Despite a lingering legal case, the most important verdict on Andrew Gale came in the Headingley long room

David Hopps at Headingley23-Sep-2014Andrew Gale, a Yorkshire captain metaphorically holding a Championship trophy in one hand and allegations of racist abuse in the other, stood before a members’ forum in the Headingley Long Room and awaited judgment. Not the judgment of the ECB: for that we must wait a little longer. In Yorkshire, more than most places, the judgment of your kith and kin is what matters most of all. As if confirmation was needed, appreciative applause confirmed that support remained unstinting.Unstinting, but not entirely uncritical, because a few members have been heard to bemoan the mess Gale has brought upon himself by his rant at Ashwell Prince in the Roses match. Words that will now be forever etched on Yorkshire’s history and which, whatever the outcome, will tarnish his own career.Colin Graves, the Yorkshire chairman, has stood back from Yorkshire’s defence of Gale because of his conflict of interest as vice chairman of the ECB. But a Yorkshireman’s vow of silence is the last promise to put your mortgage on. Graves, who famously saved Yorkshire from bankruptcy 12 years ago, said: “I did it for people like Andrew Gale. For me that is what cricket is all about: prizing the tradition of players who have developed into England players. To win the Championship is one of the proudest days I have had in my life.”Actually what he seemed to say, if you were stood at the back of the room, was: “People…Gale about…players… life,” because the microphone was perpetually on the blink. Dangerous rumours could have taken hold that Graves had said something about not wanting people like Gale about; that he’d had enough of players like him in his life.”Any more questions?” the room was asked.”When are you going to buy a new microphone?”Yorkshire priorities are nothing if not practical.Gale, too, emphasized Yorkshire’s commitment to developing England players. “How are we going to cope when England come calling again?” he was asked. “We have to find the next lot,” he said. “We are not going to bring in any extra players from overseas. We pride ourselves in our academy. Ultimately, our job is to provide England with players and we have to accept that.”There were some in the Long Room who will swear blind that when Gale ranted at Prince to “F*** off back to your own country you Kolpak f*****,” his hostility to Prince voiced not racism, or xenophobia, or even antagonism, but a crudely expressed belief in Yorkshire’s commitment to player development.It is the lawyers who now hold sway and as Gale faced the members, behind the scenes, lawyers representing Yorkshire and the ECB were involved in a preliminary skirmish about the form the hearing should take.With none of the four main protagonists – the two umpires, who opted for a Level 2 charge of offensive and abusive behaviour – or the two batsmen, Prince and Usman Khawaja, who both have been unwilling to condemn Gale publicly, it would be no surprise to find that the ECB is already considering a possible retreat from a charge of racism – perhaps even before the envisaged hearing next month.So there were no apologies, no hints of regret, no vague metaphors tossed into the room as a show of mitigation. Instead, Graves announced he had set Yorkshire a formidable challenge. “This could be the start of a new era,” he said. “The target I am setting is for Yorkshire to dominate county cricket for the next 10 years.” He wants mass recruitment, “bums on seats”, and victory after victory in all competitions to help make a sizeable hole in the £22m debts. No pressure there then.Some find Yorkshire’s unyielding approach too stubborn for their tastes, although it would be naïve to presume that lawyers were not exploring potential concessions. Others will now imagine that after only one title in 13 years hubris is already taking hold. The old line: “You can always tell a Yorkshireman but you can’t tell him much,” the joke that defines the county, will again be doing the rounds.Such criticism would have been shrugged aside in the Long Room. There was no sign of burning resentment from the members on Gale’s behalf, no calls to man the barricades (hard admittedly as Yorkshire refused to take questions on the matter). There was just an overriding sense that Yorkshire supporters, to adopt a phrase used by my Granny, who to admit a conflict of interests hailed from a farm in Bilsdale on Yorkshire’s northern outskirts, had concluded that the ECB charge was “stuff and nonsense”.But, as a God-fearing woman, she would have been disgusted by his language.

Stats highlights from the fourth day of the third Investec Test at the Ageas Bowl

Bishen Jeswant30-Jul-20141 Number of times Alastair Cook has scored a fifty in both innings as captain of England. Cook has achieved this feat on nine previous occasions, but never as captain.75 Number of times – in 103 instances – England have won a Test after batting first and securing a 200-plus lead. England have never lost from this position, the remaining 28 games all being draws.179 Number of runs conceded by Pankaj Singh in this Test. This is the most conceded by a bowler who has gone wicketless in his debut Test. The earlier record was held by Sohail Khan of Pakistan who had conceded 164 runs on debut.119 Number of runs Stuart Broad and James Anderson conceded cumulatively while taking eight wickets between them. Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes also conceded exactly 119 runs between them, but without taking a single wicket.6 Number of times opposition teams have played more than 132 overs in the fourth innings to avoid defeat, or achieve victory, versus England. This is likely to be about the number of overs India need to play out to avoid defeat in this Test.79.16 The strike rate at which Gary Ballance scored his runs during his innings of 38 (48 balls). This is his highest strike rate for a Test innings. He has never before scored at a rate in excess of 60.76.3 The most overs India’s last six wickets have played in the fourth innings of a Test. In order to save this Test, the last six Indian wickets need to play out 99.4 overs, of which 9.4 overs have already been negotiated by Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane. The highest number of overs India’s last six wickets have played in an away Test is 68.5, versus England at Lord’s in 2002.6 Number of times Cook has declared in the third innings of a Test while being captain of England. He has given the opposition more than 130 overs to bat on four of those six occasions.136.58 Joe Root’s strike rate during his innings of 56 off 41 balls. This is the second-highest strike rate for a 50-plus innings by an England batsman versus India, and the sixth-highest against any opposition. Root reached his 50 off 38 balls. The fewest balls in which he had previously got to fifty was 78, versus New Zealand last May.5.04 England’s run-rate during their second innings. This is the eighth-highest innings run-rate by an England team for an innings of 200-plus. With the same qualification of 200-plus runs, this is the fourth-highest innings run-rate for any team against India.173.50 Cook’s average versus India at Ageas/Rose Bowl. He has played four innings against India at this venue overall (two ODIs and one Test), scoring three fifties and hundred.4-55 Moeen Ali’s figures against India’s middle order in this Test so far. He has dismissed all four of India’s middle-order batsmen – Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit Sharma – once. None of them have scored at a strike of more than 60 against him.141.4 The longest India have lasted (we’re talking 141.4 eight-ball overs here) in the fourth innings of a Test, versus Australia in Adelaide in 1978. They went on to lose that match nonetheless. The longest India have lasted in the fourth innings of a Test in England is 150.5, at The Oval in 1979.

Following the heart translates into migrating from England to Australia – and no regrets

Jenny Thompson17-Nov-2014″You left London for… Adelaide?” My new colleagues in the Adelaide Oval press box were incredulous. “Yep!” I said. “And how lucky are we to live here?”They weren’t convinced. It was 2007 and Adelaide was a sleepy city, its Test ground statuesque but jaded. Both have since been radically overhauled, but even back then I knew I’d found my paradise.Since I was a child, I had dreamed of leaving damp and dreary England for bright and beachy Australia. and the Ashes painted sunshine onto my drab ’80s existence, while real-live Aussies at my cricket club taught me heaps-good phrases.”Nine inches” – less dodgy than it sounds – reminds an outfielder to throw within the width of the stumps, and “We’re not playing for sheep stations” means “Don’t take the game so seriously, punk.”Teenage me was so hooked on cricket – specifically Aussie-style – that while my mates were cruising Topshop, crushing on Kurt Cobain and applying grungy eyeliner, I was smearing on Warnie-esque zinc, fearing AB’s captaincy and perfecting my impression of Merv’s bustling trundle-and-release.* Yeah, I was cool.By my twenties I’d decamped to London to work in sports media while fantasising about escaping to less stressful, more spacious Australia – even though I’d never been there. I continued to do nothing about it till I landed a transfer to… Adelaide.Brilliant, but I couldn’t place the city on a map, nor tell you it was the capital of South Australia. I knew it had a Test ground, though, and beaches, so I figured it must be all right.Ducks by the banks of the River Torrens•UniversalImagesGroupAfter renting a four-bed beachfront house for the same price as a third-floor room in London, and being stoked to be in a country where cricket was still televised for free, the next thing was to head down to Adelaide Oval to catch some Sheffield Shield. Under an endless blue sky, I instantly felt at home among the picket fences, and I loved that, unlike at England’s Test grounds, here you could sit on the grass.I’ve seen some memorable moments since – a Tendulkar ton; du Plessis’ absorbing debut; Lehmann’s emotional retirement; Cook destroying the Aussies; Johnson destroying the Pommies. I’ve slowly embraced the Big Bash and day-night Sheffield Shield. I’ve even played on the Oval in an A Grade club final (we were flogged, but it was awesome).Over recent years I’ve seen the ground itself transformed through a A$500m facelift. The saggy orange skin of the Bradman Stand has been sloughed away, leaving intact the beautiful bone structure of the brick walls. I had worried the scoreboard would be exiled to the outer perimeter, à la the SCG, and that they’d take away my hill. But both stayed, and as a progressive traditionalist (if that’s not oxymoronic) I was super-happy with the result.The redevelopment also means the AFL boys are back in town, with record crowds making the city pump. Pre-development, I did watch an Aussie-Kiwi soccer friendly, but footy at the ground felt incongruous. The Oval used to host Rugby Sevens and there was an ATP World Tour tennis event on adjacent courts, but both have since been lost to Queensland, and the F1 to Victoria. While we’ve retained the lucrative Clipsal 500 and Tour Down Under races, they just ain’t as sexy.Watching cricket in perpetual sunshine: what’s not to like?•Getty ImagesMelbourne, Sydney and Brisbane are only short plane rides away anyway, and great for weekend breaks. It’s probably sacrilegious to my adopted city, however, to admit that visiting the MCG – albeit “only” to watch a Sri Lanka trouncing – was particularly special.Adelaide’s the modest little sister of those big cities so I’m happy to take the loudhailer and boast on her behalf about why I love this place. It’s on Lonely Planet’s Top 10 Cities to Visit in 2014 and consistently makes the world’s top ten most liveable cities for good reasons, ranging from low unemployment and low crime to a fairly robust economy and an enviable pace of life.It’s as relaxed as you want it to be, or as hectic. With a small population, people have time for you, nobody’s ever in a rush. Carl Hooper and JM Coetzee have made it their home, Ben Folds wrote a song about living here, and Julia Gillard has moved back post-prime ministership. Yes: Adelaide’s very liveable, and ultra-loveable.It’s less the City of Churches these days, more the City of Culture. Beyond sport and beaches, there are concerts, festivals and cute little laneways housing pop-up bars, all building a growing vibe about town. The 2015 World Cup will be an integral part of “Mad March”, a month where the Adelaide Festival, WOMADadelaide, Writer’s Week and Clipsal converge in Adelaide’s very accessible space.Beyond the city, there are wine regions and natural splendour and shark diving and swimming with dolphins. Our clean food and wine are world-renowned. We’re also proud of being a free settler state… a little too much in the case of the original governors, who never even planned a jail. The state has its fair share of dark history, though, with the so-called Snowtown Murders particularly notable.Of course Adelaide’s not perfect – no place is. It has dodgy areas and patchy public transport. Geographically, for me, it will always be a long way from my family: Skype’s no substitute for an in-person cuppa. And in Australia, I further feel disconnected from English cricket and other league sports that were once the fabric of my existence. Foxtel helps but watching live games can be tricky with opposing time zones.McLaren Wharf at Port Adelaide•Raymond Warren/Getty ImagesFurthermore, cricket clubs here don’t have the same atmosphere as English ones. Strip lighting makes them feel stark and the ridiculously hot weather contributed to me quitting after a few seasons. I still do some ad hoc coaching but mainly I want my summer weekends for camping, fishing, cycling, yoga and beach running: in other words, living la dolce vita.Actually, every day feels like a holiday in my coastal suburb of Largs Bay, which is only a 20-minute train ride from the city. After beach cricket matches, it’s fun to sink a pint at the Largs Pier Hotel, where Cold Chisel’s Jimmy Barnes began his career. I love having a local, and being one – and in Adelaide, I’ve found the sense of community I always found lacking in London. Citizenship has further cemented my belonging. Now I support both England and Australia, although when they clash, my heart orders me to back the Poms, even when my head counsels otherwise.When I moved to Australia, I only wanted a Test ground and a beach, yet I’ve found more than I ever dreamed possible. For once I was ahead of a curve and now me ‘n’ Adelaide are surfing a big barrelling wave together – and we’re loving it.*This involves setting your arms roundly and holding them firm towards the ground while bounding in as hard as you can, determination etched into your face. Fake mo optional.

Stats highlights from the second day of the first Test between Australia and India at Adelaide

Bishen Jeswant10-Dec-20142042 Runs that Michael Clarke has scored against India. He is the fifth player to score 2000 Test runs against India. Ricky Ponting leads the chart with 2555 runs.1407 Runs scored by Clarke at Adelaide, at an average of 100.50. Clarke is the only batsman to score 1000-plus runs at a 100-plus average at two Test venues. He has also scored 1030 runs at an average of 103 at Brisbane.3 Number of batsmen who have more Test hundreds than fifties (min. 25 hundreds), all Australian – Don Bradman, Matthew Hayden and Clarke. Clarke has now scored 28 hundreds and 27 fifties.6 Number of times that three Australia batsmen have made centuries in the same innings against India. Three of those six instances have been at Adelaide. Clarke, Steven Smith and David Warner posted hundreds during Australia’s first innings in this Test.5.91 Varun Aaron’s economy rate, the highest for any Indian who has bowled at least 20 overs in an innings. He bowled 23 overs for 136 runs. The previous worst was by Kapil Dev, 220 runs off 38.4 overs against Pakistan in 1983, but he did take seven wickets.1 Number of times that both India opening bowlers have conceded 5 runs an over, or more, after bowling at least 20 overs each. Apart from Varun Aaron, whose numbers are above, Mohammad Shami conceded 120 runs off his 24 overs.4 Number of centuries scored by Smith while batting at No. 5. He is already seventh on the list of Australian batsmen who have made the most hundreds while batting at this position. Steve Waugh leads the list with 24 hundreds.

Harold Larwood was a great who was made out to be a villain – the perfect replacement for Robin Hood in the eyes of a young ten-year-old

Nicholas Hogg19-Jan-2015As a boy, I loved playing Robin Hood. If I wasn’t playing cricket and swinging a willow bat, I was bending willow branches into powerful bows and firing arrows. Although I actually lived in Leicester, home of the crippled King Richard III, rather than, like a dashing outlaw on the run, in Sherwood Forest, my father was from Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottingham – little more than a cricket ball’s throw from Harold Larwood’s house.My father would regale us with tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men battling the sheriff of Nottingham. I loved hearing how this ragtag bandit took on the government, robbing from the rich to give to the poor. He was a true hero, whether he existed or not, and beloved by the common man. I read Robin Hood books, watched the swashbuckling Errol Flynn film, and never missed an episode of the hit 1980s TV series.Around the age of ten, when I put down my bow and started playing cricket more seriously, the fable of the Hooded Man naturally transformed into the folk tale of Harold Larwood.The teenage Notts miner, the skinny lad who walked the same soot-stained streets around the pit towns of Mansfield as my father and grandfather, would go on to be the most infamous England fast bowler in history. Once my father, a talented allrounder, realised I was developing a love for cricket, the legend of Larwood was lovingly passed down the Hogg family line.

I blame Larwood for any loss of control when I try to throw one down quicker than I can

My father’s Larwood chronicles, about how he was the quickest bowler of all time, how he tamed Bradman, and how he was hung out to dry by the MCC were perhaps lost on that ten-year-old boy. But I did understand the reverence in his tone, and how “Lol” – his nickname among locals – was a prince among men.A deeper fascination with “our” home-grown speed demon was piqued by , the TV miniseries that dramatised the 1932-33 Ashes in Australia – including the customary dodgy acting involved in recreating cricket matches. Hugo Weaving was imperious as the driven, manipulative and icy Douglas Jardine, alongside Jim Holt’s deferential yet gritty Larwood. Such was the influence of this show, I even began practising, just as Larwood had done, by bowling down the alley at a dustbin as rapidly as I could. For the next few years, and perhaps even now, on the cusp of my 41st birthday, I’m still told not to try and bowl too fast.I blame Larwood for any loss of control when I try to throw one down quicker than I can. England 1950s paceman Frank “Typhoon” Tyson put the need for speed most eloquently: “To bowl quick is to revel in the glad animal action, to thrill in physical prowess and to enjoy a certain sneaking feeling of superiority over the other mortals who play the game”.”Other mortals” – this is perhaps the source of reverence for the fast bowler: that here is a man who can physically dominate and intimidate at the wicket. There are big-hitting batsmen who impose their presence by thumping the ball back over the pavilion roof – England bowler Matthew Hoggard admitted to having nightmares about Australian bully Matthew Hayden – but none truly threaten like the express paceman.Born in 1974, I never saw Larwood play, or even met him. What I do have to flesh the ghost of my favourite cricketer is YouTube. The black-and-white footage is grainy, and with no zoom lens available, we see Harold running in to bowl from the distance of a spectator, or a boundary fielder. Still, the fabled “carpet-slippered” approach, the high left arm and absolute balance into the delivery stride, are evident. Certain clips you can’t follow the ball, the black smudge on the grey background. But there’s a beautiful slow-motion shot of one of his bouncers, still rising when it smacks into Les Ames’ gloves.In Duncan Hamilton’s William Hill prizewinner , he describes how Nottingham coach James Iremonger, “a hardened sportsman”, moulded the raw talent of the scrawny pit boy into a “weapon”. Stripping Larwood’s action down, Iremonger straightened his run-up, pulled his shoulders back, stressed the importance of balance, and instilled a sense of discipline that included sleeping with the bedroom window open, even in the depths of winter.What Iremonger did with Larwood in the 1920s would have personal relevance for me over 80 years on. Two seasons ago, when the Larwood fairy tale turned to hard fact when I read Hamilton’s touching and eloquent autobiography, I changed my bowling action. Hamilton, like Iremonger, stripped Larwood’s action – this time to the page. Once I put down the book I lifted up my arm higher, ran in on my toes, and relaxed my shoulders.Was I any faster? Probably not, but this was the action I bowled with on a bright August day at the end of 2013, when the Authors Cricket Club, a team of cricket-playing writers I revived with literary agent Charlie Campbell, played on Larwood’s old Nuncargate pitch. With that shiny red cherry between my fingers I strode in from the Larwood end, just as my grandfather and father had done before. I was the third generation of Hoggs to tread in Harold’s carpet slippers – although in his early days, before the Iremonger overhaul, the long-off boundary hedge had had a gap sheared through it so the young tyro could fit in his galloping run.Perhaps I’m letting my imagination get the better of me here, but as I ran in I could clearly picture the young Harold hurling thunderbolts. I wonder if this was his purest cricket. Before leg theory and Bodyline. Before the MCC pressed him to sign a letter apologising for bowling at the Australians, an apology that he refused to sign.Larwood wasn’t going to be the establishment’s scapegoat, and he never played for England again. In a late interview Fred Trueman asked if he ever regretted not apologising. “No,” Larwood replied curtly. “I had nothing to apologise for.”Banishment followed a jubilant homecoming. From a series-winning bowler to the owner of a failing Blackpool sweet shop, Larwood was an exile after his cricket life. Geoff Boycott describes the tale as “one of the saddest stories in cricket”, and it took an old enemy, Jack Fingleton, to pluck Larwood from sweet-counter obscurity by offering to help him and his family move to Australia. Here, in a quiet Sydney suburb, he grew old gracefully, just as he had bowled. He reminisced about the glory days with his collection of newspaper cuttings and memorabilia, and welcomed cricketers and journalists into his home like visiting pilgrims.Last time I travelled up to Nottingham my father met me at the station. Before he even said hello he told me that 20,000 people had met Larwood off the train after he returned from the Bodyline tour: 20,000 locals, working men who had finished backbreaking shifts down mines or in factories, had waited in a cold and damp night, clambering up walls and scaling gas lamps, for a glimpse of Lol, their hero.

New Zealand have lost their last five World Cup games against Sri Lanka, but the last time they beat them was in New Zealand, in 1992

S Rajesh13-Feb-20151:27

Christchurch proud to be back

15-7 New Zealand’s win-loss record in the last year (since the beginning of 2014). Their win-loss ratio of 2.14 is third during this period, next only to Australia (3.40) and South Africa (2.28). Sri Lanka are fourth, with a ratio of 2.14.5 Number of consecutive World Cup games in which Sri Lanka have beaten New Zealand: once in 2003, and twice each in 2007 and 2011, including the semi-finals of both years. The last time New Zealand beat Sri Lanka in a World Cup game was in the 1992 tournament in New Zealand, when the hosts won by six wickets in Hamilton. Overall, Sri Lanka have a 6-3 advantage in World Cup games against New Zealand.21-11 New Zealand’s win-loss record in home ODIs against Sri Lanka. However, that’s largely because New Zealand won the first nine matches, in the 1980s and early 1990s. Since then, the record is a more even 12-11. The overall advantage is also negligible: 41-40 in New Zealand’s favour.8.82 New Zealand’s batting run rate between the 41st and 50th overs of an ODI innings since the beginning of 2013, which is the best by far among all teams. It is almost a run ahead of India, who are in second place with 7.88, while Australia are third at 7.87. Sri Lanka are in seventh place with a run rate of 7.55.Angelo Mathews has scored 1298 ODI runs at an average of 59 and a strike rate of 88 over the last year•Getty Images180 Luke Ronchi’s strike rate in the last ten overs in the last two years: he has scored 323 runs in 179 balls.21.69 New Zealand’s average opening partnership in ODIs since the beginning of 2013, which is by far the worst among all teams; West Indies are next with an average of 28.57. New Zealand have only one century partnership in 43 innings during this period, and their last five opening stands read as follows: 43, 31, 0, 0, 0.4 The number of Sri Lanka batsmen who’ve scored more than 1000 ODI runs since the beginning of 2014: Kumar Sangakkara, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Angelo Mathews and Mahela Jayawardene. Three of them – Sangakkara, Dilshan and Mathews – have averaged more than 45 in doing so, with Mathews scoring 1298 runs at an average of 59 and a strike rate of 88.1 Number of New Zealand batsmen who’ve scored 1000-plus ODI runs during this period: Kane Williamson has made 1177 runs at an average of 69 and a strike rate touching 90. Ross Taylor is almost there too, with 995 runs at an average of 62 and strike rate of 87.463 Number of ODI runs Brendon McCullum has scored during this period, at an average of 27.23 and a strike rate of 117.21.25.50 The combined average for Sri Lanka’s batsmen in ODIs outside Asia since the beginning of 2013, the worst among the top eight teams.38 Wickets for Ajantha Mendis in ODIs since the beginning of 2014; however, he is not a part of Sri Lanka’s World Cup squad. Among those who are in the squad, their leading wicket-taker is Sachithra Senanayake, with 31 at 29.54. Mendis took his wickets at an average of 21.63.

Durgesh Haridas08-Apr-20152014 – Royal Challengers Bangalore: Parthiv completed his tour of all four south franchises when he was signed up by Royal Challengers for the 2014 season. Parthiv formed a little-and-large opening partnership with Chris Gayle, but it wasn’t a successful season. Parthiv managed 205 runs at an average of 20.50 as RCB finished second from the bottom•BCCI2013 – Sunrisers Hyderabad: After Deccan Chargers was terminated, Parthiv was retained by the new Hyderabad franchise – Sunrisers Hyderabad. He had a fairly decent season with the Sunrisers, giving them quick starts and scored 294 at a strike rate of 115.29•BCCI2012 – Deccan Chargers: Parthiv played all games for Chargers in 2012 but didn’t have a productive season, scoring only 194 runs at an underwhelming average of 17.63•Hindustan Times via Getty Images2011 – Kochi Tuskers Kerala: The year Parthiv’s travels began. His stint and Kochi Tuskers themselves – along with the garish orange-and-purple outfits – lasted only one year; Parthiv scored 202 at an average of 20.20 while it lasted•AFP2008-2010 Chennai Super Kings: Parthiv started his IPL career with Chennai Super Kings, and it was the franchise with whom he spent the most time. Over the course of three seasons, he opened with the likes of Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and M Vijay and occasionally kept wicket too•Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Fomer West Indies player Bruce Pairaudeau, who is 83, surprised the West Indies players during their training session on the eve of the UAE clash, after driving 300 kilometres with a friend from Hamilton, where he lives

Firdose Moonda in Napier15-Mar-2015″Lord have mercy, how do you bat with that?” Bruce Pairaudeau, former West Indies player and now New Zealand resident, was not able to see the answer to the question he posed to Chris Gayle for himself, because the Jamaican was forced out of the only match Pairaudeau was able to attend with a back injury, but they may gave used the time to chat instead. There would not have been enough time at Saturday’s nets to properly get into a discussion about bat weights anyway.Pairaudeau, who is 83, surprised the West Indies players during their training session on the eve of the UAE clash, after driving 300 kilometres with a friend from Hamilton, where he lives. He arrived unannounced but almost recognisable, not by face, but by accent.”We heard a West Indian voice and when I looked at who it was, I thought it might be Bruce Pairaudeau. We knew he lived in New Zealand but we didn’t know he was coming over,” Philip Spooner, West Indies media manager said. “All the guys just loved meeting him.”Pairaudeau played 13 Tests for West Indies between 1953 and 1957, alongside Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Alf Valentine and fell in love with New Zealand on a tour to the country in 1956. After West Indies won the series 3-1, he wanted to stay in New Zealand but knew that if he did, he would not be considered for the 1957 visit to England.That series was particularly important to him because, as a young man, Pairaudeau had made three promises to himself. He wanted to play for Guyana, represent West Indies and tour England. He managed all three and has the brochure to prove it. He brought it with to show to the current crop, who he also regaled with stories from that tour and life in New Zealand.When Pairaudeau moved, he did not give up playing cricket and helped Northern Districts to their first Plunkett Shield in the 1962-63 season. He played for the team for eight years but even after with two decades of first-class experience, still does not know how or why Gayle chooses to use the equipment he does, even when he tried it out himself.

ESPNcricinfo looks at the controversies of the 2015 World Cup

Alagappan Muthu30-Mar-2015The (un)dead ball
A confusing end to a confusing innings and, as in most passages of baffling cricket, one of the victims was a man who had played with assurance. James Taylor was two runs away from a maiden ODI century against Australia at the MCG – the second match of the World Cup – when he was adjudged leg-before by umpire Aleem Dar. The batsman reviewed, the decision was reversed, and that should have been that. Except England had attempted a run, and DRS rolled on to catch Glenn Maxwell running the last man James Anderson out, and the dismissal was upheld. The only problem – the run-out had taken place after the lbw appeal was upheld, meaning the ball was dead. The ICC conceded as much. “The Playing Control Team spoke to the England team management and acknowledges that the game ended incorrectly and that an error was made.”A jaunt gone wrong
You could excuse Al-Amin Hossain for wanting to explore Brisbane. It was his first time playing in Australia and he was part of a World Cup squad a year after his ODI debut. In his excitement though, he broke the team’s 10 pm curfew and was written up by the ACSU (Anti-Corruption and Security Unit). It was only a misdemeanor, and there were no corruption charges, but Al-Amin was withdrawn from the squad and sent home. “We don’t even know where he went,” Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president said. “That’s the biggest question. He is telling us different versions. It is not a very serious issue but still.” Two days later, Pakistan’s chief selector Moin Khan had to fly home to cooperate with a PCB investigation into why he had visited a Christchurch casino.Sean Williams walked off the park while the umpires were still deliberating over John Mooney’s catch near the boundary.•AFPShadows of doubt
It was the 47th over and Zimbabwe were chasing 332 against Ireland in Hobart. Sean Williams, on 96, cleared his front leg and clubbed one hoping to clear deep midwicket but John Mooney tracked it down perilously close to the rope. Cue the third umpire. And a slew of replays. Some hinted at contact between boot and boundary.Others didn’t. Experts stressed it was just an illusion cast by Mooney’s shadow. The TV official Joel Wilson was still musing but the next man was already taking guard. Brendan Taylor, who made a century in the match, said, “You generally take the fielder’s opinion and you go with it.” Which was what Williams did: after a near-flawless innings, he made the error of walking off the park while the umpires were still deliberating. Zimbabwe could have needed only 26 off 19, but it became 32 off 19 and their best hope had gone.A slow bowler’s swift suspension
Majid Haq, Scotland’s most-capped player and leading wicket-taker, was benched against Sri Lanka after which, according to the BBC, he reportedly tweeted: “Always tougher when your in the minority!! #colour #race.” The tweet was subsequently deleted. The team’s statement said he had breached “an internal code of conduct” but did not elaborate on the specifics. It also said Haq would be sent back home and coach Grant Bradburn said that the decision to drop him was taken for cricketing reasons. Until then Haq’s incredibly slow offspinners had brought him three wickets in four matches, an economy of 4.88 and a rather popular hashtag #things2dobetweenmajidreleasingballanditreachingbatsman.High drama over height
In the glare of the World Cup quarter-finals – with a Bangladesh-India match that was not lacking in eyeballs – the umpires were left red-faced again. Rohit Sharma, who had been the spine of the innings until then and the source of the acceleration later on, lobbed a full toss to deep square leg in the 40th over and Bangladesh erupted. But the square leg umpire Aleem Dar immediately indicated the ball was the above waist and Ian Gould made the no-ball official. Except it wasn’t one, and Bangladesh erupted again – this time in outrage. Nazmul Hassan, the BCB president, wanted to lodge an appeal. ICC president Mustafa Kamal said: “There was no quality in the umpiring. It seemed as if they had gone into the match with something in mind.” Kamal was given a soft rap by ICC chief executive David Richardson who said, “The no-ball decision was a 50-50 call. The spirit of the game dictates that the umpire’s decision is final and must be respected.”

For six seasons, Chennai had cheered Albie Morkel as one of their own. Now he seemed to have hit the winning six against their team. Or had he? By the narrowest of margins, Morkel missed out as the ball bounced just inside the rope

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Chennai09-Apr-2015Ten minutes ago they had applauded Albie Morkel warmly when he brought up his fifty, a gesture of affection for a long-serving former player. Now the Chennai crowd wished he wasn’t at the crease. With 19 to get from six balls, Morkel had swung at a wide one from Dwayne Bravo and edged him fine, far enough to the right of third man to pick up four.Till now, MS Dhoni had only needed minimalist gestures to move his fielders around. Stand and point to send someone to a new position, a waggle of his glove for subtler adjustments. Now he exhaled and swept his arm back and forth, pointing first to R Ashwin, who had been slow to the ball with his sprint and dive at third man, and then to Dwayne Smith, stationed at one of two backward points. They were to switch positions.Fifteen off five. Delhi Daredevils had kept losing wickets, but a combination of Morkel, a below-par Chennai Super Kings total, and the nature of Twenty20 games – which often take only one or two overs to go from one-sided to desperately close – had kept them in the hunt. Just about – they were eight down at the start of the final over.Dhoni’s field – two backward points, third man, sweeper cover, mid-off; long-on, deep midwicket, deep backward square leg, short fine leg – dictated where he wanted Bravo to bowl. Short, angling across the left-handed Morkel. There was enough pace and bounce on this surface to make it hard to manufacture hits down the ground from that sort of length, and three leg-side boundary riders for any attempts at pulling or hooking.So far, Bravo had mostly bowled this sort of length to Morkel, and had even given away two off-side wides when his short, angled-away balls slid marginally off-target. But now he had bowled a length ball, and Morkel had hit it for four, even if he hadn’t hit it in the intended direction.Next ball was short, but the sort of short ball that sits up at waist height, and Morkel may have tested the leg-side field with a more powerful hit. As it happened, he sent it rolling to long-on. A single.With 14 to get off four balls, Imran Tahir miscued Bravo to deep midwicket, down the throat of Suresh Raina. Nine down. But the batsmen had crossed over, and Morkel was back on strike.In ran Bravo, and down came another length ball, perfectly within Morkel’s swinging arc. Morkel cleared his front leg and swatted it away over cow corner. Six. Daredevils now needed eight from two balls.In ran Bravo, and this one was just about back of a length, and the angle forced Morkel to slice his on-the-up drive squarer than he may have intended. It left the fielder at sweeper cover, Raina, with a lot of work to do, a full-tilt sprint to the right and a dive to stop a ball that was not only hit hard but also spinning away from him after it bounced. Raina cut it off, keeping it down to two.Six from one. Morkel on strike, batting on 69. He had batted 59 times for Super Kings in the IPL. He had hit 48 sixes for Super Kings. Now he was batting against them. Dhoni knew everything he needed to know about him. So did Ashwin, who ran up to his captain to have a word. More gesturing, of the non-minimalist kind. One of the backward points went to extra cover. Third man came into the circle. Mid-off dropped back to long-off.In ran Bravo again, looking to go full and straight. What he sent down wasn’t quite full enough to deny Morkel elevation, and was wide enough outside off for Morkel to free his arms and swing powerfully through the line. The ball soared into the Chennai night. Three stands were unoccupied, by decree, but the seats in it were yellow. Two-thirds of the crowd that was jammed into the other stands was also wearing yellow. For six seasons they had cheered Morkel as one of their own. Now he seemed to have hit the winning six against their team.Or had he? The long-off fielder, haring to his right, slowed down, and ran towards the middle of the ground, where all his teammates were converging. The ball had bounced – only six feet from the rope, and only once, but it had bounced. By the narrowest of margins, Albie Morkel had missed out on putting one over his old team.