for us. Whenever a player of that calibre is ruled out, the team is weakened. We really felt his loss, even though I was playing. Also, if we’d played together he could have helped me. But I still got lots of support from the other seniors like Hafeez, Misbah, Younis and Waqar. Waqar motivated me a great deal.

“You need a repeatable action. If your action doesn’t fall away, you bowl in the same area, contain the batsman and make life more difficult for him”

You took 50 Test wickets fairly quickly. Was there anything in particular that you did?
There was a camp before my debut series against Australia, and we worked hard on my action. Mushtaq Ahmed worked with me and told me I needed a repeatable action. He said, “If you keep bowling in the same area in a Test match you’ll pick up a lot of wickets.” He motivated me and worked very hard on my action in the nets.I also have a great desire to perform well for Pakistan in every match. I make a separate plan for each game, and I play every match like it’s my last one. You can’t take it easy. Cricket is such a game that you can be knocked down at any point. It’s a game you have to respect.How successful are your variations?
My legbreak is working fine but I try to learn something new every day. I’m working on my topspinner but my googly is improving and I’m starting to land it more consistently. I used to avoid bowling a googly in a match and it was hard with my action, but I’ve worked on it and it’s improved. All the variations are important for a legspinner, so you can bowl a ball when you want and a batsman will then find you hard to hit.This is your first Test back after a ban. Was it hard being out of the team?
I felt miserable. You blame yourself for what happened, and for when things go wrong with the team. I watched the World T20 match against India and it was a spinner’s wicket. R Ashwin bowled the first ball and it turned alarmingly. I felt so bad that I couldn’t sleep all night. I was blaming myself, but you learn from these mistakes.Can you believe what has happened to you? A couple of years ago you were almost unknown and suddenly you’re being acclaimed as the best spin bowler in the world.
I’ve worked hard, and I’ve been blessed. I’ll keep working hard, and do my best to perform for Pakistan. It might seem sudden but behind this is the result of 12 or more years of effort. If I’d lost heart whenever I lost my place, I wouldn’t have got anywhere. Whenever there was a disappointment I decided to work harder and perform better. I hope the performances continue to improve and help Pakistan.”I’m working on my topspinner but my googly is improving”•AFPIf I think there’s something wrong with my performance, I try to work on my mistakes and weaknesses. Even in my home, in Swabi, I make a video of my practice sessions to watch my action, my arm and wrist positions. Our local coach, Maqsood Ali, has done his Level 2 coaching and he’s a great help to me.I’ve been helped by Mushy. Shane Warne, too. I’ve been to Abdul Qadir’s academy in Lahore several times. Whenever there’s a problem, he lets me know what it is and offers his advice.Waqar Younis helped me while he was coach. Mickey Arthur is excellent and I have a good understanding with him because we worked together in the PSL. He gives me advice on how to plan for different situations and helps me understand my role in the team. Before a match, all the bowlers sit together and watch videos of the batsmen we will face and assess their strong and weak points. We try to develop a plan for each batsman. England have plenty of good players, especially Cook and Root, and we try not to bowl to their strengths and focus on their weak areas.What are your ambitions?
To keep playing and to remain fit. To keep performing as well as I can. However long I play, I want to play for Pakistan’s pride and help Pakistan win. I’m very happy my name is on the honours board at Lord’s, and I’m confident we can keep performing well and keep winning in England.

While some batsmen successfully made tweaks to their game, others changed tracks to their detriment in Indore

Aakash Chopra11-Oct-2016Pujara’s minor change against SantnerMitchell Santner got the better of Cheteshwar Pujara in the first innings: the batsman’s front-foot stride was non-existent and therefore a little spin from the pitch was enough to beat the outside edge of his bat to hit the off stump. In the second innings, Pujara’s front-foot stride became a lot longer. Batting is at its easiest when you’re just reacting to the ball but that mustn’t overshadow the importance of the adjustments a batsman makes overnight, and how he keeps these things in mind without allowing it to interfere in his natural reaction to the ball.M Vijay was run out by a mixture of splendid fielding from Martin Guptill and misjudging his partner’s keenness for the run•AFPWhen not to call for a runThe fundamentals of calling while running between the wickets is that the call belongs to the person who has the full view of the direction in which the ball has gone. Largely, it’s the striker’s call whenever the ball is in front of the stumps and it’s the non-striker’s call when the ball goes behind the stumps. It’s a little different in reality; a lot depends on knowing your own and your partner’s speed of running. In addition to that, you must know when your partner is likely to react and when he won’t. For example, Gautam Gambhir is someone who drops and runs frequently but he will also fall back if his partner declines a run; players who don’t know him take his initial burst as a firm intent for taking a run. M Vijay’s dismissal today, after his mix-up with Pujara, was another such example of how your right to call an existing run doesn’t matter if your partner isn’t keen.Tom Latham played around his front pad and was trapped in front by an inswinger from Umesh Yadav•BCCIHeavy lies the headTest cricket is ruthless. Once a problem has been spotted, trust the opposition to keep targeting the same spot. Ever since Tom Latham got out lbw when Mohammed Shami went around the stumps, India’s fast bowlers have tried the same ploy with the new ball. It worked again in the second innings in Indore. The most common observation on his dismissal would be that his front foot went across and therefore the bat had to come across the body, which resulted in missing the line of the ball. But the fact is that the positioning of his head in his batting stance while getting ready to face the ball is getting him in trouble. The moment the head falls towards off, the way it’s happening currently with Latham, the front foot automatically falls across.Kane Williamson shuffled too far across and was lbw by an offbreak from R Ashwin•BCCIGuptill and Williamson’s change in tacticsPost the dismissal in the first innings of the Kanpur Test, Martin Guptill has planted his foot a lot straighter and averted the lbw threat. The flip side was that while his foot was going straight, his conditioning didn’t allow him to change his judgement of where the off stump was. On a couple of occasions he left the ball outside off without covering the stumps. It happens.The same thing happened with Kane Williamson. To negate the lbw threat against R Ashwin, he started standing on an off-stump guard. Although that would lead to impact outside off, the flip side of this move was that the balls you feel are sliding down the stumps are actually finishing within. Williamson was lbw by Ashwin after being struck in front of middle and leg by a vicious offbreak.

South Africa have a strong record in Australia and in Perth, but Australia have been superb in the first Test of home series

Gaurav Sundararaman01-Nov-20162005 The last time South Africa lost a Test series in Australia. Since then, they have won two Test series in the country – 2-1 in 2008, and 1-0 in 2012. Since readmission into Test cricket they have the best win-loss ratio in Australia.3 Number of Tests South Africa have won in Australia in the last eight years, losing only one. Their win-loss ratio is by far the best among all overseas teams in Australia. The next best during this period is England’s 3-6 record.4/8 Win-loss record for the home team in Australia-South Africa Test series in the last eight years. In five series during this period, four have been won by the away team and one was drawn, in South Africa in 2011-12.58.66 David Warner’s batting average in Tests against Dale Steyn – he has scored 176 runs against Steyn, and been dismissed three times. Steyn dominated the head-to-head in the 2011-12 series in Australia, dismissing Warner twice for 59 runs, but Warner was completely on top in South Africa in 2013-14, taking 117 runs off Steyn in just 94 balls.Who will win the Steyn v Warner contest this time?•ESPNcricinfo Ltd0 Number of times South Africa have lost a Test in Perth, which is the venue for the first Test. They have played three Tests at the WACA, and have won twice and drawn once.3.43 South Africa’s average run rate in Perth. This is by far their highest among all grounds in Australia since readmission. Their next best is 2.80, in Brisbane.32/1 Australia’s win-loss record in the first Test of a series, since 1989. Their only defeat was against South Africa in Perth, when they lost by six wickets in 2008.6 Number of wickets that Dale Steyn requires to become South Africa’s leading wicket taker in Test matches. Among all bowlers who have taken 100 wickets for South Africa, Steyn has the best strike rate.97.23 Steven Smith’s Test average in Australia in the last two years. During this period he has scored six centuries in 17 innings. Australia’s top five in the squad for the first Test all average more than 50 in home Tests during this period.

437 Australia’s average first-innings total in the last four seasons . In 21 Tests during this period, they have taken the first-innings lead 17 times, with the average lead being 173.

Stats highlights from third day in Dubai where Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuels steadied West Indies’ innings

Bharath Seervi15-Oct-201657.95 Darren Bravo’s average in Tests in Asia – his highest in any continent. In 26 innings in Asia, he has scored 1391 runs. Four of his seven Test centuries have also come in Asia. Outside Asia, he averages just 32.55 scoring 1823 runs in 58 innings.0 Overseas batsmen who have scored more runs in Asia than Bravo’s 1391 since his debut. Alastair Cook is the only one with more than 1000 runs in Asia among visiting batsmen since Bravo’s debut. Bravo’s average of 57.95 lies fourth among 16 overseas batsmen with 500 or more runs in Asia since his debut.65 Runs scored by Marlon Samuels in the last two away tours – Sri Lanka and Australia – in nine innings. He had scores of 11, 0, 13 and 6 in Sri Lanka and 9, 3, 0, 19 and 14 in Australia in 2015-16. He has scored 76 in the first innings of this tour.2012 The last time West Indies’ No. 3 and 4 both scored 50 or more in the same Test innings, also done by Bravo and Samuels against Bangladesh in Khulna. West Indies had seven such instances between 2010 and 2012 but this innings was the first since then.13 Consecutive partnerships between Samuels and Bravo that failed to reach 50 runs in Tests before they added 113 runs in this innings. Their last stand of 50 or more runs came at against India at Eden Gardens in 2013. Since then, the average partnership between them was only 21.15. They had three 50-plus partnerships in their first ten outings. That Khulna Test of 2012 was the last time they had a century stand.2014 Last time West Indies reached 300 runs before losing their sixth wicket in a Test innings – against Bangladesh in Kingstown. Since then, their top-six partnerships have averaged only 29.05 per wicket, which is the lowest among all teams.14 Maidens delivered by Yasir Shah from his 36 overs till the end of day three. West Indies had bowled only 17 maidens as a team in their 155.3 overs in the first innings. Apart from Yasir, the other Pakistan bowlers have bowled a combined 15 maidens from their 73 overs.2 Fifties for Samuels in two Tests against Pakistan. Prior to this match, he had played only one Test versus Pakistan, in Basseterre in 2011 and had made 57 in the first innings of that match.15 Fours conceded by Yasir in this innings so far – already the joint-most by him an innings in the UAE. He had conceded 15 fours against New Zealand in Sharjah in 2014 from his 44.1 overs. Out of his 97 runs conceded, 66 came from boundaries including one six.

Plays of the day from the third T20I between Pakistan and West Indies in Abu Dhabi

Karthik Krishnaswamy27-Sep-2016Left-arm (almost) everything
From No. 7 down, Pakistan’s team-sheet for the match listed the following names: Mohammad Nawaz, Imad Wasim, Sohail Tanvir, Mohammad Amir, Rumman Raees. Two left-arm spinners, three left-arm seamers. But just when you thought Pakistan would achieve the first of completing an entire T20I innings with only left-arm bowlers, that man Shoaib Malik ruined everything, sending down his shuffling right-arm offbreaks in the eighth and tenth overs of West Indies’ innings.The mix-up
In the fifth over of West Indies’ innings, Andre Fletcher worked Mohammad Nawaz’s left-arm spin into the leg side and called for a single. At the non-striker’s end, Samuels seemed to respond to the call, taking a couple of steps out of his crease. But he stopped abruptly, and put his arm up. Fletcher by then was halfway down the pitch with nowhere to go. He turned and tried to regain his ground, but it was too late, and even a wayward throw from the square leg fielder, forcing wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed to jump and reach over his head, couldn’t save him.Pakistan’s (Taylor) swift start
With Pakistan chasing less than six an over, it was imperative West Indies made their batsmen work as hard as possible for their runs. The very first over failed to meet that objective, as Jerome Taylor struggled to get his radar in order. First up, a short ball angling down the leg side, which the left-handed Sharjeel Khan only had to help to the fine-leg boundary. Then a wide down the leg side. Then another ball angling down leg, running away for four leg byes after hitting Sharjeel’s thigh pad as he missed a flick. In his next over, Taylor was as prone to bowling down the leg side against the right-handed Khalid Latif. With fine leg inside the circle, he glanced and pulled him for three successive fours.The dancing debutant
Kesrick Williams is 26, comes from St Vincent and the Grenadines, and bowls right-arm medium-fast, with lots of changes in pace. Making his international debut, he struck twice in Pakistan’s sixth over, slanting one across to get Sharjeel nicking off before slipping an offcutter through Khalid Latif’s back-foot push. This was enough to constitute a Play of the Day, but Williams’ celebratory jig after taking Latif’s wicket lifted this sequence another notch: feet apart, hips wiggling sinuously; arms in the air for two beat cycles, then a clap; arms up again, and another clap.

Parthiv Patel returned to India’s Test team with a useful 42 off 85 balls, seeing off the new-ball threat right after he had kept wicket for 94 overs

Alagappan Muthu in Mohali27-Nov-20161:38

Ganguly: Parthiv must use this opportunity

There was the pitter patter of panic-stricken feet as India’s innings began.It was understandable that Parthiv Patel would be a bit eager. But his shot went straight to the fielder at cover. Expecting a run from there betrayed that he was playing Test cricket for the first time in eight years. And so for a few seconds he looked like a wind-up toy; wandering forward and wobbling back.For the rest of the morning, he looked like a man with his captain and coach’s backing along with the confidence of five 50-plus scores in his last six first-class matches.Parthiv’s contribution to India’s total may at first glance seem small – 42 runs off 85 balls, collected in typical fashion through drives both pretty and flash, and cuts and flicks often delicate and precise. There was nothing new to talk about – Gautam Gambhir had provided a talking point with his open stance – and nothing spectacular about Parthiv’s innings to warrant making space in the memory banks. He came, did his job, and might well disappear into the fabric of Indian cricket history. But he would be damned if he went without showing his value as a cricketer.Prior to the start of the Test, KL Rahul, the specialist opener, had injured his left forearm in the nets and the team did not have any back-ups. That may have meant shoving Cheteshwar Pujara up the order – as had happened on a seaming track in Colombo 2015 – but he has been in outstanding form at No. 3. The new man in the XI – Karun Nair – was a debutant and he has played in the middle order all his domestic career. Virat Kohli has never batted at the top before and Ajinkya Rahane might have preferred the comfort of his usual No. 5 position given his lack of runs in this series.That left Parthiv – the second-oldest player in the side – to keep wicket and then promptly come back to face James Anderson and company. He would have practiced for the position of No. 6 or 7 leading up to the match, but with one day’s notice he was asked to do something vastly different. It is because of this willingness to do a tough job that so many teams – six IPL franchises included – like him. Sure, that also indicates how often he hasn’t been retained in the same set up, but there’s always someone willing to make a bid for him.Parthiv Patel did his job of seeing off the new ball•AFPIndia went into Mohali with their sixth set of openers since the tour of Sri Lanka last year. Their bowlers had performed admirably, having lost the toss, to restrict England to 283 on a decent pitch. That was still runs on the board though, with the experts predicting batting to get more difficult with the passing of time. Parthiv, by lasting 26 overs, and playing as he usually does, proved to the rest of his team-mates – all of whom made their debuts after his last Test in August 2008 – that all was well. A man with his technique – impulsive on the drive and iffy on the pull – couldn’t have prospered without making any adjustments if the surface had demons.He got off the mark with a neat clip to the square-leg boundary and extended his innings with a review. Chris Woakes thought he had Parthiv caught down the leg side. Marais Erasmus agreed and raised the finger. Parthiv called for DRS immediately and gestured to his hip as he strode down the pitch. Replays confirmed neither bat nor glove was involved and Kumar Dharmasena, in a simple slip of the tongue, instructed his partner to “stay with your on-field decision.”It appears jokes just follow Parthiv, and if they can’t land him, they go after the next sucker. He couldn’t avoid them forever though. In the 21st over, he lost grip of his bat as he fended at a short ball. Before he could reorient himself, his partner M Vijay had called for a single, and like any number of cartoon characters with their backsides on fire he ran his legs off. Anil Kumble was seen indulging in good-natured laughter. Last November, Parthiv was quite happy to troll himself, tweeting a picture of his food and tagging it “even the dosa is taller than me.” At the PCA stadium, India were taller because of him.

As Mashrafe Mortaza completes 15 years in international cricket, his team-mates and friends recall their favourite stories about him

Interviews by Mohammad Isam08-Nov-2016Tamim Iqbal,
I was really down during the 2015 World Cup. There was a lot of talk about me and it would have been easy to drop me or forget about me, but the way he took care of me was unbelievable. He gave me a lot of time, spoke about everything else other than cricket. He joked with me, and while I knew that he was trying to distract me away from my troubles, I did indeed end up forgetting about them. During team meetings he would start off by saying, “Tamim will be the key.” When I used to hear him speak about me in that way, it gave me a positive mindset. He did it through the tournament. I might play under a better captain than him but I seriously doubt whether if anyone else will take care of me like Mashrafe .Brendan Taylor
In 2006 we were level at one-all in a five-match series. We were chasing 237 to go 2-1 up.I remember Shahadat Hossain getting a hat-trick, and we were under serious pressure. Mash had had some success upfront and at the death. We needed 17 off the last over when he bowled a full toss that I hit for a six. I felt he was now under pressure, but knowing his character, I knew he would bounce back strong.We needed five off the last ball, which I managed to hit for six to win the game. I’ll never forget him pull his jumper over his head in disbelief.One thing was for sure that he put all that behind him and made life very difficult for us when we toured Bangladesh a few months later. Again, it’s his strong mental side that has made him very successful. We have always respected each other and maintain a great friendship.

“‘I believe in you,’ he said. I can’t explain how much it motivated me. I went on to be selected and I did quite well in that series. This is what Mashrafe does to players. He can motivate them in many ways”Shahriar Nafees

Mahmudullah,
On our way to West Indies in 2009, Mashrafe ‘s first series as Bangladesh captain, he handed me an envelope in the airport lounge. “Read it later,” he said.I got on the plane and opened the envelope. The letter I read that day is something that I still remember. He had written some very inspiring words about me, and it seemed like he had taken a lot of time to write it, with lots of personal touches.He is an extraordinary human being who has taken our team to new heights. He is like an older brother, a friend. I pray that he leads Bangladesh into more success, and may he play for many years.Habibul Bashar,
I always found Mashrafe to be a freakishly talented and determined individual. There are many occasions when he was unfit but pulled himself out somehow and managed to perform really well.It happened in Antigua when we were preparing for the 2007 World Cup. He was about to be sent back home with back spasms. The physio was observing him for a couple of days – with Mashrafe, you always wait till the last moment. We went on a day trip and he seemed a bit better, but the next day, when everyone thought he would have to go home, he arrived at the nets. And I was the unfortunate man facing his bowling – which was really fast that day!Shane JurgensenFormer Bangladesh head coach, current New Zealand bowling coach
We were playing T20s in Ireland in 2012, and Mashrafe had just returned from an injury. In the first couple of games he struggled a little while bowling, so he was mentally down about it. During a team dinner before the next game, we spoke for ages, and I remember on the bus ride home he opened up about his numerous operations, most of them with no support to and from the hospitals, and then rehab. I was taken aback by his story. He is truly inspirational and you could tell he was a deep thinker, smart and extremely determined.Tamim Iqbal: “He joked with me, and while I knew that he was trying to distract me away from my troubles, I did indeed end up forgetting about them”•Bangladesh Cricket BoardNext day, in the third T20, he smashed a couple of big sixes and bowled beautifully under pressure to close out the game at the death, and all the self-doubt went out the window. He came into the dressing room, gave me a high five and a hug and said, as he always said, “Bowling Shane!””Bowling Mash,” I replied.It was just one of those things we did.Shahriar Nafees,
I returned from the Indian Cricket League in 2010 and had been in a national team training camp when news came that Tamim Iqbal wouldn’t be available for the series against New Zealand. Mashrafe had returned as captain. One of those days he called me into the dressing room when no one was around and told me that he had spoken to the selectors about me and wanted me to return to the team. “I believe in you,” he said.I can’t explain how much it motivated me. I went on to be selected and I did quite well in that series. This is what Mashrafe does to players. He can motivate them in many ways. I think this is why the team has been doing so well in the last two years.Khaled Mahmud, Former Bangladesh captain and current manager
Fifteen years ago we were in India for an A team tour, just before the Test series against Zimbabwe in which Mashrafe would make his Test debut.We were having dinner on the balcony of the Cricket Club of India in Mumbai when the club’s president, Raj Singh Dungarpur, walked up to us and asked who the captain of the team was. I stood up and shook his hand. He said, “Please play well tomorrow. Don’t lose too badly.”Mashrafe was just a kid back then. He asked me what was being said, and I told him. I think Mr Dungarpur’s words did us a huge favour that day. Mashrafe bowled really fast in that game, and took three wickets. I have seen Taskin bowl, but in those days, Mashrafe was really quick. That day, Mashrafe showed us how good he would be for Bangladesh.

“He might have been one of the most recognisable faces in the country, but he is a human being first – a really good one”Rajib Biswas Raju

Abdur Razzak,
We have known each other most of our lives. We have bowled together plenty of times too, but what most people don’t know is that we also shared a few 50-run stands.Once in Kenya we were in a tight spot chasing 185 runs. We needed another 50 runs when I arrived at the crease, with two wickets in hand. Nobody really believed that we could win that game. All we did was tell each other to stay there till the end. We did, shared a 51-run stand, and Bangladesh won. I didn’t make much but he was unbeaten on 43.Debbabrata Mukherjee
I have known Mashrafe since 2002, but two years ago I went to his home town, Narail, for the first time to research his biography. He usually stays with his maternal grandparents, where he grew up. When I got there, he took out his motorcycle and gestured for me to sit behind him.From the stories I’ve heard, I was a bit apprehensive about the ride, but I went along. A few hundred yards down the road, he headed into the jungle on a makeshift road made of bricks laid down. I asked him where we were going.”You will see,” he replied.The motorcycle skidded and slipped as we tore along. I sat tight.Suddenly he stopped. I could sense that there was a river in front of me but it took me a while to get a good look, since it had become dark by then.Punk’d: Mortaza loves to pull pranks and tease his team-mates•AFPMashrafe looked like he had come to his natural habitat.”This is the Chitra River, the love of my life,” he said.Ariful Islam Roney
Mashrafe had been asking me for a long time to visit Narail, so he could show me his fish farm and his vegetable and sesame fields. Finally, after the BPL in 2015, I was able to take the trip.The plan was to drive from Mirpur to Mawa Ferry Ghat, and then we take a speedboat to cross the Padma River, and then another car from the other side. He drove us to Mawa, seeming like a sprightly kid going back home from hostel.In the speedboat, he kept telling the driver to go faster, and at one point, he managed to get behind the wheel despite our protests. Suddenly the boat spun 180 degrees, tilting dangerously to one side. The boatman managed to get it steady just in the nick of time. While the rest of us were left horrified, Mashrafe laughed uncontrollably.None of us in the boat, except perhaps for the boatman, knew how to swim.Zahid Reza Babu
Mashrafe was playing New Zealand in 2008, and we had a deal that if he took a five-wicket haul, he would pay me Tk 25,000. He had taken four wickets in the first game and was bowling the final over of the innings. Off the fifth ball, Mahmudullah dropped a sitter at deep square leg.I was standing under the press box at the end of the innings. He walked a long way towards me with a smile on his face, and said, “So how are you feeling right now? Your 25,000 just slipped away.”I couldn’t stop laughing that day.Rajib Biswas Raju
This was from a few years ago. Mashrafe’s had come to Narail for a short vacation, but as usual, he rounded us up for a bit of stretching and warm-ups on the local ground. We were on the way from his house when a bus from Dhaka stopped next to us, near the house of someone we knew, whose mother we then saw get off the bus.She was about 65. The bus helper had put her bags, five of them, on the road. The house was close, but she couldn’t have carried those bags on her own. Mashrafe, who had seen all of it, took her bags to the house. For me, it showed what kind of person he is. He might have been one of the most recognisable faces in the country, but he is a human being first – a really good one.Mashrafe Mortaza
When touring England in 2005, we were put up in Lumley Castle in Durham. People said the castle had ghosts, and we had heard a lot of stories about it.One night I asked my friend Rana [the late Manzarul Islam] to record his voice in the spookiest manner he could think of. Then we went to a room where Aftab Ahmed and a few other players were. I tapped on their window and played the recording. Within seconds the lot of them ran out of the room.Then I went to Javed [Omar] ‘s room and played the recording outside it. From inside, I heard him shout, “Mashrafe, we know it’s you. Go away!” But he didn’t come out, and I knew it was because he wasn’t really sure if it was me.Then I went to Sumon ‘s [Habibul Bashar] room. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a figure wrapped in a white sheet. He was there with his wife and naturally they were frightened.The next morning I didn’t dare go to the breakfast room for fear of what they all might do to me.What’s your favourite Mortaza memory?

R Ashwin’s record-breaking spree, Josh Hazlewood’s career-best, Cheteshwar Pujara’s first and Nathan Lyon’s contrast between first and second-innings number stand out

Bharath Seervi07-Mar-20172:19

Key numbers – First instance of four different bowlers taking six-fors

75 India’s victory margin in Bengaluru, the third-biggest for a team defending less than 200. India’s previous best while defending below 200 was their 64-run win over South Africa in Ahmedabad in 1996-97, after they set a target of 170.87 India’s first-innings deficit, from which they went on to win the Test. It is the fourth-largest first-innings deficit India have overcome to win a match. The top two are also against Australia: 274 runs at Eden Gardens in 2001 and 99 runs at Wankhede Stadium in 2004.11 Runs for which Australia lost their last six wickets – their joint third-quickest six-wicket collapse. They slid from 101 for 4 to 112 all out. Against India, it was the joint second-quickest such collapse. In the first Test, India had lost their last seven wickets for 11 runs in the first innings.3 India successfully defended a target of 188, their joint fourth-lowest in Tests. Three of the five smallest targets defended by India have been against Australia. Before this, Australia had failed to chase 107 at Wankhede Stadium in 2004-05 and 143 at MCG in 1980-81.ESPNcricinfo Ltd25 Five-fors for Ashwin in just 47 Tests – the quickest among all bowlers. The previous fastest to 25 five-fors was Richard Hadlee in 62 matches. Among India bowlers, Anil Kumble took 86 matches and Harbhajan Singh took 93 matches to do the same. Ashwin is overall the tenth bowler to have 25 or more five-fors.269 Test wickets for Ashwin – the fifth-highest for India. He went past Bishan Bedi’s tally of 266 wickets. He also completed 200 wickets in home Tests in his 30th Test, the quickest among the four India bowlers to do so.4 Number of bowlers (Nathan Lyon, Ravindra Jadeja, Josh Hazlewood, Ashwin) who took six or more wickets in an innings in this match. This is the first such instance in Test history. There have been only two more Tests where bowlers took four six-wicket hauls and both were played more than 100 years ago4.85 Average partnership for wickets sixth and below in this series for India – their lowest in any series in which they have had 20 or more partnerships. India’s last five wickets added 10 and 18 in Pune and 33 and 36 in this Test. India’s average stand for those wickets in the home season prior to this series was 46.22, with six 100-plus stands and eight fifty-run stands in 49 innings.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1979 The year in which an Australia fast bowler last recorded better figures in India than Josh Hazlewood’s 6 for 65. Geoff Dymock took 7 for 67 in Kanpur. Overall, Hazlewood’s figures are his best in Test matches and the fifth-best by an Australia bowler in India. Steve O’Keefe and Nathan Lyon have also registered their career-best figures in this series.16.98 Difference in Nathan Lyon’s bowling averages in the first and second innings in Asia. He has picked up 38 wickets at 30.84 with three five-fors in the first innings. In comparison, he has just 17 scalps at 47.82 with no five-fors in the second innings. He has similar numbers in India – 20 wickets at 25.20 in first innings and eight wickets at 32.25 in second innings. The difference in the averages of the two innings in his overall career is only 1.90.0 Previous instances when Cheteshwar Pujara was dismissed in the 90s before his fall on 92 in Bengaluru on Tuesday. Before this, he had gone on to score a century on each of the ten occasions when he crossed 90.

And do you know which players have made the highest score against India in each format?

Steven Lynch06-Jun-2017What is the highest score by someone on their birthday, in ODIs and T20s? asked Graham King from England
Sachin Tendulkar leads the way here: he hit 134 against Australia in Sharjah on April 24, 1998, the day he turned 25. There have been three other birthday tons in ODIs: Tendulkar’s old schoolmate Vinod Kambli made 100 not out on his 21st birthday for India against England in Jaipur on January 18, 1993; Sanath Jayasuriya celebrated turning 39 by pummelling 130 for Sri Lanka against Bangladesh in Karachi on June 30, 2008; and Ross Taylor hit an unbeaten 131 for New Zealand against Pakistan in Pallekele during the 2011 World Cup, on his 27th birthday on March 8. That reminds me that I answered a similar question before, and rather spookily it was published – with three answers – on the day Taylor made it four! The only birthday half-century in T20 internationals so far was scored by Yuvraj Singh for India against Sri Lanka in Mohali on December 12, 2009, Yuvraj’s 28th birthday – he finished with 60 not out from just 25 balls. Afghanistan’s captain Asghar Stanikzai just missed out, making 49 against Hong Kong in Mirpur on his 29th birthday on February 22, 2016.The oldest man to play a one-day international is apparently from Barbados, but I can’t work out who it is. Can you help? asked Bevan Small from… Barbados
There’s a pretty good reason why you can’t place him: the man concerned, though born in Barbados, played his international cricket for Netherlands. Nolan Clarke was 47 when he opened for Netherlands in the 1996 World Cup. Although he wasn’t a roaring success, he did make 32 against South Africa in Rawalpindi in what turned out to be his final ODI. Clarke might have played for West Indies rather earlier: he hit 159 for Barbados against Mike Denness’ England tourists in Bridgetown back in 1973-74. The oldest man to play for West Indies in an ODI was Lance Gibbs, who was aged 40 years 251 days when he appeared against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford during the inaugural World Cup in 1975. Clive Lloyd (Gibbs’ cousin) and Gordon Greenidge also played ODIs after their 40th birthdays, as have many others around the world.What’s the highest Test score by someone who opened the batting and the bowling in the same match? asked Peter Curtis from England
That’s an intriguing question. After a bit of digging I discovered that there have been only ten instances of an opener who scored a century taking the new ball in the same match – and two of those were by Sunil Gavaskar, who was not a regular bowler but filled in from time to time as an emergency seamer. The man on top of the list is the versatile Frank Worrell, who opened the bowling against England at Trent Bridge in 1957 and then, after taking 1 for 79 in an innings of 619, carried his bat for 191 in 575 minutes as West Indies replied with 372. He couldn’t quite keep it up, making only 16 in the follow-on, but still had enough puff to open the bowling when England batted again (they ran out of time to force victory). Pakistan’s Mudassar Nazar achieved the feat twice, against New Zealand in Hyderabad in 1984-85, and England in Lahore in 1987-88. The other openers to combine a century with opening the bowling in the same Test were Jack Hobbs (1909-10), Aubrey Faulkner (1912), ML Jaisimha (1961-62), Manoj Prabhakar (1994-95) and Mohammad Hafeez (2011-12). Of these, only Prabhakar and, arguably, Jaisimha were regular opening bowlers.Sanath Jayasuriya tucks in against one of his favourite opponents•Associated PressIn the low-scoring 1931-32 Test mentioned in last week’s column, there were ten ducks. Was this a record? asked Allan Alexander from the United States
That match on a “sticky dog” of a pitch in Melbourne is one of 15 Tests to feature ten ducks – the last one, rather surprisingly, being Australia’s one-off match against the World XI in Sydney in 2005-06. But there are 11 Tests that have seen 11 batsmen get out without scoring. The first of those was the Ashes match at Old Trafford in 1888, while the most recent instance came when Sri Lanka beat England at Headingley in 2014. The last one of those came when James Anderson fell – for 0 after 81 minutes and 55 balls – to the penultimate delivery of the match.Which player has made the highest score against India? asked Balu Mahendran from India
Four batsmen have made Test triple-centuries against India, most recently Brendon McCullum with 302 – New Zealand’s first triple – in Wellington in 2013-14. The first was Graham Gooch, with 333 for England at Lord’s in 1990, then came the highest, Sanath Jayasuriya’s 340 for Sri Lanka in Colombo in 1997. Michael Clarke’s unbeaten 329 for Australia in Sydney in 2011-12 completes the set. Jayasuriya is also second on the ODI list, with 189 against India in Sharjah in 2000-01; he fell just short of the Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar, who hit 194 in Chennai in May 1997. The highest against India in T20 internationals is Shane Watson’s 124 not out in Sydney in 2015-16; the only other century was a round 100 by the West Indian opener Evin Lewis in Lauderhill, Florida, in August 2016.Leave your questions in the comments below

What Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq’s Pakistan team-mates have to say on the pair

Danyal Rasool and Umar Farooq10-May-2017

Azhar Ali

“When Misbah took over as captain, it was a low point in Pakistan cricket. At that time, we were fighting to regain our very dignity and Misbah kept impressing upon us that we had to earn back the faith of our supporters. In the next seven years, we saw tough times but his leadership helped us through them. The one thing that was very important to him was that, whatever the outcome, we must give our absolute best. I personally took that advice to heart and it simply wouldn’t have been possible to achieve what we did without Misbah.”His own demeanour is an example in itself. He is mentally calm and has nerves of steel. It is hard to explain in words how important he was in soothing the nerves of everyone when we were under pressure.”Younis might appear different, but his work ethic is just exemplary. When I was starting off in cricket, I saw how he set about working on his game, how he trained, how he maintained his fitness and what he did in the nets and I thought, ‘This person is worth following.’ Watching him play when you’re at the other end, you learn so much, but at the same town, he doesn’t bombard you with advice, letting you play your game instead. Only if he feels you’ve made a big mistake or you’re struggling badly will he come up and talk to you. And obviously his achievements speak for themselves. That’s what has earned him global respect.”For us, it’s hard to register that they won’t be in the dressing room after this series; we can’t imagine life without them. We were just so surprised at them retiring because they’re still so fit, perhaps the fittest players in our squad. We are very emotional too, just the thought that the dressing room will be without them feels strange, and will do so for a while.”Asad Shafiq: ‘Their behaviour with the junior players is exemplary’•Getty Images

Asad Shafiq

“Under Misbah’s captaincy, the atmosphere in the dressing room has always been wonderful. In situations where regular people would panic, Misbah does not, and this is his biggest strength. His behaviour with junior players is exemplary and I am lucky to have played under him.”In fact, both Misbah and Younis’ role in my career is very important. When as a junior player you come to the team, you have been watching players like Misbah and Younis for a few years. Initially, you are nervous around them, because there is a culture – especially in Pakistan – that the difference between junior and senior players is very keenly felt. But their behaviour with the junior players is exemplary. Things that I would have learned in five-six years if Misbah and Younis hadn’t been around, I ended up learning in two-three years. Not just me, but all the junior players who have come into the team have benefited as both batsmen and human beings.”The experience of batting with them has also been so much fun. When I had good partnerships with them, I learned about how to mould my batting according to various conditions and the other sides’ strengths. I can’t say who I’ll miss more, because both players’ services are extraordinary. Both have won a number of matches for Pakistan. We will have to work extra-hard to fill up the space that will be left by their departure.”Sarfraz Ahmed: ‘Whenever the team had difficulties, Misbah led the team from the front’•ICC

Sarfraz Ahmed

“The dressing room atmosphere was great under Misbah. I learnt a lot from him and I really like the way he leads. He reads the game in a very calm, composed manner. He is great at understanding how to take the players along with him and get the best out of them.”The experience of batting with Younis is amazing. I haven’t had too many partnerships with him, but what is great about him is he rotates the strike very well, and guides you along. He keeps giving good advice and whoever bats with him say they enjoyed it.”We will of course miss both of them deeply. As you can see, they have been the backbone of our Test team for the last six years. Whenever the team had difficulties, Misbah led the team from the front. Younis used to bat at No. 4, and Misbah at No. 5, so it will affect our Test team a lot when they’re gone. When we came to the team, we used to learn from the way they conducted themselves, and we’ll miss all of that.”They give all of us young players advice: me, Azhar, Shan [Masood], Babar [Azam], Ahmed Shehzad. They keep telling us to take care of our fitness. They say we should conduct practice sessions with intensity. I always stood behind the wicket with Younis Khan in the slip cordon, and we talked about what to do if a batsman wasn’t getting out. What they have taught us, we will do our best to implement.”Shan Masood on his partnership with Younis Khan in a record chase in Pallekele, 2015: ‘I would describe it as my childhood dream’•AFP

Shan Masood

“We are lucky to have Misbah and Younis in our dressing room. We probably will not realise the significance of this thing but in the next four or five years, when we look back, we will feel the importance of sharing the dressing room with them. Both of them have played a big role not only on the field but off the field as well. They have helped even with the small things like managing your kit bag, managing your work ethics and how to be organised overall in training. In my career so far, I have never seen such organised players.”The [Palekelle innings with Younis Khan] is something that will remain with me for rest of my life. I would describe it as my childhood dream. It was just the other day that I was watching highlights of it and it still gives me goosebumps. When I reflect back on that particular innings, for me it’s hard to describe because there was not much going through my mind in terms of emotions. I was just going along with the flow but if I look back it right now, everything that I wanted was coming off. How Pakistan was able to create history, how massive that chase was… It makes me happy that I was able to contribute alongside Younis.”The best piece of advice Misbah gave me was prior to the Pallekele Test. I was dejected for two reasons. One, we had lost the earlier Test and two, I thought that this would be another tour where I go back without playing a game. But Misbah asked me my age. When I told him I was 25, he said at the same age he hadn’t played any first-class cricket as he was completing his degree. The point he was trying to make was that I needed to trust myself, be patient and keep working as hard as possible and things would eventually fall into place. It’s not a short-term thing, it’s a long-term goal and you need to keep believing and keep going back to it again and again. The way he has done this is similar, he talked about a lot of obstacles in his life and he has been very patient about it and now he is reaping the rewards.”As for Younis, whatever he says is short and to the point. Overall, it’s like he has given me a dictionary on how to conduct yourself as a cricketer. So he is a big influence on my short international career, my domestic cricket and, hopefully, when he fades away I can stick to those things he taught me and my performances can reflect all those things.”Ahmed Shehzad: ‘This series will be an emotional series for all of us because these two players are the pride of our nation’•AFP

Ahmed Shehzad

“Of course they are the senior-most players in our team and we all look up to them and we all try to learn whatever we can from them. They are different individuals. If you talk about Younis, I was lucky to spend my early days with him at Habib Bank Limited in domestic cricket. He is one player I admire a lot both on and off the field. So I consider myself lucky to be sharing a dressing room with him.”Misbah, similarly, has been phenomenal. He took the team to the No. 1 position after things were so bad when he got the captaincy. Since then, the way he led the side is remarkable. Now after seven to eight years, he is saying goodbye to cricket, and that is a tough thing to swallow. His contribution will be remembered. Whenever we needed him, he would be there for us. I have learnt a lot from heart-to-heart talks with him and we are definitely going to miss him a lot.”The most important advice Younis gave was to be yourself, always believe, don’t try to hold back from taking risks because taking risks is something which takes you above everything. Life is all about taking risks and not being afraid. While batting, Younis never disturbs you as he wants you to play according to your own plan. He doesn’t talk too much on the field but talks to you off the field instead.”Misbah always says we should take sensible decisions. Think twice before you take any call about your life or cricketing career. This is advice that I always kept close to my heart.”This series will be an emotional series for all of us because these two players are the pride of our nation. They are the two strong pillars of the Pakistan team. So I am going to miss everything they have given us, all small incidents in hotel rooms, on the field, in dressing rooms, all good and bad memories, wins and losses. Whatever we shared together all these years will be missed and remain in our hearts forever.”