You would not have required an expert knowledge of cricket to make the visual observation that the wicket prepared for Bangladesh’s historic Test win over England was a raging “bunsen”. The pseudo-Cockney slang term (bunsen burner = “turner”) indicates a wicket particularly conducive to spin, and traditionally alien to cricketers brought up in English conditions. […]
Perhaps the two most important areas of a team’s game to win Test matches in Asia are scoring big top order runs and the spin bowlers bowling well. England won this Test despite doing neither of those things: their top order failed twice and their spin bowlers had a limited effect on the match. That […]
While the result of this series, a Pakistan win, might not have been a total shock given that it was being played in the UAE, the margin of it, three-nil, and of each victory, 111, 59 and 136 runs, was. There was little between the teams in the rankings before the series with West Indies […]
India 316 (Pujara 87, Rahane 77, Saha 54*, Henry 3-46) and 263 (Rohit 82, Saha 58*, Boult 3-38, Henry 3-59, Santner 3-60) beat New Zealand 204 (Bhuveneshwar 5-48) and 197 (Latham 74, Jadeja, 3-41, Shami 3-46, Ashwin 3-82) by 178 runs
Pakistan’s 3-0 whitewash of the T20 world champions West Indies was a stunning result and one that uncovered the shortcomings of West Indies’ power-hitting strategy on slow pitches with big boundaries and also suggested the capability of Pakistan’s bowling attack to become one of the world’s best. Before the start of this series the West […]
India 318 (Vijay 65, Pujara 62, Boult 3-67, Santner 3-94) and 377 for 5 dec (Pujara 78, Vijay 76, Rohit 68*, Jadeja 50*) beat New Zealand 262 (Williamson 75, Latham 58, Jadeja 5-73, Ashwin 4-93) and 236 (Ronchi 80, Santner 71, Ashwin 6-132) by 197 runs Unsurprisingly since India’s home Tests have begun being played […]
After South Africa’s large first innings score in the Second Test at Centurion it was always going to be difficult for New Zealand to save the match with South Africa able to set aggressive fields and reap the benefits of scoreboard pressure. However South Africa still had to take twenty New Zealand wickets and they did so thanks […]
Trent Bridge has been a high scoring venue in limited overs cricket of late—earlier this season the average score across six domestic innings was 380—but even given the ground’s recent history few people could have envisaged the carnage that unfolded in the first innings of this match.
It took just 19 balls of this match, after which Pakistan were 2 for 3, for England to have established a position of dominance from which it was extremely unlikely Pakistan would recover.
The average first innings score in the five most recent ODIs at the Rose Bowl before England v Pakistan on Wednesday was 310 and the average winning first innings score in ODIs at the Rose Bowl is 289.
It’s hard to know right now if England are truly on the cusp of surfing a wave in one-day cricket, but there has certainly been something of a revival since their pitiful displays in the last World Cup 18 months ago.
As Australia slumped to a series defeat against Sri Lanka in Galle, their shortcomings against spin bowling were exposed in ruthless fashion.
Chris Woakes is having a summer to remember in the England Test side. Since returning to the team for the second Test against Sri Lanka at Chester-le-Street, the Warwickshire all-rounder has scored 221 runs at an average of 55.25 and taken a remarkable 26 wickets at just 13.84.
One of the reasons Pakistan were so comprehensively beaten by England in the second Test at Old Trafford lies in the temporary fall from grace of Yasir Shah.
England v Pakistan, Second Test, Day Four Analysis England 589 for 8 dec and 173 for 1 dec (Cook 76*, Root 71*) beat Pakistan 198 and 234 (Hafeez 41, Anderson 3-41, Woakes 3-41) by 330 runs
England v Pakistan, Second Test, Day Three Analysis England 589 for 8 dec and 98 for 1 (Cook 49*) lead Pakistan 198 (Misbah 52, Woakes 4-67) by 489 runs
England v Pakistan, Second Test, Day Two Analysis Pakistan 57 for 4 (Masood 30*, Misbah 1*, Woakes 3-18) trail England 589 for 8 dec (Root 254, Cook 105) by 532 runs
England v Pakistan, Second Test, Day One Analysis England 314 for 4 (Root 141*, Cook 105) v Pakistan
While all the focus before the first Test at Lord’s had been on the return of Mohammad Amir to the Pakistan side, few were highlighting the talents of fellow left-arm seamer Rahat Ali.
Much of the talk in the aftermath of England’s defeat to Pakistan in the first Test at Lord’s was on the contrast between Moeen Ali and his Pakistani counterpart Yasir Shah.
In the build up to their tour of England, Pakistan’s cricketers were put through the toughest training routines of their lives by the Pakistan Army.
England’s stand-out bowler in the first two matches of the five match ODI series against Sri Lanka has arguably been Adil Rashid. In both games, bowling ten consecutive overs, he has recorded his best economy rate in ODI cricket, first 3.60 and then 3.40. He did not take any wickets at Trent Bridge, although he […]
Freddie Wilde analyses the key moments in the first ODI of the five match series between England and Sri Lanka that ended in a tie.
England will head into the late summer Test series against Pakistan with some comfort regarding certain selection issues.
Sri Lanka are expected to face friendlier conditions in the third and final Test of the series at Lord’s. Having struggled to cope with the seaming and swinging ball at Headingley and Durham, their batsmen should find batting at the home of cricket an easier task.
Alex Hales is brimming with confidence. His 83 on day one of the second England v Sri Lanka Test was his third consecutive 50+ score in first-class cricket, his best such run since June 2011. Two near-misses in the search for a maiden Test ton do not prevent recognition that he belongs in Test cricket.
Just how good was England’s bowling at Headingley? Sri Lanka’s batsmen struggled in tricky conditions against a skilled attack and CricViz can measure how much more dangerous the hosts’ seamers were than their counterparts.
England’s decimation of Sri Lanka’s top order was based on accuracy and the application of pressure. James Anderson and Stuart Broad utilised similar conditions to those faced by Sri Lanka’s opening bowlers, but they gained reward for making batsmen play more regularly.
As the IPL group phase nears completion, Patrick Noone takes a look at the players who have most positively affected their team’s chances of winning throughout the tournament.
Utilising CricViz’s hawkeye data archive Freddie Wilde has analysed in detail the five leading wicket-takers in this season’s Indian Premier League by examining their variations, lengths and lines.
Virat Kohli’s astonishing form with the bat has continued as the IPL reaches its halfway stage. At the time of writing, the Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper is the tournament’s second highest run scorer with 381 runs scored at an average of 76.20.
Alastair Cook is nearing yet another notable landmark. The England captain is 36 runs short of 10,000 in Tests and will expect to raise his bat in acknowledgement against Sri Lanka at Headingley next month.
A summary of venue and innings-phase statistics from the Super 10 stage of the ICC World Twenty20 2016. The following data is comprised of the 38 innings that were played over 20 scheduled overs in the Super 10 stage of the ICC World Twenty20 2016. Therefore the rain-reduced match between India and Pakistan is not included. Phase Breakdowns: […]
A summary of statistics from the First Round stage of the ICC World Twenty20 2016. The following data is comprised of the sixteen innings that were played over 20 scheduled overs in the First Round of the World T20 2016. Therefore the two No Results, Netherlands v Oman and Bangladesh v Ireland, are not included, neither is Scotland’s […]
Since he entered the league at 18 he always seemed to use that infectious smile on his face and a joyful feeling. Jason Avant is the backup holder in the team. Jamal Jackson-C- Jamal Jackson is critical to the offensive line. Since their jerseys and ties had the emblem of a lion, journalists used it […]
Dale Steyn is 32 and injuries are creeping up on him. Morne Morkel is 31 and will surely be a fading influence too as time goes on. Meanwhile, Vernon Philander is not far from his 31st birthday and has a potentially difficult rehab in front of him after snapping ankle ligaments late last year. No […]
The scene on the third afternoon at Johannesburg was a familiar one. Stuart Broad was on a roll and the opposition had no answer. The knees were pumping and the face was ruddy, an irresistible force who made wickets rather than runs seem inevitable. They were, too. Broad took five wickets for one run in […]
Alastair Cook holds the key to success for the tourists as the South Africa v England Test series reaches its halfway point. Joe Root, Ben Stokes and James Anderson are notable match-winners for the away side, but the Proteas know that a recovery is very achievable if Cook continues his run of low scores. The […]
Little is likely to be remembered of the third Test between Australia and West Indies, so ransacked of playing time has it been by inclement weather, in a series already convincingly won by the hosts. Yet one statistical quirk – that of Nathan Lyon bringing up his 100th Test wicket in Australia, removing Kraigg Brathwaite […]
We are in an era of Test cricket, or a mini-era at least, in which opening partnerships are struggling almost as much as they ever have. In only two half-decades since the Second World War have opening partnerships averaged fewer than they have since 2011.
Are things getting gradually better or gradually worse for West Indies cricket? In terms of the fortunes of the Test team, the answer, regrettably, must be the latter.
The first two Tests between Australia and New Zealand resulted in a gluttonous feast of run-scoring: 3,104 runs scored in total, including 11 centuries and not including any five-fors. The third Test, played under lights for the first time, bucked this trend in spectacular fashion. Undoubtedly aided by the pink ball, unfamiliar atmospheric conditions and […]
Josh Hazlewood is suddenly the key man in Australia’s Test bowling attack. Mitchell Johnson’s retirement and Mitchell Starc’s latest injury have put more pressure on the 24-year-old, but his performance at Adelaide has also been instrumental in his promotion.
It was the day before the 2009 Ashes Test at Edgbaston that Andrew Strauss, in his then role was asked this question: “Has the Australian aura we’re used to disappeared?” Strauss was in no mood to be all coy and diplomatic. “I don’t think this Australian side has got an aura about it, to be […]
When Ian Bell struck 143 in his first Test innings of 2015 his exclusion from England’s touring party for South Africa seemed unlikely. But seven months is a long time in cricket, especially for England players, the busiest in the Test arena. Four half-centuries in 23 innings since – top score 65 not out – […]
Australia’s Test record at the Gabba makes it the most well-known fortress in cricket. Only one other home team have gone more than five Tests undefeated at a venue since 1990: India, nine matches without a loss at Delhi. Australia have played 25 Tests at Brisbane in this period. There are various factors that explain […]
The first Test of the series was largely a story of batting dominance. 16 wickets in four days and two first innings totals of 500+ suggested the final day would be a procession towards a draw. This proved not to be the case, thanks to a last gasp contribution by a leg spinner that ranked […]
Since the Champions League T20 Final in 2014 Mahendra Singh Dhoni, one of the most successful T20 players of all time, has entered his worst period of form in his ten year career. In 19 matches in 2015, 17 for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League and two for India, Dhoni has scored […]
Predicting what will happen in England’s Test tour of UAE is a difficult task. Will we see a run feast, or perhaps death by spin? A Joe Root masterclass, or maybe a seamer-inspired show of English bowling strength? The memories of 2012 are fresh. England arrived as the number one-ranked Test team. Unbeaten in nine series, […]
The first Test at Abu Dhabi is moving on quickly. You have just checked WinViz and it has Pakistan at 42%, England at 35%, and the draw at 23%. You then look at PredictViz and it is showing an England win by a handful of runs. Surely something has gone wrong? One tool is saying […]
The United Arab Emirates is an appropriate place to seek the fresh laying of solid foundations. England have not settled on a Test opening partnership in recent years and Alastair Cook will have another new partner as his team seeks to construct some high-rise totals in keeping with the Emirati skyline. Six players have tried […]
On the first morning of the Trent Bridge Test match, Australia batted first and at the first drinks break were 38 for 7, their top seven all back in the pavilion. England started batting 50 minutes later and an hour into their innings were 30 for 0. The Ashes were, barring a freak turnaround, already […]
After ending the Lord’s Test with a batting collapse, England inflicted one of their own on the opening day of the third Test. Conditions were rather different at a damp Edgbaston to those which Australia prospered in at Lord’s and James Anderson duly delivered a seam bowling masterclass. The Lancastrian’s 6/47 helped bowl out Australia […]
England maintained their pattern of following a win with a defeat due to a below par performance in all three disciplines at Lord’s. After winning the first Test with positive PlayViz scores in batting, bowling and fielding, they slumped well below what was expected at headquarters. In being dismissed for 312 and 103 on a […]
England started the second Test against New Zealand ideally placed. A thrilling win at Lord’s and first use of an inviting Headingley pitch in overcast conditions suggested the hosts’ seamers would make a decisive contribution on day one. James Anderson reduced the Black Caps to 2-2, but a buccaneering counter attack from the Kiwi middle […]
The first Test of the 2015 English summer was a rollercoaster affair that showed the format in its best possible light. Both teams held dominant positions in a high quality contest that gave the CricViz tools full opportunity to show their uses. England started the Test with a win probability of 53% in WinViz, which […]
One recurring childhood memory of a typical summer’s day involves my father and I watching together, in silence, the first session of a Test match. It would be some time in the 1980s. In these memories it’s usually a beautiful summer’s day too, but in order to be able to see the screen at all […]
England know full well the perils of facing Pakistan after a successful home summer. In 2005 they suffered a 2-0 defeat in Pakistan that showed the team that had regained the Ashes had reached its peak. They were whitewashed in a three-match series in 2012, a few months after claiming top spot in the ICC Test Rankings.
When the England squad headed to Spain for a pre-series training camp it was derided as a holiday by the Australians. Some form of team bonding was required by a team that had only just been introduced to new coach Trevor Bayliss, but it became clear that their Almeria trip was far more than a jaunt in the sun.
Few words have invoked such derision within cricket as ‘cricketainment’ – which is, if you can distance yourself from the pious conservatism of much of cricket’s commentariat, rather strange. ‘Cricketainment’ can be said to have begun almost innocently way back in 2003 in England in the Twenty20 Cup. Hugh Chevallier recalled in the Wisden Almanack, […]
With two well-matched sides, each batting and bowling well, to a large degree the deciding factor was the quality of their fielding in the first innings. In a game where both sides got a number of half-chances, England were sharp and clung onto theirs, Australia spilt a few and suffered as a result.
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