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For much of the last seven years, Bangladesh were ranked No. 9 in ODIs. But series wins over Pakistan, India and South Africa in 2015 have led to a transformation

Mohammad Isam26-May-2017Even when qualification for the Champions Trophy was based on the ICC’s ODI rankings, it mattered very little because teams like Bangladesh and Zimbabwe didn’t threaten the traditional top eight. But last year when Bangladesh confirmed Champions Trophy qualification, rankings gained extra significance.They became the biggest mover in the ICC ODI rankings after they reached the No 6 spot for the first time earlier this week. But for much of the last seven years, Bangladesh had been rooted to the No 9 position, hovering above Zimbabwe and Ireland.It was in February 2011 when they first jumped up to No 8, shortly after beating Zimbabwe 3-1 and New Zealand 4-0 at home. The move came after West Indies had lost to Sri Lanka 2-0, giving Bangladesh the short-lived promotion that ended in March that year.The progress, especially during the New Zealand whitewash, was surprising because they had lost 17 out of 19 games leading into this home series. In fact, they had arrived home amid criticism after losing to Ireland and the Netherlands.Tamim Iqbal had been ruled out of the New Zealand ODIs through injury while Mashrafe Mortaza got injured after just one over in the first game. Shakib Al Hasan led the way, averaging 71 in four innings to go with 11 wickets. It was the first glimpse of how Shakib could lift himself in a tough situation and produce a memorable performance. It was gut-wrenching for New Zealand. Daniel Vettori later admitted that the margin of defeat put pressure on his captaincy.Bangladesh’s consistent series wins at home propelled them up the ICC ODI rankings•ESPNcricinfo LtdAfter two years of mostly one-off wins, Bangladesh reached the No 8 position again in January 2013, weeks after they beat West Indies 3-2 in the 2012 home series. They had taken a rapid 2-0 lead in Khulna before West Indies fired back to level 2-2 in Dhaka. In the deciding game, Mahmudullah and Nasir Hossain guided Bangladesh through quick wickets and a nervous finish.The West Indies series win came in the same year in which Bangladesh beat India and Sri Lanka to reach the Asia Cup final. But the move to No 8 lasted just 12 days. After New Zealand beat South Africa 2-1, they were back to No. 9.Bangladesh made it to the knockout stage of the World Cup for the first time in 2015•ICCBangladesh had more success in 2013 when they drew the ODI series in Sri Lanka 1-1 and beat New Zealand 3-0 at home later that year. But 2014 was disastrous as they lost 12 out of 13 matches, with other one being rained out. Beating Zimbabwe 5-0 in November-December that year helped them regain some confidence before they went into training camps for the 2015 World Cup.They reached the knockout stage of the event for the first time, having defeated Afghanistan, Scotland and England in the group stages. For the period immediately after their World Cup exit, Mashrafe was wary of how players could become complacent for the Pakistan series that followed.Bangladesh crushed them 3-0 to mark their maiden series win over Pakistan that helped them jump to No. 8. for the third time. Tamim, Mushfiqur Rahim and Soumya Sarkar struck centuries as a new-look Pakistan under Azhar Ali surrendered.In June, Bangladesh unleashed the mystifying left-arm bowler Mustafizur Rahman on India, as the rookie finished with 11 wickets in the first two matches, both of which Bangladesh won comfortably. Bangladesh moved to No 7 soon after completing their maiden ODI series win over India.These two major series wins meant that Bangladesh comfortably qualified to the 2017 Champions Trophy. After they also beat South Africa 2-1 in July their rating points received a further fillip.It took them 21 months to take the next step up, this time with an ODI win over New Zealand in the Walton tri-series. The ICC had outlined before the tournament how Bangladesh would reach the No 6 spot – beating New Zealand once – and on May 24, they replaced Sri Lanka with whom they drew another ODI series in March this year.

Victory in South Africa has added another mighty notch to Alastair Cook’s burgeoning captaincy CV, but his team are still at the beginning of their journey

George Dobell in Johannesburg16-Jan-2016Alastair Cook isn’t really the type to flash a ‘Talk nah, KP’ note in the moment of triumph, but he probably could have been forgiven had he done so in Johannesburg.Victory here means Cook is the only man in history to lead his side to Test series victories in India and South Africa. When you add in a couple of Ashes wins, you have what has become – despite all the criticism – a deeply impressive track record. History may reflect on Cook, as a batsman and a leader, and wonder what all the fuss was about.He has experienced a modest series with the bat. In correcting his weakness outside off stump, he may have created another one off his hip. But we have experienced blips in Cook’s form before and know enough to suggest patience will be rewarded. Besides, it is not as if England have a surplus of opening batsmen demanding selection.But Cook did enjoy a couple of fine moments as leader on the final day here. The first was the decision to persist with Stuart Broad after three wicketless overs at the start of the innings – in the first innings he replaced him with Steven Finn after a similarly unpromising start. The second was the placement of James Taylor at an unusually deep short-leg position. As he claimed two inspired catches – chances that he would have had no chance of holding had he been in the conventional short-leg position – Cook could feel quietly satisfied with himself.So could Broad. After a disappointing first innings – he admitted he bowled too short and confirmed rumours that he had been struggling with a stomach ailment – he harnessed helpful conditions perfectly in the second innings. His spell of five wickets for one run – and that run was from a dropped catch – included two of the best batsmen in the world. These spells are occurring too frequently to be dismissed as fortunate. The truth is, in conditions offering some assistance, he really is a terrific bowler.

Clever Trevor applies the coup de arse

Alastair Cook admitted a “kick up the arse” from the England coach, Trevor Bayliss, inspired England to a match-defining afternoon session in Johannesburg.

Bayliss, who has gained a reputation as a quietly spoken man during his few months with England, surprised the team in the lunch interval by making it very clear that they were facing a perfect opportunity to clinch the series in the next couple of hours and that, if they looked back at the end of the day having failed to take the chance, he would be mightily unimpressed.

England subsequently claimed all ten South Africa second-innings wickets for 60 runs after lunch, with Stuart Broad producing a spell of five wickets for one run.

“Trev gave us a kick up the arse at lunch,” Cook said “He said, ‘if you want to win the series this is the time to grab the opportunity. There is a chance out there if someone is willing to step up and you don’t want to be sat at the end of the day wishing you’d given a bit more.’

“The chat was from a guy that doesn’t say too much. Rather than sulking about it, the lads looked at themselves. There was a real intensity in the field for that two-hour session. It really helped.

“Stuart Broad steamed in after Trev had a few harsh words for us. It is a privilege to captain him and when he gets on a roll like that you just let him go.

“It seemed to work, so well done Trevor.”

Some will point to the absence of Dale Steyn and suggest England’s victory is a little hollow. It is true that Steyn, and Vernon Philander, would have strengthened this South Africa side. But it hasn’t been their bowling that has let them down, it has been their batting. And, odd though it sounds, they lost this Test as much in the first innings, when their soft dismissals failed to punish an under-par bowling display from England, as in the second, when they were undone by fine bowling and outstanding fielding on a very tricky surface.But the most impressive aspect of this victory – a three-day victory over the No. 1-ranked Test side – from an England perspective was that it felt like the beginning.That is probably just the way it should be. This is, in truth, a South Africa side in decline – especially without Steyn – and hugely impressive though England have been, they are going to face tougher challenges in the next couple of years. Already the five-match series in India (later this year) and Australia (late in 2017) look mouth-watering.Besides, if England require any sobering-up on Sunday morning – Cook said at the presentation that Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, had personally sanctioned a very late night – they will receive it with a reminder of where they stand in the grand scheme of things. Win, lose or draw in Centurion, England will be no higher than No. 5 when the ICC Test rankings are published at the end of the series.If that seems low – and it does seem incongruous that the new No. 1 side, India, have lost nine of their last 13 Tests against England – it is worth remembering the defeat in Barbados, the defeats in Leeds (against Sri Lanka and New Zealand), the defeats in the UAE and, most of all, the defeat against Australia at Lord’s. They remain a work in progress.”They are much better than that ranking,” AB de Villiers said afterwards. “They are a good, well-balanced team. Hopefully we won’t let them get to No. 1 in the rankings, but they have a bright future.”It is, in an odd way, encouraging that Jimmy Anderson has played a relatively minor role in this victory. There was a time – most memorably at Trent Bridge in 2013, but also in India in 2012 – when the England seam attack was too heavily reliant upon him. While it is too early to predict his demise – if anyone has earned a modest game, it is Anderson – it does bode well that Ben Stokes and Finn are developing into potent figures in their own right. Finn may well miss the final Test with a side strain, but he has cemented his position as a first-choice selection now.There were many architects of this victory. There was Jonny Bairstow, who again contributed valuable runs – no England wicketkeeper has scored as many runs in a Test series since 2007 – and claimed nine catches and run-out. There was Joe Root, who confirmed his position alongside Steven Smith, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson as one of the best young batsmen in the world with an innings that dwarfed all other batting performances in the match. There was Stokes, who batted and bowled with a class that is becoming familiar. And there was Broad.The Wanderers scoreboard tells the story•Getty ImagesThere have been a couple of key differences between the sides in this series. The first, and most obvious, is the depth of the England side in batting and bowling. Whereas England have nearly always (Cape Town pushed this theory to its limits) had a fresh bowler to turn to, South Africa have rotated four decent bowlers to the point of exhaustion. The rise of Ben Stokes and the departure of Jacques Kallis has changed the dynamic between these teams drastically since 2012.The other key difference is harder to quantify. But while much of the talk around the South Africa camp in recent weeks has been about potential retirements and T20 commitments, the talk in the England camp has been about winning this Test series. The fact is, England’s players can afford to focus entirely on Test cricket.That’s why, when the BCCI announce the list of players involved in the IPL auction, there will be no Alex Hales, no Moeen Ali (the first Andrew Strauss knew of his intention to enter into the auction was when he read it on ESPNcricinfo), no David Willey and no Adil Rashid. In a perfect world, all of them would love to go. But they value a Test place above all and the benefit of the ECB’s relative financial strength is they need not prioritise T20 for their long-term financial future. Right or wrong, money talks in international cricket these days.There have been many parallels in this series to the last encounter between these sides in 2012. At that time, England were the No. 1 side, on the wane and beset by internal troubles, and South Africa the hungry challengers, pushing for the crown and on the brink of a few years of Test domination.This time the roles are reversed. It is too early to say whether England will go on to enjoy a similar period at the top of the rankings, but they are heading in the right direction.

ESPNcricinfo’s writers covering the World Cup pick out their favourite moment from the first week’s matches

21-Feb-2015Jarrod Kimber –
Being in the crowd as the Afghanistan national anthem was sung is something I’ll never forget. Despite all the cricket politics involved, here is a country that has been through so much, that was standing and singing their anthem because their country had produced a team good enough to compete on the world stage. There were a few teary fans, but mostly, they were just happy. Their team was in a World Cup. Their flag was on show. And their players were about to get a chance. Right in front of me was a small boy with an Afghanistan shirt on. He couldn’t have been more than six. He was just a young boy, wearing his team shirt, at a sporting match. But because of the match, and because of the team, it just seemed all the more special.Andrew Fidel Fernando –
Dawlat Zadran didn’t play Afghanistan’s opening World Cup match. Maybe he felt he had something to prove, because two days later, at his team’s first training in Dunedin, he was tearing in from almost the edge of the practice area, sending down some vicious stuff. Almost every batsman who came into Dawlat’s net had his edge beaten. Some had theirs taken – ball zooting off towards would-be slips. Still, Dawlat kept pounding in until coach Andy Moles stepped in and told him to ease up. Dawlat could injure himself, was perhaps the logic, or just as bad, he could hurt a batsman. Even off a shortened run up, he continued to trouble the men at the other end. Dawlat’s was not an act that transformed a match, nor did it bring much joy to anyone. But these are the deeds, strung together, that make a career. Two years from now, even Dawlat might not remember the time he tried so hard at training, his coach had to tell him to stop. But if because of his effort, he gets a game on Sunday, delicious possibilities hang for him off an earnest day in the nets.George Binoy –
New Zealand were so incredible in the field against England in Wellington that it is hard to single out one of their many spectacular efforts. Brendon McCullum’s ground fielding and Adam Milne’s catch to dismiss Eoin Morgan were the highlights. But New Zealand are able to perform such exceptional feats because they are constantly switched on, even while doing mundane housekeeping – like backing up a throw to the wicketkeeper. The ball had gone to the leg side and the England batsmen were hurrying through for a run as the throw came in to Luke Ronchi. I can’t remember whether Ronchi collected cleanly or not because the sight of fielders from the slip cordon, gully and point, and short cover, rushing to get in line to prevent overthrows was astonishing. During the recent Tests against Sri Lanka, New Zealand frequently had four fielders chasing after the ball as it sped towards the boundary, and at the Cake Tin they had four players ready and willing to get behind their wicketkeeper for the ordinary act of backing up a throw.Firdose Moonda –
Australia-England, India-Pakistan, South Africa-Zimbabwe. The last one doesn’t quite fit in the list of cricket’s great rivalries, does it? The African continent’s iconic contests are more about football or political rivalries but in Hamilton, cricket created its own memorable moment. An ad hoc Zimbabwean band began proceedings in Garden Place, a public square, before the Soweto Gospel Choir filled the air with the sounds of Africa. The music kept going through the match, drumming from the Zimbabwean fans accompanied every ball, even when David Miller punished their bowling, especially when Hamilton Masakadza made his name in the city of the same name, and when their challenge fizzled out. Cricket might not be the quintessential African game but for one day in middle earth, it was.Zimbabwe’s fans created a vibrant atmosphere for the African derby in Hamilton•Getty ImagesBrydon Coverdale –
Know your role, cricketers often say. Execute. UAE may be the least-fancied team in this World Cup, but they too know their roles. To see Amjad Javed and Mohammad Naveed plunder 20 off the penultimate over against Zimbabwe in Nelson was pleasing; if tailenders in an Associate team can do that against a Full Member nation, the competition is alive and strong. It was hard not to smile when Amjad casually lofted Tinashe Panyangara over long-off for six. “Some coaches think I am good in the end if they need 20 or 30 runs,” Amjad told me the day before the game. “Scoring 20 or 30 runs can be a match-winning innings.” His 25 off 19 balls nearly was; Zimbabwe made hard work of their chase of 286. UAE at least ensured the closest match of the World Cup to that point.Andy Zaltzman –
England had been waiting for a hat-trick at the home of Australian cricket since January 1883. Few of the current Barmy Army were alive to see Billy Bates scuttle the mighty Australian middle order of McDonnell, Giffen and Bonnor, presaging a thumping innings victory, although of course even today English schoolchildren talk of little else. So when Steve Finn blasted through the modern Australian tail in England’s opening-day game to add his name to that list of one English MCG hat-trick, even Her Majesty The Queen must have been trampolining in celebration on her royal bed.In an ideal world, the hat-trick would not have comprised three aerial hoicks to the final three balls of the innings in a spell of completely playable fast bowling, making absolutely no difference to a clearly-already-match-winning score of 342, but history is history. And, on current form, after England proceeded to their expected drubbing at the MCG and then lost by an innings against New Zealand, Finn’s moment of not-much-glory may well be seen to have been the high point of England’s World Cup campaign.George Dobell –
If England had any chance against Australia, they had to strike with the new ball. Instead, in the first over, Aaron Finch flicked the ball towards Chris Woakes at square leg but Woakes, legs a little heavy, arms a little stiff, was slow to move to the ball and spilt the chance. Finch went on to score a century and England went on to a thrashing. It might all have been different.Abhishek Purohit –
Bangladesh do not win much. They are rarely favourites. They were expected to win their tournament opener against Afghanistan in Canberra, but the fact they had lost their only previous ODI against them piled more pressure. No wonder Mushfiqur Rahim, who was captain when Bangladesh had gone down to Afghanistan at home last March, removed the bails forcefully to run out the last Afghanistan batsman and seal the win. The team then set out on a victory lap of Manuka Oval, acknowledging the thousands of Bangladesh fans who had turned up, many of them from Sydney. There was no extravagance in the lap; Bangladesh knew it was only their first game of the tournament. But there was no mistaking how much the victory meant to them.Andrew McGlashan –
The rebuilding of Christchurch and the revival of the New Zealand cricket team came together on the opening day of the World Cup. Anticipation and nervousness abounded, from players, supporters and administrators. Never before had the cricketers faced such expectations, but any nerves were immediately settled by Brendon McCullum who drove his first ball of the tournament for four and proceeded to slam 65 off 49 balls in front of an increasingly excited crowd on a chilly, grey but joyful morning at Hagley Park. Even the most sceptical person could not have failed to enjoy into the moment.

Which was their batting blip – the Tests against Pakistan or the one in Colombo just now?

Andy Zaltzman25-Feb-2013The dust is settling on England’s fascinating, and, until Colombo’s belated redemption, spectacularly unsuccessful Test winter. And that dust is confused. Very confused. Is it covering a landmark underachievement, or an unfortunate blip? Has 2011-12 shown how vulnerable this supposedly world-leading England side is, and how the weaknesses in it had been camouflaged by an unprecedented collective burst of form and some fractured, sub-standard opposition; or has it strangely proved, as suggested by my World Cricket Podcast compadre Daniel Norcross, quite how good they are?They were, after all, not far from winning four Tests out of five despite having batted for most of the winter like a long-forgotten salad in an abandoned fridge, and they bowled persistently superbly (statistically far better than in 2000-01, when they returned from Asia with two series victories). As soon as the batsmen for the first time applied themselves correctly, they waltzed to a resounding victory. Albeit that the sound that resounded was the echo of the words, “Where the hell was that in the Gulf in January?” rebounding back from outer space.So many questions remain to be answered. Which was the batting blip – the first four Tests or the last one? Will the Pakistan whitewash remain a scar on this excellent England team’s record, or will it prove to be an open wound in which the maggots of doubt have laid out their towels for an interesting year’s sunbathing ahead?Your witness, history. Get back to us in nine months’ time with some supporting evidence from (a) this summer’s series against an increasingly-determined-but-almost-entirely-unacquainted-with-early-season-English-conditions West Indies, and a probably-should-be-No. 1-side-in-the-Test-world-if-only-they-didn’t -keep-tanking-one-nil-series-leads South Africa, and (b) the four Tests in India at the end of the year.Personally, my expectation is that England will beat West Indies comfortably, draw 1-1 with South Africa, and win narrowly in India, guided by their freshly printed multi-volume , which they are no doubt busy scribbling down from their failures this winter.However, my expectation was that they would win in the UAE against Pakistan, and they managed to avoid doing that in some style, in much the same way that the managed to avoid overshooting America on its maiden voyage.And, just as they had not faced high-class spin for a lengthy period before subsiding to Ajmal and Rehman, so they will not have faced the calibre of swing bowling they can expect from Steyn and Philander since Amir and Asif brilliantly hooped them to distraction two years ago before. Just as facing Xavier Doherty in Brisbane, or Mishra and Raina at The Oval, was not ideal preparation for encountering Pakistan’s crafty tweakmen in the Gulf, so seeing off Lakmal and Prasad in Colombo, statistically one of cricket history’s least penetrating new-ball attacks (their career figures suggesting they offered the incision of an ice scalpel in a sub-Saharan operating theatre), will not have honed England ideally for the South African pace and swing barrage. As preparation for that task, it was about as appropriate as Neil Armstrong training for his rocket trip to the moon by hanging a cantaloupe melon from his bedroom ceiling, saying “5-4-3-2-1-blast-off” and throwing a dart at it.Luckily, Strauss and his men have time and the West Indies series in which to reactivate their facing-swing-bowling heads. And hope that they work better than they did in 2010. And that England’s bowlers continue to provide the grip and penetration of a Viagra-addled boa constrictor, as they have done consistently for the last two years.Then, in November, England’s batsmen will have to switch heads back to the spin-oriented ones that only started showing signs of neural activity briefly in Galle, and only uttered coherent sentences in Colombo. India will enter that series with scores to settle, both with England and, more specifically, with themselves.They will be hoping by then that they still have a left-arm spinner who can remember how to bowl anything other than four overs of balls speared in at leg stump. Not only has this been England’s worst ever winter or summer season against spin (they lost 77 wickets to spin in the five Tests, at a little under 19 runs apiece), but Abdur Rehman and Rangana Herath both returned series hauls of 19 wickets against them. That is more than any left-arm spinner in a series against England since India’s Dilip Doshi took 22 in a six-Test rubber 30 winters ago, and more than any non-Indian left-arm spinner since Alf Valentine twirled England to post-war befuddlement in 1950. England are likely to face legspinners Devendra Bishoo and Imran Tahir this summer. I never thought I would write this, but Pragyan Ojha could hold the entire future health of Indian Test cricket in his fingers.EXTRAS
● Excuse me for largely skipping over the first half of England’s Test summer, despite West Indies’ impressively cussed all-round performance in the first three days against Australia in Barbados. The Caribbean team’s last two early-season tours to England have been pointlessly one-sided and deeply depressing. Darren Sammy’s team seems unlikely to cave in as readily as Chris Gayle’s did in the two-Test-total-waste-of-time in 2009, but West Indies have lost 12 out of 14 matches in England since they last won a Test here 12 years ago. Excluding tours of Zimbabwe and Bangladesh, West Indies have played 65 away Tests since 1997. They have won two of them. And lost 50. I just hope for something resembling cricket to occur.● Is there a more underrated bowler in world cricket than Sammy? As I write (in between days three and four of the Barbados Test), the West Indian skipper’s Test bowling average stands at 29.60. This means that, of all West Indian bowlers to have taken more than 20 Test wickets, Sammy has the best average of anyone who has made their debut since Ian Bishop in 1989 (albeit only by a very slim margin over Jermaine Lawson, which a single boundary at the start of play today would wipe out).Sammy currently has a better career average than Jimmy Anderson, Morne Morkel, Brett Lee, Zaheer Khan, Umar Gul and Andrew Flintoff. That does not mean he is a better bowler than them, but Sammy’s statistics suggest that he is a far better bowler than his action and speed-gun readings suggest he is.● How much longer can West Indies continue to carry their captain, Sammy? His continued presence in the team, and the fact that he is not a good enough batsman to bat above No. 8, means that only two of a decent crop of Caribbean pacemen can play alongside Sammy and a spinner. Do not be fooled by his Test average of 29.60. It has been boosted by some cheap wickets against Bangladesh, and, excluding a home series against a weak Pakistan batting line-up, and a debut haul of 7 for 66 in England five years ago, in series against major opposition Sammy has not averaged under 34 runs per wicket, and has taken a wicket on average once every 14.2 overs. He might be forging a more dogged and disciplined West Indies team, for which all cricket fans should be wiping their brows in relief, but his limitations as a bowler are negating what could be their strongest attacking suit – an improving and increasingly potent pace attack.● Stats are confusing.

Both teams are evenly matched in both batting and bowling, but it could just be Australia’s big match temperament that proves crucial

Madhusudhan Ramakrishnan04-Mar-2011Australia’s 31-match unbeaten run in World Cups will face its first big test of the tournament against the 2007 finalists Sri Lanka. Australia though, boast a winning record against Sri Lanka in ODIs overall and an even better record in World Cups, where they have suffered only two losses, including the forfeiture in 1996.The only losses suffered by Australia against Sri Lanka in global tournaments have come in matches played in the subcontinent, with one of them coming in the 2002 Champions Trophy semi-final at the Premadasa stadium. Since 2000, Australia have won 19 matches to Sri Lanka’s nine, but after the 2007 World Cup the record is a far more even 4-3. Sri Lanka, though have not done really well when it matters, losing to Australia twice in each of the previous two World Cups including the semi-final in 2003 and the final in 2007. They have however, not played in Sri Lanka since 2004, when they followed up their 3-0 Test series win with a 3-2 win in the ODI series.Australia’s all-round strength between 2000 and 2007 virtually ensured success in every competition. They have won the last three World Cups and the previous two Champions Trophy tournaments, including the 2006 tournament in India. Despite their slight discomfort against quality spin, they have been by far the best visiting team in the subcontinent. Their win-loss ratio of 2.83 in matches played in the subcontinent since 2006 is the best among all visiting teams, with only South Africa coming close. Sri Lanka though, will be confident after winning their first ever ODI series in Australia, when they triumphed 2-1 in the end of 2010.

The upcoming game is a contest between two of the top batting teams in ODIs since 2009. While South Africa and India have been the best teams in terms of batting average, Australia and Sri Lanka are not far behind. The only concern for Australia would be the conversion of fifties to centuries. They have only 17 hundreds and 108 fifties, a conversion ratio of over six. This is a lot higher when compared to the conversion ratio of other top teams (for India and South Africa, it is a little more than two).Shane Watson has been Australia’s best batsman over the last two years and has settled perfectly into the opener’s role. He scored centuries in the semi-final and final of the Champions Trophy in 2009 and has started the World Cup with two half-centuries. His ability to attack both pace and spin and provide solid starts will be a huge plus in a contest between two evenly matched teams.Ricky Ponting needs just 62 runs to surpass Adam Gilchrist and become Australia’s highest run getter against Sri Lanka in ODIs. He has scored centuries in big matches against Sri Lanka in the past including the Super Six match in 2003 and in the VB series final in 2006, where he scored a superb 124 to boost Australia to 368 after they were struggling at 10 for 3.Tillakaratne Dilshan and Mahela Jayawardene have been the two most consistent batsmen for Sri Lanka in recent matches. Jayawardene rediscovered his form in big tournaments in the 2007 World Cup and has not looked back since. Dilshan and Upul Tharanga have combined to form a very consistent opening partnership and will be crucial to Sri Lanka’a chances. Kumar Sangakkara, who averages over 42 since the start of 2009 has scored 17 half-centuries in 50 matches but not a single century. He has looked in great touch in his first two matches with scores of 92 against Canada and 49 in the 11-run defeat against Pakistan.

Mitchell Johnson, who has had a tremendous start to the World Cup with eight wickets in two matches, has been Australia’s leading wicket taker in ODIs since the start of 2009. Watson and Brett Lee average under 25 and have been among the wickets. Shaun Tait, who made a big splash in the previous World Cup, has bowled with great pace in the first two matches and will be a huge threat on any surface.Nuwan Kulasekara has been Sri Lanka’s most consistent ODI bowler in the last two years and he, together with Lasith Malinga, provides a strong pace option. Malinga, who picked up his second hat-trick in World Cups, has bagged 11 wickets at 31.54 against Australia, a record he’ll look to improve. Muttiah Muralitharan is Sri Lanka’s leading wicket taker against Australia, but his worst ODI figures of 1 for 99 have also come against Australia. The lack of matches in recent years between the two sides has meant that Australia have not played Ajantha Mendis often which could turn out to be an important factor in this match.Both teams have been extremely evenly matched in their batting and bowling display across an innings. While Sri Lanka have scored slightly better in the first 15 overs, Australia have averaged much better. Sri Lanka’s higher run-rate can be attributed to playing more matches in the subcontinent. Australia have been the better bowling side in the first 15 overs and in the middle overs. While Sri Lanka’s economy-rate is slightly better in the end overs, Australia’s powerful middle order, which has scored at a run-rate of 7.50 in the last ten overs, could prove to be the difference.

Pakistan’s win over Sri Lanka was yet another instance of the toss playing a vital role in the result. Since 2005, chasing teams have won only five matches and lost 20 out of the 26 played. The record in day-night games is even worse with chasing teams winning just three out of 21 played. On all these occasions, the team winning the toss has opted to bat first. While Australia have won two of the last three matches they have played at the venue, they will realise that winning the toss will be a huge bonus in this clash.

A review of The Official 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup Review DVD

Andrew Miller22-Sep-2007The Official 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup Review £19.99

The World Twenty20, for all its manifest flaws, has produced more moments of genuine excitement in a single week than the 50-over World Cup managed in two months of lumpen tedium. It’s a good time, then, to be reminded of the excruciating awfulness of the ICC’s original crowning glory, the Caribbean “Carnival of Cricket” of March and April this year.To prepare for this review, I decided to get back into the mood and mindset of that magical event. On the hottest day of the month, I drove to a deserted field two miles from my house and started on a long and sweaty trek home. Eventually I gave up and paid over the odds for a minicab to transport me to my front door. Having stopped en route to buy some beer and nachos, I asked my wife to confiscate these on arrival, and instead sell me tap water and dry crackers at a premium rate while forcing me to watch the action from behind a pile of ironing in the corner of the living room.So far so realistic. But for an occasion like this all that should matter is the action. None of the indignities that the Caribbean spectators were put through for those two months would have registered if the cricket itself had lived up to its billing. Alas, my jaundiced memory did not let me down. At one hour and 40 minutes long, this DVD felt as interminable as the tournament itself, even though it covered barely 0.05 per cent of the on-field events.There were some moments worth reliving, of course there were. Herschelle Gibbs made history with six sixes in an over in St Kitts (although after Yuvraj Singh’s Durban onslaught, that performance now looks as tame as the poor bowler, Daan van Bunge); Lasith Malinga gave South Africa an almighty scare with four wickets in four balls in Guyana, and as for Adam Gilchrist’s stupendous 149 in the final, hitting of that calibre would grace any version of the game, and any era.Sadly that innings – both in real-time and DVD-time – arrives far, far too late to justify most of what goes before. The movie-trailer neutrality of the introductory blurb, dubbed over the top of that twinkly jingle, “A Game of Love and Unity”, provides a grim portent of the entertainment in store. Not even the voiceover artist who talked up would have been able to inject any sense of anticipation into this gem of a competition summary:

“The cream of world cricket, the 16 finalists, were divided into groups of four for the first stage of the tournament. Each group would play a round-robin series of matches with only the top two in each group progressing to the Super Eights stage, another round robin to determine the four semi-finalists and ultimately the finalists … blah blah blah …”

Seconds later, while running through the runners and riders in Pool A, Scotland are described as “World Cup debutants” – an inauspicious start.The most notable World Cup debutants were, of course, the plucky Irish – although their thunder-stealing role in the competition is strangely downplayed, possibly on two counts. The first is that their fifth-day elimination of Pakistan inadvertently contributed to the desperate blandness of the overall event: with India falling early as well, the hugely hyped Super Eights became an extension of the same Group stage procession.And then of course, there was the awful postscript to that St Patrick’s Day miracle in Kingston. Bob Woolmer’s death, and the subsequent protracted murder investigation, cast a pall over the tournament that would never be entirely lifted. Voiceover man is suitably non-committal in his reporting of the event: “That night, Pakistan coach, Bob Woolmer, tragically died in his hotel room. Pakistan’s subsequent big victory over Zimbabwe counted for nothing.” And with that, the action moves on to the next meaningless fixture.There is as much pretence in this DVD as there was in the tournament proper. Take the ten moments of the tournament, for instance – the compilers are struggling so badly to make up the numbers that Glenn McGrath and Muttiah Muralitharan both feature for taking two wickets in an over. The biggest pretence, however, is an outrageous piece of wool-pulling in the very last act. The farcical scenes that accompanied the end of the World Cup final will remain in the mind’s eye forever, although not if the ICC has anything to do with it.Australia’s premature celebrations, the umpires’ collective brain-fart, the incredulity of the captains and the crowd, and the pointless pat-ball of the final three overs … none of it exists any longer, thanks to some skilful editing that is betrayed only by the bewildered tone of the commentary (“Out stumped, I think … well Aleem Dar can’t be sure either”) and the grainy blackness of the footage.Eventually, Andrew Symonds twirls down a leg-stump delivery, Chaminda Vaas misses, Australia roar with delight, and as Mark Nicholas puts it: “That, finally, is that.”

If ever you needed an example of a team walking home in a 200 chase without any stress, this was it. And in doing so, Mumbai Indians fired their IPL 2023 campaign into orbit as they made a stunning climb from No. 8 to No. 3 after razing Royal Challengers Bangalore in another six-fest at the Wankhede.At the forefront of their march were Suryakumar Yadav and Nehal Wadhera, who put together 140 off just 64 balls in a sensational spell of on-demand boundary hitting that had seasoned bowlers such as Josh Hazlewood, Wanindu Hasaranga and Harshal Patel searching for answers.From 101 needed off 60, Suryakumar’s pyrotechnics that brought him his IPL best – a 35-ball 83 – brought the equation down to 8 off 26 when he walked off to a standing ovation. It was his fourth fifty-plus score in his last six outings, marking a sensational turnaround in fortunes after a cold first half.Suryakumar’s partner for much of that innings, Wadhera, made the most of his promotion up the order in Tilak Varma’s absence due to a niggle. The ferocity of their partnership had a deflating effect on RCB, who now join a cluttered mid-table that has four teams on 10 points with a possibility of a fifth joining there on Wednesday night.

Behrendorff’s powerplay act

Long before there was an inkling of what was to come, Jason Behrendorff set the stage alight at Wankhede by stinging his former team with the wickets of Virat Kohli and Anuj Rawat. Kohli was out giving him the charge off his fourth ball, nicking a heave that was overturned through DRS, while Rawat’s top edge to an attempted scoop landed in Cameron Green’s lap as he ran back from slip.Prior to the double-strike, Behrendorff could’ve also had du Plessis first ball if Wadhera hadn’t dropped him at midwicket. Du Plessis, though, made them pay along with Glenn Maxwell as the pair quickly offset RCB’s early losses to fire them from 16 for 2 to 56 for 2 after six overs.

The Maxwell-Faf show

RCB’s soft middle order has been a cause for concern all season, but Maxwell and du Plessis weren’t going to die wondering. In fact, du Plessis took two fours off Chawla and continued the attack against Green. On the other side of the powerplay, Maxwell welcomed Chris Jordan – Jofra Archer’s replacement in the XI – by pumping him for two sixes in his very first over to raise the half-century of the partnership off just 25 balls. As it turned out, it was just the start of the mayhem that was to follow.Du Plessis was all muscle, backing away to swing cleanly if he wasn’t lofting through the line on instinct. Maxwell was a mix of the inventive and the ridiculous, switch-hitting, slog-sweeping, scooping and reverse-ramping his way, treating the bowling with such disdain that you wondered if Mumbai were in for a target in the vicinity of 230. The pair had put on 120 off just 60 balls when Maxwell dragged one across the line to deep midwicket for a 33-ball 68.Suryakumar Yadav celebrates after bringing up his half-century off 26 balls•BCCI

The RCB slowdown

RCB would lose Mahipal Lomror and du Plessis, for a 45-ball 61, in the next two overs to expose that brittle lower middle order. It’s at this point that RCB decided to summon their Impact Player by bringing in Kedar Jadhav. It was now on him and Dinesh Karthik to give the finishing kick.Karthik struggled for rhythm, but flicked a switch from 8 off 7, to slam Kumar Kartikeya’s left-arm spin in the 18th over. But his dismissal with 11 balls left had RCB shortchanged. Akash Madhwal, the rookie seamer, delivered an excellent final over, only his second in the game, that went for six as RCB finished with 199; the last five had just brought them 48 runs.

The Kishan turbocharge

Five runs, four innings, two ducks.Rohit Sharma shredded that with a ferocious flat-bat off Hazlewood first ball. Ishan Kishan followed Rohit’s cue to take the attack to Mohammed Siraj, flicking and whipping his way to sixes. In trying to sustain his onslaught against spin, he was out to Hasaranga after hitting him for a four and six. Two balls later, Rohit was out lbw to a delivery he tried to nudge against the turn to one that didn’t turn as much as he expected. Mumbai were up against it at 52 for 2 in five overs.

SKY takes over

Over the next five overs, Suryakumar and Wadhera kept up with the asking rate by playing risk-free cricket, before the flick was well and truly switched on. Hasaranga’s return to deliver the 11th with Mumbai needing 101 more led to a torrent as both batters picked a six apiece.Du Plessis now went back to Hazlewood to stifle the scoring, especially with Harshal Patel struggling for rhythm. But Suryakumar’s grand hitting behind the V, where he used pace to takedown Hazlewood and Siraj for sixes behind square on either side, left everyone awestruck. He brought up his half-century off just 26 balls, and then raised the tempo even more by nonchalantly lofting a slot-ball from Siraj into the second tier down the ground.By now, Suryakumar was seeing it like a football, so big that even a beamer aimed at his body was swatted away for six like it was child’s play. His dismissal to Vyshak Vijaykumar in a double-wicket over was somewhat of an anti-climax at the end, but by then the result was a foregone conclusion.Wadhera fittingly finished it off with a lofted six over cover to bring up a second-straight fifty. By then, Mumbai had razed down the fastest 200 chase in IPL history – with 21 balls to spare – and the second-fastest overall.

MatériaMais Notícias

Red Bull Bragantino e Palmeiras conversam para que o Massa Bruta exerça a compra do volante Matheus Fernandes, que está emprestado pelo Verdão. Os palmeirenses cogitaram envolver o atacante Artur na situação, mas a ideia foi prontamente negada pela direção do Braga.

Artur, que é revelado pelo Palestra, está no radar da equipe alviverde, que até o momento não fez proposta pelo jogador, mas aproveitou a boa relação que possui com a direção do Braga para saber possíveis condições de negócio. A resposta, por sua vez, não foi animadora, já que a equipe de Bragança Paulista informou que deseja receber 15 milhões de euros (R$ 82,2 mi, na cotação atual). No entanto, segundo informações obtidas pelo reportagem, uma proposta de 10 milhões de euros (R$ 54,8 mi, na cotação atual) faria com que a direção do Toro Loko pensasse em evoluir o negócio.

A consulta feita pelos representantes palmeirenses aconteceu na semana passada, depois disso o assunto não chegou a ser mais tratado internamente pelo clube. Ainda assim, novas sondagens e até mesmo uma investida não são descartadas.

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Em relação a Matheus Fernandes, o acordo para a venda está próximo de ser oficializado. O Bragantino pagará 1,8 milhão de euros (R$ 9,8 mi, na cotação atual) e antecipará a compra, que poderia ser feita até o fim do ano, quando acaba o vínculo de empréstimo que o atleta possui com o Massa Bruta. O contrato do jogador com o Palmeiras tem validade até o fim de 2025, mas o clube alviverde não pretende utilizá-lo no período. A compra será de 60% dos direitos econômicos do meio-campista.

+ Confira as movimentações do mercado da bola no vaivém do LANCE!

O empréstimo para o Red Bull Bragantino foi o segundo de Matheus Fernandes desde o retorno ao Verdão, em 2021. No ano passado, o atleta foi cedido ao Athletico-PR, mas o Furacão não manteve o jogador, que foi emprestado ao Braga. Pelo Massa Bruta, o jogador te 12 jogos disputados – dos 13 que a equipe do interior paulista fez até aqui em 2023.

+ Veja a tabela das quartas de final do Paulistão e simule os resultados

continua após a publicidade

MatériaMais Notícias

O meia Palácios dificilmente vai jogar no Vasco em 2023. O jogador recebeu uma proposta de empréstimo do Colo-Colo e o Cruz-Maltino avalia com bons olhos essa possibilidade, já que o chileno ocupa uma vaga de estrangeiro no elenco. O Regulamento Geral de Competições da CBF permite apenas cinco jogadores nascidos fora do Brasil entre os relacionados em uma partida no país. Vale lembrar que o uruguaio Pumita Rodríguez foi anunciado nesta quarta e o argentino Orellano finaliza exames para ser oficializado como reforço.

+ Confira as movimentações do Vasco no Mercado da Bola

O Colo-Colo tinha demonstrado interesse em contar com Palácios após o final da Série B do Brasileiro, mas as conversas não evoluíram, já que o meia seria analisado na pré-temporada. A avaliação foi negativa, tanto no aspecto técnico, já que o jogador não se destacou na temporada passada, quanto no aspecto disciplinar.

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O Vasco pagou ao Internacional cerca de R$ 9 milhões por Palácios, que assinou contrato até 30 de abril de 2025. O Cruz-Maltino quer fazer negócio, mas pretende amenizar o prejuízo financeiro. O salário de Palácios gira em torno de R$ 200 mil e uma das condições para o acerto é o Colo-Colo arcar integralmente com o valor.

Além do Colo-Colo, o Unión Española, time que revelou Palácios, também mostrou interesse. O clube chegou a convencer o jogador a voltar, principalmente com a chegada do técnico Ronald Fuentes. O treinador foi o responsável por lançar o meia e o comandou em seu melhor momento na carreira. No entanto, o poderio financeiro pesou a favor do Colo-Colo.

Palácios disputou 24 jogos pelo Vasco na Série B, cinco como titular, marcou um gol e deu uma assistência.

Luis Diaz put in a promising performance on his Bayern Munich debut following a €75 million (£65.5m) move from Liverpool. The Colombian winger impressed with his energy and creativity in a second-half cameo, but admitted post-match that he will need time to fully settle into Vincent Kompany's team and contribute at the best of his abilities this season.

• Diaz impresses in Bayern debut after €75m Liverpool switch
• Colombian winger wins penalty and nearly scores late in match
• Believes he still 'needs time to integrate'

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Diaz made his first appearance for Bayern Munich in a friendly against Lyon on Saturday following his move from Liverpool. The 28-year-old came off the bench in the second half, won a penalty, and nearly scored late on. His lively and exciting display gave fans a glimpse of what he can offer in the upcoming season. However, the Colombian believes he still needs 'time to integrate' into Kompany's side.

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  WHAT DIAZ SAID

  Speaking to Bayern's club media after the game, Diaz said: "I'm very happy to have played my first game for Bayern. I had a good feeling on the pitch. It was an interesting game. We controlled the game. I'll get used to the team bit by bit. I think I personally had a good game. I had chances to score, but hopefully I'll score next time.

  "My first impressions are incredible. I'm very happy and feeling well in my first few days here. I'll need a bit of time to integrate and get to know my teammates so I can help the team better. I'm happy with my teammates and happy to be at Bayern.

  "As I said on the first day, I want to win all possible titles with this club and help the team with my football, with my goals, assists, even if I have to sit on the bench sometimes. I'll try to always be available to the coaching staff and bring my performances to the pitch. Hopefully, we'll have a great season. I'm convinced of that, and we'll give everything for that"

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Diaz arrives at Bayern Munich after helping Liverpool win the Premier League last season, scoring 13 goals on their way to domestic glory. He’s expected to add more flair and directness to the Bavarian side’s attack as they look to defend their Bundesliga title. The Colombian has signed a four-year deal, with the Bavarians also holding an option to extend for an additional season.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR DIAZ?

  The Colombian will look to build match fitness as Bayern face Tottenham and Grasshoppers in their remaining pre-season games. He is likely to feature in the German Super Cup against Stuttgart. Bayern begin their Bundesliga title defence against RB Leipzig on August 22.