Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene made a mockery of the teams’ suspicion of the damp surface and set up a massive win for Sri Lanka

The Report by Sidharth Monga02-Jul-2013
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Mahela Jayawardene and Upul Tharanga put together Sri Lanka’s second-best stand against India•AFP

“Can’t seem to win a toss,” Angelo Mathews said suggesting he can’t catch a break nowadays when Sri Lanka were inserted on a track that has responded to West Indies quicks better than best of butlers. Four hours later, we had the first instance of an innings in a 50-over international ending with just one wicket down. Upul Tharanga and Mahela Jayawardene made a mockery of the teams’ suspicion of the damp surface with their 213-run opening, Sri Lanka’s second-best stand against India. Under the pressure of the mountain of runs, India huffed and puffed past… Upul Tharanga’s score of 174.This was Jayawardene’s first ODI century in two years and 50 innings, but it was Tharanga who claimed an illustrious record en route his highest ODI score. This was the seventh time he was involved in a double-century partnership, joint-highest along with Ricky Ponting. Tharanga’s was the third-highest individual score against India; four out of the best five individual efforts against India have come from Sri Lanka. Both, though, benefitted from some generous Indian fielding and bowling: Jayawardene was dropped on 25, Tharanga was missed on 2 and 91.Generally, too, India – missing the injured MS Dhoni – lacked the edge both with the ball and in the field. Apart from not being able to take wickets, India were pretty loose with the ball. At the death, they kept bowling length, went for at least one boundary in every over since the Powerplay was taken in the 35th over, and conceded 180 in the last 16 overs. Tharanga’s acceleration was stark: from 72 off 105 to the eventual 174 off 159.Captaining India for the first time, Virat Kohli brought in Shami Ahmed ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, a move that will be debated. Bhuvneshwar gave India breakthroughs with the new ball in most of the matches he played, but Shami didn’t pose any threat. Another man coming in, M Vijay, dropped Jayawardene.The Sri Lanka openers gave the pitch the respect the first two low-scoring matches have accorded it, but it was obvious that either the track was much drier or it was the West Indies fast bowlers who exploited the moisture much better. Of the three quicks, only Umesh Yadav extracted some help from the pitch, but he too strayed with his length, allowing Tharanga to play his favourite cut shot often. The innings’ first boundary came through that cut. Ishant Sharma, at third man, made an equal contribution by letting the ball through. By then, Rohit Sharma had missed a half chance when he failed to hit the only stump visible from point. Tharanga was only 2 then.The first five overs brought only 16 runs, but soon the batsmen shed caution. Yadav’s pace was used well when lofted over the infield. And Ishant drew no respect. Jayawardene walked down the wicket to loft him over long-on, and in the same over Yadav misfielded at fine leg to return the favour to the bowler.Ravindra Jadeja was the first to draw a risky approach from Sri Lanka, but Vijay dropped the reverse hit at shortish backward point. Jayawardene rubbed it in when he reversed Jadeja emphatically for a four later, but it was his chips over extra cover off both the spinners that were delightful. Tharanga, meanwhile, was happy to be inconspicuous.It was perplexing that India introduced R Ashwin in the 20th over, and by then Sri Lanka had reached 90 without much trouble. Jayawardene was 49 off 58 then, and Tharanga 36 off 56. The same trend continued as Jayawardene kept hitting the odd boundary in the middle overs and almost on auto-pilot they had strolled to 168 in 34 overs.Sri Lanka now asked for the field to come up, and Tharanga opened up. He went after both Ashwin and Ishant, and by the time Jayawardene fell for 107 he was ready to take control. Just before that, he had been dropped by Yadav at third man, again off Ishant. Almost without taking a risk, Tharanga kept getting inside the line and carting the Indian bowlers.The 49th over, bowled by Yadav, was a complete bowling meltdown. Yadav began with a low full toss, which was sliced for a flat six over point. Then he saw Mathews back away, and bowled five wides. Two fours later, he had conceded 22 to finish with the worst economy rate of the innings. Tharanga was not done yet, and hit another six over extra cover, this time off Shami. Tharanga was so dominant that Mathews scored only 44 off the 135-run stand between them.Mathews was in his element in the field. He surprised India by taking one of the new balls, and began with the first maiden of the match. Rohit was soon caught at short midwicket, and Mathews didn’t allow India any pace to work with. Both the spinners were introduced within the mandatory Powerplay, by the end of which India had only 28 runs. Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli fell to that pressure, and M Vijay followed soon. The rest was merely an official stamp on India’s biggest defeat after putting a side in.

Ian Bell produced his third Ashes hundred in succession to try to guard against an England calamity on the first day of the second Investec Test

The Report by David Hopps18-Jul-2013

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIan Bell became the fourth Englishman to make centuries in three consecutive Ashes Tests•Getty Images

It was a sweltering summer’s day with the prospect that Lord’s would stage one of the hottest Tests – perhaps hottest – in its history. And in this scorching atmosphere, so warm, by Gad, that a spectator was spied wearing a knotted handkerchief in the pavilion, Ian Bell produced his third Ashes hundred in succession to try to guard against an England calamity on the first day of the second Investec Test.But on hot days like these, strange things happen. Birds fly backwards, trees talk to each other and derided legspinners rediscover their ability to pitch it – or normally pitch it – and take joy in a skill reborn. Steve Smith, armed with noticeable spin and what was now a misleadingly cherubic style, took 3 for 12 in 22 balls as the day took an unexpected turn.If the day was dominated by Bell, it ultimately belonged to Australia, who bookended it in style. They even have the luxury of beginning the second day with the bowlers fresh and a new ball only two overs old.This was meant to be Bell’s story. At the SCG, Trent Bridge and now Lord’s, he has secured his reputation. He came to the crease at 28 for 3, with England collapsing in front of the Queen – and, for that matter, Ryan Harris – but followed Jack Hobbs (twice), Wally Hammond and Chris Broad in making hundreds in three successive Ashes Tests.The Big Easy is variously an American movie, a Chelsea restaurant and the nickname for New Orleans. But at Lord’s the Little Easy was a freckled son of Coventry securing his cricketing reputation. If Trent Bridge, a strikingly slow, dead surface, had been a test of his acumen, Lord’s increasingly became a pleasure. His exquisite cover drives studded most of the day.On drowsy days like these, the serenest batsman can seek to make a big Test score without causing the merest rustle of a leaf; to amass run after run with the most slumbering members, mouths agog at the heat rather than the cricket, barely taking notice; to make a major contribution without leaving the slightest indentation. Bell is that type of player: understated quality in an age of overstatement.England needed Bell’s input because Harris, a stout man bowling with aggression and intent, barging through the heat haze like a combine harvester powering through a cornfield, had three for 28 in 13 overs by tea. Like the best harvester, Harris maintained an immaculate line.England recovered, first through Jonathan Trott’s consummate half-century, then with a stand of 144 in 43 overs for the fifth wicket between Bell and Jonny Bairstow to stabilise the England innings.Then Smith took a hand. His sixth ball turned sharply, to have Bell easily caught at first slip; Bairstow knocked back a low full toss as he was deceived in the flight; and Matt Prior misread the length of one delivered out of the front of the hand and was caught at the wicket. For Australia’s captain, Michael Clarke, it was a reward for his willingness to experiment rather than just await the second new ball. He not only brought him on, with the new ball due he kept him on.Bairstow, who hit 67, had used up his fortune earlier. His fallibility, whipping across a full-length ball, was again evident when Peter Siddle bowled him on 21, only to be reprieved when the umpire called for a TV replay and Siddle was shown to have overstepped. It took a magnified image to prove it.The UK heat wave was designed to remind Australia of home – and they have an excellent record on this ground too, with 16 victories and six defeats in 36 Tests. As the crowd queued down from St John’s Wood tube station, few expected them to make a start like they did. England, who must have sensed a bountiful batting day after winning the toss, began gingerly: Alastair Cook, Joe Root and Kevin Pietersen all departing.The Queen was presented to both sides before play began. She does not normally linger at the cricket – horse racing is her true passion – and once somebody had tried to explain the Decision Review System, she doubtless made her excuses and left.But she would not have had to linger overlong to be aware of the fall of England wickets. Three were dispensed with in the little matter of six overs as Australia, 1-0 down in the series, made the start they had barely dared imagine.Clarke gave the controlled pace of Shane Watson an airing after only four overs and it worked like a charm. Cook forever fights against the tendency to get his head too far over to the off side and a gentle inswing bowler, bringing the ball back down the slope, could potentially expose that. It took two balls; Cook trapped in front. The umpire, Marais Erasmus, spared the onerous TV duties he had to shoulder at Trent Bridge, considered at length before giving Cook out. Watson’s spell lasted a single over.England’s refashioned opening partnership of Cook and Root, assembled after the dropping of Nick Compton, has yet to reach fifty in three attempts. This was definitely a chance wasted.Root’s decision to review Harris’ lbw decision in the next over was appropriate because he could not be entirely sure if the ball had struck bat before pad. But replays suggested that Root had squeezed it – with the pad fractionally first – and Tony Hill, the third umpire, rightly found no reason to overturn umpire Kumar Dharmasena’s on-field decision.Pietersen lasted only four balls, his two runs courtesy of a thick edge against Harris backward of square. Harris had him caught at the wicket, targeting the stumps and maintaining an attacking length as one of Australia’s finest, Glenn McGrath, did on his appearances at Lord’s.TV cameras showed the Long Room for the first time and revealed Pietersen giving a gentle tap to a stanchion as he passed through it, just polite enough to escape too much of a ticking-off, but inviting the question whether the stanchion was protecting KP from the members or the other way round.Trott and Bell began as passively as possible, leaving as much as they could until the game settled. James Pattinson sampled both ends at Lord’s by lunch without entirely settling to either. Siddle soon reddened in the heat. But a fourth wicket at 120 kept the initiative with Australia as Harris led Trott into an uncontrolled pull and Usman Khawaja held the catch at deep square.Bell did not hit a single boundary down the ground in his hundred at Trent Bridge. He again prospered square of the wicket here. But when he did go down the ground, handsomely so, against Siddle, it illustrated that this Lord’s pitch was far more amenable to good cricket than its predecessor. “It will turn, too,” the experts said. And then, by Gad, Steven Smith proved it.

Amit Mishra, the India legspinner, said a significant variation in pace was one of the factors for his success on the recent tour to Zimbabwe

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Aug-2013Amit Mishra, the India legspinner, said a significant variation in pace had brought him success on the recent tour to Zimbabwe.Mishra, who last played an ODI in 2011 before being picked for the playing XI in Zimbabwe, finished as the highest wicket-taker in the series, with 18 wickets in five matches at an average of 11.80, equalling Javagal Srinath’s record for most wickets in an ODI bilateral series. His performances in the series included a career-best 6 for 48 in the fifth ODI.”The significant change was the variation of pace,” Mishra told . “Earlier, my deliveries used to come at a slower pace, which allowed the batsman to adjust. Now I am trying to bowl at a pace and still extract spin.”Mishra revealed that the changes were a result of better fitness and tips from former India bowlers Narendra Hirwani and Anil Kumble.”I was injured for a while last year and I was in NCA for recovery,” Mishra said. “That’s the time I worked with the likes of Anil Kumble, Narendra Hirwani and the other coaches at the academy who helped me become a better bowler. He [Kumble] told me about the importance of variation in pace and also told me how to out-think a batsman. I worked on my googly with him and that’s also paying dividends.”In spite of an ODI debut in 2003, Mishra has played just 20 one-dayers and 13 Tests for India since his debut in 2008. He hopes that his performances against Zimbabwe will better his chances of playing more Tests for India against stronger teams.”I know the challenges will be greater, but that’s where I have to show that I have become a better bowler. And for that to happen, I have to be selected first in the Test team. My job is to keep performing.”

Jimmy Adams evoked his own schooldays, spent at Twyford, near his home, and then at Sherborne, when contrasting Hampshire’s authority in the one day game with their poor standing in the County Championship.

Ivo Tennant06-Sep-2013Jimmy Adams evoked his own schooldays, spent at Twyford, near his home, and then at Sherborne, when contrasting Hampshire’s authority in the one day game with their poor standing in the County Championship.Hampshire, the most successful one-day side in the country, were ranked as strong favourites ahead of their Yorkshire Bank 40 semi-final against Glamorgan at the Ageas Bowl yet their Championship form has been woeful as they have slipped to third bottom of the Second Division following relegation last season.Adams, speaking after scoring 218 in the drawn match against Northamptonshire, recalled the passion he had for a certain sport or academic subject and how that would affect his own performance.”One-day cricket is like being at school in that one is pulled towards it,” Adams said. “If another format is a bit tougher, there is not the same love for it. I am keen to re-ignite a passion for four-day cricket. We have found a format for one-day cricket.”If the players turned up for the second day of a Championship match and were told this was being turned into a one-day match, it would be different. The financial rewards in the limited overs game do not come into it – that has not been a part of what Giles White, our coach, and I talk about.”I think one difference this season has been that our one-day side is very settled. We have a nice batch of very good young players and experienced older ones. They understand what is expected. On four-day pitches we struggle to bowl sides out, but eight years ago [when there was more lateral movement on the newly laid square] people would have been all over these pitches in their praise.As a batter, I am not complaining, but it has been tougher to bowl opponents out through the heavy roller taking the sap out. I have also heard the argument that drainage systems installed all over the country has made the pitches flatter, but am not sure about that.”Adams cited the fact that Dimitri Mascarenhas, who will play at the Ageas Bowl for the last time against Glamorgan before retiring at the end of the season, has played little four-day cricket of late. The same is true of James Tomlinson, another key one-day bowler.”Tommo has not played a great deal and will gain in experience in due course. We lack a spearhead bowler, someone who can get us 50-plus wickets in the Championship. We would love to have that, but these players are like gold dust.”The schooldays analogy was pertinent in that Adams was watched during his double century by Bob Stephenson, his coach when at Twyford School near Winchester and a member of the 1973 Championship winning side celebrating beyond the boundary. Stephenson regards him as the pick of the boys he tutored. What he might have spotted on Thursday was that his prodigy was moving around the crease less than on occasions this season when he has scored fewer runs.”I move around a lot while batting and some people told me I was doing less of this during this match,” Adams said. “I lost all my trigger movements seven years ago when I was having a really tough season.” He will be 33 at the end of this month, so can be said to have reached his peak, but will continue playing for as long as possible. “If only you had asked me that question two weeks ago when I couldn’t buy a run. But I have been lucky with injuries and still enjoy the fielding. I shall have to be booted out.”Whether or not Hampshire reach the YB40 final at Lord’s on September 21, one of Adams’s immediate tasks will be to assess how much cricket Michael Bates, who took six catches in Northamptonshire’s first innings and made 71, can be given in the future. “His wicketkeeping is as good as anyone’s in the country and I feel strongly that the club should stick with players who come through the system. Michael has not had the chances he would have liked, but then Adam Wheater has done very well. We have a decent record in promoting our own youngsters but professional sport is tough.”He himself is undecided whether to continue as captain for a third season next year. “There’s a part of it that I find great and days when one scores a double century make it a lot better, but other parts that are tough. I ride a rollercoaster about people’s futures and selections and trying to help them. I’ll think about it in the winter.”

A controversy over the remarks made by Saeed Ajmal on the national coach Dav Whatmore seems to have blown over after Ajmal apologised to the coach

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Oct-2013A controversy over the remarks made by Saeed Ajmal, the Pakistan spinner and one of the team’s senior players, about the national coach Dav Whatmore seems to have blown over after Ajmal apologised.Whatmore had tweeted his displeasure over Ajmal’s comments, after which the PCB had advised Ajmal to meet the coach to clear the air. “I immediately went up to Dav and apologised and explained the context and circumstances in which I made certain remarks,” Ajmal said in a PCB media release.”Dav has worked tirelessly with the Pakistan team and it would be extremely unfair not to recognise his services. I enjoy very good relations with Dav and am hopeful of continuing this in the coming series.”Pakistan have not won a Test series since Whatmore, a former Australia international and World Cup-winning coach with Sri Lanka, took charge in 2012. That was on the back of Pakistan whitewashing England in the UAE under Mohsin Khan but, ahead of their return to the region to host South Africa, their most recent result was a 1-1 draw with Zimbabwe.Whatmore last week described the defeat to Zimbabwe in the second Test as “embarrassing, upsetting and disappointing” but expressed confidence in the team. However, Ajmal appeared to praise Whatmore’s predecessors, Mohsin and Waqar Younis, during a lengthy interview with Geo TV.Asked about having a foreign coach – Whatmore was born in Sri Lanka and grew up in Australia – Ajmal said: “There is no difference, just that we are paying more to him, otherwise there is no difference. Waqar handled us better. He used to stress on fitness and he used to say that if your fitness is good then you are 80% okay on the ground, but if it’s only 20% then you cannot do anything on the ground.”Mohsin did well. He would scold in front [of the team] if anyone is not taking wickets or a batsman is not scoring, irrespective of if he is senior or junior. If a junior was not performing then he would say that if you don’t, then you will not be able to keep your place.”Dav is a foreign coach, he doesn’t know our language much, but he is a coach and has done coaching for various countries and has helped other teams win, he is not that bad. We had our coaches, we have our language.”Ajmal, who is ranked the fourth-best bowler in Test cricket, was inspirational when Pakistan beat England in the UAE last year and he claimed 11 wickets in Harare last month to give Whatmore his maiden Test-match win as coach. His form will be crucial against South Africa, who beat Pakistan 3-0 at the start of 2013, and he stressed that it was the players on the pitch, rather than Whatmore, who had to fix Pakistan’s poor recent record.”I am not saying that I am not satisfied, he is a good coach and helped Sri Lanka lift the World Cup,” Ajmal said.”I am happy in every situation, if there is trouble then it’s okay, I laugh and smile and even if there are hard times then it is inevitable, this is my lifestyle … I don’t have any problems [with] who is coming in as coach and, for me, more important is what reaction he has on my performance. He helps us get everything on what the batsmen are doing wrong. He tells us instantly what we have to do. He can’t go [on to] the field. His job is to tell us what to do.”October 2, 2013 7.00pm GMT This story has been updated after Ajmal’s apology

Raf Nicholson07-May-2015For the first time in the 18-year history of the Women’s County Championship, the ECB is considering the possibility of overturning an official match result, after Kent lodged an appeal in the wake of their tied game against Sussex on Monday.The game at Beckenham was originally declared a tie by the umpires after Sussex ran a single off the last ball amid early celebrations from the Kent players, who believed the ball to be already dead. However, the result has now been declared as pending by the ECB as it investigates the incident.Sussex required two to win off the final ball as Kent and England captain Charlotte Edwards ran up to bowl. Batsman Ellen Burt missed the ball and Kent keeper Lauren Griffiths then removed a bail in a failed attempted stumping, but Burt’s partner Izzy Collis was already halfway down the pitch and the pair completed the single while Kent erroneously celebrated victory.After lengthy discussions with the players, the umpires eventually ruled that the ball had not been dead at the time of the run. However, Kent subsequently announced their intention to appeal the result.It is unclear on what basis Kent have lodged the appeal, given that the official playing regulations do not allow for such a procedure. Challenging the result of a match is in fact thought to be unprecedented even in the 126-year history of the men’s Championship.The only recent precedent might be the Oval Test against Pakistan in 2006, which was originally awarded to England but amended after the ICC ruled that the official result should be “abandoned as a draw”. That decision was later overturned by the ICC, with the result reverting to an England victory, after it was felt that questioning the decision of the umpires might create a dangerous precedent.Indeed, if the ECB did overturn the decision of the umpires in the Kent-Sussex match, it might well be seen as a clear breach of Law 21.10, which states: “Once the umpires have agreed with the scorers the correctness of the scores at the conclusion of the match … the result cannot thereafter be changed.”An ECB statement said: “The ECB is currently in communication with the umpires, and the Kent and Sussex management teams as to the outcome of the Royal London Women’s One-Day Cup match between the two sides on Monday 4 May 2015.”The incident came to the ECB’s attention immediately following the conclusion of the match. All of the information is being carefully considered as a matter of priority.”Women’s county matches are not generally filmed, so it is unlikely that the ECB will have any video footage to review.The ECB’s decision may well be crucial in deciding the result of this year’s Championship – which, unlike in the men’s game, is a one-day competition. Sussex and Kent have for many years been the strongest two teams, with no other side having won since 2002, and the rivalry between the two is well established. However, it has perhaps never quite reached this level of intensity before.

Thirteen wickets made for an eventful opening day of the series in Dominica, and it was Australia who went to stumps in the stronger position. Denesh Ramdin gave his men the chance to bat first but they survived only two sessions for their 148 before Aust

The Report by Brydon Coverdale03-Jun-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMichael Clarke was one of several Australians who took sharp catches•Getty Images

Thirteen wickets made for an eventful opening day of the series in Dominica, and it was Australia who went to stumps in the slightly stronger position. Denesh Ramdin gave his men the chance to bat first but they survived only two sessions for their 148 before Australia played out the final session of the day and went to stumps on 85 for 3, trailing by 63 on a surface that had proven surprisingly challenging.Steven Smith was Australia’s rock during the home summer against India and again he appeared immovable, although he also found scoring difficult with variable bounce and a slow outfield. He ended the day on 17 from 67 deliveries and had not scored a boundary; debutant Adam Voges had struck four fours in his 20 from 27 balls, perhaps the positive result of nervous energy.David Warner had fallen early for 8 when he was surprised by extra bounce from a Jerome Taylor delivery and a leading edge was taken at point. Shaun Marsh, promoted to open in the absence of Chris Rogers, edged to slip off Jason Holder for 19, and Michael Clarke edged Devendra Bishoo behind after scoring a bright 18 off 28 balls, including one six over midwicket.Voges was gifted a low full toss second ball to get off the mark with a boundary in Test cricket and by the time stumps arrived he had made a solid start. The Australians were generally careful in their 30 overs at the crease after the West Indies batsmen struggled to come to grips with the conditions and were skittled inside 54 overs.Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson collected three wickets each and it did not take long for the Australians to get back into five-day mode, having not played a Test since early January. The catching especially was outstanding, with Clarke, Voges and Marsh all making sharp takes of varying degrees of difficulty that ensured their bowlers were backed up.West Indies went to lunch three wickets down but things quickly deteriorated further upon the resumption, when Shane Dowrich, Jermaine Blackwood and Marlon Samuels all fell within a four-over period. Ramdin and Holder put up some sort of fight but it seemed only a matter of time until Australia finished the job.The batting conditions were not as easy as Ramdin might have expected when he won the toss, with the odd ball staying low and two batsmen – Darren Bravo and Taylor – struck on the helmet by quick, accurate bouncers. Nathan Lyon also extracted more than a little bit of turn, and combined with an outfield the speed of a wet golf green it made life challenging for the batsmen.Still, they didn’t put up much resistance, with no partnership lasting 10 overs. Hazlewood made the first breakthrough when he moved a delivery away just enough to kiss the outside edge of Kraigg Brathwaite’s bat and Brad Haddin completed a simple catch to have Brathwaite for 10.Shai Hope was able to strike five boundaries and his driving through the off side was most impressive, and Bravo also threatened to cause some problems with a typically classy start. Their 40-run stand was the best of the innings, but it ended when Lyon came around the wicket to Bravo, who on 19 edged and was brilliantly taken by Clarke low to his left at slip.Hope fell for 36 off 54 balls when he tried to drive Johnson and his thick edge was superbly taken by a diving Marsh at gully. West Indies were 75 for 3 and it was the sort of situation in which the Australians would have been pleased not to see Shivnarine Chanderpaul walking out to bat.Dowrich managed 15 before he dragged on off Hazlewood, and in Hazlewood’s next over he added the wicket of Blackwood for 2 when a thick edge was taken by Clarke, moving across from second slip in front of Shane Watson at first. In the next over, West Indies lost the last of their top six when Samuels miscued a hook off Mitchell Starc and Hazlewood at fine leg took a well-judged catch.Ramdin and Holder tried to reassemble things but Johnson ended that idea when he bowled Ramdin for 19, the ball staying disconcertingly low for the first day of a Test. When Holder edged Starc to Marsh at gully for 21, the end seemed nigh, and the next wicket brought the score to 144 for 9 and allowed an extension of the session past the scheduled tea time.That ninth wicket came from arguably the best of the catches, when debutant Adam Voges ran back from midwicket with the flight of the ball, dived and clung on to get rid of Taylor for 6. A change to the part-time legspin of Smith had done the trick, even if Smith’s wicket came with what could only be described as a long-hop.Shannon Gabriel, one of Test cricket’s genuine No.11s, was then no match for Johnson, and edged to slip for 2 to complete a miserable start to the series for the home side. By stumps Australia were more than halfway to West Indies’ total, but as day one showed, things can happen quickly on this surface even if scoring does not. It was worth remembering that West Indies had been 85 for 3, too.