All posts by h716a5.icu

Plays of the Day from the first day of the third Test between Australia and Sri Lanka in Sydney

Daniel Brettig at the SCG03-Jan-2013The tribute
Australia, Sri Lanka and the match officials had another team join them for a moment’s silence to honour Tony Greig after the former England captain, World Series Cricket pioneer and strident commentator died last week. Also lined up at the SCG were Greig’s commentary colleagues at Channel Nine, including Bill Lawry, Ian Chappell and Richie Benaud. Joining them were members of Greig’s family, while on the stumps at the Paddington end was hung his trademark broad-brimmed hat. The players wore black arm bands in memory of Greig, while Australia’s captain Michael Clarke donned a neck scarf reminiscent of those Greig wore when leading England in Australia and India. Many in the crowd also wore sunhats. Of the tribute, Greig’s wife Vivian said: “I just wish he could have seen it. I’m so grateful, truly grateful.”The retiree
Michael Hussey led Australia onto the field for the start of his final Test, and in the first session the ball followed him too. He ran from the slips cordon to accept a high, swirling chance after Dimuth Karunaratne miscued Jackson Bird for the first wicket of the day, but had less success claiming the second. He lunged for a slips chance offered by Mahela Jayawardene when Sri Lanka’s captain had made just four, but unlike in Melbourne the ball burst through his outstretched left hand and scurried away to the third-man boundary.The exasperation
Mitchell Starc can be given to moments of intemperance on the field, and another arrived after he had dismissed Jayawardene to end a stand that frustrated the hosts. Fielding Thilan Samaraweera’s push back down the pitch, Starc hurled the ball back in the general direction of the stumps. He had done this in Hobart and struck the batsman; this time the throw was much further awry, and eluded Matthew Wade’s dive to skid away for four overthrows.The catch
Lahiru Thirimanne was progressing so serenely towards a first Test century that it came as a surprise when he sliced an attempt to drive Lyon square of cover. The ball hung in the air for someone to attempt a catch, and David Warner obliged, running around and diving to claim the chance in his right hand. It was a vital moment: Thirimanne was beside himself with grief at missing out on three figures, Warner equally overcome, but with jubilance at hanging on to a catch that could so easily have tumbled out when he hit the turf.

The West Indian allrounder bears her responsibility to help spread the game in the Caribbean with calmness and assurance

Abhishek Purohit10-Feb-2013Stafanie Taylor is probably the best female cricketer to have emerged so far from West Indies. She’s scored the most runs for them by a long margin, and only Anisa Mohammed is ahead of her on the wickets column. Taylor was named ICC Women’s ODI Cricketer of the Year in 2012 and Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2011. At 21, she is entirely comfortable with being a role model for girls in the Caribbean and wants to keep doing all the “good stuff” so that she can inspire more of them to take up cricket.When she was 10, Taylor went on her first cricket tour, from Jamaica to Guyana. She was the youngest on that trip. From that time, Taylor says she has been surrounded by people older than her, and in the process, has matured so much she doesn’t know what childhood was like. She says it with absolute calm, without any hint of either regret or pride.The calmness, which she says comes from her father, seems to define Taylor. It is hard to come across a more serene 21-year old, who is aware of the responsibility that comes with her position and bears it with total acceptance.”Sometimes responsibility is good,” Taylor says. “It makes you a better person. Most times it makes you who you are. I have matured so much over the past years. People look at me and say, ‘wow, you have matured so much that it is unbelievable, do you even know what childhood is like?’ And I say, ‘to be honest, I don’t think so.'”A young girl might go partying and drinking and maybe smoking, but I don’t know about all that. It has never really crossed my mind. When you set your mind to do something … I tend to want to move forward in life rather than going back. I am not saying people who smoke and party and drink don’t achieve a lot in life, but some are really good at (balancing) it. I don’t think I am, and I have not tried it.”She’s had little time to. She’s been playing cricket since she was eight. Taylor was also into football, netball and athletics in school – “one of the best in 100 metres” – but grew to love cricket over time. She says that ultimately, her father gravitated towards supporting her. “Cricket wasn’t viewed in any [particular] way [in the family] but it was like, you know, a female actually playing the sport. It has tended to be more of a men’s game. My family got to understand that this is what I love to do, I travel and it makes me happy, I get the support from them.”Taylor is now in a position where she wants to “give back” to young girls. “[Cricket] is not so popular. We are trying to get it more common among the girls, trying to get them in at a young age from school. Me being the figure out there for some of them, hopefully seeing me play or hearing about me can get them involved. They want to be like me, whether it is my personality or some other thing. I was that age as well. I look at it as being a role model.”To that end, Taylor sees herself as a leader, prepared to deny herself so that she can present an example. “I try to do the right things, try to encourage and motivate, try all of this good stuff so that persons can look up to you and respect you. You do the same to them, for they won’t respect you if you don’t respect them. We say in Jamaica, ‘if you want good, your nose will have to run’. It will only make you better.”How did she come to be this thoughtful, articulate, composed person who herself acknowledges she matured too soon? “My dad is an introvert. We are so much alike in so many ways. We could be extroverts sometimes but mostly we tend to be introverts… And also I have read so much. I am a person who likes to read. Everything and anything you give me I’ll read. I would be home reading, maybe hang out a few times, but most times, read interesting stuff.”One asks her that with all her talent and achievements, why hasn’t she generated the sort of widespread attention as say, Sarah Taylor, another female cricketer with special abilities. “Sarah Taylor is a really good cricketer. But I won’t say she has anything much over me. I think we are two good cricketers. She has played more games than I have and I think that is probably where I am lacking, West Indies is lacking, in playing the Australias and New Zealands and being on television where people could see what you can really do. I don’t think women’s cricket is marketed that well.”After having already accomplished so much in the game at only 21, there is something Taylor is still after. “I still go to school and I would love to be a forensic scientist. That is my dream really. I am working towards it. This is just my first year so I am not into much of it yet. You have to do handprints and footprints and that kind of stuff.” As long as it is more of the “good stuff”, girls in the Caribbean who look up to Taylor won’t mind.

Plays of the day from the match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-May-2013The blitz
Dale Steyn’s 16th over brought only four runs for the hosts, taking the required run rate beyond 15 to make a home victory seem increasingly unlikely. But with the help of some poor Sunrisers death-bowling, Pollard transformed the outlook of the match in eight balls. He got the strike after Rohit Sharma had already struck a six over square leg in the 17th over, but despite that, Thisara Perera banged one in short again, and Pollard flat-batted it over mid-off for four to herald his charge. The next two, which fell right in the slot, disappeared over the straight boundary, before another overpitched delivery was walloped high over long-on into the stands. Amit Mishra fared little better next over. He tossed one up wide to Pollard, who banged into the stand behind long-on, before sending a woeful waist-high full toss into the night three balls later. In those eight balls, Pollard had hit six sixes and a four, to swing the match decisively in Mumbai’s favour.The peach
Steyn’s favourite ball is the one that pitches on leg and hits off-stump, and while he didn’t get the ball moving quite that far against Mumbai Indians, he bowled a top notch delivery to Pollard in the 16th over. It was a ball that might have got him a wicket in a Test match: quick, angled in, and pitching on middle stump on a good length. Steyn got the ball to seam away considerably and it passed over the stumps a good distance from Pollard’s awkward stroke to the keeper, who took it at head height.The response
Appeals for balls taken on the bounce have become rarer in the age of the super slow-motion replays, but Dinesh Karthik asked the question in the 18th over, despite the fact that the edge off Cameron White’s bat had dropped several inches in front of him. White looked unconcerned as the umpires referred the call to the third umpire and was unimpressed as the replays showed how far in front the ball had actually bounced. He took his displeasure out on the next ball, though. Mitchell Johnson pitched it short and White launched the ball 90 metres over midwicket, well into the stands.The shot
Shikhar Dhawan was particularly strong square on the offside during his 59 and put the cover drive to fruitful use throughout the innings. His best shot through cover came off Lasith Malinga in the 11th over. Malinga attempted a yorker, and though he only pitched the ball marginally outside off – and only inches in front of the batsman’s toes – Dhawan brought his bat down rapidly, with an open face, and creamed the ball past a diving cover fielder to the boundary.The strange stroke
Dwayne Smith had batted nicely for 21, but on his 17th delivery played a vexing shot that cost him his wicket. Ishant Sharma delivered a straight ball, pitching on middle and not doing much, but instead of trying to work it into the on-side or defending it back down the wicket, Smith attempted an ambitious cover drive on the up – without being anywhere close to the position that might have allowed him to play the stroke. Smith missed the ball by a distance as a result and, as it flattened his middle stump, he lost his balance and stumbled on to the pitch.The unexpected missile
It was not a sweetly struck ball that put umpire Anil Chaudhary in danger in the eighteenth over – rather, it was Pollard’s bat. Intent on extending his eight-ball massacre, Pollard swung so hard at Mishra’s fifth delivery that he could not hold onto his bat, which went flying through the air straight at the square-leg umpire, standing two metres in from the 30-yard circle. Chaudhary spotted the missile early though, and moved away in time to avoid injury. A fan in the stands had not been so lucky, having been hit in the face by a six from Rohit Sharma in the previous over.

The best way to survive and flourish on a pitch with variable pace and bounce is to adopt a more aggressive approach

Aakash Chopra at Sabina Park 01-Jul-2013Sample this – 11 maidens out of the 97 (completed) overs and 347 dot balls (59%) out of the 586 bowled in an ODI. Those are appalling stats coming from a match played between two sides that boast of the world’s most dynamic players. Was it poor batting, were there demons in the pitch, or was it simply exceptional limited-overs bowling?If it was poor batting then what explains 46 boundaries, including as many as 11 sixes, in the interim? Who was hitting those big ones? If there were indeed demons in the pitch, then it’s difficult to fathom how batsmen from both sides lasted that long. And, it wasn’t the last option either: the bowling, at no stage, looked menacing enough to architect those statistics.So, what was the mystery behind some of the better stroke-makers of the cricket ball playing an altogether different brand of cricket? Well, it was indeed the pitch that dictated a certain kind of play, at least till the batsmen chose to take a little bit of risk. While there were no apparent demons in the pitch, the variable pace and bounce off the pitch ensured that getting away was really difficult.Believe it or not, at Sabina Park during the second ODI between India and West Indies, hitting a four or a six was a lot easier than taking a single to rotate strike. The moment the batsman tried to place the ball in the gap, he ended up either offering a dead bat because the ball either arrived a little quicker or later than he expected or he couldn’t hit the ball hard enough to beat the inner ring. Also with the new laws, the mandatory extra fielder inside the 30-yard circle added to the misery.This pitch reminded me of the one I batted on in the Dhaka Premier League, a 50-overs-a-side tournament between clubs. The team batting first struggled through their quota of overs and managed only 175 runs on a slow and sluggish pitch that offered spinners a fair amount of assistance. Still, chasing less than four-an-over might stretch us a bit but should be achieved, or so we thought.I opened the batting with the knowledge that scoring was going to be a little tricky, yet I knew if I spent time on the pitch, batting would eventually become easier for that’s what I’d been conditioned to believe. I waited for the loose balls to come my way. On a pitch that offered variable bounce and pace, the margin of error was larger for the bowler, resulting in fewer hittable balls. My plan B was to take singles and rotate strike till I gauged the pace and bounce but that didn’t happen either. I kept finding the fielders instead of gaps.Then came the trickiest bit – a first in my career. Even when the loose balls were bowled begging to be punished, I couldn’t hit them for boundaries. I was playing proper cricketing shots but the rewards weren’t proportional to the effort. The cover drive wasn’t traveling quick enough and the cut wasn’t piercing the off side field either. I scratched around for a little longer before perishing.That innings and the subsequent chat with a few players who were regulars in the Bangladesh circuit did much to decode these sort of pitches, and of course the way to deal with them. On such batting surfaces, rotating strike is difficult because the pace and bounce off the pitch is so inconsistent that you don’t know when to bring the bat down to find the right timing or control the pace and direction of the ball off the bat to hit the gaps. If you keep trying to play the ball on its merit, you’ll end up hitting it directly to the fielders all the time unless it’s a rank long hop or a full toss.The only way to score on such pitches is to adopt a slightly more aggressive approach and shelve the percentages on the balls that are in your hitting zone. You ought to take the odd risk, take the aerial route and hit a few boundaries to not only release but also transfer the pressure to the bowler; just sticking around will be playing into the bowlers’ hands. That’s exactly what Dinesh Karthik did against Marlon Samuels.Rohit Sharma in the first innings and Johnson Charles in the second showed that if you are willing to take calculated risks, the rewards were forthcoming. Of course, you would also need a bit of luck to succeed but taking that punt is the best and perhaps the only way to succeed on such a pitch.The pitch for the second ODI was the same one on which the first match between West Indies and Sri Lanka was played. If the same pitch is going to be used for the last match of the series in Jamaica on Tuesday, another laborious day for batsmen is in the offing.

Hashim Amla began his innings like he has often done this year – inside the first ten overs – and batted with simplicity and consideration to bring up his 20th Test century

Firdose Moonda in Abu Dhabi14-Oct-2013Perhaps the most remarkable fact about Hashim Amla’s triple-century at The Oval last July was that he did not change batting gloves once in the 13 hours and 10 minutes he spent at the crease. He took them off, of course, and dried them at lunch, tea and stumps but put the same pair back on when he resumed his innings.Amla does not have a Neil McKenzie-type obsession with superstition; it was simply a case of not changing something that was still of perfectly good use. It was about getting rid of the unnecessary, which Amla has become better at as his career has progressed. The results are evident in his significantly less eye-catching back lift and his ability to capitalise when others are not able to.JP Duminy aside, Amla was the only batsman who looked like he belonged to the No.1 Test team on the first day in Abu Dhabi. The openers struggled against a new-ball assault, which included extra bounce from Mohammad Irfan and movement from Junaid Khan, and Amla found himself walking out before three overs were up. He went on to play with the understanding of a man who had read this book many times before.Amla has been in before ten overs have been bowled in five out of eight innings this year. Making up for the deficiencies of South Africa’s openers has not been a burden, though, but a chance to do something special: Amla has gone past 50 each time and converted two into hundreds.His patience has been praised at length on these pages and many others. Today Duminy called it “immense,” how Amla resisted early in his innings against a tough seam attack and later on, when heat and spin could have worn him down.Amla relied on simplicity of technique in those testing periods, and an awareness of his off stump allowed him to leave the ball comfortably, when others were more hesitant. It cannot be coincidence that Amla is the only South African Test player with first-class experience in the last month – a stint with Surrey – while his team-mates have either been recovering from injury or playing limited-overs cricket. Duminy also had some first-class cricket, although that was in August against India A.The assurance that comes with game time was evident in the way Amla approached the practice game in Sharjah, where he attacked the bowling soon after settling, and the way he began his innings here. After ten balls of making the right decisions about what to leave and defend, Amla drove Junaid through mid off. If not for the sluggish outfield, he would not have had to run three.Once he was satisfied that there were no dangers in the pitch, Amla wanted to get on with scoring. After pushing into the covers, he set off quickly for a run and had to be sent back by Jacques Kallis, a man who prefers to take his time. He was nearly run out. Amla had been part of several misunderstandings between the wickets last summer, and although he couldn’t explain why, his enthusiasm for getting a move-on may be behind it.After being reminded of Kallis’ more leisurely preference, Amla adjusted to meet his partner’s pace of scoring boundaries when they were available and ambling runs at other times. Amla has excelled at adapting to the tempo of his partner, which makes playing his own game easier, irrespective of who is with him.When AB de Villiers, who found rhythm immediately, came in, Amla raised his strike rate from 44 to 60, the highest of his innings. With Duminy, who was making a comeback to Test cricket after 11 months, Amla assumed responsibility and scored in more measured fashion, allowing his partner time to feel comfortable.Duminy said having someone of Amla’s quality at the other end made batting easier. Amla is calm on the outside but intense within. Batting may seem as easy as breathing to him, but when he is out there he is thinking of ways for both he and his partner to profit.If Amla sees that his partner has taken a liking to a certain bowler, he will happily let him have the strike. Duminy was enjoying playing the spinners and there was a five-and-half over period in which Amla faced just six balls.Amla approached his century in his typical method – slowly. He spent 30 balls in the 90s and saw Duminy depart in that time. Soon after he enjoyed his 20th hundred, Faf du Plessis was out and Amla had to consolidate again. He let Robin Peterson and particularly Dale Steyn play with freedom, in the knowledge that he was there to hold fort. He saw off the second new ball with the same focus that he used for the first and will be back on the second morning to try and complete South Africa’s escape.Overnight, Amla is unlikely to have any anxious thoughts. He may enjoy a latte, one his favourite refreshments, and begin tomorrow as though he was batting for the first time. These are all indicators that Amla does not want for a lot to do his job properly. Duminy confirmed it. “All he basically needs is a sip of lukewarm water, even in that heat, and a towel on his head and he is pretty good,” Duminy said. A change of batting gloves? Don’t be silly.

Clarrie Grimmett, Arthur Mailey and Jack Russell were as evocative on canvas as they were skilled on the field

Ashley Mallett03-Feb-2014Cricket followers have revelled in the artistry of many great players over the years. However, a select band of celebrated cricketers have turned their hand to art of another kind.Clarrie Grimmett was not only a wonderful exponent of legspin bowling, he was also a clever artist. While bowling was Clarrie’s “breath of life” this veritable Bradman of spin could draw admirably with pencil or brush.Long before he came to Australia, Clarrie was an apprentice sign-writer in Wellington. Art seemed a natural progression for him and when he left the sign-writing trade, he for a time ran the Clarrie Grimmett Bag Shop in Adelaide. As women browsed, the little spin wizard surreptitiously sketched their profiles on the back of a brown paper bag, a stack of which he kept within arm’s reach under the bench top. Later, some of these sketches became works on canvas.But Grimmett’s art never became widely known, for he wanted to be taken seriously, not seen as some sort of comic turn like he perceived Arthur Mailey, his arch-rival in spin.After his career ended, Mailey bought a butcher’s shop in Cronulla, a Sydney suburb. On his shopfront window appeared the words: “I used to bowl tripe; then I wrote it; now I sell it!” Mailey was raised in Zetland, a slum suburb in Sydney, where he worked in a variety of labouring jobs before cricket and art, sketching in pen and ink and painting in oils, began to consume him. In 1921, the year of the first of his two England tours with the Australian team, Mailey’s sketches and cartoons so impressed the , John Woodcock.”Wooders”, one of the Redpath family’s dearest friends in England, dutifully makes the short walk from his home, The Old Curacy, to open up the church three times a week, and will be delighted to learn that it has been portrayed in this way, especially by the hand of his good friend.Once a week Redders, who enjoys coaching cricket and is often seen working with players at the Geelong Cricket Club, accompanies ex-Geelong footballer and Brownlow Medal winner Alastair Lord to a hall in the centre of the town of Geelong and the two focus on their painting. Redpath’s days of running an antique dealership are now over. He still dabbles in renovating old pieces of furniture in his work shed, but painting, his hobby for the past eight years, has become a joy.Many ex-players find their niche in writing or broadcasting; some like Ian Redpath paint. Perhaps there is also an art in a cricketer picking the right career pathway in their life after cricket.

Plays of the day from the game between Delhi Daredevils and Sunrisers Hyderabad at Feroz Shah Kotla

Rachna Shetty10-May-2014The eager beaver
After being run-out in his last game, one would think Kevin Pietersen would be more circumspect about judging a single. But walking out as an opener for the first time in the IPL, Pietersen was his usually hyper self. He hit the first ball of the second over to mid-off and scrambled towards the other end. Had the throw hit the stumps, the Daredevils captain would have been short of his ground. Two balls later, Pietersen was lucky once again as the fielder at midwicket failed to collect cleanly. The infection spread to Quinton de Kock, too, who set off for a crazy run after dabbing the ball to mid-on on the last ball of the over.The special ton
Amit Mishra’s quest for his 100th IPL wicket finally came to an end when Pietersen mistimed a drive and smacked it straight to Shikhar Dhawan at cover. Mishra had been stuck on 99 wickets for the last four games and was even dropped from the side. He is now the second bowler after Lasith Malinga to get 100 wickets in the tournament, and he celebrated by gesturing the numbers.The gymnast
Daredevils were running out of overs after the rain break and Dinesh Karthik was on the look out for quick runs. He found the perfect chance when Moises Henriques sent down a high full toss. Karthik mis-timed it but the shot had enough power to send the ball over the ropes, but Dale Steyn got in the way. The bowler, positioned at the long-off boundary, jumped backward, arched his back, grabbed the ball that was in the airspace beyond the rope and landed perfectly inside to pull off a stunner.The desperate measure
David Warner was soundly beaten by Siddarth Kaul off the first delivery he faced and the next two balls bowled at him were wides down the leg side. Keen to get runs off the bat, Warner turned the next ball to deep square leg and set off for two runs. However, he slipped in the process, and the fielder had a good chance to get him out. A frantic crawl and desperate dive from Warner beat the throw from the deep.

Great weather, good pitch, strong start from the home side, superb fightback from the visitors. Lord’s. The perfect day

Sudhindra Prasad18-Jul-2014Choice of game
I have been at Lord’s Tests in the past, but never on Day 1 which invariably falls on a work day. But this time I wanted to be a part of the special day, and I was in luck since I got tickets allotted by the MCC lottery.Team supported
India all the way. But being a cricket lover, I was also looking to witness the class of Alastair Cook and James Anderson, as well as the exciting new talent in Joe Root, Gary Ballance etc. Anderson did not disappoint.Key performer
Ajinkya Rahane by a long margin. He battled through the tough second session and made most of the opportunities in the third. Though there is a lot of cricket left to be played in this Test, I feel the extra 100 added to the score will play a huge role in determining the outcome of the game.Face-off I relished
Plunkett v Rahane. During the second session, Plunkett was beating the bat very often with his measured outswing. Rahane was lucky to survive that duel. Captain Cook set a rather intriguing leg side field for a seemingly Mitchell Johnson type of attack. However, that ended up playing into the hands of Rahane, who was well set by then.My Accessories
None of my usual India ’99 Cricket World Cup Jersey, Indian scarf, tri-colour paint, flaming headgear / hairdo, bugle etc. were on, since I was invited by a MCC member for a tour of the pavilion (Read: Formal attire only). So, it was just a suit for the day and I had to dig into my tie collection to pull out a rare 1983 Prudential World Cup tie, to proudly display India’s greatest achievement to date at the Home of Cricket. My iPad had to go along to type down my Fan following report.Close encounter (also generation gap)
On their way back from the nursery ground, Chris Jordan and Chris Woakes were caught by autograph-hunting kids. One individual sat on the first row of the Edrich Lower stand – the former England player, Nick Knight, who was taking a break from his hospitality duties. I went over and sat next to him and had a nice time talking about the current India and England teams. The kids eventually found out and were all over Nick for selfies, the new autograph.Shot of the day
That six by Rahane, which was a very good shot. As he was three maximums away from his century, someone in the crowd screamed out to him to get three sixes. Almost on cue, Rahane belted out a surprise maximum.Crowd meter
Normal service was restored with Indian supporters looked increasingly worried at the fall of each India wicket. I say normal service since less than two weeks ago, Lord’s had witnessed Indian supporters screaming out “Colly, Colly” on his hat-trick delivery after he had dismissed that man, Rahul Dravid for a golden duck.Hardship factor
The Mound, the grand and upper sections of Compton and Edrich stands were subject to scorching sunshine all through the day. It was a glorious day for cricket alright, but probably a bit too hot for some patrons and there were constant announcements for spectators to keep themselves well hydrated. Shelter for the Compton and Edrich upper stands on the cards?Songs and chants
On noticing a steady improvement in strokeplay from Cheteshwar Pujara, the Indian supporters started off singing “La La La La, La La La La, Che Pujara” to the tune of “La La La La, La La La La, Say goodbye”. After a second rendition of the tune, Pujara was spectacularly castled by Ben Stokes. Needless to say, the English supporters sang the original to bid the batsman goodbye.Tests v ODIs
I strongly feel that there is enough space and reason for both formats to co-exist. Personally I like Tests more than any other format. Just the ebb and flow of today’s play, with batting collapses, excellent seam bowling, and a good lower-order fightback, provided ample evidence of how exciting Test match cricket can be.TV v stadium
The preparation as a cricket fan starts with having to look for ticket sales, grab them, make travel plans with friends and family, book accommodation, plan the required accessories, the anticipation, the banter, braving the weather and the overly strict security at the ground entrance, the joy of victory and celebrating with unknown fellow fans, stopping the chants just before the point of delivery so as not to miss the action, the food and beer lines, the souvenir shops, the friends made in the stands and so on. All that experience is worth the effort. Stadium trumps TV, any day of the year!Marks out of 10
10. Great weather at Lord’s, nice seaming pitch, good start by England, an excellent fightback by the under-rated Rahane and Jimmy on song. The good performances and fight by both teams will stay in memory for a long time to come.Want to do a Fan Following report? Read our FAQ here

To bounce or not to bounce? Fast bowling has been one of cricket’s most high-profile arts but Phillip Hughes’ death has shrouded the game in a different light. How will one of today’s most menacing bowlers react?

Jarrod Kimber06-Dec-2014The moustache is a historic symbol of the villain. And a handlebar moustache? Well that is the staple of many of Australia’s finest criminals. When combined with tattoos and the threat of violence, there were times last summer when Mitchell Johnson looked more underworld enforcer than professional Australian cricketer. Mitch looked like violence, and he backed it up with violence with the ball.Fast bowling produces these sorts of characters. It has since ‘Demon’ Fred Spofforth spooked batsmen into believing he could perform dark magic with the ball. The parting in his hair was supposed to resemble devil horns. And the demon took it further by dressing as Mephistopheles.Roy Gilchrist was violent on and off the field. His big innovation was the beam ball when Indian pitches wouldn’t allow him to attack heads with a bouncer. Rodney Hogg had a lunacy room to anger other fast bowlers into going after batsmen like he did naturally. Dale Steyn hunted, or at least caught, a crocodile. Jeff Thomson hunted batsmen. And Andre Nel made batsmen believe he was capable of anything.This is fast bowling. That these men are dangerous is part of cricket’s narrative. It’s many people’s favourite flavour of the game. was a fine film, but it was also a couple of hours of fast bowling porn. It gave us the brutality and, crucially, the survival.Most of us have enjoyed fast bowling our whole lives. It’s our coliseum: we’re watching the lion at one end bounce out the Christian at the other. Like boxing fans who want a knockout, we want the bang, the scare, the excitement, the danger and then the amazing survival and comeback. It’s not bloodlust, it’s contest-lust.Cricket is a sport with public stoning, where the victim can smash away the rocks. But will we love it the same after such a vivid reminder that in the midst of life we are in death? Is the present outpouring of love and emotion stemming at least in part from how guilty we feel as fans for the decades of enjoyment we have got from fast men bowling bouncers?A cricket ball is a dangerous thing. We didn’t need Phillip Hughes’ death to tell us that.It was dangerous before helmets, and it’s dangerous after them. We’ve lost two international cricketers to head injuries from the ball in the last two weeks: one from a bouncer, one from a straight drive when former Israel cricket captain Hillel Oscar was hit while umpiring. It’s a hard ball and it travels faster than ever before, from bat, from hand.Unless batsmen wear a modern suit of armour, that is never going to change, because fast bowling and the threat it poses is always going to be there. The laws of cricket and the playing conditions recognise its lethal power, limiting the number of bouncers per over, as though it doesn’t take only one to harm. You respect a batsman more if he can handle it, survive it, and thrive on it. The danger makes him more of a marvel, more of a wonder. A bruise or break makes a batsman a conquering warrior. A survivor.It’s all shown in the current bouncer ritual. A bouncer that just misses or hurts a little gets a stare or verbal follow up. But one that hurts a bit more gets a, “you okay?” And one that really hits has a bowler rushing to check on the batsman. Say what you will about fast bowlers, but real brutes don’t check to see if someone is hurt, they just prepare to keep hurting. It’s a dance between wanting batsmen to think you want to hurt them, and you hoping like hell you don’t actually hurt them.Even Ryan Harris, the man who bowled a sustained spell of brutal throat-length bowling at the English in Durham, is not sure he’s emotionally ready for the first Test. Harris, who stampedes through the crease like a herd of pissed-off water buffalo. Harris, whose face is 75% snarl, and who is carved out of the hardest redwood. Because even with broad shoulders, thick neck, leathery skin, tree-trunk body and tough demeanour, Harris is actually a nice guy with normal human emotions, even if he camouflages that with naked aggression as he runs up.So what of the man who sent down eight Tests of mass destruction last summer. That villain. That machine. Breaker of bones and hearts. Ender of careers and eras. What will Mitchell Johnson do when he needs to bowl a bouncer in Adelaide?There will be tens of thousands at the Adelaide Oval. There will be tens of millions following at home. Everyone will feel differently. Some, like Merv Hughes and Ricky Ponting, will want a bouncer straight away. Others want fewer bouncers altogether.Johnson will have to steam in and fling that ball as fast as he can. What he is trained to do, what he is paid to do, what he was born to do. At some stage, possibly early if Shikar Dhawan is in, Johnson will be expected, or instructed, to bounce him.What will he do – a soft bouncer that travels safely over the batsman’s head to start, followed by a few slower but more accurate bouncers to warm himself up? Or will he just go for it with full Mitchell Johnson bone-breaking strength. If one just misses the mark, but scares the batsman, will he throttle forward or hold back?5:11

‘Whenever Johnson comes on to bowl, something is going to happen’

What will he be thinking as he runs up? How do you prepare for a situation like this? It’s a proposition for a professor of moral philosophy, not a bowling coach. Everyone can give advice, but they aren’t the ones with the rock in their hands, and they aren’t the ones who have to live with what could happen next.These are uncharted waters. People have been injured, and died, in cricket before but it has never been this public. We’ve never had shaky video footage and stolen photos to see it. We never put out our bats for Raman Lamba. This is on a whole other scale. And Johnson, who was vaunted for his brutality last summer, now has to bowl in a whole new cricket reality. Cricket 63.0.If Johnson was like Gilchrist or Thomson, he might not care. But he does care. He cares a lot. Johnson isn’t a free-wheeling, fast-bowling demon – he’s a man who internalises, analyses and overthinks things. It’s what held him back for years, and it’s part of who he is as a cricketer. When the Barmy Army sang a hurtful song, Johnson took it to heart. He might be a stronger bowler, and a more confident human right now, but what he is about to enter is new and confusing. For someone like him, it’s a moral confrontation.Last summer Johnson was waiting for James Anderson to face up, so he could give him “a broken f****** arm” in the first Test. This first Test has been moved so Johnson could be at the funeral of his friend from the same kind of bowling.Fast bowlers aren’t the devil. Spofforth was a scientist of bowling, not a demon. Few bowlers are actual demons – they’re aggressive, they’re not often sociopaths, even if on their grumpy days they resemble them. Johnson is not a mad fast bowler. He’s not a demon. He’s not a hunter. He’s a bereaved friend who just went to a funeral. On Tuesday, less than a week later, he is supposed to deliver the same thing that played an unintentional role in that accident. Death has publicly entered the game through Philip Hughes. A bouncer is now not just something to knock the footwork of a batsman or bully out a tailender. It’s holds the possibility – however remote – of being someone’s last ball. In time, however, that is something you can forget, and must forget. In the midst of death, life – and cricket – carries on.In Adelaide we’ll carry on. Bouncers will be bowled. We will all handle what happens next differently. And there are many possible outcomes.What if Johnson hits someone? What if he knocks them over? What happens if they get hurt? What will the crowd do? What will Johnson do? What will cricket do?

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Feb-2015.

As that ball started to fly, McCullum thought, "I could get this in less than ten overs”.

— Jarrod Kimber (@ajarrodkimber) February 20, 2015

Shoddy work then, he let the chase travel to 12.2.

Well that's one way to make sure you don't have to bowl at Death of the Innings… Lose in 13 overs…!!!!

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) February 20, 2015

But not too many people would be blaming McCullum. They were a little wowed by the batting on display.

What can I say just wow wow wow McCullum @ICC hmmm hmmm

— Yohan Blake (@YohanBlake) February 20, 2015

But what could have possessed McCullum to be so belligerent?

Ok now I get it. McCullum is just playing this World Cup to get as many Kiwis a share of the $1 million one handed crowd catch fund

— Dean Wilson (@CricketMirror) February 20, 2015

McCullum hits 2 sixes & 7 fours in his first 15 balls – 40 runs in boundaries; 4 more than England managed. Whilst being out 10 fewer times.

— Andy Zaltzman (@ZaltzCricket) February 20, 2015

If Regional stadium was a dark alley, McCullum was the boogeyman and the England bowlers would have a few sleepless nights after this. Steven Finn might be the most afflicted, as he claimed the most expensive two-over spell in ODI history.

50% of Finn's deliveries went for 6. #CricketBelieveItOrNot #NZvENG

— Dennis Does Cricket (@DennisCricket_) February 20, 2015

The target was 19 runs away. McCullum was four sixes from the fastest century in World Cup Cricket. But the fairytale was not to be as Chris Woakes broke through

That was an innings worthy of standing his ground when he was bowled. #CWC2015

— Russell Jackson (@rustyjacko) February 20, 2015

Now that that’s done, what did the home fans have to look forward to?

New Zealand need 15 off one over to win…before the scheduled interval. #nzveng #cwc15

— Andrew McGlashan (@andymcg_cricket) February 20, 2015

Just when the umpires thought this match wouldn’t last long enough for them to be caught under the magnifying glass…

Just 12 to get. 41 overs to go. Nine wickets in hand. But the umpires signal a 45-minute break. Cricket, lovely cricket!

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) February 20, 2015

But there is always a reason.

So glad to see the umpires taking the poor scorers into consideration and taking lunch…they must be absolutely exhausted.

— Pat Symcox (@PatSymcox77) February 20, 2015

This silly lunch break just to give ICC time to think if they would like to replace @ECB_cricket with @Irelandcricket in Minnows list #CWC15

— HoldingWilleyCricket (@holdingwilley) February 20, 2015

After forty-five minutes of the crowd not having to dodge cricket balls hurtling at them…

Bets on NZ coming out after the world's most pointless meal break and smacking the first two balls into the crowd? #cwc2015 #NZvENG

— TheReadPirateRowan (@AlternateRowan) February 20, 2015

Not to be as Martin Guptill was bowled by a ball that kept a touch low

New Zealand needs to work on that weakness in resuming its innings after the tea break

— Sports Freak (@Sportsfreakconz) February 20, 2015

The carnage almost overshadowed a stunning display of swing bowling from Tim Southee, but bowlers tend not to forget. And team-mates certainly don’t.

Timmy you absolute legend!! Freak!!

— Neil Wagner (@NeilWagner13) February 20, 2015

He was close to being a certifiable one too. Had Southee picked up one more wicket to go with his 7 for 33, he could have had the best display by a bowler in a World Cup.Outswingers that hit top of off stump, outswingers that hit base of off stump. Today was not the day to be an England batsman. And Stuart Broad came in with the score at 108 for 6 and was out for 4

broad was willing to walk before being dismissed- how times have changed #NZvENG #CWC15

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) February 20, 2015

Abject, bewildering, catastrophic, dire, excruciating, fumbling, godawful, horrific, idiotic, joyless, knackered… #EnglandAtoZ #cwc2015

— TheReadPirateRowan (@AlternateRowan) February 20, 2015

Dock England 50% of their match fees – split it between Tim Southee & Brendon McCullum. #NZvENG

— Gaurav Sethi (@BoredCricket) February 20, 2015

So what can say after a team loses a day-night match ended before it became dark do?

Appropriate question to ask after this match: Hey, U K?

— peg a ja (@oothikicha) February 20, 2015

Happy man – Cook Happier – KP Happiest – @piersmorgan

— Fake Mitch Johnson (@NotMitchJohnson) February 20, 2015