Category Archives: spinning art

August 26, 2018 · 3:09 pm

“A Floating Allrounder” — That is My Role and Goal says Ashton Agar

Sruthi Ravindranath, courtesy of ESPNcricinfo, 26 August 2018, where the title is

Ashton Agar wants to be as good as he can at everything. He wants to be adaptable, to be able to pad up at any time for his side, and be the floater who can go bang from the first ball.

Agar introduced himself to the world in 2013 as a 19-year-old left-arm spinner who smacked a 98 on Test debut, while batting at No. 11, on an Ashes tour. His career didn’t quite take off from there as expected. He has played only 26 international games so far, and has only become a limited-overs regular in recent times.

Ashton Agar played a solid innings Getty Images Continue reading →

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Filed under Australian cricket, baggy green, Indian cricket, performance, player selections, spinning art, work ethic

August 26, 2018 · 9:22 am

Rangana Herath: Affable and Lethal

Champika Fernando, in Daily Mirror, 26 August 2018, with title as “Retired or not; lethal but affable Herath is a living legend”

The timing and manner of a cricketer’s retirement can often tell you much about the player’s career. In Rangana Herath’s case, both seem, if not perfect, nearly so.

Herath is still at the top of his game, arguably the world’s number one spinner at present. It may justifiably be asked why he chose to retire. His aging legs, however, seem to offer him a message that they cannot take the physical strain any longer. His knees were operated on and he often takes injections for relief from constant pain.

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Filed under cricket and life, cricketing icons, performance, politics and cricket, Rangana Herath, spinning art, tower of strength, unusual people

June 5, 2018 · 11:23 am

Afghanistan undermine Bangladesh comprehensively

Mohammad Isam, in ESPNcricinfo, 3 June 2018, with title as “Shenwari and spinners topple Bangladesh”

Afghanistan 167 for 8 (Shahzad 40, Shenwari 36, Mahmudullah 2-1) beat Bangladesh 122 (Liton 30, Mahmudullah 29, Rashid 3-13, Zadran 3-40) by 45 runs

Mohamed Nabi   Rashid Khan

Afghanistan began their historic tour of India with a dominant performance against Bangladesh, crushing them by 45 runs in the first T20 in Dehradun. The clinical display went along expected lines as their big-hitters Mohammad Shahzad, Samiullah Shenwari and Shafiqullah got them to competitive 167 for 8 in 20 overs. That set it up for the usual suspects – Rashid Khan, Mohammad Nabi and Mujeeb Ur Rahman – to do their thing and dismantle Bangladesh, as they were bowled out for 122 in 19 overs.

Having broken the back of the chase, Rashid snaffled an excellent catch – diving to his left and grabbing Abu Jayed’s slap overhead with both hands – giving Afghanistan a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. It was a complete performance from Afghanistan, characterised by a clinical bowling performance that didn’t give Bangladesh any chance of chasing down the total. Continue reading →

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May 27, 2018 · 4:21 pm

Pitch Doctoring at Galle? Al-Jazeera Allegations –Three Reports

ONE: from ESPNcricinfo staff, 26 May 2019 … with highlighting emphasis added by The Editor, Cricketique

Sri Lanka Cricket will cooperate fully with the ICC in its investigations into allegations of pitch-fixing in two Test matches in the past, and potentially one later this year against England.

The board’s response came after TV news channel Al Jazeera claimed that a person involved in preparing the pitches in Galle for the Tests against India in 2017 and Australia in 2016 had tailored the surfaces according to instructions from a person involved in betting. The report also alleged that the Galle pitch for the Test against England later this year would also be made to order for betting.

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Filed under Australian cricket, cricket and life, cricket governance, performance, peter lalor, politics and cricket, spinning art, verbal intimidation, violent intrusions

February 17, 2018 · 1:29 pm

Jeevan Mendis’ Come-back Trial: No Surprise

Bipin Dani

Mumbai, Feb 16: Jeevan Mendis’ coach at Tamil Union was “not surprised” with his sensational comeback.  The 35-year-old leg break bowler, playing his 17th T-20 match after a gap of more than four and half years, took the wicket with his very first ball against Bangladesh at the Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur, Dhaka. Not only that, his first three deliveries yielded two wickets.  “We knew about his talent and were “not at all surprised” with his bowling”, Kapila Weerasinghe, his coach at the Tamil Union said exclusively. 

Sri Lanka’s Jeevan Mendis bowls against Bangladesh during the first Twenty20 international cricket match in Dhaka, Bangladesh, Thursday, Feb. 15, 2018. (AP Photo/A.M. Ahad)

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Filed under player selections, spinning art, Sri Lanka Cricket, T20 Cricket

February 15, 2018 · 10:22 am

Move IN Wrist-Spinner! Move INTO the T20 Format

Aakash Chopra, in ESPNcricinfo where the title is 

“What makes legspin effective in limited-overs cricket?”

 “The best chance a spinner has to take a wicket is when the batsman is forced to play an attacking shot, and the length that most legspinners bowl forces batsmen to attack” BCCI

Why are legspinners so successful in the shorter formats?
There are plenty of factors that go in favour of legspinners in shorter formats.

They have the ability to take the ball away, off the surface, from both left- and right-hand batsmen without bending the elbow or the rules. Continue reading →

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