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Virat Kohli says neither team would have enjoyed batting on the slow surface, especially in a T20 contest

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Mar-20191:49

Surprised by amount of turn on Chepauk pitch – Vikram Solanki

MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli expressed dissatisfaction with the MA Chidambaram Stadium pitch on which defending champions and hosts Chennai Super Kings won the IPL 2019 opener in a low-scoring contest. Despite the seven-wicket win, Dhoni said the pitch was “too slow” while Kohli said he did not enjoy what was a “scrappy start” to the IPL on a surface which was a weary, bald turner. Incidentally, the pitch will also host the tournament final, which is likely to be played on May 12 in Chennai.

‘No one complains when people score 170-180’ – Harbhajan

“See, it was a difficult pitch to bat on but it wasn’t like it was unplayable. We’re so used to watching matches on good wickets where no one complains when people score 170-180. But if it spins or seams a little, everyone has a problem, saying why is this happening? No one has a problem with why so many runs are being made. So people actually forget that the bowler also has a job in cricket. Batsmen should struggle once in a while so that they understand that it should be a battle of bat and ball. In some places, yes, they played some rash shots as well. It was not that this was a 70 runs wicket. You’ll get at least 120 if you apply yourself.”

“I never expected the wicket to play how it actually played,” Dhoni told Sanjay Manjrekar during the post-match presentation. “It was too slow.” When asked by Manjrekar if he was unhappy with the surface, Dhoni said it needed to be better. “Definitely it needs to be a lot better than where it is right now. Even with the dew, it was still turning a bit. It needs to be (more) high scoring. Something like 140-150 is something you are looking at; 80, 90, 100 or 120 is very low scoring. If you saw how the wicket played and if you have genuine spinners in your (bowling) attack it will be very difficult to score runs. So the wicket needs to get much better than where how it is now.”Of the 13 wickets to fall in the match, ten were bagged by the spinners. Virtually every batsman was beaten by the gripping and slow surface, which also had good bounce.While Kohli didn’t offer excuses for the defeat, he didn’t hide his disappointment with the track, saying it wasn’t the right sort for T20 cricket. “The good thing is a game like this out of the way rather than having it at a very important stage in the tournament,” Kohli told Ian Bishop after the match. “No one thought the wicket’s going to play the way it played. We thought somewhere 140-150 would be an ideal score because of the dew factor later on. But I don’t think either of the team would have enjoyed that kind of a pitch, especially in T20 cricket where guys want to get runs and put the runs on the board or chase scores down.”If that was 100-110 run game would’ve been very close. It was a scrappy sort of a start to the league. That is what you get when you have a wicket like that. I don’t think either team had control over it. The pitch was under the covers for four days.”Even Ambati Rayudu, whose watchful 28 (the second-highest score on the day) guided the Super Kings to victory, was surprised by the nature of the pitch, which he described to Bishop as more suited to a first-class match. “Definitely a tough wicket. It was pretty easy in the end, but if they had another 40-50 runs it would have been really tough. It was more like playing in a four-day game because the wicket was such.”Dhoni said the uncertainty over how the surface would behave – even though Super Kings had played a practice match on it leading into the IPL opener – was the main reason he chose to bowl after winning the toss. The Super Kings captain said the pitch reminded him of the re-laid surfaces at the venue during the 2011 Champions League T20, where the average score hovered below the 150-run mark. Super Kings had won the IPL that year but failed to make the knockouts in the CLT20. “It just reminded me of the 2011 Champions League,” Dhoni said. “We had won IPL. We had a very good season. We came back. The wicket got re-laid and all of a sudden we found it very difficult. If the wicket stays like this, it will be difficult for us also.”We were not really sure about the wicket. We played a practice game on the same wicket and it wasn’t turning so much. It was a slightly high-scoring game. Yes, practice game, there is a tendency normally you will score 30 runs more than what you will in a proper game.”

The offspinner took 4 for 11 in her six overs to dismiss the hosts for their second-lowest total in ODI cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff06-May-2019
Offspinner Sana Mir claimed 4 for 11 in her six overs to dismiss South Africa women for 63 – their second-lowest total in ODI cricket. Mir took the new ball alongside 17-year-old medium-pacer Fatima Sana and removed four of South Africa’s top five inside eight overs. There would be no way back for the hosts in Potchefstroom.That they passed fifty was down to Mignon du Preez (18) and Chloe Tryon (21). Those two were the only South Africa batsmen to reach double figures in an innings that lasted all of 22.5 overs. Nashra Sandhu and Nida Dar backed up Mir by picking up two wickets each. Chasing a slim target, Pakistan women got home with eight wickets and 212 balls to spare. This was Pakistan women’s biggest ODI victory in terms of balls remaining.Mir had set the foundation for the win by taking the wickets of opener Laura Wolvaardt and captain Sune Luus in her first over. She missed the hat-trick, but triggered a terminal slide.Marizanne Kapp, playing her 100th ODI, struck early for South Africa, as did Shabnim Ismail, but Javeria Khan and captain Bismah Maroof made light work of the chase with an unbroken 38-run stand – the highest in the match.

Only 49 overs possible as Miles Hammond joins captain in solid opening stand

ECB Reporters Network23-Jun-2019Chris Dent took his run tally in his last three Specsavers County Championship innings to 317 with an unbeaten 82 on the opening day of Gloucestershire’s match against Glamorgan at Bristol.The skipper followed up scores of 59 against Sussex and 176 against Leicestershire with another fluent half-century as his side reached 168 for 1 from 49 overs before rain intervened.Miles Hammond contributed 61 to an opening stand of 127 with Dent after an uncontested toss, Glamorgan’s bowlers erring in line and length on a green pitch.The visitors improved in the afternoon session and captain David Lloyd had Hammond caught at point. But Gloucestershire had moved into a strong position when the weather closed in.Umpires Rob Bailey and Ulhas Ghande decided on an early tea at 3.10pm and hopes of a resumption were frustrated by persistent light drizzle. Play was eventually abandoned for the day at 5.35pm.There looked to be something in the pitch for the seamers in the early overs, but Glamorgan bowled too short and wide to capitalise.Lloyd used six different bowlers in the opening hour and a half, including two spinners, without being able to force a breakthrough.When he brought himself on immediately after lunch, it was a seventh option. Hammond, who had reached a 72-ball half-century played a poor shot to direct a catch straight at Marnus Labuschagne.Glamorgan did not help their cause by spilling two slip chances, Lloyd giving Dent a reprieve on 58 and Nic Selman dropping James Bracey on 13, both off Marchant de Lange.Bracey has been prolific against Glamorgan during his short career and was poised menacingly on 21 when the rain came.Dent had gone to fifty off 64 balls, with eight fours, and looked increasingly at ease. By stumps he and Bracey had added 41 to build on Gloucestershire’s good start.Greater accuracy saw Glamorgan’s bowlers stem the run-rate after lunch, with Dent and Bracey having to work for their runs.The two left-handers took few risks and, while occasionally hurried by de Lange, displayed solid technique.Michael Hogan was the most economical Glamorgan bowler, conceding 30 runs from his 14 overs.

Women’s T20 Challenger gets extra matches with the T20 World Cup slated for February-March in Australia

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jul-2019The Ranji Trophy is set to spill over into March, following the BCCI’s decision to advance the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic T20 competition, prior to the IPL auction, which is generally held in December-January. As per the fixtures released for the 2019-20 season, the Ranji Trophy will begin on December 9, with the final slated from March 9, 2020. The Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, meanwhile, will run from November 8 to December 1.At the conclave for domestic captains and coaches held in May, several captains were unhappy that the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was being conducted after the IPL auction. They were of the opinion the existing schedule not only denied players opportunities to impress IPL talent scouts but also robbed the tournament of its relevance. The timing of some of these matches, too, raised a few eyebrows.The much-debated Duleep Trophy, which was also being re-looked at for the lack of context, will kick-start the domestic season in the same format, running from August 17 to September 8. However, it’s yet to be decided if the pink ball trial will continue at the tournament, as has been the case over the last three seasons.The limited-overs competitions – the Vijay Hazare Trophy (50 overs), Deodhar Trophy (50 overs) and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (T20s) – will follow the Duleep Trophy, before the first-class season begins.The women’s calendar, too, has no surprise additions, despite the call from senior state captains and coaches to include an additional inter-zonal 50-overs competition besides the existing 50-overs inter-state tournament. This, they felt at the time, would provide more match-time and help widen their talent pool.However, with the Women’s T20 World Cup in mind, the board has introduced the T20 Challenger Trophy in a new format, with each side playing the other two over two rounds followed by a final. In the previous avatar, each team played the other two over one round followed by the final.The tweaked format could help the national selectors scout players for the national side that will then head to Australia for a T20I tri-series, also including England, which begins on January 31. This tournament will also serve as the team’s build-up to the T20 World Cup, also to be held in Australia, from February 21 to March 8.

Batsman says England “didn’t play well enough for long enough” at Edgbaston but denies that the defeat served as a wake-up call

Matt Roller at Lord's10-Aug-2019Jos Buttler has insisted there is no need for England to panic after their defeat in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston, and denied the loss would serve as a wake-up call.Despite having Australia 122 for 8 in their first innings, England fell to a 251-run loss in Birmingham, with a final-innings capitulation that might have been expected to bring about wholesale changes.But they are likely to make only two changes at Lord’s, one of them injury-enforced, with Jofra Archer and Jack Leach primed to replaced James Anderson and Moeen Ali.”We’re one-nil down, but there’s four matches to go in the series,” said Buttler, speaking at a Kookaburra event at Lord’s. “Test cricket is hard – you’re playing against the best players in the world.”If you’re not good enough for long enough, then you’re not going to win the game. But we’ve got a fantastic team … nothing really changes. We’ve lost that game, but we come here with a lot of excitement and belief that we’re a good enough side to win this Test and make it one-all.”Despite the heavy margin of defeat, there were positives for England in their win, not least the first 45 overs of Australia’s first innings, and Rory Burns’ maiden hundred.And Buttler emphasised that England had not been completely outplayed from first to last at Edgbaston.”My view is we didn’t play well enough for long enough, really,” he said. “The first couple of days especially, we played a lot of really good cricket, and got in a really good position. Any time you lose James Anderson is a huge moment in the game, isn’t it?”Not being able to take those two wickets quicker [from 122 for 8] was obviously a huge part of the game. Steve Smith played an excellent innings. That’s Test cricket – you’re playing against great players.”We know how Test cricket generally happens in England: there can be periods of the game that tend to meander along and then periods that happen very fast. If you look back to the India series [last summer], the big moments in those games we managed to get out on the right side and play well – that will be the same throughout this series.”Buttler struggled with the bat at Edgbaston, as he was dismissed twice by Pat Cummins for single-figure scores, but says he feels he is “not far” from his best form.”I’ve felt in good form for 18 months or so. I feel like I’m the best version of myself that I’ve ever been, so I take a lot of faith from that. I’ll prepare well, and give myself the best chance.”Several of England’s World Cup winners have opened up about the emotional comedown after the drama of the final, with Ben Stokes and Liam Plunkett both revealing that they had struggled in the days immediately after.And while Buttler hinted at having similar thoughts, he said it was important to “accept your emotions” to come to terms with the squad’s achievement.”A lot of people invested a lot into the World Cup, not just in the tournament but in the time before. Obviously people had never experienced that before [but] sport always moves on, doesn’t it. Certainly for me it was nice to have a bit of time away to let what happened sink in and get energised for the next challenge.”Buttler said it was important that England’s World Cup winner “accept their emotions”•Getty Images

Buttler knows the two men likely to come into the England team better than most – he has spent the last two IPL seasons in the same squad as Archer, and first played with Leach for Taunton Deane under 11s – and expects both of them to succeed.”I’m excited for [Leach],” he said. “He’s worked very hard to be in the position he’s got himself into. He’ll come in and he’s a great person to bring into the team. He brings a lot of energy, a lot of skill with the ball, and he’ll be excited for the challenge. I’m sure he’ll be looking forward to batting at Lord’s again.”Archer proved his match fitness by bowling 31 overs for Sussex’s seconds this week, and after ending the World Cup as England’s leading wicket-taker, it might be expected that there would be big expectations on his shoulders.ALSO READ: Archer bowls long spells for Sussex seconds to prove Ashes fitnessBut Buttler played those down, and suggested that Archer would be able to shut out any outside noise. “Certainly not from within, there’s no big expectations on him,” he said, “but he tends to cope with those things quite well.”He’s a pretty laid-back character who has an immense trust in his game, so if he gets his chance I expected him to perform really well.”Buttler also played down the decision to give the vice-captaincy back to Stokes. Buttler had taken on the role last summer ahead of the India series, but said it had always been the plan to relinquish it when Stokes was ready.”I enjoyed it. They said to me in time they’d like Ben to do the role again when he can, so I was very aware that was the situation, and the natural thing to happen.”It doesn’t really change a lot for me: I’m always willing to offer advice and I’m there if Joe wants to talk to me as are a lot of other players in the team as well who aren’t vice-captain. It doesn’t change a lot.”

The former India captain will join the 106 Territorial Army Battalion (Para) and stay with them from July 31 to August 15

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Jul-2019MS Dhoni’s version of down time after a World Cup campaign that took him and his team very nearly to the final itself is to spend a fortnight with the Indian territorial army, an auxiliary unit of the Indian army.The 38-year old wicketkeeper had expressed his unavailability for the tour of West Indies next month and will instead head to the Kashmir Valley. There, he will join the 106 Territorial Army Battalion (Para) and stay with them from July 31 to August 15.”As requested by the officer and approved by Army Headquarters, he will be performing duties of patrolling among other such activities and would be staying with the troops,” a spokesperson for the Indian Army said.Dhoni, an honourary Lieutenant Colonel, was even seen playing India’s first World Cup game with gloves that carried a symbol similar to his regiment until the ICC requested that he remove it because it was against protocol.There has been speculation over how long Dhoni will continue to play cricket for India. On Sunday, when picking the squads for the Caribbean tour, chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said that there were plans in place to groom his successor but insisted that a legendary player like him knows when to retire.

Lancashire go into their quarter-final at Chester-le-Street as favourites, but will be wary of an in-form Essex side

Matt Roller03-Sep-2019Since the competition changed to a 14-match group stage in 2014, no team has ever qualified for the quarter-finals of the T20 Blast winning as few as five games, but a combination of bad weather and a miraculous set of results have seen Essex manage just that.They go into Wednesday’s quarter-final at Chester-le-Street against Lancashire as outsiders – not least with Mohammad Amir missing having returned to Pakistan – but after three wins and a tie in their last four games, are confident of causing an upset.Before Friday’s win against Kent, captain Simon Harmer told ESPNcricinfo that the tournament had been “frustrating and challenging” for his side, as he tried to “slowly change the mindset and get players to buy in”.One man who he has struggled to convince of his methods is Ravi Bopara, who missed two games earlier in the tournament after what he labelled “some very tough conversations” about his batting position.Of Bopara’s 141 innings in T20 cricket for Essex, only 17 have come at number six of lower, and eight of those have been in this year’s competition.”It’s probably why I got left out in those couple of games earlier in the tournament,” Bopara said. “And if I’m brutally honest, I’m still not happy down there.”But, it’s the role I’ve been given, I’ll give my very best, and hopefully we’ll win games – that’s all I can do.”If Bopara is unconvinced of the logic behind the call – and after liking a tweet from his agent saying “surely you want your best players to face more deliveries”, it seems clear that he is – then it has certainly paid off thus far.His strike-rate 10 balls into an innings over the past three seasons for Essex is only 112.92, but unbeaten knocks of 70 off 35 and 47 off 27 in the must-win games against Surrey and Kent last week demonstrated his ability to ‘catch up’ after slow starts. Ultimately, those innings were what dragged them through to the knockouts.And since 2017, Bopara’s record for Essex suggests that he is much more effective against seamers than against spinners: he has scored at 9.80 runs per over against pace, compared to 7.43 against spin in that time period, lending support to the idea that holding him back for the end of an innings works as a plan.Wednesday’s quarter-final may prove different. Lancashire have been happy to hold their spinners back until the end of an innings, bowling almost as many overs of spin (22.4) as seam (23.5) at the death.ALSO READ: Tracking Blast tacticsOutside of the powerplay, Lancashire’s spinners have bowled almost twice as much as their seamers (88.4 overs to 47.5), suggesting that Dan Lawrence – who has averaged over 50 while scoring at more than 10 an over against spin in the past two seasons – is the key man.”The way Dan’s played in this competition – he’s been a great find,” said Bopara. “We know that he’s been around for a while, and we’ve known that he’s a good player, but I just feel that this year, he’s kind of nailed it – he’s come good.”He’s a strong, powerful guy now – he’s filling out, so he’s able to strike the ball a bit harder, he’s full of confidence and that’s great to see. He’s played a crucial part in our qualification.”If it is less than ideal for their fans, who are tasked with a 275-mile round trip on a work night, then Lancashire’s venue switch to Chester-le-Street should be perfect for their gameplan. Durham’s home games this season have, as usual, been characterised by low scores due to a slow wicket and vast square boundaries, and with Matt Parkinson, Liam Livingstone, Glenn Maxwell and Steven Croft in their side, Lancashire will be more than happy to strangle Essex with spin.But Essex themselves have plenty of pace-off options: between Harmer, Bopara, Adam Zampa and even Cameron Delport, they could bowl as many as 16 overs of spin and medium-pace. It might not be a high-scoring thriller for the neutrals, but it promises to be filled with the tactical nuances that often define modern T20s.Zampa – after an underwhelming World Cup – has had a solid tournament, taking 12 wickets with an economy of 8.02, despite playing his home games on the competition’s fastest-scoring ground, and Harmer suggested that he is a perfect overseas signing.”He’s an intricate creature,” Harmer said. “He’s very different but he brings a lot of energy. He’s a hell of a good guy, always there for you when you need him, on and off the field.”You can throw Zamps the ball [in the] first six, at the death, in the middle – it doesn’t matter, he’s always up for it. As a captain, it’s been really nice having him in the XI.”It is important to remember why Lancashire are favourites. Nobody in their batting lineup has passed 300 runs in the tournament, but any side boasting the mercurial talents of Maxwell, Croft and Livingstone – not least with the competition’s leading wicket-taker in Parkinson to back them up – should win substantially more often than it loses.But despite Bopara’s frustrations, Essex have stumbled across a formula that has started to work for them; if they can bring that into Wednesday’s game, they are not to be written off.

The former India captain feels they can succeed in ICC tournaments provided they always think like a team

Sreshth Shah17-Oct-20192:55

I am like everyone else, but control emotions better – Dhoni

One of MS Dhoni’s defining attributes is his ability to stay ice cool when the spotlight is on him.We saw it early in his captaincy when navigated past the noise that came with the retirement of seniors such as Rahul Dravid, VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly. Then came Chennai Super Kings’ suspension due to misdemeanours outside the cricket field, and Dhoni – once again under the pressure of the public to react – offered pretty much nothing to the world while dealing with it. Now, with his final years approaching, the 38-year-old Dhoni has revealed the secret behind his mental strength, and it involves channelling one’s emotions correctly.”I am like everyone else but I control my emotions better than some of the other individuals,” Dhoni, making an appearance at a commercial event, was quoted as saying by . “I would say, I feel equally frustrated. I also feel angry at times, disappointed. But what is important is that none of these feelings are constructive.”What needs to be done right now is more important than any of these emotions. What is the next thing I can plan? Who is the next individual whom I can use? Once I get into it, I am controlling my emotions in a much better way.”Dhoni was making his first commercial appearance since the loss at the World Cup semi-final in July. Under his captaincy, India won three ICC tournaments, but since their triumph at the 2013 Champions Trophy, the team has been trophy-less. Ganguly, the BCCI president-elect, too brought up the issue of an empty cabinet even though the team had played in five ICC tournaments since then.India did make it to the semi-final of each event and are currently preparing for the T20 World Cup in October 2020. Dhoni felt success there will depend on the team thinking like a team, throwing back to a moment from the 2007 T20 World Cup win when he made a crucial but unconventional call to use two part-timers in Robin Uthappa and Virender Sehwag in the group stage ‘bowl-out’ victory over Pakistan.”What you want to achieve as a team is to win the tournament but that’s a long-term goal,” he said. “Ultimately, what you do is to break it into smaller things. And It’s not always about few of the individuals performing a lot better than the whole lot. What you want is for everybody to contribute. That one wicket at that right moment, that outstanding catch.”Ultimately, winning or losing comes to each and every individual who is part of the team. In a team sport, everybody has a role and responsibility. Throughout the [2007] T20 World Cup, the roles and responsibilities given to individuals was fulfilled to the best manner possible. That was the reason we won the tournament.”There was something particular about that World Cup. The ‘bowl-out’ was one of the things. I remember we would go for practice. Before every practice session, we would practice ‘Bowl Out’ before or after the warm-up. We said it very clear, it is for fun but at the same time, whoever hits the wicket most number of times, we will use him if the situation arises.”It has got nothing to do with I am a bowler, this is my job. It’s like a performance thing and we will keep doing it everyday and whoever has the best hit-ratio are the ones who will be used.”Dhoni has not been picked in any of India’s squads since they were knocked out of the World Cup and is unlikely to play in the upcoming T20Is against Bangladesh and West Indies either as the side looks to build towards their squad for the 2020 T20 World Cup. India are set to play an ODI series against West Indies starting December 15, but whether Dhoni will feature there, is yet to be known.

Nishant Shekhawat is the fifth man to be arrested as part of an ongoing investigation

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-2019Karnataka Police’s Central Crime Branch (CCB) has arrested 29-year-old batsman Nishant Shekhawat for his alleged involvement in fixing matches in the Karnataka Premier League (KPL). reported that Shekhawat played an intermediary role between bookie Manoj Kumar alias Monty, and Bengaluru Blasters bowling coach Vinu Prasad, who was arrested alongside Blasters batsman M Viswanathan in late October.Shekhawat allegedly lured Viswanathan into a fix with the help of Prasad during the 2018 season. Shekhawat was a player with the Shivamogga Lions franchise at the time.The report stated that the police discovered Viswanathan was allegedly tasked with scoring fewer than ten runs in 20 balls in a 2018 fixture against Hubli Tigers, a fix in which he allegedly confirmed participation by changing bats and rolling up his sleeves. Viswanathan made 9 off 17 balls in that innings.Shekhawat is the fifth man, and second player, to be arrested as part of an ongoing investigation into alleged corruption in the league, which began with the arrest of franchise owner Ali Asfak Thara and the suspension of his franchise Belagavi Panthers last month. Drummer Bhavesh Bafna, who was outed by a cricketer he allegedly approached, is the other person who was arrested, and is being monitored by the BCCI’s anti-corruption unit since he also played the drums during Royal Challengers Bangalore’s home games at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

Allrounder reported pain in left knee during second Test against New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Dec-2019Ben Stokes will be fit to bowl in England’s Test series against South Africa, after undergoing MRI scans in which “nothing really showed up”, following his return from New Zealand.Stokes reported pain in his left knee after completing his second over on the first day of the second Test at Hamilton, and did not bowl again that day. But he was cleared to bowl after resting overnight, and bowled a further 25 overs in the Test.ALSO READ: Knee injury casts doubts over Stokes bowling again in second Test“It’s alright,” Stokes told TalkSport. “I got some scans when we got back [to] England and there’s nothing really showing up on the MRI scans, which is good news.”I just need to toughen up I guess but it’s alright and it’s just treatment now. I will be fine to bowl [in South Africa].”Stokes underwent surgery on his left knee in May 2016 after tearing cartilage while bowling against Sri Lanka and has had to manage the injury ever since. Ahead of the first Test of the New Zealand series, he admitted he was managing his workload because of it, and he was used somewhat sparingly in that game.Joe Root admitted after the second Test that it can be hard to take the ball out of Stokes’ hand, even when he has a niggle.Joe Root and Ben Stokes contemplate their options•Getty Images

“With Ben, you’re always trying to make sure he’s being honest with you,” Root said. “He’ll continue to keep bowling unless you pull him off.”You don’t want him to hurt himself and he’s managing that very well, he’s being a lot smarter with it and making sure that if he is sore he’s not going to rule himself out of any games.”Stokes also warned against expecting too much from Jofra Archer, who endured a difficult series against New Zealand in his first overseas tour as an England player.”When you achieve what he achieved in such a short space of time, you’re expected to do it day in, day out, but that’s just impossible,” Stokes said.”He’s 24 years old: he doesn’t have that much experience, he’s still learning how to bowl properly, he’s still learning how to bowl in Test cricket.”I saw he got a bit of stick in New Zealand but he’s never bowled with a Kookaburra ball before, so he’s still learning and understanding how to bowl in different conditions. So you’ve got to give him a bit of leeway, understand that he’s still learning the game and still maturing as a player, and not expect him to go out and take 4 for 50 every innings.”