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Players are being actively encouraged to play in the Big Bash and explore IPL options to expand their horizons – and eventually England’s

Will Macpherson10-Dec-2015This month, England’s Adil Rashid and David Willey begin stints as overseas players in the BBL. This is not a landmark as such – a number of other English players will take part, and have played in the competition before – yet it significant.Previously, players took part when not involved with England or when gaps appeared in their schedules, such as Ben Stokes’ stint with Melbourne Renegades when he was dropped from the World Cup squad. This time England have created gaps for the betterment of their players and white-ball teams.The deals for Rashid and Willey, with Adelaide Strikers and Perth Scorchers respectively, represent the change in attitude towards overseas T20 leagues that has taken place among those running the England set-up. They acknowledge that the BBL, IPL and the rest are hothouses of white-ball knowledge and meeting places for the world’s finest short-form minds, in conditions strange to English players, before vast audiences, both live and on TV. It is an admission that the England team can better themselves by stepping out of the English system and their own comfort zones.Those who have played in such tournaments have long extolled their virtues and seldom shy away from venting their frustrations with the ECB’s failure to embrace life overseas. Luke Wright has extolled the virtue of “rubbing shoulders with top players, picking the brains of top captains, learning and training with the best in the world”. Upon being made captain of Sussex’s T20 team, he used the contacts he had made to sign Mahela Jayawardene and George Bailey, and his experience of playing with and against Shaun Tait to manage similarly fragile quick Tymal Mills.

“You want your players to be exposed to different conditions, environments, coaching methods, playing with different players, learning against different opposition”Jason Gillespie

Those in charge have recognised the benefits too. Given that England are coached by Trevor Bayliss, once of Sydney Sixers and Kolkata Knight Riders, and captained by one of their most itinerant players and another strident advocate of overseas leagues, Eoin Morgan, perhaps this is no surprise.”There has been a sea-change,” Andrew Strauss, England’s director of cricket, tells ESPNcricinfo. “These leagues are a melting pot of different ideas around white-ball cricket. Look at the last World Cup, look at the semi-finalists. I think 38 out of 44 players had played in the IPL. You’re going to get great experiences of playing under pressure. Over the last decade or so we’ve been behind a lot of teams in white-ball cricket. It seems an opportunity that we cannot afford to turn down.

The likely lads

Getty Images

Alex Hales
After a couple of fruitless shots at the IPL auction, Hales went to Mumbai Indians for three games this year. Didn’t play, but loved every minute. The latest through the revolving door atop England’s Test order, if he passes his trial by fire against Steyn and Morkel, he won’t be heading to India in the spring.
Jason Roy
Currently a white-ball specialist. Has three fifties and a ton in 14 ODI innings without ever looking at his best. Managed by Mission Sports, like Kevin Pietersen and Ravi Bopara, who have the contacts and knowhow to get him a gig. Loves a big occasion. Looks very well placed indeed.
Jos Buttler
Has England’s three fastest ODI tons and is their most adaptable hitter and their finest finisher ever. On the surface, looks tailor-made, but he’s currently out of the Test side and hell-bent on getting back in. If Jonny Bairstow impresses in South Africa, Buttler’s name is far more likely to be on those auction cards.
Ben Stokes
Only returned to the Test side a few months ago, having also missed the World Cup. Has been sporadically brilliant but is said to be keen to shore his place up before taking a gamble on the IPL. Looks a match made in heaven: as a three-dimensional cricketer and a total rock star, he would be attractive at auction.
Sam Billings
Something of an unknown quantity. A dynamic and versatile batter and an athletic keeper or gun fielder, he’s well worth a punt, although perhaps for a BBL stint first. Way off the Test team, which helps. Andrew Strauss and ECB lead batting coach Graham Thorpe are massive, and influential, fans.
David Willey
A 40-ball century for Northamptonshire in the NatWest Blast quarter-final catapulted him onto Perth Scorchers’ radar, but he has impressed more with the ball for England. Has just moved to Yorkshire – who say their players cannot go – and is keen to further his Test claims, so it’s tricky to see him at the IPL this year.

“International teams tend to spend a lot of time with people from that country and speaking a certain language about white-ball cricket and a certain philosophy. You can get quite wedded to that and that can be a dangerous place to be. These tournaments allow players to see things from different viewpoints, and that’s also why we’ve tried to get someone like Jayawardene working with the team, to open up other avenues that guys might not have seen so far.”Strauss sees such leagues as a key vehicle to help prepare England for a home World Cup in 2019. “You’re an overseas player, it’s over to you to deliver, you can’t rely on someone else,” he says, also citing the personal development a player experiences living and working in an alien environment with new team-mates.Yorkshire – and Strikers – coach Jason Gillespie agrees. “You want your players to be exposed to different conditions, environments, coaching methods, playing with different players, learning against different opposition,” he says. “It helps to make them more rounded and there’s lots of sharing of knowledge.”There’s another tacit admission here: that England’s own T20 competition, the NatWest Blast, does not prepare players for high-pressure situations. After England sealed a 3-0 series sweep over Pakistan last week, Morgan could not resist a swipe, saying England wanted to see “more guys in pressure situations” with the World T20 months away. “We don’t have the privilege of a very good T20 domestic tournament, so we don’t see guys under pressure that often.”Strauss agrees. “The Blast is proving very successful – you look at attendances and there’s a lot to be said for it,” he says. But with 18 teams and the absence of a dedicated block, it means players are constantly switching formats. “It’s a very different tournament to the IPL or the BBL. I don’t think you get the same type of pressure in the Blast as you do in those tournaments.”One of the Blast’s major shortcomings is the lack of global interest; Sky will broadcast the BBL this month but the Blast’s cumbersome, stretched schedule (which seldom sees overseas stars stay for more than a handful of games) means overseas broadcasters show no interest. None of Chris Gayle’s 328 record-breaking runs for Somerset in 2015 were visible to anyone not in the ground (a maximum of 23,000 across three matches).It is not in Strauss’ remit to make changes to England’s domestic structure, and he believes that while the ECB is working on coming up with “as compelling a T20 competition as possible”, there is also “no way we can just adopt the IPL or BBL models in England. It’s very difficult to do and probably not in the best interests of the game.” As a result, the aim, where possible, is to use overseas leagues to expose England’s best cricketers to high-pressure environments.Strauss also wants English coaches to taste these competitions. Gillespie says his first season with Strikers will be “a big part of my learning as a coach”. Rich Pyrah, who retired recently to join Yorkshire’s coaching staff, will go with Gillespie, “to see first hand how the Big Bash is and impart some of his ideas, but importantly, just sit back and see how it works over there and hopefully bring something back to Yorkshire”.Sussex bowling coach Jon Lewis is set to spend time with Melbourne Stars, and Strauss is working on getting other coaches experience in the coming IPL and BBL seasons.On the playing side, flexibility rules. Opportunities presented themselves with Willey, whose England experience, Strauss says, meant “the Lions environment was probably not going to add a lot”, then Rashid, who is set to play a key role in the World T20 but wasn’t trusted as a Test spinner in South Africa. Things will continue to be judged on a case-by-case basis. “We have a big array of opportunities and we’ve got to use it wisely in each case,” Strauss says.England’s limited-overs captain, Eoin Morgan, is a vocal advocate of the value of playing in overseas leagues•BCCIThe IPL, due to its timing, remains the elephant in the room. Pietersen picked apart English cricket’s attitude towards the competition in his autobiography, concluding that the tricky relationship was down to “jealousy”, and saying that players grew “uneasy” when the topic was raised as they feared being dropped for taking part. He also famously described talking to Strauss about the IPL as akin to explaining “gangsta rap to a vicar”.Now, though, Strauss acknowledges that the IPL is the T20 benchmark. He has clarified that players will not be allowed to miss Tests (the 2016 edition finishes on May 29, midway through England’s second Test against Sri Lanka) but says some white-ball specialists will be encouraged to enter the auction.Tests remain English cricket’s Everest. No one has yet come out and said otherwise; Willey joined Gillespie at Yorkshire with the explicit aim of furthering his Test ambitions, while Alex Hales has long stated his (surely soon to be completed) desire to make the transition from white ball to red. The fears Pietersen highlighted still ring true. Joe Root, Jos Buttler – now scrapping to regain his Test spot – and Stokes are reportedly unlikely to enter the 2016 IPL auction due to the clash of interests. Pietersen, of course, forewent Sunrisers Hyderabad for Surrey when he sniffed a Test recall earlier this year, while Morgan made a similar decision 12 months earlier.

“Over the last decade or so we’ve been behind a lot of teams in white-ball cricket. It seems an opportunity that we cannot afford to turn down”Andrew Strauss

There are other barriers, too. Counties understandably want access to their best players for a vital period of grunt (the Championship will begin its seventh round of fixtures as the IPL ends), which could cause issues if those in the national set-up are granted leave. Gillespie says Yorkshire will not allow players to go, but Nottinghamshire’s Mick Newell is more flexible with the likes of Hales.”If we want Alex to play the majority of his cricket for Notts,” he says, “then we have to allow him to play for other people as well, and that hopefully means a lot of England, but also other franchise teams too. He’s not just a Nottinghamshire cricketer any more. We give him our blessing because we still want to see him play for Notts 80% of the season rather than nothing.”Players sacrifice approximately 1% of their annual county salary for every day that they miss for the IPL, which means they must command huge prices at the auction to make a two-month stint worthwhile. In previous years, high base prices have meant the likes of Hales going unsold. “We need IPL teams to bid for our players, we can’t force them,” Strauss says. “Hopefully quite a few have put their names in lights in the last six months. If we can find a way for more to be available for more of the IPL, then that’s a good place to be.”While Pietersen was derided as a mercenary for taking part, now the skills and experiences he – forever ahead of his time – so vehemently evangelised are exactly what the ECB is after when looking to build giants of the game; money and England’s own schedule and sensibilities have taken a back seat.It may have arrived frustratingly too late for Pietersen, but it appears that England’s age of insularity is coming to an end, to be replaced by the dawning of an era of more enlightened thinking.

Plays of the day from a tense West Indies win over South Africa

Firdose Moonda25-Mar-2016The misunderstanding
The ying and yang of Quinton de Kock and Hashim Amla seemed to be working well for South Africa at the top until they got one wrong. De Kock thought the single was on when he sent the third ball of the match to cover and set off immediately, even as Andre Russell swooped. Amla was hesitant at the other end but responded. Then, mid-pitch, Amla stopped but de Kock was already on his way and Amla had to follow through. He raced in but did not put in a dive and Russell’s throw gave Denesh Ramdin enough time to whip off the bails.The catch
Sulieman Benn is not known for his agility but he claimed the catch of the day when Faf du Plessis drove to him at mid-off. Benn took a few steps forward and then just reached out, holding on to the ball as he tumbled forward. Umpire Richard Kettleborough gave it out but then referred upstairs where several replays could find no conclusive evidence to overturn his decision.The celebration
Chris Gayle brought out the West Indies celebration dance when Rilee Rossouw was caught at point but Dwayne Bravo provided the full performance when he bowled AB de Villiers. De Villiers misjudged an attempted flick through midwicket and inside-edged on to his stumps. Bravo roared in delight before getting down, part-Gangham style, part-Under 19s celebration and a whole lot of fun.The non-celebration
But not every wicket needed a dance. When David Miller played down the wrong line and was bowled by Gayle, the big Jamaican folded his arms and put on a pensive expression. Gayle held the pose while Ramdin and Darren Sammy clambered over him to leave South Africa wondering what more could go wrong.The other celebration
In the absence of Dale Steyn, the title of South Africa spearhead has fallen to Kagiso Rabada and he does not appear to be overawed by the extra responsibility. Quite the opposite. Gayle sent the first ball he faced from Rabada for four but Rabada came back with a ripper. He got late swing on his next delivery, which Gayle tried to push down the ground. Gayle missed, Rabada found his off stump and raised both arms in the air in celebration. It was not a gesture of ecstasy or anger, just sweet, sweet relief.The bigger misunderstanding
South Africa frustrated West Indies’ big-hitters by taking pace off the ball and Andre Fletcher was particularly tetchy. He wanted a run after Johnson Charles played a ball into the off side but Charles was not quite as keen. He saw Rossouw gallop to gather the ball and tried to send Fletcher back but he had already traveled more than half the length of the pitch. Fletcher slipped as Rossouw made his move, which only worsened his chances of making it back, but even if he had turned, he would not have beaten the throw. Rossouw hurled it in and the ball took the bails off, nearly striking de Villiers as he moved in to collect. For once, de Villiers wasn’t needed and South Africa had reason to believe.

Stats highlights from the second ODI at Edgbaston

Bharath Seervi24-Jun-2016236 The previous highest successful run chase without losing any wicket in ODIs, by New Zealand against Zimbabwe in Harare last year. The previous highest successful chase for England without losing any wicket was 191 against Bangladesh at The Oval in 2005. In their last ODI at Edgbaston, against New Zealand in 2015, they scored their first total of 400-plus and won by 210 runs which is their largest win in terms of runs.0 Number of higher partnerships for England for any wicket in ODIs, than the unbeaten 256 between Alex Hales and Jason Roy in this match. The 250 runs added by Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Trott for the second-wicket against Bangladesh at this same venue in 2010 was the previous highest. The previous record for the highest opening stand for England was 200 by Marcus Trescothick and Vikram Solanki at The Oval in 2003. This is now the highest first-wicket partnership against Sri Lanka in ODIs and third-highest for any wicket. This is also the third-highest partnership for any wicket in ODIs in England.3 Number of 10-wicket wins for England in ODIs against Sri Lanka, which is their most against any side. In fact, this was just their sixth win by this margin in their ODI history. The other three have come against West Indies, Bangladesh and South Africa – one each. Only two other teams have won by ten wickets against Sri Lanka – India and New Zealand, once each.2 Number of instances of both England’s openers scoring a century in an ODI. Before Hales and Roy in this match, Trescothick (114*) and Solanki (106) had done it against South Africa at The Oval in 2003 where they had added 200 for the first wicket. Both Hales (133*) and Roy (112*) got to their career-best scores in ODIs.130 The previous highest score by an England batsman against Sri Lanka in ODIs, by David Gower in Taunton in the 1983 World Cup. Hales beat the record with his unbeaten 133 in this match.27 Number of runs conceded by Seekkuge Prasanna in the 29th over of the innings, which is the joint second-most by a bowler against England. The highest being 30 runs by Yuvraj Singh to Dimitri Mascarenhas at The Oval in 2007. Dwayne Smith had also conceded 27 runs at Lord’s in 2004, most of those to Andrew Flintoff. Among Sri Lanka bowlers, only two bowlers have conceded more than 27 runs in an over – 32 by Malinga Bandara and 28 by Sanath Jayasuriya, both to Shahid Afridi.8.65 The economy rate of Sri Lanka spinners in this match, which is their worst in an ODI where they bowled 15 or more overs. Prasanna went at a rate of 9.55, the second-worst by a Sri Lanka spinner bowling eight or more overs in an ODI, whereas Suraj Randiv had an economy of 7.75.4 Number of 50-plus partnerships between Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews in ODIs this year. Before adding 82 in this ODI, they had shared stands of 93, 88 and 64 the last three times they batted together this year. This was the eighth 50-plus partnership between them in 35 innings. They have added 1192 runs as a pair but do not have a century stand yet. Their partnership aggregate is the second-highest without a century partnership by a pair.4 Number of scores of 50 or more for Chandimal in ODIs against England, in 11 innings – joint-most by him against any opposition. He has also made four such scores against Australia in 14 innings. His average of 41.22 against England is the second-best among Test playing teams. Three of his four 50-plus scores against England have come in England.2012 Last time a Sri Lanka player scored 50-plus batting at No. 7 in ODIs, before Upul Tharanga’s unbeaten 53 in this match. Jeevan Mendis had made 72 against India in Pallekele in August 2012. This was Tharanga’s first such score in three innings at this position; he has made three half-centuries at No. 6 in five innings.

If there was any notion that England would be challenged less by spin on home soil, that was banished by Yasir Shah’s first day with the ball of the series

George Dobell at Lord's15-Jul-2016Like bumping into the bully who made your school days a misery, England came face to face with an old and familiar foe at Lord’s.England have struggled against spin – especially legspin – for decades. If it wasn’t Anil Kumble crushing their hopes, it was Shane Warne, Muttiah Muralitharan, Mushtaq Ahmed, Saeed Ajmal or one of many, many more. Even Chris Gayle took a five-for against them at one stage.So we probably shouldn’t have been surprised when Yasir Shah ripped through England’s middle order here. He claimed the wicket of every England batsman from No. 3 to No. 7 and has every chance of adding more over the weekend.The concern for England is that this pitch – this second day pitch on which Moeen Ali could not turn the ball an inch – will probably be the least helpful surface that Yasir encounters this series. It was just the second five-wicket haul in a Test against England at Lord’s this century – Daniel Vettori took the other one in 2008 – and was achieved in conditions where the ball hardly turned. It suggests that, in conditions providing more assistance to spin bowlers, England are in real trouble. And for a side due to tour Bangladesh and India later this year, that must be a worry.Like Warne and Murali before him, Yasir fulfils a dual role for his side. Capable of producing, even in the first innings, wicket-taking deliveries, he also possesses the control and stamina to operate as a holding bowler. It is his ability to bowl long, inexpensive spells (he has an economy-rate of 2.55 in this match to date) that allows Pakistan to go into games with a four-man attack. By hardly delivering a poor ball, ensuring most of his deliveries will hit the stumps and varying his pace and angle just a little, he provides the side balance. Any criticism of England has to be mitigated by the realisation that he may well be the best spin bowler in the world.He also poses a dilemma for opposition batsmen. They can allow him to tie them down – as England allowed Ajmal and Abdur Rehman to tie them down in Abu Dhabi in 2012 on the way to being dismissed for 72 (they scored just 21 from their first 15 overs) – or they can try to disrupt his plans and hit him off a length, as Joe Root tried here.Root’s top-edged slow-sweep looked ugly. But one of Root’s great strengths – indeed, one of the strengths of this England team – is their bold approach. We cannot applaud them for their audacity and then scold them for carelessness when it goes awry just as we cannot criticise them for timidity and then complain when the bravery backfires. While Root might reflect that the choice of stroke – trying to fetch one from outside off stump through midwicket – was unnecessarily aggressive, he has scored vast quantities of runs over the last couple of years with that approach. It needs curbing only a little for the runs to flow.While Gary Ballance and Moeen Ali were dismissed by leg-breaks that turned enough to defeat their strokes, most of England’s batsmen were undone by Yasir’s accuracy and natural variation. Perhaps the ball to Root was flighted a little more; perhaps the ball to Jonny Bairstow was pushed through a little quicker. But James Vince, attempting to turn one through the leg side, missed a straight one and when Bairstow played back to a full delivery that scuttled through his forcing shot it brought back memories of the way Kumble dismissed another Yorkshire and England keeper, Richard Blakey, back in 1993. Little, it seems, has changed.Spin bowling will probably always be secondary to seam in England. The conditions naturally provide more assistance to seamers. If you grow up wanting to bowling spin in a wet summer like this, you might not have touched the ball yet. Seam, sadly, is often all that is required other than to pick-up the over-rate and offer some variation of angle or pace.But the situation does appear to have worsened in recent years and England’s spin-bowling cupboard has never been so bare. Men like Eddie Hemmings and Norman Gifford, who were limited to a handful of Tests each a generation or two ago, would bedazzle and bamboozle today.There are many reasons for England’s current issues with playing, or bowling, spin. One of them was the ECB’s decision to reward the counties for fielding young players which pushed a generation of experienced cricketers – not least spinners, who often enjoy the best years of their careers a little later than batsmen or seamers – into premature retirement. While it would be an exaggeration to claim that many bowlers of genuine Test potential were squeezed out of the game, it is fair to state that several good county professionals who might have tested developing batsmen and passed on tips to developing bowlers have disappeared.At the same time, there was a fashion in county cricket to produce green surfaces to assist the army of seamers that England breeds. That has resulted in few opportunities for young spinners (Ravi Patel, the Middlesex bowler rated by some judges as the most exciting spin prospect in the land, has not played a first-class this season and hardly played last year) and a reluctance from counties to invest in players they know will be of limited use to them.There is also a theory that the development of a young spinner in first-class cricket can be arrested by the requirements of limited-overs cricket. So, at a time when young spinners might be learning how to build long spells or experimenting with flight and bowling in different conditions, they are instead obliged to fire the ball in to prevent being slogged in a T20 match. And with the finances of the game increasingly geared to the white-ball formats, the counties seem more interested in developing players who bat a bit, field well and can bowl a couple of tight overs of spin instead of specialists. Would Monty Panesar still be able to forge a career if he was starting out today? Ravi Patel’s experience would suggest he might struggle.The ECB have taken steps to improve the situation. They have encouraged counties to produce better pitches (allowing visiting captains the option of bowling first in the Championship was designed, in part, to encourage spinners) and they are providing every bit of assistance they can to any developing young spinner: specialist coaching; overseas experience; exposure to the England squad at an early stage. But these things take time and, in the meantime, a generation of county batsmen are developing without encountering much high-class spin in the domestic game. Bowlers like Yasir feast on their inexperience. R Ashwin must be salivating at the thought of them.With a second innings to come, it is a bit too early to speculate on whether England will change their batting line-up before Manchester. Trevor Bayliss has repeated his theory that he would rather give a player a Test too many rather than one too few so it may be that Vince, in particular, is given a longer opportunity to prove himself.But, with Ben Stokes fit to return for Old Trafford, it is likely someone must make way. One option is drop a bowler – James Anderson is already likely to return ahead of Steven Finn – and another is to bring in either another spinner or a different one. Given England’s struggles against spin – and Stokes has some issues to resolve against such bowling – it may be they prefer to replace another seamer, presumably Jake Ball, with Stokes and strengthen the batting. Whichever way you look at it, though, Vince needs some runs in the second innings.

What’s it like to have Richards buy you birthday beers?

Michael Jeh28-Aug-2016Growing up as a cricket-obsessed kid in Colombo, my childhood hero was Allan Border. When he toured Sri Lanka in the early 1980s, I recall feeling so privileged to have been sitting nearby as he walked down the steps at the P Sara Stadium, barely touching distance away. Dream come true. Could it get any better?Many years later, in Sri Lanka and India on a cricket tour that doubled up as a trade mission for the Queensland Government, I captained a team that included AB. The team also included James Hopes. We played against a young Upul Tharanga, Robin Uthappa and Shikhar Dhawan. By then, despite having played alongside AB in club cricket for many years, it was still surreal to cheekily banish my childhood idol to third man while I assumed captaincy privileges at first slip!In the Australian film , the larrikin lead character kept saying “That’s going straight to the pool room” when referring to something special. The team photo from that tour of India and Sri Lanka sits proudly in my pool room to this day, a reminder of the time when a complete “nuffie” like myself strode alongside his boyhood hero. My sons gaze upon that picture in awe, and I pretend to be nonchalant as I point to the photo that sits alongside.It captures me at the top of my bowling action, bowling to a batsman whose unmistakable stance, posterior sticking out at a jaunty angle, can only be one person – Sir Vivian Richards.Oxford University v Glamorgan at The Parks. The faster I bowled, the further it went. The wicketkeeper even stood up to the stumps to stop Viv from walking at me, but it mattered not. They kept disappearing.Imagine my excitement then when I overheard Richards confiding to his batting partner, Matthew Maynard (who, by the way, savaged me even more brutally than Sir Viv did) that perhaps one of the other batsmen needed some match practice – it being an early-season outing for Glamorgan – and that perhaps he should walk past one.I distinctly recall him saying, “This Jeh boy – he trying hard, man. He deserve a wicket.” My heart leapt. Imagine telling this story to my (yet unborn) sons. The day their old man cleaned up Viv Richards with that unplayable ball (no mention, of course, of the mid-pitch conversation about throwing it away).And then Maynard, that damn impertinent Welshman, the man who might as well have killed Bambi, told Richards that the next batsman actually had a headache and didn’t really fancy batting today. Just like that, with “Okay man, I just keep batting then”, possibly the biggest moment of my unremarkable career disappeared before me.Barely an hour later, weeping over a solitary beer at the King’s Arms pub in Oxford (as a student, a solitary beer was about all I could afford), I heard a deep voice behind me. “What you drinking, Jeh man? Let me buy the beers tonight. No one should have figures of 0 for 150 on their birthday, man.” April 21, 1993. My most memorable birthday: Viv Richards buying me beers all night. I’d rather he missed the straight one, though. I can drink beer any day!At the other end of the spectrum, checking into a hotel for an MCC match with one of my best mates, Dirk Viljoen of Zimbabwe, I got my own back on these damn Test cricketers. Who do they think they are anyway, playing international cricket while duffers like me tried just as hard and got nowhere?So, having checked in, we raced each other up the stairs to try and secure the double bed. I’d started in pole position, so Viljoen was never in the hunt. As I plonked my bag on the double bed, I pointed somewhat ungraciously to the tiny single alongside.Viljoen, cheeky, impertinent little sod that he was (and still is), never respectful of his elders, tried to pull rank. A shameless act really from a young pup. “Senior player always gets the double bed, mate,” he proclaimed. “How many Tests have you played?”At that point he had played one solitary Test, so he outranked me. Even with one Test, that was always going to be 100% more than I could ever dream of. But little did he know that I was not one to surrender my creature comforts that easily.”Okay Dirk, you’ve got me there. I will give the double bed to anyone in this room who has scored more Test runs than me. Oh sorry, I forgot… you got a pair, didn’t you?”I slept like a baby that night in my big double bed.

Deprived of the chance to bat first and put massive runs on the board, India were forced to improvise in a bid to create pressure. And it didn’t work

Alagappan Muthu in Rajkot09-Nov-20163:14

Ganguly: Kohli’s biggest challenge will be to keep England under 550

The world became a strange place on Wednesday. The last thing you expected to happen came over, sat down and gave you a big fat kiss. A bit like Bugs Bunny; that wascally wabbit always comes out trumps.Rajkot’s events may not trouble the wider public, but from the moment the coin fell in England’s favour, India were in unfamiliar territory. At least as far as recent memory goes. Virat Kohli has been able to win seven out of seven tosses since his first match in charge at home. Only once had he chosen to field, in the rained-out draw against South Africa in Bangalore a year ago. Every other time he and his men put runs on the board and won the game.Here, Alastair Cook called heads. It came down as heads. England batted for the rest of the day. India became a set of Elmer Fudds for the rest of the day: clumsy to start with and unthreatening for large parts.The dropped catches – three in the first half-hour – should be held against them. But they can’t be faulted for effort. R Ashwin did get his offbreaks to drift and dip. Ravindra Jadeja did trap the batsman in his crease. Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav did generate reverse swing. So what was missing? Why did they concede 311 runs and the first century scored by a visiting batsman since 2013?Scoreboard pressure. India had to make do without it.The Saurashtra Cricket Association was hosting its first Test. The schedule has been arranged in such a way that the fourth and fifth days fall on the weekend to encourage a large crowd to come over. So, measures were taken to avoid quick finishes or meandering run-fests, both of which are common when domestic teams play Ranji Trophy first-class matches here. The pitch was dressed up with patches of grass, and in between there were several bare patches. This led to some variable bounce, but crucially there was very little turn.So the three spinners – Ashwin, local boy Jadeja and Mishra – had almost nothing to work with.Since 2015, particularly at home, they have come on with a horde of close-in fielders. Slips, silly points, gullies, leg gullies, short legs. A veritable group of bandits ready to swindle the batsman of his confidence. Additionally, until now, India had batted first in six out of seven matches. That meant their bowlers were given a pitch which had been worn down by a lot of cricket, ranging from 68 to 169 overs.As a result, there had been a lot more turn to exploit. There could be awkward bounce as well. Then, factor in Ashwin and Jadeja’s talent for maximising natural variation. That’s a heck of a lot for a batsman to handle.India’s spinners struggled to apply pressure on England’s batsmen•Associated PressThe immediate thought in such a situation is: “Why not get off strike?” That’s easier said than done. As former Test opener Aakash Chopra has articulated before, manoeuvring the ball into gaps on a turning pitch is very hard. Opening the face brings the slips into play. Closing the face invites the risk of being dismissed in any number of ways. Bowled by the dip, lbw while playing across the line. Caught off the leading edge.”Okay, do something drastic then. Hit out. Upset their rhythm.”Seems simple enough, yes. But there’s a psychological deterrent – in the back of your mind, you always know a false shot might not only be the end of you but of your team too. In the final innings in Indore, New Zealand went from 80 for 2 to 138 for 9 after Ross Taylor was bowled playing an awful sweep.These are the devastating advantages of scoreboard pressure. And India had none of it in Rajkot.So Kohli, having to manufacture some, operated with in-out fields. With the lack of turn, though, Joe Root and Moeen Ali were able to nudge the ball into the gaps and keep the score ticking along. Their 179-run partnership included only 14 fours and a six – essentially 62 runs in boundaries – all the rest came via singles and twos. They still maintained a run-rate of 3.70.And when Kohli tried to bring men up to make the rotation of strike difficult, Root and Moeen deliberately went over the top and India’s captain had to go on the defensive again. It was beautifully paced cricket, with a distinct lack of frills. Only late in the day, when Root was past his hundred and Moeen was approaching his own, did they break into the toy cupboard and pull out the reverse sweeps or advance on Jadeja, he who fires them in at 90kph, and smack him into the sightscreen.In 62 overs of spin, India could manage only six maidens. That’s less than 10%.Having to bowl first, India wanted to be on the money, and preferably not the 500- or the 1000-rupee variety, which went defunct overnight and are to be replaced. There were encouraging signs. Cook’s outside-edge was an affable guest star in a half-hour episode of When Shami And Umesh Bowl Well Together. Ashwin out-thought young Haseeb Hameed and Ben Duckett. India went to lunch happy despite the dropped catches.But it was England who were ahead of the game, with no scoreboard pressure on them, and faced with a pitch on which their own seamers could prove to be the danger, thanks to reverse swing and a bare patch of uneven bounce on a good length. Root and Moeen tucked into every over of spin that was bowled. One of them will return on Thursday hungry for more.

He has been excellent in transforming himself from a bits-and-pieces allrounder to a force to reckon with in limited-overs cricket. Can he do the same in the longest format?

Mohammad Isam in Hyderabad07-Feb-2017Posted on the boundary at the Gymkhana ground, Mahmudullah looks like a well-settled cricketer. He has come prepared for the heat, with a wide-brimmed hat and plenty of sunscreen and his concentration is on the game. It’s the only practice the Bangladeshis get before facing India in a Test match on Thursday.Mahmudullah is one of the five most experienced cricketers in the team, and there is very little doubt about his place in the XI. He will slot into the middle order, his aim to build on a good start or arrest an early collapse. He can bowl some useful offspin should the frontline bowlers need a rest, is a safe fielder and can largely be trusted to stay calm under pressure. Indeed, on occasion, he has indulged in a word or two with the opposition when they were in vulnerable positions. Mahmudullah is considered a future Bangladesh captain but his Test performances in the last two years have been a bit below par.Since Bangladesh came back from a six-month break in September 2016, Mahmudullah has rescued the ODI team twice – against Afghanistan and England – and had a cracking BPL season but could barely find any runs against New Zealand. Barring a fifty in a T20I, his scores read 0, 1, 3 ,19, 18, 26, 5, 19 and 38.When he wasn’t being uprooted by stinging yorkers, Mahmudullah kept chasing wide deliveries, inside edging on to the stumps and was also strangled down the leg side. With the ball, he conceded 28 runs in an over during Colin Munro’s hundred, and most surprisingly even dropped a few catches. Mahmudullah had it rough in New Zealand, but he will be expected to bounce back in India.His rise as a match-winner in limited-overs cricket has been well documented. From a bits-and-pieces allrounder with occasional flashes of brilliance, he smacked back-to-back hundreds in the World Cup in 2015 and then excelled as Bangladesh’s finisher in the Asia Cup T20Is in 2016. His ODI batting average since November 2014 is 39.73, much higher than his 32.85 career average. In Tests, however, his record slumps: only one fifty in his last 16 innings.Mahmudullah has fashioned himself into a finisher in Twenty20 cricket•Associated PressSo it begs the question, is Mahmudullah simply giving more priority to the shorter formats? Judging by how hard he trains for Test cricket, it is more likely that he just hasn’t got the rewards as quickly as he has done in ODIs and T20Is.Is he lacking the technical skill for Test cricket? It is true that he often played away from his body in New Zealand and struggled when the bowlers tucked him up with short balls. But Mahmudullah is an all-round batsman, and in time he should realise that he can manoeuvre some of those climbing deliveries square of the wicket and get off strike.How about his metal fortitude? Of late, he has been rather extravagant with his strokeplay. Last October, with three minutes to stumps on the second day of the Dhaka Test against England, he was bowled by Zafar Ansari attempting an across-the-line sweep shot. He would rarely do something so unnecessary in ODIs or T20Is.When Bangladesh coach Chandika Hathurusingha asked him to tighten up outside the off stump before the 2015 World Cup, he worked on his balance and now plays the rising delivery with more punch. When he was asked to become a T20 finisher last year, he expanded his power game and found new areas in the field to tap into for quick runs. Now he has been asked to become a pillar in the middle order of the Test team.What he does in the three formats is not easy – he essentially has three separate roles – but Mahmudullah has been pretty good at taking on new challenges.

Also, which player waited more than 100 Tests to get a century?

Steven Lynch25-Apr-2017Mohammad Abbas took a wicket with his second ball in Tests the other day. Has anyone else done this for Pakistan? asked Rizwan Khalil from Pakistan

Mohammad Abbas dismissed West Indies’ Kraigg Brathwaite with his second delivery in Tests, in Kingston at the weekend. Seamer Abbas earned his place in the side through weight of wickets: he has been the leading bowler in the last two domestic seasons, usually playing for Khan Research Laboratories. The only Pakistani to strike with his first ball in Test cricket remains Intikhab Alam, who bowled Colin McDonald of Australia with his opening delivery in Karachi in 1959-60. I don’t think any other bowler has taken a wicket with his second ball for Pakistan: Shahid Nazir (1996-97) and Mohammad Sami (2000-01) both took a wicket with their fourth ball in Test cricket, and Fazl-e-Akbar (1997-98) with his sixth.Whose first delivery in T20 internationals was a wide – but claimed a wicket? asked Matthew Bell from England

The man involved here is not a regular bowler – but he dismissed a very regular batsman. England were going well at Old Trafford in 2011 – they had motored to 60 for 2 in seven overs – when MS Dhoni tried a surprise package at the bowling crease, calling on the speculative medium pace of Virat Kohli, a brave move considering Kevin Pietersen had his eye in, with 33 from 23 balls. Kohli’s first delivery was down the leg side and called a wide, but KP had skipped out of his crease, and missed it… and Dhoni completed the stumping. Kohli has managed only three more T20 wickets, to go with four in ODIs (and none in Tests – yet). For a full list of those to claim a wicket with their first ball in T20Is, click here.Ravi Bopara has scored three Test hundreds without scoring a fifty•Getty ImagesI noticed that Thilan Samaraweera scored two ODI hundreds but no fifties. Has anyone scored more? And how about Tests? asked Ram Murali from the United States

No one has scored more one-day international centuries without registering another score of between 50 and 99 than Sri Lanka’s Thilan Samaraweera – but there are two others who managed two (and no fifties): Ireland’s Jeremy Bray, who made one of his in the 2007 World Cup, and the current Afghanistan batsman Karim Sadiq (who may yet remove himself from this list). The Test record is three centuries but no fifties, by England’s Ravi Bopara. Five batsmen managed two: Allan Steel and Barry Knight of England, Australia’s Harry Graham, Amal Silva of Sri Lanka and Pakistan’s Wajahatullah Wasti.It looks as if Afghanistan may soon be playing Test cricket. But apparently there is already a Test cricketer who was born there. Who is it? asked George Johnston from England

Afghanistan’s only Test cricketer so far is Salim Durani, who was born in Kabul in 1934. Durani played 29 Tests for India from his debut on New Year’s Day 1960 to 1972-73 – and admirers of this “unpredictable genius”, as ESPNcricinfo’s player page has it, are adamant he should have won many more caps. At his best, Durani was a superb attacking left-hand batsman – he hit 104 against West Indies in Port-of-Spain in 1961-62 – and a capable spinner too.According to Indian journalist Gulu Ezekiel, “I read an interview not too many years ago when he explained his family were on a camel caravan from Kabul to Delhi when his mother gave birth to him in the middle of the desert. Some say it was in the Khyber Pass, and Durani has said it is wrong to list him as having been born in Kabul. After Partition, his father “Master” Aziz moved to Pakistan, where he became a famed coach, especially of the Mohammad brothers.”Anil Kumble made his only Test hundred in his 118th Test•Getty ImagesShane Warne took 40 wickets in the 2005 Ashes series, but Australia lost. Was this a record in a losing series? asked Darrell McDonald from Australia

That performance by Shane Warne in the 2005 Ashes is the record for any five-match Test series, but there are two higher tallies in six-Test series. Both were also by Australians on the receiving end from England: Terry Alderman claimed 42 wickets in the 1981 Ashes, while Rodney Hogg took 41 at home in 1978-79. Next on the list come Dennis Lillee, with 39 in the same 1981 series as Alderman, and the first non-Aussie in Maurice Tate, with 38 for England in five Tests in Australia in 1924-25. Courtney Walsh took 34 wickets in a losing cause for West Indies in five Tests in England in 2000, equalling the mark set by George Giffen (for Australia against England in 1894-95) and matched by Fred Trueman (England v West Indies in 1963).Which player scored his first and only hundred after playing in more than 100 Tests? asked Chris Bloore from New Zealand

The only man to wait more than a century of Tests before scoring his first hundred was India’s Anil Kumble, whose sole three-figure score – an unbeaten 110 – came in the 118th of his 132 Tests, against England at The Oval in August 2007. There had been a near-miss just a few weeks earlier: Chaminda Vaas scored his only century for Sri Lanka in his 97th Test, against Bangladesh in Colombo at the end of June.Post your questions in the comments below

A look at the possible scenarios that could play out as the June 30 deadline approaches for Cricket Australia and the players

Brydon Coverdale04-Jun-20173:46

What exactly is the Cricket Australia-ACA pay dispute?

The June 30 deadline is rapidly approaching for Cricket Australia (CA) and their players to reach agreement on a new Memorandum of Understanding. That means less than three weeks for the two parties to bridge a chasm that has seemed to be of Grand Canyon proportions over the past few months. Here we look at three scenarios that could eventuate over the coming weeks.Agreement reached
This would require either significant compromise on both sides, or a capitulation on one. Last week, the Australian Cricketers’ Association indicated it would be willing to show some flexibility on one major sticking point: the revenue types they are entitled to share in. It is a small concession, but it could also be a start. The difficulty is that the two parties have had such rigid starting positions that negotiation has, so far, barely been possible. However, even if a new agreement is reached by June 30 – and that remains a big “if” – lasting damage has almost certainly already been done to the relationship between CA and its players. If a compromise is reached, both sides will likely believe that they were the ones who bent for the good of the game and will harbour resentment towards the other. So, whatever happens, a fractious relationship going forward is now virtually a given.Temporary compromise
One scenario that could become more and more likely with every passing day is that the two parties will agree to roll the current MoU over for one more year. This would be a stopgap measure designed to avoid the possibility of players becoming uncontracted free agents, and would give CA and the ACA another year to come to a long-term agreement. Of course, there is the chance that such a move would simply prolong the bad blood and delay the inevitable, and that by this time next year the situation will barely have changed.On the other hand, coming so close to a serious schism that would damage Australian cricket may in itself be enough for both parties to agree to a one-year extension and finally begin talking properly. And there is precedent: in 2011, CA and the ACA agreed on a one-year extension to the existing MoU. On that occasion, the issues were resolved by the next year; this time around, the sticking point is potentially much thornier. There is also the complicating factor that female players are not part of the existing MoU, and therefore would not be part of any rollover.No agreement reached
This is the great unknown. Some players would find themselves without contracts and thus effectively unemployed, and CA could find itself without the ability to field a team. It is possible that uncontracted players could find themselves locked out from national and state training facilities until the issue is resolved, and it is equally possible that players would seek opportunities to play elsewhere during the period of their unemployment.The first event on the calendar post June 30 is the Women’s World Cup, which begins on June 26: CA will pay the squad members up front and employ them until the end of their campaign (as stated above, women’s players are not part of the current MoU). Next comes an Australia A tour of South Africa, which begins in early July. If no agreement has been reached, would CA seek to do the same and pay the players up front? Would the players refuse to tour? This would be a significant move by the players, for it would show that it is not only the highly-paid international players are willing to stare down CA, but the wider playing group as well. It would be particularly revealing of the strength of the player union if cricketers on the fringe of Test selection were prepared to sit out of a tour that could lead them to higher honours.The issue is complicated by the fact that approximately half of Australia’s domestic players are believed to be on existing multi-year contracts, and therefore would technically remain employed after June 30 regardless. Cricket Australia and the state associations could therefore select squads from that group of players, and it would then be up to the players whether to honour their contracts or stick tight with their fellow players and, effectively, go on strike.The senior Australia team’s next series is likely to be a Test tour of Bangladesh in August-September, and after that the domestic players have the Matador Cup and Sheffield Shield campaigns. If players on multi-year deals agree to play, these competitions could go ahead but in a weakened condition. South Africa’s new domestic T20 league, set for November-December, would be an appealing prospect for some of the unemployed Australian cricketers at this time, but of course the majority would find themselves without an income stream, so the ACA has set up a fund to help them through until a new deal is reached.But the greatest disaster of all would be if the biggest event on Australia’s Test cricket calendar – the home Ashes series – is affected, either by cancellation or Australia fielding a sub-standard team. It would be damaging not only financially but also to the reputation of Australian cricket, both worldwide and with its own fans at home. For the good of the game, neither side can let it come to this, and even if no agreement is reached by June 30 they must find a way to compromise soon.

As India and Pakistan clash in Sunday’s Champions Trophy final, we take a look at some other traditional rivalries across various sports

Srinath Sripath17-Jun-2017India and Pakistan have a long-standing rivalry across sports•Getty Images

Field hockey

India v Pakistan
The Olympics years – 1956, 1960, 1964
India and Pakistan played three successive Olympic gold medal matches over eight years. Pakistan, whose first Olympics appearance came immediately after independence in London in 1948, were the only team to run India close in Melbourne in 1956. Four years on, Naseer Bunda gave them gold in Rome, snapping India’s streak of six successive gold medals. India got their revenge in 1964, in the first Olympics held in Asia, beating Pakistan 1-0 in the final in Tokyo. They have never faced off in an Olympic final since.The World Cup final, 1975
The World Cup in hockey was conceived by Pakistan’s sports administrator of repute, Air Marshal Nur Khan, and Pakistan remain the most successful team in the men’s game, with four titles, including the first one in Barcelona in 1971. Four years on, they seemed on course for their second title in Kuala Lumpur. The final against India was an absorbing match, with Surjit Singh and Ashok Kumar, son of the legendary Dhyan Chand leading India to a 2-1 win. The team led by Ajit Pal Singh remains the only Indian team to have won the World Cup.Boston Celtics and Los Angeles Lakers have had a history of facing off in NBA finals•Getty Images

Basketball

Los Angeles Lakers v Boston Celtics: 12 NBA Finals, 1959 – 2010
The two most successful franchises in NBA history – Celtics 17 titles, Lakers 16 – have met a record 12 times in the finals, starting from 1959. The Celtics dominated during the Bill Russell era of the 1960s, as he regularly bested fellow legendary big man Wilt Chamberlain by winning each of the first seven match-ups. The rivalry gained steam again in the 1980s during the Larry Bird-Magic Johnson era. From 1980-88, the Lakers or Celtics won eight of nine titles with five for the Lakers and three for the Celtics. The two teams went head to head in 1984, 1985 and 1987. After going dormant for 21 years, the rivalry was sparked once again at the end of the 2000s, when Kobe Bryant’s Lakers took on Celtics teams led by Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett.The US basketball team questions the decision of the officials•Rich Clarkson/NCAA PhotosUSA v USSR: The Munich showdown, 1972
Amid geopolitical Cold War implications, the USA and USSR faced off for the gold medal at the Munich Olympics. USA had won all their men’s basketball matches since the sport was included in the Olympics in 1936. With three seconds remaining, USA took the lead for the first time in the game at 50-49. USSR inbounded the ball and the time went down to one second left, when a timeout was given to USSR. A dispute about when the timeout was called resulted in the clock being reset to three seconds. A failed full-court inbound pass resulted in the final seconds ticking away and the Americans began celebrating their gold-medal win. But officials ruled that a horn was sounded prematurely and gave the USSR another chance with three seconds. This time the full-court pass connected and a simple layup gave the USSR a controversial win as the clock ticked down. The Americans refused the silver medal in protest.Geoff Hurst scored three goals in the 1966 World Cup final, becoming the first and only man to achieve a finals hat-trick•PA Images Archive/Getty Images

Football

England v Germany: Geoff Hurst and the goal line controversy, 1966
England’s only football World Cup title came at the expense of rivals West Germany at a packed Wembley Stadium. At the time, it was the most-watched television event ever in the United Kingdom, with TV audience peaking at 32.3 million viewers. England won 4-2 after extra time, and Geoff Hurst’s third goal remains one of the most controversial moments in football history. Till date, the Germans refuse to accept that the ball crossed the line, with the newspaper recently making a cheeky offer to accept its validity if England went back on its Brexit vote. While the two sides’ paths have diverged since, and Germany sees The Netherlands and Italy as greater rivals, England’s triumph remains one of the greatest moments in their sporting history.East Bengal v Mohun Bagan: A 5-0 drubbing and the suicide note, 1975
These two clubs from Kolkata in India have had many great clashes over the years, but few eclipse the IFA Shield final of 1975, when East Bengal ended a 1559-day drought with a 5-0 drubbing. It remains a record margin for this derby, and the aftermath remains the most infamous in its history. Some Bagan stars spent the night on a boat in River Hooghly, for fear of extreme reactions from fans back home, while a number of fans committed suicide.The Madrid rivals have faced off in the Champions League final twice in the last four seasons•Getty ImagesReal Madrid v Atletico Madrid: Two Champions League finals in three years, 2014, 2016The first city-derby Champions League final took place in the tournament’s 59th edition, but then happened twice in three years. Both times it was Real Madrid who came out on top, winning the first one with a deluge of goals in extra time, followed by a penalty shootout to decide the 2016 tie. The Madrid derby is seen by fans as a battle between Real’s capitalist riches and Atletico’s relative working-class background, making the latter the perennial underdog in these battles. So far, Real have twelve Champions League titles, while Atletico have never won the competition.Jonny Wilkinson launches his famous drop-kick in the 2003 World Cup final•Getty Images

Rugby

Australia v England: Contrasting World Cup finals, 1991, 2003The first final between these two sides was foreshadowed by Australian star David Campese’s comments following England’s try-less semi-final against Scotland. Campese gave England a dose of pre-match sledging, stating he wouldn’t play for them even if he was paid a lot of money to do so. Australia went on to win 12-6, and Campese was named the Player-of-the-Tournament. Twelve years later, England would exact revenge in the most dramatic of finishes, as Jonny Wilkinson scored a drop-kick goal in the dying seconds of extra time to deliver them their first Rugby World Cup title.Mario Lemieux and his Canadian side put it past rivals USA at the 2002 Winter Olympics•Getty Images

Ice hockey

USA v Canada: Super Mario & Sid the Kid claim Olympic gold, 2002, 2010While USA’s thrilling underdog triumph against USSR in 1980 at Lake Placid deservingly gets all the headlines, having been declared the best international ice hockey story of the past 100 years by governing body IIHF, it was only a semi-final clash between Cold War rivals. In terms of geography and modern quality of players, the twin gold-medal matches between USA and Canada were exhibitions of epic skills between two exceptional sides. Mario Lemieux ended his four-year retirement in 2000 and came back for the Olympics at Salt Lake City in 2002, leading Canada to gold against arguably USA’s best generation of talent. In 2010, Canada, heavy favourites at home in Vancouver, won in overtime on a goal by captain Sidney Crosby, in what turned out to be the most watched TV broadcast in Canadian history and the most-watched hockey game on US television since the gold medal game at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.Boston Red Sox fans hold a placard referring to the Curse of the Bambino, 2004•ESPN Films/30 for 30

Baseball

New York Yankees v Boston Red Sox: The battle to break the Curse of the Bambino, 1977 – 2004Twenty-nine times from 1921 to 1969, the Yankees won the American League pennant to go to the World Series. The Red Sox had won the pennant four times from 1912 to 1918 before their owner sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees, sparking the “Curse of the Bambino”. Over the next 50 years, Red Sox finished second six times, five times behind the Yankees, and won the pennant just twice in 1946 and 1967. When League Championship Series (LCS) began in 1969, the Yankees and Red Sox were in the same division (AL East), meaning only one could go to the playoffs. The teams were tied at end of the 1977 season with a one-game playoff held in Boston to decide who would go to the ALCS. Bucky Dent hit a famous home-run to help the Yankees beat the Red Sox that year, and when playoffs were expanded in 1995 to include a wildcard round, it meant both could make playoffs and, if they won in the initial round, face off in the ALCS. It happened in 1999, 2003 and 2004. The Yankees won in 1999 and 2003 to keep the Curse of the Bambino alive, the latter thanks to an extra-innings home run in game 7 by Aaron Boone. In the 2004 rematch, the Yankees had a 3-0 series lead before the Red Sox produced the greatest comeback in baseball history, winning four straight including games 6 and 7 in New York to advance to the World Series, which they won for the first time since 1918. From 2004 to now, the Red Sox have gone to win World Series three times, while Yankees have done so just once.