Harold Larwood was a great who was made out to be a villain – the perfect replacement for Robin Hood in the eyes of a young ten-year-old

Nicholas Hogg19-Jan-2015As a boy, I loved playing Robin Hood. If I wasn’t playing cricket and swinging a willow bat, I was bending willow branches into powerful bows and firing arrows. Although I actually lived in Leicester, home of the crippled King Richard III, rather than, like a dashing outlaw on the run, in Sherwood Forest, my father was from Kirkby in Ashfield, Nottingham – little more than a cricket ball’s throw from Harold Larwood’s house.My father would regale us with tales of Robin Hood and his Merry Men battling the sheriff of Nottingham. I loved hearing how this ragtag bandit took on the government, robbing from the rich to give to the poor. He was a true hero, whether he existed or not, and beloved by the common man. I read Robin Hood books, watched the swashbuckling Errol Flynn film, and never missed an episode of the hit 1980s TV series.Around the age of ten, when I put down my bow and started playing cricket more seriously, the fable of the Hooded Man naturally transformed into the folk tale of Harold Larwood.The teenage Notts miner, the skinny lad who walked the same soot-stained streets around the pit towns of Mansfield as my father and grandfather, would go on to be the most infamous England fast bowler in history. Once my father, a talented allrounder, realised I was developing a love for cricket, the legend of Larwood was lovingly passed down the Hogg family line.

I blame Larwood for any loss of control when I try to throw one down quicker than I can

My father’s Larwood chronicles, about how he was the quickest bowler of all time, how he tamed Bradman, and how he was hung out to dry by the MCC were perhaps lost on that ten-year-old boy. But I did understand the reverence in his tone, and how “Lol” – his nickname among locals – was a prince among men.A deeper fascination with “our” home-grown speed demon was piqued by , the TV miniseries that dramatised the 1932-33 Ashes in Australia – including the customary dodgy acting involved in recreating cricket matches. Hugo Weaving was imperious as the driven, manipulative and icy Douglas Jardine, alongside Jim Holt’s deferential yet gritty Larwood. Such was the influence of this show, I even began practising, just as Larwood had done, by bowling down the alley at a dustbin as rapidly as I could. For the next few years, and perhaps even now, on the cusp of my 41st birthday, I’m still told not to try and bowl too fast.I blame Larwood for any loss of control when I try to throw one down quicker than I can. England 1950s paceman Frank “Typhoon” Tyson put the need for speed most eloquently: “To bowl quick is to revel in the glad animal action, to thrill in physical prowess and to enjoy a certain sneaking feeling of superiority over the other mortals who play the game”.”Other mortals” – this is perhaps the source of reverence for the fast bowler: that here is a man who can physically dominate and intimidate at the wicket. There are big-hitting batsmen who impose their presence by thumping the ball back over the pavilion roof – England bowler Matthew Hoggard admitted to having nightmares about Australian bully Matthew Hayden – but none truly threaten like the express paceman.Born in 1974, I never saw Larwood play, or even met him. What I do have to flesh the ghost of my favourite cricketer is YouTube. The black-and-white footage is grainy, and with no zoom lens available, we see Harold running in to bowl from the distance of a spectator, or a boundary fielder. Still, the fabled “carpet-slippered” approach, the high left arm and absolute balance into the delivery stride, are evident. Certain clips you can’t follow the ball, the black smudge on the grey background. But there’s a beautiful slow-motion shot of one of his bouncers, still rising when it smacks into Les Ames’ gloves.In Duncan Hamilton’s William Hill prizewinner , he describes how Nottingham coach James Iremonger, “a hardened sportsman”, moulded the raw talent of the scrawny pit boy into a “weapon”. Stripping Larwood’s action down, Iremonger straightened his run-up, pulled his shoulders back, stressed the importance of balance, and instilled a sense of discipline that included sleeping with the bedroom window open, even in the depths of winter.What Iremonger did with Larwood in the 1920s would have personal relevance for me over 80 years on. Two seasons ago, when the Larwood fairy tale turned to hard fact when I read Hamilton’s touching and eloquent autobiography, I changed my bowling action. Hamilton, like Iremonger, stripped Larwood’s action – this time to the page. Once I put down the book I lifted up my arm higher, ran in on my toes, and relaxed my shoulders.Was I any faster? Probably not, but this was the action I bowled with on a bright August day at the end of 2013, when the Authors Cricket Club, a team of cricket-playing writers I revived with literary agent Charlie Campbell, played on Larwood’s old Nuncargate pitch. With that shiny red cherry between my fingers I strode in from the Larwood end, just as my grandfather and father had done before. I was the third generation of Hoggs to tread in Harold’s carpet slippers – although in his early days, before the Iremonger overhaul, the long-off boundary hedge had had a gap sheared through it so the young tyro could fit in his galloping run.Perhaps I’m letting my imagination get the better of me here, but as I ran in I could clearly picture the young Harold hurling thunderbolts. I wonder if this was his purest cricket. Before leg theory and Bodyline. Before the MCC pressed him to sign a letter apologising for bowling at the Australians, an apology that he refused to sign.Larwood wasn’t going to be the establishment’s scapegoat, and he never played for England again. In a late interview Fred Trueman asked if he ever regretted not apologising. “No,” Larwood replied curtly. “I had nothing to apologise for.”Banishment followed a jubilant homecoming. From a series-winning bowler to the owner of a failing Blackpool sweet shop, Larwood was an exile after his cricket life. Geoff Boycott describes the tale as “one of the saddest stories in cricket”, and it took an old enemy, Jack Fingleton, to pluck Larwood from sweet-counter obscurity by offering to help him and his family move to Australia. Here, in a quiet Sydney suburb, he grew old gracefully, just as he had bowled. He reminisced about the glory days with his collection of newspaper cuttings and memorabilia, and welcomed cricketers and journalists into his home like visiting pilgrims.Last time I travelled up to Nottingham my father met me at the station. Before he even said hello he told me that 20,000 people had met Larwood off the train after he returned from the Bodyline tour: 20,000 locals, working men who had finished backbreaking shifts down mines or in factories, had waited in a cold and damp night, clambering up walls and scaling gas lamps, for a glimpse of Lol, their hero.

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-2015Kraigg Brathwaite received a wonderful delivery from James Anderson, an inswinger, which burst between bat and pad…•Getty Images…and Chris Jordan provided England their second pre-lunch wicket although the feeling was they had not bowled at their best•Getty ImagesThere was concern when Ben Stokes needed treatment after a dive in the outfield…•Getty Images…but he was soon up and about, then later claimed the key wicket of Shivnarine Chanderpaul in his first over•AFPBefore then, Darren Bravo had given his wicket away when he flashed a delivery to slip•AFPAlastair Cook, a captain under pressure, dropped a catch at slip to given Marlon Samuels a life•Getty ImagesJermaine Blackwood was given a working over by the short ball•AFPIn the final session, Samuels came out of his shell as West Indies ended the day with honours closer to even•AFP

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Apr-2015Knight Riders dismissed Aaron Finch, Aditya Tare and Ambati Rayudu for single-digit scores, leaving Mumbai at 37 for 3 after six overs•BCCICorey Anderson made amends after being dropped by Andre Russell at deep midwicket and provided the perfect support to Rohit•BCCIRohit made 98* while sharing a 131-run partnership with Anderson, helping Mumbai to 168 for 3•BCCIIt was Morne Morkel’s tight and pacy spell where he picked up two wickets at an economy rate of 4.50, that restricted Mumbai from getting too many•BCCIRobin Uthappa couldn’t replicate his form from last season and was out in the third over, edging one to Harbhajan Singh at first slip•BCCIGautam Gambhir was given at least two lifelines as he put on 85 runs with Manish Pandey, that anchored the Knight Riders chase•BCCIMumbai’s bowlers looked out of touch and even the devastating Lasith Malinga failed to threaten the Knight Riders batsmen•BCCIAfter Gambhir’s dismissal for 57, Suryakumar Yadav struck five sixes and a four on his way to a 20-ball 46 to finish off the chase•BCCIThe win gave Knight Riders their 10th IPL victory on the trot•BCCI

Sharing a commentary box with Richie Benaud was an enriching, inspiring, and sometimes overwhelming experience

Mark Nicholas10-Apr-2015He was father, uncle, brother and friend. He was our conscience and our guiding light. In an age of much madness, he made sense. He held firm when others doubted and let go when those around him needed to fly. His wise counsel was without compare, his kindness unconditional. There was something elemental about him, like the wind and the rain. And he was summer’s sunshine. But now he has gone.Yes, Richie Benaud has gone. It has to be repeated to feel true. A flame that burned brightly for 84 years has flickered of late and now died. There is a darkness. If you have grown up watching cricket, you have grown up watching Richie Benaud. He was a constant in all our lives. The memories, the sights and sound of him, will live with us forever.We, that is the Channel Nine commentary team, last saw him in person at the Sydney Cricket Ground in November. When he arrived on the outfield in front of the Members Pavilion where we had gathered, there was a general shuffling. Unseen and virtually unheard of for a year since the car crash that all but ended his life in television, the news that he was to appear at the Nine Network’s launch of the “Sizzling Summer of Cricket” was greeted with immense excitement.

Mark Taylor called the fall wicket of a key Australian wicket “a tragedy”. Benaud let it rest for a couple of hours before whispering “Mark, the was a tragedy”

The crash had damaged a couple of vertebrae and the suggestion of surgery to the spine had lingered around for most of the previous Australian summer. He made no fuss of course but admitted that he was far from ready to bowl 30 overs off the reel on a hot Sydney day. The surgery never happened. Apparently, a natural fusion was already taking place. Instead, the medics found some melanomas. Radiation and chemotherapy are not anyone’s game. The treatment had taken its toll. I suggested that it had been a rough year. “Roughish,” he replied, with the understatement that has hallmarked his life.Anyway, Richie turned up bang on time for the photo shoot and though the joy in greeting him was uninhibited, we were all sad to see him so diminished. He carried himself with fortitude and typical grace but he was clearly weak. It seems absurd that he retired from the commentary box in England ten years ago, but it is a fact. On that early September day at The Oval in 2005, the producer of Channel 4’s cricket coverage, Gary Franses, had sent him across the ground to be alongside me and the others in our commentary team to say goodbye. Channel 4 had lost the rights to cricket in the UK.The crowd rose to him with as much bonhomie as they had to the England team who, moments earlier, had won the Ashes after a summer of cricket that held the nation spellbound. Moved by their enthusiasm and warmth, Benaud shed a tear. At least, so said Tony Greig, who walked with him. Richie never denied it.Benaud with Peter May after beating England 4-0 to regain the Ashes in 1958-59•Getty ImagesHe has been good to us all: always by our side, a constant source of wisdom and encouragement. No one has sold the game of cricket with greater skill, few played it with greater flair. He had some mantras: “Engage brain before mouth” is my favourite. Others include: “Don’t speak unless you can add to the picture”, which is mostly ignored by us commentators today.When Mark Taylor switched from the playing field to the hallowed Nine Network commentary team, he called the fall wicket of a key Australian wicket “a tragedy”. Benaud let it rest for a couple of hours before gently tapping Taylor on the shoulder and whispering “Mark, the was a tragedy”. Taylor said that Benaud had once used “tragedy” while commentating himself. (Later during the summer, we heard it on an archive clip. Gold!)The stories go on and on. Another favourite is Michael Slater’s first stint on air alongside him. Terrified, Slater was almost unable to speak until Brian Lara under-edged a cut shot that whistled past leg stump by no more than a hair. “Ooooo,” said Slats, “that just snuck under Lara’s bat… er Rich, is there the word ‘snuck’ in the English language?” Benaud paused the immortal pause before bring the microphone to his lips. “I can think of one or two ‘ucks’ in the English language, Michael, but ‘snuh’ isn’t amongst them!”

“I can think of one or two ‘ucks’ in the English language, Michael, but ‘snuh’ isn’t amongst them”

His minimalism was a lifestyle. The footprint was everywhere, though best illustrated in his television work both in front of the camera and behind the microphone. Witness: “West indies cruising to victory here, all Carl Hooper has to do is keep his head as Shane Warne switches to bowl round the wicket into the rough outside leg stump.” At which point, Hooper charges down the pitch and has a mighty heave at Warne. The ball spins and catches the leading edge of Hooper’s bat. It is about to drop into Steve Waugh’s hands as Benaud says: “Oh Carl” and nothing more.Or the tightest finish at Edgbaston in 2005. Three needed to win, Australia nine down with Michael Kasprowicz on strike. Steve Harmison bowls a bouncer that catches Kasprowicz’s glove as he fends away. Geraint Jones dives down the leg side and holds on. Billy Bowden raises his finger. Benaud sums up this monumental moment with: “Jones! Bowden! Kasprowicz the man to go” and leaves it at that. Magic indeed.The Benauds have been private people. He and his English wife, Daphne, lived in an apartment at Coogee and watched the surf roll in each morning. After a long layoff they had started their 40-minute sunrise walks again, not a minute more or less. These had given him relative strength and given her breathing space. They were inseparable. Her loss will be beyond pain. When Richie bought the drinks he would always say, “Don’t thank me, thank Mrs Benaud”. She is a terrific woman who began life in and around the game as PA to Jim Swanton years ago but fell in love with the dashing former captain of Australia.Benaud was an Australian icon and the voice of its summer•Getty ImagesThey lived in summer for 50 years, travelling across the world each April and September to cover the game for myriad networks and newspapers. Benaud’s crusades to English shores actually began as a player in 1953 when he came by boat with Lindsay Hassett’s touring Australians. They were at sea for five weeks and made their way around the shires for the five months that followed.By the time Channel 4 nicked the television rights off the BBC, Benaud was a must-get and entitled to first class on British Airways. After Channel 4’s first day on air Giles Smith reviewed the coverage in the . He opened with a sentence that went something like this: “If Channel 4 put a programme to air about sex that revealed naked transvestites debating with one another the merits of their actions and then giving a display of their activities, it might just get away with it as long as Richie Benaud was there to say ‘Morning everyone’. With one of those superb catchphrases, Benaud had repaid the network’s faith and introduced the game to its new, initially uncertain, audience.At the end of the summer of 2002, we took him to lunch at The Ivy in London. The room was full of the great and the good – Frost and Parkinson, Mrs Beckham, Michael Winner, to name a few – but it went silent when he glided in. You should have seen the punters gawp. And the waiters too. In general, Richie kept himself to himself, which is a powerful weapon. Because of it, public appearances became a parade.

His cricket can be summed up easily enough – a fine legspinner, dashing batsman, an excellent fieldsman, but, above all, a brilliant and intuitive captain

His cricket can be summed up easily enough – a fine legspinner, dashing batsman, an excellent fieldsman, but, above all, a brilliant and intuitive captain. Peter May brought a team of stellar names to Australia in 1958-59 and was beaten 4-0 by Benaud’s young adventurers. It was ever thus. Australia has cricket in its soul and Benaud will always remain a part of that soul.I miss him already. I’m sure we all do. To have him back amongst us that day in November brought such pleasure. Bill Lawry was there too, up from Melbourne where he looks after his wife, Joy. Bill was very funny on the stage, telling Richie that the melanomas might be a bane now but, back then, with his hair flowing, shirt unbuttoned almost to the waist and gold chain sparkling in the sunshine, he looked a million dollars. They were quite a pair, Bill with his comedic talents and Richie with his natural dry wit.The last time I saw him at all was on the telly in a quite brilliant Australia Day advertisement for Australian lamb. Captain Cook is at sea, on the , one supposes. A mobile phone rings. He reaches into the pocket of his naval frock coat and answers it. The scene switches to Richie, tongs in hand, back home at the barbeque. “Cookie!” says Richie. “G’day Rich,” says Captain Cook. “Fancy an Australia Day barby round at my place?” asks one great man of another. Cook looks to his second-in-command and then to some of the midshipmen around him and asks if they fancy it. Of course they do! Richie then calls various other iconic figures in Australia’s history, including Ned Kelly no less. They are all in. Have a look on YouTube. It is well worth it. The ad tells us much about Benaud’s sense of humour, timing and perspective. And it tells us the extent of the esteem in which he is held by all Australians.The Benauds in Sydney in 2006•Getty ImagesWhen modern cricket folk talked of “aggression” and “sledging” as “part of the game”, Richie raised his eyebrows and cringed. Such attitudes were not part of his game, nor of the game played by Keith Miller, Garry Sobers, Ted Dexter or the Nawab of Pataudi. If modern cricketers want to do the Benaud legacy justice, they should reward his unwavering faith in their abilities and performance by ceasing such mean-spirited behaviour as of today. The day Richie died.I just googled the word “dignity”. It says: “The state or quality of being worthy of honour or respect.” There you go, that is Richie Benaud in a simple definition. From the first day of a glorious cricket career to his last as a universally admired and loved communicator of the most beautiful game, he was the very best. Our privilege was to have sat at his table.

Two games before their exit, Sunrisers would have believed that despite the inconsistent run their plans for this year had come off

Amol Karhadkar18-May-20152:43

‘Bitter way to finish the tournament’ – Moody

Overview

Sunrisers Hyderabad were one of the two teams, Delhi Daredevils being the other, to make a plethora of changes to its squad ahead of the this IPL. Two games before their exit, Sunrisers would have believed that despite the inconsistent run the plans had come off. They had one foot in the playoffs with just one win needed from two home games.In the end, all of it counted for nought as Sunrisers crumbled under pressure. As much as the last game against Mumbai Indians, a virtual knockout game, would be blamed for their campaign, Sunrisers’ inability to close out games ended up costing them the season. They did hang in there to win three close games, but they would end up ruing their failure to convert a spirited performance against Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils into points as the key reason for their sixth place in the standings.Sunrisers were the only team that signed English cricketers during the player auction; They had three. The most high profile of them, Kevin Pietersen, backed out twice – at the start, for chasing his England dream and towards the end due to an injury after his national hopes had crashed. The other two England cricketers, Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara, were as mediocre as their national team have been in limited-overs cricket. That also cost the team dearly.

High point

For the first time in three seasons in IPL, Sunrisers Hyderabad managed to register a hat-trick of wins. It started off with a high-scoring game against Rajasthan Royals in Mumbai, continued in an away game in Raipur against Delhi Daredevils and culminated at home with a narrow win against Kings XI Punjab. The longest streak of wins was definitely sweeter than the individual sparks of brilliances in their campaign.

Low point

It has to be the last league game against Mumbai Indians. What would hurt more than the loss is the manner in which they surrendered. In a winner-takes-all situation, Sunrisers just didn’t turn up, gifting the playoffs place to Mumbai Indians.

Top of the class

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was excellent throughout the league stage. Moises Henriques was a revelation in the latter half. Still, their performances were overshadowed by David Warner. The opening batsman took the meaning of the term ‘leading from the front’ to a new level, at least in T20. Not only did he top the run charts for the league stage but he was also adjudged Man of the Match in four of Sunrisers’ seven wins.

Under-par performer

Kevin Pietersen’s absence meant Eoin Morgan got an extended run in the tournament. But he could hardly justify the opportunity. No doubt that the price tag of Rs 1.5 crore wasn’t enormous but the responsibility on his shoulders certainly was. One Man of the Match and a tally of 187 runs from nine innings were meagre.

Tip for 2016

Kane Williamson should be made better use of. In a struggling battling line-up, Williamson can be the perfect anchor, thus freeing up Warner and Dhawan at the top. Also, Sunrisers desperately need to bolster their domestic batting. KL Rahul and Hanuma Vihari will find it tough to break into any IPL eleven, yet they had to be persisted with. Naman Ojha, their most high-profile domestic batsman, had a horrendous run with bat as well.

The Galle pitch has only just started to express itself and the batsmen will be severely tested by spin in the days to come

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Galle19-Jun-20151:04

Arnold: Silva showed great temperament to score his century

It’s the third day of the Test, second if you account for rain. Waves crash nearby and tiled rooves peep above fort walls. With king coconut vendors along the ground’s periphery, and kites flying above the cricket, Galle should be a batting resort – a five-star, gourmet run-smorgasbord. Yet on the best customary day for run-making, 12 wickets have collapsed. The prodigies are prodding. The greats are groping. This pitch is no tropical paradise. It’s a tawny-coloured bed of torture.Of the 15 wickets to fall so far in the Test, nine have belonged to spinners. This is the Galle track’s way. It takes turn on the first afternoon, then hand-grenades on the fourth and fifth day. The WACA ground tests nerve and reflexes; Kingsmead a batsman’s skill against swing. But if you can’t read the fizz out of a bowler’s hand, buddy, don’t bother coming to Galle.Slow bowlers are sometimes patronised in modern cricket. “Hold up one end while the quicks hunt from the other,” captains say. Seamers outnumber them in most attacks. Galle turns the tables, then takes slow-bowler love a step further. Teams would be right to stock their side with spin here, yet, seeing the surface, they reason: “Why would we need more than two on this track?”The pitch cares for spinners of any persuasion. Shane Warne has a five-wicket haul here, but so does Nicky Boje. Muttiah Muralitharan still sends the track a Christmas card. One-hundred and thirty four overs into this match, two left-arm spinners, a pair of offies, and a wrist spinner, had all claimed wickets. None of those scalps had come from pitching into the barely-developed rough, though in the two days to come, that may change.Mohammad Hafeez nailed Lahiru Thirimanne when the batsman came at him. Zulfiqar Babar couldn’t dismiss Dinesh Chandimal with the balls that spat, so despite the work on the ball the track connived for one to slide on, and leg stump was left askew.One of my best innings – Kaushal Silva

Kaushal Silva said he had hundreds on his mind for this series, having been repeatedly frustrated by his conversion rate in 2014. Silva had crossed fifty eight times before in his Test career, but had only gone on to triple figures once, against Bangladesh. He completed his second Test century in the first session on Friday, and went on to make 125.
“This was surely one of my best innings, because I really wanted to prove a point to myself,” he said. “For the last year I’ve been scoring a lot of 90s and 80s and missed three or four centuries. In the past I’ve been getting those big runs. I have 30-odd first-class hundreds. I had only one hundred and seven fifties last year, and I felt that’s not what I’m like, normally. I usually capitalise and get hundreds. That was my target in this series. I just want to make hundreds – that’s the ultimate goal.”
Silva said his father – who has coached him since youth – has contributed substantially to his success. “My father taught me from the beginning, and he’s been behind me every match I play. I get more bad comments than good comments from him, but he’s always behind me and gives me advice. Whenever I go wrong or whenever I’ve been in a bad patch I go back to him.”

Misbah-ul-Haq brought Wahab Riaz back to bounce out the tail, but the surface had other ideas. Of the seven Sri Lanka wickets to fall on day two, only the first went to a quick. Yasir Shah had had even Kumar Sangakkara poking, but when he couldn’t break through on day two, the pitch arranged two cheap scalps to send him off with more just reward for his skill. Pakistan’s seam bowlers are among the best left-arm pairs in the world, yet when the second new ball was taken, it was Babar who made the leather come alive.Azhar Ali’s wicket came almost gift-wrapped for Rangana Herath, in Pakistan’s innings. The batsman couldn’t decide if he should step forward or slide back. He alternated between the two with middling results for 11 Herath balls, then surrendered on the 12th, moving only across.Younis Khan, who had success in Galle on his last Sri Lanka trip, perhaps suffered the most emphatic dismissal of all. With three needed for his fifty, he ran at Dilruwan Perera. The bowler pulled his length back, and the ball floated out of Younis’ reach like a butterfly escaping a net. The turn off the pitch ensured the ball hit the stumps. Younis shouldn’t feel ashamed. Entire top orders have been undressed here. In 2012, New Zealand and Sri Lanka finished the first-innings neck-and-neck before Rangana Herath dismantled the opposition top order, and the visitors were rolled on the third day.Misbah had made the unusual choice of bowling first on this track. This was largely because batting once represented Pakistan’s only chance of winning the shortened match, but also because after the rains, a little extra moisture might make his seamers more potent. However, as Kaushal Silva attested, some strange perversion of the clay has instead lent menace to spin.”It’s spinning more than usual,” he said. “Normally on the first day it doesn’t spin much, but this time because of the moisture, it spun a bit more. Now it’s turning a lot than the normal Galle pitches.”Good thing too, because in a match where four sessions have been lost to bad weather, a raging turner might still conspire a result. This venue has magicked victories out of thin air before, most recently last year, when Herath delivered a sublime spell against Pakistan, to set up an unforgettable fifth-evening finish.That’s the thing about tracks like this one. A cataclysmic stretch of play could always be around the corner. So keep on spinning, Galle. Keep on spitting and shooting out of the rough. It’s a big-batted batsman’s world out there. Cricket needs its filthy pits of fire

At No. 6 in the former Australia captain’s Ashes XI: a man they called Mr Cricket

Ricky Ponting11-Jul-20151:40

Michael Hussey

“One of the guys you love to have around the team because he will do anything for you. A team man and a classy middle-order player. When games were on the line, Michael Hussey generally stood up”

Stats

OVERALL: Matches 79 Innings 137 Runs 6235 Average 51.52 100s/50s 19/29
ASHES: Matches 15 Innings 24 Runs 1304 Average 59.27 100s/50s 4/9

Best performance

121 at The Oval, 2009
Australia faced the prospect of losing the Ashes once they were set a target of 546 in the final Test at The Oval. It was a crucial innings for Michael Hussey: his Test future seemed in doubt after a first-innings duck and a century-less streak of 28 innings. He joined Ponting with Australia at 90 for 2. The duo’s partnership gave the visitors hope but an errant call for a run by Hussey led to Ponting’s dismissal. Hussey found some support from Brad Haddin, but that was not enough as he was last man out for 121, an innings that kept his career alive.

Trivia

Michael Hussey has the best average among left-hand batsmen who’ve scored more than 1000 runs in the Ashes.

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-2015Things would only get worse as Litton Das departed the very next delivery. Rabada was on a hat-trick…•AFP… And he went on to complete it, trapping Mahmudullah in front. Bangladesh were reduced to 17 for 3 by the end of the fourth over•AFPThe hosts lost Soumya Sarkar soon after, leaving them tottering on 40 for 4. It was left to Shakib Al Hasan, who scored 48 off 51 balls, to revive the innings•AFPWith Mushfiqur Rahim for company, Shakib added 53 runs for the fifth wicket, the highest partnership of the innings•AFPHowever, after JP Duminy removed Mushfiqur, things went downhill for the home side, as Sabbir Rahman and Shakib fell in quick succession•AFPRabada came back to dismiss Mashrafe Mortaza and Jubair Hossain to finish with 6 for 16. Nasir Hossain’s blows towards the end of the innings eventually helped Bangladesh reach 160 before they were bowled out in the 36.3 overs•AFPBangladesh would have had their hopes up when Hashim Amla was dismissed for 14 in the sixth over•AFPFaf du Plessis, however, weathered the tough overs at the start and his unbeaten 63 drove South Africa to an eight-wicket win in the 32nd over•AFP

Steve Magoffin had feared his first-class career was over six months before he arrived at Sussex as a stopgap overseas signing. Since then the Australian has become one of county cricket’s most stalwart performers

Will Macpherson23-Sep-2015Steve Magoffin readily admits that when he arrived at Sussex for the second game of the 2012 season, whisked in as a quick fix, he was not a “sexy” overseas signing. He was uncapped, not Sussex’s top choice and set to stay just six weeks. Few could have thought, least of all Magoffin, that the gangly seamer would still be there four seasons on – with a deal for another contract penned, an inch from British citizenship and 258* wickets under his belt.From his first game – a nine-for against Lancashire – Magoffin has been Sussex’s metronome. He is quiet, unfussy and unglamorous, with old-fashioned virtues at the heart of his method and absolutely no longing for the limelight, to the point that, at times, he has seemed something of a faceless destroyer.The only certainty has been that would appear in the wicket column. Unfashionable, perhaps, but having taken 28% of Sussex’s Championship wickets since he arrived, there is a case for him being the club’s finest player since Mushtaq Ahmed and the most important overseas signing in England. This season he has been ever-present, shouldering a huge burden (over 3,200 balls as the season reached its final week) in an injury-ravaged attack at times shorn of seven quicks.Did you know?

Steve Magoffin’s first involvement with the Sheffield Shield came not as a player, but as a writer…. for Cricinfo.

In 2001, aged 22 and still three years away from his first-class debut for Western Australia, Magoffin – then on his native Queensland’s books – reported on the Bulls’ late-season victory over WA at the Gabba, on their way to the second of three consecutive titles (in what was then known as the Pura Cup).

This has set minds racing at ESPNcricinfo – was a great Australian correspondent lost because he kept taking too many wickets? Certainly there cannot be many cricketers who can boast reporting on the Shield, then hitting the winning runs 11 years later.

The metronome, however, has an interesting story to tell. Indeed, the stopgap who became the stalwart nearly left the game altogether eight months before he arrived at Sussex. Magoffin played seven seasons for Western Australia (as well as spells at Surrey and Worcestershire, where he met his wife), the last of which – 2010-11, when he was 31 – was entirely ravaged by injury and he was released.”At that stage it was impossible not to wonder whether my professional career was over,” says Magoffin. “You get the meeting where you’re told they are moving in a different direction, which you react to in the only obvious way: anger and disappointment. I tried to secure something at another State and sides were interested but couldn’t commit.”I decided to move back to Queensland to my old club Western Suburbs to play grade cricket. I’ve no doubt that those few months are the reason I’m still going well now. Rocking up on Tuesday night, under poor lighting with average cricket balls with old mates, I fell back in love with the game.”I did a bit of coaching too. I just decided to give it one season and see. Darren Lehmann and Trevor Hohns were clear that just because I wasn’t contracted then didn’t mean I wasn’t a chance to play. I hit my straps immediately and ended up playing Queensland’s first 50-over game, and by the end of the season I’d hit the winning runs in the Sheffield Shield Final! Looking back, for that to be my last moment in Australian cricket, especially with it being for my home state, was unbelievable.”It was not his plan for that to be his final act in Australian cricket. Since his spell with Worcestershire in 2008, overseas player regulations had changed – with his lack of international experience rendering him ineligible – and then changed again – permitting him to play on a spouse visa.

‘In eight months, I went from no job in cricket at all to winning the Shield and being here. Four years later, the rest was history’

So when, a few weeks after that Shield triumph of 2012, Tim Southee was forced to pull out of a deal with Sussex, in came Magoffin on a six-week deal. It was not long before Mark Robinson, Sussex’s director of cricket, recognised his ability.”I started well and Robbo was keen for me to stay, so I blagged a couple of extra weeks, before Queensland said I had to come back for pre-season. At that stage, we decided that if I could secure cricket in England for the following season, we’d stay for good. It was a good time for us, as my thoughts of higher honours were gone and my wife was pregnant and due in December that year. That was a big motivating factor, with her family being in Worcester. Sussex signed me up, I made the call to Queensland, and that was that.”In eight months, I went from no job in cricket at all to winning the Shield and being here. Four years later, the rest is history. It’s funny to think that if I hadn’t made an impact in grade cricket by Christmas, none of this would ever have happened.”A Sheffield Shield triumph began Magoffin’s recovery•Getty Images’This’ has turned out to be wickets, by the bucketload, by finding movement in the air, and hitting the seam on a fourth stump line and good length. “I wasn’t a high-profile signing, and wasn’t the type of person people expected Sussex to sign. I wasn’t an international, had only played six first-class games in 18 months and there was no press entourage. I had no choice but to prove myself quickly, and make people sit up.”The pitches here work for me. I understand how to get the best from them. There are definite phases of the season: early doors on the green seamers it is tough work for the batters. As a bowler you are looking to set your season up by the end of June. Then you move on and work out ways to stay in the game when things don’t quite suit you. I’ve always been able to hit the seam, and the Dukes ball helps. When I was younger, I wouldn’t have been patient enough when conditions weren’t right but now, I know what I’m good at, what works when, and I don’t need great pace to succeed.”What Australia would have given for such knowledge during the Ashes. Magoffin’s style is something of a throwback, but so is what he represents: a reminder of the days of Law, Love and the like – classy, seldom-capped Australians making hay in the shires.Now, though, there is one final box for Magoffin to tick: officially turning his back on Australia. His British citizenship application is being processed by the Home Office, which opens up exciting possibilities for Sussex. During the latter half of the season, the club have been on tenterhooks waiting for approval, with rumours abound that Yasir Shah was set to join with Magoffin playing as a local.It has not come through quickly enough, but in 2016, who knows: Magoffin will be at Hove, and if Sussex avoid relegation – they need nine points from their final game, away at champions Yorkshire to be in charge of their own destiny – it will be as much down to his 66* wickets as any other individual contribution. What a happy six-week stay it has turned out to be.* Figures correct to the end of Yorkshire’s first innings against Sussex on September 23

Stats highlights from Perth where David Warner played a special innings on the first day of the second Test against New Zealand

Shiva Jayaraman13-Nov-20152004 Last time an Australia opener made a double-hundred in Tests before David Warner in this match, which was by Justin Langer against the same opposition at the Adelaide Oval. This is Warner’s highest score in Tests. His previous highest too came at the WACA, against India in 2012. Warner’s 244* is also the second-highest by a batsman in Tests in Perth.6 Instances when a batsman has scored more than Warner’s 244 in a single day’s play in a Test. The last instance when a batsman did so was Virender Sehwag’s 284 on the second day of the Mumbai Test against Sri Lanka in 2009. There are only two other instances of an Australia batsman scoring more in a day than Warner: both of which were by Don Bradman.416 Runs scored on the first day at the WACA – the third-highest in a day’s play and the highest on the first day at this venue. As many as 446 runs were scored on the second day’s play in a Test between the hosts and Zimbabwe in 2003 which is the highest in a day in Perth. The 416 runs in this Test are also the fourth-highest on the first day of a Test in Australia. The last time more runs were scored on the first day of a Test in this country was in 2012 when 482 runs were amassed at the Adelaide Oval.2004 The last time more runs were scored for the loss of just one or no wickets in a day in Tests. Sri Lanka had made 425 runs for the loss of Sanath Jayasuriya’s wicket on the second day’s play in Bulawayo. There is only one other instance when a day’s play had seen just one wicket fall and more than 416 runs made: when Bradman and Bill Ponsford plundered 455 runs on the second day of the Headingley Test.1 Openers before Warner who had made hundreds in three consecutive Test innings, twice. Sunil Gavaskar had had two such runs – once in the West Indies in 1971 and once against Pakistan and West Indies in 1978-79. This was Warners’ second such streak in the last two years: he had made three consecutive Test centuries against South Africa and Pakistan last year. Overall, Warner is only the fifth batsman to make three or more consecutive hundreds twice in his career. The others are Everton Weekes, Aravinda de Silva and Kumar Sangakkara, who had three such streaks.4 Test hundreds by Warner against New Zealand in just four Tests against them. This is the least any batsman has taken to make four hundreds against them. Wally Hammond and Shoaib Mohammad had each taken six Tests to hit four hundreds against New Zealand.1934 The last and the only time a pair added more runs for Australia’s second wicket in Tests than the 302 added by Warner and Usman Khawaja in this innings. Bradman and Ponsford had added 451 England at The Oval. This was also the first 300-run stand for any wicket for Australia since Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke added 386 for the fourth wicket against India at the Adelaide Oval in 2012-13. The second-wicket partnership in this innings was also the second-highest stand for any wicket in Tests at the WACA.3 Century stands by Australia’s openers in this series – only the fourth time a team has had three or more century opening partnerships in a series involving three or fewer matches. The last such instance was by Pakistan at home against South Africa in 2003. Warner and Burns have added 499 runs in this series. This is already the second highest added by Australia for the first wicket in a series involving three or fewer matches. Australia’s openers added 570 runs in a three-Test series at home against South Africa in 2001-02, which are the highest.84 Innings Warner has taken to complete 4000 Test runs. He is the fourth-fastest Australia batsman to the landmark. Don Bradman (48 innings), Matthew Hayden (77 innings) and Neil Harvey (84 innings) are the only other Australia batsman faster than Warner.1968 Last time before Warner an Australia opener had made two or more scores of 150-plus in a Test series. Bill Lawry had made two such scores – 151 and 205 – against the visiting West Indies. Warner’s is only the fifth such instance by an Australia opener.152 Khawaja’s average in this series; his 121 in this innings was his second hundred of the series and also his second in Tests. Khawaja has made 302 runs in his last three innings against New Zealand. In 17 innings before this year, he had made 377 runs at 25.13 with two fifties.