West Indies seem to have preserved Kraigg Brathwaite for Test cricket for the moment, and the young batsman is showing a rare patience in modern cricket

Mohammad Isam07-Sep-2014When he finally emerged from his shell to sweep Mahmudullah for four in the penultimate over of the second day’s play at St Vincent, Kraigg Brathwaite became the tenth batsman to score a Test double-hundred before his 22nd birthday. The significance of his innings, apart from its impact on West Indies’ first innings against Bangladesh, is that it highlights Brathwaite’s proclivity for Test cricket, when compared to many other batsmen of his generation.The last man to make a Test double-century at the age of 21 before Brathwaite was South Africa’s Jacques Rudolph, in his debut innings against Bangladesh, more than 11 years ago. Six batsmen went past the 150-mark between Rudolph and Brathwaite, with AB de Villiers getting closest.

Can win if we get good lead – Brathwaite

Kraigg Brathwaite believes West Indies can win the Test provided they get a sizeable lead against Bangladesh in the first innings, despite rain interruptions on the first two days.
“I think we are in a good position and we can’t control the weather,” Brathwaite said. “We still have a lot of time in the game so if we can get a good lead we can back ourselves and I can see us winning the game.”
An “anxious” Brathwaite faced 11 dot balls before reaching his maiden double-hundred, in the company of his idol Shivnarine Chanderpaul. “Firstly I was also anxious to get a double. The pitch was slow and it was not that easy, but Shiv was just telling me to relax and not force it. Obviously the the field was up, I was quite relieved and very happy.
“I’ve been working towards it from much before and quite happy to achieve it. My hard work has paid off. It was a big relief.”

Since 2004, only four batsmen under 22 averaged more than Brathwaite in Tests – Alastair Cook, de Villiers, Tamim Iqbal and Nasir Hossain. Four batsmen have passed the 1000-run mark before turning 22; Brathwaite is 163 short, but has 85 days to have a crack.Brathwaite’s case is special in some ways. West Indies have kept him exclusively for the longer format. He is playing his 13th Test and has not played a single T20, even at domestic level. He has played 59 first-class matches and only 14 domestic one-dayers. Some may call him a restricted and overly-cautious batsman, but that’s what Brathwaite is good at, and that’s what West Indies need, as Shivnarine Chanderpaul winds down his career.With so much emphasis on batting aggressively and playing at a higher tempo in modern cricket, it is refreshing to see a young batsman standing his ground and being the batsman he wants to be. From a young age, Brathwaite had decided to bat this way.A few months after his Test debut in 2011, Brathwaite was quite keen to state his target of playing 100 Tests for West Indies.”I want to play at least a 100 Tests,” Brathwaite had said then. “I enjoy being at the crease because once I’m out there, that’s where the runs are scored. I know that if I stay long, bad balls will come and I can capitalise on them. The best feeling is to get a hundred.”He was 18 at the time and had scored a single fifty in three Tests. But just before the series against India in November 2011, he had impressed against Bangladesh with his doggedness. “I used to look for boundaries when I was playing Under-13, but by the next two years I started to buckle down,” he had said. “I took advice from my coach and my father. I started batting long and occupying the crease.”Obviously I want to play T20 cricket in the future, but right now I’m concentrating on scoring runs in Test cricket. As I get older, the forearms will get stronger, in a couple of years maybe. But I want to see myself getting settled in Test cricket first.”This approach could hurt Brathwaite’s prospects in this age of T20 cricket, if he isn’t able to smoothly transition into the shorter formats. But judging by his batting in this Test so far, he seems unflustered by a lot of these temptations.Depending on how West Indies approach the third day, Brathwaite has a major landmark in front of him. He can think about 300, given the pitch and his almost complete control over the Bangladesh’s bowling attack, and if he does get there, he will be the second youngest to do so.

Plays of the day from the first ODI between New Zealand and South Africa in Mount Maunganui

George Binoy21-Oct-2014The quip
Ryan McLaren had bowled a bouncer that reared at Kyle Mills, forcing the batsman to hurriedly swerve his head out of the way, but as he turned in his follow through he saw umpire Chris Gaffaney first call a no-ball and then change his decision to a wide for height. It was a marginal call, and someone – perhaps McLaren – was heard on the stump microphone telling the umpire in jest, “You must have been a batter in your day.” And indeed he was.Fast off the blocks
Quinton de Kock shares the record for being the quickest to 1000 ODI runs and his five catches and a stumping today made him the fastest wicketkeeper to claim 50 dismissals – in 28 matches. One of those six – a joint one-day record – was an incredible catch to dismiss Nathan McCullum. Spotting the short ball down the leg side early, de Kock’s trigger movement was to his left, and once McCullum only managed to glove the pull, he dived full stretch to take the catch with one hand.Quick hands, quick feet
JP Duminy came down the pitch to Nathan McCullum, clipped the spinner towards midwicket, and began to run a single because the ball was certainly going to beat the fielder. Martin Guptill, however, is no ordinary fielder. He sprang to his right, dived and stopped the ball, and threw accurately at the keeper while lying on the ground. Duminy, though, was nimble enough to stop dead, turn around and dive full length to make his ground before Luke Ronchi broke the stumps. A direct hit would have had him.Brendon breaks free
Vernon Philander had suffocated the New Zealand batsmen, his unrelenting good length and ability to seam the ball both ways returning figures of 5.3-1-8-2. Seven of those deliveries were to Brendon McCullum, and the New Zealand captain had not yet scored. To his eighth delivery, McCullum skipped out and swung through the line, clearing the straight boundary. To his ninth, he stayed back and pulled over deep midwicket. Philander’s first spell ended with a beating.The common-sense decision
Dean Brownlie pushed forward at a quicker delivery from Imran Tahir that did not turn much and tried to defend. The moment de Kock caught the ball, he and the bowler went up in concerted appeal, but umpire Gaffaney said not out. On referral, there was a noise and Snicko recorded a faint blip as the ball passed the outside edge. There was no visible deviation, however, and Hotspot showed no mark on the bat. It just felt out, though, and the umpire changed his decision to give Brownlie out.

Bangladesh have made consistently good starts, with bat and ball, during the ODI series against Zimbabwe. The team will hope this unusual state of affairs persists through to next year’s World Cup

Mohammad Isam27-Nov-2014Bangladesh aren’t used to dominating a series the way they have done against Zimbabwe. Consequently, players have found themselves in unfamiliar situations. So unfamiliar that Mashrafe Mortaza, Bangladesh’s ODI captain, reckoned their batting wobble in the second ODI in Chittagong – they went from 158 for 0 to 204 for 6 – came about because their middle-order batsmen were unused to walking in after such a big opening stand.”They don’t normally come out to bat in such a good situation, so maybe they got confused.”To a team with Bangladesh’s limited success, good starts with bat and ball are quite rare. With Tamim Iqbal and Anamul Haque putting on 100-plus opening stands in successive matches, and Mashrafe himself picking up early wickets in all three ODIs so far, it’s understandable Bangladesh have been as puzzled as they have been pleased.Obviously, though, Bangladesh would love such starts on a more regular basis. Six of their ten 100-plus opening stands have helped them win games while they have won 25 out of the 47 matches when their openers have put on 50 or more.It’s also important to note the paths Tamim and Anamul have traced over the last 12 months. Tamim had a wretched 2014 until he scored some runs in the Test series against West Indies. Before that, there was widespread talk of dropping him and Mushfiqur Rahim had to defend his position a number of times. Even after the Dhaka Test, when he made 0 and 5, he was severely criticised. He decided to stop speaking to the media and only broke his silence after scoring 109 in Chittagong, which was preceded by another century in the Khulna Test.Tamim has made 5, 76 and 40 in the three ODIs so far and his batting has been quite different to what we have been used to seeing. There have been moments when he has gone on the attack but he has not stayed in that mood for too long. His strike-rate has been in the 70s and 60s in the last two games, and has preferred to accumulate rather than dazzle.Anamul is Bangladesh’s top ODI run-scorer this year, and sits just above Mushfiqur. He has been unable to hold down a Test place, but is a regular in the ODI and T20 teams, and has repaid the selectors’ faith with regular runs at the top of the order.Anamul scores his runs in a different way in ODIs, and not just differently from Tamim. He also likes to accumulate steadily, and waits for boundary balls rather than picking up a lot of singles. He scores a smaller percentage of his runs in singles than many of Bangladesh’s past or current opening batsmen but he makes it up with patience for the long innings. All three of his ODI hundreds have come off more than 130 deliveries and his 95 against Zimbabwe in the third ODI took him 120 balls.With the ball in hand, Mashrafe has been tight, and has regularly given the team quick wickets. In the first ODI, he changed his pace frequently, bowling plenty of slower balls, slightly quicker than slow off-cutters. He dismissed Brendan Taylor thanks to a Mushfiqur screamer and had Elton Chigumbura hitting straight to cover. Mashrafe complained of not finding proper body balance during the first game but in the second ODI, he bowled quicker and picked up three wickets, beating Vusi Sibanda and Hamilton Masakadza with pace and length and surprising Sikandar Raza with bounce and a bit of movement off the pitch, getting him to pop one to cover off the leading edge.Mashrafe’s spell of 7-2-24-2 in the third ODI was probably his best of the series. Time and again he troubled Taylor with his tight line, always on the stumps. He was lucky to get Masakadza’s wicket, the umpire ruling him caught behind when the ball came off his thigh pad, but his wicket of Vusi Sibanda came thanks to the consistent build-up of pressure that forced the batsman into a false shot.Bangladesh would love these contributions to become more frequent. Mashrafe’s fitness remains a key, leading up to the World Cup. He has had a regular spell in the side after a long time, and has bowled well against India, West Indies and now Zimbabwe. He is likely to remain the ODI captain as well, and gives an already charged-up cricketer – who missed the 2011 World Cup – enough ammunition to give it his all.With the bat, Bangladesh won’t mind the pace at which Tamim and Anamul score their runs, considering that they have a packed middle-order to accelerate later on. For now, what they will want from their openers is to keep giving them good starts. There is no alternative to starting well, not for Bangladesh at least.

Ed Joyce, Paul Stirling, Gary Wilson and Kevin O’Brien talk through their World Cup memories and pick out their stars – past and future – of ODI cricket

Interviews by George Dobell and Melinda Farrell10-Feb-2015What is your earliest World Cup memory?Ed Joyce: I would probably say it’s Mike Gatting’s reverse sweep against Australia in the final in 1987. That would be my earliest memory.Paul Stirling: It’d probably have to be the 2007 one, where Ireland beat Pakistan in the group stage. I just remember that was the one where I watched every ball that was going and obviously Ireland were in it for the first time that I’d seen, so I was catching up on everything we were doing.Gary Wilson: I think it was England not doing very well in the 1999 World Cup. It was in England. I was a Surrey fan growing up, which is a bit weird, because I ended up playing for them and I remember going around to my mate’s house to watch Thorpe and Stewart etc in that World Cup, and I think they were knocked out pretty early.Kevin O’Brien: Probably would have been 1999, I think, in England. Just watching it on TV. It was the first real World Cup where I sat down and watched most of the games. I was very fortunate to go to one of the games, which was held in Clontarf, West Indies v Bangladesh. That was probably the first time I’d seen professional cricket at its best. I was enthralled by it and I just wanted to get to there myself.Who will be the breakthrough player in this World Cup?Joyce: From our team, Andrew Balbirnie. He’s come in over the last couple of months and taken us by storm, and he wasn’t ever a certainty in our 15 for the World Cup even a couple of months ago, so he’d be my pick from our team. I’ll also go for Haris Sohail from Pakistan. I think he’s done well in the past six months and I think he’ll go well in the World Cup.Stirling: In our side we’ve got Andrew Balbirnie, who’s just come up the ranks and he’s just timed his run perfectly. It’s his first World Cup but he’s probably the batsman in the best nick at the minute so hopefully he gets a chance to show what he’s all about.Wilson: I’d love to see one of our lads. I know Paul Stirling is well keen to have a big World Cup. I wouldn’t necessarily say that people don’t know about him but I think he can really put his name forward in this World Cup.O’Brien: From our team I think it might be Andrew Balbirnie. He’s got a great opportunity to score some vital runs for us in the middle of the order. He’s been in great form over the last three or four months and he’s really excited and looking forward to stamping his authority on the pitch. Further afield, there are a couple of young guys in the English squad who have impressed in the last while. I think James Taylor is in good form as well and Moeen Ali, he’s batting and bowling well.Who is the best death bowler you’ve seen?Joyce: I’m going to go with a couple of my Sussex colleagues – Yasir Arafat, or James Kirtley, who’s played for England.Stirling: We haven’t faced Sri Lanka much but obviously watching Lasith Malinga on TV, he gets his yorkers in really well and his slower ball is very dangerous. We seem to miss out on Sri Lanka a few times so hopefully we’ll get them in the knockout stage after the group stage. It’d be nice to face him.Wilson: Brett Lee would have to be up there with the best, I reckon, just from what he’s done.Who are Ireland going to play in the final?EJ: It’s got to be Australia.PS: Australia or South Africa would be the two strong favourites to get there.GW: It’d be great if get to the final. I fancy New Zealand and Australia to both have big tournaments. Obviously New Zealand are playing really well at the minute, and the Aussies in their own backyard.O’Brien: It would be great if it was either Ireland v England or Ireland v Australia.Who is the most destructive batsman you’ve seen?Joyce: It’d have to be Dave Warner.Stirling: I always liked watching Virender Sehwag I’d say. He hits it really well through the off side and always did really well in the big competitions. It’s nice watching him.Wilson: AB de Villiers would probably be the name at the minute.O’Brien: Probably Chris Gayle. I think with the power he has, he’s twice as powerful as I am, and if he gets going it’s going to be quite scary for bowlers in this tournament. The grounds, especially in New Zealand are probably a little bit smaller than here in Australia, so there could be some big sixes.What’s the best World Cup match you can remember?Joyce: I would say Ireland against Pakistan in 2007. I was playing for a different team at that World Cup, and just watching the guys, there was such passion. The whole crowd seemed to be Irish and it was Ireland’s first big victory at a World Cup.Stirling: I can’t really look past the Ireland v England one in 2011, when we won. It’s certainly been the best one I’ve been involved in. Big Kev’s quickest hundred in World Cup history – I can’t really go past that.Wilson: Ireland beating England in the 2011 World Cup in Bangalore is probably my best memory of a World Cup game and one of the best innings you’ll ever see, from Kev. We were almost down and out and he turned that game around. It was brilliant.O’Brien: Any game I’ve played in. I’d say the best game I’ve seen that I haven’t played in would be either the India v England game in Bangalore, the tied game, or else the Australia v South Africa, the run-out in the semi-final in 1999. That was epic TV.Have you ever had a proper job?Joyce: Nope. Not one. Good question, though!Stirling: No proper job yet and hopefully no proper job for a wee while.Wilson: No, I haven’t. I was at school until I was 18 and then I moved straight into county cricket. Actually it was the MCC Young Cricketers.O’Brien: Yeah, I used to work in a restaurant. I was in the kitchen cleaning the pots and pans when I was 16. I really, really enjoyed it and I suppose that’s where I got my love of cooking from. I like to try to cook and experiment in the kitchen. I watch a lot of television cooking shows like .Who is the best finisher?Joyce: I’ll go for Michael Bevan. He’s my sort of era.Stirling: AB de Villiers. I just think he’s one of the best players in the world at the minute.GW: It’s hard to look past Michael Hussey, for Australia. Certainly in my era he’d be considered the best.O’Brien: Probably MS Dhoni. The cool head that he has and in a run chase, if he’s there at the end, India are winning most games.

The New Zealand captain ensured the Wellington crowd were entertained by swing bowling and fielding of a rare standard, and then he sated their desire for aggressive shots too

George Binoy in Wellington20-Feb-20151:57

Trott: The situation suited McCullum

An international cricket ground is a large space. Thousands of cars could be parked on one. Put 11 sprightly men on it, marshalled by an attacking captain with a battery of accurate bowlers to call upon though, the gaps on it can shrink drastically. On Friday against New Zealand, despite the sunshine and crisp air in Wellington, England’s batsmen would have found the Regional Stadium as claustrophobic as a windowless solitary confinement cell.It shrunk when Brendon McCullum batted as well – to the size of a backyard – as he blazed a trail of sixes and fours to complete the demolition of England inside 46 overs. His 77 off 25 balls in the chase – McCullum broke his own record for the fastest World Cup fifty – was the perfect celebration of the way New Zealand had performed to dismiss England for 123, because it ensured the strong and appreciative crowd had seen everything. They had been entertained by swing bowling and fielding of a rare standard, and now they had their fill of aggressive shots. They wouldn’t have complained that all of it was from New Zealand.McCullum was buzzing with adrenaline when he went in to bat, because he had been both fulcrum and spearhead of a bowling and fielding display that was an outlier to the performances of more human teams. On the eve of this match, he had spoken of a blueprint his team followed and it probably has one word on every page – attack, in bold and large print. His team could borrow the country’s tourism department’s catchphrase to trademark the way they played – 100% Pure New Zealand.McCullum was everywhere: sprinting to his right from mid-off and diving to cut off shots before they entered the unmanned expanses beyond the 30-yard circle, flying from short cover and midwicket with arm flung out behind him to pull down balls that had already passed his body, racing from mid-off towards long-on to chase down a well-timed drive just inside the boundary, and even running full-tilt after shots he had no hope stopping.His team-mates followed his example perfectly. Adam Milne ran hard towards third man and dived to save a four, and then pulled off running and full-length diving catch at long-on to dismiss Eoin Morgan – feats that few fast bowlers would have been capable of. Daniel Vettori hurried to get behind a stinging throw from his captain to prevent overthrows. Kane Williamson, Martin Guptill and Corey Anderson threw themselves around at gully and slips. And at one point there were four fielders rushing to back up a throw to Luke Ronchi, and not because his wicketkeeping is dodgy.New Zealand’s astuteness in the field combined with remarkable ground speed made for an incredible spectacle, and each one was met with a roar from the full house.Tim Southee on New Zealand’s fielding – ‘It is an attitude thing that’s led by Brendon himself, the way he throws himself around in the field’•Getty ImagesAnd then there was the captaincy. Whenever a fast bowler was operating McCullum employed his catchers. Sometimes there were four slips in the cordon, sometimes there were two. But there was always at least one. A gully was a near-permanent fixture and men prowled at short cover and midwicket. The swinging ball and unrelenting accuracy from New Zealand’s bowlers kept McCullum’s field in play throughout, and when England met their bitter end, more people were catching than not.That end was hastened when McCullum decided to try and wipe England out as soon as Morgan was dismissed in the 25th over, with his team on 104 for 4. He brought back Tim Southee, and it was a decision that culminated in New Zealand’s premier bowler breaking the national record for the best ODI figures.”Got the [Morgan] wicket, and Brendon thought it was a chance to attack and put the foot down,” Southee said, after finishing with 7 for 33. “It’s one of those moves – he makes the play, it comes off, and it couldn’t have been a better move.”Southee added that New Zealand’s approach began with their captain. “We’ve seen over the last … however long Brendon has been in charge, he’s an aggressive captain and the way he plays his cricket is aggressive,” he said. “As bowlers that gives you the confidence to go out knowing the captain is right in behind you with setting these attacking fields.”Our fielding, it’s an attitude. We’ve prided ourselves on being one of the best fielding sides in the world for a number of years now. It is an attitude thing that’s led by Brendon himself, the way he throws himself around in the field. And if he’s doing that then it sets the standard for the rest of the team to follow.”At no stage of their innings did England have an inch of breathing room and Morgan, looking rather shell-shocked, gave New Zealand their due. “Probably the best bowling display we’ve come across since we’ve been down this side of the world, which says a lot considering we played against Australia,” he said. “But today we couldn’t cope with it.”If New Zealand are able to rev themselves up to such a gear against Australia a week from now in Auckland, the tournament favourites will have challenges to cope with it too.

Weekend trips out of Brisbane will take you to surfing paradises and shipwrecks. And watch out for hippies

Will Macpherson08-Feb-2015The state of Queensland is vast. There’s no two ways about it. It takes something ridiculous like 20 hours to drive from Brisbane or the Gold Coast at the southern end up to Cairns, which is still another 24 hours from Jardine River up top. Even flying takes more than two hours.Fortunately, however, when visiting Brisbane for the World Cup, big needn’t mean unmanageable. Here are three trips – all a manageable distance from the state capital. The World Cup games at the Gabba have been socially spaced four days apart, so hire a car (or hop on a bus) and spend a night or two in these spots. Soak up the sun and revel in the opportunity to enjoy the sea air, sea breeze and seafood.Noosa
First, we’re heading 130km north of Brisbane, to Noosa. This is where Aussies holiday: well-to-do Brisbanians have houses and many cruise up on the weekend all year round. The name Noosa comes from the Aboriginal word , meaning shadow, and until the 1980s there weren’t too many folk casting shadows alongside the grand conifers that surround the town and give it its name. Before then, it was a quiet hangout for surfers, hippies and a handful of locals, and was reachable only by dirt track. How times have changed.Now Noosa is a smart, sprawling holiday destination of expensive restaurants and cute boutiques. Hastings Street, which runs parallel to the water between the natural glories of Noosa National Park (more of which later) and Noosa Spit Recreation Reserve is the centre and symbol of the town’s redevelopment – a flash, low-rise, palm-lined boardwalk of a street that you need to ready your credit card for. Stunning luxury apartments are rife; some of the grub – particularly the shell-fish: Moreton Bay bugs and oysters (try Sails Restaurant) – is second to none; and the people all seem smart, well-coiffed, friendly and active. A wander through town receives a veritable volley of “g’days”.The answer to why this transformation has happened lies in Noosa’s natural resources. The town that has emerged is essentially a meeting of three or four smaller neighbourhoods with lovely creeks and little lakes emerging all over the place. The National Park is stunning; beaten paths running through thick woodland with the sea coming into view, the sound of rosellas singing overhead and the sight of koalas slacking in gum trees. The ocean is perfectly blue, whether viewed from on high on the Park’s rocks or up close from one of the dreamy, creamy beaches, many of which have handy surf too. If you’re lucky you’ll catch a glimpse of a whale or a turtle, and there are enough dolphins to go round. Even the drive up from Brisbane, especially if you take the short detour through the Glass House Mountains, is utterly glorious. On arrival, Noosa Flashpackers is an excellent budget accommodation option, while Alaya Verde is a rather more expensive choice but an extremely comfortable stay. Bistro C was the best coffee I sipped, and I had an excellent breakfast too, and Season has a beautiful beach view. For dinner, grab fish and chips and eat on the beach.Noosa’s development is tasteful and classy, big on beauty, short of the gauche high-rises of Gold Coast and Surfer’s Paradise, and not entrenched on the East Coast backpacker route. As a result, it’s no party town – the best way to enjoy it is with early mornings and early nights, sundowners, swimming and seafood, slowing down and settling in. Noosa is little known outside of Australia and part of its curious glory unquestionably comes in its reputation as a little mature, bookish and quiet. Noosa may have been reborn but it has certainly not been ruined.A flock of great-crested terns at Fraser Island•UniversalImagesGroupFraser Island
The other two locations on this list are about flexibility, about setting your own agenda and indulging in a little “you time”. But a trip to Fraser Island is done best on a tour, where you’re looked after. You can do such a tour in high-end splendour or on a budget as a backpacker, for just a single night or as long as you like. There are eco-friendly resorts, campsites, self-contained villas, hotels and specific tour accommodation. For the best backpacker packages try Cool Dingo, where you’ll zoom around the island in a 4×4 and stay in cute lodges. If you’re looking for high-end luxury, Kingfisher Bay Eco Resort & Village is the island’s most luxurious place to stay.Fraser can be accessed via boat from Hervey Bay (ferry 30 mins) or, more conveniently from Brisbane, beautiful Rainbow Beach (ferry 10 mins), which is about two hours north of Brisbane. You can take your own car to Fraser, but it’ll need to be sturdy enough to deal with rough terrain.Fraser’s a place that is different in many other senses, too. It’s unique, in that it’s the world’s largest sand island and one of only four World Heritage sites in Australia, alongside Uluru, the Great Barrier Reef and Kakudu. The island is ringed by white beaches (including the famous 75-mile one that runs the length of the east side), is full of thick woodland, and dotted with over 100 freshwater lakes. The wildlife is varied, with 354 species of birds (including 18 birds of prey), snakes and dingoes (the only pedigree ones left) on land, and turtles, whales, dugongs, stingrays and sharks in the waters around.The island’s Bushwalks are well-marked and varied and take you through lush rainforest and past all sorts of flora and fauna, tall trees and wide trunks. Keep your eye out for that wildlife, though. The beaches are spectacular, but due to the presence of those sharks, it’s not advisable to swim, so head to the lakes, which are of varying size and depth and are always nice and warm (and safe). You can also swim at stunning Champagne Pools, drive up and down beach and check out the spectacular shipwreck. The views out onto the ocean and its wildlife from Indian Heads are second only to one: the vantage point you get from a plane. A 15-minute flight is not the price you’d expect ($75) and offers spectacular views of the island’s lakes and the ocean’s wildlife from above.Byron Bay
Finally we’re headed south and across the New South Wales border to Byron Bay. It’s known as surfing’s promised land and the easternmost point of Australia and for the beautiful lighthouse that marks the headland at that point. It’s a place that people go to rest and to heal, to chill out and wind down. It’s known for its strong links to hippie culture – dreadlocks, VW campers, tie-dye, and perhaps even a whiff of marijuana.People relax at Byron Bay beach•Getty ImagesIn 2015, Byron Bay has all of those things. The surf is great and the sun and sand are wonderful too. The locals will tell you the best beaches to catch the surf are the Wreck, the Pass and Belongil Beach, while Wategoes is a great place to paddleboard. The lighthouse and the walk up to it are beautiful, and the views afforded at the top out onto the vast expanse of the Pacific are as special as any in Australia. Again, dolphin and whale sightings are two-a-penny when the season fits.The hippies are in town, sitting out back of their campers, their wind chimes ringing away, sipping beer and braiding their hair. And the place is crawling with backpackers. All of the above and its reputation for the easy life and wild social scene make Byron Bay arguably the crucial stop on the East Coast pilgrimage from Cairns to Sydney (or the other way).But there’s much more besides. Byron has undergone a peculiar rural gentrification. It still feels a tiny town, but it’s jam-packed; there are heaps of hostels and campers but amazing apartments and high-end hotels and B&Bs too; fine dining and a typically trendy coffee scene have landed. The people are a mix of cashed-up retirees, pure hippies, holidaying city types and travellers from all over the world. The charm, thankfully, hasn’t been lost.For brunch, Byron’s favourite meal, I headed to the brilliant Bay Leaf Café, an open, wedge-shaped place with excellent, fresh food and good coffee, and Dip and its huge servings. The Coffee Doc and The Roadhouse are good for caffeine-filled pit-stops. In the evening, One One One provides a café feel and restaurant-quality food, which is just right in Byron. Try Byron Bay Brewing Company for a little alcohol education, top beer and a relaxed bar.Explore, too. The beautiful beaches aren’t just in the town, so head up and down the coast. Further inland has some fantastical landscape – a world of parched green dales, rainforest and waterfalls. Many of the backpackers will head to the commune-style town of Nimbin in a multi-coloured van to smoke pot, play hippie and Instagram it all at the end. Skip Nimbin – hop on a public bus and try Bangalow instead. There’s a wonderful monthly market in this classic, sloped, 19th century one-street township. It’s all verandahs, diddy shops and quaint eateries: a great place to just watch the world go by ever so slowly, to dine al fresco and to bury your head in a book.

When R Ashwin was actually onto something, however briefly, the other end mattered. If only India can sort out the other end, all the runs that Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been scoring might amount to something

Sidharth Monga at the SCG09-Jan-20154:50

Agarkar: The best Ashwin has looked overseas

On a day that he became the third-fastest Test player to the double of 100 wickets and 1000 runs, R Ashwin was left an unsatisfied man. He came in at the early fall of Virat Kohli, put his head down to bat for close to three hours to take India to what seemed like safety, then he threatened with the new ball, but saw his colleagues release all the pressure and leave the visitors with a tough task on a pitch that could pose challenges on the final day.This was Ashwin’s slowest innings of 30 or more, which ate into the time for Australia to force a result, only India gave away 251 runs in 40 overs, easily the worst run-rate the team has conceded in all the Tests that he has played. Ashwin was pleased with his own effort with the bat and saw some promise when one spun sharply to get David Warner in the second over of Australia’s innings. But India lost it after that.On a pitch that has been slow, where the ball is turning as much as it did for Ashwin, there is no way a side should be conceding more than six an over over 40 overs and India will now have to bat longer than they might prefer to save this Test, although they have the ability to threaten like in Adelaide.”We definitely leaked a lot more runs than we would have liked to have,” Ashwin said. “They played a few good shots, we started off pretty poorly with the new ball as well. Definitely the game could have been different. The way we applied pressure, the way the ball was spinning, the way it was coming out for me, it could have been a lot different. Having said that, it is still pretty decently poised. They definitely have an ace up, but we will have to see how it goes. We batted pretty well in Adelaide. When I batted there weren’t many devils in the wicket. I definitely found it a little hard to score. It’s a new-ball wicket.”Even though Ashwin asked questions with the new ball, there was no pressure from the other end. With no swing or seam, Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s gentle pace was easy to hit, and Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav were their usual profligate selves. Yadav, going for 45 that included 10 boundaries, even registered the worst economy rate ever for a bowler who has bowled a minimum of three overs in an innings. In his last over, he showed total lack of application by bowling short when the field had been set to protect the off-side boundary down the ground.The pressure Ashwin built being released so regularly did not please him too much. “When what you have been working on, and what efforts you have put in, when it pays off in numbers, it feels heartening,” he said. “Yes genuinely I thought this could be a chance where I could create something for the team. Ideally, I would have liked a little bit more control from the other side. It would have been nice. But they also took us on. I mean you have to give credit to them. They batted very positively.”They took us on. A few shots were played. We started pretty poorly with the new ball. We have to admit it. When we picked up wickets, we kept on leaking 15-16 runs from the other end. That wasn’t helping the cause. That’s gone now. You have to look forward. We put ourselves in a decent situation this Test after batting well, but we will have to see how it goes. Even in Adelaide it was similar. We will see how they take this up.”Ashwin’s seemingly mild annoyance at the support cast now that the pitch was doing tricks for him was at odds with his reaction towards them throughout the series. In Melbourne, when only he and Ishant Sharma had maintained any sort of pressure, Ashwin had said, “It’s too far-fetched for me to think along those lines. I can only think what best I can offer the team. At the end of the day you can’t point a finger at anybody else that he went wrong. It is a team game.”When asked in Brisbane what difference it made for him bowling alongside two genuinely quick bowlers, Ashwin had said: “As far as I was concerned, I had my focus very sharp. It really didn’t matter what was happening at the other end. Not from the point of view of the team’s cause. From my perspective, whatever happened at the other end I would have forgotten and gone about my job. Having faced the music ourselves, it is a pleasure actually to see the opposition also face similar kind of music.”When Ashwin was actually onto something, however briefly, the other end mattered. If only India can sort out the other end, all the runs that Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane have been scoring might amount to something.

With three wins and another giant scalp in the bag, it was Ireland’s best World Cup outing yet, but the team will still be hurting not to have pushed on and reached the quarter-finals

Daniel Brettig16-Mar-20157:49

#politeenquiries: Swan Song

How their tournament panned out
Net run rate tipped Ireland out of the quarter-finals behind West Indies, a team they had already beaten. They won three matches, improving on the two in 2011, and were in contention for the knockouts right up until the end of the final match of the pool phase, placing them ahead of England, Zimbabwe, Afghanistan, UAE and Scotland. When Ireland’s feisty captain William Porterfield was asked whether the ICC’s plans to shrink the World Cup to 10 teams was justified by their elimination, he could have been forgiven for saying “We were in it longer than England, weren’t we?”That being said, Ireland will look back on the 2015 event with disappointment. A confident victory over the West Indies seemed to indicate they were ready to push on to the quarter-finals, but vast margins of defeats against India and South Africa ultimately cost them the precious net run-rate mileage that allowed the Caribbean team to squeeze in ahead of them. These results exposed the limitations of the team, namely the strength of their bowling attack, but in doing so also shed light upon the rather inequitable ways in which these limitations have been caused to exist and allowed to compound.There will also be some regret about the way several members of Ireland’s team have been unable to go on from the promising signs they showed in 2011. The likes of Kevin O’Brien, George Dockrell and Paul Stirling are all significant talents, but their displays in Australia represented a downturn on what had been suggested they could offer four years before. This will grate with all of them.The high point
It was an achievement in itself that Ireland saw off West Indies so comfortably in their opening match, but the high point was arguably the feeling in the hours and days that followed that Ireland would be well worth their place in the quarter-finals should they make it that far. It was a progression from the good natured but ever so patronising “plucky Ireland” headlines that surrounded the team in 2007 and 2011. This would be reflected in the way South Africa and India spared no effort in ensuring they beat the Irish, reflecting that with greater respect comes greater expectation.and the low
Near identical middle-order collapses against India and Pakistan after batting first left Ireland’s bowlers without enough runs to pressure their subcontinental opposition and contributed to the inferior net run-rate that eventually helped West Indies progress. Ireland’s penchant for chasing – except when presented with a task as gargantuan as that set by South Africa – seemed to affect them in each match, as a fog of indecision and aimlessness descended on batsmen often far more decisive when knowing what their target will be. Usually, Ireland give themselves the best chance of being competitive, but that could not be said of the days against India or Pakistan.Top of the class
Irrespective of what happens to the format in 2019, Ed Joyce was probably playing his final World Cup, and went out with a string of stylish innings that pleased aesthetes as well as Irish supporters. His 84 against West Indies and 112 versus Zimbabwe were displays that will be well remembered by the spectators present, while also serving as a template for the kind of batting Ireland will wish to foster in future generations. Watching on television, another left-hander, Eoin Morgan, may well have pondered if he can eventually choose to finish off in Ireland after playing for England. Through the class of his stroke-play, Joyce made it look an alluring prospect.What we learnt about Ireland
If allowed to progress and grow at a reasonable rate, not hemmed in by the two-speed economy of Full Members and Associates, Ireland can be expected to learn from 2015 and go on to contend for progression to deeper phases of the tournament in 2019. But if left to whither on the vine, as it happened to some degree anyway between 2011 and 2015 via a gross shortage of bilateral fixtures against the world’s top tier, Ireland will continue to lose talented players to England. Add Boyd Rankin and Eoin Morgan to Ireland’s 2015 XI and they are not just quarter-finalists, but possible entrants in the semis as well.What they learnt from the World Cup
However they can, Ireland must find a way to develop an extra edge to their pace attack – the height and speed lost with Rankin has not been replaced. Porterfield has noted that it is impossible to simply summon such resources from nowhere, and this tournament saw a future investment in the form of selection for Peter Chase and Craig Young. Each need to be handled carefully to extract their best, and some were surprised to see Young not selected for any of the six matches. It is in adding another few yards of pace that Ireland will make their next step on the field, even as the political machinations go on in the board rooms to ensure they have the best chance of doing so.

Talking points from the match between Kings XI Punjab and Rajasthan Royals in Pune

Amol Karhadkar in Pune10-Apr-2015Smith the captain
Shane Watson has been handed the responsibility of leading Rajasthan Royals to IPL glory this time. But it was another World champion Australian that walked out for the toss. Steven Smith revealed soon that Watson had been ruled out due to a “bruised hip”.For more than a year now, Smith has hardly put a foot wrong on a cricket field all over the world. And he continued in the same vein on Friday. First, his free-flowing 33 off 23 gave the much-needed impetus to the Royals innings. And then while defending a target that wasn’t out of reach by any means, Smith the captain displayed his acumen with his clever bowling changes.Despite it being an away game for his team, Smith appeared to be at home. After all, he had played his first two seasons in the IPL with Pune Warriors. And it was at the same ground that he had made his captaincy debut in the IPL almost three years ago.Royals buck the trend
More often than not, IPL teams tend to utilise most of their overseas players in the batting department. With Twenty20 being more about batting exploits, a majority of matches have seen franchises preferring three of their maximum four overseas players in the XI as batsmen. But Royals did something different.Barring stand-in captain Smith, the overseas cricketers in their XI were bowlers. Of course the fact that James Faulkner is a genuine allrounder and Chris Morris is a useful bat helped their team selection. But the decision was indeed brave, and it paid rich dividends as all the three overseas bowlers played a huge role in restricting the fancied Kings XI Punjab batting line-up to a sub-140 total.From being the low-cost team on the IPL circuit to a unit that has relied more on unknown domestic talent, Royals have set many trends in the first seven editions. Will this be a new trend for others to follow?Kings XI pacers impress
So dominating was the Kings XI batting unit in IPL 2014 that their fast bowlers’ efforts didn’t really get the credit they deserved. Kings XI possess some of the best Indian seamers on their roster. And Sandeep Sharma and Anureet Singh justified their billing by giving their team a solid start in the opener. Sandeep did a Morne Morkel of the opening IPL night, bowling four economical and impressive overs on the trot upfront. Anureet, on the other hand, had a tougher task of bowling two overs at the start and as many at the death. Taking this into account, his figures of 3 for 23 outdid all other bowlers on the night.Anureet even outshone Mitchell Johnson. Not that the Australian left-armer had a forgettable outing. Before suffering from Faulkner’s onslaught, Johnson had the Royals batsmen dancing to his tunes. He had Stuart Binny all at sea in his opening over before dismissing him and claiming the big scalp of Smith within four balls in his next over.Assault on Axar
Axar Patel was the find of the last season. He stifled the opposition batsmen so successfully during his maiden IPL season that he emerged as one of the most economical bowlers in the tournament’s history. That paved the way for him to not just earn an India cap but also be included in the squad for the World Cup.The Royals batsmen appeared to make a conscious effort to go after the left-arm spinner. The first ball Axar bowled, Smith charged down the wicket to flick it between mid-on and midwicket for a four. Next ball, Smith danced down again and hit him straight down the ground for a four. He missed out next ball but once he took a single, Karun Nair sent Axar over the ropes through cow corner. Though Axar foxed Karun with an arm ball, Royals continued to make a conscious assault. Axar was eventually taken for 34 off four overs.That man Faulkner
Just like Smith, Faulkner cannot get anything wrong on the field at the moment, fitness permitting. He continued his World Cup form without any fuss to help Royals open their IPL campaign in style. Had it not been for his sterling 33-ball 46, Royals wouldn’t have been able to post a 160-plus total. Walking in to bat with Royals in trouble at 75 for five in the 11th over, Faulkner changed the course of the game with partnerships of 51 and 34 with IPL debutant Deepak Hooda and Morris.And then with the ball in his hands, Faulkner did wonders yet again. All his three dismissals were his Australia team-mates, which took the fizz out of the game and turned it into a lopsided affair. If Faulkner continues in the same vein, Royals may well have many more one-sided victories this year.

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Apr-2015England used a review to the first ball of the day, which was turned down, but kept the pressure on in the opening exchanges•Getty ImagesMarlon Samuels was made to wait a long time in the 90s but eventually went through to a battling century, his seventh in Tests•Getty ImagesBut James Anderson picked up Samuels – and gave him a little send off – with the second new ball as England fought back with a run of wickets•AFPStuart Broad finished with four wickets as West Indies slid from 223 for 5 to 247 for 9•AFPBut there was another riposte to come from the hosts as Shannon Gabriel and Devendra Bishoo put on a half-century stand for the final wicket to lift West Indies to 299•Ricardo Mazalan/Associated PressEngland had 30 overs to face after tea and Alastair Cook began well, moving up to second in the England Test run-scoring table. He and Jonathan Trott played comfortably to the close•Getty Images