Must-have residential amenities, golfing in the airport, colon cleansing and other joys in our Twitter round-up

Alex Bowden18-Sep-2015Sometimes it’s only right to ask: could Chris Gayle do something that would make him seem even more Chris Gayle-ish than he already is?The answer is yes.

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A strip club. In his house. That’s the kitchen, that’s the bedroom, that’s the bathroom and that’s the strip club. A home strip club. Apparently that’s a thing now.Is this Gayle’s way of following Kemar Roach’s advice?

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Meanwhile Kemar himself is so successful that he’s actually moved beyond striving for mere self-improvement.

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Self-upgradation is the new form of progress. It beats evolution, certainly.

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But at least Neesham can still get on Facebook.

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It’s as Wayne Parnell says…

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Shane Warne’s not sitting still, but nor is he moving along with time. He’s actively trying to swim against it. How’s he getting on?

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Let’s keep ourselves from squirming by convincing ourselves that he’s talking about – ooh – let’s say his knee. Shane Warne’s five-day juice cleanse is playing havoc with his knee. That’s much more palatable.Some people say that Tino Best doesn’t love anyone but himself. That’s not the case.

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That hashtag clarifies that he’s referring to Jack Bauer the fictional TV character and not Jack Bauer the New Zealand road cyclist.From love to aesthetics.

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Unsurprisingly, C got most votes.Speaking of votes.

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Photo bomber or recipient of the cold shoulder? You can make your own minds up about that one.Finally, air travel. Somewhere in the world there is always a cricketer… obliterating jet lag with intensive training?

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Let’s try that again. Somwhere in the world there is always a cricketer… happily passing time at the airport playing golf?

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Sri Lanka used to show tourists the delights of the Galle Coast and then impose big, bruising wins upon them. They have lost that knack, although a hundred from Dimuth Karunaratne was a reminder of old times

Andrew Fidel Fernando14-Oct-2015In the decade gone by, Sri Lanka had set down a foolproof method of operation in Galle. They would bring the visiting teams south at the start of the tour, show them the ocean, feed them some seafood, lead them to the top of the fort, then hurl them brutally off it. It was the done thing in the Murali-Sanga-Mahela days. Sri Lanka had big, bruising wins at the venue, and the touring side spent the rest of the series trying to erase the deficit and the memory of a traumatic loss.And for a long time, the toss also seemed hexed. The coin often fell for Sri Lanka at the venue. The captain never hesitated to put his side in. At the end of day one, their victims walked off the field two shades darker, doubled over in exhaustion, and at least one Sri Lanka batsmen positively strutted off it, a triple-figure score to his name. In the dressing room, Murali had been placed in a straightjacket. The pitch had begun to show slight signs of turn, and he had failed to contain his excitement.It has been a little different in the past two years. South Africa and Pakistan have won matches in Galle. In the last game at the ground, India carved out a gigantic first innings lead, and that game was only won by Sri Lanka thanks to some inspiration from the left-arm spinner, Rangana Herath, and a healthy helping of luck.Bowlers were ‘brilliant’ – Baptiste

West Indies’ interim coach Eldine Baptiste said the two catches his team dropped could have substantially altered the scoreline, had they been taken. The costlier of the two mistakes was Dinesh Chandimal’s reprieve. He was dropped at mid on by Jerome Taylor on 11, and went on to hit 72 not out, and was part of a 149-run stand with Dimuth Karunaratne.
“The bowlers put their hard work in and bowled brilliantly in the circumstances,” Baptiste said. “It’s just that they dropped a few catches we would have liked to have caught. That would have made a big difference. They could have been 220 for 5, instead of 250 for 2.”
Darren Bravo had dropped the earlier catch, reprieving Lahiru Thirimanne at slip. The batsmen went on to add only 10 more runs, but Baptiste still believed the error was costly. “When you’re fielding in the slips, as soon as you lack concentration, a nick normally comes. If there are 600 balls bowled in a day, you’ve got to be on the ball 600 rimes. The fielder at slip and the one at mid-on could have done a lot better.”

On Wednesday, against West Indies, Sri Lanka’s top order reclaimed a little of what had been lost from the golden Galle years. They rolled out the old welcome, replete with an unbeaten centurion, and a large top-order stand. It was an imperfect imitation, but this is a young team. They have not won a trophy in any format for more than a year. Imperfect, for now, is more than good enough.Dimuth Karunaratne didn’t quite capture the manic energy of Tillakaratne Dilshan’s old Galle charges, but the legside flicks and checked drives were pleasant enough. He squirted Jerome Taylor through the slips for his first boundary, then creamed Shannon Gabriel down the ground for his next.Karunaratne has had an odd home season. He knocked the Pakistan attack around, then was bloodied himself by India, who kept him to 67 runs from six innings. But by being unfathomably inconsistent, he is following in the steps of some of the greatest Sri Lanka batsmen. He has a very long way to go before he matches Aravinda de Silva or Sanath Jayasuriya, but feast or famine had been their chosen approach as well.He said a few technical errors pointed out to him by new interim coach Jerome Jayaratne had lit his path back to form. “The new coach showed me few things to change and I made those changes. Not only me, most of the batsmen made a few changes. We did some very hard work during the last three weeks, simply because the next few series that are lined up are not easy at all. Most of those series are to be played overseas. So this is a series to make amendments.”His opening partner Kaushal Silva clung on dourly for 48 deliveries before edging one to slip. Even in their greatest years, one Sri Lanka opener would routinely soak up balls, as if preparing of a long, fruitful innings, then lamely get out for a low score. Silva carried this out almost too well.Dinesh Chandimal was the man who made the innings spark at No. 4 – a position once held by de Silva before Mahela Jayawardene claimed that mantle. Chandimal has a more homespun style than either of those men, but possesses the same fearless outlook. He cracked Devendra Bishoo’s legspin through the covers fourth ball, and spent much of his innings trying to force good balls into space using his bottom hand.When Chandimal arrives at the crease, it feels like something interesting could happen, which was not the feeling Lahiru Thirimanne inspired today. It sometimes feels like the sedative qualities of Thirimanne’s and Silva’s cricket are being misused by humanity. Could their batting be used to pacify stampeding buffalo for example, or quell tropical cyclones?In the evening, having sapped the West Indies’ bowling of its venom and energy, Chandimal and Karunaratne played out a wicketless final session, in which Sri Lanka claimed the advantage. In yesteryear, the score might have crossed 320 by stumps, but this is the cheap imitation for now, remember? That they saw out the first ten overs of the second new ball is sufficient for the time beingThe time may come when this team becomes a force of its own; independent of great teams and players from the past. Maybe in future decades we will be measuring new batsmen on the Karunaratne or Chandimal scale.But for now, while Sri Lanka fans are still pining for the glories of years gone by, Sri Lanka’s top order gave them a whiff of the past. On day one they reminded spectators what it would be like for Sri Lanka to be good at Test cricket again.

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jan-2016Mohammad Hafeez, however, was steady at the other end and scored his eighth T20I fifty•Getty ImagesMitchell Santner and Adam Milne restricted Pakistan’s middle order with quick wickets in the middle overs•AFPShahid Afridi, though, smashed 23 off eight balls to lift Pakistan to 171 for 9•AFPMilne ended the innings with a career-best 4 for 37•Getty ImagesPakistan got a huge boost in the chase when Martin Guptill was run out in the second over for 2•Getty ImagesColin Munro and Kane Williamson then put the hosts well on course by stringing together an 80-run second-wicket stand at almost ten runs an over•AFPHowever, Munro fell in the tenth over for a 27-ball 56, giving Pakistan a shot in the arm•Getty ImagesPakistan’s bowlers then carved out the hosts’ middle order, reducing them from 90 for 2 to 108 for 6. But with Williamson still at the crease, New Zealand still had a chance of chasing down the total•AFPHowever, Wahab Riaz dismissed Williamson for 70 and the hosts’ lower order failed to fire, handing Pakistan a 16-run victory•AFP

The year 2015 has been James Taylor’s, with noteworthy performances across formats underlining his importance in a dynamic England middle order

Vithushan Ehantharajah09-Dec-2015By James Taylor’s own admission, he is driven by proving people wrong. It’s not an uncommon mantra for sportsmen to have: how often has a great sporting achievement been bookended with an impassioned dig at “them”? “They said it couldn’t be done”, “they doubted me”, “but I showed them” – it’s a well-worn and thoroughly effective trick to whip oneself up into a frenzy where the achievement comes with a healthy side order of rubbing their faces in it.With Taylor, there seems more to it, for his will is not in making fools of those who barrack against him, but in showing everyone that he knows he is right. Umpire Aleem Dar felt the brunt of this during England’s opening match of the 2015 World Cup.”God, that was a shambles,” says Taylor, recalling the event. Batting with No. 11 James Anderson, as Australia rounded on a comprehensive victory, Dar adjudged that Taylor had been trapped lbw- a decision that Taylor reviewed, successfully. However, as Dar was giving his initial decision, the England pair attempted a run and Glenn Maxwell threw down the stumps with Anderson short of his ground. Despite the ball being dead upon Dar raising his finger – by which point Maxwell had not released the ball – the umpires asked for the run out to be considered and Australia were winners by 111 runs. Taylor was left stranded on 98 not out. He is still outraged about it, not least because he knew the correct rule.”I was telling them at the time and it was pretty disappointing the fact that they didn’t listen to me,” he proclaims, wearing a wry smile all the way through. “It was deeply frustrating. That could have been my first hundred: the opening game of a World Cup, at the MCG, against Australia. It doesn’t get much bigger.”As it happens, that first international hundred would come seven innings later, again in an ODI against Australia.In the third of a five-match series, on a tacky Old Trafford pitch, Taylor batted from the 10th to the final over, sussing every kink of the surface and playing accordingly for 101 off 114 balls. It was a pensive innings that some judged as laboured, but one that saw England post 300 and then Australia struggle to 207 all out in 44 overs. Once again, Taylor was right.”I knew what the situation demanded and I knew people watching would probably be questioning the way I was playing. But I was so confident that what I was doing was right. It was so satisfying that I was proved right with the end result. I knew if we got to 300, it would be enough on a deteriorating wicket. It was satisfying walking off the pitch having won by 90-runs in the end.”This was the moment of clarity for Taylor. His knock at the MCG, against the likes of Mitchell Starc and Mitchell Johnson, showed he had the technique and character to cope with international cricket. But he realised his best asset – his ability to read a pitch or situation and play accordingly – was transferrable to the highest level.”It was huge just knowing how the way I scored those runs is exactly how I’d do it in county cricket. You’ve got to be able to read the situation and play accordingly. I know a lot of people would have done things differently. But I was just really happy that I wanted to play that way, I backed myself and it was proved right.”It was this skill that England wanted with them in the UAE. When called upon for the final Test in Sharjah, as a replacement for Jos Buttler, he marked his return after a three-year absence with 76, top-scoring in England’s innings with no one else passing fifty. Pakistan won the Test by 127 runs and the series 2-0 and England were left ruing, among many things, not getting him in sooner.Taylor’s 76 against Pakistan in his first Test innings in three years was one of the few bright sparks for England during the three-Test series against Pakistan in UAE•Getty ImagesAs such, he finds himself on the tour to South Africa as the incumbent of that No.5 spot, which he hopes is his to lose. And while he knows the No.1-ranked Test side, in their own conditions, present the sternest opposition this new, vibrant England have faced, he’s more than aware of his own business with South Africa and admits “it would be quite fitting” to excel against them. It was at the end of the last series between the two, on English soil in 2012, that Taylor was drafted into the side for the final two Tests.”Now I’m three and a half years more experienced and got plenty more international games under my belt, have scored international runs and scored runs at domestic level as well. I’m in a far better place now.”Unfortunately for Taylor, that 2012 series saw him caught in the crossfire of a bitter dispute between Kevin Pietersen and the ECB. As Pietersen writes in his autobiography, he had a private conversation with Andy Flower in which he offered his opinion that Taylor was unsuited to international cricket, based on his height. Taylor says he was not fussed then and is even less fussed now and certainly does not feel the incident is to blame for his three-year absence from Test cricket.”Everybody’s entitled to their opinions, but I was happy then. It didn’t even bother me and I was a 21-year-old playing one Test with plenty of experienced players. It was frustrating not playing Test cricket in the last three years. People say it might have contributed to it, but it might not have. I don’t know. It’s pie in the sky. It doesn’t really matter.”It was a frustrating few years, but maybe those frustrating few years have helped me become the player I am now and be the person I am now. Maybe that gave me the massive kick up the backside that has pushed me where I am now.”The desire to make up for lost time is clear. As is the desire to take the game to a South Africa side who have come off the back of a demoralising 3-0 series defeat in India. While Dale Steyn’s fitness for the opening Test at Durban on Boxing Day is touch and go, Vernon Philander has officially been ruled out of the first two matches. A big blow for South Africa, particularly given Philander’s record at Cape Town – 31 wickets at an average of 19.33 – the venue of the second Test.”South Africa have obviously come back from a tough tour of India, which you could say is the perfect time to play them. But they are the best team in the world on paper at the minute, so it is going to be a good test. It’s exciting: we’re in a really good place as a side and got plenty of exciting faces that have got a lot to prove. I think if you look how we did in the UAE, while the results didn’t suggest it, I think we played far better cricket.””It’s a good time to play anybody because of the way we are as a side: we’re an exciting side and every time we step onto the field we’re improving.”For Taylor, who has spent the last three years with the unwavering belief that he is good enough to play Test cricket, South Africa away presents him with another chance to prove that he was right.

Plays of the day from the World T20 game between South Africa and Afghanistan in Mumbai

Firdose Moonda20-Mar-2016The one-handed maximumSouth Africa dazzled with an array of boundaries in the first six overs but the most eye-catching one came when Faf du Plessis took on Mohammad Nabi. The offspinner dropped one short, du Plessis gave himself room by stepping outside leg stump, went deep into his crease, took his top hand off the handle of his bat and carved the ball over cover using just one hand.The mix-up Quinton de Kock knew Faf du Plessis had his dancing shoes on, so when du Plessis jabbed Amir Hamza into the covers, de Kock thought a quick run was on. Then de Kock saw Mohammad Nabi swooping in and realised it was too risky so he turned back. At the other end, du Plessis had already responded but soon saw it was wiser to turn back. He was late to undo his steps and Nabi’s throw came in quickly for Mohammad Shahzad to catch the South African captain short of his ground.The drop AB de Villiers had just started to threaten when he offered Afghanistan a chance. He sent a Samiullah Shenwari delivery straight back to him. Shenwari had to react quickly in his follow through and got his hands up in time but then it all became too much. He could not hold on as the ball burst through his hands and de Villiers got his 27th run. He would go on to score 37 more.The placementHis ability to hit the ball anywhere he wants had already been on display but to further emphasise the point, AB de Villiers bisected the gap between the stands in the middle of his assault on Rashid Khan. After hitting him through midwicket twice and straight down the ground, de Villiers smeared a short ball straight into the daylight that peeped through a gap in the stand at midwicket. That also brought up fifty for him, off 24 balls.The poser Mohammad Shahzad probably knows he is not model material but that did not stop him from striking a pose after a perfect lofted drive. As the Kyle Abbott delivery was sent cleanly over long-on, Shahzad held his stance: head down, bat straight, elbows high. And there he stood.The misfield Faf du Plessis had specifically asked for discipline from his attack but he may need to extend that to include his fielders. Mohammad Nabi sliced David Wiese to short third man, where Imran Tahir was stationed. Tahir failed to move quickly enough to his left and by the time he got there, the bounce had the better of him. Tahir could not even get a hand to the ball as it disappeared past his legs and onto the boundary. Wiese’s figures were already mangled, but that didn’t help.

Two captains and a 44-year-old are among the players who could make an impact in the qualifying stages of the World T20

Peter Della Penna07-Mar-2016Group AMahmudullah – BangladeshUntil the 2015 World Cup, most opposition resources would’ve been focused on shutting down Tamim Iqbal, Shakib Al Hasan and Mushfiqur Rahim. Mahmudullah’s progress since making Bangladesh’s first World Cup century against England last March hasn’t slowed down. Most recently, he has reeled off 114 runs in his last four T20I innings without being dismissed, scoring off 76% of his deliveries in that stretch to prevent any pressure from building, and has the most sixes in T20s for Bangladesh, with 25.William Porterfield – IrelandThough never a headline grabber in the Ireland side, the captain has been one of his country’s most valuable assets, particularly in T20 cricket. Porterfield is the only player to score a T20 century for Ireland, with his 127 not out coming against USA at the 2013 World T20 Qualifier. In almost anonymous fashion, he sits atop Ireland’s run charts in T20 cricket, with 1497 runs at 25.81, more than 200 clear of Paul Stirling. Including Ireland’s two unofficial warm-up matches ahead of this tournament, Porterfield has scored 421 runs at 42.10 in his last 13 T20 innings at a time when Ireland’s overall batting unit his struggled.Stephan Myburgh – NetherlandsNames like Ryan ten Doeschate, Dirk Nannes and Tom Cooper might be more prominent in the annals of recent Netherlands cricket history, but Myburgh has been a force at the top of the order since making his T20 debut for them in 2012. He is Netherlands’ all-time leader in T20 runs with 1199, half-centuries with 11, and sixes with 50. He’ll play a central role if Netherlands are to repeat their qualifying heroics from 2014.Aamir Kaleem – OmanThis left-arm spinner could become the tournament’s biggest hero … or villain. It all depends on which side of the mankad debate you are on. Kaleem set off a firestorm during the qualifying round of the Asia Cup when he ran out Hong Kong star batsman Mark Chapman for creeping out of the non-striker’s crease. Scotland’s Rob Taylor tweeted about an unnamed Oman bowler attempting it against them in a warm-up match on Friday. Don’t look away, or leave your crease early, when Kaleem comes on to bowl.Group BNajibullah Zadran – AfghanistanFormer coach Andy Moles famously characterized this middle-order batsman as someone who “can’t block the ball to save his life”. That isn’t so much of a concern in T20 cricket. The 23-year-old’s kamikaze-style batting is a left-handed mashup of Shahid Afridi and Glenn Maxwell. Never one to play for his average, Najibullah still claims a robust mark of 27.21 in 20 T20Is, nearly eight runs higher than his mark in ODIs. Fans may want to get the hard hats out in the stands if he gets going.Ryan Campbell – Hong KongThe oldest player in the tournament at 44, former Australian international Campbell has been playing on the Hong Kong domestic scene for the past several years. In his second warm-up match for Hong Kong in India, he top-scored with 46 and took 2 for 10 in three overs of offspin. It’s been 10 years since he played his last professional match for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield, but Campbell might just have a few gallons left in the tank.Matt Machan – ScotlandThe left-hander has only played 16 T20s for Scotland, but his eye-popping average of 39.69 is seven runs better than his nearest team-mate. Already, he is fifth on Scotland’s run list with 516 and reaches fifty once every four innings. In their last T20I before the tournament, Machan top-scored with 43 in a win over Netherlands in Dubai. His part-time offspin may be vital as well at this tournament in support of newly-minted lead spinner Mark Watt.Hamilton Masakadza – ZimbabweThe captain’s 1425 T20 runs for Zimbabwe are more than twice as many as the next-closest active player, Elton Chigumbura. He also holds the marks for highest individual innings for Zimbabwe, set two months ago with an unbeaten 93 off 58 balls in Khulna against Bangladesh, and most career sixes with 47. Heading into this tournament, his bat is smoking hot. Last month he struck 162 not out off 71 balls for Mountaineers in a domestic T20, and an unbeaten 68 off 49 in a warm-up win over Ireland on March 7, including six sixes.

Plays of the day from Sunrisers Hyderabad’s thumping win over Kings XI Punjab in Hyderabad

Nikhil Kalro23-Apr-2016Arithmetic progression – Part IDavid Miller and Glenn Maxwell’s dip in form this season has left Kings XI Punjab with a void in the middle overs. In their tournament opener against Gujarat Lions, they were dismissed by Dwayne Bravo in the space of three balls. In their next game against Delhi Daredevils, both fell within the space of four deliveries to Amit Mishra. On Saturday, they fell five deliveries apart to Moises Henriques. Kings XI lost all three matches.Arithmetic progression – Part IIMustafizur Rahman has been Sunrisers’ go-to bowler. He proved why against Kings XI. In his first over – the sixth of the innings – he produced a maiden, in which they had a wicket courtesy a run-out. He was reintroduced in the 14th over and brought out his variations of slow cutters and yorkers to concede just one. In his next over, he allowed just two singles. Mustafizur, then, conceded six off the last over to finish with figures of 2 for 9, the most economical spell of the season so far.The runs that weren’tIn the sixth over of Kings XI’s innings, Manan Vohra set off for a single after punching a length ball to cover. Marsh, at the non-striker’s end, realised there wasn’t a run on offer and sent Vohra back. Shikhar Dhawan picked the ball up cleanly and threw down the stumps at the batsman’s end. Vohra scurried back and would have made his ground had his bat not bounced up after a full-length dive.Immediately after David Warner’s blitz in the chase, Aditya Tare drove to mid-off and set off for his first IPL run for Sunrisers. The single wasn’t on, though, and Dhawan was in action again. Tare made a desperate lunge, but was well short even with a dive.With five to win, Moises Henriques jammed a yorker to midwicket. Deepak Hooda set off for a single before being turned down by his partner. Miller was quick on the opportunity and hit the stumps from close range at short midwicket in a single motion to find Hooda short.Warner’s straight batWarner’s exemplary form was on display in the third over of the chase. Sandeep Sharma’s first ball on a full length was lofted with a straight bat over wide long-off. On the fourth ball, Sandeep bowled a good-length delivery on off, and faced similar fate as Warner presented the full face of his bat to punch him over long-off.

Plays of the day from the IPL match between Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad in Visakhapatnam

Shashank Kishore08-May-2016Warner-Harbhajan mind games: Act I
David Warner made his intentions clear by welcoming Harbhajan Singh into the attack with a six over long-on. The over went for only 11, though. When he came back for a second over, his plan of firing the ball in and not allowing Warner to get underneath the flight was noticeable. The first ball of his second over – the eighth of the innings – was fired short and wide; Warner found point. The next one had width; Warner played the slap-chop to cover. He was forced to reach out for the third one, the fastest of the lot in excess of 100 clicks; he tried to play but then let it go. Then came another short ball which he hit to short third man for a single, to relieve the pressure. A good over until that point was somewhat shaded by a poor fielding effort by Krunal Pandya, though, whose uncertainty in trying to stop the ball with his feet or hands resulted in a boundary last up.Warner-Harbhajan mind games: Act II
Warner was ready for a barrage of short and wide deliveries by the time Harbhajan was in for his third over. Off the second ball, Warner walked across to fetch the pull and swatted the short ball into the deep-midwicket boundary. The next ball was once again fired outside off, and Warner missed. In trying to outfox Warner, who was eyeing the cow-corner fence, Harbhajan then bowled it full and flat, only to be forced to take evasive action as Warner drilled one straight down the ground to bisect long-on and long-off. Then he tossed one up outside off, the slowest of the lot, which Warner hit straight into the big hands of Kieron Pollard at long-off. Mumbai’s search for a breakthrough was finally over.Bumrah’s Dhawan reprieve
Mumbai were on the upswing, having prised out Warner and Kane Williamson quickly. There was a chance to dismiss a well-set Shikhar Dhawan in the 13th over, but it went abegging when Jasprit Bumrah’s throw at the bowler’s end missed the stumps by a mile. Bumrah bowled an excellent yorker, which Yuvraj Singh somehow kept out. Bumrah sprinted diagonally to his left to collect the ball from short midwicket before aiming at the stumps. Perhaps taking a second to aim would have helped as Dhawan had given up halfway down. He was on 41 then. It cost Mumbai 41 more.Yuvraj disturbs his own stumps
Mitchell McClenaghan kept pushing Yuvraj back. Once he couldn’t quite time the pulls, he tried to use the depth of the crease to paddle and carve the ball behind square. One such delivery resulted in a wicket when Yuvraj, who went back into the crease to angle the ball towards the off side, clattered the stumps with his bat while trying to swing through the line. He was so deep inside the crease that it first seemed like he had withdrawn from the stroke, until everyone saw the zing bails flash.

Stats highlights from the third day of the fourth Test, which was completely dominated by Pakistan

S Rajesh13-Aug-20166 Test double-hundreds for Younis Khan, the joint highest for Pakistan, along with Javed Miandad. Overall, only five batsmen have scored more double-centuries in Tests: Don Bradman, Kumar Sangakkara, Brian Lara, Wally Hammond and Mahela Jayawardene.0 Number of Pakistan batsmen who have scored more runs in a Test innings at No. 5 than Younis’s 218. The previous best for Pakistan was 215, by Zaheer Abbas against India in Lahore in 1982. Younis’s was also the fourth-best Test score by any Pakistan batsman in England, after Zaheer’s 274 and 240, and Miandad’s 260.2 Batsmen who have scored more than two Test double-centuries after turning 35 – Younis and Sangakkara, who have three each. Ten batsmen have scored two double-hundreds after 35.8 Instances of Pakistan scoring more than 500 in a Test innings in England. Five of them have been at The Oval, as have three of their seven double-centuries in England.6 Instances of Pakistan taking a 200-plus first-innings lead in a Test in England – three times when batting first and three times when batting second. Half of those six instances have been at The Oval, in 1987, 2006 and 2016. Pakistan won two of those previous five Tests.97 The partnership between Younis and Mohammad Amir, Pakistan’s second highest for the ninth wicket in Tests in England. The best is 190 between Asif Iqbal and Intikhab Alam, also at The Oval, in 1967. That partnership came after Pakistan had slumped to 65 for 8 in their second innings.39* Amir’s score, his highest in Tests, and his fourth best in first-class cricket. His previous best in Tests was an unbeaten 30 in Hobart in 2010. He has two half-centuries in first-class matches – 66 and 60, both scored within ten days of each other in the 2015-16 domestic season.9 Scores of between 25 and 46 for Sarfraz in 13 Test innings against England. In the three-Test series against them in the UAE, he had scores of 2, 27, 32, 3*, 39 and 36, and he has continued in similar vein in this series, scoring 25, 45, 26, 7, 46*, 0, and 44. Against other teams, he has passed 50 ten times out of 13 instances when he has gone past 25.20.20 The combined batting average for Alex Hales and James Vince in this series: they managed a combined aggregate of 303 runs in 15 innings.281 Runs scored by Hales in 16 innings against South Africa and Pakistan, at an average of 17.56; in five innings against Sri Lanka earlier this summer, he scored 292 runs at 58.40. (Click here for Hales’ series-wise numbers.)13-216 Yasir Shah’s figures in the two Tests in London – 10 for 141 at Lord’s and 3 for 75 at The Oval. At Old Trafford and Edgbaston he had combined figures of 4 for 502.

Stats highlights from the third day of the second Test between West Indies and India in Jamaica

Bharath Seervi02-Aug-20168 Consecutive Test series in which Ajinkya Rahane has made at least one score of 90 or more, starting from the 2013-14 tour of South Africa. He has scored centuries in six of those series, while scoring 96 in South Africa 2013-14 and 98 in Bangladesh in 2015. He is the only India player to do this in each of the last eight series. Monday’s century was Rahane’s third in four innings, after twin centuries against South Africa in Delhi and 22 in the previous Test.444 India’s previous highest total in Tests at Sabina Park, which had come way back in 1952-53. India’s 500 for 9 is the sixth-highest total for any visiting team at this venue and only the second total of 500 or more in the last 20 years. This was India’s fifth total of 500 or more runs in the West Indies, all of them having come since 2000.2 Number of times India have taken a first-innings lead of 300 or more in consecutive Tests. They had a lead of 323 in the previous Test, and 304 in this Test. The only previous such instance came in 2009-10 against Sri Lanka at home: lead of 413 in Kanpur, and 333 at Brabourne Stadium. This is only the fifth time India have had a lead in excess of 300 outside Asia.2008 The last time India made two or more totals of 500 or more in an away Test series – during 2007-08 Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia. India have never made more than two 500-plus totals in any Test series.70.28 India’s average partnership for wickets one to seven in this series – their best in an away series where they had ten or more partnerships. In two innings in this series so far, India have had ten 50-plus stands from the 14 partnerships for wickets one to seven.3 Centuries for Rahane in Tests outside Asia at No. 5 – joint-most by an India batsman. Mohammad Azharuddin, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar and Polly Umrigar also have three such centuries. Rahane is India’s first No. 5 to score a century in the West Indies since Rahul Dravid’s unbeaten 144 in Georgetown in 2002.1976 The last time a West Indies spinner took a five-wicket haul at home against India – 5 for 23 by David Holford in Bridgetown. Roston Chase, who took 5 for 121 in this innings, had gone wicketless in the previous match, his Test debut. In his four first-class innings at Sabina Park previously, he had taken just 2 for 84 in 24 overs.3 Number of higher totals for India, than their 500 for 9 in this match, with two or fewer centuries by batsmen. They had made 657 at Eden Gardens in 2000-01, 523 at Adelaide Oval in 2003-04 and 503 in Hyderabad in 2012-13 – all against Australia. In all three instances, there were two centuries, one of them being a double-century, unlike in this game where KL Rahul’s 158 was the highest.17 Sixes hit in this Test, at the end of India’s innings – already the most in a Test at Sabina Park. On two previous occasions, 16 sixes were hit. The most sixes in any Test in the West Indies is 22. India’s eight sixes in their first innings is their joint-highest against West Indies.3 Tests in the West Indies in which spinners from both sides took five-wicket hauls in the first innings. R Ashwin took 5 for 52, while Chase took 5 for 121. The first two occasions were: between the same teams at the same venue in 1952-53, and between Bangladesh and the hosts in Kingstown in 2014.2010 The last time three or more India batsmen were out for scores between 40 and 49 – versus Sri Lanka at Premadasa. In the first innings of this match, Cheteshwar Pujara (46), Virat Kohli (44) and Wriddhiman Saha (47) were all dismissed in the 40s. This was only their third such instance since 2000.